A Day At The Desk...

The other day I when I covered the children's desk, I was expecting a typical quiet Thursday, completely forgetting the schools were on Fall Break!  I hate it when that happens; I like to be mentally prepared for whatever kind of day it's going to be. Of course, unexpected things can happen anytime, but when school's out I know to expect it to be busier and to likely have to deal with unruly teenagers or unattended children.

So instead of the fairly quiet day I had expected, I ended up having to call security before the first hour was even up! First I had a group of teenage boys come running through, and reminded them to walk, which they did. For about three steps. Then they started jogging again. Later they came back with a couple of friends and it was apparent they had been having a race, two of them taking the stairs, and two of them taking the elevator. I declared the two on the elevators the winners since the other two cheated by breaking the rules and running. Then I showed one of them where books on the Holocaust were for his school assignment.

The next group of teens, a group of girls, crossed the line and got to have a little chat with the security guard. I swear, girls act up less often than boys, but they are worse when they do! First they were just kind of joking around and giggling, then the next thing I knew, they were horsing around and one girl pulled the other's shoe off and threw it across the library into the group of boys! I called security at that point, for two reasons: (1) I expected them to to take off running up and down the stairs from floor to floor, and I couldn't leave my area to chase after them, and (2) I knew a chat with security would have more impact. 

Meanwhile, they continued horsing around, and then suddenly took off at a full run through the stacks. The next thing I knew, there was a loud crash. I decided enough was enough and told them that was it, they were to sit at the table by the desk and wait for security. One was complaining about being hurt when she ran into her friend (just a ploy for sympathy), and being a mom, I of course told her that wouldn't have happened if they had been behaving in a civilized manner. The security guard came and had a chat with them, and I didn't have any more issues with them. Our security guards are really great with kids and manage to handle these situations without being harsh.

Fortunately, the rest of shift passed without issues. I had people coming in and out, helped one young lady find some books about the history of Mexico, and I couldn't help but be a little impressed when she said it was just for her own interest, not a school assignment. A college student came in wanting to interview a library staff member and asked if I would be willing to be interviewed, but I had to decline and explain that she would have to make an appointment through the Book-A-Librarian service after first clearing it with our manager. I put in a couple of requests for another family, straightened up, pulled holds and transfers, and helped several patrons with checkouts and finding materials. All in all, it was not a bad day.

A Slow Day At The Desk...

Yesterday was a really slow day at the desk since summer reading is over and school has started, but there isn't a lot of homework, projects, and assigned reading yet. While it's nice to have some slow periods every once in a while when you have programs to plan and prep for, I hate having a whole shift that is slow. While I don't like to be so busy that I'm overwhelmed and people have to wait very long, I do prefer a nice, steady pace, and find it to be energizing to stay busy and engaging with people. Those slow days just wear me out and make me so tired!

I thought I would have a lot of straightening up to do since we'd had a fairly large school group in that morning, but surprisingly there really wasn't that much of a mess, just books to reshelve. I did have a storytime to plan, so I was initially glad for some down time so I could review the books I had pulled and make a final decision on what to use, but after that I needed something to do! 

I had already straightened up and filled the displays, so I started shelving, since we had all the books the school group had pulled but not checked out, and we are once again down a page. I don't know why we are having such a hard time with that position; I would think there would be people who need the work or library students who want to get their foot in the door. But after the long-time page had to quit for medical reasons, we had one that stayed only 4 months, and this last one was only there about 2 months and quit with no notice. Each time the position has had to be posted more than once to even get enough applicants to interview. I don't get it; this is a great department to work in with great people!

After shelving one cart, I pulled the materials for holds and transfers, which didn't take terribly long. People started slowly trickling in, but nobody really seemed to need much help, just a few checkouts and computer passes. I can't stand just sitting there, so I started working on shelving again. I would normally do shelf-reading when it's that slow, but I try to avoid it if I am the only person in the department as I'm afraid a patron might need help but not see me back in the stacks, and I might not see or hear them come in. Shelving doesn't require quite as much extended, focused attention, and you move along quickly, so easier for patrons to spot you, and vice versa.

Next week, I'll have to remember to bring a flannel board set to cut pieces out for or something similar to do, just in case!  Now, where's my coffee.....

Another Day At The Desk...

Yesterday was my last official shift at the desk of summer reading, though things won't really quiet down until after school starts in two weeks. It was pretty dead when I first started my shift after lunch, but steadily got busier as the day progressed.

I had several people turn in reading logs, and even one take one to start with just three days left, but no procrastinators looking for books to fulfill their required summer reading for school (which was a bit of a surprise). I got slightly flustered when I accidentally closed the circulation software and couldn't get it to open again, but our wonderful IT tech came down right away and saved me within a few minutes, thankfully. 

My little chubby-cheeked friend I made a few weeks ago came in, and was having a much better day that the last time I saw him. The last time, he had checked out some teen superhero graphic novels, which his father didn't approve of and dragged him back in and made him return. I wouldn't want a kid of mine checking out the teen books that young, either, but I hated the way the father handled it, lecturing him and embarrassing him in front of me and making him check out stuff he had absolutely no interest in instead of letting me help him select something age-appropriate that would interest him.

