This week at the library; or, A Typical Week in the Summer

A Week in the Life of a Librarian

• Of course, no week is exactly typical - Pattie is gone on one of her rare vacations and my associate subbed for her storytimes, I've never done a toddler drive-in before, etc. but this gives you a rough idea.
• Monday
• Arrived at about 11:40. Rummaged through stuff on desk, talked to cataloger and looked over new books, heard the news that my aide had gone home sick with equanimity, called in my second aide.
• 12-12:30. Lunch break for my associate. Little rush of questions on the desk, computers crashing briskly, we're down to only 3 operable computers in my area. Make that 2.
• 12:30-1:15. Put up a new display of new and coming soon comics in the teen area, answered more questions, heard back from my second aide that she was sick also (did NOT accept this news with equanimity), collected boxes for Friday's program, looked with horror at the mounting pile of donations (nothing all year long and suddenly POW)
• 1:15-2. Cleaned a little stuff off desk, finished planning programs for this week. Had to preview my movies for Toddler Drive-In to make sure they worked.
• 2-4. Continued cleaning off desk, found in pile reminder to post open job position today! Planning next week's programs. Updating signage, working on new display of forthcoming books. Look over Stuffed Animal Sleepover slideshow my associate made.
• 4-4:20. Ate something (not sure how old that piece of pizza was, but I forgot to pack anything...)
• 4:20-5. Finished new display of forthcoming books.
• 5-8. Information desk. Did all my typical Monday evening things - checking the slideshow for updates, renewals for institutional cards, etc. The evening was pretty slow since we had no storytime and I did the usual run of questions; renewals, study rooms, hold requests, summer reading, etc. Also worked on collection development - I have a bunch of back issues of SLJ I marked but never transferred to order lists.
• Tuesday
• 9-12:45. Youth Services desk. My associate did toddler storytime. I mostly stickered kids and did summer reading. Also worked on pulling some more books for neighborhoods and continuing through my back issues of SLJ - only one left to go! Gave my colleague a break at the information desk and dealt with numerous computer/printer problems.
• 12:45-1. Grabbed a snack in my office and went through some donations and new books.
• 1-2:30. I thought I had a volunteer scheduled, but he was actually coming later! My performer helped me move tables. 175 people showed up for Duke Otherwise and it was an awesome show! Second year we've had him and he did a great job even with our super-wiggly audience. 
• 2:30-3:45. Plunging toilets, talked to my director about some stuff, ate lunch and talked to another staff member (we had some interesting ideas, which I'll talk about later), talked to my associate, checked on the volunteers, showed them how to shelve picture books, collected donations from the back to start going through, interspersed with some reader's advisory, directional questions, and some circ desk transactions.
• 3:45-5. Uploaded pictures from Storywagon to Facebook, went through a few boxes of donations, gave the volunteers some new projects, checked email, my volunteers helped me haul all the boxes for Toddler Drive-in up from the basement.
• Wednesday
• 9-10. Set-up for Preschool Interactive, talked to aide about upcoming programs on Friday that she's helping with, had an idea for how to run We Explore in the fall and onwards and fiddled with that, inspected the gardens with my aide.
• 10-11:30. Preschool Interactive. About 26 people came, including a large and attentive group of older kids. Chatted with parents, cleaned up, did some reader's advisory and computer help on my way to the staff room.
• 11:30-12. Lunch, loaded up the cart with donations, collected stuff off my desk, talked to a parent about potty training, listened to my associate do some excellent teen reader's advisory.
• 12-5. Youth services desk. Went through new books, sorted donations, went through my e-mail, reader's advisory, summer reading, computer questions - the computers finally got fixed! Yay! Serenity the bunny and Norman the kitten came from 12:30 to 2:30. I didn't visit as frequently as I usually do, because I am allergic to cats, but I kept an eye on them and afterwards turned on the fan and wiped down the tables (Norman was very exploratory). I was going to vacuum, but after fiddling with the vacuum for a while (and getting filthy) could not find a bag to fit. I also went through gorgeous boxes of new books in the back! Always fun. Also had a long discussion with my director (in bits and pieces) about where we're going with programming next fall.
• Thursday
• At home before work- edited the survey I put together last year (didn't get any responses so I'm trying again with an improved version)
• 9-12. Youth services desk while my associate did Books 'n' Babies (Pattie is gone this week). Summer reading, chatting with patrons, still going through new books and donations, fiddling with the upcoming calendar some more.
• 12-2. Information desk. Got through a few more donations, had a discussion on how to improve the survey with our adult services librarian, lots of great ideas! Questions on scanning, guest passes for the computer, etc.
• 2-3. Grabbed some lunch, discharged new books for Lego Club display, did...something else, can't remember what. I think I went over some things with my associate.
• 3-5:20. Lego Club. Had a bunch of kids and my aide help set up, about 50 people showed up, lots of building, and then at the end I was TIRED. Left the pictures with our adult services librarian to upload, hauled all the legos back over to the library, stared hopelessly at my desk, and left.
• Friday
• 9-10. Set up for the playgroup, realized I had forgotten it was senior travel day and it's doubtful anyone will come since there is absolutely no parking, realized I forgot to put this afternoon's program on the website and so it didn't get sent out in the txt reminders, but it's been on fb and it's on the paper calendar so hopefully some people will still show up. Stressed about the low number of applicants I've received for my aide position, contacted some people at the high school to hopefully coax some more applicants out. Putting away Legos from last night that I left on the cart, sorting through donations.
• 10-11:15. About 25 people came, everyone had fun playing with the puppets and making their own. Chatted with parents about school and upcoming programs.
• 11:15-11:35. Lunch
• 11:35-12. Talked to adult services librarian about holiday programming and did...something else. I think I was looking for something in my office.
• 12-3. Information desk. Also directed my aide in cleaning up from the puppet program/setting up for the drive-in, talked to someone about potential student candidates for the open position, helped people with computer problems, placed holds, answered the phone, gave my associate a break at the children's desk (just took summer reading up to the front desk) and worked on sorting donations and fiddling with the calendar some more for fall/next year. Wrote and sent out the weekly youth services staff newsletter.
• 3-3:30. Still working on donations, went over assignments with aide, cleaned a few things off my desk.
• 3:30-4:45. Toddler drive-in! About 20 people showed up, which was perfect for my room. We had a lot of fun building our cars, watched two short Mo Willems films, and that was it.
• 4:45-5:15. Clean-up (had to lug all the leftover boxes back to tech services, as the Friends were a bit disconcerted when they showed up today to sort and found no boxes!) and posting pictures. Then home!
• Our cataloger and my aide stayed to run the teen movie night and the Friends were also doing their monthly family movie night, showing the Lego Movie, but thankfully I did not have to do anything for those!

