Tip your bookstaff...

Fixing the First Job
Although true of a lot of newcomers in a lot of fields, I think it's more common for librarians to have these kinds of concerns about mindless policies, few rewards and old stick-in-the-muds at work. We're in an awkward place : a little academic, a little pedestrian, a little theoretical, a little practical, and public and private at the same time. We get the best and worst of all sorts of workplaces. Although the stereotype is the conservative old lady stamping books and handing out overdue notices, there is some weirdness in a lot of librarians. We often have tattoos and piercings or dress oddly [sometimes even at work], we have bizarre or unique interests, we are extreme in a lot of behavioural ways. Unfortunately, a lot of library administrators don't understand that and think that libraries [and librarians] can be run like any other organization. We're different. We're important. Be nice to us.