But yesterday I was happy to see him cheerfully returning a whole stack of juvenile superhero chapter books and graphic novels that he had read; fortunately he had been able to find something superhero that his father would allow. He proceeded to check out a new stack, and has gotten pretty good at navigating the catalog and the shelves by himself, with just a little help. He is normally so cute and cheerful, we all like having him around.

I also noticed a couple looking all around, and then taking pictures. I had my suspicions about who they were, which were confirmed when I asked them if they needed any help. The woman somewhat sheepishly said they were from out-of-state and were in town on vacation, and as I suspected, she was a librarian! I laughed and told her I was just about to ask her if she was, because only librarians go sight-seeing at libraries when they're on vacation, and she certainly wasn't the first. We chatted a bit and I answered their questions about some of our programs and the building, and suggested that they might want to check out our local/regional history room on the reference floor. It's always nice to talk to librarians from other systems and find out how they do things in their library.

And so Summer Reading 2016 comes to a close, and everyone can take a month or so to catch their breath, and then start planning for next year!

Today At The Desk....

Today was a little less harried at the desk than it has been lately, and I was very glad of that because it allowed me to devote my time and attention to a sensitive reference question that came up.

A patron approached the desk, and asked if I could help her find books for young children about death and grieving. When I gently asked if she could give anymore information about the situation they were dealing with, I found out that their had unfortunately been a pregnancy in the family that ended in miscarriage, and the kids were having a hard time understanding what had happened and that there was no baby anymore, even though a significant amount of time had passed.

I cautioned her that we probably would not have anything on that specific situation, but that I would pull together what I could find and bring them to her to look over. Unfortunately, as I suspected, most of the children's books we had on death and grief dealt with the loss of a pet or a grandparent, and tended to focus on the idea that they had lived a good life and to take comfort in memories, which wouldn't be helpful in this situation. I did find a couple of general books on explaining death, which I gave to her. I also told her that if they googled "how to talk to kids about miscarriage" there were several web articles that might be helpful.

As I continue to search online to try to find a book title or a particularly helpful web article to recommend, I luckily came across one that mentioned two titles of books for children about miscarriage. I was thrilled to actually find that a book existed on such a specific topic. They were both out of print, but one looked like it could be purchased used for a reasonable price. I also said ILL would be an option as well, and I wrote down the titles for her and told her just to let us know if she wanted to try to get them through ILL.

As I continued to look on Amazon, I found three other books listed under "What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item" that looked even more promising as they were either more recent, or had customer review, and one is still available through Baker & Taylor, so we are going to order a copy for the collection.  Here are the titles I found, starting with the one available through B&T:

• Molly's Rosebush by Janich Cohn, 1994
• We Were Gonna Have a Baby, But We Had an Angel Instead by Pat Schwiebert, 2003
• Something Happened: A Book for Children and Parents Who Have Experienced Pregnancy Loss  by Cathy Blanford, 2012
• Goodbye Baby: Cameron's Story by Gillian Griffiths & Lindsay MacLeod, 1999

I felt very bad for this family having to deal with such a loss, and I can imagine how hard it would be for young children to understand. I was so glad I was able to find some titles that might be helpful, even if they weren't in our collection, and glad for the atypically slower day that allowed us to talk quietly and privately, and the time to devote to keep digging and digging, until I found something.

Just Another Day At The Desk....

When you work with the public, in a public place, you run into all kinds of people and find all kinds of strange things. Working in a public library is no different. Our patrons run the gamut from adorable preschoolers to the elderly, and everyone in between.

Sometimes these patrons leave behind some strange or gross things. I have found feces, urine, vials of growth hormone, and marijuana, just to name a few.  Co-workers have found dirty diapers or cups of bourbon stuck in the shelves. And of course there are the ubiquitous food wrappers, pieces of food, drinks, and used tissues.

The other day when I was working the children's desk, the condom fairy paid another visit. It had been awhile since the last visit, when a patron approached me to report that someone was dropping condoms down on him from the level above. Fearing the worst, I went over to investigate and was greatly relieved to find an unused, unopened condom on the floor. I reported it to the manager and security, but by that point the culprit was long gone and I doubt they felt it was worth reviewing security footage. I'm just very thankful it was an unused one!

This time, the condom fairy left a whole packet of condoms on the service desk, along with information about getting tested for HIV. I had no idea who left it, or when. I had been at or near the desk almost the whole time, and there weren't that many people around, so I would think I would have noticed. I'm not sure if a patron had accidentally left it behind, or if this was someone's idea of public health advocacy and they were sneaking around leaving them at random places. So I just let the branch manager know that someone might be distributing condoms inside the library and disposed of them.  

Definitely one of the stranger things to find in the children's department, but certainly not the most disgusting. Thankfully, the rest of the shift was relatively uneventful, just some shelving, helping patrons find books for summer reading, and pulling *10* pages worth of items for holds or transfers.

Today At The Desk....

By Cephas - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

Well, this week Summer Reading was in full swing, with several kids already completing their reading logs and we hosted a live animal program, which has always been the program that draws the biggest crowds. Since many people had been in earlier in the week to attend the program, today was a little on the quiet side for much of the day.

When I first took over at the desk, there was just one boy in the department who was already charming my co-worker. He was very cute and funny, but he was one of those little boys who knows that he's cute and funny, so you just have to mess with him a little. He was bragging about his cute fat cheeks that he got from his mom (his words) and I said "You know what fat cheeks are for, don't you?.......Pinching!" Then we started teasing him and telling him that's what the price was for computer time, 1 cheek pinch for every half hour of computer time.

