Rewarding
Okay, you've been pretty good.* Here, as promised - you can see my brown spring shoes, too:
Yes, yes, you're welcome!
Also, I just had the most wonderful conversation with a little patron. Now, I'm not a Children's Librarian, and I don't want to be a Children's Librarian. Seriously, guys. I love kids theoretically, and I like Swicky and Coconut okay...
I also like kids' books. But I don't like mobs of kids, and don't get me started on parents. I spend a lot of my time chasing down parents who've let their littles wander free.** But I was walking around making sure everything was running smoothly on the public side**** when I passed through Children's.
A little, probably 4 or 5 years old, said, "Mom, you're getting me a million books!!" I stopped and knelt down to her level***** and said, "Oh my goodness, that's a lot of books! Do you like to read?"
"Yes!" she answered enthusiastically.
Her mom smiled down and said, "We're taking a trip, so we thought we'd get some books to learn more before we go."
I said, "Awesome! That's a great idea!" Which it is. Take note, travelers!
Mom looked at the little and said, "Why don't you tell the nice lady where we're going?"
"We're going to Old Faithful and Mount Rushmore!"
So, naturally, I offered up my one trivia piece regarding Mount Rushmore:
The little girl's face lit up with excitement, and I felt really great about my job. It's something small, I know, but it's usually something small - helping a patron find the right book, introducing a patron to ILL or digital resources, sharing a new series a patron might be interested in - but it adds up, over time, to the reason I wanted to do this job in the first place: getting information to the people who need it!
*I assume. Mostly because I want to show off my shoes.
**I'm not talking tweens, either. I've had to take three-year-olds to find their parents, who've left them in the Children's section assuming it's like daycare.***
***I spend a good deal of the rest of my travels on the public side telling people they can't eat in the library. Not just snacks, mind you - I've had people try and get pizzas delivered to Reference, or have Subway party platters spread out in the study rooms. "Since when can't I have food here?!" "Since, well, ever?"
****I spend most of my time in the back, filling out paperwork, overseeing workers, and suchlike, and usually only make my way up front if a patron is being difficult or has a weird problem. Sometimes, though, they leave me in charge. I try not to let the power go to my head.
*****Difficult to do in these shoes. That's dedication, y'all. That's really loving your job.+
+I know there are other symbols, I just really like asterisks.
Links!
 |
| I don't know, I just really like Oxfords. |
Also, I just had the most wonderful conversation with a little patron. Now, I'm not a Children's Librarian, and I don't want to be a Children's Librarian. Seriously, guys. I love kids theoretically, and I like Swicky and Coconut okay...
 |
| Meh, I guess I'll keep 'em. |
I also like kids' books. But I don't like mobs of kids, and don't get me started on parents. I spend a lot of my time chasing down parents who've let their littles wander free.** But I was walking around making sure everything was running smoothly on the public side**** when I passed through Children's.
A little, probably 4 or 5 years old, said, "Mom, you're getting me a million books!!" I stopped and knelt down to her level***** and said, "Oh my goodness, that's a lot of books! Do you like to read?"
"Yes!" she answered enthusiastically.
Her mom smiled down and said, "We're taking a trip, so we thought we'd get some books to learn more before we go."
I said, "Awesome! That's a great idea!" Which it is. Take note, travelers!
Mom looked at the little and said, "Why don't you tell the nice lady where we're going?"
"We're going to Old Faithful and Mount Rushmore!"
So, naturally, I offered up my one trivia piece regarding Mount Rushmore:
 |
| My description wasn't quite so detailed, and focused heavily on the fact that there's a secret library, y'all! |
The little girl's face lit up with excitement, and I felt really great about my job. It's something small, I know, but it's usually something small - helping a patron find the right book, introducing a patron to ILL or digital resources, sharing a new series a patron might be interested in - but it adds up, over time, to the reason I wanted to do this job in the first place: getting information to the people who need it!
_________________________________________________________________________________
**I'm not talking tweens, either. I've had to take three-year-olds to find their parents, who've left them in the Children's section assuming it's like daycare.***
***I spend a good deal of the rest of my travels on the public side telling people they can't eat in the library. Not just snacks, mind you - I've had people try and get pizzas delivered to Reference, or have Subway party platters spread out in the study rooms. "Since when can't I have food here?!" "Since, well, ever?"
****I spend most of my time in the back, filling out paperwork, overseeing workers, and suchlike, and usually only make my way up front if a patron is being difficult or has a weird problem. Sometimes, though, they leave me in charge. I try not to let the power go to my head.
*****Difficult to do in these shoes. That's dedication, y'all. That's really loving your job.+
+I know there are other symbols, I just really like asterisks.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Links!
- Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike
- Unusual Library Collections Around the World
- Dr. Seuss Museum—The First In The World—Is Coming To His Hometown, Springfield "The first floor, scheduled to open in June 2016, will be a children’s museum, offering pint-sized recreations of local landmarks that inspired Seuss’s books. The second floor, which is expected to debut in 2017, will showcase Seuss art and artifacts."
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower removed from English classes after Wallingford parent complains
- How Harlequin Became the Most Famous Name in Romance "It's a long story, involving a peripatetic former fur trader and his opinionated socialite wife, a Procter-and-Gamble-trained Harvard MBA, some jilted Americans and a whole crowd of damned scribbling women."
- Putting a Dent in College Costs With Open-Source Textbooks While I dislike digital textbooks, I think this is a brilliant idea. I would absolutely use open-source textbooks, if I was taking classes, and then buy print versions of those I like a lot and want to keep.
- Net & Tech
- Wikipedia head: NSA spying is unconstitutional
- Hackers Attack GreatFire.org, a Workaround for Websites Censored in China
- At TED, Monica Lewinsky Talks Cyberbullying And How She Almost Lost Her Life
- U.S. Threatened Germany Over Snowden, Vice Chancellor Says "This is not the first time the U.S. has purportedly threatened an allied government to withhold evidence of possible terror plots as punishment."
- Facebook hoax suicide post ends in arrest for US man It does show serious problems with how Facebook's suicide watch system works.
- Science & Health
- France decrees new rooftops must be covered in plants or solar panels
- Wireless Sensors Help Scientists Map Staph Spread Inside Hospital
- Why Los Angeles' Fast Food Ban Did Nothing To Check Obesity "In fact, obesity rates in South Los Angeles and other neighborhoods the law was aimed at increased faster than in other parts of the city or other parts of the county....Diets won't change significantly...'until we start changing the relative price of food,' making nutritious food more affordable."
- Why Is Stepping On A Lego So Painful? Science Has The Answer
- Education
- Other (Serious Stuff)
- No, Washington Post, President Obama didn’t “suggest requiring everyone to vote”
- Florida employee 'punished for using phrase climate change' "An employee of Florida's environmental protection department was forced to take a leave of absence and seek a mental health evaluation for violating governor Rick Scott's unwritten ban on using the phrases 'climate change' or 'global warming' under any circumstance, according to a complaint filed against the state." Rick Scott: auditioning to join my "Asshats" list with Jindal, Walker, and Cotton. He seems to want to employ the "Blanket Defense" against climate change - you know, if you hide under your blanket, the scary thing won't find you.
- Trillion Dollar Fraudsters "We’re looking at an enormous, destructive con job, and you should be very, very angry."
- Mom Asks Cops To Teach Her Sons A Lesson On Stealing. Cops Then Arrest The Mom. Sure, it was wrong of her to call 911 for such a frivolous reason - but the cops' reaction was more ridiculous.
- TSA officers attacked with machete and wasp spray at New Orleans airport Craziness, y'all.
- Other (Fun Stuff)
Comments
Post a Comment