9:00am-2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 122
Internship completed!!!
Well, I have mixed feelings about working at the library today. I am elated to be finishing up the requirements of my degree, but I have truly enjoyed the work I have been able to do at the library and of course, I will miss the personal interaction with the staff. They have been wonderful in welcoming me and teaching me about the inner workings of the library. I will miss the work, I will miss the learning, and I will miss them. The good news is that I plan on using the library a lot more often, bringing my kids to programs, checking out books, and participating in the upcoming Summer Reading Programs. We have kids, a YA, and adults in our family, so we should be able to cover the whole range of library SRP!
I spent the entire day in the NC Room, finishing up a project I had started with Gale. I reorganized an Excel spreadsheet she had originally created several years ago and updated it with Dublin Core standard categories for bibliographic description, merging the standard categories with her originals. I deleted a few categories, as necessary, but kept additional categories that would be useful for her goals. Then, I created a new data entry sheet that would be used by library volunteers to record descriptive cataloging information on archival items. The form includes brief category descriptions which should help them as they record information, and the categories appear in the same order as those on the Excel spreadsheet, so it will be easier to input the data into the spreadsheet. I also created a new instruction sheet with details on each category and examples. I made both the instruction sheet and the data entry sheet fit on 2 pages so they could be printed front/back. I gave digital copies of all of these files to Gale so she can update, edit, and/or print as needed.
I know I will feel a void next week as I am no longer required to go to the library to serve as an intern. I am so glad that the Director and staff of the Burke County Public Library have let me serve there in my internship. I feel that they have given me a really good overall picture of library services, the challenges they face, and the creative ways they use to meet those challenges. I like the environment of a smaller library system, where the people have distinct roles and responsibilities, but where everyone is willing to pitch in and help out wherever there is a need. I have committed to help out next week, on Saturday May 12, at the Taste of Culture event, and I am looking forward to helping out. I can't believe this experience has come to a close, but I am sure to take advantage, personally, of more of the library's services in the near future. Special thanks to Mr. Wilson, Jeannie, Claudia, Nicole, Betty, Gale, Page, Cassie, Alicia, Ashleigh, Halee, Chesley, Kimberly, and Karen.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Book Repair, Patron research, Vertical files
9:00 am -11:30 am
2.5 hours
Total hours to date: 117
Still not feeling well, today I spent only the morning at the library. During that time, I repaired books then went upstairs to the NC room to help Gale. I located some land grants for a patron who had requested them by email, then made photocopies of those records. Then I researched his family name in the Heritage books relative to the area located in the land grants. I copied those pages that were relevant and gave them to Gale to send to the patron. I enjoy doing research in the NC room, but I have learned that it is really necessary to consider the amount of time and resources needed to complete research for someone who is requesting this research from outside the library. Gale is overrun with things to do, and she often has to spend time helping out at the front desk. Since she is the only person working in the NC room, she has to be mindful of her time. E-mail requests for research can be quick or they can take hours, depending upon the types of information requested and the amount of initial information that the patron gives.
When filing land grants and other vertical file items, Gale has prepared special place-holders made from laminated orange construction paper with a file tab. It is a simple, but effective method of marking a place to return the file materials. I'm sure it saves time when re-filing these materials and insures better accuracy as well.
2.5 hours
Total hours to date: 117
Still not feeling well, today I spent only the morning at the library. During that time, I repaired books then went upstairs to the NC room to help Gale. I located some land grants for a patron who had requested them by email, then made photocopies of those records. Then I researched his family name in the Heritage books relative to the area located in the land grants. I copied those pages that were relevant and gave them to Gale to send to the patron. I enjoy doing research in the NC room, but I have learned that it is really necessary to consider the amount of time and resources needed to complete research for someone who is requesting this research from outside the library. Gale is overrun with things to do, and she often has to spend time helping out at the front desk. Since she is the only person working in the NC room, she has to be mindful of her time. E-mail requests for research can be quick or they can take hours, depending upon the types of information requested and the amount of initial information that the patron gives.
When filing land grants and other vertical file items, Gale has prepared special place-holders made from laminated orange construction paper with a file tab. It is a simple, but effective method of marking a place to return the file materials. I'm sure it saves time when re-filing these materials and insures better accuracy as well.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Weeding, Discards
9:00 am -10:30 am
1.5 hours
Total hours to date: 114.5
Since I wasn't feeling well, I only stayed a short time today, but I was able to process all of the books that Page and I had weeded from the non-fiction section last week. It was close to 100 books. Since Karen wasn't working, Mr. Wilson showed me how to delete the bibliographic record for each item in the computer system. Then I stamped each book in the front and back cover pages with the "DISCARD" stamp. The next step was to blot out the bar code with a permanent black marker. Finally, the books were boxed and labeled to be taken out to the storage trailer. The books will then be available for sale through the Friends of the Library. It felt good seeing that process through from the circulation report, to weeding, to deleting and discarding. I was also able to have a discussion with the Director, Mr. Wilson, while I was working. We talked about weeding the collection. He shared that he prefers to have staff members weed aggressively than hold on to old materials that do not circulate. What good is having the resources if no one wants them? His philosophy is to have a dynamic collection, with the make-up of the collection looking quite different even 5 years from now.
1.5 hoursTotal hours to date: 114.5
Since I wasn't feeling well, I only stayed a short time today, but I was able to process all of the books that Page and I had weeded from the non-fiction section last week. It was close to 100 books. Since Karen wasn't working, Mr. Wilson showed me how to delete the bibliographic record for each item in the computer system. Then I stamped each book in the front and back cover pages with the "DISCARD" stamp. The next step was to blot out the bar code with a permanent black marker. Finally, the books were boxed and labeled to be taken out to the storage trailer. The books will then be available for sale through the Friends of the Library. It felt good seeing that process through from the circulation report, to weeding, to deleting and discarding. I was also able to have a discussion with the Director, Mr. Wilson, while I was working. We talked about weeding the collection. He shared that he prefers to have staff members weed aggressively than hold on to old materials that do not circulate. What good is having the resources if no one wants them? His philosophy is to have a dynamic collection, with the make-up of the collection looking quite different even 5 years from now.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
ASU Steel Drum Band
2:30-3:30 pm
1 hour
Total hours to date: 113
Today, I attended a library program. It was an afternoon performance by the ASU Steel Drum Band. Originally, it was planned to be an outdoor program, but it was moved to the Morganton Recreation Center because of the threat of rain. Even so, the turnout was spectacular. I estimate that there were around 300 people attending the program. There were families, older people, young adults, just a wide variety of folks, and the program was wonderful. The band consisted of about 22 musicians, led by a director, who also played. There was a snare drum set in the middle rear, serving as the "engine block" and there were a variety of steel drums played by enthusiastic ASU students. It was loud and vibrant! There was humor as well as talent, so they really put on quite a show. My kids liked their rendition of "Under the Sea," which incorporated a bubble machine to give an underwater effect. The director also educated the audience a little on the nature of the steel drums, the different sounds produced, and the types of music played on islands like Trinidad. Since 10 of the players are seniors, he pointed out that this was likely to be the last time they will play the steel drums, so much of the music that was played consisted of band members' favorites. It was quite a show.
1 hour
Total hours to date: 113
Today, I attended a library program. It was an afternoon performance by the ASU Steel Drum Band. Originally, it was planned to be an outdoor program, but it was moved to the Morganton Recreation Center because of the threat of rain. Even so, the turnout was spectacular. I estimate that there were around 300 people attending the program. There were families, older people, young adults, just a wide variety of folks, and the program was wonderful. The band consisted of about 22 musicians, led by a director, who also played. There was a snare drum set in the middle rear, serving as the "engine block" and there were a variety of steel drums played by enthusiastic ASU students. It was loud and vibrant! There was humor as well as talent, so they really put on quite a show. My kids liked their rendition of "Under the Sea," which incorporated a bubble machine to give an underwater effect. The director also educated the audience a little on the nature of the steel drums, the different sounds produced, and the types of music played on islands like Trinidad. Since 10 of the players are seniors, he pointed out that this was likely to be the last time they will play the steel drums, so much of the music that was played consisted of band members' favorites. It was quite a show.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Picture Burke, May Book Order for Non-fiction, Archive Project, SRP
Friday, April 20
9:00 am -2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 112
Since there were few staff members in the library this morning, while the library was closed, I had limited options for activities. First, I spoke with Nicole, who is in charge of ordering books for the fiction section. I asked her to meet with me sometime in the next week to discuss her collection development procedures as I had done last time with Page. Today wasn't a good day because of other duties and limited staff, but she would try and work me in next Friday. Page had left some work for me to do regarding the May order for non-fiction; I completed cards for each book that would be ordered, using information from her spreadsheets. These were sorted by branch library, and would be given to Karen so that she could process the orders.
The rest of my day, I spent in the NC Room with Gale. First, she showed me the ins and outs of "Picture Burke" a huge repository of local historic photographs that have been digitized and are being cataloged into this collection. This project was funded by a grant, and up to now, there are about 3600 photographs in the collection. Requests are often made by local businesses to get copies of these photographs to display, which they are able to get for a small fee.
I spent the rest of my time further documenting items in the archive collection. The most interesting of these items was a school reader that was published in 1880. It had original handwriting by the children who had used the book, and there were also imprints of pennies worth one cent and two cents in the end pages at the back of the book. There was also a sweet poem written by one of the book's owner's sisters. I also had the chance to review a catalog that Gale uses for ordering archival products and helped her process incoming supplies from this catalog. It was amazing how expensive these archival items are. I imagine it is somewhat difficult to justify the expense.
At the end of the day, I had about 30 minutes to spare, so I went down to the YA office and noticed that the nametag lanyards were not complete, so I spent the rest of my time attaching the remaining nametags to the lanyards. These will be used for the summer reading program for the Young Adults.
9:00 am -2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 112
Since there were few staff members in the library this morning, while the library was closed, I had limited options for activities. First, I spoke with Nicole, who is in charge of ordering books for the fiction section. I asked her to meet with me sometime in the next week to discuss her collection development procedures as I had done last time with Page. Today wasn't a good day because of other duties and limited staff, but she would try and work me in next Friday. Page had left some work for me to do regarding the May order for non-fiction; I completed cards for each book that would be ordered, using information from her spreadsheets. These were sorted by branch library, and would be given to Karen so that she could process the orders.
The rest of my day, I spent in the NC Room with Gale. First, she showed me the ins and outs of "Picture Burke" a huge repository of local historic photographs that have been digitized and are being cataloged into this collection. This project was funded by a grant, and up to now, there are about 3600 photographs in the collection. Requests are often made by local businesses to get copies of these photographs to display, which they are able to get for a small fee.I spent the rest of my time further documenting items in the archive collection. The most interesting of these items was a school reader that was published in 1880. It had original handwriting by the children who had used the book, and there were also imprints of pennies worth one cent and two cents in the end pages at the back of the book. There was also a sweet poem written by one of the book's owner's sisters. I also had the chance to review a catalog that Gale uses for ordering archival products and helped her process incoming supplies from this catalog. It was amazing how expensive these archival items are. I imagine it is somewhat difficult to justify the expense.
At the end of the day, I had about 30 minutes to spare, so I went down to the YA office and noticed that the nametag lanyards were not complete, so I spent the rest of my time attaching the remaining nametags to the lanyards. These will be used for the summer reading program for the Young Adults.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Non-fiction & Reference collection development, weeding, book repair
9:00 am -2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 107
Today, I spent most of the day with Page, who is responsible for reference, non-fiction, the BCPLS website, and teaching computer classes. I asked to meet with her in order to gain some insight and experience with the collection development process, and area that I felt was lacking on my internship checklist. It was so helpful to talk with her and learn how she keeps records and makes decisions regarding collection development. As the only other staff member with a MLS degree besides the director, she was able to relate to my training and speak to specific questions I had regarding what I've learned in school and what is of primary importance in the public library.
