Definition

I’m a bit slow catching on to this one, (aren’t I with everything? I’m now wearing black leggings and short dress things every day), but there’s this meme [definition from dictionary.com, and urban dictionary.com too] about documeting a Librarian’s day to share with everyone what our working day’s are really like. The aim is to dispell the myth that we just spend our time twiddling our thumbs, shelving [and reading] books and getting our knickers in a knot answering repetitive questions like,

“Excuse me, but do you know where the toilet is please?”

Note the ‘please’ in there.

I think that’s the aim anyway. Here’s the official page where you can participate too. I’m quite late starting this as we’re into round 4, and round 4 was in January. But I’ve been busy. So here’s my belated “Library day in the life”.. :

Wednesday January 27, 2010

7:45am – Partners alarm goes off. Continue sleeping.

8:15am – Awoken by cat being annoying. Realise I have work today, starting at 9am. Get up. Feed cat.

8:35am – Decide what to wear today – Pink sparkly tights; they make me happy and I’m sure little girls like them too.

8:45am – Leave for work

9:00am – Hear from colleague that one of my reservations for a display at the library has arrived. Find out it is “Blades of Glory” DVD. Display is on upcoming Winter Olympics. *outward smile on my choice* .

9:15am – Begin piecing together/designing the display area. Decide on blue Wainuiomata rubbish bags as the base (for ice) and something that looks like cotton wool for snow.

9:45am – Admire my handiwork with the display as I add books.

9:55am – Open all available windows in library as it’s going to be a scorcher.

10:00am – Start serving customers – regular duties for the day as it is the crux of my job.

11:45am – Bins and bags with returns and reservations from other libraries arrive. Assure library literate boy that his reservation will be here soon and to check back with us in an hour. Engage in quick conversation with the courier as I manage to nip a couple more books to go in the outgoing bags.

1:00pm – After a rushed hour or so, realise it’s time for me to take a break and enjoy some MSG filled 2-minute noodles. Yumm. My favourite kind (not kidding).

2:00pm – Back into it.

……..

…..

I truthfully don’t remember the rest of that day. I can tell you that I was quite tired that evening and I had to get up at an unseasonally hour of 5am the following morning to catch a 7am flight. I didn’t actually document any more of that day, and outside of lunch it would’ve been near impossible to sit down and record what I was doing. And the added objective to make it exciting and interesting just wasn’t possible.

Working in a public library in a customer service role, for me, means that I am on my feet 90% of the day and rarely get the chance to sit down and reflect, let alone write about it. Stealing moments is what it’s all about. I’ve only been in my current role at a community branch for a couple of months and since I recorded this day (Wednesday 27th January 2010) my role and responsibilities have expanded. I’m now looking after Storytime for the wee pre-schoolers aged 2-4 years old. It’s lovely, and refreshing and a change from sitting in an air-conditioned office ordering and receiving material for an academic library, or just in general, working in an academic or special library, which is all I’ve known up to this point.

I love my job and Library day in the life participants no doubt, are all expressing the very same thing in their posts. Go on. Go check ‘em out, and register your own