The work of a librarian basically depends on the type of library they work in. The jobs of the librarian may vary highly depending on the place they work. If a librarian is working in a school then his work would be much more related with recommending students regarding which book to read and managing students. If the person is employed in a college library then his work is much more related to helping students search the books from their respective places. Their job might relate to helping students get the meaning of hard english words. The work would be different in a medical library and so on. Their work is mainly to keep the books organized and in a way that they are easy to be found.
Basic Duties of a Librarian:
- Helping the students find the books and the information they need.
- Let the students know about the sources of information and processes of evaluating the information.
- Organizing the books and other materials of the library so that they are easy to find, remain organized and the count is easy to be kept.
- Knowing what kind of program would interest what kind of audience. Analysing audience and preparing engaging programs for them.
- Maintain records of the books and materials present in the library.
- Add new material and books to the library by reading reviews and making the library as helpful as possible for the students.
- Include audio books and videos to make the library even more helpful.
- Know about the requirements of the library regarding computers and other technical equipment.
- Provide training to training staff, library technicians and volunteers.
- Preparing budgets for library.
Small libraries usually have only a single person managing the entire library. They don’t need library technicians or managing staffs. A single person handles all kind of work and a temporary technician might be hired for timely requirements. While in large libraries, the sole work of the librarian is to provide service to the customer and the other responsibilities are divided among other staffs. The administrative services are also taken care by separate person.
Types of librarians:
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User services librarian:
They deal with user services. They try to make the users find the information they need either by electronic means or books. They also teach the patrons to find the information themselves by using various information portals or finding where the books are kept. They mainly deal with young children or young adults. Their work deals with making the patrons comfortable using the services and finding information that they need.
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Technical services librarian:
These librarians hardly have any interaction with the patrons. They generally try to organize the library so it is easy for the patrons to find the information that they need. They also try to maintain the electronic feed and the print feed and keep them in an organized way.
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Administrative service librarians:
They deal with the administrative work of the library. Preparing budget, maintaining membership fees, raising funds, managing and hiring staff and supervisors are all tasks of administrative service librarians.
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Public librarian:
They try to help everyone by either recommending them some interesting reads or researching book for schools, colleges or even business purposes. They also organize programs to increase public engagement such as story telling for kids, book fairs for everyone and so on.
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School librarians:
They help the students to find material according to the information they need. They are also given the responsibility to choose the books according to course of the school board. They also help teachers find books for teaching and prepare course outline.
Work schedules of librarians are quite similar to the professionals of the field they are working in. The librarians who are working in schools and colleges have working hours quite similar to the teachers and have similar offs. The librarians working in law firms or corporate libraries have to work normal business hours. However, sometime they have to stay back to fulfil targets and such.
The qualification required to be a librarian is generally master’s degree in library science. However, in some places a teaching certificate or any similar degree is required.
