"...to talk of many things..." - Lewis Carroll
The time has come for many things in the last few months.
- The time to finish my undergraduate senior thesis
- The time to graduate
- The time to no longer at the library where I have been for the past six years
- The time to move into an apartment away from my family
- The time to start graduate school
- The time for friends to get married and start families
It all has come and gone so quickly. I don't feel ready to start graduate school. I feel like a little kid on her first day of 1st grade all over again. I don't feel like an adult. I certainly don't think I act like an adult. I try, but I feel as though I am just playing a role, and I'm not mature enough to be at the age I am & doing the things I am supposed to be doing.
This last summer at my library job was a lot of work, but was also very rewarding. I built closer relationships with the children and teen librarians and was made to have more confidence in myself and my library abilities. I will be forever grateful to the children's librarian that I have had the pleasure of working with for the past two summers, because she has pushed me to do things that were outside of my comfort zone. I didn't think I was ready to be hosting programs on my own, and she made sure I did it anyway, to show me that I was indeed able to do it. She has helped me to gain the knowledge that I do know what I am doing and I can do it well.
I was given more freedom in program planning. I hosted 2 craft nights and assisted with story time, where the children fell in love with a dance I taught them and insisted that we do it every week. We made modifications so that it fit better with some of our themes, including adaptations for our pirate story time. Our summer reading program has gained in popularity in the last two years, so much so that this summer we had to make several additions to our program schedule to accommodate them all. We added a third (!) story time, a second magic show, a second Zakland show, as well as multiple other additions. All in all, for how small our library community is, we had over 800 participants. This is amazing. I'm sad that I will be missing out on all of the excitement next year.
I'll miss seeing the children every day, miss their excitement for programs, the way their eyes light up when I know what their names are and ask them lots of questions. I'll even miss doing that goofy dance every week, because the kids had so much fun.
On my last day at work, I couldn't help myself. I cried. I am going to miss my work community because we were so much like a family. I am afraid that I won't be able to find another library with such a tight-knit group of people. Many of the ladies I worked with treated me as though I was one of their own children, which was wonderful, but also mildly frustrating at times. I'll miss them.
I've moved out of my family's house and I'm on my own. All the bills now have my name on them and I am responsible for paying them. What a frightening thought! My fear currently is "where is all the money going to come from?!?" I need to find a job! I have a semi "nanny" position set up for the fall. I'll be watching a little girl after school 3 days a week. The mom has good connections, so I'm hoping she'll be able to help me in finding a job.
School starts in 2 weeks. I'm a bit afraid. I'm not quite sure what to expect. I guess all I can do is wait and see what the future has in store for me. It's sure to be an adventure!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Yay Steve!
Stephen King recently wrote an article for Entertainment Weekly about Amazon.com's Kindle.
In it he said,
"The real problem with e-readers, and what may save the embattled publishing industry, is simple consumer resistance. There are lots of advantages to the electronic devices - portability, instant buyer gratification, nice big type for aging eyes like mine - but there's a troubling lightness to the content as well. A not-thereness. Even formidable works like Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver feel somehow not quite real when read on a screen. I bought a Kindle for everyone in my immediate family, but I'm not only one who uses it regularly. Oh, and something else: If you happen to drop a book into the toilet, you can dry it out. Drop your Kindle into the toilet and maybe it'll still work...The Kindle certainly has its charms, but e-readers can never fully replace books."
I think he's hit the nail on the head. Books will always hold a special place in my heart. The smell of paper and ink and the sound of a brand new book opened for the first time will always be two of my favorite things.
In it he said,
"The real problem with e-readers, and what may save the embattled publishing industry, is simple consumer resistance. There are lots of advantages to the electronic devices - portability, instant buyer gratification, nice big type for aging eyes like mine - but there's a troubling lightness to the content as well. A not-thereness. Even formidable works like Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver feel somehow not quite real when read on a screen. I bought a Kindle for everyone in my immediate family, but I'm not only one who uses it regularly. Oh, and something else: If you happen to drop a book into the toilet, you can dry it out. Drop your Kindle into the toilet and maybe it'll still work...The Kindle certainly has its charms, but e-readers can never fully replace books."
I think he's hit the nail on the head. Books will always hold a special place in my heart. The smell of paper and ink and the sound of a brand new book opened for the first time will always be two of my favorite things.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
It's been so long ladies and gentlemen... if there are any ladies and gentlemen who actually read this.
So, what has been going on in the life of this librarian since the last time I wrote (oh, so long ago)?
Well, I successfully researched, wrote, and presented my senior thesis for the English department. 28 glorious pages about Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Phew. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. It was a long trip, but I'm glad I did it, and very glad that it's over.
After all of that was finished I frantically applied to graduate school and waited with bated breath for a response. I am overjoyed to tell you that I was accepted as a "Graduate student in the Library & Information Science MLIS program for the Fall 2010 term" and am pending an official transcript with degree posting. Woo-hoo! I'm in!
Now the apartment/job search must begin. Bring it on!
So, what has been going on in the life of this librarian since the last time I wrote (oh, so long ago)?
Well, I successfully researched, wrote, and presented my senior thesis for the English department. 28 glorious pages about Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Phew. I'm exhausted just thinking about it. It was a long trip, but I'm glad I did it, and very glad that it's over.
