Returning to the blog

So it’s been over a year since I have written a blog post. I recently started to miss this blog. A lot has changed in the time since today’s post and my last one. My son is now almost two and I am currently planning not one but two weddings. My handsome boyfriend proposed to me and we have taken the last year and a half to plan our wedding which will be in July of 2017. The second wedding is that for one of my best friends, she & her honey are planning a 2017 wedding too. It’s a new exciting challenge for us to plan our own individual weddings, while also trying to be there and supportive of each other.

In my role as a librarian, in the last couple of months I have taken over one of our book groups. I now host a non-fiction book group that meets once a month. In our last meeting we read the book the Dewey by Vicki Myron. It was in our discussion that one member’s comments struck me the most. They turned to me and said ” I have a newfound respect for librarians. Thank you for what you do.” It was that comment that struck me to renew writing this blog. A simple book written by a librarian has given a library patron newfound respect for my profession. A lot of my friends will tease me and say that I do nothing but read books all day, and there are days when I will wish that for an hour or two that is what I could do. Unfortunately this is not true. I spend a lot of my day cataloging new library materials and working on slowly cleaning up the catalogue. I joke in five years we will have the cleanest library catalogue ever.

So let’s hope it doesn’t take me over another year to write a blog post. I will do my best to keep up the blog with my adventures of juggling work, motherhood, and wedding planning.

Juggling baby and classes

Hey Everyone

So my baby is now seven weeks old! I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone. I know a lot of parents say the same thing and yes I am enjoying every minute with him. No worries there. Today we faced a new challenge. As you know I am working towards my Vermont library certification. I thought I was only short an hour, to find out one of my classes had expired and I am now six hours short. Ack!!! I started stressing out about this because I had no idea how I was going to get all the hours I needed before May 1st. Still working on a solution. Thankfully I am able to sign up for some webinars and some classes. My boyfriend is extremely supportive and has even offered to take time off of work to help me out because he knows how important this is to me.

Today I faced a new challenge. How was I going to balance being a mom and a student? Well I managed to do it. I logged into my webinar and cuddled with my little one. Somehow it gave me a little glimmer of hope that I can juggle being a mom, librarian, and a student.

I only have a couple more weeks of getting to be a full time stay at home mom, before going back to work. Until next time!

My little alligator.

Full time librarian to short term stay at home mom

There have been a lot of changes in my life in the past few months. I moved, celebrated the holidays, gave birth to my son and stopped working. That’s a lot of change for this librarian. In order to prepare for maternity leave I wrote a manual for a majority of the things that I do at work for my co-workers to reference while I am away. Thankfully I was able to finish it before I had my son, since he decided to arrive on what was supposed to be my last day at work. It also happened to be his fathers and great uncles birthday. I have to admit he may be the greatest adventure of my life. It’s funny to be typing this with one hand as I hold him, until my awesome boyfriend came to take him to change a possible dirty diaper. So incredibly grateful for all of our friends and family members who have stopped in to check in on us and to help out with even the most mundane chores so I can spend some time with my little man. Yes the mom part of me is starting to take over a lot of my life, in the best possible way.

The librarian in me is still very present. One of my best guy friends is giving me six weeks before I am chomping at the bit to go back to work. Yes I am stubbornly convinced I can prove him wrong. Let’s see shall we? Don’t get me wrong, there are some parts of me that miss going to work everyday and feeling a sense of accomplishment and having adult conversations. On the other hand I am slowly starting to get a routine down with taking care of the little one and balancing a relationship. I can’t wait until I can start to take my little guy to the library.

Random musings

Recently a friend of mine made a list of things not to say to a school bus driver.  It got me thinking about all of the things people tell me when they hear what I do for work.It’s funny the preconceived notions people have about certain professions when they hear about what you do for a living. I understand librarians and books go hand in hang to a degree, but I don’t actually get to spend my entire day reading books. A lot of the reading I do on the job is trying to figure out the solution to a technology question or MARC records. Why is it when people hear you are a librarian they automatically think your job involves very little work? Have other librarians encountered this before? Don’t get me wrong I love the work I do and I do like to read books but that is not the whole of my existence. These days I don’t read as much as I would like too and in a few months a lot of the reading I will be doing will involve lots of pictures as I read to my little one. Sometimes I debate about writing up a list of things not to say to your local librarian. Maybe one of these days I will write a list and post it here on the blog. So many thoughts going through my mind these days.

 

Until next time!

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Libraries in the digital age

So there are a lot of exciting things happening right now in my life and yet at the same time I feel as if my thoughts are scattered in every direction. One of the new big things in my life is that come the end of January / beginning of February I will be starting a new adventure as a first time mommy. Big right?! Well before I go into full time mommy/librarian mode, I really want to finish up my certification. Luckily I will be able to do this in September when I am taking a class all about technology and libraries in the digital age.

