Is it alright, that I told the principal the librarian doesn't alphabetize the books or keep them in order?

Question

The librarian does not alphabetize the books, don't set them in the right section. I told the principal today, and she told me not to worry about it, she will take care of it. But, she doesn't ever go into the library and look at the books or the order they are in, she doesn't know how to alphebatize the book or go in numeraical order.

Answer 1

Then she is not a Librarian. She may be a Volunteer so that's why the Principle says don't worry about it. Or maybe the Principles cousin.....

Answer 2

Yeah, I'm sure BOTH your school librarian and principal don't know how to alphabetize or put things in numerical order. They have college degrees but are totally incompetent when it comes to the ABC's and 123's.

It's MUCH more likely that:

1. You think they're out of order and are wrong, because you don't understand how the library is set up. For example, 649 SCI *should* be shelved before 650 DEC, which comes before 651 ADA. Did you know that?

or

2. Idiot students go in and pull books off the shelves and just lay them down wherever they want after they use them. This happens ALL THE TIME. I work in public and school libraries and books are constantly being misplaced by the patrons. The workers know where to put them, but most patrons do not even try to put them back in the right place.

or

3. The librarian is using student volunteers who are not shelving them correctly, probably out of indifference or malice rather than ignorance. If this is the case, she would almost certainly appreciate knowing of specific areas in the library you've observed the misshelving, because she probably knows who was putting books back in that area and can then either stop using that person to shelve, or retrain them if there's hope.

I can just about guarantee that your school librarian is doing everything she can with her limited funding and paid help to keep the library functional. If you're so bothered by it, why don't you offer to help out? Or ask for help finding something -- because despite what you think you know, you may just not know where to look!

Answer 3

Of course it is alright. It is your education and you should be taught by people qualified, and the services that contribute to your education--such as libraries--ought to be run by qualified persons as well.

As a student, it is not your job to insure that the library is well organized and orderly, that is the librarian's job. When you come in to use the library, you should be able to expect to have the books shelved according to their appropriate sections. You should not have to waste time finding books that should already be in a certain place.

The government spends a whole lot of tax-payer's money so that schols have good services--like libraries--and if they cannot even hire a person who knows how to shelve according to the Dewey Decimal shelving guideliones, then it is a sad day for the students of that school if they have to assume the responsibility of properly coordinating the library.

Librarians must have degrees and should, therefore, at the very least, be competant enough to provide an orderly structured library.

If the problem still persists after a reasonable amount of time, then tell the principal again...and again...and again. If you think the principal is part of the problem, then tell your teachers, the vice-principal, even your parents. Like I said, it is your education and it is their job to provide quality services for you.

If you want to volunteer, that's fine. but just remember it is ultimately not your responsibility, as a student, to train the librarian.

Answer 4

Nothing perturbs me more than going into any library and finding books out of their corresponding place, including my own, in my book case they are arranged in three categories: Classics alphabetized by author, Reference this include dictionaries, ( including those in different languages), thesaurus and encyclopedias, antiques books and so on. And not so classics: King, Christie, these books are arranged by date of publication, as their authors wrote them. I feel that anyone can do this in their own home, it is inexcusable in a school or public library, it is time consuming and disorganized, it costs the student valuable time, that could be spent working on thesis or papers. Needless to say that by not up keeping the order of the library, the librarian makes his or her job harder when they finally decide to tackle the job. YOU did GREAT in reporting it to the principal, people who use your library do not have to suffer, if the librarian is incompetent is time for a new librarian, they also DO get paid for their job.
Do not be afraid to stand up for what you believe!!!

Answer 5

Usually there are people who reshelve the books in proper numerical order. The librarian probably needs help, because there are many tasks to accomplish when you're a librarian. Your school's budget may not cover hiring reshelvers to do this job, and that's sad. I would let this go, although I understand you find this annoying.

Answer 6

are you kidding. if she isnt taking care of the books then she isnt working, and if she isnt working then thats like taking charity. if the books arent in the right order then how is anyone going to find what theyre looking for while doing research? keep bringing up the issue if the principle doesnt do anything about it. neglecting your job is a sign of utter irresponsibility and what ever else. that woman probably became a librarian because she thought she could get away with not doing her job. there are people better than her that would work for their salary, but dont have a job; all because the wrong people take them.

Answer 7

I think it's time for the Librarian to consider a career change. There's nothing wrong with you bringing it to the principal's attention, she wasn't doing her job! It must be pretty frustrating trying to find ANYTHING in that library. If you think about it, she's making it much more difficult than it needs to be for any of the students who go there. You should be happy, because obviously no one else wanted to say anything! Happy Holidays!

Answer 8

The standard way to organize books is by the dewey decimimal system, which may look as if the books are not alphabetized. It goes alphabetically but first by the number. Are you sure it was not done that way?

Answer 9

Well I don't understand what you are asking in the first question but the answer to the second question is yes. Honesty is always the best policy.

Answer 10

Hmmm.... It is ok.

I think it's alright, since you are just thinking about the students and the people that use the library, since its pointless to even have a lirbrary if you can't find a book! lol, I think you did the right thing.