After that I took advantage of the slow spell to try to get some shelving done, as we are still short a page. While I was shelving, "Junior" asked me to give him more time. I jokingly asked if he remembered what that was going to cost, and he said "What?", then resignedly said "oh, okay...". It was so funny, he reminded me of my son who will agree to do just about anything for computer time. So I pretended like I was going to pinch his cheeks, then gave him more time. His mother warned me that he might be a real charmer, but he was also a handful and not to be taken in by his charms, but he definitely was a bright spot in my day.

Towards the latter part of the shift it began getting pretty busy, with people getting library cards, turning in reading logs, needing help with checking out, or their accounts, and I had to scramble to get all the items pulled and processed for holds and transfers, but I got it all done in the nick of time. 

Today At The Desk...

Once again I found myself returning to my roots and shelving in the Children's Department after the most recent page quit after just 4 months. Some people seem to think shelving is beneath them if they are not a page, but I actually like doing it. No, seriously!

Even though my back is very glad I no longer spend 3-4 hours a day shelving and I'm thrilled to get to do storytime and interact more directly with patrons now, I find I miss some things about shelving. First of all, the scientific/mathematical side of my brain enjoys the sorting of things, the order and structure of it all. It is all black and white; everything has it's correct spot, and it's either right or wrong. I've always said shelving is really a mathematical skill, and if you want someone who will shelve accurately, look to hiring people with a math or science background, rather than a literature background. Sorting, classifying, putting things in alphabetical or Dewey decimal order....that's all math.  

Shelving also helps keep me attuned to the collection. I know what books we have and where they are. I can keep up with trends and what is popular, because if I shelve it, that means it was checked out, or at least looked at in the building. New books I may have missed when they first came in have another chance to catch my attention. Also while shelving (or shelf-reading), I come across undiscovered gems that end up making great storytime books. So many picture books come out every year that it is really hard for books that are not by well-known authors to get noticed, and sometimes very good books just simply get over-looked. I love finding these hidden treasures! Oftentimes I find inspiration for my storytime programs or books I want to read while shelving.

Another reason I like doing a bit of shelving from time to time is it keeps me busy and moving. It might seem paradoxical, but nothing is more tiring than a slow day. Days where I don't have a lot of patrons to help seem to drag on forever, leaving me so drained and tired. I always find things to work on: storytime prep and planning, straightening the shelves, filling displays, etc., but it just isn't the same as staying busy interacting with people. Busy days seem to fly by and usually make me feel energized, rather than drained. Having shelving to do keeps me moving and busy, and I still feel like I've been productive, even on a slow day.

So today I happily shelved two carts and some DVD's, helped connect several patrons with the materials they needed, pulled materials for holds and transfer, introduced a patron to our Mango language service, and tracked down the "lost" parent of an unattended child. All-in-all, it was a great afternoon. 

Today At The Desk....

Today it was unusually busy at the desk.  Lots of families in and out and lots of questions, plus 3 different middle school classes.  The school groups were each in and out in 15 minutes, but it was a flurry of activity while they were here!  Hustling to select a book, then rushing to check out, and of course several of them didn't have their cards so I had to look them up.  Invariable, at least half of those also had accounts that had expired so I then had to renew them before they could check out.  But, I still managed to get them all checked-out in the few minutes they had.  Fortunately, the school groups all came through and were gone before things got really busy with other patrons.

After the school kids left, families started coming in and I ended up having a few reference questions.  One young girl was interested in learning American Sign Language, so I helped find some beginner books on ASL, and told that we also had DVD's, and that you can find videos online that show you how.  Then her sister decided she wanted to learn some Spanish, so I helped her find some Spanish vocabulary and conversation books. 

Later a kindergarten teacher came in looking for books about photosynthesis, and surprisingly, we didn't have any.  I really thought we would have at least one, but no.  So I looked through all the general plant books and found a couple that had some information about photosynthesis that would work for what she needed.  Then I had a daycare worker who wanted to find some traditional folk tales and nursery rhymes, and I helped him locate them and select the versions that were most appropriate for preschool-aged children.

I also had some patrons who needed reader's advisory, one looking for something similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and another looking for a new series for a child who enjoyed Junie B. Jones.  I suggested Big Nate for the first, and Clementine or Judy Moody for the latter.  One of the students also needed some help selecting a fantasy for her required school reading, and I showed her a few different ones, and she ended up choosing one of Tamora Pierce's books.

Along with all of this, I had several patrons with simple directional or informational questions, a card renewal, several checkouts, pulled all the materials for holds or transfer, straightened up the shelves after the school groups blew through, and still managed to find time in between to cut out some things for storytime! 

I much prefer busy days like this!  For one, the time passes faster, but I really do enjoy interacting with patrons and helping people find the information and books they need.  I find it not only gratifying to be able to help so many people, but energizing as well. 

Another Day At The Desk....

This week was spring break, which usually means we're busier.  Because the weather was rainy, we didn't have quite as many people as I would normally expect, but it was steadily busy most of the shift.