We discussed the sources she uses for determining what to order, her priorities, the target reading level for the Burke County public, patron requests made through the front desk, her strategy for which areas of the collection to develop, etc. The areas of non-fictio
n that circulate most are history and biographies, and before she came, three years ago, these were the areas that received the most attention. She still focuses on these areas, but also tries to expand some other much needed areas such as medical information materials. For instance, there were plenty of books on breast cancer but none on prostate cancer, so rather than focus one one particular area, she has sought to broaden many areas of non-fiction, little by little.
I was impressed with the records she keeps regarding the non-fiction and reference collections. She has everything on spreadsheets, so she can sort and recall as needed. Also, as she reads about upcoming titles she is interested in adding to the collection, she adds them to her "wish list" spreadsheets for the coming months. Then, she must prioritize and determine which books to order. Now is a critical time because all of their Foundation money must be spent by May 4 and they will not get more book money all through the summer. Most of the books are ordered through the distributor, Baker & Taylor, and the library receives a discount that is determined by the books' publishers. She estimated that most discounts are around 25%. She must also keep in mind the library's 5-year plan, which includes increasing the collection in specific topic areas. She also leases books on a point system with B&T and she has 10 points per month that can be spent on leases. Books that cost around $27 or less are worth 1 point; $27 to $37 are worth 2 points, etc. Some books that she might have considered leasing, she actually decides to purchase if the purchase amount, with discount, is small enough. Every quarter, the library must return a portion of the leased books but they also may be able to keep some of the books. They can decide to keep books that have been of particular interest to patrons.
One of the biggest challenges that she faces, besides budget constraints, is her own personal bias. She said she must constantly keep a check on her own values and priorities and keep in mind the wide interests of patrons and their needs. She is very particular about the age of the books she purchases and doesn't usually purchase books for the collection that are more than 2 years old. I asked her which areas of the non-fiction are most popular with patrons and she responded: history, narrative non-fiction, computer, cookbooks, health & medical, religion, high school level math & science, and periodically sections like home improvement.
We also discussed the area of reference, which Page said is changing dramatically, at the moment, because of the availability of reference information online. So many of the reference materials are becoming obsolete in printed form because the e-book or online versions are searchable and can be updated quickly. The reference budget also reflects this shift. As a result, there is almost no money for reference, and there is a big need to weed this section. It is already about 1/3 of where it was a few years ago. Religious reference books are still used heavily at this library.
Page also discussed the benefits of coming from a library science program. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and maintains many contacts with her classmates as they have gone on to different areas of the profession across the country. While she originally planned to be a librarian at an academic library, she enjoys her position now, and has found that the ARSL or the Association of Rural and Small Libraries has been very helpful to her. She plans on attending the annual conference in Raleigh this September. I had not previously know that Page was the person responsible for creating and updating the library website, but I learned a little about this aspect of her responsibilities. She uses other library websites for inspiration, and she wants to make the website as user-friendly as possible, especially providing easy access to many of the resources available through NCLive. She uses her knowledge of web design and creates original code for the website. What a great skill to have! I have noticed changes in the website since I've been using it the past few years, and they are definitely positive changes.
Page also showed me how she goes about the weeding process, beginning with a circulation report of books that have circulated fewer than 3 times since the current circulation system was installed several years ago. She started pulling items on that list, but also checked the shelves for books with signs of damage or wear or books t
hat were outdated. We concentrated mainly on travel books, and quickly found many books that were pulled for weeding. It didn't take very long to fill one cart. We took the cart down to Karen, who will process these books for discard. I offered to help out with this process, but it was almost time for me to go for the day, so hopefully, I'll get to do this another day.
Today, I was also able to give a brief tour of the NC room to a patron and her children. She is a personal friend of mine who has 11 children and homeschools them all. She frequents the library often, but was curious about the materials in the NC room and has a specific interest in researching family and farm life in the early 1900s. She would like to write children's books to help document the lifestyle kept by her great-grandparents, and she has been documenting their stories. She wondered what resources might be available to her in order to help provide background she needs to know in order to give depth and understanding to the stories she will write. She is working with a local author, Susan Woodring, who is scheduled to appear at the library later this month. I was able to show her and her children the different types of resources in the NC room.
At the end of the day, I had about 30 minutes, so I repaired several chi
ldren's books downstairs. Most of the books had torn pages, but there were a couple that needed new mylar covers. It makes sense to keep on top of book repairs in order to extend the life of the books.
5 hours
Total hours to date: 107
Today, I spent most of the day with Page, who is responsible for reference, non-fiction, the BCPLS website, and teaching computer classes. I asked to meet with her in order to gain some insight and experience with the collection development process, and area that I felt was lacking on my internship checklist. It was so helpful to talk with her and learn how she keeps records and makes decisions regarding collection development. As the only other staff member with a MLS degree besides the director, she was able to relate to my training and speak to specific questions I had regarding what I've learned in school and what is of primary importance in the public library.
We discussed the sources she uses for determining what to order, her priorities, the target reading level for the Burke County public, patron requests made through the front desk, her strategy for which areas of the collection to develop, etc. The areas of non-fictio
n that circulate most are history and biographies, and before she came, three years ago, these were the areas that received the most attention. She still focuses on these areas, but also tries to expand some other much needed areas such as medical information materials. For instance, there were plenty of books on breast cancer but none on prostate cancer, so rather than focus one one particular area, she has sought to broaden many areas of non-fiction, little by little.I was impressed with the records she keeps regarding the non-fiction and reference collections. She has everything on spreadsheets, so she can sort and recall as needed. Also, as she reads about upcoming titles she is interested in adding to the collection, she adds them to her "wish list" spreadsheets for the coming months. Then, she must prioritize and determine which books to order. Now is a critical time because all of their Foundation money must be spent by May 4 and they will not get more book money all through the summer. Most of the books are ordered through the distributor, Baker & Taylor, and the library receives a discount that is determined by the books' publishers. She estimated that most discounts are around 25%. She must also keep in mind the library's 5-year plan, which includes increasing the collection in specific topic areas. She also leases books on a point system with B&T and she has 10 points per month that can be spent on leases. Books that cost around $27 or less are worth 1 point; $27 to $37 are worth 2 points, etc. Some books that she might have considered leasing, she actually decides to purchase if the purchase amount, with discount, is small enough. Every quarter, the library must return a portion of the leased books but they also may be able to keep some of the books. They can decide to keep books that have been of particular interest to patrons.
One of the biggest challenges that she faces, besides budget constraints, is her own personal bias. She said she must constantly keep a check on her own values and priorities and keep in mind the wide interests of patrons and their needs. She is very particular about the age of the books she purchases and doesn't usually purchase books for the collection that are more than 2 years old. I asked her which areas of the non-fiction are most popular with patrons and she responded: history, narrative non-fiction, computer, cookbooks, health & medical, religion, high school level math & science, and periodically sections like home improvement.
We also discussed the area of reference, which Page said is changing dramatically, at the moment, because of the availability of reference information online. So many of the reference materials are becoming obsolete in printed form because the e-book or online versions are searchable and can be updated quickly. The reference budget also reflects this shift. As a result, there is almost no money for reference, and there is a big need to weed this section. It is already about 1/3 of where it was a few years ago. Religious reference books are still used heavily at this library.
Page also discussed the benefits of coming from a library science program. She graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and maintains many contacts with her classmates as they have gone on to different areas of the profession across the country. While she originally planned to be a librarian at an academic library, she enjoys her position now, and has found that the ARSL or the Association of Rural and Small Libraries has been very helpful to her. She plans on attending the annual conference in Raleigh this September. I had not previously know that Page was the person responsible for creating and updating the library website, but I learned a little about this aspect of her responsibilities. She uses other library websites for inspiration, and she wants to make the website as user-friendly as possible, especially providing easy access to many of the resources available through NCLive. She uses her knowledge of web design and creates original code for the website. What a great skill to have! I have noticed changes in the website since I've been using it the past few years, and they are definitely positive changes.
Page also showed me how she goes about the weeding process, beginning with a circulation report of books that have circulated fewer than 3 times since the current circulation system was installed several years ago. She started pulling items on that list, but also checked the shelves for books with signs of damage or wear or books t
hat were outdated. We concentrated mainly on travel books, and quickly found many books that were pulled for weeding. It didn't take very long to fill one cart. We took the cart down to Karen, who will process these books for discard. I offered to help out with this process, but it was almost time for me to go for the day, so hopefully, I'll get to do this another day.Today, I was also able to give a brief tour of the NC room to a patron and her children. She is a personal friend of mine who has 11 children and homeschools them all. She frequents the library often, but was curious about the materials in the NC room and has a specific interest in researching family and farm life in the early 1900s. She would like to write children's books to help document the lifestyle kept by her great-grandparents, and she has been documenting their stories. She wondered what resources might be available to her in order to help provide background she needs to know in order to give depth and understanding to the stories she will write. She is working with a local author, Susan Woodring, who is scheduled to appear at the library later this month. I was able to show her and her children the different types of resources in the NC room.
At the end of the day, I had about 30 minutes, so I repaired several chi
ldren's books downstairs. Most of the books had torn pages, but there were a couple that needed new mylar covers. It makes sense to keep on top of book repairs in order to extend the life of the books.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Breakfast party, SRP preparations, meeting w/Dr. Moeller, Taste of Culture meeting
9:00 am -3:30 pm
6.5 hours
Total hours to date: 102
The day began with a breakfast celebration/going away party for Alicia, the Young Adult Program Coordinator who is leaving to take a librarian position at a nearby state facility. Since the library is not open until lunchtime on Friday, staff from the other branch libraries also came to join in the celebration. It was a wonderful opportunity for the staff to connect, to share great food with one another, and to honor Alicia's contributions to the library. Her shoes will definitely be difficult to fill.
During breakfast, Alicia asked if I would be able to help her today, so I planned to help her after breakfast. I went upstairs to meet, briefly, with the Needlework in the Morning group, with whom I have developed a great fondness. I stayed for a few minutes to catch up on everyone's new projects and asked for advice on a scarf I am making. Then, I hea
ded back downstairs to help Alicia with some projects for the Summer Reading Program. She wanted me to cut out nametags for the different Hunger Games teams (Team Katniss, Team Peeta, Team Gale, and Team Rue). These nametags would be given out when young adults come to sign up for the SRP and these teams will help determine whose names get to go in a pot for the big prizes--2 ipads! I cut out nametags, then laminated them and started cutting them out, again, and while I worked on these things, I had the opportunity to discuss YA collection development with Alicia. We discussed how she goes about choosing materials for the YA sections in each library. She tries to keep up with the up and coming new books as they are released so that they will be available to patrons on their release date. She also keeps up with series books, considers patron and staff requests, and uses published reviews to help her make decisions. She also keeps in contact with local schools, making sure to stock books on their separate reading lists, as well as award-winners and Battle of the Books titles. She is given a specific amount of money for each library branch each month which can be spent on titles for that library. She keeps up with all orders as well as items received, backordered, etc. using a spreadsheet. I was also able to give her some contact names and phone numbers for local volunteer fire department chiefs through my father, who has served as the President of the governing board of one of the local fire departments during his retirement. Alicia has had difficulty making arrangements for filling a 30 x 30 foot pool for the SRP kickoff activity, and she wanted to seek help from local fire departments. If she is not able to find a suitable way to get the pool filled, she will have to scrap the activity.
