I volunteer at our small branch library, and love it. We work with the partons, checking books in and out as well as helping them find books, we do shelving, searches and pull books to be sent to other branches to fill requests.

I think paying jobs in libraries are few and far between unless you have an MLS degree-and even then, we often get cold calls from newly graduated MLS looking for work. Some big libraries my pay shelvers-but that would drive me stark raving bonkers. I like the contact with the patrons. (Most of the time.)

I work for a big system library, in a small branch on an extremely part-time basis, doing basically what CC describes. It is a very pleasant working environment, partly because I'm in my own pleasant community. The pay is peanuts--with what I do, it's either stay-at-home mothers who've dreamed of working in a library or young students. Most of our volunteers are retirees. I live in one of the few states which do allow entry-level librarians to have only a BA/BS rather than an MLS but the jobs are as rare as hen's teeth and often involve less desirable hours.

I've grown up working in libraries. I got my first job at sixteen shelving books and have kind of worked my way up through the ranks, aide, assistant, and now, librarian. I guess it depends on your local library, but my library hires part-timers all the time. Personally, I loved paging (shelving), I always found interesting things to read and it was fun (for me) to think my own thoughts and file away. Working as an aide was fun, too, as I actually got to help people. I guess it all depends on the atmosphere of your local library.

As an aside, there was a woman who started as a part-time page the same time I did. She was in her sixties and her husband had left her. Her daughters encouraged her to get a job and a dog. She did both and often said how good it made her feel. She still keeps in touch with all of us, though she retired a few years ago. I think you form really lasting friendships in a library. They're great places to work. But that's just been my experience.

I work in a book shop and mostly I love it.
We do have our share of rude and grumpy customers, and I don't like those who make a spectacle of themselves by raising their voices and being aggressive, but they don't come in too often. We also have lots of regular customers who are just lovely.
We have plenty of laughs about the customers who come in and say things like 'I'm looking for a book (well, der, it is a book shop!!) and the title has the word 'love' in it and the cover is blue'. This happens much more often than I would have thought possible before I worked there.

or..."I'm looking for that book they were talking about on TV last week. Or maybe it was the radio..."
I've gotten very good at keyword searches!

I spent most of my life working in various libraries: public, University, and Historical. I loved having access to wonderful books and having first crack at reading book reviews. I enjoyed the research in the specialized marine library, as we had scholars come from all over the world.

A few years ago, I took a part time in an independent bookstore, which subsequently closed. Somehow, I found that less enjoyable, mainly because so many of the customers were in a hurry and impatient.

Years ago I worked as the night supervisor of the undergraduate library at a large university. One of my jobs was to "cover" the books before they were shelved. This generally involved gluing a card catalogue number on the spine. I kept a running list of all the books I wanted to check out and read. It was a great way to get to see all the titles coming into the library.

If I had lived closer to a university that offered the MLS major, I would probably be a librarian today. I still love librarys, but I try not to visit them (or bookstores) too often because I can't afford to lose myself for hours, which I tend to do in these places.

Thanks to all for your words of wisdom & experiences. I have a huge library very close to my house & 2 branch libraries also very close. I've talked to people at the main library about applying for P/T work as a retiree & they seem to think there are always openings for pages (to shelve books), which is fine with me. I'm not looking for a high paying job, just one that'll keep me busy. Hours don't matter that much either really.

Good luck, I hope you get it! It is wonderful, if you are a reader, to work amidst all those books and work with others who share your love of reading.

Does you library have a Friends of the Library shop for resale of donated books for the benefit of the library? I have volunteered at mine for some years now, and have loved every minute of it. I work a solo shift, only selling, as my back problems would not allow shelving. I can play the music I like (softly) on the radio provided, read the book I'm currently reading when I'm not busy, browse the shelves, and have never left without 6 or 8 books to add to my TBR pile. I think the one perk I love is to be able to chat with the patrons at long as they or I want, with no one looking over your shoulder. I've met some wonderful people, and heard wonderful stories..

Fortunately our bookstore organization is very well run, and it is a true pleasure to volunteer there. If you don't need the pennies you would probably earn at a "real job", do look into volunteering.

These days I mostly work in my garden or in my sewing room, but I have in times past worked both in book stores and in libraries. If you decide to work in a book store, be prepared to see a good portion of your paycheck end up back in the store as temptation takes its toll. Even if you are offered an employee discount, it can be an expensive place to work, though also an enjoyable one.

Rosefolly

Until my DH and I moved to our current home, I worked as a part time clerk at a public library in the Finger Lakes region of NYS. As I like to tell people, I got paid to have fun! I had nearly 10 years there before my DH's promotion/transfer made it necessary for us to move away. I can't recommend it highly enough! I could talk to the patrons about what they took out, recommend books I had read and help them find whatever it was they were searching for. To this day (5 years later) I still miss that job and the people I worked with.

I should be so lucky! I also want to work in a book store when I retire from nursing (NOW THERES the profession to see rude, grumpy people! And those are the visitors! Been told I'm a dumb bit#$ because I couldn't direct them to their niece's room because THEY didn't know her name - go figure). Working in a book store could be more dangerous though - I'd most likely owe them money come payday!