Challenges

As a librarian, I love the idea of lifelong learning (doing it myself and encouraging it in others). Unfortunately, I do fall prey to excuses to avoid trying new things (too tired, too many routine tasks that have to be accomplished at work, too busy caring for a three-year-old when I'm not at work, etc.).

That's why I'm glad that my library system is encouraging its staff members to participate in the Web 2.0 Challenge! Learning the tools of Web 2.0 is so important for librarians because we need to be able to communicate with our patrons. It appears so unprofessional when we merely give our young students a blank look if they make a reference to a technological device that we have no experience with or use a term that we haven't heard before (i.e. - an MP3 player, a Facebook account, downloading music to an MP3 player, etc). It's also downright embarrassing.

So I'm going to throw myself into the Web 2.0 Challenge. The real challenge, for me, will be finding the time to complete each task. But I am motivated, and if I can maintain this level of motivation, then that will help me make the time.

The "Little" Mistakes

Last night we realized, too late, that we had forgotten to order a black ink cartridge for the printer. This was the MAIN printer for the building (the one that does the fancy stuff, like print instantaneously, print in color, etc). The staff, fortunately, was able to use another printer - but the public was not. Oops.

Don't you love those moments, the ones that make you look so great in the eyes of the public (?!). We all have them, because we're all human and we're all going to make mistakes. It's true, too, that many of us are too busy thinking about the obviously big aspects of our work (like answering reference questions and planning programs) to remember that the ink cartridges have to be replaced. In this case, the staff member who replaced the cartridge the last time didn't realize that he was using the last one, or he would have informed the staff member who is responsible for ordering supplies (or perhaps he became so occupied with assisting the public that he simply forgot).

But the fact that this happens to all of us doesn't ease the discomfort when it does happen, because we know that we've disappointed our patrons. We can't provide them with a service that they had assumed they would have when they drove to the library. We appear negligent and careless, less than professional (to say the least).

So how do we save ourselves, our reputations? By being apologetic and courteous when we have made mistakes. By being professional the rest of the time, when our printers are filled with fresh ink and ready to run. And when we do both, our patrons are calm and understanding. Like they were last night.

Procrastinating

It's been so long since I've written that I think that I've forgotten how to write, and I, like so many librarians, once dreamed of writing the great American novel. But the need to accomplish small everyday tasks (and the need to sleep!) take precedence over turning a "dream" into reality, and it isn't long before that dream dies.

Not that I'm complaining or feeling sorry for myself (not much, anyway). This is the way life is. And the primary aspects of my life - my family and my library career - fill me with joy. But I can't help but think how sad it is that not only do I not write on a regular basis, but when I do have to write, I get nervous and gasp for words. I procrastinate, find other things to do, even when there is so much that I could write about. And eventually I noticed that my last blog post was in August.

Sad.

But enough about that. Here is to a new beginning. I wonder, I hope, no - I will (!), make the time to blog once a week. Even if no one ever reads it. Maybe it's better that way!

Busy, Busy, Busy...

I'm so relieved that summer is over. Since I'm not a children's librarian, summer is not my busiest time. Not only didn't I have any programs in August (the one program that I had scheduled - a monthly foreign film - was canceled because our meeting room was painted, and, wouldn't you know it, the slight "audience" of two people who normally attend the film became what would have been twenty! It was a rainy day. But I digress.).

Although my school days ended years ago, I've never stemmed the yearly circle of slowing down in July and August and renewing a commitment to hard work in September. So now that Labor Day is around the corner, I'm excited about my upcoming programs. A quilting demonstration, a Jewish Book Discussion series that was made possible through the first grant I've ever received, a Business Expo, the rebirth of our new Writer's Group after its summer hiatus (I hope that it does well!!!!!!!!), the smaller regular Great Books Discussion Group and foreign film (yes, the film that was supposed to be showed in August!). I'm also busy preparing a display of resources for writers. And I'm just finished a bibliography - "Teach Yourself" Resources - that will go "on the stands" next week.

It feels good to be busy again. Being occupied - and happy with what you're doing - is as refreshing as jumping into a pool on a sweltering day in mid-July.

I love my job.

One More Quick One.....

Not one person has read this blog. At one time I thought that would have been a good thing. Now I'm not so sure. I think that I'm ready to share my thoughts about librarianship (although at the beginning I would have been relieved to have no readers).....Am I doing something wrong, that I'm not attracting attention? Or are there already too many other library-related blogs for mine to get special attention?

When a Reference Librarian is NOT a Reference Librarian!

Normally, I believe that I'm a good Reference Librarian. No, not the best, just GOOD. I have a desire to help people, a love of research, and a passion for knowledge.

But this afternoon my passion, my skills, failed me - so much so that I'm certain that the patron I was assisting (who was really very patient) had the impression that I'm an extremely incompetent librarian. I tried to make up for my blunders (which were rather obvious to me, if not to the patron) with consistent apologies and regular updates on the status of his inquiry, but in the end was embarrassed at the way that I had handled the entire question.

Have a really been a librarian for ____ years?!

It was a simple request, actually. The patron was an actor who needed the sheet music to two relatively known songs - what he called "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Wherever We Go." He came to the library for the information in the late morning, needing the sheet music for a 6:30 p.m. audition.

What I didn't do at the time was verify that these were indeed the names of the songs (mistake number one, something that any good librarian would have done). Instead, I focused on the brief amount of time that I had to get him the information. After a quick search in our catalog showed that our branch doesn't have the sheet music for these songs, I called our main branch to have the songs faxed to us.

There's more to this story, but I won't get bogged down in the details (i.e.- the aisle in which our fake books are shelved was blocked off because of a leak from the ceiling, our fax machine jammed and then decided that it needed a new black ink cartridge.). Suffice it to say that the patron did not receive his information - his fax from the main library - until 3:30 p.m. (When will someone invent a fax machine that can operate as fast as the Internet?). There had been serious miscommunications among myself, the staff members who took over my shift at the desk, and the librarians at the main library. But it all began with my failure to take that extra, simple step: "Let me just verify that those are the actual names of the songs." Because they weren't. And they were both available in fake books that happened to be in the circulating collection - in our branch.

Sigh. It's Friday afternoon. I'm going home. But I'll be back tomorrow.

A Quick One....

I've been too busy at the library to jot down my thoughts. I suppose that, in a way, that's a great thing. It's terrific to see so many people using the library, to be answering reference questions and checking out materials and to rarely have the opportunity to ask "How can we get even more people to use the library?"

But I'm going to be leaving this life for a week. I'm going to be moving from a townhouse to a single-family house, and I know that will occupy all of my time and my thoughts. I won't have a moment to think about the library.

Which makes me think that, having been away from it, doing something completely different, I'll return as a better, stronger librarian, more than ready to work with the public again.