She also showed me her new logo for the BCPL Summer Reading Program. Since she opts not to use the SRP materials put out by the state library, she hires a graphic artist to create a logo for the program. This theme was determined using input from her YA student committee. We discussed possible ideas for library displays based on this theme and logo.
At about 1:15, I met with Dr. Moeller, my ASU professor who is supervising my internship. We discussed how my internship experience is going. As a whole, I have tried to get a really good overall picture of the inner workings of the library, and I have had the opportunity to see a variety of programs, meetings, and library procedures in action. The staff at BCPL have been welcoming and accommodating to my many questions. During my time here, I have tried to gather information all along the way and I have tried to be of service while I was learning. I shared with Dr. Moeller that although I have not had much experience with producing tangible products during the internship, I have learned a great deal about a wide variety of library roles, functions, tasks, and responsibilities. I feel comfortable working with the public and I feel comfortable with patrons of all ages--from the babies and toddlers, to the young adults, to the adults and older adults who frequent the library. I am also fond of working in the NC room, where I've been able to help people with genealogical and other local research as well as work on a project where I've been privileged to document archival items for the library collection. One of the things we talked about was a certain tedious task I have had the opportunity to do, on occasion. It involves cutting out a very detailed bird head that some of us have come to call the "angry bird" because it takes so long to cut out. Here are some photos:
After my meeting with Dr. Moe, I went downstairs to join in on a Taste of Culture meeting with Mr. Wilson, Alicia, and Cassie. Since Alicia is leaving, Cassie is taking on some of her responsibilities related to the Taste of Culture event to be held on Saturday, May 12. They discussed what needs to be done at this point to prepare for the event: verify all performers; check for special requests such as sound, water, space, or electricity needs; prep for Friends book sale in the meeting room of the library; finalize and document marketing strategies. The event is being advertised through the usual channels in the library--posters, fliers, etc.--but is also being advertised in the local newspaper, radio station, and WHKY tv station. They also discussed possible prizes for those participants who get their passports stamped at each station. Final prizes need to be confirmed by the 27th and discussed at the next meeting at 5:30 on that day. They are meeting later than normal to accommodate Alicia, who will be working on a contract basis, to help finish out some of the programs and activities that she had been planning as part of her YA duties. They also discussed requirements for a grant that they had received both for the Taste of Culture event and for the ASU Steel Drum Band which will be performing on Saturday, April 21. Any marketing, such as news articles, even if they are printed after the event, should be turned in for the grant documentation.
6.5 hours
Total hours to date: 102
The day began with a breakfast celebration/going away party for Alicia, the Young Adult Program Coordinator who is leaving to take a librarian position at a nearby state facility. Since the library is not open until lunchtime on Friday, staff from the other branch libraries also came to join in the celebration. It was a wonderful opportunity for the staff to connect, to share great food with one another, and to honor Alicia's contributions to the library. Her shoes will definitely be difficult to fill.
During breakfast, Alicia asked if I would be able to help her today, so I planned to help her after breakfast. I went upstairs to meet, briefly, with the Needlework in the Morning group, with whom I have developed a great fondness. I stayed for a few minutes to catch up on everyone's new projects and asked for advice on a scarf I am making. Then, I hea
ded back downstairs to help Alicia with some projects for the Summer Reading Program. She wanted me to cut out nametags for the different Hunger Games teams (Team Katniss, Team Peeta, Team Gale, and Team Rue). These nametags would be given out when young adults come to sign up for the SRP and these teams will help determine whose names get to go in a pot for the big prizes--2 ipads! I cut out nametags, then laminated them and started cutting them out, again, and while I worked on these things, I had the opportunity to discuss YA collection development with Alicia. We discussed how she goes about choosing materials for the YA sections in each library. She tries to keep up with the up and coming new books as they are released so that they will be available to patrons on their release date. She also keeps up with series books, considers patron and staff requests, and uses published reviews to help her make decisions. She also keeps in contact with local schools, making sure to stock books on their separate reading lists, as well as award-winners and Battle of the Books titles. She is given a specific amount of money for each library branch each month which can be spent on titles for that library. She keeps up with all orders as well as items received, backordered, etc. using a spreadsheet. I was also able to give her some contact names and phone numbers for local volunteer fire department chiefs through my father, who has served as the President of the governing board of one of the local fire departments during his retirement. Alicia has had difficulty making arrangements for filling a 30 x 30 foot pool for the SRP kickoff activity, and she wanted to seek help from local fire departments. If she is not able to find a suitable way to get the pool filled, she will have to scrap the activity.
She also showed me her new logo for the BCPL Summer Reading Program. Since she opts not to use the SRP materials put out by the state library, she hires a graphic artist to create a logo for the program. This theme was determined using input from her YA student committee. We discussed possible ideas for library displays based on this theme and logo.At about 1:15, I met with Dr. Moeller, my ASU professor who is supervising my internship. We discussed how my internship experience is going. As a whole, I have tried to get a really good overall picture of the inner workings of the library, and I have had the opportunity to see a variety of programs, meetings, and library procedures in action. The staff at BCPL have been welcoming and accommodating to my many questions. During my time here, I have tried to gather information all along the way and I have tried to be of service while I was learning. I shared with Dr. Moeller that although I have not had much experience with producing tangible products during the internship, I have learned a great deal about a wide variety of library roles, functions, tasks, and responsibilities. I feel comfortable working with the public and I feel comfortable with patrons of all ages--from the babies and toddlers, to the young adults, to the adults and older adults who frequent the library. I am also fond of working in the NC room, where I've been able to help people with genealogical and other local research as well as work on a project where I've been privileged to document archival items for the library collection. One of the things we talked about was a certain tedious task I have had the opportunity to do, on occasion. It involves cutting out a very detailed bird head that some of us have come to call the "angry bird" because it takes so long to cut out. Here are some photos:
After my meeting with Dr. Moe, I went downstairs to join in on a Taste of Culture meeting with Mr. Wilson, Alicia, and Cassie. Since Alicia is leaving, Cassie is taking on some of her responsibilities related to the Taste of Culture event to be held on Saturday, May 12. They discussed what needs to be done at this point to prepare for the event: verify all performers; check for special requests such as sound, water, space, or electricity needs; prep for Friends book sale in the meeting room of the library; finalize and document marketing strategies. The event is being advertised through the usual channels in the library--posters, fliers, etc.--but is also being advertised in the local newspaper, radio station, and WHKY tv station. They also discussed possible prizes for those participants who get their passports stamped at each station. Final prizes need to be confirmed by the 27th and discussed at the next meeting at 5:30 on that day. They are meeting later than normal to accommodate Alicia, who will be working on a contract basis, to help finish out some of the programs and activities that she had been planning as part of her YA duties. They also discussed requirements for a grant that they had received both for the Taste of Culture event and for the ASU Steel Drum Band which will be performing on Saturday, April 21. Any marketing, such as news articles, even if they are printed after the event, should be turned in for the grant documentation.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
NC Room archive project, rare book research
9:00 am -2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 95.5
Today, I was able to spend the entire time in the NC Room. First, I tallied and shelved materials from the previous day. I am learning my way around the materials in the NC Room much better, and I am able to help patrons more easily. Then, I continued work documenting old books found in the archive collection. The most interesting of these, to me, was the 1st edition copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin, published in 1852. It is in very good shape, relative to its age, and is probably pretty valuable. Research was done a few years ago, determining its value to be around $250. I also hadn't realized that this novel was published in volumes, because the version held by the BCPL is volume 2, containing chapters 19-end. It's fascinating to handle these historic works in the archive collection. Many of the items don't hold much value, but for now, the library is holding on to them, documenting them, and will later determine which items to keep, sell, donate to another library, etc.
Other books that I d
ocumented today were also from the 1800s and most were religious in nature, possibly originating from the library of a local religious leader, named John Carter. While I was at the library today, I completed documentation for 6 archival items, shelved materials, and helped a few patrons. It is amazing to me how much time it took to document these items, and I can see how difficult it must be for Gale to be able to complete this type of assignment with all of her other duties. It is time consuming, and low on the priority list. Some of these items that have been donated might have local interest value, while some others might be useful for specific research. Others might not be appropriate for this library collection but might make more sense in another library collection where they might see more use. I am hoping to finish documenting these items, get them added to a spreadsheet, and formulate a plan for future volunteers to continue the documentation process so that it will no longer take years for items to go from donation to the documented and cataloged library collection.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
NC Room research, genealogy help, children's services
9:00 am - 2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 90.5 hours
Last week, I found out that the YA Coordinator is taking another position at a nearby facility as a librarian, so the YA position at the library will be opening up. Since then, I've been trying to help out with whatever loose ends she might need help with. So. I checked in with her first, and made arrangements to check back at 1pm, when Kimberly would be helping with YA. Then, I went upstairs to work with Gale. It has been a while since I've been able to work with her, so she was excited to see that I would be able to spend a good bit of time helping out. I think most of the other staff members do not have an idea of the amount of work that Gale does in the NC room because she is in a room by herself, largely out of sight, and out of mind. She helps patrons who come into the NC room with individual research requests, but she also does research for the Picture Burke project as well as research and copying for patrons who email her with research requests. Today, I helped with one of those email research requests, and I ended up copying about 100 pages of material from several different books. Gale is able to charge a fee for these research and copying services, but they do take up a portion of her time. I am glad I was able to help out today, because Gale was able to work on Picture Burke research in a separate room, while I worked on copying and helping patrons.
First, I continued working on the archive project. While cataloging a book that was in the archive records, we discovered that it was a book also found in the NC room collection, and after searching WorldCat and finding the book in 4 other libraries in the area, and searching Abebooks to determine its value, we determined that it should be filed with other duplicate books rather than with the archived books. The title is Climbing the Mountains with God, by Rev. Luther Snipes, a local educator and preacher. It was printed by a local printing company from Lenoir in 1959. Because there is already one copy in the collection, there are other copies available at local libraries, and the value was estimated around $5, we filed it with duplicate books.
There was an older couple who came in, who had traveled from Macon County, to research some specific questions on their family history. They were searching for a specific book, contained in the NC room, that discussed Burke County records before the courthouse fire. They found the book, and located some information they were looking for, but I was also able to help them using an online resource I learned about in my Genealogy class. They were trying to find the name of the spouse of one of their ancestors who lived in the mid-1700s, a Joseph Gibson (b. 1749). In their family, there are two names family members have found for this spouse and they wanted to try and find out the truth. I suggested that they might try looking in cemetery records because sometimes husbands were buried beside their wives, so we looked in the cemetery records for Burke County but we did not find the man listed. So I suggested that we try findagrave.com. Since I had my laptop at the library, I was able to use the wifi to get online and search for them. I did find a grave for a Joseph Gibson, born in 1749, and buried in Statesville, which is about an hour away from here. This gravestone indicated that he had served in the Revolutionary War, and the grave was contained in a church graveyard. We searched for other Gibsons in the graveyard, but did not locate a possible spouse. They said that the spouse had died much later, so they might not be buried together. We may not have had a lot of success, but I did teach them how to use findagrave.com at home and they were very excited to try it out to see if they could find other family members. I showed them how to do a basic search, then to search specific cemeteries, and to look for photographs that they could copy and paste for their own family records. I was also able to show them a photograph I had found of one of my own ancestors. I realize that helping people in the NC room has been one of my most enjoyable experiences while I've served in this internship. Family history has become an interest of mine since I took Genealogy in graduate school, and I love helping others find what they need. I was also able to help a patron researching her church's history, other patrons with family history, and another patron looking for information on gold panning history of Burke County.
