It's been eons since my like "Day in the Life" post, and I thought now would be a good time to share one, what with my working a new job and all. The day below is from earlier this week. How've you been filling your days this autumn?
8:30 a.m. - Arrive at the library and get the youth services program room set up for the morning. Then I run up to my third-floor desk to stash my stuff.
9:00 a.m. - Weed the juvenile fiction shelves. This has been an ongoing project this month, and the shelves are looking so much better.
9:45 a.m. - A colleague from the city arrives in preparation for our 10:30 activity...
10:30 a.m. - Multicultural storytime photoshoot! This isn't a traditional program but rather an opportunity for families to participate in a few multicultural activities as part of a promotional campaign. That said, as far as kids are aware, it is pretty much a storytime. We sing songs, read some stories (including My Mother's Sari with the assistance of scarves--highly recommended), dance to some ukulele tunes, and then head to the craft room for some activities. Caregivers are wonderfully engaged with their little ones throughout.
11:45 a.m. - After cleaning up after the photoshoot, I head up to my desk to process a few patron requests for purchase. A few things slipped through the cracks between when my predecessor left and I started, so I'm anxious to get those fiction orders filled.
12:15 p.m. - Gather research for a project I'm working on that will help inform whether we're really meeting the programming needs of kids of every age. What resources do you use to make sure your programs are beneficial for your target audience?
1:15 p.m. - Lunch! It's leftover risotto and a good galley on this particular day.
1:45 p.m. - Run down to the youth services desk to pick up a cart of picture books to be weeded. One of our interns has started a project for culling the oodles of copies of formerly-super-popular picture book characters, and I double check this work and then get the copies reading for withdrawal.
2:15 p.m. - Create a weeding list for picture books in the general collection. Those shelves have been looking particularly packed, making them hard to browse and quite messy as multiple copies come off the shelf anytime you remove a book. I fiddle with the parameters of my weeding list--still getting used to a new ILS.
2:45 p.m. - Start plotting our youth spring program calendar. When it comes to multi-month, multi-program planning, I work best with a paper visual.
3:15 p.m. - Research area performers who might be good for spring programs.
4:00 p.m. - Enter the March/April storytime session in our online planning calendar. The session will be five weeks long, with the following every week: 1 baby time; 2 one-year-old programs; 2 Time for Twos; 2 preschool storytimes; 1 Little Learners program (for older preschoolers); an all-ages time; and social Together Time.
4:45 p.m. - Check my calendar for the next day's activities, including making sure I have prepped what I need for meetings.
5:00 p.m. - Head home.
Showing posts with label day in the life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label day in the life. Show all posts
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Monday, September 9, 2013
A Day in the Life of a Children's Librarian
Every once in a while, I share a day in my library life here on the blog. I love getting to read what other librarians' days are like, with full recognition that no two days are ever the same in this profession. Case in point: my Thursday of last week.
8:50 a.m. - Arrive at the municipal building one town over in advance of a training. Chat with colleagues from other library branches before the training begins.
9:00 a.m. - Performance Evaluations training. Several staff members from several of our library branches, as well as from other county and city departments, participated in this three-hour training that included strategies and advice for conducting effective, legal performance evaluations. I think trainings like this are particularly helpful, especially when working in a collaborative workplace where many employees consider themselves friends with supervisors. It's always good to get some reminders on keeping performance evaluations objective and productive.
12:00 p.m. - Brief meeting with my branch manager and circulation supervisor.
1:00 p.m. - Early Literacy Task Force meeting over lunch. This Task Force consists of three children's librarians, each of us from different branches. We meet regularly to coordinate early literacy initiatives for the entire library district, including trainings. Our agenda for the meeting included planning a winter training on childhood brain development; making plans for proceeding with year 2 of our Early Literacy Play Kits; ideas for library-branded ECRR2 signage; and discussion about hosting an all-county playdate next summer. We also brought the newly-hired Extension Services Specialist for the district up to speed on what we do.
