MONDAY -- It took me a while to post about my final days as the Children's Room intern. I was putting it off because I was in denial, I did not want to end the happy times. By writing about my last days, it seemed like I was putting a closure to what I considered the best time of my life as a graduate student. I realize now that it does not have to be so. In fact, the same week after my last day, I went to lunch with Cecile and Arpine who had a seminar downtown. I even took the train home with them after work. By keeping in touch, I feel like I'm still hanging on to this thread binding me to the public library world while shackled to my job at the firm.
Don't get me wrong, I love what I do at the law firm and I love the people I work with there but there was something about children's librarianship that pulls at me. Maybe someday, years from now, if I win the lottery...
UPDATE: I will be joining the Children's Room crew next month at the Hollywood Bowl to sing along with the Sound of Music. This is the official goodbye get together for Hala as she embarks on her new role as a branch librarian.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Day 37 - LAST DAY - May 2, 2007
WEDNESDAY -- My last day...oh, NO! I have to say that my last night at the Children's Room was a blur. I arrived at 5pm bringing a box of Mrs. Field's cookies to show everyone my gratitude. I was able to say goodbye to Inez, the assistant in the backroom. She and I never really had a chance to talk at length because she leaves around the time I get there but she had really nice things to say to me when I said goodbye.
After a short absence from the library because she was sick, Theresa was there today. I spoke with her at length about my internship and thanked her for everything...for the opportunity, for the things I learned and the great time I had. I told her that I was ever so sad to leave because I feel that I am just getting used to being a children's librarian and getting used to the system and I feel a great disconnect as the night was ending. I composed my email to her, sending her my California Indian Tribes Pathfinder and the book review. I don't know if they can use what I created but I worked hard on these things.
As the hands on the clock were ticking by, I sat there thinking of the last two months I spent at the Children's Room with the librarian, the library assistants, the library pages and the children and the parents that used the library. I realized that I gained so much from the internship.
Important Things I Learned:
After a short absence from the library because she was sick, Theresa was there today. I spoke with her at length about my internship and thanked her for everything...for the opportunity, for the things I learned and the great time I had. I told her that I was ever so sad to leave because I feel that I am just getting used to being a children's librarian and getting used to the system and I feel a great disconnect as the night was ending. I composed my email to her, sending her my California Indian Tribes Pathfinder and the book review. I don't know if they can use what I created but I worked hard on these things.
As the hands on the clock were ticking by, I sat there thinking of the last two months I spent at the Children's Room with the librarian, the library assistants, the library pages and the children and the parents that used the library. I realized that I gained so much from the internship.
Important Things I Learned:
- I learned to use Horizon, searching for titles, deleting titles, etc.
- I learned to fine-tune the reference interview
- I learned to make arts and crafts
- I learned to process children's books
- I learned to make pathfinders
- I learned to recommend titles for appropriate age groups and reading levels
Other less important things, but changed my outlook about librarianship:
- I learned to love working with the public, especially children
- I learned that I have to be stern but not too strict in order to gain the children's respect
- I learned that I cannot be "icky" when working with the public
- I learned that I cannot be "icky" about cleaning dirty books with unidentified blobs and petrified goo.
- I learned that 2 months is not enough to learn everything
- I learned to love children's books more than I already do
What I gained:
- I gained invaluable experience in children's librarianship
- I gained new friends
- I gained a healthy respect for books
What I wish I could have further learned:
- I wish I could further learn using Horizon
- I wish I could further familiarize myself with the titles available in the collection
- I wish I was able to do at least one storytelling session and got over my shyness about singing and dancing in front of the children.
Overall, I want to think that I learned enough to make me effective if ever I gained part-time employment as a children's librarian. I was shy in the beginning because I was not sure about the field especially since I have always worked for law libraries. In the end, I learned to love working with children and with the librarians. I may not leave the law library field because of finacial reasons but I know in my heart of hearts that I would love to be a children's librarian even if it means doing it part time. When I applied to library school, I always felt that it was just something that I fell into because I had so much experience working in libraries. It was not until I did this internship that I began to love the idea of being a librarian. I'm not sure if I could totally flip sides and leave the special library field, but I hope to be back someday in the future as a part-time children's librarian...that much I know.
Day 36 - May 1, 2007
TUESDAY -- I walked up to the Children's Room with a heavy heart. It was second to my last day as the intern. I was almost in tears while I was cutting more of Shant's images to paste on his homework. I kept thinking, who will cut paper for Shant? I was really feeling depressed.
To distract me from my sappy thoughts, I wrote another book review, this time on the book Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers And Eaters. I like this book so much so that I bought several copies already and gave them to my friend's children. It has become a book associated with me. I figured it represents me in the sense that I love to read and I love to cook, two hobbies that I want children to learn to love. I felt that this book could do the trick.
After writing the book review, I processed more of the boardbooks. Luckily it was also busy with children looking for biographies so I did not have much time to dwell on my internship coming to an end. Most of the kids were looking for books on Renaissance painters, my favorite subject when I was in college. I am quite familiar now with the reference questions and the lay-out of the library that for the most part, I did not have to consult the catalog and even if I had to, I was already used to Horizon that it did not take me long to find what I needed to find.
Before the night was over, I finished my pathfinder. I was pretty proud of it and I can only wish that it is something they can use. I wish though that there were newer resources than what I had since this is a topic that California grade-schoolers are required to write about.
I left the library with my heart heavier than it was when I came trudging in. Tomorrow is my last day...I don't want to think about it!
To distract me from my sappy thoughts, I wrote another book review, this time on the book Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers And Eaters. I like this book so much so that I bought several copies already and gave them to my friend's children. It has become a book associated with me. I figured it represents me in the sense that I love to read and I love to cook, two hobbies that I want children to learn to love. I felt that this book could do the trick.
After writing the book review, I processed more of the boardbooks. Luckily it was also busy with children looking for biographies so I did not have much time to dwell on my internship coming to an end. Most of the kids were looking for books on Renaissance painters, my favorite subject when I was in college. I am quite familiar now with the reference questions and the lay-out of the library that for the most part, I did not have to consult the catalog and even if I had to, I was already used to Horizon that it did not take me long to find what I needed to find.
Before the night was over, I finished my pathfinder. I was pretty proud of it and I can only wish that it is something they can use. I wish though that there were newer resources than what I had since this is a topic that California grade-schoolers are required to write about.
I left the library with my heart heavier than it was when I came trudging in. Tomorrow is my last day...I don't want to think about it!
Day 35 - April 30, 2007
MONDAY -- Like the grains of sand in an hourglass, it felt like my time at the Children's Room was trickling away slowly. I was sad when I got in because I did not want it to end. I want time to stop so I can continue with my internship and learn more. I feel that there is so much more to learn and so much more for me to get used to.
Monday nights are always busy but I was able to work on my pathfinder while helping children with their reference questions. As usual, I helped Shant with cutting paper and pasting it on his homework. I told him that my last day is coming up soon. He asked why do I have to leave. He could have ended his question with that...period...but Shant just had to go on with "Are you done with community service, Ms. Dora?" My cutting hands froze for a second and I looked at Shant and said "Shant, do I look like I did something to be sentenced to do community service?" It's funny how I was joking around with the girls last Saturday about community service and this kid suddenly blurts it out.
Hala bought some ice cream as a goodbye present for me. I took a short break to get ice cream and chatted a little with Hala about my plans for the future. She was encouraging me to apply for the part time librarian position and I told her that I have to complete some of my incomplete classes in order to be eligible to apply.
When I walked back to the refernce desk, I was stopped by Argo, yes Argo the troublemaker Argo who got thrown out of the Children's Room a few times during my stint as the intern. He gave me a hug and said "I missed you teacher!" Another emotional moment today of all days, just when I am getting sappy about my last few days. In retrospect, it was quite funny to think that Argo hugs library staff members whenever he gets back from a short absence. One of his previous hugging victims was Cecile, the enforcer...LOL!
I spent the rest of the night writing a book review and then chatting with Miss Daisy and Miss Evelyn. At the end of the night, I had to say goodbye to them since they are not working again with me in the next two days. The goodbyes are piling up and I'm really getting sad. I know that with the summer semester coming up and trying to complete my G-grades (incompletes), I will not be able to put in my application until the end of the summer :o(
Monday nights are always busy but I was able to work on my pathfinder while helping children with their reference questions. As usual, I helped Shant with cutting paper and pasting it on his homework. I told him that my last day is coming up soon. He asked why do I have to leave. He could have ended his question with that...period...but Shant just had to go on with "Are you done with community service, Ms. Dora?" My cutting hands froze for a second and I looked at Shant and said "Shant, do I look like I did something to be sentenced to do community service?" It's funny how I was joking around with the girls last Saturday about community service and this kid suddenly blurts it out.
Hala bought some ice cream as a goodbye present for me. I took a short break to get ice cream and chatted a little with Hala about my plans for the future. She was encouraging me to apply for the part time librarian position and I told her that I have to complete some of my incomplete classes in order to be eligible to apply.
When I walked back to the refernce desk, I was stopped by Argo, yes Argo the troublemaker Argo who got thrown out of the Children's Room a few times during my stint as the intern. He gave me a hug and said "I missed you teacher!" Another emotional moment today of all days, just when I am getting sappy about my last few days. In retrospect, it was quite funny to think that Argo hugs library staff members whenever he gets back from a short absence. One of his previous hugging victims was Cecile, the enforcer...LOL!
I spent the rest of the night writing a book review and then chatting with Miss Daisy and Miss Evelyn. At the end of the night, I had to say goodbye to them since they are not working again with me in the next two days. The goodbyes are piling up and I'm really getting sad. I know that with the summer semester coming up and trying to complete my G-grades (incompletes), I will not be able to put in my application until the end of the summer :o(
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Day 34 - April 28, 2007
SATURDAY -- This day, I worked from 12:30pm until closing time at 6pm. The girls and I are going out to dinner at Koreatown, as my send-off party. It's sad to think that it is my last Saturday working as an intern at the Children's Room, but I all good things come to an end.
I worked on finding more resources for my pathfinder most of the afternoon, finally giving it a rest around 2:30pm since I figured I have a few more days to finish it. I then helped out with setting up the tables for storytelling and the crafts the children will make after. Around 3:0opm, I decided to also make the windsock that the children made. I enjoyed doing the craft. The windsock is made out of brown paperbags, yarn, ribbons and die-cut figures. I chose buterflies, flowers and ribbons to make mine. See below:
I worked on finding more resources for my pathfinder most of the afternoon, finally giving it a rest around 2:30pm since I figured I have a few more days to finish it. I then helped out with setting up the tables for storytelling and the crafts the children will make after. Around 3:0opm, I decided to also make the windsock that the children made. I enjoyed doing the craft. The windsock is made out of brown paperbags, yarn, ribbons and die-cut figures. I chose buterflies, flowers and ribbons to make mine. See below:
After painstakingly designing my windsock, I processed more of the new boardbooks I processed last week. I spent the rest of the day stamping and barcoding them. During downtime, I chatted with Miss Daisy, Lyda, and Arpine. It turns out, not everyone can come to dinner with us. Of the girls on duty, only Arpine, Lynn and her boyfriend Mike can come. Cecile and her husband Andrew are meeting us after the library closes. Brandy and her boyfriend, Carlo, will meet us at Mu Dung San. We all ate very little for lunch so that at 6pm we were starving and ready to chow.
We got to the restaurant at 7pm and we had a great time barbequeing and eating endless plates of meat. While eating, I told them that since the internship is almost over, I wanted to come clean and let them know that it was not an internship I was actually doing, but a court sentence to do community service. It was precious to see the disbelief in their faces, especially Brandy's. Then I laughed and said...just kidding! After dinner, we decided to get some Pink Berry frozen yoghurt, the taste that launched a thousand parking tickets. We sat there for a time chatting some more and then left for home.
I did not get home until 11:30pm. I had a wonderful time with the library crew and their partners. Already I am thinking that I will most definitely miss working with these lovely people but like I told them over dinner, it's not like I am moving to another plannet. I live in the same city and I have to borrow and return books to the library every so often so I'm sure to see them again. Who knows, I might get hired soon as a part-time librarian.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Day 33 - April 25, 2007
WEDNESDAY -- I'm still very busy at the firm with end of the month tasks that I had to call the Children's Room to say I'm running late. I did not get there until 6:30pm quite tired but looking forward to another fun night. My internship is becoming more and more of a refuge after a long day working on library accounts at the firm. I love walking in an seeing the friendly faces of the librarians, the pages and the patrons. Tonight I was so looking forward to joining the book discussion of the Snacktime Readers. The book of the month was Victory Garden by Lee Kochenderfer and I enjoyed the story very much. It was one of those books that take you away to a different time, a different place.
When I arrived, I found out that Theresa was sick so she had to go home early and the Snacktime Readers session was cancelled. I was a bit disappointed but I was more worried about how Theresa was feeling. She was so congested. I spent the rest of the night helping with reference, learning how to delete books out of Horizon and later when it quieted down, I chatted with Miss Daisy about her work as a librarian when she was still in the Philippines. I told her that one of my dreams as a librarian is to build a children's library in the Philippines. Nothing big but start with a small collection and build on it. Perhaps someday in the future, I can do this. For now, I still need to learn a lot when it come to children's librarianship.
In between chats and helping out patrons, I was thinking of the book Victory Garden. The story is set in Kansas during WWII, a time when men were called to serve in the war and families left behind planted vegetable gardens, called vistory gardens to help bring the boys home soon and to help with the war efforts. The story revolved around a girl, Teresa who took care of her sick neighbor's garden with the help of a few classmates. The story is not just about the war it was about family and friendships as well. The story has a poignant feel to it because although Teresa's brother who is a pilot in the war was always able to write and assure his family back home of his safety, the true horrors of the war was hitting the other families in Teresa's town. This is a must read for children ages 8 and older. It will give the reader an idea of what life was for families during wartime.
One thing that really struck me as I was reading the book was how everything was rationed, from gasoline to meat, sugar and other food items. We are so blessed these days that if we want to eat something, it almost always is available somehow, somewhere. There was a part of the book that talked about how people could eat all the chicken they want as long as they were chickens they raised. As a result, there was a description of picnics and eating golden crispy fried chicken. Being Dora, I of course got fixated on the fried chicken part...okay you know where this is getting right? No? Okay...as soon as I drove off the library, I went to KFC, but it was closed...I was desperate to bite into a crispy drumstick so I bought the next best thing...the last pre-packaged fried chicken at my local grocery store. I had a great dinner...yum yum!Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Day 32 - April 24, 2007
TUESDAY -- Although Cecile is still on Jury Duty, I was not able to get to the Children's Room until 6pm. I had too many things to do at the firm what with the month coming to an end. I got to the desk and started working away on my pathfinder. My California Indians pathfinder was shaping up well. I was able to include most of the books we had in the library available for check-out and also the books at the reference desk. Tomorrow, I will work on finding useful websites that users can link to.