At the end of the day, I helped out in Children's Services, cutting out bird cut-outs, for the Taste of Culture event coming up in May.
First, I continued working on the archive project. While cataloging a book that was in the archive records, we discovered that it was a book also found in the NC room collection, and after searching WorldCat and finding the book in 4 other libraries in the area, and searching Abebooks to determine its value, we determined that it should be filed with other duplicate books rather than with the archived books. The title is Climbing the Mountains with God, by Rev. Luther Snipes, a local educator and preacher. It was printed by a local printing company from Lenoir in 1959. Because there is already one copy in the collection, there are other copies available at local libraries, and the value was estimated around $5, we filed it with duplicate books.
There was an older couple who came in, who had traveled from Macon County, to research some specific questions on their family history. They were searching for a specific book, contained in the NC room, that discussed Burke County records before the courthouse fire. They found the book, and located some information they were looking for, but I was also able to help them using an online resource I learned about in my Genealogy class. They were trying to find the name of the spouse of one of their ancestors who lived in the mid-1700s, a Joseph Gibson (b. 1749). In their family, there are two names family members have found for this spouse and they wanted to try and find out the truth. I suggested that they might try looking in cemetery records because sometimes husbands were buried beside their wives, so we looked in the cemetery records for Burke County but we did not find the man listed. So I suggested that we try findagrave.com. Since I had my laptop at the library, I was able to use the wifi to get online and search for them. I did find a grave for a Joseph Gibson, born in 1749, and buried in Statesville, which is about an hour away from here. This gravestone indicated that he had served in the Revolutionary War, and the grave was contained in a church graveyard. We searched for other Gibsons in the graveyard, but did not locate a possible spouse. They said that the spouse had died much later, so they might not be buried together. We may not have had a lot of success, but I did teach them how to use findagrave.com at home and they were very excited to try it out to see if they could find other family members. I showed them how to do a basic search, then to search specific cemeteries, and to look for photographs that they could copy and paste for their own family records. I was also able to show them a photograph I had found of one of my own ancestors. I realize that helping people in the NC room has been one of my most enjoyable experiences while I've served in this internship. Family history has become an interest of mine since I took Genealogy in graduate school, and I love helping others find what they need. I was also able to help a patron researching her church's history, other patrons with family history, and another patron looking for information on gold panning history of Burke County.
At the end of the day, I helped out in Children's Services, cutting out bird cut-outs, for the Taste of Culture event coming up in May.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Library tours, Children's room, Archive project
9:00 am -2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 85.5 hours
Today, I was able to do a variety of things to help out at the library. First, I checked in with Gale about the archive project, got a copy of her Excel spreadsheet for recording the data, and discussed ways we could edit the existing spreadsheet to fit the newer categories for cataloging the archival items. Having the spreadsheet on my laptop will also allow me to work some at home, since I have not been able lately to spend much of my library time in the NC room because of other activities. I worked with Gale for about an hour, then went to help Alicia, the YA Program Coordinator, with a group of 8th grade students who would be coming to tour the library facilities. Alicia led the first group, while I observed, then I led the 2nd group. Each group had about 25 students from Table Rock Middle School. While one group was touring the library, the other group was next door, touring the Burke County History Museum.
During the tour, we gave them a brief history of the library facility and introduced them to the resources available to them in the YA wing of the library--books, graphic novels, CDs, audiobooks. Alicia also told them about upcoming programs in April like Poetry Alive and the Steel Drum Band. She then told them about the Summer Reading Program, along with some of the planned activities. Their ears perked up when she mentioned that two I-pads will be given away to participants in the SRP who have attended at least 7 of the programs that will be offered this summer. At the kick-off, there will be lots of fun activities like sumo-wrestling costumes, human-sized hamster ball races, a rock climbing wall, etc. During the summer, there will be hiking and crafts each week, along with movies and lots of other activities that young adults can enjoy.
During the tour, we showed them where the following were located: YA section, magazines, new non-fiction, adult computers, reference, non-fiction, fiction. We also explained certain policies like how to get a library card, use of computers, how to use the library catalog, inter-library loan, and library etiquette. They received a tour of the NC room and Children's room, as well.
The discussion of library etiquette came about because some of the students were getting rowdy during the tour, and Alicia took a few minutes to remind them of proper behavior in the library. She explained that library use is a privilege and if young adults are acting disruptive or not following library policies, they may be asked to leave. Since I have a teaching background, I often have a teacher's mindset, and I wouldn't have thought about that as an option, because teachers don't have the ability to just ask students to leave when they misbehave. However, at the public library, where the facilities are available to the public as a privilege (not a right), adherence to library policies is required. Violation of those policies can result in losing the library privilege. It was an important reminder to the students, and to me, that use of the library should be respected and honored, and if patrons do not follow the rules, they can lose the privilege of library use.
At lunch time, I went down to the Children's room to help cover the children's area while the circulation librarian was gone to lunch. Due to some illness, the library is a little short-staffed, so I was glad to help out. During that time, I had the opportunity to serve with Barbara, who has been serving as a library aid for a number of years. She has retired from a government job but works at the library about 20 hours a week.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Book Repair & Processing
9:00 am -2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 80.5
Today, I spent a few minutes helping out at the front desk, checked in with Gale in the NC room on the archive project, then went downstairs to talk with Mr. Wilson. I talked with him about the budget process, to clarify my understanding of the approval process as well as state aid allotments, and we also discussed the role of the state library in BCPL's daily functions.
He also had a stack of children's books, in need of repair, that had come from a local day-care on outreach loan, and he wanted me to repair them. Most of the damage was torn pages that needed repair, but there were a few that needed new book jacket
covers. There was also one book that appeared to have been painted on the inside cover and along the edges of the cover as well. We determined that since the inside of the book was still in good shape and most of the paint damage would be covered by the new book jacket, we could probably fix the book without discarding it. I was glad because the book was Tuesday, by David Weisner, one of my personal favorites! I was able to remove some of the paint by wiping the book down, so it wasn't as obvious, and the new book jacket made a big difference.
I also had the chance to process a few new audiobooks, including copies of The Hunger Games and The Help. Because I had not processed audiobooks before, this was good experience for me. I had to cut apart the original packaging and fit it into a new plastic holder. I also hand-labeled each audio disc and added a pocket and labels. I spent the rest of the time processing new books by stamping them, adding pockets, spine labels, etc.
5 hours
Total hours to date: 80.5
Today, I spent a few minutes helping out at the front desk, checked in with Gale in the NC room on the archive project, then went downstairs to talk with Mr. Wilson. I talked with him about the budget process, to clarify my understanding of the approval process as well as state aid allotments, and we also discussed the role of the state library in BCPL's daily functions.
He also had a stack of children's books, in need of repair, that had come from a local day-care on outreach loan, and he wanted me to repair them. Most of the damage was torn pages that needed repair, but there were a few that needed new book jacket
covers. There was also one book that appeared to have been painted on the inside cover and along the edges of the cover as well. We determined that since the inside of the book was still in good shape and most of the paint damage would be covered by the new book jacket, we could probably fix the book without discarding it. I was glad because the book was Tuesday, by David Weisner, one of my personal favorites! I was able to remove some of the paint by wiping the book down, so it wasn't as obvious, and the new book jacket made a big difference.I also had the chance to process a few new audiobooks, including copies of The Hunger Games and The Help. Because I had not processed audiobooks before, this was good experience for me. I had to cut apart the original packaging and fit it into a new plastic holder. I also hand-labeled each audio disc and added a pocket and labels. I spent the rest of the time processing new books by stamping them, adding pockets, spine labels, etc.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Battle of the Books, Children's Services
8:00 am -2:00pm
6 hours
Total hours to date: 75.5
Today, I had the opportunity to observe and help judge the Burke County Battle of the Books competition for middle schools, sponsored by the NC School Library Media Association. Alicia, the BCPL Young Adult Program Coordinator, had been asked to judge, so I was able to tag along. It was so nice to see this competition in action. We met first with other judges, moderators, and the coordinator to go over the rules and procedures for the competition. There were 5 middle schools involved, with 2 rounds of 4 to 6 games each. At the end, scores would be tallied from all the games and a winner would be determined.
Battle of the Books is similar to a quiz bowl, with teams of 6 students representing each school. These students have prepared for the competition by reading from a list of 27 books, and they are allowed to confer before the designated person gives their answer. It was apparent that some teams were very well prepared and others were not as prepared. Each team was coached by their school's media coordinator. Students were asked a question beginning with, "In which book, . . ." and they had to give the correct book for 2 points and the author for an additional point. I had the chance to touch base with Linda, a retired media coordinator from the school where I had worked who served as the moderator for our room. She shared some of the stra
tegies she had used when she coached her BoB team. I think it was a good opportunity for the public library to coordinate with the schools on this competition so that the public library can help support these students in future preparations. The winning team was the team from the school where I did my school library internship. I was glad for them because I know they worked very hard and it was a surprising win for them.Later in the day, I had the opportunity to work in Children's Services, cutting out lots of little figures that will be used in the Summer Reading Program. While I was cutting out these figures, I had the chance to speak with Ashleigh, who is one of the Children's Programmers. She explained the structure of the staff in the Children's department of the library. There was formerly an assistant director who was in charge of the Children's Room and served as an administrator over that area, but staffing changes due to cuts or staff taking positions elsewhere put them in a position without a head administrator directly over their department. So the Library Director decided to restructure the leadership, and now there are three personnel in charge of different areas of the Children's services and programming. Most administrative duties are split between the two people with the most experience, Chesley and Ashleigh, and Halee and Ashleigh take care of programming. They all help each other out and also help out with circulation, which is mainly run by Kimberly. It really seems to work well for them. It is an example of how management has streamlined staff and duties in order to conserve money and retain existing staff.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Fund raising spreadsheet, acquisitions
9:00 am -2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 69.5
For the first part of the day, I entered data into a spreadsheet. It consisted of names and addresses of library patrons for the Valdese branch to serve as a "target list" of possible donors for an upcoming renovation at the Valdese library. The plans are to create an outdoor amphitheater on the property adjacent to the library, which has been newly acquired. So I was asked to compile this list from a combination of several lists and add the names and addresses to a spreadsheet. I am not planning on including this spreadsheet into my portfolio because of the confidentiality of the data, but there were about 150 entries representing individuals or families. I imagine that many of the people on this list are influential in the community, loyal and/or enthusiastic library patrons, or members of the education community who might have an interest in sponsoring library growth. This project reinforces this library system's goal of sponsoring programming that seeks to unite the community it serves. It will be interesting to see how the project unfolds.
I also had the opportunity to work with Karen, who is in charge of acquisitions, repairs/discards, etc. She handles the actual ordering and receiving of materials--both from vendors and from the two branch libraries in the system. Since the internet was down during most of the time I spent with her, she was not able to show me how to do an actual order, but she was able to give me a general tour of the types of things she does. She also showed me how to process books by stamping, adding security tag, adding date due pocket, stamping, bar coding, and installing shelf tag. I was also able to repair some books--replacing pockets, replacing book jacket cover, etc. Finally, while she was gone to lunch, I was able to complete processing on several books that had been donated so that they could enter circulation at the CB Hildebrand branch. This library is fortunate to receive a large amount of donated material. Of course, it has to be evaluated before processing, but there are many books that are donated in excellent or new condition.
