Library Day in the Life – Monday Day 3
I took these notes today as part of The Day in the Life project, if you would like to read more please the wiki, if you’re interested in how it all got started read this post and this one.
I’m off work at the Library today because I worked the weekend.
7:00 coffee time! I take the dogs out, man it’s cold! I check my email, Friendfeed and return some comments from Facebook yesterday.
8:30 sign into Blackboard to finish reading posts, complete grades for this week.
9:30 I get ready to run errands. Lots to do today! First stop, my local library (not where I work) to return a couple of videos and pick up Season 2 Vol 1 of Alias, I’m rewatching the series. 
Then on to check out a new (to me) gym. My old one closed. It looks really nice, so I’ll be going back at the end of the week to sign up.
I do some grocery shopping and somehow end up with more than I’d planned on getting.
12:00 back home put away groceries, and make lunch – brussels sprouts!
1:00 sit down to work on a workshop I’ll be presenting in Minnesota in April.
4:00 Done! personal time
7:30 9:30 – talk libraries on the phone with a friend.
Day in the life of a librarian – Summary
As of writing this (10:30 am central time 7/19/08 ) there are over 30 people signed up on the wiki (thank you again Lori for having the smarts to make one!) I hope this can be an ongoing project with new people continuing to sign up and maybe people who participated now can do it again.
I’ve read some really great posts and I’m not even though them all yet. I do have to point out somone who took a different approach to the Project.
One of the other Librarians at MPOW has agreed to do a series of guest posts about her week July 28th – August 1st. She is our Collection Development Librarian, so you’ll be getting a completely different view of my work place.
Some information that probably should have been included in my first post - My job title and what it means. I’m the Digital Services Librarian at the Missouri River Regional Library, a public library in the Midwest serving about 85,000 people. So what does that mean? You’ve seen from the posts what I do some days, here is a more official run down of my duties
- Identify, investigate, and use emerging technology to enable easy access to information
- Anticipate changing community needs and interests
- Participate in the creation and provision of information in digital media formats
- Support online learning
- Enhance the effectiveness of library information and instructional services
- Explore new technologies for delivering services and information
- Train staff and the public in new technologies for delivering services and information
- Act as manager on nights and weekends to address patron concerns and issues
- Provide reference and reader’s advisory services
- Serve on various committees for the improvement of patron and staff services
- Select materials and managed funds designated for subject selection
This post is part of The Day in the Life project, if you’re interested in reading more please visit the wike or if you’re interested in documenting your own day, please add your name and blog.
Friday & Saturday – days in the life of a librarian
Friday Technically I’m off because I work this coming weekend. I cleaned the apartment, cooked, went to the gym.
I also check all email accounts and see a request from one of the other Librarians, she needs someone to cover the Reference Desk for her Monday, I was planning on taking Monday off, but I tell her if she can’t find anyone else I’ll do. I end up doing it for her, which moves my day off to Friday
Time to work on presentations!
I’m cohosting a 4 day workshop (pdf) coming up that is hosted by MOREnet & the Missouri State Library teaching Librarians about how they can use web 2.0 at their library. We did a similar workshop in February and it was so popular that they asked us to come back and tripled our talk time.
I’ll be doing two presenations at our upcoming state library conference in October and even though it’s early I put some time into both of these.
I have three patron training classes left this year. We’ve been doing series of classes including basic and advanced (I teach the advanced ones). They have been really popular with the patrons. I take a look at what I have left and get to work taking screen shots.
All together I worked about 5 hours today.
Saturday I work the Reference Desk alone & I’m the Manager on duty. In the morning it’s a quiet day, I read blogs. Then at 11:30 things start to get a little crazy. One the circulation employees has to leave for a family emergency. I eat my lunch in 15 minutes then fill in at circulation until 2:00, waiving people over from the Reference Desk when they queue up there.
Back to the Reference Desk, more blog reading where I come across Amy Kearns poll on Library Garden. the rest of the afternoon is pretty standard, answering reference questions until I get a call from the Public Computer Center Clerk about some teen patrons misbehaving. I head downstairs to find out what’s going on.