I got to do the usual tasks of clearing up the computer room every half hour and in doing so, I had to help an 8th grader save her work on disk. Actually we had to call the computer guy to bring us a flash drive because her project was too big to save on disk. I told her that she can then email her project to herself since she cannot take the flash drive home with her. I was grateful the nothing went awry with the saving of the work because she did a great job with the slides she had to present for her Spanish class.
Once again, I had to help Shant with cutting paper while he was in front of me asking the weirdest questions and sharing the funniest information about people he knew. He asked me if I had been mean to anyone in the library yet and I told him that I have not had the chance to do so...yet. He then went on to tell me how he is an actor and wants to be famous someday. He jumps from one topic to the next. While glueing the cut paper on his homework, he proceeded telling me that his teacher's name is JLo. For all that Shant is all over the place, we love having him around. He may be talkative but he is smart and is very polite. His mother came to pick him up and we told her what a joy it is to have Shant come to the library almost everyday.
After Shant left, I helped a girl look for books about housetraining a puppy. I had fun doing this because I realized how I seem to have just easily slipped into the role of reference librarian as I was helping this girl. Whereas over a month ago, I get so nervous talking to patrons, now it seemed so natural that while I am looking for books in the catalog, I was conversing with the patron, asking the girl what kind of dog she had and how old it was. I found her a couple of books she could check out and she was very happy about the great information we found.
Happy as I was with the realization, I started feeling sad again about the internship coming to an end. It seems that just as I am getting comfortable about my role as a librarian, I have to accept that my 150 hours are almost up and I will have to go back to writing my term papers and reading school books. Not too happy about this :o( but there's always light at the end of the tunnel since I am to graduate soon. I have to get more of my G grades completed so I could put in my application to work as a part-time librarian. Eyes on the prize as my adviser always tells me when I feel down about my plight...eyes on the prize!
I got to do the usual tasks of clearing up the computer room every half hour and in doing so, I had to help an 8th grader save her work on disk. Actually we had to call the computer guy to bring us a flash drive because her project was too big to save on disk. I told her that she can then email her project to herself since she cannot take the flash drive home with her. I was grateful the nothing went awry with the saving of the work because she did a great job with the slides she had to present for her Spanish class.
Once again, I had to help Shant with cutting paper while he was in front of me asking the weirdest questions and sharing the funniest information about people he knew. He asked me if I had been mean to anyone in the library yet and I told him that I have not had the chance to do so...yet. He then went on to tell me how he is an actor and wants to be famous someday. He jumps from one topic to the next. While glueing the cut paper on his homework, he proceeded telling me that his teacher's name is JLo. For all that Shant is all over the place, we love having him around. He may be talkative but he is smart and is very polite. His mother came to pick him up and we told her what a joy it is to have Shant come to the library almost everyday.
After Shant left, I helped a girl look for books about housetraining a puppy. I had fun doing this because I realized how I seem to have just easily slipped into the role of reference librarian as I was helping this girl. Whereas over a month ago, I get so nervous talking to patrons, now it seemed so natural that while I am looking for books in the catalog, I was conversing with the patron, asking the girl what kind of dog she had and how old it was. I found her a couple of books she could check out and she was very happy about the great information we found.
Happy as I was with the realization, I started feeling sad again about the internship coming to an end. It seems that just as I am getting comfortable about my role as a librarian, I have to accept that my 150 hours are almost up and I will have to go back to writing my term papers and reading school books. Not too happy about this :o( but there's always light at the end of the tunnel since I am to graduate soon. I have to get more of my G grades completed so I could put in my application to work as a part-time librarian. Eyes on the prize as my adviser always tells me when I feel down about my plight...eyes on the prize!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Day 31 - April 23, 2007
MONDAY -- I got to the library today and saw Halla working away at the reference desk. It seems she's filling in today because Cecile is on jury duty. Halla spent a few minutes chatting with me about the internship. She asked me about my plans after I completed my hours. I told her that other than trying to figure out what to do about the extra time I will have in my hands, I will have to prepare for my last semester at Pitt. She said I should consider applying for a part time position at the library because they are always in need of librarians willing to work on-call, part-time on weekends or at nights. I was happy to hear that because I do not want to miss the people I worked with during my internship and I do not want to lose the skills I learned as children's librarian.
After our chat, I happily worked away on my pathfinder. I am almost finished with the resources I needed to list down. I am trying to find good websites that can be added but so far I only have one that contains links to pages that have either been set up by the nations themselves, or are pages devoted to a particular nation.
When I got frustrated about not having any luck with finding other online resources, I finished reading the book Crispin: at the Edge of the World. I was happy to finally finish it and now I look forward to the third book of the series.
Shant, one of my favorite regulars, came to the desk and asked for my help. When Shant needs my help, it is usually to proofread what he wrote and when he finishes with the typing and printing, I would cut the paper and then paste it on his homework sheets. He claims he is not a good "paper-cutter" :o)
For most of the night, I did the clearing of the computer room. It was a very busy night because it's the first day after springbreak so the kids are scrambling about trying to get their homeworks and projects done. I had to help a kid with computer problems. She claims that she has 13 pages of work when the computer froze on her as she was saving it. Arpine was wondering about that because the kid was only at the computer for 30 minutes so it seemed unlikely that she would be able to type 13 pages of work. Anyway, long story short, she lost her 13 pages. I tried my best to help her, but to no avail.
One of my greatest satisfactions with this internship is being able to help patrons, when I fail to do so, I feel a bit disappointed. With this one I just had to accept the fact that you can't help them all...something I need to understand well, if I am to work in this field.
After our chat, I happily worked away on my pathfinder. I am almost finished with the resources I needed to list down. I am trying to find good websites that can be added but so far I only have one that contains links to pages that have either been set up by the nations themselves, or are pages devoted to a particular nation.
When I got frustrated about not having any luck with finding other online resources, I finished reading the book Crispin: at the Edge of the World. I was happy to finally finish it and now I look forward to the third book of the series.
Shant, one of my favorite regulars, came to the desk and asked for my help. When Shant needs my help, it is usually to proofread what he wrote and when he finishes with the typing and printing, I would cut the paper and then paste it on his homework sheets. He claims he is not a good "paper-cutter" :o)
For most of the night, I did the clearing of the computer room. It was a very busy night because it's the first day after springbreak so the kids are scrambling about trying to get their homeworks and projects done. I had to help a kid with computer problems. She claims that she has 13 pages of work when the computer froze on her as she was saving it. Arpine was wondering about that because the kid was only at the computer for 30 minutes so it seemed unlikely that she would be able to type 13 pages of work. Anyway, long story short, she lost her 13 pages. I tried my best to help her, but to no avail.
One of my greatest satisfactions with this internship is being able to help patrons, when I fail to do so, I feel a bit disappointed. With this one I just had to accept the fact that you can't help them all...something I need to understand well, if I am to work in this field.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Day 30 - April 21, 2007
SATURDAY -- Today, when I got to the library family storytelling was already in full swing with Teresa singing "Shake my Wiggles Away". Rubina and Cecile were at the reference desk. Lynne and Andrew, the library pages were shelving. My task for the day was quite easy. There was a bookcart filled with new boardbooks and I was to process them. Apparently, they were not even to be cataloged but just barcoded, processed with stickers on the spine and then placed on the shelves. I worked on processing the new books hoping I could get them all done by the time I left in the afternoon.
I stopped and took a lunch break around 12:30pm. Lynn made an "In & Out Burgers" run and I asked for a double cheeseburger with fries and a coke...animal style. I did not have time to grab something to eat when I left the house in the morning so by the time Lynn got back from her burger run, I was starving. We went to the backroom (Lynn, Cecile and I) and ate my burger with much gusto. While eating, we chatted and talked about the new acquisitions in front of us and then we moved on to restaurants and food we like. At the mention of food and restaurants we got to the topic about my last week of work. It's very, very sad for me to think that the internship is coming to an end. I told Cecile that I love coming to the Children's Room to work each day no matter how tired I was from the law firm job. We then started planning on going out to dinner on my last Saturday of work there which is next week. We are going to Mu Dung San, a Korean BBQ place in Koreatown. Cecile did the planning and said she will email everyone and ask if they will want to join us.
After lunch, I began to feel so much more the sadness of my leaving the internship. I thought to myself as I was sticking labels and barcodes on the new books that I am coming out of the internship with so much more than I expected. I not only learned new skills, I also somewhat dispensed of my ickiness about germs. Furthermore, to my everlasting gratitude, I have made new friends in the people I worked with, each of them contributing plenty of great knowledge to this wonderful experience.
Around 1:30pm, we had to prepare for the Swazzle (http://www.swazzle.com). A group that does puppet shows. It was, I guess, what you can say the culminating event to National Library Week. Swazzle was performing Harry and the T-Rex. I helped out with setting up the area in the auditorium where they were to perform. We cleared some of the chairs. When people started arriving, I directed them to the auditorium which was across the hall from the Children's Room. Although I was eager to watch the show, since I've never seen a live one, I was not able to watch the whole show but just bits and pieces of it. I had to help out at the reference desk because Rubina had to leave at 2pm to attend a Christening. I invited some friends to come with their kids to watch Harry and the T-Rex but only one of them came and they were late. In the end, they just waited for me to finish my shift at 3:30pm.
By the time I had to leave for the day, I was only able to finish processing half a cart of books. It was a gratifying job because not only did I process, I also read the books and listed down good titles I can buy for future gift baskets for friends and their kids. With books, burgers and a puppet show, my second to the last Saturday of work at the library was a quite good day...On Monday, the countdown begins.
I stopped and took a lunch break around 12:30pm. Lynn made an "In & Out Burgers" run and I asked for a double cheeseburger with fries and a coke...animal style. I did not have time to grab something to eat when I left the house in the morning so by the time Lynn got back from her burger run, I was starving. We went to the backroom (Lynn, Cecile and I) and ate my burger with much gusto. While eating, we chatted and talked about the new acquisitions in front of us and then we moved on to restaurants and food we like. At the mention of food and restaurants we got to the topic about my last week of work. It's very, very sad for me to think that the internship is coming to an end. I told Cecile that I love coming to the Children's Room to work each day no matter how tired I was from the law firm job. We then started planning on going out to dinner on my last Saturday of work there which is next week. We are going to Mu Dung San, a Korean BBQ place in Koreatown. Cecile did the planning and said she will email everyone and ask if they will want to join us.
After lunch, I began to feel so much more the sadness of my leaving the internship. I thought to myself as I was sticking labels and barcodes on the new books that I am coming out of the internship with so much more than I expected. I not only learned new skills, I also somewhat dispensed of my ickiness about germs. Furthermore, to my everlasting gratitude, I have made new friends in the people I worked with, each of them contributing plenty of great knowledge to this wonderful experience.
Around 1:30pm, we had to prepare for the Swazzle (http://www.swazzle.com). A group that does puppet shows. It was, I guess, what you can say the culminating event to National Library Week. Swazzle was performing Harry and the T-Rex. I helped out with setting up the area in the auditorium where they were to perform. We cleared some of the chairs. When people started arriving, I directed them to the auditorium which was across the hall from the Children's Room. Although I was eager to watch the show, since I've never seen a live one, I was not able to watch the whole show but just bits and pieces of it. I had to help out at the reference desk because Rubina had to leave at 2pm to attend a Christening. I invited some friends to come with their kids to watch Harry and the T-Rex but only one of them came and they were late. In the end, they just waited for me to finish my shift at 3:30pm.
By the time I had to leave for the day, I was only able to finish processing half a cart of books. It was a gratifying job because not only did I process, I also read the books and listed down good titles I can buy for future gift baskets for friends and their kids. With books, burgers and a puppet show, my second to the last Saturday of work at the library was a quite good day...On Monday, the countdown begins.
Day 29 -- April 18, 2007
WEDNESDAY -- I have been trying to stretch the time of my internship by cutting back on the hours. I was not supposed to come to the Children's Room today not just to cut the hours but also because I had to do some chores for my dad. However, Cecile was on jury duty so I was asked if I could come to work.
When I got to the library, the first thing I did was check my handiwork with the book I repaired last night. Spirited Away was as tightly bound with rubberbands as it was when I left it last night on the shelves behind the reference desk. When I took off the bands around it, I opened the book with care, hoping that the glue held. Voila! I was successful in my attempts, I saved the book, yipeee!
Since it is still Spring Break Week, there were not that many reference questions. I whiled away the time by clearing the computer room every half hour and by reading the Snacktime Reader's book of the month, Victory Garden by Lee Kochenderfer. So far, I'm liking the story and I'm eager to meet with the Snacktime Group with Teresa next Wednesday.
I was also left most of the time to answer the phone. I am more eager now to answer the phone when it rings. Tonight I picked up to answer a reference question about the color wheel...which two primary colors when combined makes green? I had to tell the woman that green is primary color and it's a bit complicated to explain how green is made. When I was taking a bit of time looking for information to simplify my answer, she changed her mind and said "forget about green, what about yellow?" well, that was easier. After I put the phone down, I was thinking about the reference interview. I realized that had she omitted the word "primary" and asked "what two colors would make green" it would have been easier for me to reply blue and yellow. The word primary threw me off. I know now the difference between in person and phone reference. With phone reference, you're strapped with time you almost have to have the answer instantly. As for in person interviews, you can buy time while processing the query in your mind. There's so much more pressure to know the right questions to ask in a phone reference interviews to tighten your search and that's one thing I need to develop.
When I got to the library, the first thing I did was check my handiwork with the book I repaired last night. Spirited Away was as tightly bound with rubberbands as it was when I left it last night on the shelves behind the reference desk. When I took off the bands around it, I opened the book with care, hoping that the glue held. Voila! I was successful in my attempts, I saved the book, yipeee!
Since it is still Spring Break Week, there were not that many reference questions. I whiled away the time by clearing the computer room every half hour and by reading the Snacktime Reader's book of the month, Victory Garden by Lee Kochenderfer. So far, I'm liking the story and I'm eager to meet with the Snacktime Group with Teresa next Wednesday.
