Saturday, March 10, 2012

This Frantic Pace!

It dawned on me this week that I hadn't posted here in quite a while.  Regardless of the fact that we've been doing TONS of programming around these parts, and I've been trying to gullet down as many books as possible, none of this has made it onto the actual blog.  :(  Oopsie!  LOL  Sometimes the subtitle of this blog: "Tales and Tools from a Librarian who is MOSTLY JUST TRYING TO KEEP UP" is more true than I'd first joked.

So what does librarianship look like in the wee months of the year?
It looks an awful lot like librarianship in the latter months of the year.   I'm nearing my 1 year mark as a public librarian and I've learned quite a few things about the differences between this life, and my former one as a school librarian.




  1. Kids are awesome, no matter where you are. - My heavily privatized Facebook is filled with the young adults of both my librarian lives.  Some who remember me teaching them how to cite their sources during a fourth grade project, and others who are still giddy about our live walk-through of the latest video game.  Both sets send me the same gratitude for appealing to their interests and needs, and both warm my heart just the same.  Even the ones you have the most "problems" with, turn out to be some kind of great after a while, and start to feel the same way about you.
  2. There is more freedom in the small public setting than in a school. - One of the first things that made me consider leaving the school arena, was the thought of repeating the same themes each year, and the endless requirements.  Not that there weren't ways to liven up the themes, but I like to find new stuff all the time and share it, and unfortunately being in a school environment didn't make that as easy as I would have liked.  For instance, I couldn't share the ideas about social media because the school I was in wanted to pretend that it didn't exist.  Again, not the case everywhere, but certainly a popular issue.  I prefer being able to hop on the latest trends and appeal IMMEDIATELY to the changing interests of my kids.  This is something I've loved so far about being able to do.
  3. The calendar is more hectic in a public library than a school  - Today is March 10th.  Our calendar here in the library has found its way into JULY/AUGUST.  My other professional calendar is  as well, but the plans can be far more skeleton-like.  Programming for the library has to be far more detailed for the most part.  And throw in trying to get engaged in other things like civic and social groups...your brain could overload.  Mine is currently steaming.
  4. A Librarian by any other name is still a librarian.  - I've done soooo much more in the public library in terms of marketing, collaboration, outreach, and professional development than I ever did as a school librarian.  I think my time was far more stretched and dedicated with the school than now, where the ebb and flow moves differently.  We don't flow steadily upstream here, we ride a raging rapid.  No matter what I'm doing, I find that SOMETHING I gained from library school applies, and I appreciate that.  I'd hate to have spent the money for nothing.



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