Almost right away there was a near disaster that I just barely caught in time to avert.  I was straightening up in an area near the the single-stall family restroom and I kept hearing the water running for a long time.  Finally, I went over and knocked on the door, then found it was unlocked.  I opened it to find the water in the sink running full blast, and the sink full to the very top, about to overflow!   Thank goodness I caught it in the nick of time before it overflowed and flooded the floor.  I don't know if it was done maliciously or not, but sometimes kids are just tall enough to push the handles back, turning the water on, but then can't reach far enough to pull them back to turn the water off.

I also got the chance to see one of our semi-regular families; they also use one of the branches closer to where they live.  When I first met them, they had two kids who were big Pete the Cat fans, so every time I saw them I would let them know about any new Pete the Cat books we had gotten in.  At the time they were expecting a third child, and that little baby bump is now an active 2-year old who has also become a Pete the Cat fan, so they were there to get some books for him, but couldn't find them since they had been re-cataloged in the last year after the creative team of Dean and Litwin unfortunately parted ways, and Dean retained all rights to the character of Pete that he created.  So the books are now shelved under Dean rather than Litwin, so I showed them where they were with a brief explanation.  

I love being able to get to know these young families and see the kids grow up; that is probably my favorite part of working at the library.  It's so neat to get to know them as babies and toddlers and watch them grow as they graduate from board books to picture books, then to see them start reading by themselves.  It's always a little sad when they graduate from Storytime to kindergarten, but then we get to see how they blossom when they start school.  We may not see them as often after that, but when we do they have plenty to tell us about school and new friends.  Then as they get older there are school projects and papers to help with, and the challenges of reader's advisory and finding things they haven't read yet and keeping up with their changing interests. I haven't worked at the library long enough to see the kids I've met grow up to bring their own children to storytime, but I hope to!

Today At The Desk...

Today was definitely a strange day at the desk, but I don't think it had anything to do with it being St. Patrick's Day.  First off, it was unusually slow and quiet, most likely due to the opening of a brand new branch this week pulling people away from the branches they normally use so they could check it out.  But, even though it was slow and quiet, I ended up leaving exhausted due to sensory overload!

As luck would have it, I had a patron hang around almost the entire shift, using the computer and talking on her phone the whole time.  She was agitated and angry, so though she wasn't yelling, she was speaking louder than necessary and in an angry tone of voice.  Even when it isn't directed at you, having to hear someone speaking that way takes a toll, both mentally and physically.  Also it always makes me a bit uncomfortable to hear every detail of someone's personal problems, even if they don't seem to mind everyone hearing it, and it was impossible not to hear every word with it being so quiet otherwise.  I did feel bad for the patron, as it became obvious she was dealing with one of those online for-profit schools that is known for taking advantage of people who are just trying to better themselves.

In addition to this, I had to figure how to extricate myself from a bizarre conversation with a patron that had some serious paranoid delusions.   Nothing about this person's appearance or initial demeanor gave any indication that anything was off about her.  It started out as a perfectly normal conversation about an impressive display of art by area school children, then about a grant the city is trying to get to help rejuvenate the downtown area and make it more family-friendly.  That is when it took a turn for the worse and she began tell me bizarre stories about people kidnapping her, multiple serial killers stalking her, etc.  Yet she remained completely calm and polite the whole time.  

I kept trying to think of a way to politely end the conversation or walk away, but without other patrons around to interrupt needing help, I was basically a captive audience.  Fortunately, my co-worker came out to get something off the printer, so I pretended like I needed to give her a message and was able to step away.  Interactions like this are always disturbing to me, not because they scare me, but because it is just so sad to see people affected by mental illness like that, and it's a little disconcerting when the conversation starts perfectly normal, then suddenly becomes startlingly bizarre. 

On a lighter note, I got the shelves all straightened up, filled all the display gaps, cut out stuff for storytime, took care of some phone calls and e-mails related to my outreach storytime program, pulled all the materials for holds or transfer, and withdrew a cartful of weeded books.  Plus, I came across this video after work:  The Bold Librarian.  

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Today At The Desk.....

 

 

 

Today, it was somewhat unpleasant working at the desk.  Not because of difficult patrons or anything like that, it was just miserably hot!  We've had an unseasonably warm spell this week, and our HVAC system just isn't able to respond very quickly, so it was still in winter mode.  Thankfully I had anticipated it and dressed for summer; some of my co-workers had to be on the verge of heatstroke in their long sleeves and sweaters!

 

It was not super busy, but the list of items that needed to be pulled and processed for holds and transfers was uncharacteristically HUGE!  It took at least an hour, maybe more, to get them all pulled and processed, and that was with my co-worker checking them in as I pulled!  At first I could not figure out why it was SO long; then I realized it most likely had to do with one of our branches being closed.  We are opening a brand new, larger branch to replace the oldest branch in the system, and the old building closed last week, but the new one won't be open until next week.  So I imagine many patrons that normally went to that branch are having to request materials from other branches.

 

After all that was done I had an interesting patron who wanted to see version of C. Clement Moore's "The Night Before Christmas", including parodies.  I found him several to look at, and he explained he wanted to write a parody of his own, based on lore of ancient Egypt, which was another interest of his.  He proceeded to tell me many interesting facts related to the original poem.