I was also left most of the time to answer the phone. I am more eager now to answer the phone when it rings. Tonight I picked up to answer a reference question about the color wheel...which two primary colors when combined makes green? I had to tell the woman that green is primary color and it's a bit complicated to explain how green is made. When I was taking a bit of time looking for information to simplify my answer, she changed her mind and said "forget about green, what about yellow?" well, that was easier. After I put the phone down, I was thinking about the reference interview. I realized that had she omitted the word "primary" and asked "what two colors would make green" it would have been easier for me to reply blue and yellow. The word primary threw me off. I know now the difference between in person and phone reference. With phone reference, you're strapped with time you almost have to have the answer instantly. As for in person interviews, you can buy time while processing the query in your mind. There's so much more pressure to know the right questions to ask in a phone reference interviews to tighten your search and that's one thing I need to develop.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Day 28 - April 17, 2007
TUESDAY -- It's another quiet night in the library. I did some shelving as a way to familiarize myself with the collection. I helped with the clearing of the computer room every half hour. I seem to be more confident nowadays that I can now deny kids who want to use the computers longer than their alloted 30 minutes, tell them to use their phones outside, to walk not run, etc. I'm still not as strict as the librarians but I am more firm these days.
I can also say that I am a so much more familiar with the collection now than I was last month. I can now answer most reference questions without using Horizon because I know the lay-out of the library better. As for Horizon, each day I am more confident in using it but I still find that using the library website's online version of the catalog seems easier when I need to tighten the search.
There were some books that needed mending tonight. Some of them were just simple taping of torn pages. Miss Daisy wanted to declare a volume of the graphic novel Spirited Away by Miyazaki as irreparable because the binding fell apart and many pages were loose. As a Miyazaki fan, I refused to believe that it cannot be repaired and that it will be thrown away. These Japanese manga volumes are ten bucks a pop and they have beautiful artwork but they do fall apart with much use. I tried to put it back together using massive amounts of glue and placed rubber bands around it and kept my fingers crossed hoping that when it dries, the book is saved and can be read a few more times before it falls apart again.
I learned through this internship that in public libraries, one has to learn to save. In the private setting, money is usually no object especially in law libraries. When partners at the firm request for a book or a subscription it does not matter if it is worth hundreds of dollars, even thousands every now and then. If they want it and they can justify the use and how it will be helpful to their practice, more often than not, we purchase it for them using library budget. At a public library, I noticed how it's necessary to save everything from glue bottles that can be refilled to paper that can be recycled to use as scratch paper. Nowadays, whenever I use post-it notes at work, I cut them so I can use the other half later. I also now save used paper for personal printing purposes or to use it for scratch. I seem to have brought economizing to a different level :o)
I can also say that I am a so much more familiar with the collection now than I was last month. I can now answer most reference questions without using Horizon because I know the lay-out of the library better. As for Horizon, each day I am more confident in using it but I still find that using the library website's online version of the catalog seems easier when I need to tighten the search.
There were some books that needed mending tonight. Some of them were just simple taping of torn pages. Miss Daisy wanted to declare a volume of the graphic novel Spirited Away by Miyazaki as irreparable because the binding fell apart and many pages were loose. As a Miyazaki fan, I refused to believe that it cannot be repaired and that it will be thrown away. These Japanese manga volumes are ten bucks a pop and they have beautiful artwork but they do fall apart with much use. I tried to put it back together using massive amounts of glue and placed rubber bands around it and kept my fingers crossed hoping that when it dries, the book is saved and can be read a few more times before it falls apart again.
I learned through this internship that in public libraries, one has to learn to save. In the private setting, money is usually no object especially in law libraries. When partners at the firm request for a book or a subscription it does not matter if it is worth hundreds of dollars, even thousands every now and then. If they want it and they can justify the use and how it will be helpful to their practice, more often than not, we purchase it for them using library budget. At a public library, I noticed how it's necessary to save everything from glue bottles that can be refilled to paper that can be recycled to use as scratch paper. Nowadays, whenever I use post-it notes at work, I cut them so I can use the other half later. I also now save used paper for personal printing purposes or to use it for scratch. I seem to have brought economizing to a different level :o)
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Day 27 - April 16, 2007
MONDAY -- It's Spring Break for the the school district so I expected a quiet library when I got there. No luck. It was still busy but not as many children as we usually would have on Monday nights. I wanted to work on my pathfinder but my heart was not in it. I mostly did the clearing of the computer room, answered some reference questions and processed some books that needed stickers on the spine. It was still a bit busy but during downtime, I cannot help but check the news online about the Virginia Tech shootings. It was the news of the day. As I was driving to the train station in the morning, I heard about the shooting in the news. What was reported at the time though was that only one or two were shot and I thought, "how sad...another school shooting." As the morning progressed though, the numbers rose and to my shock, there were 33 dead including the shooter. It was riveting to see the news reports. I thought to myself, how vulnerable we all are if someone came to work and started shooting...not just at the firm but at the public library.
To get my mind off of my morbid thoughts, I decided to look for book titles to include in my pathfinder. I found a few but I'm having a difficult time choosing what should be included and what I can omit. There are many titles I can use but some of them are too old. When my mind started wandering again when it got quiet in the library, I just sat there to read. I'm still reading, "Crispin: At the Edge of the World" by Avi. I am getting to the final chapters and I am enjoying the story. I like the first book better but this one is a must read if you read Cross of Lead. Crispin has matured beyond his years as he tries to survive in a new world outside the little village he grew up in. It was touching for me when they arrived to a town destroyed by war and Crispin saw the great sea for the first time in his life and he narrated: "Thus it was that in one brief time I saw the hand of God's creation as thrice awesome -- and the hand of man's destruction frightening three times more." Avi's writing has a way of bringing vividly to the reader's mind what the story's narrator is seeing.
To get my mind off of my morbid thoughts, I decided to look for book titles to include in my pathfinder. I found a few but I'm having a difficult time choosing what should be included and what I can omit. There are many titles I can use but some of them are too old. When my mind started wandering again when it got quiet in the library, I just sat there to read. I'm still reading, "Crispin: At the Edge of the World" by Avi. I am getting to the final chapters and I am enjoying the story. I like the first book better but this one is a must read if you read Cross of Lead. Crispin has matured beyond his years as he tries to survive in a new world outside the little village he grew up in. It was touching for me when they arrived to a town destroyed by war and Crispin saw the great sea for the first time in his life and he narrated: "Thus it was that in one brief time I saw the hand of God's creation as thrice awesome -- and the hand of man's destruction frightening three times more." Avi's writing has a way of bringing vividly to the reader's mind what the story's narrator is seeing.
With this internship and all the cool books I have been reading from the Children's Room, my dream of becoming a writer is somewhat reviving. I want to write something but I still don't know what to write about. I read books by Cynthia Kadohata and Linda Sue Park, both Newbery Winners who wrote books that had to do with their ethnic backgrounds. Is this something I can do? Wow, even with a graduate degree close at hand, I'm still wanting to do something else on top of it, do I seem too insatiable? I guess if nothing else works out, I can be an artist...hahaha! See more of my drawings from last Saturday's drawing session below. Be the judge...Should I stick with being a librarian, or should I be an artist:o)
"CRAZY DAISY"
"DOCTOR EVIL"
"EVIL MONSTER"
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Day 26 - April 14, 2007
SATURDAY -- It was hot in the library when I got there today. The air-conditioning has not been working for the last few days now and although there is a fan going at the reference area, it's not enough. It was not too bad since it's still spring. So that as long as it is cool outside, we're not working in torturous heat indoors. It was quiet in the morning. We had a few families come in for Family Storytelling and Playtime for toddlers and because of the heat, the families left early.
In the afternoon, I helped out with the Awarding Ceremony for the bookmark contest winners. Most of the winners showed up with their families. I was at the door signing up people and taking the consent forms from parents or guardians. The signed forms were consent to release forms for pictures we take of the children/minors with Lyda and Mr. Mousie as they accept their certificates. I felt bad for Andrew, one of the pages who had to wear the Mouse suit. It must have been stifling hot in there.
After the ceremony, there was an artist, Jim Gilberts, who came to teach the children how to draw cartoons. I sat with the children to learn how draw. Although I never fancied myself to be an artist, I always wanted to learn to draw beyond the stick figures I make. Below you'll see my fanciful efforts of the drawings that I did while watching and listening to Mr. Gilberts. The basic storyline is Mr. Gilberts':
In the afternoon, I helped out with the Awarding Ceremony for the bookmark contest winners. Most of the winners showed up with their families. I was at the door signing up people and taking the consent forms from parents or guardians. The signed forms were consent to release forms for pictures we take of the children/minors with Lyda and Mr. Mousie as they accept their certificates. I felt bad for Andrew, one of the pages who had to wear the Mouse suit. It must have been stifling hot in there.
After the ceremony, there was an artist, Jim Gilberts, who came to teach the children how to draw cartoons. I sat with the children to learn how draw. Although I never fancied myself to be an artist, I always wanted to learn to draw beyond the stick figures I make. Below you'll see my fanciful efforts of the drawings that I did while watching and listening to Mr. Gilberts. The basic storyline is Mr. Gilberts':
These are my drawings of a superhero mouse and his faithful doggie sidekick.
Okay, I'll continue posting the rest of my drawings in the upcoming blog entries. Perhaps this can be an alternative career. What do you guys think?
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Day 25 - April 12, 2007
THURSDAY -- I was running late again. I thought that we had Family Night for HeadStarters but when I called Rulbina told me that everyone was at the Pacific Park Branch. I called the branch to ask if they needed me to come there too, I was told that I should just go to Central to make sure Daisy and Rubina are covered.
When I got to the Central Library, Lyda was still there and she too was told to stay put because it turned out only one family showed up at the Pacific Library. It was spring break for most schools so it turned out only one family was interested in going to the library for Family Night.
Thursdays are mostly quiet in the library to begin with so coupled with Spring Break, the pace was much more sedate for the Children's Room. I helped Lyda count and bundle the bookmarks in groups of 50 for Saturday's awarding events. I got one question from a boy looking for what I thought were "Ricky Ricardo" books. I asked if he wanted a biography and the 7 year old looked at me like "What the heck is this old lady talking about?" He said they are stories. Try as I might, I could not find anything to match my search for "Ricky Ricardo" limited to children's fiction available in Central Library. My thought was "Hmmm, I did not know Ricky Ricardo wrote children's books..." I was getting desperate as the child was already looking at me like he was thinking "you don't know anything!" and no one else was at the desk with me at the time. Finally, Rubina got back and I asked her, "do you know of any Ricky Ricardo books?" She stopped for all of 2 seconds until she laughed saying "RICKY RICOTTA!" Apparently, there is a series called Ricky Ricotta's Giant Robot :o)
One of the weaknesses I have that concerns this internship is my lack of knowledge when it comes to popular kiddie lit. Just when I thought I was getting better with using Horizon, I get hit with what to me is a stumper. I really just need to fine tune my reference interview either that or maybe I need to clean my ears...LOL!
When I got to the Central Library, Lyda was still there and she too was told to stay put because it turned out only one family showed up at the Pacific Library. It was spring break for most schools so it turned out only one family was interested in going to the library for Family Night.
Thursdays are mostly quiet in the library to begin with so coupled with Spring Break, the pace was much more sedate for the Children's Room. I helped Lyda count and bundle the bookmarks in groups of 50 for Saturday's awarding events. I got one question from a boy looking for what I thought were "Ricky Ricardo" books. I asked if he wanted a biography and the 7 year old looked at me like "What the heck is this old lady talking about?" He said they are stories. Try as I might, I could not find anything to match my search for "Ricky Ricardo" limited to children's fiction available in Central Library. My thought was "Hmmm, I did not know Ricky Ricardo wrote children's books..." I was getting desperate as the child was already looking at me like he was thinking "you don't know anything!" and no one else was at the desk with me at the time. Finally, Rubina got back and I asked her, "do you know of any Ricky Ricardo books?" She stopped for all of 2 seconds until she laughed saying "RICKY RICOTTA!" Apparently, there is a series called Ricky Ricotta's Giant Robot :o)
One of the weaknesses I have that concerns this internship is my lack of knowledge when it comes to popular kiddie lit. Just when I thought I was getting better with using Horizon, I get hit with what to me is a stumper. I really just need to fine tune my reference interview either that or maybe I need to clean my ears...LOL!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Day 24 - April 11, 2007
WEDNESDAY -- I had to finish processing more invoices at the firm today so I was not able to get the earlier train. As a result, I got to the Children's Room at 5:30pm. Lyda, Cecile and Arpine were hard at work. I helped Lyda count bundles of the Bookmarks that won the bookmark contest. We're holding an award ceremony on Saturday that Hala put together. I think I picked up about 4 calls tonight from people who are attending the event.
I spent most of the night working on my Pathfinder for the online homework help. I looked at the books from the stacks and also searched the catalog for what we have in the collection. I did not get too far since I only had four titles typed up when the library closed.
I got a few reference questions, cleared the computer room every half hour and picked up the phone for reference and RSVP calls. I was more confident with answering questions about what book for this grade level. There was a mom who was asking for a list of recommended books for her child who is in Kindergarden. As far as I knew, there were no such lists in the library but after I directed her to the picture books, I looked at the Children's Room website and saw there is a page called Book Lists. I clicked on this and found a list for Early REaders which I printed out and gave to the mother browsing the JO section.
Cecile asked me today how I am liking the internship and I told her that I like it a lot. She said that in the beginning she thought I did not like it because I was quiet. I really thought that it was funny she observed me being quiet. At the firm, when I'm out on vacation, they say that the library is eerily quiet because I am the noisy, rambunctious one there. There is never a time that one would not hear a burst of laughter from the back room. There are times when Reed, the L.A. librarian will come to my desk and ask me what's funny. My usual reply is: "You!" After sometime, he learned not to ask anymore and would tell me that I am too sassy! I am usually quiet at a new workplace, I tend to observe first before I give my co-workers a dose of my weird self :o) As far as the Children's Room is concerned, I always feel like I have to be quiet in a public library. This comes from growing up in a culture where librarians are seen as strict and libraries are considered hallowed ground that children should either keep mum or whisper when visiting. I was always shushed as a kid coming to the library. I have a loud voice by nature and ultra-giggly to boot, it does not help any that I find humor in anything and everything so my dear Cecile, I have a few more weeks to show you that I am not as quiet as you might think. However, in keeping with library policy...I'll try very hard to control myself though...that's a promise! :o)
I spent most of the night working on my Pathfinder for the online homework help. I looked at the books from the stacks and also searched the catalog for what we have in the collection. I did not get too far since I only had four titles typed up when the library closed.
I got a few reference questions, cleared the computer room every half hour and picked up the phone for reference and RSVP calls. I was more confident with answering questions about what book for this grade level. There was a mom who was asking for a list of recommended books for her child who is in Kindergarden. As far as I knew, there were no such lists in the library but after I directed her to the picture books, I looked at the Children's Room website and saw there is a page called Book Lists. I clicked on this and found a list for Early REaders which I printed out and gave to the mother browsing the JO section.
