Musings of an Academic Librarian

I read with a tinge of sadness in the news recently that the Whitcoulls flagship store in Queen St, Auckland is closing down.  It's not a big surprise - Queen Street rents are astronomical and Whitcoulls have struggled in recent years just like other book chains with the rise of Amazon and buying online.  I worked at this store for a number of years as a shop assistant.  I enjoyed the excitement of working in a big store and being around books as well as magazines, DVDs and luxury pens.  I remember the buzz of a new Harry Potter release, politicians and All Blacks coming in for book signings and how we sold Dan Brown by the truckload one Christmas.  The staff there were great to work with and passionate about their jobs.  Now that building will become a Farmers.  What will happen to all those staff I wondered, some of whom have worked at that store for many years? I've noticed (sadly) how over the years Whitcoulls have become less and ...

Completely new, improved, more user-centric library website Increasing trend towards purchasing eBooks over print and using PDA (Patron Driven Acquisition) Bibliographic services team has been whittled down, with staff who have left not being replaced New liaison librarian positions created  Research Publications Officer role created (to guide students with submitting their theses online) Lending staff taking on bib services jobs, e.g. mending and spine label replacement  More and more services have become self-service, e.g. requesting interloans, checking out holds and there has been a big push to get patrons using the self check-out machines More study spaces created Integration of the research help desk and lending desk into one service desk covered by lending staff Introduction of "roving" library assistants during busy hours No more fines for overdue main collection items (only for recalled books and overdue course reserve items) 2 hour course reserve items c...

I tried doing another MBTI test recently but I quickly gave up.  I don't have a simple yes or no for most of the questions; for some I do, for others it's maybe or sometimes yes, or that I'm changing from yes to no, or I simply don't know.  Here are some questions I looked at so you can see what I mean. Do you feel at ease in a crowd? That depends on so many levels, so yes and no. You are almost never late for your appointments . I can at least say a firm yes to this question. You are more interested in a general idea than in the details of its realization . I just don't know, depends on how much I like the idea I guess. You trust reason rather than feelings.  This is a dumb question, everybody needs to use both, e.g. you can't just "reason" whether you should marry someone. You are more inclined to experiment than to follow familiar approaches. What context? Probably not in the past but I want to experiment more now. You are always ...