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.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
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!
Day 3 - March 6, 2007
TUESDAY -- I got to the Children's Room at 5:05pm today. I was a bit late because I had a hard time finding a spot in the parking structure. Yesterday, I went over three hours and I ended up paying 75 cents for the extra 4 minutes. I got a bit upset over that :o) Today, I was able to get the car out in time and was not charged at all.
This night I worked with Arpine, and Cecil until 6pm and then with Evelyn and Halla until 9pm. I did pretty much the same thing as I did the day before...i.e. shadowing the reference librarians, walking the stacks, helped with printing, answered questions like "where is the toilet?" or lend out pencils, scissors, staplers.
The highlight of this night was reading the book: Gee Whiz! It's all About Pee. I learned so much about urine and its surprising and gross uses by humans and animals. For example, in the Roman times, women drank turpentine (a poison when ingested) to make their urine smell like roses...quite a choice to make, death or perfumed pee. I also learned that if there truly is reincarnation, I would not want to be a lobster in my next life. The book tells readers how male lobsters battle by squirting pee onto their opponents faces. Female lobsters on the other hand, leave chemical love notes to their target beau by peeing in the male lobster's lodging areas. How do they even find out about these things...please, someone tell me!
This night I worked with Arpine, and Cecil until 6pm and then with Evelyn and Halla until 9pm. I did pretty much the same thing as I did the day before...i.e. shadowing the reference librarians, walking the stacks, helped with printing, answered questions like "where is the toilet?" or lend out pencils, scissors, staplers.
The highlight of this night was reading the book: Gee Whiz! It's all About Pee. I learned so much about urine and its surprising and gross uses by humans and animals. For example, in the Roman times, women drank turpentine (a poison when ingested) to make their urine smell like roses...quite a choice to make, death or perfumed pee. I also learned that if there truly is reincarnation, I would not want to be a lobster in my next life. The book tells readers how male lobsters battle by squirting pee onto their opponents faces. Female lobsters on the other hand, leave chemical love notes to their target beau by peeing in the male lobster's lodging areas. How do they even find out about these things...please, someone tell me!
Day 2 - March 5, 2007
MONDAY -- At 4pm, I was rushing out of my law firm job to catch the 4:33pm train out of L.A. Union Station. It takes 10 minutes between stations and another 5-7 minutes to get to the library. I need to be at the public library by 5pm and I still have to find a parking spot. I realized then that for the next couple of months, at 4 hours per day/night this will be my routine so I need to get used to it.
I parked at the parking structure across from the library. The library validates for three hours so either I leave the car in the parking structure and pay $1.50 for the extra hour or take it out and park on the streets around 7:30pm. I'm a cheapskate so I decided that I will have to take a break and park on the streets. I have to save money because I need to shell out $7K out of pocket for tuition this summer semester. Every penny counts!!!
I got to the library on time and I met Halla the assistant children's librarian. I sat at the reference desk with Arpine and Cecil, the reference librarians for the night. I spent the night shadowing them and learned the other little tasks involved in running a children's library like printing for the children using the computer terminals and working the cash register.
During downtime, I walked through the stacks or read children's books. Tonight, I read a fairytale recipe book: Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers And Eaters. It was interesting because other than the stories, there were recipes that children could try at home, like Very French Toast. The book was peppered with various trivial facts that would catch children's attention. Because the recipes are kid-friendly, a lot of them are simple no-meat offerings. Since it's Lent and I gave up meat for the season, I am going to try some of these recipes.
It was mostly shadowing the librarians today and observing the patrons. So far, I am enjoying this internship. Perhaps, it is because it is so much different from what I am exposed to day in and day out at the law firm. The main reason I looked into doing this internship was because of that...the marked difference from my job. What sold me into actually doing it was what Teresa, the library manager, told me when I first met with her. She said that if I learn to do reference interview with children, I can do reference interview for any age group. I think that is true because I noticed that many of the children who come in, especially the little ones, have no clue as to what they are looking for. Imagine a child saying I need to write a paper about space...do they mean physical space or outer space?
I am liking this internship, I just need to get over some of my quirkiness about certain things...I'm sure I'll tell all as the days go by:o)
I parked at the parking structure across from the library. The library validates for three hours so either I leave the car in the parking structure and pay $1.50 for the extra hour or take it out and park on the streets around 7:30pm. I'm a cheapskate so I decided that I will have to take a break and park on the streets. I have to save money because I need to shell out $7K out of pocket for tuition this summer semester. Every penny counts!!!
I got to the library on time and I met Halla the assistant children's librarian. I sat at the reference desk with Arpine and Cecil, the reference librarians for the night. I spent the night shadowing them and learned the other little tasks involved in running a children's library like printing for the children using the computer terminals and working the cash register.
During downtime, I walked through the stacks or read children's books. Tonight, I read a fairytale recipe book: Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers And Eaters. It was interesting because other than the stories, there were recipes that children could try at home, like Very French Toast. The book was peppered with various trivial facts that would catch children's attention. Because the recipes are kid-friendly, a lot of them are simple no-meat offerings. Since it's Lent and I gave up meat for the season, I am going to try some of these recipes.