Cecile asked me today how I am liking the internship and I told her that I like it a lot. She said that in the beginning she thought I did not like it because I was quiet. I really thought that it was funny she observed me being quiet. At the firm, when I'm out on vacation, they say that the library is eerily quiet because I am the noisy, rambunctious one there. There is never a time that one would not hear a burst of laughter from the back room. There are times when Reed, the L.A. librarian will come to my desk and ask me what's funny. My usual reply is: "You!" After sometime, he learned not to ask anymore and would tell me that I am too sassy! I am usually quiet at a new workplace, I tend to observe first before I give my co-workers a dose of my weird self :o) As far as the Children's Room is concerned, I always feel like I have to be quiet in a public library. This comes from growing up in a culture where librarians are seen as strict and libraries are considered hallowed ground that children should either keep mum or whisper when visiting. I was always shushed as a kid coming to the library. I have a loud voice by nature and ultra-giggly to boot, it does not help any that I find humor in anything and everything so my dear Cecile, I have a few more weeks to show you that I am not as quiet as you might think. However, in keeping with library policy...I'll try very hard to control myself though...that's a promise! :o)
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Day 23 - April 10, 2007
TUESDAY -- I had a very busy day today. I was at the public library at 9am to attend an order meeting. It was a very interesting gathering of librarians not only from the central library Children's Room, but also of the other city branches and the Library Director. The agenda of the meeting was to browse through some Spanish and bilingual books from a vendor which we did for almost 2 hours. Many of the books had beautiful artwork. I was able to understand most of the titles of the Spanish books. My Spanish is very rusty but I was able to get a sense of what the books were all about. It was interesting to me how Carolyn left the room to get money for one of the branch librarians that did not have funds left in her budget to buy books only to come to say I got you $500.00 so you can buy some books. At the firm, $500.00 will only get you a year's subscription to one newsletter.
After the vendor left, we talked about the new acquisition carts and the books that Theresa, Cecile and Catherine (a branch librarian) wanted to highlight. Then we proceeded to talking about library policies, most especially about the policy on the age limit of children being left to their own devices in the libraries. As it stands, children 9 years and older can be left on their own in the children's room, as long as by closing time, they have an adult picking them up. We left this hanging in the air as we were almost on our third hour. Carolyn, the library director wanted us to mull over the change the librarians were proposing that the age limit be changed from 9 to 10 years old.
After the meeting I went to work at my law firm job. I had online invoices to pay so I had to come to work. I was not able to leave the firm until 5:30pm and as a result I did not get to the Children's Room until 6:30pm. By the time I got there, the usual foot traffic with kids doing homework, using computers or borrowing books was in full swing. Around 7:30pm it slowed down a bit that I was able to interview Hala about collection development. Since she has a brand new library to fill, she told me that she ordered pretty much everything the vendor had to offer at the order meeting. I find collection development for a public library quite interesting.
While Hala was chatting with me, she was making die-cut figures of piggies for her storytelling on Thursday. She asked me if I wanted to make the sample and of course I readily agreed. I really enjoy these little projects. I made the sample and it turned out okay. See below:
The materials for this project are the die-cut face of the pig, some pieces of colored paper, crayons and a brown bag. The piggy on the left in a yellow dress was made by Theresa sometime ago and the sexy piggy in a green dress is mine! I'm getting good with arts and crafts right? What do you think?
Day 22 - April 9, 2007
MONDAY -- The first day of the week are always busy as soon as I get to the Children's Room. When I got there at 5pm, Hala, Arpine, Cecile and Lyda were busy at work. Lyda is the new assistant children's librarian replacing Hala. Hala is now in between libraries as she prepares for her new post as a branch librarian.
I set off to work finishing the aprons for Thursday night's event. I was able to finish about 50 more of the paper aprons. It was tedious work but I found it therapeutic cutting and pasting and tying the yarn. In the end, we ended up making more than the 150 we need for the event.
When I finished my project with Lyda and Evelyn's help, I read some chapters of the book I am reading "Crispin: At the Edge of the World" by Avi. I read the first book Crispin: The Cross of Lead (2003 Newbery Winner) before I started with the internship and I liked the story because it was well developed. I really enjoy reading about this period in time, the 1300s and I thought that the author did a good job describing what was going on during those times. Crispin was a courageous boy who gave up his heritage in order to save his friend Bear who was held captive by a noble's kin. Bear was put in a dungeon by those who wanted to kill Crispin to prevent him from claiming his birthright. The second book continues as Bear and Crispin fled the Castle of Great Wexly.
I asked Lyda and Evelyn tonight about the distinction between books to recommend to children of varying grade levels. Although I have become confident in finding the right books when it comes to non-fiction and juvenile fiction books, I still get stumped when asked for recommendations for 3rd or 4th grade readers. Evelyn told me that it always depends on the reading level of the child but the chapter books are basically divvied up between:
JO - Picture books (Usually read to toddlers and pre-schoolers by parents)
JE - Early readers (Grades 1-3)
JC - Beginning chapter books (Grades 2-4)
JI - Higher content picture books (Grades 3-5)
J - Juvenile fiction (books vary in level from 3rd grade to 8th grade)
I learned that it is always best to ask for the child's reading level because there are 1st graders who are advanced readers and there are some 5th graders who are behind. I have helped 6th graders who wanted to use books that are intended for 3rd graders, i.e. with more pictures than words. At the same time, there are 2nd and 3rd graders who request for the Harry Potter books. Now, I understand better how to recommend which books to what age and grade levels.
I set off to work finishing the aprons for Thursday night's event. I was able to finish about 50 more of the paper aprons. It was tedious work but I found it therapeutic cutting and pasting and tying the yarn. In the end, we ended up making more than the 150 we need for the event.
When I finished my project with Lyda and Evelyn's help, I read some chapters of the book I am reading "Crispin: At the Edge of the World" by Avi. I read the first book Crispin: The Cross of Lead (2003 Newbery Winner) before I started with the internship and I liked the story because it was well developed. I really enjoy reading about this period in time, the 1300s and I thought that the author did a good job describing what was going on during those times. Crispin was a courageous boy who gave up his heritage in order to save his friend Bear who was held captive by a noble's kin. Bear was put in a dungeon by those who wanted to kill Crispin to prevent him from claiming his birthright. The second book continues as Bear and Crispin fled the Castle of Great Wexly.
I asked Lyda and Evelyn tonight about the distinction between books to recommend to children of varying grade levels. Although I have become confident in finding the right books when it comes to non-fiction and juvenile fiction books, I still get stumped when asked for recommendations for 3rd or 4th grade readers. Evelyn told me that it always depends on the reading level of the child but the chapter books are basically divvied up between:
JO - Picture books (Usually read to toddlers and pre-schoolers by parents)
JE - Early readers (Grades 1-3)
JC - Beginning chapter books (Grades 2-4)
JI - Higher content picture books (Grades 3-5)
J - Juvenile fiction (books vary in level from 3rd grade to 8th grade)
I learned that it is always best to ask for the child's reading level because there are 1st graders who are advanced readers and there are some 5th graders who are behind. I have helped 6th graders who wanted to use books that are intended for 3rd graders, i.e. with more pictures than words. At the same time, there are 2nd and 3rd graders who request for the Harry Potter books. Now, I understand better how to recommend which books to what age and grade levels.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Day 21 - April 7, 2007
SATURDAY -- I almost did not go to the library today because my back spasm was acting up. I made it on time despite my slow movements. I got to the Children's Room and found that it was Hala, Arpine, Rubina and Cecile working on this day. It was fairly quiet and I only had several reference questions I had to answer. I spent most of the day making the paper aprons for the HeadStart program.
In the afternoon, I supervised the arts & crafts session after Hala's storytelling. Since it was Easter, we made bunnies and mice out of Gerber jars, cotton and joggle eyes. I made one myself and it was a mouse but the kids insisted that it is a puppy. Well, judge for yourself what it looks like:
In the afternoon, I supervised the arts & crafts session after Hala's storytelling. Since it was Easter, we made bunnies and mice out of Gerber jars, cotton and joggle eyes. I made one myself and it was a mouse but the kids insisted that it is a puppy. Well, judge for yourself what it looks like:
Well, I guess it can be both, a mouse or a puppy... depending on one's imagination. The origami cranes I make when I have a couple of minutes to spare, it's a habit I cannot shake off since I learned to make them many, many years ago. I find folding paper a bit relaxing. Anyway, I just thought that with my mousey, they make a striking photo.
I have learned many arts and crafts projects in the few weeks of doing this internship. I know some friends and their kids will be happy of my newly acquired skills especially when I babysit for friends who need date night with their hubbies and wives. Any takers for my babysitting with arts and crafts skills in exchange for a good dinner plate?
Day 20 - April 5, 2007
WEDNESDAY -- The library was quiet this night. I spent most of my free time cutting paper for pizza rounds to be pasted on the paper aprons we give to the HeadStart kids (arts & crafts). It was Arpine, Daisy and I manning the reference desk. Inertia boy approached me tonight to show me his poem with the 100% mark from the teacher. It was heartwarming to know that he was looking for me earlier in the afternoon and when he finally saw me at 5pm, he came to the desk to show me.
I need to finish working on the pathfinder for California Native Americans but I need computer time to get pictures of the books and their descriptions. This is a project I want to finish before my time as the intern is over. As each day passes by, my heart grows heavier when I think of my time as an intern trickling like grains of sand in an hour-glass. I know that despite the fatigue of working 12-14 hour days, I will miss this internship sorely.
Today, Ms. Daisy brought me a book about the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. I saw a doll sitting behind me at the reference desk and it was a ghastly looking doll. I wondered out loud who or what the doll was supposed to be. Ms. Daisy pointed out that it was the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Being born and raised in the Philippines, I was not familiar with the Old Lady. This is an area in children's literature that I need to hash up on. Although I am familiar with the usual fairy tales and Mother Goose rhymes, there are still a lot of the classics I am not familiar with. Note to self: browse through the collection and read up on the classics.
I need to finish working on the pathfinder for California Native Americans but I need computer time to get pictures of the books and their descriptions. This is a project I want to finish before my time as the intern is over. As each day passes by, my heart grows heavier when I think of my time as an intern trickling like grains of sand in an hour-glass. I know that despite the fatigue of working 12-14 hour days, I will miss this internship sorely.
Today, Ms. Daisy brought me a book about the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. I saw a doll sitting behind me at the reference desk and it was a ghastly looking doll. I wondered out loud who or what the doll was supposed to be. Ms. Daisy pointed out that it was the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Being born and raised in the Philippines, I was not familiar with the Old Lady. This is an area in children's literature that I need to hash up on. Although I am familiar with the usual fairy tales and Mother Goose rhymes, there are still a lot of the classics I am not familiar with. Note to self: browse through the collection and read up on the classics.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Day 19 - April 3, 2007
TUESDAY -- Today was quite uneventful. Just the regulars doing their homework and some middle-schoolers doing research on papers on famous reformers throughout American history. My niece Katrina was one of them. Katrina is an 8th grader and she has been going to the library with me since yesterday. Her paper is about Harriet Tubman so that I now know all about the "Black Moses."
There were many patrons in the library today but although they were there, they seemed to have been doing their own thing that we did not get that many reference questions. I got asked for dictionaries and also books on Horace Mann, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Dorothea Dix, frogs, sloths, drawing and picture books with dealing with disability to be read to pre-schoolers. I was also asked by Vahe, one of the regulars to show him how to make an origami crane.
Vahe is one of those kids who is borderline trouble. He's a nice kid but there are times when you almost want to yell at him. He likes hearing his cellphone ring and we always have to remind him to put it on silent/vibrate. He would ask all sorts of questions then decide he does not need the information. For example, yesterday, he wanted to know the standard size of the U.S. flag. I started looking up the information by checking the encyclopedias and then he goes on saying that his teacher does not want that information after all. He then proceeded to ask if I ever had to kick out a kid out of the library and I told him "No! Do you want to be the first?" :o)
There were many patrons in the library today but although they were there, they seemed to have been doing their own thing that we did not get that many reference questions. I got asked for dictionaries and also books on Horace Mann, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Dorothea Dix, frogs, sloths, drawing and picture books with dealing with disability to be read to pre-schoolers. I was also asked by Vahe, one of the regulars to show him how to make an origami crane.
Vahe is one of those kids who is borderline trouble. He's a nice kid but there are times when you almost want to yell at him. He likes hearing his cellphone ring and we always have to remind him to put it on silent/vibrate. He would ask all sorts of questions then decide he does not need the information. For example, yesterday, he wanted to know the standard size of the U.S. flag. I started looking up the information by checking the encyclopedias and then he goes on saying that his teacher does not want that information after all. He then proceeded to ask if I ever had to kick out a kid out of the library and I told him "No! Do you want to be the first?" :o)
Monday, April 2, 2007
Day 18 - April 2, 2007
MONDAY -- I believe that having logged over 70 hours at the Children's Room, I am halfway through with the internship. I am getting a bit sad about being halfway through...I equate it to reading a book that you really like and you are getting to the last chapter and you don't want the story to end. Okay, let's put it this way since I am an avid Harry Potter fan...you know that the last book is coming out soon and I am excited to read it but I am sad that the series is about to end. The end of the internship signals the final chapter of my graduate program, it is exciting to know that I will finally graduate and yet I'm sad that the internship will be over soon.
Endings are like that...bittersweet with old doors closing and new ones opening. Talk about endings, I found out today that Hala is leaving. I knew when I started that she will be leaving soon to become a solo librarian at a new branch the city had just built. I just did not think that it will happen while I am there. She will still be coming to the Children's Room on some days but I will not see her as much as I did anymore because of the hours I work. I will miss Hala. In the last month I have been there, she was a fount of information. She had instant answers to my questions and if she did not, she tried to find them for me.
Seeing that this is like half-time for me, this is probably a good time for me to evaluate what I had learned in this internship. I learned many things. Since Theresa and Hala are my direct supervisors, much of what I now know of children's libraries I learned from them, from choosing books to read to children, to coming up with ideas about arts and crafts, reference interview to collection development. However I cannot discount what i have learned from the other staff members. Only a month into the internship and I learned a lot from them. All of them, Arpine, Cecile, Daisy, Evelyn and Rubina...and even the library pages all helped in giving me bits and pieces of information to help sthrengthen my skills as a reference librarian. The first few days shadowing them was beneficial but each day, I learn something new from each of them and I am grateful. I still falter with some questions but with their prompting, I learned to be confident as each day passes. There was never a time that I did not get help from them when I stumble with a question.