2:30 p.m. - Head over to the library branch that will host an author event I've coordinated.
3:00 p.m. - Since I have time before needing to get up to the room for the author event, I head to the children's services office to check my e-mail and messages. Since this isn't my branch or normal workspace, I do my work on my iPad. I also chat with a colleague about goings-on at this library in both the children's and teen programming arenas.
4:00 p.m. - I head upstairs to the large event space and start to get odds and ends prepared for the evening's author visit with Peter Brown. I spend some time verifying his bio and awards, then I write the introduction I'll give to start the event.
5:40 p.m. - Folks start to arrive for the author event, and I help direct them toward the table to purchase books. I also talk with folks about other upcoming author events.
6:00 p.m. - It's go time for Peter Brown's author event! Peter Brown is one of my favorite children's author/illustrators to work with. His presentation is always engaging for audiences of any age, he happily talks with kids while signing books, and he's overall pretty low-key about visiting libraries. His presentation, which tied into his just-released picture book, Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, got lots of laughs and questions from the audience of 113 people.
6:45 p.m. - It's my job to keep the signing line moving, having books open to title pages and post-its for personalization in clear view when I slide them to Peter. I also pass out some cool Mr. Tiger tattoos that Peter brought with him. (Also, if you are wondering, Why the hat? It's become something of a tradition for me to wear something relating to one of Peter's characters when he visits. That hat is a bit proper, a bit wild.)
7:30 p.m. - The final book signed, it's time for Peter Brown to head to the airport so he can be in his next city for his next event the next day. It's hugs and handshakes all around, and then a few library staffers and I stay to finish cleaning up the event space.
7:40 p.m. - I head home after a long day full of a variety of fun, productive, and insightful activities. Note that I didn't even step foot in my own branch library for the entire day. Rest assured, my desk reflected my absence the next day, with plenty of piles to indicate I'd been missed.
8:50 a.m. - Arrive at the municipal building one town over in advance of a training. Chat with colleagues from other library branches before the training begins.
9:00 a.m. - Performance Evaluations training. Several staff members from several of our library branches, as well as from other county and city departments, participated in this three-hour training that included strategies and advice for conducting effective, legal performance evaluations. I think trainings like this are particularly helpful, especially when working in a collaborative workplace where many employees consider themselves friends with supervisors. It's always good to get some reminders on keeping performance evaluations objective and productive.
12:00 p.m. - Brief meeting with my branch manager and circulation supervisor.
1:00 p.m. - Early Literacy Task Force meeting over lunch. This Task Force consists of three children's librarians, each of us from different branches. We meet regularly to coordinate early literacy initiatives for the entire library district, including trainings. Our agenda for the meeting included planning a winter training on childhood brain development; making plans for proceeding with year 2 of our Early Literacy Play Kits; ideas for library-branded ECRR2 signage; and discussion about hosting an all-county playdate next summer. We also brought the newly-hired Extension Services Specialist for the district up to speed on what we do.
2:30 p.m. - Head over to the library branch that will host an author event I've coordinated.
3:00 p.m. - Since I have time before needing to get up to the room for the author event, I head to the children's services office to check my e-mail and messages. Since this isn't my branch or normal workspace, I do my work on my iPad. I also chat with a colleague about goings-on at this library in both the children's and teen programming arenas.
4:00 p.m. - I head upstairs to the large event space and start to get odds and ends prepared for the evening's author visit with Peter Brown. I spend some time verifying his bio and awards, then I write the introduction I'll give to start the event.
5:40 p.m. - Folks start to arrive for the author event, and I help direct them toward the table to purchase books. I also talk with folks about other upcoming author events.
6:00 p.m. - It's go time for Peter Brown's author event! Peter Brown is one of my favorite children's author/illustrators to work with. His presentation is always engaging for audiences of any age, he happily talks with kids while signing books, and he's overall pretty low-key about visiting libraries. His presentation, which tied into his just-released picture book, Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, got lots of laughs and questions from the audience of 113 people.