At 5:00pm the library closes, I count money & make sure everything is locked up then head home. I’ll be back tomorrow to do the same thing!
This post is part of The Day in the Life project, if you’re interested in reading more please visit the wike or if you’re interested in documenting your own day, please add your name and blog.
Thursday part 2 – a day in the life of a libarian
Thursday 7/17/08
7:30 coffee in hand I hit the computer to see what happened while I slept. I check my email accounts, Twitter, & FriendFeed. One of my Twitter friends lets me know the Day in the Life project made it into American Libraries Direct. Sweet! But I feel a bit nervous.
8:30 Now I’m just playing around, on the net, checking blogs etc. I don’t have to be to work until 11 today, I work till 9pm tonight.
8:50 Time to get ready for work! I’ll be back when I arrive at the library.
Cool gift from coworker!
10:40 arrive in the office, check voicemail; I have a message from another librarian about a program he’s canceling. I got his email about the same thing last night after I got home, so I’ve already updated the blog. Turn on computer and get the blue screen of death. Not good. I have to be at the Reference Desk in a few minutes and I don’t have time to deal with this so I head across the street to the main library building. I chat with the Circulation Manager about what times they need me to fill in over there, since they are short staffed.
11:00 I’m at the Reference Desk and I’m hoping it’s slow and I get get some ordering done, I order for the 800 & 900s. I get distracted listening to an interesting conversation the Circulation people are having, the minute I drift back to the net they start talking about a tail!. This gets my attention again, of course I’m hoping there is a monkey involved. Nope back to the net. Craving a cheeseburger and I have an hour to go!
12:00 Check my email start working on an email from the Technical Services Librarian who wants recommendations for magazines for some areas.
1:00 back to my desk, I scored some free pizza from the break room which solves the lunch problem. Then I talk with one of my fellow librarians about a couple of internet/blog stories from yesterday and how great it is to be able to share all of this stuff.
1:45 check voicemail, message from a patron who wants to sign up for next weeks computer class. I check the sign up sheet in google docs, add her name and call her back to let her know she’s all signed up. Which reminds me I need to get the presentation and handouts finished. (I’ll post these when they are done, but I”m not sure what interest they’ll be to anyone who doesn’t use my library)
3:00 Time to start ordering again!
4:15 Chat with my boss who’s been in meetings all day, we mostly talk about what we’ll need to work on next week. Then I check my email. Uh-oh one of the databases isn’t working right, I walk next door to talk with the Librarian who originally alerted me to the problem then back to my desk to send an email to IT.
4:45 I head across the street to work the reference desk and supervise.
6:01 It’s been a pretty quiet night so far and I’ve had time to rewrite this so it (hopefully) makes sense to someone other than me. Now to work on the Friday/Saturday post.
7:00 off the Ref Desk and head down stairs to give the Computer Center Clerk a break. While I’m there we have a problem patron situation to handle. Then upstairs to give the Teen Center Clerk a break. It’s nice and uneventful up there tonight!
7:45 Back to the Circulation office. My office is across the street and since I’m supervising I have to stay in the main building so I use someone else’s computer to write up these notes.
7:55 I just noticed there is a back log of new books that need to be shelved. The circulation department is short staffed and we’re a small library so most everyone pitches in. I’m going go shelve those before I have to start closing up. Also checked and locked some DVDs, the person who does this is out sick and they pile up really fast. Even though I did it for half an hour I’ m not even sure I made a dent.
8:40 Time to start closing up the library! I should be out of here by 9:15, if all goes well.
10:00 Home! I’m off tomorrow for working last weekend, so I get a 3 day weekend. Tomorrow I’ll be working on presentations!
I took these notes today as part of The Day in the Life project, if you’re interested in reading more or documenting your own day, please add your name to the wiki.
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- Feel free to quote blog posts and link back to the site. Please do not copy my entire post on your site. Thank you
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