I am now able to help most patrons with their questions but I need more knowledge and courage in some areas. I need to learn reading levels. I usually get stumped when asked about which chapter books are for 3rd graders or 4th graders. I also need to get a bit more skilled with Horizon. I know the basics but I feel like I do not know the nuances of the program. In fact I tend to use the online catalog linked through the Children's Room web page more than I would use Horizon. I am sure that it is not the way to go so I need to work on that. As for courage, I need to gather more courage when telling patrons to use their cellphones out in the hallway or sending out rowdy kids. I've gotten better with clearing the computer room when time's up and saying no to patrons asking for staplers :o) I know now that I cannot show the kids any fear or else they will walk all over me. Like Cecile, I need to learn to be firm and yet gentle with reminders.
Before I end this, I have to recount a reference question I got today. A man came to the desk asking me about books on death penalty. I told him that I am almost sure that we do not have any in the children's room and that he has to go downstairs to the adult section. He said he saw the books there and they are too thick and he want a shorter book to read. I told him I could try and found him a book but it was in the teen section. The only other book I could find is "Furman v. Georgia : the death penalty case" but he chose the other book so I told him to go downstairs. I thought it was interesting to be asked about something as grave as the death penalty in a children's library. You just really don't know what kind of reference question will be put before you on any given day. I want to think that I handled that well enough.
Endings are like that...bittersweet with old doors closing and new ones opening. Talk about endings, I found out today that Hala is leaving. I knew when I started that she will be leaving soon to become a solo librarian at a new branch the city had just built. I just did not think that it will happen while I am there. She will still be coming to the Children's Room on some days but I will not see her as much as I did anymore because of the hours I work. I will miss Hala. In the last month I have been there, she was a fount of information. She had instant answers to my questions and if she did not, she tried to find them for me.
Seeing that this is like half-time for me, this is probably a good time for me to evaluate what I had learned in this internship. I learned many things. Since Theresa and Hala are my direct supervisors, much of what I now know of children's libraries I learned from them, from choosing books to read to children, to coming up with ideas about arts and crafts, reference interview to collection development. However I cannot discount what i have learned from the other staff members. Only a month into the internship and I learned a lot from them. All of them, Arpine, Cecile, Daisy, Evelyn and Rubina...and even the library pages all helped in giving me bits and pieces of information to help sthrengthen my skills as a reference librarian. The first few days shadowing them was beneficial but each day, I learn something new from each of them and I am grateful. I still falter with some questions but with their prompting, I learned to be confident as each day passes. There was never a time that I did not get help from them when I stumble with a question.
I am now able to help most patrons with their questions but I need more knowledge and courage in some areas. I need to learn reading levels. I usually get stumped when asked about which chapter books are for 3rd graders or 4th graders. I also need to get a bit more skilled with Horizon. I know the basics but I feel like I do not know the nuances of the program. In fact I tend to use the online catalog linked through the Children's Room web page more than I would use Horizon. I am sure that it is not the way to go so I need to work on that. As for courage, I need to gather more courage when telling patrons to use their cellphones out in the hallway or sending out rowdy kids. I've gotten better with clearing the computer room when time's up and saying no to patrons asking for staplers :o) I know now that I cannot show the kids any fear or else they will walk all over me. Like Cecile, I need to learn to be firm and yet gentle with reminders.
Before I end this, I have to recount a reference question I got today. A man came to the desk asking me about books on death penalty. I told him that I am almost sure that we do not have any in the children's room and that he has to go downstairs to the adult section. He said he saw the books there and they are too thick and he want a shorter book to read. I told him I could try and found him a book but it was in the teen section. The only other book I could find is "Furman v. Georgia : the death penalty case" but he chose the other book so I told him to go downstairs. I thought it was interesting to be asked about something as grave as the death penalty in a children's library. You just really don't know what kind of reference question will be put before you on any given day. I want to think that I handled that well enough.
Day 17 - March 31, 2007
SATURDAY -- Talk about being late! I went to see Will Farell's new movie "Blades of Glory" last night and I guess I laughed so hard that when I got home, my backpain was back in full force. I took a pain pill and zonked out before I set my alarm clock. I woke up at 10:57am and I was due at the library at 10am. I called Theresa to explain and I did not get there till 12pm. I missed the storytelling at 10:30am and I regret not seeing the little ones.
I asked Theresa today how she chooses the stories she read to the children. I noticed that she had themes and she said that she would usually try to come up with craft ideas and then find the stories/choose the books. Since it was the last day of March, and to go along with her previous theme, "In like a lion" for today it is "out like a lamb." Therefore, the afternoon storytelling and the arts and crafts that went along with it was about lambs and sheep. Theresa read three books about sheep and then we made wooly sheep with the children. The activity was a lot of fun. I helped a little girl around 4 years of age make her sheep. She was so shy that she would not even tell me her name but she was adorable.
At around 4pm, Theresa had her "knitters" set up in one corner of the library. Older children came in to learn how to knit. Theresa supervised and a teenager, Alex, came to help teach the kids. I was tempted to join them but I know that my hands are not as nimble with knitting, needlework, and the likes. Come to think of it, as an Art Historian, I am a lover of art but I cannot produce it. Sad as it may sound, I am okay with it because I can analyze artwork with the best of them. There is that old saying that kind of applies to me..."Those who cannot do, teach" or in my case appreciate, admire and analyze. I can only sit idly in the sidelines and watch as they knitted. Maybe there is hope for me yet and that perhaps someday, I'll gather the courage to pick up knitting needles and start a new hobby.
I asked Theresa today how she chooses the stories she read to the children. I noticed that she had themes and she said that she would usually try to come up with craft ideas and then find the stories/choose the books. Since it was the last day of March, and to go along with her previous theme, "In like a lion" for today it is "out like a lamb." Therefore, the afternoon storytelling and the arts and crafts that went along with it was about lambs and sheep. Theresa read three books about sheep and then we made wooly sheep with the children. The activity was a lot of fun. I helped a little girl around 4 years of age make her sheep. She was so shy that she would not even tell me her name but she was adorable.
At around 4pm, Theresa had her "knitters" set up in one corner of the library. Older children came in to learn how to knit. Theresa supervised and a teenager, Alex, came to help teach the kids. I was tempted to join them but I know that my hands are not as nimble with knitting, needlework, and the likes. Come to think of it, as an Art Historian, I am a lover of art but I cannot produce it. Sad as it may sound, I am okay with it because I can analyze artwork with the best of them. There is that old saying that kind of applies to me..."Those who cannot do, teach" or in my case appreciate, admire and analyze. I can only sit idly in the sidelines and watch as they knitted. Maybe there is hope for me yet and that perhaps someday, I'll gather the courage to pick up knitting needles and start a new hobby.
Day 16 - March 29, 2007
THURSDAY -- Today, we had another family event for Headstart kids. Unlike the last time when I was asked to help at the reference desk, this night Theresa asked me to help out with the event by watching some of the kids and help them with their crafts after storytelling time. There were many kids and parents that attended the event but this week we were prepared. There were 4 giant cheese pizzas instead of the 2 and 1/2 we had two weeks ago.
Watching the children come into the library with their parents and then helping them do the crafts made me realize how good the library is to the community. Most of the programs that the Children's Room have are geared toward literacy. "No child left behind" is such a noble cause. I cannot help but feel fortunate to live in a country that takes very good care of its future, the children.
At the event, I met Carolyn, the library director who said they are happy to have me as their intern and that she has read my blog. I was a bit flustered about that because I did not expect it. I know that eventually I will need to let my peers know about the blog but I felt that it needed fine-tuning and much editing with grammar and typos but hearing from the director that she read it surprised me a bit. Theresa said I have to remember to write good things about the library. I cannot say enough about the great programs that the Children's Room have to cater to the community. I am not only very happy to be working there, I feel proud to be a part of it, no matter that it's a temporary stint.
Watching the children come into the library with their parents and then helping them do the crafts made me realize how good the library is to the community. Most of the programs that the Children's Room have are geared toward literacy. "No child left behind" is such a noble cause. I cannot help but feel fortunate to live in a country that takes very good care of its future, the children.
At the event, I met Carolyn, the library director who said they are happy to have me as their intern and that she has read my blog. I was a bit flustered about that because I did not expect it. I know that eventually I will need to let my peers know about the blog but I felt that it needed fine-tuning and much editing with grammar and typos but hearing from the director that she read it surprised me a bit. Theresa said I have to remember to write good things about the library. I cannot say enough about the great programs that the Children's Room have to cater to the community. I am not only very happy to be working there, I feel proud to be a part of it, no matter that it's a temporary stint.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Day 15 -- March 28, 2007
WEDNESDAY -- I was 10 minutes early today and I was at a loss on what I can do with that bit of time. These days, every minute counts. In fact, each morning, every second counts so that if I spent five more brushstrokes on my hair and slathered another dab of lotion on my arms, I am sure to miss my train. I even shorten my lunch break so I can make up for my early departure on days I am working at the Children's Room. Every night, when I get home, I spend the needed time to eat a light dinner, prepare my clothes for the next day, do laundry, ironing or whatever chores that needs doing. Then I prepare for bed and when in bed, I have to read a few chapters of the new book I am reading or watch a riveting episode or two of the current Korean drama I am watching...then off to bed around 1-2am. Such is my life these days. Time is a luxury I cannot seem to affford.
Anyway, since I got there early, I walked the stacks looking for the book Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata. Instead of checking it out, I returned it to the stacks because I have yet to settle my fines at the library (shame shame shame) . I know, it's shameful that I work in the library and I can't seem to find the time to go to the bank, get money and walk over to the circ desk to pay my fines. Yes, I owe beaucoup bucks that's why! I hardly carry more that $10 in cash so I really do need to remember getting money from the bank before going to work. That's where I should have used my extra 10 minutes today...Haha!
Theresa sat down with me and talked a bit about the projects she wanted me to do (the blog and the pathfinder). She gave me some instructions and we talked a bit about the HeadStart event tomorrow...Thursday Night Madness...just kidding. It's family night tomorrow and we are again hosting pre-schoolers and their parents...Pizza Night! I found out that the pre-schooler's event is a part of ELF (Early Learning with Families), which is one of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant programs of the California State Library. Once again, all hands on deck tomorrow so I'm sure we'll be busy and that it will be exciting!
I sat in with Theresa with her Snacktime Readers. It was a group that met every month and talked about the book they read. This month, they read "Under the Blood Red Sun" by Graham Salisbury. I tried to read the book early on in my internship but because I read it little by little during my shift, I was not able to finish it and then the last copy at the desk disappeared last week. In any case, I bravely sat in to observe. Before the book discussion began, I was introduced to the children and it felt good that Theresa said "although she's studying to be a librarian, she knows how already"...well something like that. I'm just glad that she thinks I am capable. They were doing mad-libs when I entered the room and I joined in only to be asked to provide an adverb...well holy cannoli, of all things required of me, it had to be the one thing I always forget...adverbs... I blanked out...I should have tried to claim it's the language barrier...hahaha!
There were only four kids in the group and they were very smart, confident kids ranging from 9-13 years old. The kids were snacking while the discussion was going on. "Under the Blood Red Sun" was about Pearl Harbor and the diverse ethnic groups in Hawaii at the time. Much as I would have liked to contribute to the discussion, I was not able to say much because I did not get past Chapter 3 so I just listened and munched on Goldfish crackers. After listening the children talk about their favorite and not so favorite parts of the book, their discussion makes me want to finish it more.
I went home tonight thinking of one of the kids in the reading group. She's 11 and already she knows that she wants to be a librarian when she grows up. I was pleasantly surprised because when I was that young and when asked what I wanted to be, I always said I wanted to be a nun but as I grew older and older still I skedaddled away from that path and it took a while for me to find this long and winding road to librarianship. A priest friend I met with last year said I might yet get my "calling." Well then, we'll just have to wait and see if I will become a Dora the Librarian Explorer or Dora the Librarian Superior.
Anyway, since I got there early, I walked the stacks looking for the book Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata. Instead of checking it out, I returned it to the stacks because I have yet to settle my fines at the library (shame shame shame) . I know, it's shameful that I work in the library and I can't seem to find the time to go to the bank, get money and walk over to the circ desk to pay my fines. Yes, I owe beaucoup bucks that's why! I hardly carry more that $10 in cash so I really do need to remember getting money from the bank before going to work. That's where I should have used my extra 10 minutes today...Haha!
Theresa sat down with me and talked a bit about the projects she wanted me to do (the blog and the pathfinder). She gave me some instructions and we talked a bit about the HeadStart event tomorrow...Thursday Night Madness...just kidding. It's family night tomorrow and we are again hosting pre-schoolers and their parents...Pizza Night! I found out that the pre-schooler's event is a part of ELF (Early Learning with Families), which is one of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant programs of the California State Library. Once again, all hands on deck tomorrow so I'm sure we'll be busy and that it will be exciting!
I sat in with Theresa with her Snacktime Readers. It was a group that met every month and talked about the book they read. This month, they read "Under the Blood Red Sun" by Graham Salisbury. I tried to read the book early on in my internship but because I read it little by little during my shift, I was not able to finish it and then the last copy at the desk disappeared last week. In any case, I bravely sat in to observe. Before the book discussion began, I was introduced to the children and it felt good that Theresa said "although she's studying to be a librarian, she knows how already"...well something like that. I'm just glad that she thinks I am capable. They were doing mad-libs when I entered the room and I joined in only to be asked to provide an adverb...well holy cannoli, of all things required of me, it had to be the one thing I always forget...adverbs... I blanked out...I should have tried to claim it's the language barrier...hahaha!
There were only four kids in the group and they were very smart, confident kids ranging from 9-13 years old. The kids were snacking while the discussion was going on. "Under the Blood Red Sun" was about Pearl Harbor and the diverse ethnic groups in Hawaii at the time. Much as I would have liked to contribute to the discussion, I was not able to say much because I did not get past Chapter 3 so I just listened and munched on Goldfish crackers. After listening the children talk about their favorite and not so favorite parts of the book, their discussion makes me want to finish it more.
I went home tonight thinking of one of the kids in the reading group. She's 11 and already she knows that she wants to be a librarian when she grows up. I was pleasantly surprised because when I was that young and when asked what I wanted to be, I always said I wanted to be a nun but as I grew older and older still I skedaddled away from that path and it took a while for me to find this long and winding road to librarianship. A priest friend I met with last year said I might yet get my "calling." Well then, we'll just have to wait and see if I will become a Dora the Librarian Explorer or Dora the Librarian Superior.
Day 14 - March 27, 2007
TUESDAY -- I was queasy when I left my job at the law firm. It was a very windy day and the building was swaying so it felt like I was on a cruiseship all afternoon. By the time I got to the Children's Room, the woozy feeling abated and I was ready to face my "tormentors" once again. Okay, erase tormentors...I'm totally kidding about that. I love going to my 2nd "job" that the pain in my back recedes as soon as step into the public library.