 

Then I had a chance to help a sweet older lady who needed help finding directions to a nursing facility where a friend of hers had been admitted.  The patron had impaired vision which she said made it difficult for her to use the computer.  So first I looked up the facility and made sure I had the right location and I pulled it up on Google maps and was able to zoom in enough for her to see it.  I pointed out the route and major roads and landmarks to help her get her bearings and be sure she understood where it was and what the nearest bus stop was.  Then I was able to print it out for her large enough that she could see it, and made sure that she understood and had all the information she needed.  She was very appreciative and I was glad I was able to help her.

 

And of course just as my shift was ending, the air conditioning finally kicked on.

Today At The Desk...

My shift today was a little shorter than usual as I had to attend our mandatory staff harassment and discrimination training, which took up an hour in the middle of the shift.
The shift started off quietly, giving me a chance to withdraw some books that had been de-selected and do a little research for some supplies and ideas for storytime.

After I got back from the training session, things had picked up a bit.  I was soon approached by a patron who asked to use the phone.  But then what initially seemed like a routine request, turned out to be more complicated.  After no one answered her call, she began telling me her whole situation.  An acquaintance had asked to use her phone, then said the battery was low and he was going up to the 2nd floor to charge it, but evidently disappeared with it.  She could not find him anywhere in the library and he did not answer the phone when she called.  She said she had already gone next door to the police station, but they had blown her off.

I empathized with her and told her I would call our security and see if they could help her.  While we waited for them to come down she began to get more and more upset, realizing that she had been too trusting, and that there were precious pictures of her daughter on her phone that she would lose if she didn't it back.  To further complicate things, she didn't know the phone numbers of any close friends or family members from memory so she could call them to come help her, she just relied on all her contacts being in her phone, as many of us do.  As she was getting upset and security was taking a little longer than expected, I invited her to have a seat in one of our cozy chairs while she waited.

After the security guard arrived, I explained that she had been coerced into giving her phone to an acquaintance who had apparently stolen it, and that she was very upset and did not know how to get in touch with anyone who could help her of give her some support.  He took her into our story room for privacy to talk to her and try to get as much info as possible, and our head of security called the police and got them to take the situation seriously.  The last I heard they were still waiting for a police officer to come take a report. 

I really hope they were able to track her phone down, but I am so glad we have such a great security team that we can count on!  They are really awesome; we can count on them to respond when we call, and they do a great job looking out for us and dealing with difficult situations.  They are tough when necessary and don't take any crap, yet at the same time they are incredibly sensitive and compassionate in situations like the one today. 

Today At The Desk...

Today was kind of a strange day at the desk.  It started out unusually slow and quiet, which gave me a chance to cut out pieces for a storytime activity and get through a cart that was overflowing with books that had been de-selected and needed to be withdrawn and sent down to the Friends' bookstore.

But then, all of a sudden a situation suddenly developed and escalated quickly.  I don't want to give too many specifics in order to maintain privacy, but it had to do with a young child throwing a tantrum and a parent who lost control, prompting three security guards to come running in response to the commotion, and nearly involved the police.  Fortunately, no outright abuse occurred, only some questionable parenting, and the patron quickly picked up the child and left, which is what they should have done thirty minutes earlier and the whole scene could have been avoided.

It all happened so quickly that there wasn't much for me to do, aside from initially rushing over when the child started throwing toys and train pieces to be sure no one got hurt.  By that time security was there to handle things as the parent the began to lose control, and their presence kept things from escalating even more. 

I see situations like this all too often, though fortunately not usually to this degree.  I can empathize with the parents to some degree, most of us have had those less-than-stellar parenting moments when we are already stressed out about something else and the kids are being extra uncooperative, so I try not to judge.  But at the same time, I can also see how easily preventable these situation are, as they are almost always created by the same scenario:  an inattentive parent who is so intent on whatever they are doing on the phone or computer that they are not paying any attention to the child, a child who is too young to be without close supervision or be expected to entertain themselves for very long, and staying past the child's tolerance and the child begins to get bored, frustrated, tired, hungry, or in need of attention. 

I can always see it coming, as the child always begins to give cues by whining, crying, wandering off, getting into mischief, or verbalizing their frustration for about half an hour before the final meltdown, but too often the parent ignores the cues until it's too late.  I don't know if it's inexperience, selfishness, or just the parent being too single-minded on what they are doing, but it is frustrating to see it coming and not be able to prevent it.  I will try to distract and redirect the child with toys or board books, or ask them if they want to be my helper and give them something to do.  I may even try to hint to the parent by making a friendly comment like "Oh, I think somebody's had enough for today"  but there's not much more I can do.  If a child's had enough, they've had enough.

If any of my readers have any insights on how to head off these situations in a patron-friendly way, please leave a comment; I'd love to hear it.

Today At The Desk....

Today was a little bit different from the usual routine as we had several school groups coming in to checkout non-fiction books.  Often we will pull a selection of books for them to chose from ahead of time if they have a specific genre or topic, but since they didn't have a specific topic assigned this time we just left them to browse the stacks.  Two groups came in the morning, then three more in the afternoon during my shift.  It was kind of a whirlwind as they didn't stay long, just came in, quickly chose books, checked out, and left. 

They were pretty well behaved, other than not putting their discards on the cart like I asked, and didn't need a lot of assistance.  The only slight issue was several of them forgot their cards, despite being told they had to have them, and wanted me to look up their accounts.  I told the teacher I could do that if she wanted, but that they would not be able to be in and out in the 10-15 minutes they had if I took time to look up several students (just to be clear, the limited time was specified by her, not the library).  So we decided to prioritize checking out the students who had their cards and if there was time left I would look up the rest, and it was her call when to leave.

