Heather's books

Sarah's Key
Room
Rainwater
The Help
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The Lightning Thief
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Notebook
Eat, Pray, Love
The Time Traveler's Wife
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone


Heather's favorite books »

Friday, January 13, 2012

First week of work....

I have been working my part-time job at the local library to gain experience and hands-on knowledge in hope of gaining a full-time library position to begin the next path in new found career.  Although I am only doing work that is normally done by high school students, I am enjoying it and am very excited about gaining experience and being able to participate with true library experiences for course discussions when classes start back up later this month.

I work two nights a week for three hours and the 2nd Saturday of every month. Tomorrow is my first Saturday. I haven’t worked a full Saturday for the last 17 years when I was in retail, so it shall be interesting but I am still excited about the direction my life is leading.  My primary responsibility is shelving the books that have been checked in, which can take up the entire 3 hours. However because I am out on the floor during that time, I do have a lot of interaction with the patrons.

Just last Monday, I was shelving the Children’s section and this little boy about 5, continue asked me where the books that are easy to read. In fact, he just would pick up a book and say “Is this one easy to read?” It was so cute J I eventually showed him to the Step-into-Reading books were and after reading (or just looking at – not sure which) approximately 20 books he asked by how to put the books back, Together we re-shelved his books.

He must have taken a likely to me because later in the evening when I was still shelving; he continually poked his hand around the corner each time with a different puppet. I would react and he would giggle. It was fun and great to laugh and enjoy work again.

The next time I worked, I had to cover dinner breaks, so was able to work behind the desk. I checked out my first patron, was able to answer a few general library questions and was able to interact and become acquainted with some of the other library staff. I haven’t had much time to talk with the other staff since I generally am out on the library floor.

There has been a lot of “library talk” in my graduate courses about the pros and cons of a Roving Librarian – librarians who roam the library to be more visible to the patrons to ask for help and to help those patrons that just look lost. I personally have never cared for the thought. I do not like pushing salesmen in stores and feel the librarians may give the same feeling. I like my libraries, like salesman, easy to find but not pestering. The patrons (should) know that if they need assistance the librarians are at the desk, which I do believe should be easy to find and very noticeable. I would prefer this, as a patron, than the idea of feeling like I’m being followed around as I browse – just in case I need help.

I bring this up because after a week shelving books, I realize I could be looked at as a Roving Librarian.  The difference is that “roving” isn’t my primary duty and I’m not seeking to assist, but rather there if assistance if needed and asked of me.  I like this idea MUCH better J

Besides the young boy that asked for my assistance, I also assisted an adult in using the on-line catalog. When it was discovered that the book wasn’t in our collection, I looked at an area library since they didn’t have it either I explained how interlibrary loans (ILL) work. He seemed to be satisfied with my assistance.
Even though it’s only been a week, this career change has been a plus, very rewarding and I continue to look forward to experiencing more, continuing school, and hopefully one day soon acquiring a full-time position.