6:45 p.m. - It's my job to keep the signing line moving, having books open to title pages and post-its for personalization in clear view when I slide them to Peter. I also pass out some cool Mr. Tiger tattoos that Peter brought with him. (Also, if you are wondering, Why the hat? It's become something of a tradition for me to wear something relating to one of Peter's characters when he visits. That hat is a bit proper, a bit wild.)
7:30 p.m. - The final book signed, it's time for Peter Brown to head to the airport so he can be in his next city for his next event the next day. It's hugs and handshakes all around, and then a few library staffers and I stay to finish cleaning up the event space.
7:40 p.m. - I head home after a long day full of a variety of fun, productive, and insightful activities. Note that I didn't even step foot in my own branch library for the entire day. Rest assured, my desk reflected my absence the next day, with plenty of piles to indicate I'd been missed.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
A Day in the Life of a Children's Librarian
Did you see Abby the Librarian's "Day in the Life" post on the ALSC Blog a few weeks ago? I love getting a glimpse into the workdays of other children's librarians, and I enjoyed clicking through on the links she shared to see what my peers are up to. I figure it's about time I share a new Day in the Life, too; here's what I did on a recent Monday.
8:20 a.m. - Arrive at the branch and look over the program schedule for the day.
8:30 a.m. - Get our circulation and reference desk money drawers set up and count the money from yesterday's fines and fees. Lots of people want to start the new year with clean slates, and it seems we've been getting more fines paid off than usual.
8:50 a.m. - Ten Minute Meeting with the opening staff. My branch manager instituted these brief daily meetings after our recent staff development day; they're a great, informal way to bring everyone up to speed on what to expect for the day, what programs to talk about with patrons, etc. We rotate who leads the meeting and who writes what we discuss on a giant sticky note in the staff room. Staff who aren't present at the morning meeting initial that they've read the notes when they start their shifts. Communication about all aspects of the branch has improved--messages don't get lost or garbled between shift changes anymore!
9:00 a.m. - Open the branch, then meet with my branch manager to go over what's been happening since we last worked together.
9:15 a.m. - Head to my desk to check my e-mail and gather things for my outreach story time visits. This includes reading over the books I'll be sharing and reviewing the chords I'll need for songs on my ukulele.
9:45 a.m - Head out for Preschool Outreach Story Time!
10:45 a.m. - Back at the branch, I head to the sink in the staff room to rinse out 100 milk cartons. A local elementary school saved them for us to use in an upcoming craft program (more on that later this week...), and even though the extremely kind lunch ladies had rinsed them at the school, they were getting a bit stinky. Aside: no one in library school ever mentioned I might find myself rinsing out dozens of milk cartons.
11:30 a.m. - The director of the library district called to chat about a proposal I'm working on, so I spent some time on the phone with him and then filled my branch manager in on the proposal's progress.
12:15 p.m. - Lunch.
12:45 p.m. - More preschool outreach!
1:45 p.m. - I hurry back into the branch to print off some agendas for a two o'clock meeting. I also get updated on what I've missed while I was out of the branch.
2:00 p.m. - Early Literacy Task Force meeting. We talk about potential early literacy idea-sharing workshops for staff and assess the success of our recent early literacy initiatives. We agree on what we'll report to our colleagues at the upcoming children's meeting.
3:10 p.m. - Work the reference desk. In between reference questions from customers, I'm able to put the finishing touches on an eReader flow chart for reference staff; we anticipate an increase in eReader questions after the holidays, and the flow chart is to help staff keep the devices and their specific set-up steps straight. I also finish formal letters to our teen volunteers informing them of scheduling changes in 2013.
5:10 p.m. - Head home after a busy start to the week.
8:20 a.m. - Arrive at the branch and look over the program schedule for the day.
