A Librarian's World

Booksale Week

2011-09-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

This has been an incredible busy week with the library's bi-annual booksale going on. I have been filling in at the circulation desk for those savy librarians that took time off during this time. I never mind when the library is super busy. I love running to do the next thing much better than trying to figure out what to do next. I especially enjoy all of the new cards we issue during this time. I do not think I will ever grow tired of explaining all the wonderful ways a library can impact someone's life. Another benefit of the booksale is searching for books to add to our collection or replace worn copies. This year I was able to grab a few good books to add to the collection (and I sure other librarian's did as well). I also went through and search for library books that a patron might have accidentally returned to the friends instead of us. Sure enough I think by the end of the booksale about 5 books were rechecked in! Those patrons did know that they returned them, but just did not realize they returned them to the wrong spot. Now that the sale is ending the library will further benefit from the wonderful donations the friends will make to support our library museum passes and programs for all ages!

Overdrive Books for the Kindle!

2011-09-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

Today is a wonderful day! Today on overdrive anyone with a library card can check out and borrow free kindle books!! I was at work when I heard the announcement, but had to wait until I went to my second job at the library to try it. When I got to the library I was not the only one who was thrilled to see this in action. Because the news of this being available was a surprise (we heard it was coming before Christmas) we had no information to let the patrons know. A photo was taken of me with the kindle and posted at the desk along with the announcement. Throughout the night I heard "Hey, isn't that you?"

Getting Ready for a Booksale

2011-09-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

The Friends of my local library are getting ready to have their bi-annual booksale. This is my second year being on the Friends board and my mother's first. At the last meeting (which I missed) my mother volunteered to collect flats. She collected over 300 boxes and I helped her bring them to the library and stack them so that the volunteers can use them to sort the books to be sold. The process of driving these boxes and stacking them did not take more than an hour and it was fun spending time with my mother.

Setting the Alarm off at the Library

2011-09-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

Since the library is closed today I decided to break up my hours of computer work over the three days. When going into the library I struggled a bit with the door (my key is not always cooperative) and once I got in turned off the alarm with no sign of trouble. Almost 20 minutes later I saw a police cruiser with lights on come straight for the library. My thoughts immediately went to how poorly I would cope in a prison environment, and how I was going to prove that I was supposed to be at the library. I hurried over to the door and stepped out. I recognized the officer from town (it's a small town) and as a library patron. She called into the station that all was well and we chatted for a minute. After she left I noticed that I had my hair in a bun and was wearing my "Don't make shush you" t-shirt so I was probably okay even if I didn't know her.

A Morning at Hospice

2011-09-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today I have taken the day off from work. This morning I was about to curl up in my breezeway with a (hopefully) good book, but then decided to head to Hospice. I had had a migraine earlier in the week so had not been able to visit. I grabbed all my supplies and headed over, grabbing a coffee and muffin from a local restaurant as a nice treat along the way. On an early Friday morning Hospice was still just as busy as any other time I had been there. I met two wonderful reiki volunteers who were organizing paperwork in the library. Family members were also coming in and out of the library while I stamped, stickered, organized and cleaned. After completing all that I had set out to do I took a walk in the small but beautiful garden that sits in the middle of the building.

Metamorphosis at the Library

2011-09-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had the great pleasure of working in the Children's room again (this was my second time in about 7 years). It was a wonderful evening with many kids and parents in and out. Yesterday was the first day of school for many kids,but tonight was all about Star Wars, Princesses and Fairies. The children (and adults) were also ecstatic to see that the monarch butterflies were back in the library. Every year a terrarium is set up with milkweed plants and caterpillars (all found outside). The children get to watch as the caterpillars enter the pupa stage and then become butterflies (and are released back outside). It is wonderful to see their excitement and curiosity as they gaze into the terrarium.

A Change of Plans

2011-09-01T04:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was supposed to go to Hospice after work to drop off the books that I had cataloged. Unfortunately, I ended up with a migraine and spent the day home.

Tuesday Prep for Wednesday

2011-08-30T19:01:00.000-07:00

My plan is to go into Hospice tomorrow and drop off more books that I , so tonight I cataloged the books I picked up last week. Again I did the research from home and then typed out the spine labels using a typewriter at another library. Hospice did get spine labels that I could put into the printer, but I can not seem to get the settings right (I use Open Office). It is easier to type them out in the comfort of the tech services department. The library also has a typewriter for public use, but it sits out in the middle of the reference floor and I hate making so much noise. I guess it is just my quiet librarian self. Looking forward to adding these great books to the collection.

The Wonderful World of Reference

2011-08-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had the pleasure of working at the Reference Department. The Reference Department feels like home to me. Tonight I helped patrons with many small requests. The most detailed question of the night involved helping someone do research for a school project using multiple online databases. I then introduced him to the Boston Public Library site and e-cards. He was thrilled to have access to so many resources, especially the downloadable music, movies and audiobooks.
Overall the night was quiet and I was able to help weed some of the sports books. Weeding is a great opportunity to freshen the collection.

Working the Circulation Desk the Day Before a Hurricane.

2011-08-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

Today I had the pleasure of working a circulation desk the day before hurricane Irene. It was a busy day filled with people who were stocking up on library materials before the storm. I really liked the fact that for these people one of their stops included the library. The thing that surprised me the most however was that the majority of the people who were checking out materials to prep for the hurricane where checking out DVDs. I kept wanting to suggest to those who were only checking out DVDs that they might want to through a book or a couple of magazines in their piles as well. I really do hope for their sakes that the storm does not equate to much.