It was mostly shadowing the librarians today and observing the patrons. So far, I am enjoying this internship. Perhaps, it is because it is so much different from what I am exposed to day in and day out at the law firm. The main reason I looked into doing this internship was because of that...the marked difference from my job. What sold me into actually doing it was what Teresa, the library manager, told me when I first met with her. She said that if I learn to do reference interview with children, I can do reference interview for any age group. I think that is true because I noticed that many of the children who come in, especially the little ones, have no clue as to what they are looking for. Imagine a child saying I need to write a paper about space...do they mean physical space or outer space?
I am liking this internship, I just need to get over some of my quirkiness about certain things...I'm sure I'll tell all as the days go by:o)
DAY 1 - March 3, 2007
SATURDAY -- I am playing catch up so that my first few entries will be from the past week. I started my internship on a Saturday morning. I reported for work at 10am and got a tour of the library from the Children's Room manager, Teresa. She gave me a short orientation on what was expected of me and she pretty much said the rest I could learn by shadowing the reference librarians.
At 10:30am we started "Play With Me," which is storytelling time for toddlers (18 mos. - 2 years). Teresa did the storytelling by starting the program with singing and dancing. After a few songs, she went on with the storytelling. When this was over, toys and games were brought out for toddlers and parents to play with.
I sat as an observer. Being shy myself, my first thought was "Oh No!!! Later in the internship, will they ask me to do the singing, dancing and storytelling?" Well, perhaps it's just first day jitters that made me think this way. I have never worked in a public library, much more a in a children's library. I am hopeful that as days go by, I'll get better with this kind of librarianship.
After Play With Me, I sat at the reference desk shadowing Teresa and Arpine, one of the librarians, as they helped patrons. I also sat at one of the terminals to learn how to use their online catalog, not just to find books but also to be able to request them from other libraries, placing a hold on them and adding patrons on waiting lists.
In the afternoon, another storytelling program went underway and it was geared towards children 4 yrs and older. Today's theme was "In Like a Lion." After storytelling, there was arts and crafts wherein the children, with the help of their parents made lion masks out of paperplates, colored paper, chopsticks and crayons.
I learned a lot on my first day but I know that there is so much more I need to know about children's librarianship. I need to familiarize myself with the collection if I am to help children find books in this library. What struck me when I observed Teresa do the two programs was that there are families out there who take advantage of the wonderful opportunities libraries provide to the community. I was amazed of the ethnic backgrounds of those who came in - Armenians, Koreans, Persians, Mexicans...but wait, where were the Filipinos...my people? I guess I will have to put word out there to my family and friends that there are such programs available. Not only are they educational...the best part is that they are FREE of charge!!!
At 10:30am we started "Play With Me," which is storytelling time for toddlers (18 mos. - 2 years). Teresa did the storytelling by starting the program with singing and dancing. After a few songs, she went on with the storytelling. When this was over, toys and games were brought out for toddlers and parents to play with.
I sat as an observer. Being shy myself, my first thought was "Oh No!!! Later in the internship, will they ask me to do the singing, dancing and storytelling?" Well, perhaps it's just first day jitters that made me think this way. I have never worked in a public library, much more a in a children's library. I am hopeful that as days go by, I'll get better with this kind of librarianship.
After Play With Me, I sat at the reference desk shadowing Teresa and Arpine, one of the librarians, as they helped patrons. I also sat at one of the terminals to learn how to use their online catalog, not just to find books but also to be able to request them from other libraries, placing a hold on them and adding patrons on waiting lists.
In the afternoon, another storytelling program went underway and it was geared towards children 4 yrs and older. Today's theme was "In Like a Lion." After storytelling, there was arts and crafts wherein the children, with the help of their parents made lion masks out of paperplates, colored paper, chopsticks and crayons.
I learned a lot on my first day but I know that there is so much more I need to know about children's librarianship. I need to familiarize myself with the collection if I am to help children find books in this library. What struck me when I observed Teresa do the two programs was that there are families out there who take advantage of the wonderful opportunities libraries provide to the community. I was amazed of the ethnic backgrounds of those who came in - Armenians, Koreans, Persians, Mexicans...but wait, where were the Filipinos...my people? I guess I will have to put word out there to my family and friends that there are such programs available. Not only are they educational...the best part is that they are FREE of charge!!!
Intro
I am a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences, FastTrack Program. I am working on my last semester and hopefully will graduate by August 2007. I have always worked for law firm libraries. I am currently an Electronic Services Librarian Assistant for a big law firm. As part of my graduate program, I am doing an internship at the local public library where I work in their Children's Room. It's a big change from what I was used to because instead of helping adults in the professional world, I am helping kids, many of whom cannot even ask for the right title of a book or the spelling of the author's name if they even have it. This blog aims to document my internship...my journey as a children's library intern.
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