5 hours
Total hours to date: 69.5
For the first part of the day, I entered data into a spreadsheet. It consisted of names and addresses of library patrons for the Valdese branch to serve as a "target list" of possible donors for an upcoming renovation at the Valdese library. The plans are to create an outdoor amphitheater on the property adjacent to the library, which has been newly acquired. So I was asked to compile this list from a combination of several lists and add the names and addresses to a spreadsheet. I am not planning on including this spreadsheet into my portfolio because of the confidentiality of the data, but there were about 150 entries representing individuals or families. I imagine that many of the people on this list are influential in the community, loyal and/or enthusiastic library patrons, or members of the education community who might have an interest in sponsoring library growth. This project reinforces this library system's goal of sponsoring programming that seeks to unite the community it serves. It will be interesting to see how the project unfolds.
I also had the opportunity to work with Karen, who is in charge of acquisitions, repairs/discards, etc. She handles the actual ordering and receiving of materials--both from vendors and from the two branch libraries in the system. Since the internet was down during most of the time I spent with her, she was not able to show me how to do an actual order, but she was able to give me a general tour of the types of things she does. She also showed me how to process books by stamping, adding security tag, adding date due pocket, stamping, bar coding, and installing shelf tag. I was also able to repair some books--replacing pockets, replacing book jacket cover, etc. Finally, while she was gone to lunch, I was able to complete processing on several books that had been donated so that they could enter circulation at the CB Hildebrand branch. This library is fortunate to receive a large amount of donated material. Of course, it has to be evaluated before processing, but there are many books that are donated in excellent or new condition.
Monday, March 19, 2012
YA Marketing, Archive Project
9:00 am -1:30 pm
4.5 hours
Total hours to date: 64.5
Today, I was able to help Alicia with some of the YA marketing for this month and next month. She asked me to arrange and photograph a display for this month's Hunger Games prizes. There will be drawings for a prize pack including: a THG t-shirt, book, movie ticket, poster, and bookmark. She felt that a photograph of the prizes would help increase awareness in the prizes that the teens can win through participation in the many YA events this month. It was fun trying to make a professional-looking display using scavenged materials, and I think it turned out great.
Also, I spent a while researching and preparing a flier for an upcoming event next month. Alicia has hired a performance group called Poetry Alive, from Asheville, to come to the library for a YA/Adult program to celebrate National Poetry Month. Poetry Alive has been visiting school groups, doing live performances of poetry for about 25 years. I perused their website, searching for information, images or descriptions to help me in creating this flier. While there was little marketing information that wasn't geared and worded specifically for schools, I was able to create a flier that I was happy with in the end. There wasn't much to go on, so I built it from scratch. Alicia approved it and it went to the Director for approval. With a couple minor changes, it was approved and set aside for printing. It was fun to have the opportunity to create something practical and I hope to be able to do more of this kind of project. I would also like to learn more about marketing strategies and techniques, since they are so important in the public library.
Lastly, I continued work on the archive project in the NC room. I tried, in vain, to discover the name of a woman whose WWI scrapbook was donated to the library. The only things I had to go on were the daughter's and grandmother's name of the woman who had made the scrapbook. I searched using ancestry.com, but I didn't find out anything conclusive. Without any dates or without more information, it was proving more difficult than I thought.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Preschool Pals Storytime
9:30 am - 11:30 am
2 hours
Total time to date: 60 hours (halfway!)
Today, I had the privilege of filling in for Ashleigh, who normally leads story time for the 4-5 year olds, the Preschool Pals. I wasn't able to speak with Ashleigh on Tuesday, since she was out with a sick child, so I came in a little early to set up and to get a look at the plan and the books for the day. Ashleigh had left plans for story time that included reading two picture books, a flannel board activity and song, a group activity, craft, and snack. Halee did most o
f the set up and helped during the program, but I welcomed the kids and parents and led the program. It was a blast. The stories were appropriately about St. Patrick's Day, so I did a little introduction of myself and talked a little about St. Patrick's Day, leprechauns, and wearing green before we started the first book. I loved the first book, The Night Before St. Patrick's Day, by Natasha Wing. It was a parody of The Night Before Christmas, and the kids seemed to enjoy it.
Then, we did a rainbow building activity/song before reading another book, Saint Patrick's Day, by Brenda Haugen, which was a picture book about the origins and customs associated with the holiday. It wasn't
quite as engaging for this group as the first book, but it was still a good choice because it approached the holiday from an informational stand without being too advanced. After another activity, we did a shamrock painting craft, then the kids got to build their own rainbow snack with several colors of jello. I think they had a good time. There were about 14 children, plus a few siblings and their parents. I enjoyed getting to have fun with the kids and play around with the St. Pat's Day theme. Because I have kids in this age group and I have been a teacher, this activity fell right in my comfort zone. I do have plenty to learn, however, about these story times and I'm sure Halee and Ashleigh have a lot of good tips about what kinds of books to choose and activities that work well with the children. I hope I am able to work more with the children and perhaps help out with the planning for some of the future programs.
2 hours
Total time to date: 60 hours (halfway!)
Today, I had the privilege of filling in for Ashleigh, who normally leads story time for the 4-5 year olds, the Preschool Pals. I wasn't able to speak with Ashleigh on Tuesday, since she was out with a sick child, so I came in a little early to set up and to get a look at the plan and the books for the day. Ashleigh had left plans for story time that included reading two picture books, a flannel board activity and song, a group activity, craft, and snack. Halee did most o
f the set up and helped during the program, but I welcomed the kids and parents and led the program. It was a blast. The stories were appropriately about St. Patrick's Day, so I did a little introduction of myself and talked a little about St. Patrick's Day, leprechauns, and wearing green before we started the first book. I loved the first book, The Night Before St. Patrick's Day, by Natasha Wing. It was a parody of The Night Before Christmas, and the kids seemed to enjoy it.Then, we did a rainbow building activity/song before reading another book, Saint Patrick's Day, by Brenda Haugen, which was a picture book about the origins and customs associated with the holiday. It wasn't
quite as engaging for this group as the first book, but it was still a good choice because it approached the holiday from an informational stand without being too advanced. After another activity, we did a shamrock painting craft, then the kids got to build their own rainbow snack with several colors of jello. I think they had a good time. There were about 14 children, plus a few siblings and their parents. I enjoyed getting to have fun with the kids and play around with the St. Pat's Day theme. Because I have kids in this age group and I have been a teacher, this activity fell right in my comfort zone. I do have plenty to learn, however, about these story times and I'm sure Halee and Ashleigh have a lot of good tips about what kinds of books to choose and activities that work well with the children. I hope I am able to work more with the children and perhaps help out with the planning for some of the future programs.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Battle of the Books, Children's Room, Terrific Tots Storytime, Archive project, YA Book discussion
9:00 am - 2:00 pm
& 4:00 pm -5:00 pm
6 hours
Total hours to date: 58
I started out today sitting in on a meeting with Alicia and A. Bradshaw, the Media Director for the local school system. Since I taught literally next-door to her for a number of years, it was nice to see her again. She was meeting with Alicia to review rules and procedures for the upcoming middle school reading competition--Battle of the Books, in which Alicia will be a judge. It was an interesting meeting to me, because I have been a teacher so competitions like this are familiar to me, but I have not been involved in Battle of the Books. Alicia asked if I could come, so I am going to try to attend. It is a unique opportunity to blend my experiences and training in both school and public librarian roles. Battle of the Books is similar to a quiz bowl, except each school's team reads and studies from a list of 18 books on the BoB list. Media Coordinators from each school coach their teams. It should be fun!
I helped to shelve books in the children's room and check-in/out during the busy times before and after Toddler story-time. I was also able to peek in during the toddler story-time craft and interact with some of the children and parents. I think toddler story-time is just as much for the parents as it is for the children. The parents get an opportunity to catch up and converse with other parents and the kids have a fun time in a social setting while they are learning about the library and enjoying books.
Then, at around lunchtime, I went upstairs to the NC room to continue working on the archive project with Gale. I finished documenting and labeling three archive-safe boxes of artifacts. Also, I was able to document the characteristics of a very interesting WWI scrapbook of newspaper articles from 1918-1919. This scrapbook must have been a labor of interest for a local woman as she carefully clipped various articles from the Charlotte newspaper of the day, with each article documenting something about the war.
I reflected, as I was leaving the library today, that I really do enjoy every aspect of my work in the library so far. I enjoy working with the adults and the many senior citizens who frequent the library. I enjoy helping people find things and use the computers. I enjoy working in the NC room with research, genealogy, local history, and archiving. I also love working with the children. One of the areas where I haven't had much involvement so far is in acquisitions with Karen, but I will work with her next week. I am excited to learn how she processes, repairs, and distributes materials for the library and I am also eager to help her because she has so much to do. Also, I haven't dealt much with Paige, who teaches computer classes for the adults. I'm not sure what other responsibilities she has, so I hope to learn more about her job as well. I want to get involved more with all the different programming areas and sit in on more of the programs.
This afternoon, I also attended the YA book discussion for The Hunger Games at CB Hildebrand branch of the library. I had never been to that branch, so it was very interesting to see
that satellite of the BCPLS. Although it is small, there's a little bit of everything, from computers, to YA, adult, and children's books, so I think it is a wonderful and convenient resource for the people of that community. Because it is small, the book discussion was held at a long conference table in the large room; there was not a separate room, so there was a little bit of distraction from other patrons who were in the library at the time. There were ten young adults in attendance, and Alicia led a discussion about The Hunger Games. It was a book that the young adults seem to really enjoy, although it did take them a few questions in the beginning to warm up before all of them really began contributing. I think Alicia kept the tone very fun and interesting, balancing the thoughtful questions with more light-hearted ones. I found it difficult to observe with getting involved too much, and I realized that I was having to suppress the teacher in me who wanted to get in "teacher mode." These YA discussions should be a chance for the young adults to explore their thoughts on the book without academic pressure, so the mood should reflect that purpose. All in all, I think it was a busy but productive day.
& 4:00 pm -5:00 pm
6 hours
Total hours to date: 58
I started out today sitting in on a meeting with Alicia and A. Bradshaw, the Media Director for the local school system. Since I taught literally next-door to her for a number of years, it was nice to see her again. She was meeting with Alicia to review rules and procedures for the upcoming middle school reading competition--Battle of the Books, in which Alicia will be a judge. It was an interesting meeting to me, because I have been a teacher so competitions like this are familiar to me, but I have not been involved in Battle of the Books. Alicia asked if I could come, so I am going to try to attend. It is a unique opportunity to blend my experiences and training in both school and public librarian roles. Battle of the Books is similar to a quiz bowl, except each school's team reads and studies from a list of 18 books on the BoB list. Media Coordinators from each school coach their teams. It should be fun!
I helped to shelve books in the children's room and check-in/out during the busy times before and after Toddler story-time. I was also able to peek in during the toddler story-time craft and interact with some of the children and parents. I think toddler story-time is just as much for the parents as it is for the children. The parents get an opportunity to catch up and converse with other parents and the kids have a fun time in a social setting while they are learning about the library and enjoying books.
Then, at around lunchtime, I went upstairs to the NC room to continue working on the archive project with Gale. I finished documenting and labeling three archive-safe boxes of artifacts. Also, I was able to document the characteristics of a very interesting WWI scrapbook of newspaper articles from 1918-1919. This scrapbook must have been a labor of interest for a local woman as she carefully clipped various articles from the Charlotte newspaper of the day, with each article documenting something about the war.
I reflected, as I was leaving the library today, that I really do enjoy every aspect of my work in the library so far. I enjoy working with the adults and the many senior citizens who frequent the library. I enjoy helping people find things and use the computers. I enjoy working in the NC room with research, genealogy, local history, and archiving. I also love working with the children. One of the areas where I haven't had much involvement so far is in acquisitions with Karen, but I will work with her next week. I am excited to learn how she processes, repairs, and distributes materials for the library and I am also eager to help her because she has so much to do. Also, I haven't dealt much with Paige, who teaches computer classes for the adults. I'm not sure what other responsibilities she has, so I hope to learn more about her job as well. I want to get involved more with all the different programming areas and sit in on more of the programs.
