Today At The Desk....

 

It was great to be back in the children's department today :)  As much as I like doing storytimes and having more responsibility and independence with my new position in Outreach, I still feel homesick for the children's department.  There's just something about staying busy and being able to really interact and make a connection with the patrons like you can working a service desk in the library.  I love the variety, of people and issues; I'm so glad that I still get to do this at least one day a week!

Today it started out quiet, which I used as an opportunity to brush up on different features of the ILS and the summer reading database, straighten up the shelves and refill displays, and sort shelving carts for the night page.  Things gradually got very busy by the latter part of the day.  I had several summer reading finishers, and I always enjoy being able to give them their prize book and seeing what they choose.  Of course there were the usual tasks:  showing people how the catalog works, helping them locate materials, shelf checks, placing holds, checking books in, showing people how to use the self-checkout station, issuing library cards, and providing program information.  In particular there was one family who were from another country and English was not their first language.  The mom asked several questions throughout the time they were there, and kept apologizing.  I assured her there was no reason to apologize and that that's what we were there for, and that I was happy to help her in any way I could.

Later in the day I did have a little drama.  While I had a couple of people at the desk and the phone ringing, a younger teenage boy approached and said he needed help.  I told him I would be right with him as soon as I finished helping the people that were there first, which I was able to do quickly.  He said that some other kids were trying to start a fight with him.  I called security right away [I am so glad we have them!]  I thought he was probably being overly dramatic, but after the first security guard came and talked to him and checked out the situation, 2 others showed up to monitor the situation and be sure there was no trouble, and they felt he was indeed in danger. The boy called his mom to come get him (he had ridden his bike) and the guards waited until she got there so they could escort him out to the car safely.  It's a shame this kind of thing happens, but I am very glad this boy handled it appropriately and came to me for help, rather than escalating the situation.

We have so many kids that just hang out at the library because they have nowhere else to go and nothing constructive to do.  They don't read, they just play on the computers and run around the building and eventually get into trouble.  Most of them aren't bad kids; they are just bored, undisciplined kids with nothing constructive to do.  I wish we had some type of on-going program in the summer to give kids like this some badly needed structure and purpose.