This is something big to look at because the role of libraries and librarians is forever evolving in the digital age. What was important when I was a kid may not be as important today or in five years. These are all things we have to think about in the evolving role of librarians and libraries. It is very easy to argue the need for more space and more computers within the library to accommodate the growing population needs, but you also have to think about what questions may arise with the increasing number of technology advancements being made every day.

Change is never easy and it doesn’t happen over night. Yes there are a few things you can begin to incorporate within your library without breaking the bank. You can advertise to the public of the availability of one-on-one appointments where a staff member works with them individually on questions they have. This is a great way to connect with community members who may be unsure of how to use e-mail, load e-books to their e-reader, learning Facebook to stay in contact with friends and family all over the world, etc. It is possible by starting small it will increase the awareness of what the library has to offer and what it can offer in the future with more funding, increased number of devices available for public use, and encouraging the continuing education of staff members.

Some people think because I am young, that technology comes easily to me. This is not always the case. There have been plenty of times I have sat there and glared at something because I was frustrated and couldn’t easily figure out the solution to my problem. It is only because I play around until I figure out the problem, consult the user manual, and help page on the given items website that I am able to solve the problem in front of me.

As I said my thoughts right now are very scattered and hopefully with the help of making a lot of lists and putting pen to paper theoretically, I can begin to feel organized again.

What are your thoughts of libraries role in the digital era?

 

Sorry for my very long absence

Hey Everyone!

Sorry for being gone for so long. It has been an extremely busy summer. My sister and I both celebrated our birthdays in June, within four days of each other, and a few short weeks later she married one of her best friends. I was lucky to be her maid of honor on that very special day. I was able to go the entire day without wearing the walking boot, which was a plus for me. Walking up and down the hill and lawn at my moms was a challenge enough with my long dress. Unfortunately I had to go back to work and the real world. So what has been happening in my world? Lots we are about 3/4 of the way through our summer reading program with lots of programs going on throughout the week. I am also working on replacing books we lost when Mother Nature decided to weed our collection for us. (Look at previous posts about this.) I am also writing up pretty much a manual of procedures for my position to give other co-workers a understand what I do and  how to do what is now second nature to me. This is a real challenge to me because I have to have someone else sit with me and ask why I didn’t write down a step because I honestly didn’t think of it. It also makes me feel like it takes me three times as long to do something that normally takes no time at all. They say patience is a virtue right? I suppose I should work on that. There are lots of other changes that are coming up in the horizon but I will tackle them as they get closer.

Until next time. Wish me patience!

Inner thoughts of a librarian

This past week has been a very busy one for me. On Sunday I hosted my sister’s bridal shower and with the help of my two best friends we were able to successfully pull it off. Two days later I attended the Vermont Library Association Conference. It was a lot of fun, though I look forward to attending it again minus crutches. VLA is a great way to network and see what other libraries around the state are doing. I attended a few different lectures. They were all interesting in their own ways. One of the lectures I attended was titled “Rapid Reviews” this is one I try to attend every year because its great to hear actual people review books they have read over the year. The books are broken into categories and suggestions are given. I have hopes to add some of the titles reviewed to our collection, they will be a great addition to our collection and I feel our patrons would like the titles. Another program I attended was all about the Red Clover and Dorothy Canfield Fisher books for next year. While I am not a children’s librarian it was great to stay up to date on what books are on the local children’s award lists. This appeals to me as I studied children’s literature while I was in college. It was funny when I would talk to friends from home and tell them I was reading Winnie the Pooh for homework.

Another thing I did this week was to teach a very basic introductory class to PIntrest. While there were only two people who attended, at least I was able to connect with them. When I am working with someone one-on-one it forces me to slow down and think things through. I have to mentally translate things in my mind and try to explain them in a way anyone can understand. I have hopes that I was able to explain why so many people are drawn to using Pintrest and how it can be useful.

When I was talking to my roommate last night we were talking about college degrees and who of our friends are actually using their degrees. While at school I received an English degree. While it may not seem like I am using my degree, I actually use it on a daily basis while at work. My knowledge of children’s literature is great when I am talking to patrons about certain books and being able to say which one comes first in a given series. There are so many projects and crafts that can be coordinated with children’s books. Pintrest is a great source of inspiration if you want ideas for projects to pair with books.

Until next time!

Books & a broken foot!

Hey Everyone ~

I’m about halfway through my cataloging class! After this I need only one more class before I get my certification next year. This for me is very exciting. Next Tuesday I will be attending the Vermont Library Association Conference. This is a great way to meet other librarians around the state and pick their brains for new ideas to apply or adapt at the library. Now you are probably wondering about the broken foot… Two weeks ago I thought I had simply sprained my ankle after missing a step getting out of the two truck after my car broke down. While I did sprain my ankle, I also broke a bone in my foot. It’s what is called a dancer’s fracture… I call it annoying. For the next few weeks my foot and part of my leg is encased in a neon pink cast. I want to make sure people can see me walking, right?