This afternoon, I also attended the YA book discussion for The Hunger Games at CB Hildebrand branch of the library. I had never been to that branch, so it was very interesting to see
that satellite of the BCPLS. Although it is small, there's a little bit of everything, from computers, to YA, adult, and children's books, so I think it is a wonderful and convenient resource for the people of that community. Because it is small, the book discussion was held at a long conference table in the large room; there was not a separate room, so there was a little bit of distraction from other patrons who were in the library at the time. There were ten young adults in attendance, and Alicia led a discussion about The Hunger Games. It was a book that the young adults seem to really enjoy, although it did take them a few questions in the beginning to warm up before all of them really began contributing. I think Alicia kept the tone very fun and interesting, balancing the thoughtful questions with more light-hearted ones. I found it difficult to observe with getting involved too much, and I realized that I was having to suppress the teacher in me who wanted to get in "teacher mode." These YA discussions should be a chance for the young adults to explore their thoughts on the book without academic pressure, so the mood should reflect that purpose. All in all, I think it was a busy but productive day.
Friday, March 9, 2012
YA, Needlework group, Taste of Culture Planning, Front desk, NC Room
9:00 am -2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 52
Today was another busy day, beginning with helping Alicia with her YA activities by making Hunger Games buttons for next week's big kickoff of activities celebrating the books and the movie premiere. Since Alicia and her daughter were able to serve as extras in the movie, she is excited about the premiere, but many other people in our community are excited as well. Not only are the books phenomenal, but parts of the movie were filmed in our county, so the buzz surrounding this movie premiere is a little larger than usual for the YA audience in our area. I am planning to attend as many of the YA events next week as my schedule will allow.
After helping Alicia, I went upstairs to the Needlework in the Morning group. Francis had brought the afghan she is working on for me; she kindly offered to finish the knitting my grandmother had started over 20 years ago, and she is almost finished. I still cannot believe the extent of her generosity. By the time our group meets again, she will have completed it. I am so grateful to have met these ladies in the needlework group. They are inspiring and interesting. It is amazing to hear of their experiences and global travels. There were about 11 ladies there today, an increase over previous weeks. For these ladies, this group is an opportunity to connect and share a common interest and appreciation of craft, and there are several different techniques represented. There are varying levels of knitting and crochet experience present, but members are also making jewelry, crewel, and a Japanese form of needlework I learned about today called temari. A website on temari with photo can be found here: http://temari.com/ The ladies expressed their appreciation that the group has continued even after a staffing change. Cassie, the new Adult Programming Coordinator, only started in the position in September, but she fits right in with this group and they appreciate her contributions.
At 11 am, I joined with Cassie, Alicia, Chesley, Amber, and Mr. Wilson in the planning meeting for the Taste of Culture Activity to be held on Saturday, May 12. The event is a rather large event with a budget of $4000 and involving several community and performing groups. Discussion centered mainly around which performing groups and booths had been confirmed and ideas were taken for other participants. Gale in the NC room had agreed to put together an inside display of "Picture Burke" photographs. Children's activities and crafts were discussed as well. Some staff members will be securing additional confirmations of performers or seeking donations bottled water or items for giveaways. The next meeting was set for March 30, 11:00 am.
After the meeting, I spent the remainder of the day helping Gale in the NC room or helping out at the front desk. During that time, I was able to finish documenting two of the archival items for Gale. These items are over 100 years old and both are ledger books for a grocer in the area at that time called Forney & Co. One appears to be an account book for the grocery store, to keep track of items bought by particular customers, but the other seems to be an individual's transactions with the grocer. Both items are in very fragile condition. Gale and I hope to get a good system started for documenting the characteristics of these archived items so that they can be properly cataloged. I was also able to help out a couple patrons with specific research issues. One lady, in particular, was distraught and visibly upset because she was desperately seeking to find non-fiction, self-help reading material by 2 particular authors. Since the library didn't carry any items by either author, I tried to show her some similar works, but she really wanted these authors because a friend had recommended them. So I showed her how to use the library computers to look up information about these authors and their books using amazon.com, and we pinpointed the books she wanted. Then, she was able to fill out an interlibrary loan request. She was a desperate patron without a lot of initial information nor skill, but I believe she felt satisfied, in the end, even though she didn't find exactly what she wanted.
5 hours
Total hours to date: 52
At 11 am, I joined with Cassie, Alicia, Chesley, Amber, and Mr. Wilson in the planning meeting for the Taste of Culture Activity to be held on Saturday, May 12. The event is a rather large event with a budget of $4000 and involving several community and performing groups. Discussion centered mainly around which performing groups and booths had been confirmed and ideas were taken for other participants. Gale in the NC room had agreed to put together an inside display of "Picture Burke" photographs. Children's activities and crafts were discussed as well. Some staff members will be securing additional confirmations of performers or seeking donations bottled water or items for giveaways. The next meeting was set for March 30, 11:00 am.
After the meeting, I spent the remainder of the day helping Gale in the NC room or helping out at the front desk. During that time, I was able to finish documenting two of the archival items for Gale. These items are over 100 years old and both are ledger books for a grocer in the area at that time called Forney & Co. One appears to be an account book for the grocery store, to keep track of items bought by particular customers, but the other seems to be an individual's transactions with the grocer. Both items are in very fragile condition. Gale and I hope to get a good system started for documenting the characteristics of these archived items so that they can be properly cataloged. I was also able to help out a couple patrons with specific research issues. One lady, in particular, was distraught and visibly upset because she was desperately seeking to find non-fiction, self-help reading material by 2 particular authors. Since the library didn't carry any items by either author, I tried to show her some similar works, but she really wanted these authors because a friend had recommended them. So I showed her how to use the library computers to look up information about these authors and their books using amazon.com, and we pinpointed the books she wanted. Then, she was able to fill out an interlibrary loan request. She was a desperate patron without a lot of initial information nor skill, but I believe she felt satisfied, in the end, even though she didn't find exactly what she wanted.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Young Adult Coordinator, NC Room, Toddler Story Time, Children's Services
9:00 am - 2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 47
My day was full of activity, from beginning to end, today. When the Director, Mr. Wilson, asked me what I would like to do today, I had several requests and ideas, and I was able to do a little bit of everything that I wanted to do. First, since this month is a very heavily planned YA month of activities revolving around the opening of The Hunger Games movie, I wanted to check with Alicia, the YA Coordinator, learn about her responsibilities, and see if I can help her. So I was able to meet with her for about an hour to discuss her plans for this month, her job responsibilities, and some of her ideas for future activities. It was completely amazing to me how much she accomplishes and how much she is responsible for with the Young Adults. When she had to leave at 10 am to cover the front desk, I went up to the NC room to speak with Gale about our plans for the archive project, and I documented and reshelved lots of the previous day's materials.
Then at 11 am, I went downstairs to observe and help out with Toddler Story Time. I loved watching the kids and their parents. Halee read three books and did a finger-play activity with the kids, then they made 2 crafts, all along with the theme of caterpillars. It was a lot of fun, but exhausting at the same time. It was a large group, with 16 toddlers and their parents. After story time, I spent the remainder of the day in Children's services, helping out with making materials for a future display, going through all the board books to determine repair needs, cleaning and sanitizing the computer area, and checking out books for a private school group of Pre-k and kindergarteners. I also volunteered to help out with future story times and made tentative arrangements to do the 4 to 7 year olds' story time next Thursday because Ashleigh, who normally does that story time, is going to be absent. Ashleigh will seek approval from Mr. Wilson first, and I will check to see if I can secure babysitting for my son that day. I am excited about getting more involved in the activities of the library.
5 hours
Total hours to date: 47
My day was full of activity, from beginning to end, today. When the Director, Mr. Wilson, asked me what I would like to do today, I had several requests and ideas, and I was able to do a little bit of everything that I wanted to do. First, since this month is a very heavily planned YA month of activities revolving around the opening of The Hunger Games movie, I wanted to check with Alicia, the YA Coordinator, learn about her responsibilities, and see if I can help her. So I was able to meet with her for about an hour to discuss her plans for this month, her job responsibilities, and some of her ideas for future activities. It was completely amazing to me how much she accomplishes and how much she is responsible for with the Young Adults. When she had to leave at 10 am to cover the front desk, I went up to the NC room to speak with Gale about our plans for the archive project, and I documented and reshelved lots of the previous day's materials.
Then at 11 am, I went downstairs to observe and help out with Toddler Story Time. I loved watching the kids and their parents. Halee read three books and did a finger-play activity with the kids, then they made 2 crafts, all along with the theme of caterpillars. It was a lot of fun, but exhausting at the same time. It was a large group, with 16 toddlers and their parents. After story time, I spent the remainder of the day in Children's services, helping out with making materials for a future display, going through all the board books to determine repair needs, cleaning and sanitizing the computer area, and checking out books for a private school group of Pre-k and kindergarteners. I also volunteered to help out with future story times and made tentative arrangements to do the 4 to 7 year olds' story time next Thursday because Ashleigh, who normally does that story time, is going to be absent. Ashleigh will seek approval from Mr. Wilson first, and I will check to see if I can secure babysitting for my son that day. I am excited about getting more involved in the activities of the library.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Opening preparations, NC room, archive storage project, patron research
Friday, March 2
9:00 am -2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 43
I started off today by helping Nicole with her routine activities to prepare the library for opening. I helped check in and shelve books from the book drop, place books on reserve as requested by branch libraries, retrieved supplies from supply closet, replenished supply of tax forms and documents, etc. Then, I helped Gale in the NC room. I shelved and filed materials from the previous day. Next, I started documenting and labeling some archived materials that Gale has been meaning to catalog for a while. The project was started in 2009 but has been on the back burner. She has several items that have been donated that need to be documented and cataloged so it can be decided what to do with these items. One of the items was an account/ledger book that was from a grocer in the area around 1910-1916. There is also a first edition of the book, Uncle Tom's Cabin. These items need to be properly stored and categorized, so I will be working on getting this project underway and then instructing one of the NC Room's regular volunteers on how to properly document and record the details of these items so the work can be continued even after I am no longer serving as an intern.
One of my most enjoyable experiences today was helping a gentleman do some of his genealogical research. He came into the library as soon as it opened, eager to research a particular question he had about some of his family history research. I showed him how he could use census data to determine parents' names, children, verify birthdates, etc. His research would have been easy and convenient on a computer, but he doesn't have a computer at home, so he comes to the library. Although the NC room had some materials that helped him, I do wish the library had access to ancestry.com because he could have found essentially the same information, but with images of the actual census documents. Also, I feel like the search would have been faster and easier. However, at this library, there are no computers in the NC room that are internet-capable, and the computers available in the main lobby are sluggish. Of course, I did not express any of these opinions to the patron; instead, we used the resources available in the NC room and I feel like we were successful in finding documentation of what he was searching for. His ancestors have been in the Burke County area for at least 100 years, so the NC room is a great resource for him.
9:00 am -2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 43
I started off today by helping Nicole with her routine activities to prepare the library for opening. I helped check in and shelve books from the book drop, place books on reserve as requested by branch libraries, retrieved supplies from supply closet, replenished supply of tax forms and documents, etc. Then, I helped Gale in the NC room. I shelved and filed materials from the previous day. Next, I started documenting and labeling some archived materials that Gale has been meaning to catalog for a while. The project was started in 2009 but has been on the back burner. She has several items that have been donated that need to be documented and cataloged so it can be decided what to do with these items. One of the items was an account/ledger book that was from a grocer in the area around 1910-1916. There is also a first edition of the book, Uncle Tom's Cabin. These items need to be properly stored and categorized, so I will be working on getting this project underway and then instructing one of the NC Room's regular volunteers on how to properly document and record the details of these items so the work can be continued even after I am no longer serving as an intern.