8:30 a.m. - Get our circulation and reference desk money drawers set up and count the money from yesterday's fines and fees. Lots of people want to start the new year with clean slates, and it seems we've been getting more fines paid off than usual.
8:50 a.m. - Ten Minute Meeting with the opening staff. My branch manager instituted these brief daily meetings after our recent staff development day; they're a great, informal way to bring everyone up to speed on what to expect for the day, what programs to talk about with patrons, etc. We rotate who leads the meeting and who writes what we discuss on a giant sticky note in the staff room. Staff who aren't present at the morning meeting initial that they've read the notes when they start their shifts. Communication about all aspects of the branch has improved--messages don't get lost or garbled between shift changes anymore!
9:00 a.m. - Open the branch, then meet with my branch manager to go over what's been happening since we last worked together.
9:15 a.m. - Head to my desk to check my e-mail and gather things for my outreach story time visits. This includes reading over the books I'll be sharing and reviewing the chords I'll need for songs on my ukulele.
9:45 a.m - Head out for Preschool Outreach Story Time!
10:45 a.m. - Back at the branch, I head to the sink in the staff room to rinse out 100 milk cartons. A local elementary school saved them for us to use in an upcoming craft program (more on that later this week...), and even though the extremely kind lunch ladies had rinsed them at the school, they were getting a bit stinky. Aside: no one in library school ever mentioned I might find myself rinsing out dozens of milk cartons.
11:30 a.m. - The director of the library district called to chat about a proposal I'm working on, so I spent some time on the phone with him and then filled my branch manager in on the proposal's progress.
12:15 p.m. - Lunch.
12:45 p.m. - More preschool outreach!
1:45 p.m. - I hurry back into the branch to print off some agendas for a two o'clock meeting. I also get updated on what I've missed while I was out of the branch.
2:00 p.m. - Early Literacy Task Force meeting. We talk about potential early literacy idea-sharing workshops for staff and assess the success of our recent early literacy initiatives. We agree on what we'll report to our colleagues at the upcoming children's meeting.
3:10 p.m. - Work the reference desk. In between reference questions from customers, I'm able to put the finishing touches on an eReader flow chart for reference staff; we anticipate an increase in eReader questions after the holidays, and the flow chart is to help staff keep the devices and their specific set-up steps straight. I also finish formal letters to our teen volunteers informing them of scheduling changes in 2013.
5:10 p.m. - Head home after a busy start to the week.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
A Day in the Life of a Children's Librarian
I have long loved Abby the Librarian's "Day in the Life" posts, which share the details of what she does on a random day in her job. I loved reading them back when I was still in library school--they helped me to get a sense of the crazy awesomeness I was getting myself into. I know that it can be helpful for current and future librarians to see what their colleagues do, so I am shamelessly copying Abby and writing about a day in my life as children's librarian at my branch. The following events took place on Monday of this week.
10:30 a.m. - Visit a local daycare for an outreach story time visit. Since the outreach visit started my day, I had packed my Story Time bag before leaving the branch on Friday afternoon. I grabbed a few extra books by some favorite authors, as this particular daycare can be a rough crowd as far as attention spans are concerned. I also brought my ukulele for some song time. That instrument is quickly becoming one of my favorite librarian accessories.
11:15 a.m. - Return to the branch and check in with staff who have been working since the library opened. Chat includes library news as well as details of everyone's weekends.
11:30 a.m. - Walk around the children's area of the library. I'm always a fan of doing a walk-through to see how things are going in the children's area, but I've been making more frequent visits since we implemented our new neighborhoods organization scheme. Customers have nothing but positive things to say about the change--it looks like we've really helped make their browsing easier.
11:45 a.m. - Do some work from my desk, including catching up on e-mails. I e-mailed some documents from my Preschool Science program series to a librarian who saw last week's ALSC Blog post; gave our district-wide volunteer head some feedback on our volunteer process; and finalized the event listings for our December-February children's programs at the branch.
12:45 p.m. - Put together a new shelving unit for our big books, which we have plans to catalog and make available for circulation in the coming months.
