Rewarding

Okay, you've been pretty good.* Here, as promised - you can see my brown spring shoes, too:

Stylish *and* librarianish. (Shut up, it's a word if I say it's a word.)
I don't know, I just really like Oxfords.
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...

Don't worry, they're only *half* zombie. Their father is normal. Normalish?
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!

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*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.


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