Why I Don't Work in a Public Library

A public library director posted this message on a list-serv today. I'm grateful for public libraries and the librarians who serve there, but I'm also glad I'm not one of them.

To Those Who Have Done This Before; How do you handle access after detecting evidence of obnoxious/illegal/unsanitary/gross activities taking place within your public restrooms? I have been living in a Fool's Paradise, apparently. Sigh.

Too Awesome

If you're interested in Legos or libraries, you have to check out these pics of Lego libraries and bookstores. They are great. I love the chicken-suited story time librarian and the Half Price Books replica.

Here's more about the first library featured. It is a brilliant creation!

While I Wasn't Looking

Disappointed today to find out that while I wasn't paying attention, my six-week old hold request for Broken Harbor expired. So now I've started back at the bottom of the list. Maybe I'll get a copy by December.

A Shoe Story

During the tour for new international students.
















After the tour for new international students.

A Day in the Life

BTW, that's my favorite Beatles' song.

Anyway, for those who wonder what I do at work when I'm not blogging, gossiping, or surfing the Internet, here's a visual aid: http://screencast.com/t/HABoXPPi7rQ You'll need speakers or headphones to get the full effect.

I produced this video on the fly while answering an online chat question from a student who simply wasn't grasping the Article Linker steps. I'd like to say the student watched the video and went on her merry way. Unfortunately, I produced the video at the 25 minute mark in our chat. Thirty-five minutes later, the student still hasn't showed signs of moving on. *sigh*

Leave Request

Dear Boss,

I have a lot of things to do at work this afternoon. However, I respectfully request permission to leave early in order to address a real emergency.

You see, I borrowed the new Charles Todd novel at the public library two weeks ago. I didn't start reading it, however, because real life intruded (and I was depressed and busy solving crosswords). Now, the book is due today and I can't renew it because two other patrons submitted holds.

I am sure you will recognize the gravity of my situation and allow me to go home and start reading.

Thank you,

Auntie K, dedicated reader, if not a dedicated employee

You Know It's Bad When...

I've fallen into the disconcerting habit of being unable to leave the public library empty handed.

After wandering aimlessly for a few minutes and inspecting the same new books I inspected on my last visit, I walked out with PHP: The Good Parts. Nonfiction, so it would help even the balance of power on my reading list, but not exactly riveting reading. The only plus is that it's a brand new copy, so it doesn't smell like stale tobacco smoke and it doesn't have scary stains on the inside.

It Takes All Kinds

One thing about working at a library is that you meet all sorts of people. And anthropomorphic vegetables.

The Narcs are Watching

Last night, my library friend Louis came to tell me I had a phone call. Turns out, Governor Bredesen wanted to bring some postal inspectors to the library for database training. Illegal trade in peat moss (through the mail) is on the rise, and the governor thought that some library research was just the thing to give the postal inspectors the edge against the bad guys. Even though the governor was kind of rude about the whole thing, and even though I thought it would be a waste of time, I said yes. I mean, he is the governor.

Thankfully, I woke up to realize this was all a bizarre night dream. Or at least, I think it was.

Heartstopping

Longtime readers may remember my girlhood habit of leaving my library card in the stacks when I was browsing for library books. Old habits, apparently, die hard.

Friday evening I was at work after we closed, trying to finish up some things for Monday morning so I didn't have to go in on Saturday. Part of my work involved a trip down to Reference to look at some encyclopedias. So, I armed myself with paper, pencil, flashlight, and keys (they turn off some of the lights at closing and the Reference shelves can be pretty dark). I went downstairs, did what I needed to do, and was ready to head back up to the office when I realized the keys weren't in my pocket.

Without keys, I had no way back into our office area or into my very office, wherein lay my car keys and ID to exit the building. For a second or two, I imagined how I could pass the night in the library until someone came to open up at 8am (I was going to find a novel and pass the time reading and sleeping. and being hungry). Then, I thought to backtrack through the Reference shelves, because I was CERTAIN I had checked my pocket for keys before I went downstairs.

