Day in the Life of a Teen Librarian
Ever wonder what it's like to be a teen librarian? In honor of Library Snapshot Day, here's a look into what a typical day is for me (Sarah) at The Library Center.
10:30 AM-Arrive at work and work on the Reference Desk until 1:00PM answering all sorts of questions from patrons (can you help me find a book and place it on hold?, I need to repair my car-do you have a car manual?, do you have an ACT prep guide?, can you help me find a phone number?)
1:00 PM-Lunch time!
1:30 PM-Back to work, this time in the Teen Office. I notice that the teen display shelf is looking empty so I fill it up with more books. I also walk around the shelves and straighten up the books, magazines, movies and audiobooks.
2:00 PM-Check e-mail (how does it get so full?) Spend time responding to e-mails.
2:30 PM-Go collect new YA books, movies, and CDs from Collection Services. Add new stickers to the new YA books and check in any books that have holds. Take books that have been on the new shelf for nine months off and change them to their "home" shelf (fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, etc).
3:00 PM-It's after school and my regular crowd of teen patrons will start arriving, so I move my computer and chair out to the desk in the teen space. Greet teens as they arrive, answer their questions (about homework, books, computer help, anything-my favorite question to answer is "do you have any good books?"). Answer questions and help teens while working on my afternoon "to-do" list.
3:30 PM-Teen from Teen Library Council arrives to chat with me about a book they borrowed from the Teen Library Council galley shelf (want to know more? Join Teen Library Council!) They turn in their review of the book and we chat about the book and other things they've read. Let teen look at the galley shelf and choose a new book to borrow. Update galley list of returned books and borrowed books.
4:00 PM-Work on updating the Teen Thing Facebook page and write up a new post to put on the Teen Thing blog.
4:30 PM-Am asked by a teen for suggestions for a good read. I take them around the shelves and tell them about several titles. I also print off some booklists with more suggestions.
4:40 PM-Parent comes in looking for a book needed for their teen's homework. Check the catalog and find resources they can use.
4:50 PM-Afternoon Break Time!
5:00 PM-Look at calendar of upcoming programs. Send an e-mail update to the school librarians letting them know about programs happening at The Library Center and about the Breaking Ink Writing Contest. Put in request for Anime Club DVD from Operation Anime for next month's meeting. Start planning activities for Teen Night and researching games. Contact authors about being part of a new teen book club that is starting in the Winter.
5:30 PM-Another regular teen comes in and they are serving on the Gateway Reader Selector committee. They need to put some of the Gateway nominees on hold. We look up the titles they need and place holds on the books they haven't read yet. We chat about what books they've liked so far, how school is going, and what programs are coming up at The Library.
5:45 PM-A group of teens come in and recognize from Summer Reading School visits. One has won a random prize in the Summer Reading Program and needs to pick it up. They then ask for some good paranormal reads and we browse the shelves. I ask if they've read some of my favorites (Shiver, Hush, Hush, and Beautiful Creatures) They haven't read Hush, Hush and it's on the shelf so we find it. I also give them Vampire reads booklists and we chat about our thoughts on the Twlight movies.
6:00 PM-Open my favorites link on my computer and read through my library newsletters and "must read links." I make a list of upcoming books to know and research them and make note of ones I have as part of the Teen Library Council galley shelf. Read reviews from review journals that I currently have. Star any books I want to make sure we order. Check e-mail one last time and respond to anything else I need to respond to.
7:00 PM- Time to pack up, go home and then do it all again tomorrow!
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