I spent some time today repairing books and processing books that needed stickers. There were not a lot of children needing help so I spent time reading fractured fairy tales recommended by one of the reference librarians, Miss Daisy. I read two of Jon Scieszka's fairy tales: "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" and "The Frog Prince, Continued." I enjoyed both books because they were very clever and funny, but of the two, my favorite was "Frog Prince, Continued" because it was just clever how Mr. Scieszka wove other characters, i.e. witches from other fairy tales into the story. The story was about what happened to the Frog Prince after he married the princess. The premise was that they did not live happily ever after and the prince tried to find the one witch who can turn him back into a frog. In his travels, he found Beauty's wicked witch who can cast a nasty spell on him, Snow White's stepmother who tried to give him a poisoned apple and lastly, Hansel & Gretel's witch who just might want to eat him. In the end he went back to the Princess who was worried sick about him leaving the castle. I will not tell you the whole of the story, you will want to find Scieszka's books and read them. They are a quick read and trust that they will give you a fit of giggles once you see how funny they are.
One of our regulars asked me what my name was...I was totally expecting to hear the bit about being an explorer again but he said something about how it's a nice name. Thank you for not telling me I look DtE! Inertia boy updated me about his poem and said that he got 100% on that assignment. Although I only helped him with one line, I felt really good. The sense of fulfillment I feel at the children's library is quite different from the day to day feelings I get from working at the firm. It's just not the same.
I spent some time today repairing books and processing books that needed stickers. There were not a lot of children needing help so I spent time reading fractured fairy tales recommended by one of the reference librarians, Miss Daisy. I read two of Jon Scieszka's fairy tales: "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" and "The Frog Prince, Continued." I enjoyed both books because they were very clever and funny, but of the two, my favorite was "Frog Prince, Continued" because it was just clever how Mr. Scieszka wove other characters, i.e. witches from other fairy tales into the story. The story was about what happened to the Frog Prince after he married the princess. The premise was that they did not live happily ever after and the prince tried to find the one witch who can turn him back into a frog. In his travels, he found Beauty's wicked witch who can cast a nasty spell on him, Snow White's stepmother who tried to give him a poisoned apple and lastly, Hansel & Gretel's witch who just might want to eat him. In the end he went back to the Princess who was worried sick about him leaving the castle. I will not tell you the whole of the story, you will want to find Scieszka's books and read them. They are a quick read and trust that they will give you a fit of giggles once you see how funny they are.
One of our regulars asked me what my name was...I was totally expecting to hear the bit about being an explorer again but he said something about how it's a nice name. Thank you for not telling me I look DtE! Inertia boy updated me about his poem and said that he got 100% on that assignment. Although I only helped him with one line, I felt really good. The sense of fulfillment I feel at the children's library is quite different from the day to day feelings I get from working at the firm. It's just not the same.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Day 13 - March 26, 2007
I did not work at the Children's Room last Saturday because I had an appointment with my tax guy and it turns out I am not getting much back from Uncle Sam and to top it off, I owe the Governator. After seeing Tax Dude, I went to the Teeth guy, my dentist, who put in a permanent crown on one of my molars. Then I got ambushed with "We're doing your root canal!" "WHAT?!!?? Nobody said anything about a root canal when they booked my at appointment!" As it turned out, I have an infected front tooth and that they felt that if I chose to get another appointment, they know that I'll try all delaying tactics. I had my first root canal and two days later, I can still hear the drilling in my sleep.
MONDAY -- The library was not too busy when I got there. As soon as I got settled at the desk, Cecile told me that Argish (Moses the big bully's little brother) was kicked out of the library and that he's not allowed in the Children's Room tonight. Well, it looks like if it isn't Moses, it's Argish...two peas in a pod.
I spent half the night sitting at the desk repairing ripped pages and covers of old books. I also helped Halla with a cutting lion shapes for bookmarks and attaching yarn tails. While I was sitting there I got a few reference questions that I was able to answer. Tonight, I also realized that the money and time I spent in college did not go to waste. I was able to help a kid needing reference materials on Alice Paul. While the other librarians were looking her up, and not finding books on her, I blurted out that I believe she's a suffragette and I was right! I was also able to help a parent find resources her child could use for a paper on painters. I got excited because having majored in Art History, questions like this gives me the jollies. They were looking for books on Marc Chagall and I pointed out the books to them knowing that Chagall's period in art is Modernism. It is at times like this that I don't regret owing beaucoup bucks on student loans.
While sitting there giving myself a pat on the back, this little kid came to the desk asking, "Can I dye here?" You can just imagine hearing that yourself right? I started panicking wondering why the kid wanted to DIE in the library...I called out to..."HALLA, can you please answer his question?" Halla was obviously flustered by the question because she paused for a second and looked at me and said, "what did he say?" The kid repeated his question and it dawned on us, finally, that he meant dye...to color! Halla and I said "NO!" at the same time. This is the little boy who come in with his father, brother and sister every night. They ask for the supplies and the same books every night...pencils, erasers, rulers, coloring sheets, crayons...Elmo, Bernstain Bears, Gingerbread Man...I have this urge to just hold these books behind the desk for them to save me the trouble of looking for them each time. Tonight, I let Evelyn deal with them since she's more patient than I am and she's more experienced with children than I am. The boys are really adorable but there are nights when they ask the same questions over and over again. They say patience is a virtue and it's one virtue I do not possess...so here's another good thing I'm getting out of this experience...I am learning it.
MONDAY -- The library was not too busy when I got there. As soon as I got settled at the desk, Cecile told me that Argish (Moses the big bully's little brother) was kicked out of the library and that he's not allowed in the Children's Room tonight. Well, it looks like if it isn't Moses, it's Argish...two peas in a pod.
I spent half the night sitting at the desk repairing ripped pages and covers of old books. I also helped Halla with a cutting lion shapes for bookmarks and attaching yarn tails. While I was sitting there I got a few reference questions that I was able to answer. Tonight, I also realized that the money and time I spent in college did not go to waste. I was able to help a kid needing reference materials on Alice Paul. While the other librarians were looking her up, and not finding books on her, I blurted out that I believe she's a suffragette and I was right! I was also able to help a parent find resources her child could use for a paper on painters. I got excited because having majored in Art History, questions like this gives me the jollies. They were looking for books on Marc Chagall and I pointed out the books to them knowing that Chagall's period in art is Modernism. It is at times like this that I don't regret owing beaucoup bucks on student loans.
While sitting there giving myself a pat on the back, this little kid came to the desk asking, "Can I dye here?" You can just imagine hearing that yourself right? I started panicking wondering why the kid wanted to DIE in the library...I called out to..."HALLA, can you please answer his question?" Halla was obviously flustered by the question because she paused for a second and looked at me and said, "what did he say?" The kid repeated his question and it dawned on us, finally, that he meant dye...to color! Halla and I said "NO!" at the same time. This is the little boy who come in with his father, brother and sister every night. They ask for the supplies and the same books every night...pencils, erasers, rulers, coloring sheets, crayons...Elmo, Bernstain Bears, Gingerbread Man...I have this urge to just hold these books behind the desk for them to save me the trouble of looking for them each time. Tonight, I let Evelyn deal with them since she's more patient than I am and she's more experienced with children than I am. The boys are really adorable but there are nights when they ask the same questions over and over again. They say patience is a virtue and it's one virtue I do not possess...so here's another good thing I'm getting out of this experience...I am learning it.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Day 12 - March 21, 2007
WEDNESDAY -- Halla told me today of some projects Theresa wanted me to work on. I'm supposed to contribute to the Children's Room blog: Tales From the Treehouse and I have to create a pathfinder (some kind of an annotated bibliography) for California Indians for the online Homework Help. Hmmm...well, I think I can do these without any problems at all. For the blogblog, I have to read a book and then write/blog about it. Although a newbie with blogging, I have already done a lot of book talks with my various classes at Pitt so this is easy as pie. I just need to choose the right book that will be interesting not only to me but to the young patrons as well. I cannot blog about the mainstream titles like popular fiction (i.e. Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket, Roald Dahl, etc.). As for the pathfinder, if I was able to do an annotated bibliography for 125 legal titles in Business Law and 50 resource materials for my Library Marketing class...I'm sure I can find enough resources on California Native Americans.
I spent most of the first 2 hours at the library tonight looking at the library's collection on California Indians. Around 7pm, Halla offered me some cake and ice cream. It is Arpine's birthday today and they had a little celebration in the back room. I had a yummy cream puff and some "dirty" ice cream (dirty because I always preferred ice cream without nuts and marshmallows in it...if it has bits and bobs, I call it dirty...heehee). Around 7:30pm, Cecile showed me a scrapbook that she compiled and I spent the rest of my time there giggling and laughing out loud! Why? The scrapbook contained pieces of paper, photos, postcards, birthday cards...stuff that people leave in the library, unintentionally or intentionally. This library is for kids, the oldest child that can use the library will be 8th graders...I have seen love notes, a little notebook filled from cover to cover "I love Gurgen...he is the sexy!" and a diary with one entry that says:
The kicker though and the one that gave me the jollies tonight was this letter that was left "intentionally" to the library workers:
Ms. Reservationer ended her note by saying "I give this place a D-...it needs to be fired and fixed and neat!" Halla remembers seeing her...it was sometime last year when this nine year old came in and looked around, checked underneath the tables, checked out the computer room and the stacks. Sadly though, she has not been back to check if the "library workers" ever heeded her letter and fixed the library.
Oh, the things that children do! Can't help but love working with kids!
I spent most of the first 2 hours at the library tonight looking at the library's collection on California Indians. Around 7pm, Halla offered me some cake and ice cream. It is Arpine's birthday today and they had a little celebration in the back room. I had a yummy cream puff and some "dirty" ice cream (dirty because I always preferred ice cream without nuts and marshmallows in it...if it has bits and bobs, I call it dirty...heehee). Around 7:30pm, Cecile showed me a scrapbook that she compiled and I spent the rest of my time there giggling and laughing out loud! Why? The scrapbook contained pieces of paper, photos, postcards, birthday cards...stuff that people leave in the library, unintentionally or intentionally. This library is for kids, the oldest child that can use the library will be 8th graders...I have seen love notes, a little notebook filled from cover to cover "I love Gurgen...he is the sexy!" and a diary with one entry that says:
The kicker though and the one that gave me the jollies tonight was this letter that was left "intentionally" to the library workers:
Ms. Reservationer ended her note by saying "I give this place a D-...it needs to be fired and fixed and neat!" Halla remembers seeing her...it was sometime last year when this nine year old came in and looked around, checked underneath the tables, checked out the computer room and the stacks. Sadly though, she has not been back to check if the "library workers" ever heeded her letter and fixed the library.
Oh, the things that children do! Can't help but love working with kids!
Day 11 - March 20, 2007
TUESDAY -- There were a lot of kids in the library today. Although there were not that many reference questions, the homework helpers were busy and the computer terminals were occupied. I was kept busy doing the finishing touches to the paper aprons that Theresa will use for Headstart Family Night next week. I finished them in under an hour since it was just pasting the round paper in the middle of the brown-bag aprons they made. The round white paper I was pasting was supposedly a pizza dough that the pre-schoolers will fill with "pizza ingredients." I was amazed with the creativity the librarians had when it comes to arts and crafts and how such projects relate to the stories they read. I was told that they get these ideas from discussion groups, from some books and magazines. It's a skill I must learn if I want to become a children's librarian.
We had our daily visitor Moses who again had to be told to leave. The boy makes me nervous. He left but there were still some minor discipline issues we had to deal with. There is a section in the library that is reserved for middle-school students and there were little kids playing loudly in there. Cecil asked me to clear the room. I was a bit apprehensive but Cecil said "gentle but firm" and that I have to eventually learn to do it anyway. So I did it and yelled at these kids and told them to "get the heck out of Dodge!!!" Haha, just kidding...of course I was gentle and had a big smile when I told them that the room is for older children. The little one asked "but why?" and I had to say, "cos you're not old 'nuff!" After this little disciplinary action I was successful in implementing, I got a bit confident about saying "NO!" to patrons asking for a stapler. Yeah, I'm so strict now, please call me Dora the Enforcer! :o)
Talk about that Dora...you know, the famous Dora of exploring fame...tonight there was this mother of two little boys who asked me if I was new in the library because she has not seen me before. I said yes, and that I am an intern. She asked me what my name was and I said "I'm Dora." To which she replied, "Oh, and you look just like her, too!" Ah...what...HUH? She did not just say that!
Okay, here's a picture of me when I was in pre-school. Honestly...do you think I look like her? I guess one thing we have in common is that when I was little, my head was unnaturally big for my body...it took a while for the rest of me to catch up. I'm going to have to look into acquiring "Boots" the monkey! Harharhar!
We had our daily visitor Moses who again had to be told to leave. The boy makes me nervous. He left but there were still some minor discipline issues we had to deal with. There is a section in the library that is reserved for middle-school students and there were little kids playing loudly in there. Cecil asked me to clear the room. I was a bit apprehensive but Cecil said "gentle but firm" and that I have to eventually learn to do it anyway. So I did it and yelled at these kids and told them to "get the heck out of Dodge!!!" Haha, just kidding...of course I was gentle and had a big smile when I told them that the room is for older children. The little one asked "but why?" and I had to say, "cos you're not old 'nuff!" After this little disciplinary action I was successful in implementing, I got a bit confident about saying "NO!" to patrons asking for a stapler. Yeah, I'm so strict now, please call me Dora the Enforcer! :o)
Talk about that Dora...you know, the famous Dora of exploring fame...tonight there was this mother of two little boys who asked me if I was new in the library because she has not seen me before. I said yes, and that I am an intern. She asked me what my name was and I said "I'm Dora." To which she replied, "Oh, and you look just like her, too!" Ah...what...HUH? She did not just say that!
Okay, here's a picture of me when I was in pre-school. Honestly...do you think I look like her? I guess one thing we have in common is that when I was little, my head was unnaturally big for my body...it took a while for the rest of me to catch up. I'm going to have to look into acquiring "Boots" the monkey! Harharhar!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Day 10 - March 19, 2007
MONDAY -- I got to the library on time and it seemed more quiet that usual for a Monday night. The regulars were not there, so I was hopeful that I would get a chance to just sit behind the desk and read my new book: Physik - Book 3 of Septimus Heap by Angie Sage. I did not get much of chance because I was asked to staple together the calendar pages we are to give out during library week next month. I put together about 150 calendars and stapled them together. After doing that, I helped a few kids with reference questions, mostly about finding California Mission books. I found out that writing a paper on California Missions is a must for every elementary school kid.
