Library day in the life, Round 6, Day 4

Ah, overwhelming Thursday. See, the way I do Library Day in the Life is I make notes all day, and then try to compile them into coherent blog posts over breaks/lunch/dinner/after work. Today just went to Hell in a handbasket, so it's 8:49, and I'm still at work, and I don't want to do this when I get home, because when I get home I have to edit a PPT, so you are getting a slapdash post today.

9 am over coffee: Read outstanding Pullman article
9:55: Got to work 2.5 hours early because I had arranged a meeting with an Algonquin rep. in charge of the program I am developing a course for. I am excited, but also panicky that I have to get the ball rolling big-time on this during Feb.
10:40: Re-organised program room for Coffee with police officer tomorrow - made notes re. display, signage on door and staircase, etc. Realised I should let it go, since I haven't started work yet. My plan was, since I was here but not on shift yet, I would sit in my basement office and work on next Monday's lecture for Acquisitions. Ha! I should know myself well enough to know it is almost impossible for me to be at work and not "fiddle" with work tasks!
10:45: Open Outlook, see something icky about upcoming LANCR event planning. Begin small panic. Get sucked into work e-mail .... good things: City Librarian Barbara Clubb's CBC interview and the resulting editorial in the Ottawa Citizen!
Then upstairs to get coffee machine for tomorrow and returned to basement lair office. Pass toddler in 700s with mum saying "No, please don't walk on the books!" as child teeters on pile of decorating books. Hee hee.
Colleague returns from outreach, de-briefs with me.
11:33: started work on Acquisitions. Closed e-mail.
11:50: Distracted by "Lessons For Grown-Ups From Story Time." Your Ottawa Region (thanks to Kstari Wolfman for the link)
12:20: Got through lecture prep, just have to tweak weekly exercise. Went upstairs to eat muffin and salad.

12:30-1:30: On Info desk

• Books about dyslexia... Patron managed to use the F word and call me "honey" so we had a little chat about whether or not he should perhaps come back when he is able to have a conversation in a respectful manner. He backed down, and we continued the search.
• "I got a call about a book ready to pick up...."
• "Can I reserve that new book by Doug Saunders?"
  
• Colleague has several questions about searching and readers' advisory
• "It is working?" (gestures to photocopier; turns out it is off!)
• Jacob Two-Two - I want to read the series to my children. Which is the first? (discussion with this mum, who is a storytime regular, about how my dad sent these Richler books over for my cousins as children - their intro to Canlit...)
  
• Puis-je avoir un résumé du livre Le pouvoir thérapeutique de nos vies antérieures par Bibiane Bouchard?
• Réservations: Piliers de la terre; Coeur d'Istanbul
  
• Can I reserve the Gatineau ski pass?
  

1:30-3:40: Off-desk.... Don't ask. It's a blur of tasks. Sorry.

3:40-4: Covering break at the Info desk:

• "Is my request here yet?"
• "Do you have to use dimes for the photocopier?"
• "Do you have Invincible vol 2?"
• "I printed 3 pages but ripped up two because I didn't need them. I paid for one ... ok?" Sigh. Showed him how to print 1-1, and other printer preferences options, for future reference.
• "I got a call that my request was here...." Explained to him how to check items on holds shelf (first 4 letters of family name; last 4 digits of card #) and that he could just come in and grab them (and check them out!) next time.
• Public printer has a gremlin. It is extracted and sent to the Humane society.....
  

4: Attempted to make an escape. Was foiled by my own OCD desire to fax timesheets immediately. Decided to sort items that came in for me on hold while waiting for fax. Got into a conversation with colleague. Found problem with one of the books on hold for me (incorrect copy) so asked other colleague to replace copy-specific request. While doing that, got involved in 2nd conversation with (the first) colleague. Forgot what I was doing (right - waiting for the fax machine). Filed away completed fax in filing cabinet. Put up sign thanking bakery for donating snacks for tomorrow's program. Discussed confidential matter with manager (he asked, are you on dinner? and I said yes, but ask away! It only took a minute...). Quickly skimmed choices for booktalk next week.... + sent personal e-mail.

4:30: Dinner!

5: Cuteness alert on the way through the annex: mother and daughter sharing laptop (free wifi!) and a chair :) Now I am on the Info desk again:

• books by Aboulela, Leila?
  
• A biography of Cleopatra by someone named Margaret
• rowdy girls but I am not going to talk to them because they are in and out quickly
• "Do you have the city recreation guide?"
• "Avez-vous le Guide Officiel de L'automobiliste?"
• Turns out city rec. person actually wants directions to Centre Routhier. Easy enough!
• Insane amount of pick up in the annex, which I noticed on the way to 629s.
  
• Very quiet voice: "Do you have the book We All Fall Down by Eric Walters?" Poor girl needs it for a class presentation tomorrow....
• "Is there a washroom here?"
• [ordered some of my own requests]
• Had to ask someone who has been on the Express PC for too long to leave....
  
• Gentleman is yelling at the computer... I go over and ask him to lower his voice just a little bit.

6 pm: Job shadow student arrives. We get 3 questions between 6-8 pm - argh! See above - I swear it was busy!!!!!

8:56: Leaving. I swear. But coming in early to prep tomorrow before 2nd job shadow (unrelated) arrives, since I need to give her my full attention. It's my own fault for telling her to start at 9:30. I should have scheduled her later, but I wanted her to get some time to settle in before we go to outreach at 11, and I definitely wanted her to come on outreach ... an adventure!

Stay tuned if you dare. One more day!