One of my most enjoyable experiences today was helping a gentleman do some of his genealogical research. He came into the library as soon as it opened, eager to research a particular question he had about some of his family history research. I showed him how he could use census data to determine parents' names, children, verify birthdates, etc. His research would have been easy and convenient on a computer, but he doesn't have a computer at home, so he comes to the library. Although the NC room had some materials that helped him, I do wish the library had access to ancestry.com because he could have found essentially the same information, but with images of the actual census documents. Also, I feel like the search would have been faster and easier. However, at this library, there are no computers in the NC room that are internet-capable, and the computers available in the main lobby are sluggish. Of course, I did not express any of these opinions to the patron; instead, we used the resources available in the NC room and I feel like we were successful in finding documentation of what he was searching for. His ancestors have been in the Burke County area for at least 100 years, so the NC room is a great resource for him.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Program--First Impressions: Interviewing & Resumes
11:00 am - 1:00pm
2 hours
Total hours to date: 37
Today, I attended a program planned by the Adult Services Coordinator, Cassie, as part of a series of programs this year called "Live Well in 2012." The program was called "First Impressions: Interviewing & Resumes." I planned to attend this program to serve two purposes:
2 hours
Total hours to date: 37
Today, I attended a program planned by the Adult Services Coordinator, Cassie, as part of a series of programs this year called "Live Well in 2012." The program was called "First Impressions: Interviewing & Resumes." I planned to attend this program to serve two purposes:
- I am interested in the topic since I plan to re-enter the workforce after a ten year absence and need to brush up on my resume and interviewing skills.
- I thought it would be a great opportunity to attend a program and view it through the lens of both a participant and an intern, learning about what it takes to put on a great program.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Summer Reading Planning Meeting, Needlework in the Morning, Front Desk
9:00 am - 2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 35 hours
Today, I had the privilege of sitting in on a planning meeting for the Summer Reading Program. The mee
ting was led by Betty, the Assistant Director, along with staff from all three library branches. This was their second planning meeting, and they each were supposed to review their planning notebooks and come in with ideas to share. I learned that the NC state library produces these notebooks of ideas, along with the state-wide theme, and they provide 3 notebooks to the BCPL. Betty said she also buys a few more copies so that there are enough copies for key personnel at each branch. Planning for the summer reading program begins with the first meeting in January and they meet monthly to get ready for the big series of programs and activities involved in the Summer Reading Program.
The theme this year is: Dream Big. Read!
I also learned that libraries share ideas through a forum available on NCLive, called NCKids, and anyone can subscribe to that List Serve, so I did.
"NC public library youth services staff can collaborate and receive real-time communication from the State Library via NCkids list serve. Also,view past posts via the list's archive."
----from http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ld/youth/index.html
The staff shared ideas for weekly theme activities as well as ideas for weekly reading incentives for kids and ideas for larger kickoff events. They discussed whether or not to try and hire one or two acts for these activities and decided to have three events with one being an activity with a hired performer and the other two would be planned and staffed by library personnel. Staff members were given tasks to complete or research to do and the next meeting date was scheduled for Friday, March 23 at 9:00 am at the CB Hildebran branch.
I was also able to join in with the ladies who were participating in the bi-weekly activity, "Needlepoint in the Morning." I had promised them last time that I would bring some of the things my grandmother had made, including an afghan she had started for me but wasn't able to finish before she passed away. I have held onto the yarn, the pattern, and the work she had started for all these years (she passed away in 1994), in the hopes of either learning to knit so I could finish it myself or paying someone to finish it for me. The ladies looked at it, examined it, and gave their opinion on what could be salvaged and how it might be redone. Then, Frances, the senior-most expert of the group, offered to take it home and work on it a little to see if it could be finished. I am so humbled that she would be so generous with her time and talent for me when we've only met just recently. Carmen had brought some beautiful beaded necklaces that she had made and even gave away a couple of them to participants in the group. These ladies care about each other and this group has become an important part of their schedule. They use the time to create, to knit/crochet/etc. but also to share their creativity and to socialize.
When the group ended at noon, I helped clean up, then helped out at the front desk and helped a patron find some information he needed for a research project on herbal medicines using resources in the NC room.
5 hours
Total hours to date: 35 hours
Today, I had the privilege of sitting in on a planning meeting for the Summer Reading Program. The mee
ting was led by Betty, the Assistant Director, along with staff from all three library branches. This was their second planning meeting, and they each were supposed to review their planning notebooks and come in with ideas to share. I learned that the NC state library produces these notebooks of ideas, along with the state-wide theme, and they provide 3 notebooks to the BCPL. Betty said she also buys a few more copies so that there are enough copies for key personnel at each branch. Planning for the summer reading program begins with the first meeting in January and they meet monthly to get ready for the big series of programs and activities involved in the Summer Reading Program.The theme this year is: Dream Big. Read!
I also learned that libraries share ideas through a forum available on NCLive, called NCKids, and anyone can subscribe to that List Serve, so I did.
"NC public library youth services staff can collaborate and receive real-time communication from the State Library via NCkids list serve. Also,view past posts via the list's archive."
----from http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ld/youth/index.html
The staff shared ideas for weekly theme activities as well as ideas for weekly reading incentives for kids and ideas for larger kickoff events. They discussed whether or not to try and hire one or two acts for these activities and decided to have three events with one being an activity with a hired performer and the other two would be planned and staffed by library personnel. Staff members were given tasks to complete or research to do and the next meeting date was scheduled for Friday, March 23 at 9:00 am at the CB Hildebran branch.
I was also able to join in with the ladies who were participating in the bi-weekly activity, "Needlepoint in the Morning." I had promised them last time that I would bring some of the things my grandmother had made, including an afghan she had started for me but wasn't able to finish before she passed away. I have held onto the yarn, the pattern, and the work she had started for all these years (she passed away in 1994), in the hopes of either learning to knit so I could finish it myself or paying someone to finish it for me. The ladies looked at it, examined it, and gave their opinion on what could be salvaged and how it might be redone. Then, Frances, the senior-most expert of the group, offered to take it home and work on it a little to see if it could be finished. I am so humbled that she would be so generous with her time and talent for me when we've only met just recently. Carmen had brought some beautiful beaded necklaces that she had made and even gave away a couple of them to participants in the group. These ladies care about each other and this group has become an important part of their schedule. They use the time to create, to knit/crochet/etc. but also to share their creativity and to socialize.
When the group ended at noon, I helped clean up, then helped out at the front desk and helped a patron find some information he needed for a research project on herbal medicines using resources in the NC room.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Day Six--NC Room, Event Planning Meeting, Front Desk
9:00 am - 2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 30
Today, I started off in the NC Room with Gale. We discussed a snag in her efforts to send microfilm to be digitized. There is a copyright issue involving The News Herald and its parent company, so she must hold off on sending microfilm to be digitized with a different company. It was her understanding that she could have reels dated pre 1978 digitized, but there is some dispute about it so she must clear up the matter before proceeding. I was able to do a little detective work because she had received 3 email requests for research since Tuesday, so I tried to find answers and sources for these patrons. One patron wanted copies of two unrelated news articles from the local paper. One was an article on a local business, and the other was a wedding article with photo printed in The News Herald. Using the vertical file, I searched for the requested article about the business, but there was no such article in the file. Without further details, it may be difficult to find this article without considerable research; the only information given was the nature of the article and a year--1956. Since the microfilm is not indexed, this job would take quite a while. However, if we had these microfilm reels digitized, like Gale is trying to do, it would be so much easier for patrons to locate such information, even from their own homes. I was able to locate the wedding article and print out a copy for the patron. The patron had given the wedding month and year and names of bride and groom, so Gale suggested that I check the marriage records books first in order to find the exact date of the wedding. Using that date as a starting point (March 6, 1970), I was able to locate the article (March 17, 1970). I enjoy doing this kind of research for patrons, but Gale cautioned me that she must be wary of time spent on this type of work because she has so much else to do and must prioritize by considering how much time and effort would need to be spent on the tasks. Although she is able to charge a fee for research service, there is no guarantee that money will come back to the NC room since it is turned in to the county.
Mr. Wilson asked me to attend a staff meeting at 11:00 in the meeting room downstairs; in attendance were Mr. Wilson, Alicia (YA), Chesley (Children) and Cassie (Adult Programming). The meeting was mainly run by Alicia, who is planning a large event to be held in May, the Taste of Culture. This event has been run each year for the last 4 years and consists of 15 to 20 tents/booths representing different countries, historical & community organizations, and library organizations--and lots of FOOD. It incorporates information and entertainment with a multicultural focus and is held on the lawn of the library campus. With a budget of $4000, funded in part from a grant by the Arts Council, it is a big event. Morganton Parks and Recreation is also involved. In the meeting, Alicia distributed a flier, performance schedule, and a map that were used in the previous year's event to refresh everyone's memory about the event and stimulate ideas. They discussed what worked and what didn't work as well as the types of equipment that were used to determine what would be needed for this year's event. Plans were discussed about inclement weather and it was decided that the leftover passports from last year could be used again. Participants who visit booths will receive a stamp at each booth and will be able to show their passports for a reward at the end. Chick-fil-A had supported this activity in the past with a coupon for a prize, but another prize will have to be determined since that business no longer operates in town.
Performers from the previous year were discussed--some worked out well and will be asked back, some will not be asked back, and another group requested more money for their fee. Children's activities were discussed; need to choose an alternate activity besides chalk art because it was not popular last year. Possible ideas include photo stand-up artwork and Chesley will work on some other ideas. Center for Cultural Diversity in Asheville has had an informational poster-size panel display which could be held inside the library. Marketing plans were discussed--banners at library and across street in downtown. There was a concern about whether or not the cost of the second banner would be worth it in the long run because there was limited access time for the banner to be put up. The banner should include minimal information so it can be read easily by drivers. Other plans for marketing include: city and library website, facebook, radio, newspaper, schools. We may offer free water if a donation can be found. April 3, Cassie and Alicia will attend the Cultural Festival at ASU to try and research local acts and make contacts for future programming efforts. They also discussed number of garbage cans, volunteers, and Friends of the Library book sale at the event. Next meeting time would be March 9 at 11:00 am. The meeting lasted about an hour and a half, and it was rather eye opening to me. I was amazed at the amount of planning and the fine details that must be accounted for in events of this size. Alicia gave me an advanced copy of the YA events calendar for March so I can try and fit some of the activities in my schedule. I am excited about the topic because it is related to the Hunger Games (since the movie comes out in March). There are 9 activities!!!! This library really does put a lot of energy into the programming.
The rest of the day, I helped out at the front desk and shelved adult fiction.