Sure enough, the keys were on a shelf where I had stopped, and I was able to get back into my office and safely exit the building.

Sorry to say that's the most exciting item to report right now, but it is. Welcome to my world!

Enough is Enough

I love* my public library, but three trips in one day is a bit much, even for me. Here's how it went down:

I stopped at lunch time to pick up a hold (Blue Balliett's The Calder Game), and at the same time returned two audiobooks (visit 1). Then I motored on down the street to UPS and the post office, where I opened another book in the car and discovered one of the discs from a book I had just returned.

So, after the post office I headed back to the library for visit 2 to return the errant disc. While there, I decided to ditch the J.A. Jance I was listening to (terrible narrator, stiff writing and boring story) in favor of another Val McDermid.

However, while later ripping the cd to put on my mp3 player, I found that half of disc 3 is unplayable, thus necessitating visit 3 to pick up the print copy (we don't have it at work).

I really can't complain much, however, since on all 3 visits I managed to snag a precious spot in the curbside 30 min parking, rather than having to venture into the dreaded parking garage (had to go around the block once on visit 3 to wait for a spot to open).

BTW, I finished 8 books in July, the most in a month since I started keeping track again last year. It helped that two of them were short YA's and one was Eclipse, which I started a long time ago. But still...


*Well ok, I love the idea of a PL. My feelings for my current PL are firmly in the "like" zone.

Crossing Over

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if your waking and dreaming lives crossed, like they sometimes do in the movies? Here's some background to the story: In my waking life, I just finished Joshua Mowll's Operation Red Jericho and I want to read the sequel. Alas, neither library in town owns a copy.

Last night I dreamed I was back at BYU. I was a bit miffed to find out that my roommates had oodles of free time to sit at home during the day while I pursued my usual 12-hour weekdays of work and seminary.

Anyway, my brother A-1 was at also at BYU (looking nothing like his actual self). We were both pretty sure that the BYU library would have the Mowll sequel (they actually do!). And the best thing is that A-1 said BYU's library now offers "counterless checkout." Through some wonder of modern technology, you walk out the front with a book and it's automatically charged to your account with an end-of-semester due date. OK, maybe that's not the best thing if you're security or privacy minded, but it sounded like a good idea in the dream. When I last saw him, A-1 was off to borrow the book for me.

In my waking life, I'll be relying on Interlibrary Loan to find me a copy of the book. But who knows, maybe A-1 will show up with the BYU copy tonight and I can dive right in!

photo: Gottscho-Schleisner, Inc. (19 Feb 1949). [photo of circulation desk at Lamont Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts]. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Gottscho-Schleisner Collection, LC-G612-54563. Retrieved from Library of Congress American Memory.

Auntie K by the Numbers

Age: 37

Height: 63"

Small electric appliances in the kitchen: 10

Age at first kiss: 15 or 16

Library books at home: 21

Nephews: 1

Nieces: 4

Pets: 0

Email accounts: 5

Hours slept last night: 10

Part of Why I Love My Job

Starrlett recently blogged about one reason why she loves her job.

Here's one reason why I (sometimes) love mine. My story isn't nearly as succinct or interesting as Starrlett's, but I need the reminder even if you don't care to read it, so here goes:

A student asked me why when she tried to browse an issue of a journal in OmniFile database in order to find the inclusive page numbers for a particular article, the only visible record was the table of contents. I figured out that 1) the database was doing weird stuff, and there was a way to make it show you every article in the issue if you knew where to look and 2) the article in question wasn't in that issue anyway, because it was an "online only" extra.

I was able to email the student back with the solution to the problem, and I haven't heard a reply yet, but it's satisfying to know I have the ability to connect someone with the information they need. It only took me about 10 minutes to figure out.

