It's a Dirty Job . . . Someone's Gotta Do It

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A public librarian was visiting the school a few years ago and observed parts of my typical day. If the amount of interaction I have with kids and teachers was surprising (I teach, recommend books, co-plan, and co-teach, as well as just being a sounding board--one teacher has joked that I need a sign like Lucy from the Peanuts has for over my desk), then the fact that I also order for four schools, check in, check out, and shelve every book that circulates was an overwhelming reality to this visitor.

I had no idea that public librarians did not spend time shelving or even deal with circulation. Their jobs are so different. Imagine my surprise when I recently found out that there are people at the public library whose jobs are solely to go through each returned book, page-by-page, to check for damage and objects left behind. I, on the other hand, recently had a couple of disgusting revelations of my own. Before working as a school librarian, I could not have imagined fanning a book for display only to think, "I hope that's chocolate." Yes, that happened. I carefully removed the dust jacket and cleaned both the jacket and the book of the offending substance--something that happens often enough that I find myself asking, "What do they do with theses books?!"

The second instance involved a book that came in feeling like a sponge. The student told me that it ended up in the back of the family's truck on a trip over winter break. The tarp that was supposed to protect the items in the truck bed did not keep water from saturating the library book. It was heavy with water and had started to mold. This book, unfortunately, could not be saved.

The joys of moldy books. This one had only circulated a handful of times.

If this was a rare occurrence, it would not be worth mentioning. However, I have to make the decision about whether to clean, fix, or throw away books on a regular basis. Collection maintenance is a job that takes a larger portion of my time than I could have imagined. From replacing dust jackets, taping ripped pages, and weighing whether to replace or rebind a book, I am constantly weighing my budget against collection needs. Lost books, especially those from popular series, pose issues as well. How do I keep up with our needs on a limited budget with so many damaged and lost books constantly coming my way? What strategies do school library professionals employ to balance not only their budgets, but their time--probably a more important commodity for teaching librarians, with so many demands coming from both areas? That's definitely an invisible juggling act that I would like to discuss further.