5 hours
Total hours to date: 30
Today, I started off in the NC Room with Gale. We discussed a snag in her efforts to send microfilm to be digitized. There is a copyright issue involving The News Herald and its parent company, so she must hold off on sending microfilm to be digitized with a different company. It was her understanding that she could have reels dated pre 1978 digitized, but there is some dispute about it so she must clear up the matter before proceeding. I was able to do a little detective work because she had received 3 email requests for research since Tuesday, so I tried to find answers and sources for these patrons. One patron wanted copies of two unrelated news articles from the local paper. One was an article on a local business, and the other was a wedding article with photo printed in The News Herald. Using the vertical file, I searched for the requested article about the business, but there was no such article in the file. Without further details, it may be difficult to find this article without considerable research; the only information given was the nature of the article and a year--1956. Since the microfilm is not indexed, this job would take quite a while. However, if we had these microfilm reels digitized, like Gale is trying to do, it would be so much easier for patrons to locate such information, even from their own homes. I was able to locate the wedding article and print out a copy for the patron. The patron had given the wedding month and year and names of bride and groom, so Gale suggested that I check the marriage records books first in order to find the exact date of the wedding. Using that date as a starting point (March 6, 1970), I was able to locate the article (March 17, 1970). I enjoy doing this kind of research for patrons, but Gale cautioned me that she must be wary of time spent on this type of work because she has so much else to do and must prioritize by considering how much time and effort would need to be spent on the tasks. Although she is able to charge a fee for research service, there is no guarantee that money will come back to the NC room since it is turned in to the county.
Mr. Wilson asked me to attend a staff meeting at 11:00 in the meeting room downstairs; in attendance were Mr. Wilson, Alicia (YA), Chesley (Children) and Cassie (Adult Programming). The meeting was mainly run by Alicia, who is planning a large event to be held in May, the Taste of Culture. This event has been run each year for the last 4 years and consists of 15 to 20 tents/booths representing different countries, historical & community organizations, and library organizations--and lots of FOOD. It incorporates information and entertainment with a multicultural focus and is held on the lawn of the library campus. With a budget of $4000, funded in part from a grant by the Arts Council, it is a big event. Morganton Parks and Recreation is also involved. In the meeting, Alicia distributed a flier, performance schedule, and a map that were used in the previous year's event to refresh everyone's memory about the event and stimulate ideas. They discussed what worked and what didn't work as well as the types of equipment that were used to determine what would be needed for this year's event. Plans were discussed about inclement weather and it was decided that the leftover passports from last year could be used again. Participants who visit booths will receive a stamp at each booth and will be able to show their passports for a reward at the end. Chick-fil-A had supported this activity in the past with a coupon for a prize, but another prize will have to be determined since that business no longer operates in town.
Performers from the previous year were discussed--some worked out well and will be asked back, some will not be asked back, and another group requested more money for their fee. Children's activities were discussed; need to choose an alternate activity besides chalk art because it was not popular last year. Possible ideas include photo stand-up artwork and Chesley will work on some other ideas. Center for Cultural Diversity in Asheville has had an informational poster-size panel display which could be held inside the library. Marketing plans were discussed--banners at library and across street in downtown. There was a concern about whether or not the cost of the second banner would be worth it in the long run because there was limited access time for the banner to be put up. The banner should include minimal information so it can be read easily by drivers. Other plans for marketing include: city and library website, facebook, radio, newspaper, schools. We may offer free water if a donation can be found. April 3, Cassie and Alicia will attend the Cultural Festival at ASU to try and research local acts and make contacts for future programming efforts. They also discussed number of garbage cans, volunteers, and Friends of the Library book sale at the event. Next meeting time would be March 9 at 11:00 am. The meeting lasted about an hour and a half, and it was rather eye opening to me. I was amazed at the amount of planning and the fine details that must be accounted for in events of this size. Alicia gave me an advanced copy of the YA events calendar for March so I can try and fit some of the activities in my schedule. I am excited about the topic because it is related to the Hunger Games (since the movie comes out in March). There are 9 activities!!!! This library really does put a lot of energy into the programming.
The rest of the day, I helped out at the front desk and shelved adult fiction.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Day Five--NC Room
9:00 am - 12:30 pm
3.5 hours
Total hours to date: 25
Today, I spent my entire time in the NC room with Gale, the curator, and I was able to work on a variety of jobs. I started out shelving materials (books, archived materials, and vertical files) and recording statistics. There are so many various types of information contained in this room, it is truly amazing and complex. It will take a while to truly understand where everything is kept. I also looked up names and contact information for all the Social Studies department chairs at each of the county's high schools for the Genealogical Society.
I helped Gale locate information to help a patron (from Pennsylvania) who had requested genealogy information via email. That was easily the most interesting and exciting part of the day. The patron wanted information about a possible family connection to a specific road and a church in the county. Using Burke County Heritage volumes 1 and 2, vertical file--church history, and Edward Phifer's History of Burke County, we were able to trace the history of the family name connection to the road and church, and I made copies for Gale to send to the patron.
Gale also showed me several photographs that a patron had emailed to donate to the Picture Burke Project. She will need to contact the patron and explain that the library would be unable to use the digital photos in their current form because the resolution is too low for the Picture Burke standards. She will request that the patron bring in the originals, if possible, so that they may be scanned at the proper resolution.
While I was there, a gentleman who works at the Burke County History Museum came in to let us know about a past special edition of The News Herald that he wanted to see if we had a copy of in the NC Room. It is from March 30, 1997, Section H, "Images of Burke II," and contains 14 pages of historical information and photographs of black schools in the county. He thought this might be a good resource for patrons. Gale found this issue in the vertical file, but the section H was missing. She isn't sure if it had once been included but was removed or if it was never part of the collection. We agreed that it would be worth pursuing to try and get a copy for the library. That led to a discussion with Gale about The News Herald's lack of archived copies of the newspaper. I learned that some newspapers have a "morgue" or collection of previous editions of the newspaper that can be used for reference and that The News Herald once had such a collection but decided to throw these away at some point. Now, the only archived copies of the News Herald are contained in the state archives or at the library--Microfilm or clipped articles in the vertical file. Gale is currently seeking funding for a project in which old reels of microfilm (containing the newspaper archives) will be digitized and will become searchable online, after receiving original approval and enough funding to get started. I hope to help her get this project underway. She will be sending off 40 reels for digitization soon and will be seeking grant money to expand this project. Both of us feel like this is a worthwhile project that has great potential for library patrons both in Burke County and elsewhere.
3.5 hours
Total hours to date: 25
Today, I spent my entire time in the NC room with Gale, the curator, and I was able to work on a variety of jobs. I started out shelving materials (books, archived materials, and vertical files) and recording statistics. There are so many various types of information contained in this room, it is truly amazing and complex. It will take a while to truly understand where everything is kept. I also looked up names and contact information for all the Social Studies department chairs at each of the county's high schools for the Genealogical Society.
I helped Gale locate information to help a patron (from Pennsylvania) who had requested genealogy information via email. That was easily the most interesting and exciting part of the day. The patron wanted information about a possible family connection to a specific road and a church in the county. Using Burke County Heritage volumes 1 and 2, vertical file--church history, and Edward Phifer's History of Burke County, we were able to trace the history of the family name connection to the road and church, and I made copies for Gale to send to the patron.
Gale also showed me several photographs that a patron had emailed to donate to the Picture Burke Project. She will need to contact the patron and explain that the library would be unable to use the digital photos in their current form because the resolution is too low for the Picture Burke standards. She will request that the patron bring in the originals, if possible, so that they may be scanned at the proper resolution.
While I was there, a gentleman who works at the Burke County History Museum came in to let us know about a past special edition of The News Herald that he wanted to see if we had a copy of in the NC Room. It is from March 30, 1997, Section H, "Images of Burke II," and contains 14 pages of historical information and photographs of black schools in the county. He thought this might be a good resource for patrons. Gale found this issue in the vertical file, but the section H was missing. She isn't sure if it had once been included but was removed or if it was never part of the collection. We agreed that it would be worth pursuing to try and get a copy for the library. That led to a discussion with Gale about The News Herald's lack of archived copies of the newspaper. I learned that some newspapers have a "morgue" or collection of previous editions of the newspaper that can be used for reference and that The News Herald once had such a collection but decided to throw these away at some point. Now, the only archived copies of the News Herald are contained in the state archives or at the library--Microfilm or clipped articles in the vertical file. Gale is currently seeking funding for a project in which old reels of microfilm (containing the newspaper archives) will be digitized and will become searchable online, after receiving original approval and enough funding to get started. I hope to help her get this project underway. She will be sending off 40 reels for digitization soon and will be seeking grant money to expand this project. Both of us feel like this is a worthwhile project that has great potential for library patrons both in Burke County and elsewhere.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Day Four--Needlework in the Morning, NC Room
9:00 am - 2:00 pm
5 hours
Total hours to date: 21.5
Today, I started out helping Cassie, the Adult Program Coordinator, set up for "Needlework in the Morning." This is a small group of women who meet from 10 am to 12 noon on the 2nd and 4th Fridays each month and sit together to socialize and do needlework--crochet, knitting, crewel, etc. This meeting occurs when the library is closed to the public, so those participating enjoy a period of uninterrupted time and have more freedom to speak without worrying about noise. Light refreshments are provided, and the atmosphere is casual and friendly. I wish that I had known ahead of time that I would be in this group because I could have brought my own crochet supplies, but Cassie gave me some yarn and a needle. I haven't crocheted in about 3 years, and I only have a minimal, beginner's experience, so I was able to get some help and advice from the other ladies. By the end of the two hours, I felt as if I had made friends with the ladies as well as gotten a jumpstart on my crocheting skills. It really was fun and I felt a little guilty because it didn't feel like work to me to spend time with these ladies. Although the activity isn't directly tied to books or literacy, some of the discussion centered around books, travel, and an interesting conversation on the pros and cons of e-readers. This type of programming is designed to foster a sense of community, sharing, and learning, which is integral to a library's mission.
Aside from my time with the needlework group, I was able to help Jeannie pull books that had been requested by patrons and I helped Gail in the NC room with copying and dating newspaper clippings and excerpts from books. I was also able to help a patron/volunteer in the NC room with Microsoft Word and I spent a small amount of time working at the front desk. From my discussions with the director, Mr. Wilson, I have learned that programming is a very important component of the Burke County Public Library services. I feel like he has directed me toward access to these programs while I have been here because he wants me to get a feel for these types of library services. So far, I have enjoyed all of the work I've been involved with at the library, from the mundane clerical tasks to the special programs.
5 hours
Total hours to date: 21.5
Today, I started out helping Cassie, the Adult Program Coordinator, set up for "Needlework in the Morning." This is a small group of women who meet from 10 am to 12 noon on the 2nd and 4th Fridays each month and sit together to socialize and do needlework--crochet, knitting, crewel, etc. This meeting occurs when the library is closed to the public, so those participating enjoy a period of uninterrupted time and have more freedom to speak without worrying about noise. Light refreshments are provided, and the atmosphere is casual and friendly. I wish that I had known ahead of time that I would be in this group because I could have brought my own crochet supplies, but Cassie gave me some yarn and a needle. I haven't crocheted in about 3 years, and I only have a minimal, beginner's experience, so I was able to get some help and advice from the other ladies. By the end of the two hours, I felt as if I had made friends with the ladies as well as gotten a jumpstart on my crocheting skills. It really was fun and I felt a little guilty because it didn't feel like work to me to spend time with these ladies. Although the activity isn't directly tied to books or literacy, some of the discussion centered around books, travel, and an interesting conversation on the pros and cons of e-readers. This type of programming is designed to foster a sense of community, sharing, and learning, which is integral to a library's mission.
Aside from my time with the needlework group, I was able to help Jeannie pull books that had been requested by patrons and I helped Gail in the NC room with copying and dating newspaper clippings and excerpts from books. I was also able to help a patron/volunteer in the NC room with Microsoft Word and I spent a small amount of time working at the front desk. From my discussions with the director, Mr. Wilson, I have learned that programming is a very important component of the Burke County Public Library services. I feel like he has directed me toward access to these programs while I have been here because he wants me to get a feel for these types of library services. So far, I have enjoyed all of the work I've been involved with at the library, from the mundane clerical tasks to the special programs.
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