Librarian: The Reality Series-Episode 2

7:00 am Arrive at work.
Yawn. I am NOT a morning person. I need to be here this early because...? Oh, right, another computer class. I don't really mind. I get a great deal of satisfaction teaching basic computer skills to people, especially seniors and newcomers whose first language is not English. I was so touched when one of my students, who took a class on setting up a free email account, contacted me by email to tell me she had sent her first email to her son in Korea, who she hadn't seen for two years. That makes it all worth it.

7:15 am Hear a noise.
It is creepy in the library when I am here all alone, especially this time of year, when it is still dark in the morning. I am not going to go out into the lobby to turn off the alarm until another staff member gets here. I don't like to go out there in the dark ever since I was startled by a man lurking in the shadows. I jumped 20 feet, which is pretty difficult when you have on Manolo Blahniks. OK, I exaggerate. It wasn't 20 feet, and of course, my shoes were not Manolo Blahniks - I'm a librarian.

7:30 am I jump.
Furnace just kicked in. The first time I was here alone, and it came on, I thought we were having an earthquake. Coming from California I have lots of baggage.

8:00 am Reserve computers for the class and log them all in.
Have completed all the opening procedures. Now just have to wait for my students. Oh, good, a staff member has arrived to help me with the class. Now I can venture out into the lobby.

8:15 am Six students arrive.
Four are seniors and two Spanish speakers. Today I am teaching the basic computer class which demonstrates the use of the mouse, scrolling, how to use check boxes, radio buttons and text boxes.

9:30 am Class complete.
I am always amazed. Of the 165 students I have taught so far, not once has there been a student who was too advanced for these classes. Everyone is very grateful for the class. I am glad people can look to the library for this kind of help.

9:35 am Back to my office to do email and prepare to be on the reference desk.

10:00 am Library open for business.
ESL tutor arrives. We are lucky to have such a dedicated volunteer who is helping people with their English. He is faithfully here every Tuesday and Friday morning and has at least 5 at every class.

The morning regulars amble in. The man who was doing his back exercises in the men's restroom has returned and is now doing what looks like tai chi in the lobby. Better go talk to him.

10:05 am It wasn't tai chi.
He said he was practicing his ice skating moves. Ooookay. Whatever. I told him that ice skating might be more appropriate in the parking lot.

10:10 am "I am writing a paper on the expression and localization of the calmodulin-binding protein neurogranin in the adult mouse olfactory bulb." Can you help me? (It could be a long day)

11:00 am Fix the headphones on the pre-school computer.
Little girl's knitted brow smooth again.

11:05 am Book the meeting room.
Our meeting rooms are heavily used by the community. Not many free spaces are available for people to meet, so it is great that we can be a community gathering place.

11:15 am Phone call.
Another regular. She asks the same questions every day. Many of them. Help her once again, but have to politely limit her to 5 questions or I would be on the phone all morning.

Is it lunch time yet?

11:35 am "Can I have my library card number?" (school must not be in session today)

11:37 am "I am looking for a book I had a couple of years ago. It has a blue cover and a picture of a dog on it. Do you remember that book?"

11:40 am "Can I get my library card number?"

11:42 am "I need help. My landlord won't give me my security deposit back. What should I do?"

11:50 am "Are you the librarian? I have a complaint. The water in the drinking fountain doesn't come up far enough. Can you do something?"

11:52 am "I need my library card number." (school is definitely not in sesssion today).

11:55 am "Help! I'm running out of time on my computer and I need to print something. It's a very very important letter that took me two hours to write! What do I do?"

12:00 am (Another few minutes and I can go to lunch). "Excuse me, M'am, I need the names of every judge in the United States...."

12:30 pm Finally get to take my lunch.

1 pm Spend some time reflecting on our programming.
We have "Family Night at the Library" on Wednesday nights, "Saturdays at the Library," ESL classes twice per week, citizenship classes (with a trained volunteer) every Thursday night, computer classes at least twice per month, teen programs every Wednesday afternoon and at least one Saturday per month, baby and family story times every week and Russian Family Story Times twice per month. All are getting very good attendance.

What other programs should we offer to meet the needs of Mountlake Terrace residents?

2pm Work on my presentation for the Reader's Advisory Workshop on December 8 - work on new computer class - Changing Careers - work on scheduling.

4pm Wow, can't believe the day went so quickly.
I can't say being a librarian is boring, that's for sure. In fact, it is very gratifying.

It's been a good day.

I am going to reward myself and head for H & M. My inner Carrie Bradshaw calls. I may not be able to afford Manolo Blahnicks, but I hear that Jimmy Choo is designing a line for H & M that a librarian CAN afford. I'm there!

Is The Book Dead?

What do you think of this statement?

"When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books."

This was a comment from the headmaster of Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts and the chief promoter of their library going bookless.

Since the advent of the Internet, comments like these have abounded. And, yet, like The Dude, the book abides (If you don't get this reference, see "The Big Lebowski").

No Kindle for me. Part of the pleasure of reading is holding the book, looking at the cover, turning the pages and savoring what is to come. I will never forget in the movie "Fahrenheit 451" when Guy, the hero, who felt books had no value and whose job as a fireman was to burn books, finally reads one for the first time. He opens the book and reads aloud everything on the preface, including the publication date and other things one would not normally read. But that is probably what someone would do who had never read a book before. I have never forgotten that moment. That one moment encapsulized what a voracious reader feels before embarking on the journey that the book in hand offers. No computer can do that.

No matter how difficult the economic times, you can get away from your troubles and find pleasure in books -- and they are free at the library!

So what do you think? Will the book go the way of the Dodo?

Share your stories.