After they left there was of course some tidying up to do!  I went through the stacks and picked up all the books they had left just lying on the shelves, straightened up the remaining books, and replaced missing face-outs on the shelves and displays.  The rest of the shift was pretty routine.  I pulled all the holds and transfers, helped a few patrons locate materials and place requests, and worked a little on some stuff for my Storytime-To-Go program.  I was in the middle of helping a patron find a biography for a school assignment when it was time for the shift change, so I explained this to the patron and introduced her to my co-worker, and brought them all up to speed on what I had found (or not found) thus far.

Today At The Desk....The Day Before Snowpocalypse 2016

 

 

So if you're on or near the east coast, you've probably been checking forecasts all day to see how much snow you're going to get and when it's going to start, and making one last run to the grocery store.  In my area, the predictions have been all over the place all week, but most seem to have settled in the 10"-14" range, starting early tomorrow morning and lasting into the following day.  We already had about 1-1/2" yesterday; not much, but enough to close the public schools for 2 days.

 

In light of this, I expected my shift at the desk this afternoon to be very busy with people trying to get out of the house for a bit in between storms, and stocking up on books and movies.  I fully expected our DVD section to be decimated by the time I took the desk at 1:00pm.  But, to my surprise, though there had reportedly been a steady stream of families in all morning, there were still quite a few DVD's left.  Dare I hope people stocked up on books instead?? 

 

I continued to have a steady stream of people throughout the afternoon, but people were mostly checking out books, along with 1 or 2 DVD's.  Nobody came in maxing out their cards checking out 35 DVD's like I expected.  I did have one patron who was looking for several books on advanced algebra and calculus; unfortunately she had written down the ISBN numbers, rather than the shelf location and call numbers.  So I looked them up for her and put in requests for the two that we didn't have and found the one that I had in the children's section.  The rest were adult books, one in the new book section on the first floor and the rest upstairs in adult non-fiction.  So I wrote down the call numbers for her, directed her to the appropriate floors, and called ahead to let them know she was on her way and what she was looking for.  A little while later she came back down with an armful of math books, so I guess I know what her teenage daughter is going to be doing while snowed in this weekend!  They did get a couple of fun books and movies, too, so it won't be all work :)

 

I also got to issue library cards to a couple of little girls, who were very excited to get them.  I always feel like it's a privilege to issue a child their first card.  It's not quite the same milestone as it used to be since there is no minimum age anymore, but it's still special.  Then they each got to pick out two books and bring them to me to check out, and they were so proud.  Later I had another child who had gotten his first card today as well, though not from me.  But, I still got to help him check out his first books with it, which is the best part.

 

Later we got word that not only had the decision been made not to open tomorrow (which is very unusual; they usually wait until the morning to make a decision), but we were even closing early tonight at 6:00pm instead of the usual 9:00pm at the mayor's request, to get everyone off the roads sooner so crews could start pre-treating.  So we let patrons know so they could get their final selections made and make transportation arrangements if necessary, and then it was time for me to go home and let the evening crew finish the last hour.

 

And what will I be doing while snowed in this weekend?  Well, I have plenty of work to keep me busy:  a book review to write, two more books to read and review, and ......drum roll, please......a library school admissions essay to write!  Yes, after two years of feeling like I had missed my calling and wishing I had been a children's librarian, but feeling like it was too late, I have decided to start working on an MLIS! 

 

I have wanted to for a while, but the tuition for the local program was just too high, that I just didn't feel it was worth it considering how many working years I have left and how saturated the job market is, especially here.  I also didn't care for their curriculum; it had little room for flexibility or specialization with so many required courses and few electives.  But then I came across a program that was almost half the cost, had fewer required courses and more electives, and just seemed much more practical than the one on here (and yes, it is ALA accredited).  So, I'm making the leap, and while I know there's a good chance I will never have an official "librarian" position, I hope it will at least help me get some kind of full-time position before my husband retires and I lose his health insurance.  Wish me luck!

Another Day At The Desk...

I'm a little late with this installment of "Today At The Desk" because I've been busy researching the MLS program I'm considering applying to and started getting things together for my application.  This week's shift at the desk was pretty typical, very slow for the first couple of hours, and really busy at the end once the kids were out of school.  But, today I had a number of questions and situations beyond the routine checkout assistance, answering basic questions, and locating materials.

I had one patron looking for the 3rd book of a particular series, but we only had numbers 4, 5, & 6 on the shelf.  No problem, I thought, we'll just request it from another branch.  But, to my surprise, when I checked the catalog we did not even own a single copy of the third book in the whole system!  We owned several copies of 1, 2, 4, 5, & 6, but no 3's at all, which seemed rather strange.  The patron took the books we did have and I told her I would be sure to let the manager know we needed to get some copies of the third book.

