Become a librarian

This morning I received a phone call at the yarn store. I got the job!!!! It’s the first one I ever applyed for, which is wierd. I think I owe someone down at the Friends where I interned some serious gratitude.

It’s 20 hours a week at the reference desk and general duties at a local branch of my public library. If I were the sort of person who does such things, I could ride a bike there. I don’t know my schedule yet, but I already have a new employee training to go to and my first official day will the the yearly all-staff meeting (to which I responded, “Will there be hazing?”). That’s on Columbus Day, so I have a couple of weeks for it to sink in. The library is closing for 2 weeks to get new carpeting and I’ll start when it reopens. For those of you who know St. Paul, it’s the one on Marshall Street near Izzy’s Ice Cream Cafe.

Wow. Now that I’ve got the job, I’m a bit nervous. Life is much simpler at the yarn store.

Everything went fine. I got there on time and they were running late, so I got to drink my coffee and poke around the branch a bit. I even found some great books to buy from their discards shelf for the boy. I looked the part, I felt the part, and (for the most part) I answered the questions well. This was much more of a conversational interview, which I’m much more used to. The questions were pretty predictable. “How would you handle an angry patron with fines so large that they are restricted from checking out books?” “How do you work on teams?” “How would you handle a Mother that comes in looking for a book for her daughter who hates reading?” Pretty standard stuff. The only place I’m not totally confident is on having expertise on their databases, but that gives me something to work on for the next one. I’m sure all the candidates are fully qualified and great, so it’ll come down to whose style fits in best with theirs. That’s something I can’t control, nor should I change to suit them. So we’ll see. They won’t be contacting anyone for a couple of weeks. The interview lasted about 45 minutes, which is a good sign.

I’m happy with my life now and I know the right position will happen at some point. I must say it’s a nice place to be.

Oh yeah, – I turned down the PT gig in the non-profit office. The last thing I need is to scatter my focus and make my schedule less flexible. It was so wonderful to be asked however and I was tempted because those folks are so great.

It’s for a part-time position at a library about 5 minutes from my home. I’ve done my research on the branch, bought some new clothes, and had my hair done (fixed?). We’ll see how it goes – my mantra going in is: professional, but friendly. I’ve got the friendly part down, hopefully the hair and clothes will help with the professional part.

I also got a phone call yesterday from a non-profit reading program that works out of the Friends looking for a one day a week assistant. He called me at the yarn store and I didn’t recognize his name or voice at first and I thought he was the gay customer(whose name I don’t know) that was going to a men’s knitting night at another local store that I asked to announce my interest (and availability) for a knitting man. ACK.

Luckily I didn’t say too much before I figured it out. Sigh.

I received a message today asking me to come in to interview for a PT position this Friday in the local public library. Wow. I went in a couple of weeks ago for a mass cattle-call-like interview, but I didn’t figure that there was an actual position coming up so soon. I thought they were culling through the applications from last April to be prepared for any future opennings. Who knew that the future is now? I think I can justify buying some new clothes for this!

Edit: New clothes are bought. I love Ann Taylor.

So I’ve gone three times so far and it’s pretty fun, though a bit heartbreaking at times. I get there about 15 minutes early and pull my favorite picture books off the shelves and out of the board bins. Then I get the bucket with the provided books and supplies, slip on my neon yellow vest, and set up my small table.

I can’t solicit any children to read to (I have visions of the scary candy guy from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when I say that), so I usually start by reading to a librarian or the security cop. Soon a couple of kids come by and they listen a bit, bring me books to read, listen some more, wander over to the computers, come by again, and so on. A few kids have read books to me. Some parents bring their children over, but mainly my audience consists of this one family of kids that live across the street. One girl looks about three, but is small and doesn’t speak very clearly. She has been there all three times I’ve gone. She has never had any parents with her, though sometimes she has an older brother (about 5) with her. She crosses the street herself to go to the library. Yup, you read that right.

Today I told her that I had picked out a board book to read just to her and her face glowed with happiness. I’ve heard from some of the librarians there that social services has already been involved with the family, so I try hard just to focus on my interaction with her and stay present in the moment. I predict that she’ll be there every week waiting for me when I arrive.

Next week Grandma is out of town, so I’ll be bringing my own boy along, which means I won’t have to enlist the staff to shill for kids.

Lessons learned: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is always a crowd pleaser. The Cat in the Hat – not so much.

This Saturday I will go to a local library for my first shift as a ‘Random Reader’. It’s a brand new program. Volunteers will wear bright yellow vests and read picture books to whomever is at the library for an hour. It’s like a surprise Summer storytime. I think it will be fun. (Plus, it gets me in a library and meeting the staff) There will be a basket of books for us to pick from, but we can also select anything else we want to read. It’s supposed to be fun and relaxed.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

My home town system is hiring 5 FT and 9 PT Library Associates – paraprofessional positions. I sent in my application today and it felt good. Who knows how I’ll rank amongst the other applicants, but I’m glad to break through the inertia of the first application. I’ve been interning at the Friends of that system and I think the higher ups will put in a good word for me as well as a good reference from my supervisor.

Of course I was still working on the ap today and it was due at 4:30. But that’s not the important part. The important part is that it is done, it is in, and I think it was good – so yea me.

I’m taking a class with Michael Stephens, which means that I got class credit for making my own trading card.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48775308@N00/2223985718/

My life is so good right now.

I think making a reader’s guide to knitting fiction is a step towards this goal.

Had my first day volunteering. Mindless volunteer-like work, but that’s not the point. I met lots of people and I’m on my way! (Ugly shoes and all) (I’m pretty fixated on the shoes)

On a side note I had a consultation on all the different aspects of librarianship that I might pursue and all the signs came back – Marketing and Avocacy. I feel great to have finally found a focus within the huge world of librarianship. It’s given me energy!