Life as a Librarian Trivia Quiz

Answer: London Scheme

The Dewey decimal system is a widely used scheme, first published by Melvil Dewey in 1876. It is regularly revised and the 23rd version was published in 2011. It divides all subjects into ten overall headings and then subdivides. The Library of Congress was developed by the US Library of Congress. Universal Decimal Classification is based on Dewey but has more flexibility and uses more symbols to indicate such things as format of the item.

Not all libraries use one of the standard schemes - some develop their own in house systems, whilst there are also specialist schemes that focus on one particular area. An example of this is Moys classification which is specifically for legal materials.

Answer: Simple

Targets don't have to be simple, but they do have to be attainable by the member of staff or there is no point in setting the target. They have to be relevant to the person's job and they have to have a time scale or there is no way to say whether the target has been attained or not. The M stands for Measurable - it has to be possible to say whether the target has been hit or not.

Answer: False

The are two common reasons for books to be used for reference only in the library. One is that they would be hard to replace if lost. This might be because they are out of print or very expensive. The second reason is that the library wants the item to be always available to use, such as dictionary or other reference books. University libraries will often make sure that all items on course reading lists have a least one copy for reference use only in the library so that all students can refer to it and not risk all copies being out. Of course some libraries do not allow any borrowing, all their items are for reference use only.

Answer: A farm

Although the roles of the staff working in each of these different kinds of libraries would be very different, law firms, universities and prisons all traditionally have libraries and librarians. A farm wouldn't normally have a library, but it's not impossible.

Answer: Databases the institution has subscribed to

Although there is nothing wrong with any of the sites listed, the role of the librarian in an academic library is to help students access resources for their work which has been selected and purchased specifically to support their course.

Answer: I can find that out for you

Librarians would never just say they didn't know the answer to a question, they would always try and find the answer. This might involve some research on the spot, or asking colleagues and getting back to the customer.

Answer: Virtual Learning Environment

A Virtual Learning Environment is an online space where academic and other staff can post course related material for students. It is protected by password access so what is posted there is not freely available to the wider web.

Answer: Online Public Access Catalogue

The OPAC or Online Public Access Catalogue is the "user interface" where library users can search the catalogue to find what items the library has in stock. This can often be done online from wherever there is internet connection, or in the library at dedicated terminals.

Answer: Librarians don't like ice cream

Changes to opening hours are often promoted using social media as well as online services and new resources. Generally an institutional account wouldn't give opinions about any subject, particularly not controversial ones.

Answer: Whatever they want within the limits of their institutions' dress codes

This was a slightly tongue in cheek question to end with, but I wanted to make the point that the idea that all librarians dress in cardigans and wear their hair in a bun is simply not true!