I like coffee, books, and yarn. My views are mine, but RT =/= endorsement. Unless otherwise specified, library tweets are about the field in general.
Nov 16, 2022 • 21 tweets • 4 min read
On Friday, @planetmoney did an episode on libraries in ebooks.
I waited on listening, knowing I'd have to take notes and rant about it, because most news coverage is so bad on this issue.
Parts are really good. Other parts are... well...
Get your popcorn.
Ok, so it opens with talking to an author who I've decided not to tag.
She says she noticed a few years ago when ebooks started getting big in libraries, her royalties took a hit and she loves libraries, but... when they're "giving" away her book, she loses money
Oct 1, 2020 • 23 tweets • 5 min read
Ok, because @stevelibrarian asked for it, and I'm on my second pot of coffee, let's do this.
Amazon dominates the book selling market, and is gaining dominance in the publishing market.
The fact their imprints won't sell digital formats to libraries is something you've heard me scream about frequently.
Sep 2, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Just gonna throw this out there... if you're doing a virtual Meet the Teacher via Teams, send the invite to the student expected to attend, not the parent
Because even though my kid has a school-provided device and account, she'll have to do this on my device and my account.
Also, more than 48 hours notice would have been nice, because I have a work meeting the same time that I apparently have to miss because school made this inaccessible to those using school provided tools.
Aug 20, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Really fucking sick of being told the way to balance work and family is to be flexible and it's ok to work nights and weekends but at the same time, in order to avoid burnout, I need to take time for myself and get plenty of sleep.
Because both are totally possible!
At the beginning of March, I had really clear and strict boundaries between home and work. Since we started staying at home, I went down to half time work and even with that, there have only been 4 days when I haven't worked at least 1 hour.
Aug 16, 2020 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Pumpkin Spice season has started.
We all need something cozy and comforting as we face a socially distant fall.
So let's not be jerks about it, ok?
Bath and Body works started releasing their fall candles early with the sales pitch "skip a season" because frankly, we need it. Let's get excited about something happy!
Jul 31, 2020 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
What's international shipping looking like these days? Like, if I order something from England, will it ever come?
YAY! People are reporting good experiences! Will place order after paying bills...
Jul 25, 2020 • 21 tweets • 4 min read
Oh good lord this is just stupid. I am not stupider for having read it. Let us count the ways.
First off, libraries buy the books they lend to people. We're a major player in the publishing market. I know this because publishers have entire marketing teams dedicated just towards library marketing.
Jul 19, 2020 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
Here's the thing with there being enough work for library workers right now.
There's more than enough.
When we first closed our building, we thought was temporary. It's not, and we won't safely be back to full service anytime soon. (And people won't use us the same way) 1/
That doesn't make the library less important.
Our users still need us for everything they needed us for before--books for school and work and play. Learning opportunities. Being connected with other services.
FFCRA (which paid 2/3 of wages if you couldn't work due to COVID-related loss of childcare) was a nice step, but 2/3 is a significant pay cut for a lot of families and it only last 12 weeks. We're now 16 weeks into this thing with no end in sight.
Jun 23, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
This article lays out a few conditions that are great ideas, but would require a lot more support and funding than schools had before this hit, and ignores how working parents can handle it.
1. Kids have to wear masks and socially distance. She has some good-in-theory ideas of how to get them to do this, but is basing it off her kid, who is 17. Did you know most K-12 students are much younger than that?
Jun 17, 2020 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Has this woman never been to McDonald's before? Getting asked to pull up and wait because your food's not ready is such a common thing they have dedicated spaces for it! Especially right now when they have less staff and a smaller menu!
If this woman thinks a totally normal fast food experience is because she's a cop and makes her that fearful and anxious, how often does she fear for her life when her gun is aimed at an innocent person? And what will her reaction be then?
Jun 14, 2020 • 12 tweets • 2 min read
Everything about this statement is false:
"These aren't typically super crowded areas and often have larger spaces and higher ceilings, which helps lower the risk.
These places are also in a position to enforce masks and distancing better than many other spaces..."
Not typically super crowded? We regularly turn people away from programs due to meeting fire code restrictions.
Larger spaces? What?! We're always trying to figure out how to fit more into our limited space!
May 12, 2020 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Just a reminder--yes, the virus probably came from bats, but it didn't jump species because someone ate an infected bat.
That's a fun play on racism-through-food, but it's faulty.
Bat diseases usually spread through other means.
Like, a bat virus jumped to camels, and then people drank the milk of an infected camel. (This is what happened with MERS)
Or sap was collected from a tree that a bat licked or peed on (Nipah virus spreads this way)
May 4, 2020 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
3 versions of the same book is not at all a librarian nightmare.
Oh, you read the version that went to Barnes & Noble. I read the one that went to indies.
Apr 16, 2020 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
Sometimes I look at how much it costs to subscribe to AcornTV and how much libraries have to pay to offer it to patrons and my head explodes.
It's really bad.
This article explains their pricing model (it's from 2018, but I haven't heard of any changes--let me know if I'm working on outdated info)
The library pays $2.99/week for EVERY patron that accesses Acorn content.
Eff this email that's full of training and resources about productivity, time management, building resilience, developing resourcefulness, and managing stress for positive change
We're not struggling because we can't manage our time.
Especially when such webinar told working parents they can shift their time so, work a full 8 hours after bedtime?
Maybe employers need to count the number of hours in a day and remember that people need to sleep.
Apr 2, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
LRT: Because I work behind the scenes, for the past few years, I've been teleworking 1 day a week. It's great to do deep focus on a project or catch up on journals.
Working from home the last few weeks are VERY different.
For instance, usually when I work from home, I'm the only person in my house! Now all 5 of us are here! Some are working, some are learning, some are being babies (literally) and we're all just trying to do our stuff and control the chaos and get along.
Mar 29, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
If this were above board, authors wouldn’t be able to opt out. Wait lists exist because libraries pay for to provide access.
One of the reasons I rail against ebook pricing for libraries is because I want to provide more copies of books I want to be able to take a chance on new authors, which isn’t fiscally responsible at most current price points.
Mar 26, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
The last thing working parents need right now is MOAR CONTENT!
I'm only working half-time and wrangling multiple children. My reading/podcast/TV time hasn't increased. It's gone down. I can't even consume at the levels I was before this hit.
And so much of the content aimed at parents suddenly home with their kids ignores some basics:
1. There might be more than one kid, and they're probably a different age. 2. We're all trying to work from home at the same time.
Feb 28, 2020 • 464 tweets • >60 min read
Hey! It's the end of another week, so another look at book pricing!
Did you know libraries pay different prices than general consumers?
Let's do a deep dive into looking at what everyone gets charged for bestselling titles!
First up, which titles are new to the New York Times Bestseller List in Hardcover Nonfiction (titles that have been on the list before are covered up-thread)
