Comments on: Why did you particpate in the Library Day in the Life Project?

By: Library Day in the Life Round 4, January 2010 | Librarian by Day

Library Day in the Life Round 4, January 2010 | Librarian by Day — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:53:05 +0000

[...] all types document a day or a week of their work life. You can check out the original blog post, my explanation of why I do it, or the wiki for more [...]

By: Brigitte Doellgast

Brigitte Doellgast — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:09:29 +0000

I think this is just a great idea. We all know this feeling that at the end of some days we are just not sure anymore what kept us busy all the time. So to once in a while keeping track of what was going on is helpful for me – and maybe interesting for my colleagues. It took me a while, but finally I participated:
http://blog.goethe.de/librarian/index.php?/archives/184-A-Day-in-the-Life-of-a-Librarian.html

By: Ein Tag im Leben einer Bibliothekarin - Librarian in Residence – Goethe-Institut New York

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:35:54 +0000

[...] Bobby Newmann, ‚Librarian by Day‘ Blogger aus Chattahoochee Valley startete das ‚Tag im Leben einer Bibliothekarin-Projekt . Tolle Idee. Was mache ich eigentlich so den ganzen Tag? Beispielsweise was war am Freitag, den 21.8. [...]

By: Bobbi Newman

Bobbi Newman — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 14:11:11 +0000

Ah so you’re suggesting that library staff blog about their day for the public right on the library site? Interesting. I’ll keep this in mind and play around with it.

By: Brian Herzog

Brian Herzog — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:05:37 +0000

It is interesting to think of the justification behind participating: at the time, I didn't think very hard about it. I liked the idea, so I did it. I guess what I liked about it was the behind-the-scenes component, which is often a mystery to non-librarians. And even though I was at a public desk for the entire day I was recording, I'm sure at least half of what I did went unnoticed by the public. Not that I think the public reads my blog, but I know library students do, and many of them commented about how much they enjoyed it. So that made it worth it right there. But back the behind-the-scenes part - I think it'd be a great idea for something of this nature to be a regular feature on library blogs/websites or newspaper particles. Lexi the Intern is doing something like this, and I like the idea of giving the public a more full picture of what we do all day, instead of just checking in and out books.

By: laura k

laura k — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:03:58 +0000

I suspect “Why I participated” could become a meme in its own right, and I’m sure many people had many different reasons. I know most of my blog readers are family and friends, and I just started a new job, my first as a professional librarian. A lot of people have asked me how it’s going and what, exactly, a Systems Librarian is and what I do all day, so I figured this Library Day in the Life thing was a great way to tell them. I had no thoughts of people who might find it randomly. And in the end, it turned out to be a pretty neat thing for me, too: Being very new in my job, it was nice to be able to look at the end of the week and say, “Alright, I am doing stuff.” I’m looking forward to doing it again next year, when I’m more settled and hopefully accomplishing more than learning the ropes.

By: Bobbi Newman

Bobbi Newman — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:27:01 +0000

Thanks for asking the questions Sarah. The project got so big this time I’m not sure everyone who posted even understood the purpose.

By: lauren pressley

lauren pressley — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:19:47 +0000

Great post! It clearly articulates why I participated in the past (I was on vacation this year, so I’ll probably do it another week) and why I am thankful that you started this project. On another note, I wrote my book (just came out in July) to be exactly the resource you described for people considering being a librarian today. Of course, it’d be best in conjunction with this project.

By: Sarah Faye Cohen

Sarah Faye Cohen — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:58:55 +0000

Bobbi, this is a great post. It’s great to hear how an idea comes into fruition. And you have put together a compendium of resources for potential librarians and for current librarians looking for ways to reconsider what they do, how they do it. Awesome. And that in and of itself is the creativity, sociality, and relevance I was looking for.
As I said to Meredith, these reply posts have made explicit what, for you, was implicit. But as you well say, that is another (forthcoming) blog post.

Thanks for the response. It has been valuable to me, and I hope to others, in hearing you, Meredith, and others think outloud about this and share why we do what we do, in our blogs and in our days. I’m glad for the discussion and for the resource!