One reason I only love my job some of the time: the student asked the question at 10 am, and it was 5 pm before I had ten minutes to sit down and find the solution. Or eat breakfast or lunch, or check email, or breathe...

Here's to No Regrets, Or, Do You YouTube?

Have you ever made a decision or purchased an item that turned out to be a complete mistake? Sometimes, a costly mistake? Well, it's always satisfying when that doesn't happen. So let me tell you about a few decisions that I'm still happy about after the fact.

1. My red trash can. It was an extravagant purchase at Target when I moved into the apartment in Tennessee. I still love it, and do not regret a penny spent.

2. Selecting the person we did to be our new distance education graduate assistant. I had a few reservations, but they have nearly all evaporated after just four days. Check out the first tutorial he produced, with nearly no input from me (besides providing my account information). The quality on YouTube isn't as high as it will be on our own Web site, but you get the idea. This sort of thing is on my workplan to be doing, but I'm lucky to still sleep and eat, so it has never happened.

This brings me to another neat library video on YouTube. You have to stick with it for about a minute before you get to the really cool stuff. Maybe some of you veteran YouTubers have seen it, but I can count on one hand the YouTube videos I've watched.

No, make that two hands, now that I watched the fabulous Betty Glover Library Workout Tape Ad.

Finally, Part II

Here are a couple of photos of the library art installation: >reduce<

The pile and paper strings were constructed from library printing waste.

For more photos, visit my flickr page.

Finally - Part I

I finally have something cool going on in my library that I can blog about! Since my professional blog is, for all practical purposes, defunct, you get to read about it here instead.

We have a very nice, neat, physically appealing library. The food and drink policy allows only bottled water. There aren't many open seating areas where groups of students congregate to work together and study---they're all closed off inside group study rooms. It's relatively quiet, relatively clean, but a bit boring.

One thing we do have, however, is "free" printing. Student technology fees and the library budget enable library users to print at no additional cost. As much as they want (up to 50 pages at a time). It's a fabulous perk. And reams of used paper are left on the printers every day. We recycle, but last year, over 6,500,000 pages were printed in the library. That's a lot of paper, any way you look at it.

Enter the Student Art Alliance, who at the library's behest is doing an art installation in the atrium aimed at raising awareness of the paper we consume.

Tune back in tomorrow or Wednesday for photos of the most exciting thing that's happened in the library since I arrived (unless you count the stray dog who wandered inside during the summer or the mouse I found in our office and carried outside a couple of months ago).

Milestone

I just taught the 142nd instruction session of the semester, and what should also be the last. Yay!

Yes, Instruction Librarian is my job title, but I'm ready for a bit of a break, at least from library instruction. I'm so sick of listening to myself talk and make corny jokes.

For those interested in numbers, I taught 42 of the 142 sessions, a very respectable number (there are ten other librarians who teach).

Now, on to other instruction "opportunities."

Photo: Chicago Daily News. 1928. Woman standing at a chalkboard and sitting at desks during a class at the Chicago Public Library. Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society. Available at http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/cdn:@field(NUMBER+@band(ichicdn+n086741))

Read This

Did you know that I have clever, creative friends? Check out the catalog card Starr made. I want to make my own, but I can't figure out what to put on it.

On an unrelated topic, will someone please tell me why I'm surfing the Internet at 10:30 pm instead of doing something more useful, such as choosing tomorrow's clothes, preparing for tomorrow's 8am class, or getting some much needed sleep?

How I Pass the Time

One of my favorite parts of working at the reference desk is perusing the new books, all of which parade past the desk on a bookcart before going to their new home in the stacks. I always feel a thrill when I arrive at the desk and see a new cart has arrived.

Investigating the new book cart is a great way to add to my "books to read" list, even though I don't need help finding titles. Here's one I added last night:



And the best fun of all is rearranging the cart's contents in call number order. It makes me feel so happy and peaceful to impose perfect order on one small part of my world.



Now if only those new books weren't so naked...