first conclusions

I decided to participate in this round of the Library Day in the Life project spearheaded by Bobbi Newman, mainly because my days are very different from those days I worked in university libraries.  There is nothing glitzy or flashy about my library job. My title is simple: Reference Librarian, Part-Time. My background is in higher education. I have a master’s in Student Personnel Administration, and all of my previous library experience was in academia.

I work at a medium-sized branch of a County Public Library System in Central New Jersey. Generally, my schedule is Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, as well as every other Saturday.  This is by design, so I can stay home with my (almost) two-year-old, rather than place him in daycare.  My husband is also a librarian.  Our schedules are coordinated, so one of us can be home with our son.  What this schedule also implies is that when I am at work, I am “on the desk.”  I have no time at work where I am not at a public service desk.

So read on if you wish.  Again, it’s not the most exciting, but I will say this — I never have meetings to attend.  :)  For those of you sans children, I’ve left out a lot of my day. A good portion of my mornings, afternoons, and late night is doing the housewife/mom thing, but I do start off my “Day in the Life” at my home:

1:30pm — nap time for son = work time for me (You’ll see below why it’s better for me to do class preparation, etc. while at home); check in with personal email, Twitter, FriendFeed, and Facebook.  Usually learn something new right away — as well as get a good laugh from someone.

1:45pm — Dig into Google Reader to read up on topics of interest. Some great posts today (e.g., Preparing Yourself to Teach via PLA’s blog, Literacies in Action via E-Tech, and What We Need is a Little More Slide:ology via Clive on Learning).  Got my unread items in Google Reader down to less than 100.

2:30pm — Attempt some instruction preparation while it’s still quiet; Use ScreenToaster to create instructional video focused on downloading OverDrive Media Console for a Mac.

4:00pm — Naptime over; I shower; get son out of crib; get ready for work while he runs around and chases our dog or he “helps” me get ready; prep dinner for son.  I have not put on makeup, nor “styled” my hair since giving birth.  After the shower, getting ready for work takes me 5-10 minutes.

4:40 — Husband home; “pass off” son (the human baton pass-off, as I like to call it); brief husband on items of importance (e.g., plumber coming at 5pm to check on broken garbage disposal, dinner instructions, etc.)

4:55pm — Arrive at branch library where I work; check in with Head Reference Librarian for any updates, etc.  She informs me the weekly Tai Chi class is canceled for this evening , because the instructor is ill.  I set up at Reference/Information Desk for an evening of work.

5:00pm — Review and sign-off on semi-annual evaluation given to me by Branch Manager.

5:05pm — No volunteers working this evening, so children wanting their log books recorded for the Summer Reading Program are instructed to come to the Reference/Information Desk.  I check in my first reading log of the night.

5:15 — Catch up on work email.  A fair number of emails; I haven’t been at work since Wednesday, and I can’t access my work email from home.

5:30 — Enter incoming submissions from my branch for the state-wide “Tell Us Your Story” Project.

5:45pm — Sign up 9-year-old boy for Summer Reading Program.

5:55 — Wrestle with and finally determine correct citations requested by patron.  Have to go InterLibrary Loan (ILL) on both titles.

6:10pm — Log children’s books for Summer Reading Program for family of regulars.  Talk with mom about books her two-year-old daughter may enjoy.

6:18pm — Continue and finish filling out ILL paperwork

6:30pm — Mini catch-up with part-time Youth Services librarian about volunteer schedule (confirm our regular Monday night volunteer is not scheduled this evening) and game night set up.

6:40pm — Start to work on promotional materials for upcoming programs (PowerPoint slides for display monitor, flyers, newspaper blurbs, etc.).

[6:55pm -- Reference Question about locating a copy of specific title]
[7:14pm -- Log child's reading log for Summer Reading Program]
[7:22pm -- Reference Question regarding titles on a local elementary school's reading list]
[7:23pm -- Troubleshoot problem with one of our children's PCs]
[7:25pm -- Reference Question from patron about book request from another branch]
[7:30 pm --Reference question regarding locating and holding the DVD, as well as renewing checkouts to avoid overdue fines]
[7:32pm -- See Tai Chi participants milling about outside the Community Room; Discuss optoins with Tai Chi participants; One regular agrees to lead an informal class with those that are present]
[7:36pm -- Troubleshoot problem with one of our Children's PCs]
[7:39pm -- Reference Question about location of a certain author's books, as well as her waitlist position for another book]
[7:50pm -- Help check out books at Circulation due to sudden rush of patrons waiting to check out]
[7:55pm -- Log in guest patron for Internet access]
[7:57pm -- Reference Question: Request title from another branch for patron]
[8:00pm -- Assist at Circulation Desk to check out patrons; Sort books, DVDs, CDs, etc. to go on tomorrow's "run" to other eight branches]

8:15pm — Finish what I can of the promotional materials and post those flyers that are finished (2 out of 3); Update display monitors w/ new promotional PowerPoint slides.

8:30pm — Update swing board with information for upcoming program, Writer’s Support Group.

8:40pm — Start closing procedures: My branch doesn’t have an intercom system, so I walk around to give friendly reminders that we are closing.  I also use this time to see if patrons need help finding items. (Or what I like to call the “Retail Reference Technique” Are you finding everything okay?  Can I help you find something?) This evening’s “closing retail walk” yielded helping one patron find “Easy Reader” books for her five-year-old and a specific Yoga DVD from our our collection for another patron.

8:55pm — Take stock in what I was not able to finish this evening (e.g., collection development, ListenNJ workshop preparation, RSS workshop preparation, update coupon swap materials, and remaining promotional flyer for August program.

8:58pm — Ensure all patrons are out of facility.

9:00pm — All staff walk out together; Lock doors to library.

So there it is.  I hope to get some more workshop/class preparation done tomorrow during my son’s nap, as well as determine what i’ll do for my next blog post submission for the library’s blog.