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.

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.

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 strategies 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.

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.

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.

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 of 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.