1:00 p.m. - On the reference desk. Our reference shifts are usually four hours long. In addition to responding to customers' reference requests during my shift, I also supervised a volunteer as she worked on display and withdrawal tasks; confirmed our November program visits from a group with therapy dogs; and put in some work on my I Spy board (another brilliant idea of Abby's).
5:00 p.m. - Dinner. I usually spend my breaks looking through Twitter and library blogs on my Google Reader. (Is anyone surprised?)
5:30 p.m. - Set up for our monthly Lego Club program. Our branch pages help get the room set up for the program, with two long tables, chairs, and a table for displaying our final creations. I make sure Legos are evenly distributed in the buckets, cut some paper for name placards, and set out markers. The pages also set out all the theme-related books a volunteer had pulled for the program.
6:00 p.m. - Lego Club! This is my first return to Lego Club after a hiatus of a few months, during which time a coworker ran the program. I chose the theme of Robots. (Full post, with photos, to come later this week...)
7:00 p.m. - Clean up after Lego Club. A colleague brought his sons to the program, and we chat about some outreach and early literacy things while I straighten up.
7:15 p.m. - Finish up my day back in my office. I enter program attendance statistics from the day, double check what is going on the rest of the week, and read the e-mails that had come in since dinner. I also check out a stack of books for my Cybils reading.
7:30 p.m. - Go home.
10:30 a.m. - Visit a local daycare for an outreach story time visit. Since the outreach visit started my day, I had packed my Story Time bag before leaving the branch on Friday afternoon. I grabbed a few extra books by some favorite authors, as this particular daycare can be a rough crowd as far as attention spans are concerned. I also brought my ukulele for some song time. That instrument is quickly becoming one of my favorite librarian accessories.
11:15 a.m. - Return to the branch and check in with staff who have been working since the library opened. Chat includes library news as well as details of everyone's weekends.
11:30 a.m. - Walk around the children's area of the library. I'm always a fan of doing a walk-through to see how things are going in the children's area, but I've been making more frequent visits since we implemented our new neighborhoods organization scheme. Customers have nothing but positive things to say about the change--it looks like we've really helped make their browsing easier.
11:45 a.m. - Do some work from my desk, including catching up on e-mails. I e-mailed some documents from my Preschool Science program series to a librarian who saw last week's ALSC Blog post; gave our district-wide volunteer head some feedback on our volunteer process; and finalized the event listings for our December-February children's programs at the branch.
12:45 p.m. - Put together a new shelving unit for our big books, which we have plans to catalog and make available for circulation in the coming months.
1:00 p.m. - On the reference desk. Our reference shifts are usually four hours long. In addition to responding to customers' reference requests during my shift, I also supervised a volunteer as she worked on display and withdrawal tasks; confirmed our November program visits from a group with therapy dogs; and put in some work on my I Spy board (another brilliant idea of Abby's).
5:00 p.m. - Dinner. I usually spend my breaks looking through Twitter and library blogs on my Google Reader. (Is anyone surprised?)
5:30 p.m. - Set up for our monthly Lego Club program. Our branch pages help get the room set up for the program, with two long tables, chairs, and a table for displaying our final creations. I make sure Legos are evenly distributed in the buckets, cut some paper for name placards, and set out markers. The pages also set out all the theme-related books a volunteer had pulled for the program.
6:00 p.m. - Lego Club! This is my first return to Lego Club after a hiatus of a few months, during which time a coworker ran the program. I chose the theme of Robots. (Full post, with photos, to come later this week...)
7:00 p.m. - Clean up after Lego Club. A colleague brought his sons to the program, and we chat about some outreach and early literacy things while I straighten up.
7:15 p.m. - Finish up my day back in my office. I enter program attendance statistics from the day, double check what is going on the rest of the week, and read the e-mails that had come in since dinner. I also check out a stack of books for my Cybils reading.
7:30 p.m. - Go home.
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