Ten Ways to Tell If You Are a Solo Librarian

John Clark [Hartland (Maine) Public Library] wrote this for the initial issue of MLA to Z: The News-to-use-letter of the Maine Library Association (April 2007). You can identify with it even if you don't work in a public library. I love it.

1. People in the checkout line hand you a reserve request written on the back of their grocery list.
2. People tell the town manager you work too much because they saw your car at the library after 9 P.M.
3.You stop at yard sales to buy movies for the library.
4. You have a network of fellow scavengers who save Coke, Pepsi and Powerade caps so you can redeem the points for more stuff for the library.
5. Your fingerprints are on every item in the library.
6. You debate weeding a title you just know cousin Emma will hate you for, but do it anyway.
7. You’re on the delivery service, but drop off an ILL pouch in the next town after hours because you’re going there anyway to do some grocery shopping.
8. You visit other libraries and the first place you go is their used book shelf.
9. There is a bigger library that has adopted you, and you have done the same for a smaller library.
10. You have done story hour while simultaneously checking out books and answering a reference question over the phone.

URL: http://mainelibraries.org/_documents/newsletter/200704newsletter.pdf