After all of that was finished I frantically applied to graduate school and waited with bated breath for a response. I am overjoyed to tell you that I was accepted as a "Graduate student in the Library & Information Science MLIS program for the Fall 2010 term" and am pending an official transcript with degree posting. Woo-hoo! I'm in!
Now the apartment/job search must begin. Bring it on!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Last Friday was the first Family Fun Night of the semester. Usually I get stuck with this "pleasure" for the first one because no student groups have signed up to host it. The first FFN this year just happened to be occurring after I had been back to campus for a grand total of 4 days.
As I did last year, I tried to pull the theme from the public library's summer reading club and use some sort of reading and craft that we did over the summer so I would already have a book selection and ideas for crafts because at the beginning of the semester when classes are just beginning I am not in the mood to be scrambling to come up with a craft project when I have to do the program in 2 days.
So the week drew near and I got back to campus. I went to see the people in the library almost immediately after I got back and unpacked so we could start doing more detailed planning. I didn't do a lot of story times this year so I had talked to the children's librarian back home to get some ideas.
What I ended coming up with was a library safari, since the public library summer reading program that summer had been READ on the Wild Side! I was going to read a couple of picture books about the jungle and have them make safari vests out of grocery bags before we went of on a safari in the library. I placed stuffed animals around the library with facts about each animal underneath. The kids' job was to find the animals and write down at least one fact about each one. They really seemed to enjoy it. I don't think the students who were actually using the library really appreciated it all that much though. I tried to keep the mayhem away from the side of the library that had most of the study tables, but I couldn't watch all 18 kids at once.
I was excited to see that the kids found a library experience fun (even if there was a little bit of learning snuck in.)
As I did last year, I tried to pull the theme from the public library's summer reading club and use some sort of reading and craft that we did over the summer so I would already have a book selection and ideas for crafts because at the beginning of the semester when classes are just beginning I am not in the mood to be scrambling to come up with a craft project when I have to do the program in 2 days.
So the week drew near and I got back to campus. I went to see the people in the library almost immediately after I got back and unpacked so we could start doing more detailed planning. I didn't do a lot of story times this year so I had talked to the children's librarian back home to get some ideas.
What I ended coming up with was a library safari, since the public library summer reading program that summer had been READ on the Wild Side! I was going to read a couple of picture books about the jungle and have them make safari vests out of grocery bags before we went of on a safari in the library. I placed stuffed animals around the library with facts about each animal underneath. The kids' job was to find the animals and write down at least one fact about each one. They really seemed to enjoy it. I don't think the students who were actually using the library really appreciated it all that much though. I tried to keep the mayhem away from the side of the library that had most of the study tables, but I couldn't watch all 18 kids at once.
I was excited to see that the kids found a library experience fun (even if there was a little bit of learning snuck in.)
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Where to begin?
I guess this thought for creation came upon me a while ago, but apparently I do not do well in taking action for my thoughts until late at night when I should be sleeping.
There are the nanny diaries, the au pair diaries, and everyone and their brother has a computer and is capable of writing a blog, so why not a young lone librarian? I don't know how many people will actually be interested, but does it really matter? I guess I'm doing this as yet another way to record my daily life and thoughts, as well as a way to work through things because I never seem to be fully able to do so unless I write out what I am thinking.
I am 22 and I am a librarian. I don't know what more I can really say. I'm currently in the final year of my undergraduate education where I am studying English. I've been working in the library to some degree for as long as I remember, but I began working at the local public library when I was a sophomore in high school. I've been there ever since and I plan to pursue a Masters degree in Library Science once I graduate.
This blog won't always be about library life, the life of cardigan sweaters, story time, and shelf-reading, but I guess it will be a glimpse into my life as a student and future librarian.
I don't really know where to start. I do have one thing that has been on my mind recently but I don't think anyone will really have any insight. I have been wondering recently why there are two man stereotypical views of librarians. There is the older, uptight, matronly librarian that wears cardigan sweaters, glasses on a chain, and hair severely tied back who does nothing but look down at you in disdain when your books are late, but there is also the "naughty" librarian. Where did the idea of the "naughty" librarian come from. And why is it so appealing?
There are the nanny diaries, the au pair diaries, and everyone and their brother has a computer and is capable of writing a blog, so why not a young lone librarian? I don't know how many people will actually be interested, but does it really matter? I guess I'm doing this as yet another way to record my daily life and thoughts, as well as a way to work through things because I never seem to be fully able to do so unless I write out what I am thinking.
I am 22 and I am a librarian. I don't know what more I can really say. I'm currently in the final year of my undergraduate education where I am studying English. I've been working in the library to some degree for as long as I remember, but I began working at the local public library when I was a sophomore in high school. I've been there ever since and I plan to pursue a Masters degree in Library Science once I graduate.
This blog won't always be about library life, the life of cardigan sweaters, story time, and shelf-reading, but I guess it will be a glimpse into my life as a student and future librarian.
I don't really know where to start. I do have one thing that has been on my mind recently but I don't think anyone will really have any insight. I have been wondering recently why there are two man stereotypical views of librarians. There is the older, uptight, matronly librarian that wears cardigan sweaters, glasses on a chain, and hair severely tied back who does nothing but look down at you in disdain when your books are late, but there is also the "naughty" librarian. Where did the idea of the "naughty" librarian come from. And why is it so appealing?
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