Then, before I could even finish writing an e-mail to the Youth Services Manager about missing that book of a series, I had another patron ask about a different series.  We had books 1 through 6, but not 7 or 8, and she wanted to know if we would be getting them.  I checked the catalog, and they were not listed at all, which usually indicates it has not been ordered.  I tried to call my manager to double check, but she wasn't in.  So I had to tell the patron that it didn't look like we had ordered them yet, but that I would be sure to recommend that we do and let management know patrons were asking for them.  We were able to find a different book and request another book she was interested in from another branch, but the poor girl was so disappointed to be leaving with only 1 book I really felt bad for her.

So I quickly sent an e-mail to both my department head and the Youth Services Manager of the whole system about both the series that we were missing a book and the incomplete series, and soon got a response that she had just ordered the latter two books a few days ago, but that it hadn't gotten all the way through our bureaucracy yet which was why they were not yet showing in the catalog.  I wanted to let my disappointed patron know, but they had already left, and had used self-check for the one book they checked out.  Then I remembered I had placed a request for them, so I was able to backtrack through the system to get her name and phone number and called to let them know that the books she wanted so badly were in the process of being ordered and would hopefully be here in 2 or 3 weeks.  I was so glad to be able to give her good news!

After that I had kind of a strange situation with a patron that came to the desk because her account was blocked.  As it turns out, she had a number of issues with both her card and her child's card.  She had a number of overdue books that had not been returned, which is why the self-check wouldn't let her check out.  She said she had just returned them, so we called down to circulation and asked them to please check the books she had just returned in so she could check out more.  But then, once they were checked in and all the overdue fines were assessed, both accounts were now blocked due to the fines.  She paid the fines for her son's card and was then able to check out.  I noticed there were still a couple of items on each account that had not been returned and were overdue, so I brought those to her attention. 

Here's the strange part.  She says she has them and that she had overlooked them before because her son must have peeled the bar codes off, and hands me two books.  I checked her account and she did have those titles checked out, but neither book she gave me had any library markings on them whatsoever, or any indication that they ever had.  I thought I had misunderstood and asked if she meant she had purchased those to replace books that had been lost or damaged (which we allow as long as it is the same edition and like new condition), but she said "no".  So I was a bit confused as to what was going on and asked my manager to step in and confirm that these were not our books and rule whether to accept them or not, and she confirmed they were not and gave them back to the patron.  So I renewed the items on her account so they would not continue to accrue more fines and give her more time to find them. 

Of course in addition to all that were all the routine questions and tasks, like straightening up, filling displays, withdrawing weeds, and pulling the request list.  I also had a brief chat with our executive director and it turns out we have somewhat similar backgrounds, both having biology degrees and starting out doing lab work in microbiology before taking time out to have kids and then getting into the library field.  It's not often I run into someone else with a science background at work, so I thought that was kind of neat. 

Yesterday At The Desk...

Yesterday when I headed down to work the children's desk I expected it would be a fairly slow day since school was back in session after the winter break.  I was a little worried I might have a little trouble finding enough work to keep my busy, but as it turns out, that wasn't an issue!

While the first hour was a little slow, the rest of the shift turned out to be incredibly busy!  Very uncharacteristic for a Thursday afternoon, and even busier than when the kids were out of school on winter break.  In fact, the only time I have seen it that busy is in the summer when we have groups visiting or a very popular program, or on weekends.  Not a problem, just a little surprising.

There was a steady stream of patrons in and out, and most stayed for a while, and everyone seemed to need help!  Several needed help locating materials, placing holds, some needed reader's advisory, one person had major account issues with both her and her child's cards due to several overdue and lost books, a school group came in to check-out biographies, and the usual general questions, tidying up, and pulling requests.

One issue came up with a patron who really needed to print out her confirmation for her FAFSA, but didn't have any money.  With a child in college, I can certainly sympathize with the stress and urgency of submitting the FAFSA and felt this was a case that justified us giving her a little help.  However, I had never dealt with a situation like this so I had no idea HOW to over-ride the system and get it to print out without her having to pay for it first.  Luckily, one of the assistant managers was working at the adult service desk nearby, so she was able to take care of it.  Unfortunately, because it was so busy and so many people needed help, I was not able to observe what she did as I had to assist other patrons.  But I will be sure the next time we have slow period to have someone go over that with me so I know how to do it the next time the situation arises.

One thing I didn't need to do today was shelve or sort carts because the new page started this week, and everything was all caught up!  I got to meet her at the end of my shift, and as it turns out she has a good bit of experience working in libraries, so I thinks she will be a great addition to the team!  Hopefully now with two pages we can stay on top of keeping the shelves straight and in order and keeping displays filled, in addition to getting things shelved in a timely manner.  A good start to the new year!

Today At The Desk....

This week I got to work a couple of extra shifts at the children's desk since my storytime-to-go program is on a holiday break right now and the children's department was really shorthanded due to one staff member on medical leave, another on bereavement leave, and others being in meetings or needing to take vacation time.  I was happy to help out and it was nice to spend some extra time back in the department.

Yesterday morning was the regular weekly storytime, and I was hoping one of our regular families would be there since I haven't seen them in a while.  They used to come to storytime every week until their youngest child started kindergarten; now we only see them during the summer and other school breaks, and I haven't seen them since I started working in Outreach 5 months ago.  But, unfortunately, they didn't come in.  But we did have several nice young families come for storytime and hang around for a while afterwards.  I stayed busy in between questions by looking for materials on the "missing" report, and checking in the ones I was able to find.  The rest are probably gone for good and will have to be replaced.  It's rewarding to find things, but discouraging that so many don't turn up.  Some may be truly lost, but many are unfortunately stolen.