Back to the part about books. The cataloging class is interesting. We are looking at different fields which make up a good record each day and writing by hand in those fields. While this may seem like tedious work to look at the records for the same 51 books for a total of five days. it is the idea of repetition will help it to sink in our minds. I have to admit when I was at work the other day, I did look at the records differently. This is a good thing because it means my mind is changing the way I assess what is a good record and what is a so so record.

So for the next few weeks I get to be a super librarian on crutches with a neon pink cast. Think the kids will find it funny?

Until next time.

 

 

Books, RDA, & overall craziness

Hey Everyone

I have not forgotten about the blog, but I do apologize for not posting lately. My life has been extremely crazy lately. I am finishing up the last of the credits (hopefully) that I need for my Vermont Library Certification. To me this is a pretty big deal because it is something I have been working towards for the last three years. My last class (fingers crossed) will be on Friday, May 16th! Outside of work and classes I am also busy planning my sister’s bridal shower and doing a lot of running around for that.

So as you can tell I have a lot on my plate right now. The class I am currently taking is all about basic cataloging. As a cataloger it’s great for me to be able to work with others to learn the new rules of RDA cataloging as opposed to AARC-21 cataloging. The class is a lot of hands on work mixed with lecture. This is great because of the repetition and breaking down the fields a little at a time to have it drilled in my mind what fields correspond with what type of information about the item in front of me that I am going to catalog. A lot of the cataloging that I do on a daily basis is called “copy cataloging” but there are the few rare occasions when I have to do original cataloging. In all honesty I try to avoid doing original cataloging like the plague. (Sorry listening to Dan Brown’s Inferno right now).

When I haven’t been in class, at work, or running around like crazy getting things done for the bridal shower, I have been able to spend a little time with friends. One friend in particular and I have been arguing about the roles of libraries in today’s economy. The reason for our argument is that we stand on different sides about our local library and a bond vote of three million dollars to redesign the current library. Being a librarian I do openly admit to being biased and also I know some of the people who work in the library we are arguing about so that adds additional bias to my side of the argument. I feel that libraries are important institutions in today’s economy because we offer so much more than just books. We provide technology to those who may not have access, programming, databases, technological help, classes, and so much more. We also see people of all ages come through our doors every day. Libraries are changing the way people see us and we are becoming more of a community center and the heart of towns.

Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the fact that my friend feels strongly enough to argue with me about this because it’s not often I get to argue about the importance of libraries to someone who does not work in the field. It’s also great that as one of my best friends he can see something that is important to me and makes a conscious effort to argue and agree with me about the importance of libraries and books.

OK that is enough rambling for today. Until next time!

Insights to this librarians world

I apologize to everyone for my lack of blogging lately, I had a serious case of writer’s block and an extreme lack of creativity. This week I attended a Tech Unconference with other librarians from around the state. The very fact that this was an “unconference” and not a normal conference was a great new experience for me. So you may be reading this going what is an “unconference”? It is similar to a conference, the only difference is we were able to vote on the topics we wished to discuss. The part that was great about this is there was not a single person or a panel of people at the front of the room talking to everyone. Instead we gathered around as a group and discussed things we do in our library and how we have tackled problems.         To be able to discuss what is going on in your library and to get inspiration for programs with others, who are not a part of your staff is a great experience.

Here’s a little insight into what it means to be a librarian, we don’t want to reinvent the wheel fifty million times. We LOVE to share ideas with others and share resources with each other. Yesterday I found a great article on Pintrest, another library had shared about things your librarian does that you may not be aware they do. The title of the article is “5 Things That People Don’t Realize Their Librarians Do”. I recommend looking up this article, it explains what it means to be a librarian. I agree with this article in so many ways. People think because I am a part of the younger generation that I intuitively know all about technology. Yes I’m not yet 30, I have another year to go, but that does not mean all of technology is intuitive to me. The only reason I am able to troubleshoot things is because I had a boss who believed in me and said I want you to learn this. Honestly it’s as simple as that.

When I first started college, I thought I wanted to be a teacher and I even took a few education classes. Once I decided that was not for me, I switched my focus to business classes but felt that was not for me either. It wasn’t until I was a junior that I found my niche in English. As I was going through the journey of finding where my interests lie, I had been working in the college library for two years. My Marms will joke the best thing about my college education is that I found a job I can be passionate about. I honestly think it’s because I was surrounded by people who were willing to teach me new skills and allowed me to take charge on projects.

Don’t worry I will get back to writing about different programs I use on a daily basis at work and in my personal life. I will even write a blog post about Pintrest another day.

TTFN!

P.S. How great is that Steampunk Librarian picture?