Programs

• Toddlers 'n' Books (2 sessions)
• Storywagon: Duke Otherwise
• Preschool Interactive: Let's Grow
• Books 'n' Babies
• Lego Club
• We Explore playgroup: puppets
• Toddler drive-in
• Teens on Screen: Hobbit

What are the kids reading? A sample of requests and questions

• Captain Underpants read-alikes - offered Squish, Beaver Brothers, Dragonbreath, and Knuckle and Potty go to Happy Land. Remembered after he left that I forgot Third Grade Barbarian!
• American Girl movies and books - Caroline, Isabelle, etc. Asked cataloger to put in brief record for Isabelle movie so I could place a hold.
• America's Horrible Histories: who are you calling a woolly mammoth? We didn't have this series at all, but this girl loves horror so I gave her Haunted Histories by Everett instead.
• Candy Fairies - sorry, don't have it, what about Rainbow Magic? No.
• Despicable Me books - only one, checked out.
• Smile (Raina Telgemeier needs to create faster - and I need to buy more copies!)
• "comics for girls" (with the complaint that there aren't enough comics for girls!). I gave her Hilda and Zita.
• American Girl - Felicity
• Schooled - Korman. Teacher request. I didn't buy that one, talked up Ungifted and she took that instead.
• Teen was gushing about Simone Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry and was absolutely thrilled when I told her there were sequels. On this note, I have to wonder WHY so few libraries in our system own this series. They are insanely popular with teens and adults alike, one of the few novels that feature Hispanic protagonists, what's not to like? Just gotta wonder...
• Had a long discussion with a new patron - just moved here from another town and was quite the avid reader. He hoped I would tell him what happened in the next Brandon Mull but I wouldn't (at least partly because I didn't know). I showed him some other things he would like; he was also a Blue Exorcist fan, and he left with several volumes of Beet the Vandel Buster.
• He came back the next day for the rest of Beet and I recommended Psyren to try next.
• Horse movies - I had nothing this avid fan has not already seen.
• Mysteries - WHY aren't there more mysteries for middle grade? Kids really want something like Nancy Drew. Will have to do some digging.
• Smile (ok, really, REALLY need more copies! and they don't want any read-alikes!)
• Complicated reader's advisory question of a book she remembered seeing that turned out to be one of the Disney Princess chapter books
• Rick Riordan
• Boy I recommended Nolan's Down Girl and Sit to last week was back for more.
• Long discussion with a parent about finding family movies that are appropriate - it's hard, especially if you don't like the cruder humor and innuendo. I recommended trying Miss Minoes and maybe some of the really old Disney, like Absent-Minded Professor.
• Fault in our stars read-alikes - I have not actually read this, but I have no problem recommending read-alikes. The problem is, everything is checked out! Our cataloger is going to make a more detailed read-alike suggestion list. Finally gave the patron Elkeles' Leaving Paradise and Schroeder's Falling for you.
• bug books - to identify caterpillars
• Little girl who loves animals and her mom wants her to read chapter books, but she only likes to read "baby books". I gave her Lulu and Daisy Dawson. Her brother, 3rd grade, wanting fantasy and adventure, his mom wanting something not as intense as Harry Potter (he had picked Alchemyst. Uh....no....) I gave him Magic Thief and he was very happy with that.