Today it was pretty slow in the morning when I walked through, and when I first started my shift at the desk, but it quickly got fairly busy.  I joked with my co-worker that everyone must have been waiting for me.  Though we had quite a few families, it was relatively quiet and I just had some routine questions, and customers needing checkout assistance or help locating materials.  I also straightened up the shelves and filled displays, shelved one cartful of books and put two more in order since the department is still down a page, and pulled the few items put on hold and took them down to circulation.  It was a relatively quiet New Year's Eve, other than the phone ringing constantly from people calling to see if we were closing early or going to be open tomorrow.

I enjoyed having a week off of storytime duty and getting to spend it at the desk, and getting some collection development done, but I am looking forward to seeing all my kiddos again next week!

Yesterday At The Desk...

 

Yesterday at the desk was a bit of a struggle.  First, I we had a major weather change overnight which almost always triggers a migraine.  Then, we had a short meeting late in the morning and some Christmas cookies were served, which for whatever reason, did not agree with my stomach at all.  So I started my shift not feeling well, and it just got worse as the afternoon went on.  It was disappointing, because I missed my desk shift last week to attend a great early literacy workshop, so I was looking forward to working the desk this week.  But I did the best I could to suck it up and put on a happy face and do my job.  I like working the desk and only get the opportunity to once a week, so I hated that I wasn't feeling well and couldn't really enjoy it, but I did try to do my best. 

 

We did not have a lot of patrons spending significant time in the department, but quite a steady stream of people in and out who needed help.  One patron was looking for Newbery medal-winners that she hadn't read, so I pulled up the list from their website for her and found her a couple of the ones she wanted to read next and didn't already own.  Then another patron needed help finding a book by D. J. MacHale, and though we found another series of his, it wasn't what she was looking for.  After quickly consulting the catalog, I discovered why.  It was a brand new series, so I showed her to the new shelf, explained that that's where all the books that have come out in the last 3 months are showcased, and found the book she wanted. 

 

I also had a patron who had put some items on hold, but had not waited for the notification they were ready.  Sometimes people think it's instantaneous, not understanding the request reports are usually only pulled 3 times a day, so her items were not ready yet.  But I pulled up her account to see what had been requested and it just took a few minutes to locate them all since some were in another department.  But I found them all and got them checked out to her, canceling the one she decided she didn't want.  Of course there were several simple check-outs and parking validations and a few directional questions, and I helped check Lexile levels for one poor tween who could only choose a book within 200 points of his supposed Lexile level.  It pains me to no end how often I hear this, knowing that Lexile scores are so skewed and that kids are much better off in the long run when they are allowed to read books that they choose for themselves, regardless of reading level.

I always try to stay busy, but today I really wanted to stay busy to distract myself from feeling bad, so in between patrons I worked on straightening the shelves, took care of some work-related e-mails, reviewed some picture books I'm considering for storytime, shelved a cartful of picture books, and pulled all the holds and transfers and took them down to circulation.  By that time, the shift was over and I could thankfully go home and go to bed.

Today NOT At The Desk....

Today I did not work my usual shift at the desk because I attended an early literacy training workshop.  Which sounds like it would be easy duty, right?  Just sit and take it easy all day, listening to a seminar and taking notes, networking a little, etc.  But even though I actually put in an hour shorter day, I found myself way more exhausted at the end!

I don't know what it was, the sitting for so long at a time without really anything to do, the lack of caffeine or snacks in the afternoon [Seriously, if you have a captive audience for the whole day, you really need to provide caffeine and sugar to get everyone through the afternoon!], or the fact that I wasn't really learning much new, or a combination of the above.

Don't get me wrong, it was a great seminar with lots of good information about language development, early literacy, and storytime, with a good presenter.  It just so happens because of my particular background, I already knew all the information about language development and early literacy and already practiced 90% of the recommended practices.

I have a degree in education and biology, so not only did I have courses in child development, psychology, and communication disorders, I also had anatomy and physiology to understand that part of it, too.  Then on top of that I've raised two kids, so plenty of first-hand knowledge of child development, and over a year of experience doing storytime.  And I think I just have really good natural instincts when it comes to communicating with and reading to kids.

It was good to get confirmation that I am doing everything right and I do really know what I am doing, though.  It was a great workshop for children's librarians who usually have English lit or liberal arts degrees and don't have the background in child development and language acquisition, or anyone just starting out with doing storytime (or hoping to).  But since it was just a review for me, it wasn't as interesting or engaging, and I am just not used to spending all day just sitting passively.

Even when you are "sitting" at the desk, you are not really sitting there the whole time.  I am always getting up to straighten up, pull things for transfer, assist patrons, shelve, etc., so I'm constantly moving around.  And even if I am sitting at the desk, I'm *doing* something, helping patrons with checkout, locating materials, placing reserves, planning storytimes, making props for storytime...  It's amazing how much faster the day goes by when it's busy, and you don't really have a chance to feel tired when you are moving around.

I am certainly glad I had the opportunity to attend a professional workshop, particularly since part-time staff rarely get to, and it is nice to have that reinforcement that I do know what I'm doing.  Plus it will be a nice addition to my resume :)  But, I have to admit, I was a tired puppy by the end of the day!