Back to Hospice

2011-08-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

Today I went back to Hospice to drop off the books I cataloged on Tuesday. It was pretty busy tonight with staff, volunteers, and families bustling in and out. The library was quiet (as many libraries are), and my work was quick. I don't think that I mentioned this but when I did the cataloging on Tuesday I decided to change the way that I was adding the call numbers. It is interesting that the collecting which when I started was about 100 books had handwritten LC call numbers. They varied between having the entire call number to only the letters and first three numbers. Because the collection is so small I decided to catalog the non-fiction books with the LC classification letters and entire first set of numbers. I will omit the cutter numbers and add the first three letters of the authors last name. For fiction I will just use the author's last name. I made theses decision mainly because every time I have gone in the books have been all over the place. This tells me that the collection is being used which is great, but it also tells me that the users and volunteers are not sure where they should go. The collection is now at about 350 books, but still if I needed to make further changes it would not be that much work. You may have already asked why catalog a collection so small with LC??? That is a question I asked when I started volunteering (especially since I have a background in DDC) and the answer is that it was decided upon when the library was first formed by the board of directors.

Children's

2011-08-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

My first library job was at a Children's room. I loved the eager readers, fun programs, and wonderful parents. The questions from parents and children gave my first confirmation that my decision to enroll at library school was the right decision. It had been years since I have worked in a Children's Room and even though it was only for a three hours I was still a bit nervous. I was not 100% sure where everything was. I got questions such as recommended picture books about going to kindergarten and if we still had the summer reading books (school starts on Monday). I got to observe a puppet show put on by an adorable 3 year old boy which was enthusiastically enjoyed by a 2 year old boy. The best part of the night was a 7 year old girl who originally asked if we had any American Girl books. I showed her the fast array of books we had available and she told me that she had in fact brought one of her dolls which I had to meet. She had Kirsten in an adorable blue dress and told me all about her experiences with the dolls and the series. I told her that when I was younger I also had Kirsten (still do) and had read the series as well. For the rest of the evening she followed me though the library and even helped me in covering paperbacks (she was helping to smooth out the bubbles).

Cataloging for One Library at Another

2011-08-24T17:46:00.000-07:00

Today I took the books that were donated to Hospice to my local library (that I work part-time at) to catalog. I brought with me all my supplies, including spine labels and covers. I got to chat with the head of Technical Services at the library while we worked which made the experience all that much better. It was wonderful at the end of a long day at work (not a a library) and I was originally thinking of going home to drown myself in a bag of Pirate Bootey. Instead I went to the library and had a wonderful evening.

Visiting Hospice

2011-08-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Today after work I volunteered at the Hospice Library.
1. Cleaned and shelf-read.
2. Added books that I cataloged last week.
3. Made a display using the 2 pathfinders I made.
4. Checked in (and reshelved) the books that were returned.
5. Went though the donations for books to add to the collection.

There was also an abundance of books returned that I had to bring home for cataloging. These were checked out before August of 2010. I am so thankful to have them back. The collection is very small so every book counts. I also have been trying to figure out the best way of circulating these items. Currently people fill out a spreadsheet, but this does nothing for confidentiality. I was thinking of adding book cards and then having them in a file like my old church library does. If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them.

Color Printers 1

2011-08-21T13:29:00.001-07:00

Today (as is routine on Sunday) I spent most of my day working on the library computers. Today's challenge was to install a new wonderful color printer that was donated to the library by our Friends Group (which I am a board member of). There were a few challenges but I managed to get all but two done. Next week I will look into adding the rest and doing my regular updates. I always enjoy having the entire library to myself! Though I have to admit that every noise that our ten year old library makes gets my adrenaline pumping.

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Hmmm

2011-08-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

Today I was met with very little success. It seems that what I am looking for may not exist and I may have to reevaluate my pet loss pathfinder. I want to give it one more good push then make a decision at that point.

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Pathfinder in progress...

2011-08-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

Today I started working on the pathfinder for children on the loss of a pet. I have to admit that I thought this would be the easier of the three with many books on my mind to include. The list of books to add about the loss of a dog or cat were easy to add, but finding books that I would want to recommend about the general loss of a pet or on other specific pets has proven to be difficult. I am going to have to see if one of my go to children's librarians is working tomorrow.

A Pathfinder about the Loss of a Friend or Family Member

2011-08-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

Tonight I built on what I worked on yesterday and put together a pathfinder that is a list of picture books for children on the death and grief surrounding the loss of a friend or family member. Tomorrow I hope to work on a pathfinder on the loss of a pet. Again any feedback would be welcome!

A Secular/Religious Pathfinder for Hospice

2011-08-17T16:37:00.000-07:00

Tonight I worked on a new pathfinder for Hospice. It contains book lists about grief for secular, Jewish, Christian, and Eastern religions. I am excited about sharing this information with those who need it. I will print out some copies and bring them to Hospice this weekend. Feedback always welcome!

Welcome

2011-08-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

Libraries have shaped who I am and what I do. I want this blog to be about my personal and professional life as a librarian. I hope to share a wide array of the experiences I have with libraries and the services they offer.