March 2008

Wed the 5th 10-12
Sat the 8th 10-5
Tues the 11th 10-2
Wed the 12th 10-2
Thursday the 13th 10-2
Mon the 24th 3-8
Sat the 29th 10-3
Mon the 31st 3-8
Month Total: 47 Hours

One of the things that I did this month that I was really excited about was weeding. Cheryl let me work in the Fantasy section because she knew I loved that genre. It was also helpful because I'm aware of which fantasy books were more popular than others, or which ones are well written. Overall, I pulled between 20 and 30 books off the shelves. Cheryl and I decided that if books hadn't been checked out in the last three years that I should pull them. She'd make final decisions later. This job was a little bittersweet because I was taking books off the shelf that I know I would have liked to read when I would have the time, as well as ones I HAD read before and thought were really good. I was also looking for damaged books in need of replacing. I later asked Cheryl if I did the job well. I was worried about it since I'd never weeded before (and thought of getting rid of fiction books makes me sad). However, she alleviated my fears and told me I'd done a wonderful job, especially in finding the books that needed to be replaced.

This month I found myself sitting at the main circ desk a lot less than before. However it wasn't all that bad because the second desk was now reorganized and had stamps of their own so it would easier for both circ desks to share check out duty when the lines are long. I had also done less of notifying patrons of their holds, but more of pulling the hold list from the shelves. I Think this is because I was doing more days during the week when more workers came in, instead of on a weekend when it would be one circulation clerk and then me to help.

Brandywine's DVD collection has really been growing quickly lately. Cheryl is often getting new titles and patron requests to add to the library. She asked if I would re-arrange the DVDs and videos so that they used more of the shelves, but left space on the end for new and returning items. I was more than happy to do this. Part of me had wondered why so many shelves were empty in that area why some of the others were so packed.

When things get moved or new shelves come in, it makes me so happy when it makes better use of space. Another thing that was new that made my librarian heart happy was that the new magazine (the ones not allowed to circulate yet) were put into jackets. It would easier to tell which were the new issues while protecting them at the same time. I know it sounds silly, but it really makes the job easier.

This month I worked more with patrons, usually one on computers having trouble, but it helped me gain confidence. Most of the questions were about finding certain websites, or how to use different features of microsoft word. One of the more involved problems we had was a brandywine student trying to view a podcast from one of her teachers. It wouldn't load and when Marie couldn't figure it out, she asked me to help. I knew almost right away that the cast wouldn't play because the computer didn't have Quicktime installed. I've had trouble with that before. Though we had to wait 20 minutes for the software to download and install, that WAS the problem and the student and her mother were very greatful for he help.