We had some discipline problems today. Some older kids in middle school were chasing each other in the stacks and Cecil yelled at them saying "OUT!" Then of course, Moses, the troublemaker, was in there too. I mentioned in a previous post that Moses is a 9th grader who has been banned from the Children's Room. He keeps coming back just to toe the line, checking to see if the other librarians will have the guts to send him out. The instructions are to call security everytime he shows his face in the library. I am a coward so I would just tell the others if I see his shadow nearing the doors. I'm afraid of the boy because he really has that bad boy look.
I thought about this and realized that it can be such a problem in a public library. What if you continually ask this person to leave and they harbor some anger for you and wait for you to beat you up as you leave the library at night. I wonder if that was ever a problem. I know for a fact that it is less likely to happen in the private setting. The worst thing that could happen that is similar would be violence in the workplace and such incidents are usually perpetrated by disgruntled employees. I do not see that happening in my place of work, unless they wrongfully discharge gun collector co-workers :o) But for me to fear 9th graders stalking me and causing me harm...is that a valid fear or am I being overly imaginative?
We had some discipline problems today. Some older kids in middle school were chasing each other in the stacks and Cecil yelled at them saying "OUT!" Then of course, Moses, the troublemaker, was in there too. I mentioned in a previous post that Moses is a 9th grader who has been banned from the Children's Room. He keeps coming back just to toe the line, checking to see if the other librarians will have the guts to send him out. The instructions are to call security everytime he shows his face in the library. I am a coward so I would just tell the others if I see his shadow nearing the doors. I'm afraid of the boy because he really has that bad boy look.
I thought about this and realized that it can be such a problem in a public library. What if you continually ask this person to leave and they harbor some anger for you and wait for you to beat you up as you leave the library at night. I wonder if that was ever a problem. I know for a fact that it is less likely to happen in the private setting. The worst thing that could happen that is similar would be violence in the workplace and such incidents are usually perpetrated by disgruntled employees. I do not see that happening in my place of work, unless they wrongfully discharge gun collector co-workers :o) But for me to fear 9th graders stalking me and causing me harm...is that a valid fear or am I being overly imaginative?
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Day 9 - March 17, 2007
SATURDAY -- My posting is late because I was tired when I got home yesterday and fell asleep after watching Borat on DVD. Today, I got busy with watching a K-movie then I had to go to the mall to pick up something for a friend.
Yesterday, as usual I overslept and was rushing out of the house at 9:54am hoping to get to the library by 10am. I was a few minutes late but it was okay. The library was not too busy when I got there. There was a chatty old lady when I got to the desk. She seemed like she was a few sandwiches short of a picnic basket. She was talking about anything and everything and then proceeded on to bad-mouthing the principal at the school where she used to work. I tried not to make eye-contact so as not to encourage her to talk some more. I felt bad because Rubina, the other reference librarian assistant got stuck with her. She finally walked over to another area of the library when her phone rang and we had to gently remind her that she cannot use her phone inside the Children's Room. We had to ask her a few times before she finally said "Okay, I'm leaving anyway, I don't see why I can't...nobody is here anyway!" She turned a bit nasty but she did leave after all. You would think that as an adult she would understand policy but she was miffed when she left the room.
At 10:30am there was Playtime and like last Saturday, there were a good number of toddlers and their parents that attended. It is so much fun watching and observing Halla do the storytelling and the kids listening in awe and joining in with the singing and dancing. I'm still a little skeptical about being able to do the storytelling and the singing and the dancing myself. The children were so cute but you can only hold their attention for so long. After the second book, there were grumbling and crying babies, older toddlers running around or rolling around the carpet. After the fifth book, we took out the toys and games and the event ended around 11:30am.
The rest of the day was quiet. I spent most of my time looking for books I want to read and I did the clearing of the computer room every half hour and handing out headphones to the computer users. I did not get very many reference questions but I was happy that whatever query was thrown my way, I was able to answer. Around 2pm we had the other Storytelling time for older kids (4-9). The theme was St. Patrick's Day so the stories were centered on Leprechauns, rainbows and the color green. After the storytelling, the children were given materials to make a leprechaun puppet. They had to color, cut and paste the leprechaun figure on a brown bag. It was a fun project. As Halla left me to watch the kids do the art project with their parents, I tried my hand with the coloring and time passed so fast that next thing I knew, it was 3pm and time for me to go.
I realized how good this library is to the community what with all the free events they do for children. I started thinking of the Philippines and how I did not have such a refuge while I was growing up. I was lucky that my parents were able to afford to buy me whatever I wanted just to aid me in my education. I'm one of the somewhat privileged few but there are many others in third world countries that could hardly afford to eat three times a day, much less get picture books or crayons and coloring books for their little ones. If such libraries with wonderful programs are available, then education will not just be a privilege for the lucky few but a right for the masses. I wish I could create such programs in the Philippines but it is quite an undertaking that I am not sure I could handle myself.
Yesterday, as usual I overslept and was rushing out of the house at 9:54am hoping to get to the library by 10am. I was a few minutes late but it was okay. The library was not too busy when I got there. There was a chatty old lady when I got to the desk. She seemed like she was a few sandwiches short of a picnic basket. She was talking about anything and everything and then proceeded on to bad-mouthing the principal at the school where she used to work. I tried not to make eye-contact so as not to encourage her to talk some more. I felt bad because Rubina, the other reference librarian assistant got stuck with her. She finally walked over to another area of the library when her phone rang and we had to gently remind her that she cannot use her phone inside the Children's Room. We had to ask her a few times before she finally said "Okay, I'm leaving anyway, I don't see why I can't...nobody is here anyway!" She turned a bit nasty but she did leave after all. You would think that as an adult she would understand policy but she was miffed when she left the room.
At 10:30am there was Playtime and like last Saturday, there were a good number of toddlers and their parents that attended. It is so much fun watching and observing Halla do the storytelling and the kids listening in awe and joining in with the singing and dancing. I'm still a little skeptical about being able to do the storytelling and the singing and the dancing myself. The children were so cute but you can only hold their attention for so long. After the second book, there were grumbling and crying babies, older toddlers running around or rolling around the carpet. After the fifth book, we took out the toys and games and the event ended around 11:30am.
The rest of the day was quiet. I spent most of my time looking for books I want to read and I did the clearing of the computer room every half hour and handing out headphones to the computer users. I did not get very many reference questions but I was happy that whatever query was thrown my way, I was able to answer. Around 2pm we had the other Storytelling time for older kids (4-9). The theme was St. Patrick's Day so the stories were centered on Leprechauns, rainbows and the color green. After the storytelling, the children were given materials to make a leprechaun puppet. They had to color, cut and paste the leprechaun figure on a brown bag. It was a fun project. As Halla left me to watch the kids do the art project with their parents, I tried my hand with the coloring and time passed so fast that next thing I knew, it was 3pm and time for me to go.
I realized how good this library is to the community what with all the free events they do for children. I started thinking of the Philippines and how I did not have such a refuge while I was growing up. I was lucky that my parents were able to afford to buy me whatever I wanted just to aid me in my education. I'm one of the somewhat privileged few but there are many others in third world countries that could hardly afford to eat three times a day, much less get picture books or crayons and coloring books for their little ones. If such libraries with wonderful programs are available, then education will not just be a privilege for the lucky few but a right for the masses. I wish I could create such programs in the Philippines but it is quite an undertaking that I am not sure I could handle myself.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Day 8 - March 15, 2007
THURSDAY -- I did not get to the Children's Room today until 5:30pm. I missed the train that could get me there on time. There were last minute invoices and reimbursements I had to process and I did not leave the firm until 4:15pm.
When I got to the Children's Room, almost everyone was there: Theresa, Halla, Cecil, and Arpine. They were preparing for an event the library was hosting, Family Night for Headstarters. It was an event organized for pre-schoolers where parents and their children sign up for new library cards. It was storytelling to start with, then some arts and crafts the families can work on together. After arts and crafts, food was provided. Tonight it was pizza, punch and cookies.
I thought that Theresa would ask me to help out with the event, even just to haul pitchers of punch or give out pizza plates, however, she told me that my job tonight was to help Miss Daisy at the reference desk. I wondered if Theresa asked that I help with the reference desk because Thursdays are normally slow nights but then I want to think that I was asked to sit with Ms. Daisy because they think I am capable of doing it. I was also charged with waiting for Pizza Boy and pay him.
The Children's Room was packed with the Headstart kids and their parents and it became quite a circus when they started serving the food. The delightful smell of freshly baked pizza was wafting towards the reference desk. I had to stop myself from closing my eyes and sniff the aroma. It took a lot of effort concentrating on this boy's question about "The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins." To distract myself from the pangs of hunger, I walked about the stacks to look for the book that was supposed to be in the library. I found it in the back room in one of the shelving carts. The boy was quite delighted about my find.
There was also a girl in 4th grade that needed a biography on any famous woman. She did not know who she wanted to write about, all she knew was that she only had 10 days to write it so she needs a book with more pictures than words. In the beginning she wanted a book on Queen Elizabeth and I asked you want QEI or QEII and she stared at me like "what the heck are you talking about 1 or 2?" So I changed the question to: "you want dead or alive?" :o) Either way she did not want Good Queen Bess or QEII. She saw the book and there were too many words. In the end, I gave her this picture book of Sacagawea and just so she has a second choice, one of Eleanor Roosevelt...both with equal amounts of pictures and words :o)
While the food was steadily being devoured, I had to help the same girl find information about the Washoe Indians. The children's library does not have a book on this tribe in the collection so I gave her a reference book on Native American that contains information on the Washoes and instructed her and her mother to make photocopies. They were hesitant to make the trek to the copy machine and said they will just get information from the internet. I gave them the spiel about not everything on the internet is credible so that her teacher might not accept what they find as a resource. Well, that made them dash to the copier. When they came back, I had the official website address of the Washoe Tribe written on a piece of paper. The mother was quite grateful. As a budding librarian, I felt that young kids and their parents need to know that although one can find everything on the internet, one has to always make sure that the information is credible. That's what librarians are for...right?
I have to say that my 13-14 hour days are really tiring. I'm usually tired and hungry by the time I get to the Children's Room. I have to start bringing a banana or a muffin and eat that during my short breaks so I don't drool whenever I catch a whiff of food in the library. Despite my exhaustion with my 13-14 hour workdays, I don't mind doing this internship at all. I like the people I work with and I find that I like working with children What really made my night tonight is that I got a "pat on the back" from Theresa tonight. She thanked me for a job well done and that she is grateful to have someone like me willing to jump in when they asked for something.
When I got to the Children's Room, almost everyone was there: Theresa, Halla, Cecil, and Arpine. They were preparing for an event the library was hosting, Family Night for Headstarters. It was an event organized for pre-schoolers where parents and their children sign up for new library cards. It was storytelling to start with, then some arts and crafts the families can work on together. After arts and crafts, food was provided. Tonight it was pizza, punch and cookies.
I thought that Theresa would ask me to help out with the event, even just to haul pitchers of punch or give out pizza plates, however, she told me that my job tonight was to help Miss Daisy at the reference desk. I wondered if Theresa asked that I help with the reference desk because Thursdays are normally slow nights but then I want to think that I was asked to sit with Ms. Daisy because they think I am capable of doing it. I was also charged with waiting for Pizza Boy and pay him.
The Children's Room was packed with the Headstart kids and their parents and it became quite a circus when they started serving the food. The delightful smell of freshly baked pizza was wafting towards the reference desk. I had to stop myself from closing my eyes and sniff the aroma. It took a lot of effort concentrating on this boy's question about "The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins." To distract myself from the pangs of hunger, I walked about the stacks to look for the book that was supposed to be in the library. I found it in the back room in one of the shelving carts. The boy was quite delighted about my find.
There was also a girl in 4th grade that needed a biography on any famous woman. She did not know who she wanted to write about, all she knew was that she only had 10 days to write it so she needs a book with more pictures than words. In the beginning she wanted a book on Queen Elizabeth and I asked you want QEI or QEII and she stared at me like "what the heck are you talking about 1 or 2?" So I changed the question to: "you want dead or alive?" :o) Either way she did not want Good Queen Bess or QEII. She saw the book and there were too many words. In the end, I gave her this picture book of Sacagawea and just so she has a second choice, one of Eleanor Roosevelt...both with equal amounts of pictures and words :o)
While the food was steadily being devoured, I had to help the same girl find information about the Washoe Indians. The children's library does not have a book on this tribe in the collection so I gave her a reference book on Native American that contains information on the Washoes and instructed her and her mother to make photocopies. They were hesitant to make the trek to the copy machine and said they will just get information from the internet. I gave them the spiel about not everything on the internet is credible so that her teacher might not accept what they find as a resource. Well, that made them dash to the copier. When they came back, I had the official website address of the Washoe Tribe written on a piece of paper. The mother was quite grateful. As a budding librarian, I felt that young kids and their parents need to know that although one can find everything on the internet, one has to always make sure that the information is credible. That's what librarians are for...right?
I have to say that my 13-14 hour days are really tiring. I'm usually tired and hungry by the time I get to the Children's Room. I have to start bringing a banana or a muffin and eat that during my short breaks so I don't drool whenever I catch a whiff of food in the library. Despite my exhaustion with my 13-14 hour workdays, I don't mind doing this internship at all. I like the people I work with and I find that I like working with children What really made my night tonight is that I got a "pat on the back" from Theresa tonight. She thanked me for a job well done and that she is grateful to have someone like me willing to jump in when they asked for something.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Day 7 - March 14, 2007
WEDNESDAY -- I got to the Children's Room today and the librarians were abuzz with some excitement. It turns out that before I got there, they had to throw out a 9th grader out of the library. I knew of the kid they were talking about...Moses. Moses is one of the library regulars and has already been warned a few times in the past not to be in the Children's Room because of his age and because he misbehaves all the time. You know the type...those who talk out loud, using their cellphones in the room, always toeing the line and think they can get away with that kind of behavior all the time. Moses talks to librarians without an ounce of respect and he thinks he's funny and all cool when he does that. His excuse for being in the Children's Room is his younger brother Argo, who is another Moses in the making. Just like his brother, Argo is sometimes asked to leave, maybe twice in a week. I have been warned about Moses during my first week. I realize now that to be a librarian in a children's library one has to learn to be tough when dealing with troublemakers. Cecil is is the enforcer in the library, she's one who has no qualms reminding kids to walk not run, to use their cellphones outside, no food and drinks in the library and she was the one who warned Moses and eventually kicked him out. I admire Cecil because she's a tough one but she always has a very calm and soothing voice even when she would reprimand the children. Apparently, security had to be called to get Moses out. Now he is persona non-grata in the room. In the future, I hope that I will not have to be the one to drive this boy out.