Librarian: the Reality Series

You might wonder what libraries and reality TV have in common. You would be surprised.

I was recently approached by a student doing a project where she was required to shadow someone in a particular profession. She wanted to shadow a librarian. It got me to thinking about what I do each day and what she would observe.

So here goes...a day in the life of a librarian...

8:30am Arrive at work. Am immediately apprised by another staff member that the toilet in the ladies' room is stopped up. Grab plunger and head for the restroom hoping my new Jimmy Choo's won't get wet (just kidding about the Jimmy Choo's - librarians can't afford them).

8:40am Toilet fixed - just needed to be flushed.
Go to office to check email. Check today's schedule to make sure we are covered. Looks good. Uh oh.
A staff member calls in sick. Call subs - no one available. Redo schedule.

9:30am Finish email. Start working on new computer classes we are offering - "Job Hunting on the Internet" and "Internet Resources for Changing Careers." Also sending out press releases for next week's programs (Family Night and Teen Programs on Wednesdays and our Saturdays at the Library ("There's Always Something Going on.")
Call from the local newspaper about our basic computer classes. "You mean there are people who don't know how to use a computer?" she asks. I tell her about the 135 students we have helped so far, many of them seniors and people whose native language is not English.
Meet with a staff member to do some brainstorming on how to deal with a couple of latchkey children who have been coming in every day.

10:00am. Open library. Open the meeting room for our ESL Talk Time which gives newcomers to the U.S. a chance to practice their English.
On the Information Desk.
A library customer alerts me to the fact that an elderly gentleman is outside asking how to get home. Bring him in. Very nice man who said he had walked all the way from his home (several miles) and couldn't remember how to get back. I ask him if it's OK for me to call a policeman to take him home. He agrees. An officer arrives and is very kind to the gentleman. Wonder if that could be me one day.

10:10am Help a customer set up a free email account.

10:20am Help a customer send his resume to an employer.

10:25am Answer the phone and find phone numbers for local low income housing.

10:30am Young girl wants to know how to take care of her gerbil. We have a couple of books (school must be out today). Any books about fairies or princesses? She jumps up and down when I produce several. So cute.

10:40am Children's librarian reminds me she has an appointment at the school. Redo the schedule.

Customer needs to sell some of her antiques. Wants to know what they are worth. She recently lost her job. Find some antique price guides and show her how to access Ebay to see if some of her items are there so she can get an idea of what to ask for them.

10:50am Question about Craigslist and how to find jobs.
So many people needing help finding jobs. Glad to have mine.

11:00am Busy at the circulation desk. This morning's Family Story Time just finished. Helped register some new borrowers. Told them about our free programs, free DVDs and music CDs. They were really happy because they had missed the deadline to upgrade their TV and could only watch videos. Thanked me for the wonderful story times we provided.

11:10am Back in my office. Received a call from the Senior Group inviting me to come talk to the group about programs seniors would enjoy. Good. I can talk about our book groups, our upcoming "History of American Popular Song" program and our "Jane Austen Alternative Film Series." They also wanted me to share some information about the upcoming Library levy election on November 3rd.

11:20am Had been approached by a teacher from the Edmonds Community College who wanted me to come to her ESL class to do a presentation about library resources in languages other than English and also about our ESL Talk Time Program. Her class is winding down and she is hoping some of her students will continue in our program. I can also tell them about our new citizenship classes. So leave the library to make this lunch time presentation.

2:00pm. Return from presentation. Back in office. Receive call from staff member. Family emergency. Can't make her evening shift. Redo schedule.

2:30pm It's the beginning of the month, so begin work on the usual beginning of the month stuff - statistics, time sheets, Library Board Report, Calendar of Events for December (no wonder I never know what month it is - I am always two months ahead mentally), schedules, publicity, press releases, upcoming meetings.

2:35pm Alerted by staff that toilet in ladies' room stopped up again. Leave office to investigate. Grab plunger. (Didn't learn this in library school).

2:40pm Back in office. Staff report that a man is lying on his back in the men's room. Send male staff member into men's room. Wondering if I am going to have to do CPR. Both emerge. He was doing back exercises. Told him he was alarming customers so should work on his back outside. Recognize him as a "regular."

2:45pm Back to work on deadline items. Staff report that the mouse on computer 20 is not working. Emerge from office. Reboot computer.

2:50 Back in office. Shut door.

3:30pm Make some headway on administrative tasks. Back out in the library. Working with the collection - pulling outdated and shabby materials so shelves will look inviting. Approached by several young customers looking for homework help. Find needed materials and tell them about the live Homework Help on our website.

4:00pm Back on the Information Desk. A fellow taking a business class tells me he has to find local companies with fewer than 20 employees. He said his teacher told the class about a database on our web site, but he can't remember it. I show him RefUSA - "That's it!, he says." It has all kinds of information about a company, right? I show him how to search by zip code and limit his search to the number of employees.

4:15 Regular customer comes in to find books his mother would like. Asks about some authors and I take him back to the fiction section. I recommend some titles. He tells me how much he likes the library -- "You are the Nordstrom of libraries..." he says. That feels good.

4:30pm A group of teens enter the library and head for the Teen Room. On their way they ask when the next gaming day will be. I tell them it's happening right now, and that we have teen programs every Wednesday at 4pm. I smile at the cat ears and pink net tutu one of the teens is wearing.

Check on Teen program. In full swing. Our meeting room is full of teens playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Everyone is having a good time including the Teen Librarian.

5:00pm Is it 5:00 already? Forgot to have lunch... Evening shift staff arrive. I note that both meeting rooms being used tonight by community groups. Everything seems to be running smoothly. Getting ready to head home...
Staff member reports that the toilet... Sigh...