Not even half an hour had passed and there was another commotion. A mother left her 6 yr old in the Children's Room...well, left the premises all together. There is a policy in the library that only kids 9 years and above can be left in the room on their own. Children below 9 should have an adult with them the whole time. Cecil called the mother to come back and the mother took her own sweet time returning. Cathy, a library manager had to call the mother again and told her that we had to call the cops already if she does not return soon. After an hour after she left and after two calls from librarians, the mother finally returned and claimed ignorance of the policy. In fact, Lynne, a library page/tutor, reminded her about the policy before she left. The mother was confrontational, accusing Lynne of lying. Whew, I can't even begin to imagine what parents like her are thinking when they leave their young children alone in public places like a library. The library is not a daycare center! There are crazy people who come in public libraries...I was told that there was even an incident in the past where there was someone who exposed himself in the stacks. Teresa talked to the mother but I wonder if she got through because the mother had the gall to be upset about "not being told" of the policy.
After these two incidents, it was a pretty quiet night. I was sitting at the desk wondering how I would act if I was confronted by a big bad boy, a careless parent or a crazy exhibitionist. I am a pacifist by nature, not confrontational at all. I have never had to worry about throwing out attorneys from the library at the firm nor do I have to worry about having kids below nine years of age left in my care, well maybe once during "Bring Your Kids to Work Day." I was pondering the situation when one of the kids I helped the previous night came to me and thanked me for the one line I gave him for his poem about inertia. I felt some satisfaction in knowing I was able to help. With all the commotion and the one grateful kid...I can't help to think about the saying "Every cloud has a silver lining." Tonight, inertia boy was my silver lining.
Not even half an hour had passed and there was another commotion. A mother left her 6 yr old in the Children's Room...well, left the premises all together. There is a policy in the library that only kids 9 years and above can be left in the room on their own. Children below 9 should have an adult with them the whole time. Cecil called the mother to come back and the mother took her own sweet time returning. Cathy, a library manager had to call the mother again and told her that we had to call the cops already if she does not return soon. After an hour after she left and after two calls from librarians, the mother finally returned and claimed ignorance of the policy. In fact, Lynne, a library page/tutor, reminded her about the policy before she left. The mother was confrontational, accusing Lynne of lying. Whew, I can't even begin to imagine what parents like her are thinking when they leave their young children alone in public places like a library. The library is not a daycare center! There are crazy people who come in public libraries...I was told that there was even an incident in the past where there was someone who exposed himself in the stacks. Teresa talked to the mother but I wonder if she got through because the mother had the gall to be upset about "not being told" of the policy.
After these two incidents, it was a pretty quiet night. I was sitting at the desk wondering how I would act if I was confronted by a big bad boy, a careless parent or a crazy exhibitionist. I am a pacifist by nature, not confrontational at all. I have never had to worry about throwing out attorneys from the library at the firm nor do I have to worry about having kids below nine years of age left in my care, well maybe once during "Bring Your Kids to Work Day." I was pondering the situation when one of the kids I helped the previous night came to me and thanked me for the one line I gave him for his poem about inertia. I felt some satisfaction in knowing I was able to help. With all the commotion and the one grateful kid...I can't help to think about the saying "Every cloud has a silver lining." Tonight, inertia boy was my silver lining.
Day 6 - March 13, 2007
TUESDAY - Today, at the Children's Room, started out as calm with me continuing with the cleaning of books. I probably cleaned about 50 books yesterday till my nails were gray with dirt. Scrub as I might using an old toothbrush, there still seem to be some residue left but I must continue on with the gruesome task. In the beginning I sat with Halla and Cecil at the reference desk. At 6pm, I found out that Arpine, Daisy and Evelyn were all working until closing time. With 3 librarians manning the desk, I thought of bailing out early to join some friends for dinner but as it turned out, even with the four of us, it was a very busy night.
I was an extra help with printing out pages for the patrons and as the night progressed, I ended up helping with reference and even came up with a line for a kid writing a poem about inertia. It was so busy that all four of us were out in the stacks most of the time. I had to find books about Paiute Indians, about different states -- New Jersey, Maryland, Oklahoma, a map of colonial Maryland and a book about paleontology for a child interested in fossils and dinosaurs. It felt good that I was able to help them and I actually was able to find the books or information they needed. With my job at the law firm, I rarely interact with the library patrons because I deal mostly with the law library's accounts with vendors. I miss the interaction with library users that I used to do in my previous law firm jobs.
The most obvious difference between my job and this internship are the library users. At the firm, you have to deal with adults who are professionals and for the most part are very careful with their hygiene. In the public setting, you have be patient with naughty kids wanting to make trouble and worse, one has to sometimes steel ones nose with the various odors that would would assail ones senses. I realize that I cannot blame kids who probably ran in the playground all day and then have to do homework in the library after school. Okay, so other than my fear of germs, I fear odors, too. Am I being too fastidious about these things? I am quite sensitive to smells. At work and at home, I am accused of being descended from bats with my acute sense of smell. If something reeks, I could smell it from a mile away. Again, this is another of my quirks I need to tone down to a normal level. The good thing about this internship is that for all that I fear germs and hate yucky odors, I am learning to adapt to a new environment...I am learning to be more patient and tolerant. this kind of change is always a good thing.
I was an extra help with printing out pages for the patrons and as the night progressed, I ended up helping with reference and even came up with a line for a kid writing a poem about inertia. It was so busy that all four of us were out in the stacks most of the time. I had to find books about Paiute Indians, about different states -- New Jersey, Maryland, Oklahoma, a map of colonial Maryland and a book about paleontology for a child interested in fossils and dinosaurs. It felt good that I was able to help them and I actually was able to find the books or information they needed. With my job at the law firm, I rarely interact with the library patrons because I deal mostly with the law library's accounts with vendors. I miss the interaction with library users that I used to do in my previous law firm jobs.
The most obvious difference between my job and this internship are the library users. At the firm, you have to deal with adults who are professionals and for the most part are very careful with their hygiene. In the public setting, you have be patient with naughty kids wanting to make trouble and worse, one has to sometimes steel ones nose with the various odors that would would assail ones senses. I realize that I cannot blame kids who probably ran in the playground all day and then have to do homework in the library after school. Okay, so other than my fear of germs, I fear odors, too. Am I being too fastidious about these things? I am quite sensitive to smells. At work and at home, I am accused of being descended from bats with my acute sense of smell. If something reeks, I could smell it from a mile away. Again, this is another of my quirks I need to tone down to a normal level. The good thing about this internship is that for all that I fear germs and hate yucky odors, I am learning to adapt to a new environment...I am learning to be more patient and tolerant. this kind of change is always a good thing.
Day 5 - March 12, 2007
MONDAY -- I had to miss last Saturday's schedule. I was having my routine backpain that comes and goes every three or 4 months. My doctor could not find what is wrong with me, having prodded me, done x-rays and ultra-sounds, alas without any correct diagnosis...I just learn to live with it, rest when it gets too painful...Saturday was such a day.
I'll skip my parking story because I got that bit down pat already. I got to the library and it was Halla, Arpine and Cecil manning the desk. Halla went to do some administrative tasks in the back room so I got to sit with Arpine and Cecil at the desk. It was a busy night with the tutoring session going on and a lot of kids doing homework on their own or awaiting their turns with available tutors.
My task today, other than to help out with the usual, was to clean books. I was to wipe away the collected grime off the covers using baby wipes. At first I was a bit horrified...I am one who is "icky" about touching things that are viable to collect dirt, bacteria, germs, cooties. I carry with me a bottle of Purell in my purse and I have a big bottle of Purell in my room and on my desk at the law firm. With this chore, I had to cast off that "Icky-wicky" feeling I get when I think I touched something yucky...by yucky I mean using payphones, holding on to poles/posts inside the bus, door handles, shaking hands with gross people, etc. I am by no means OC - Jack Nicholson - As Good As It Gets - type of obsessive compulsive I am just wary of germs because I am one to catch a cold, flu, pink eye, bronchitis easily. My immune system is a bit weak -- I am the first to catch whatever cootie a family member brings home and I am the last one to catch it again...after it goes around 7 others in the household thus completing a cycle and then starting it all over again :o(
Anyway, this task of cleaning the books grossed me out because as I was wiping and scrubbing with all my might, I could see the years of grime turn the white baby wipe into black. I really had to tamp down the impulse to find and wear gloves or wash my hands or Purell it out. I realized that the secret to success in cleaning was to not think about what might be the green glob stuck on the cover or the red stain on the spine. I try to think of other things like: "should I eat a banana when I get home?" or "I wonder if they ate all the rice at home...I can eat rice with Ochazuke or rice with soy-sauce." Yeah, those kinds of happy thoughts! I am not complaining about the dirty books, well maybe I am but I know that it is part of children's librarianship and basically just working in a public library. This is good for me because I think that for someone who grew up in a third world country...hey, I even dug out worms when I was young and even walked in flooded streets with trash floating around you...I had grown too complacent in such neat surroundings in the U.S. that I had become such a germophobe. If my stint in the children's library does not rid me of my germophobia...I don't know what will.
I'll skip my parking story because I got that bit down pat already. I got to the library and it was Halla, Arpine and Cecil manning the desk. Halla went to do some administrative tasks in the back room so I got to sit with Arpine and Cecil at the desk. It was a busy night with the tutoring session going on and a lot of kids doing homework on their own or awaiting their turns with available tutors.
My task today, other than to help out with the usual, was to clean books. I was to wipe away the collected grime off the covers using baby wipes. At first I was a bit horrified...I am one who is "icky" about touching things that are viable to collect dirt, bacteria, germs, cooties. I carry with me a bottle of Purell in my purse and I have a big bottle of Purell in my room and on my desk at the law firm. With this chore, I had to cast off that "Icky-wicky" feeling I get when I think I touched something yucky...by yucky I mean using payphones, holding on to poles/posts inside the bus, door handles, shaking hands with gross people, etc. I am by no means OC - Jack Nicholson - As Good As It Gets - type of obsessive compulsive I am just wary of germs because I am one to catch a cold, flu, pink eye, bronchitis easily. My immune system is a bit weak -- I am the first to catch whatever cootie a family member brings home and I am the last one to catch it again...after it goes around 7 others in the household thus completing a cycle and then starting it all over again :o(
Anyway, this task of cleaning the books grossed me out because as I was wiping and scrubbing with all my might, I could see the years of grime turn the white baby wipe into black. I really had to tamp down the impulse to find and wear gloves or wash my hands or Purell it out. I realized that the secret to success in cleaning was to not think about what might be the green glob stuck on the cover or the red stain on the spine. I try to think of other things like: "should I eat a banana when I get home?" or "I wonder if they ate all the rice at home...I can eat rice with Ochazuke or rice with soy-sauce." Yeah, those kinds of happy thoughts! I am not complaining about the dirty books, well maybe I am but I know that it is part of children's librarianship and basically just working in a public library. This is good for me because I think that for someone who grew up in a third world country...hey, I even dug out worms when I was young and even walked in flooded streets with trash floating around you...I had grown too complacent in such neat surroundings in the U.S. that I had become such a germophobe. If my stint in the children's library does not rid me of my germophobia...I don't know what will.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Day 4 - March 7, 2007
WEDNESDAY - Today is my last weekday of work in the Children's Room for this week. I set my hours of internship at 4-6 hours every Saturday and some Sundays, 4 hours each day on Mondays to Wednesdays and on every other Thursdays. I am hoping that if all goes well, I could be done with my 150 hours by the Sunday of National Library Week next month. If for some reason I have to skip out on some days, then perhaps I will have to work until the end of April.
I got to the library on time today. I think I am getting the hang of it now...rushing out of the law firm, running up and down stairs at the Union Station and weaving through traffic in my city and then parking on the street by the library. I found that if I just find a spot on the street (metered parking) I only need to pay 60 cents for 1 hour and not have to move the car at all. I only have to worry about the meters until 6pm so I only need to pay for one hour. I know, I'm suppose to worry about every cent but I am more lazy than tight fisted. By lazy, I mean after a full day at work I am tired and I hate walking the few blocks to the parking structure and perhaps another block or two to walk back to the library when I park on the street. Okay!!! Enough of this obsession with the parking:o)
Tonight, other than the usual tasks, I braved out a couple of reference questions. Both Arpine and Daisy (the other part-time librarian) were out in the stacks helping patrons and a parent was asking for beginner chapter books and I took them to the area where they were shelved. Since the question was general enough and they did not need a partcular title, I left them to browse through the collection. What made my night was a question from a girl I helped find books about records. I pointed her out to the section where we kept the Guinness Book of World Records but she also needed information about "fat-free" foods. At that point my courage deserted me and so I passed her on to one of the librarians. In the end I was the one who was able to find information for her online. It turned out that it was not "fat-free" that she was looking for but information on FAD-free nutrition. I asked her if it was for a paper and she said that she needed the information for a poster-making contest she's joining and that she want ideas for her poster. I found a site about "March Is 'Fad Free' National Nutrition Month" and from there we were able to get some ideas. It was a win-win situation, she got her information, I learned about March being a Fad-Free Nutrition month...not that I need pointers about eating healthy because I am the least bit health conscious...so un-Hollywood of me, haha!... But hey, if nothing else, people do learn something new everyday...I did!
I got to the library on time today. I think I am getting the hang of it now...rushing out of the law firm, running up and down stairs at the Union Station and weaving through traffic in my city and then parking on the street by the library. I found that if I just find a spot on the street (metered parking) I only need to pay 60 cents for 1 hour and not have to move the car at all. I only have to worry about the meters until 6pm so I only need to pay for one hour. I know, I'm suppose to worry about every cent but I am more lazy than tight fisted. By lazy, I mean after a full day at work I am tired and I hate walking the few blocks to the parking structure and perhaps another block or two to walk back to the library when I park on the street. Okay!!! Enough of this obsession with the parking:o)
Tonight, other than the usual tasks, I braved out a couple of reference questions. Both Arpine and Daisy (the other part-time librarian) were out in the stacks helping patrons and a parent was asking for beginner chapter books and I took them to the area where they were shelved. Since the question was general enough and they did not need a partcular title, I left them to browse through the collection. What made my night was a question from a girl I helped find books about records. I pointed her out to the section where we kept the Guinness Book of World Records but she also needed information about "fat-free" foods. At that point my courage deserted me and so I passed her on to one of the librarians. In the end I was the one who was able to find information for her online. It turned out that it was not "fat-free" that she was looking for but information on FAD-free nutrition. I asked her if it was for a paper and she said that she needed the information for a poster-making contest she's joining and that she want ideas for her poster. I found a site about "March Is 'Fad Free' National Nutrition Month" and from there we were able to get some ideas. It was a win-win situation, she got her information, I learned about March being a Fad-Free Nutrition month...not that I need pointers about eating healthy because I am the least bit health conscious...so un-Hollywood of me, haha!... But hey, if nothing else, people do learn something new everyday...I did!
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