Library Day in the Life #libday8 Day 2
*writing this a day later - I have no idea what I did up through 10am yesterday morning - probably some combination of email, paperwork, checking in with staff, etc.*
10:00-12:00 - Working the circulation desk. I'm reading and sending emails when there's a lull, but it's pretty steady with slinging laptops, study room keys, and reserve textbooks. I take two fines, which keeps me from getting too rusty at using the cash register.
12:00 - 1:30 - Lunch with the Head of Reference and Instruction. Among other things we talk about her daughters (who are growing so fast - one is prepping for college already!), about work. I let her know that my EdD advisor has asked for me to design research instruction modules for the EdD students at two stages - one for incoming students, and one for students who make it to the pre-dissertation seminar. I okay it with her so that I'm not stepping on toes, and let her know I'll likely as to pick her brain; we discuss her work in a similar project with the Nursing PhD students, the surprising research habits of students who come in with a master's degree, other fun instruction and research and library stuff. We chow on cheeseburgers. Life is good.
1:30-1:45 - Taming the email beast again; make a note that I need to check my LibGuide links to make sure everything is working, some Faculty Senate items, an update on the job search my ILL unit has near-completed from the dean. An editor I know at a publishing house says she would be interested in seeing the proposal for my next edited collection once the table of contents is firmed up. I rejoice on my social networks on the interwebs. The world seems to be in order, for a change.
1:45-4:00 - Collection development. I have $4200 to spend on the Political Science collection, and not once have I ever been caught dead not being able to spend someone else's money. I concentrate on public administration and public policy; the collection review I just completed where I touched every book in PoliSci gave ample evidence that most of our collection is from the 70s and needs pretty serious updating. I toss a few emails to our Head of Materials processing and Lord of the Collection about items that are expensive ($350) but that I think we need. I'm going to leave those off my list and see if he has enough money when we're all done with our spending to pick those up. I compare my purchase list against both our catalog of current holdings and the approval plan purchase list, thinking that it would be great if all this data was in one damn place so I didn't have to search for each item in three different platforms. Grr.
4:00-4:20 - Stephen, our handy Knower-of-All-Things-IT stops by my office to let me know he's getting a scanner set up on the second floor service desk so that staff can process reserves while stationed there; he reminds me we agreed to use a web-based file sharing thingamajig, and that Melanie in ILL may already have documentation we can hand over to reserves processors on how to use it. He also asks where exactly I wanted ILLiad installed; I ask for it on one of the front circ desk machines so that we can get circ folks trained on checking items in and renewing, as well as on a staff machine since we're adding some part time help to ILL for the rest of the semester. That seems to cover things for now, all our other techstuff seems to be working okay *curses self for thinking that* *knocks on faux wood desk in the hopes it will ward off bad tech luck*
4:20-5:00 - More email triage, sending responses to things I had flagged earlier. Briefly meddle with the library's surveymonkey account.
5:00-5:40 - Hellish traffic on the way home. I should have probably just stayed at work until 6:00 so I could have a clear drive home. Instead of grumbling, I blast "Copperhead Road." Drivers around me frown and roll up their windows.
5:40-6:20 - Home! Walk the Ottodog, feed the Ottodog, change into gym clothes. Walk Ottodog again, quickly check my personal email before heading out to a place I really don't want to go. Blugh.
6:30-7:30 Tortured by personal trainer, who is actually a pretty nice guy. He reports he was held up in the gym parking lot last night by two men with guns; I think maybe I should be at the shooting range instead of trying to buff up my arms. Trainerman Alec and I disagree on my priorities, so he punishes my triceps.
8:00 - Home. Walk Otto again, watch him gad about with his bone, decide it is too late for dinner. Hit the discussion boards for my two grad classes. Catch the end of something that may or may not be Glee - there's a lot of singing, and Dance Moms, at which point I decide my brain must be rotting and I should just go to bed. I'll write my public admin paper tomorrow night, I swear.
10:00-12:00 - Working the circulation desk. I'm reading and sending emails when there's a lull, but it's pretty steady with slinging laptops, study room keys, and reserve textbooks. I take two fines, which keeps me from getting too rusty at using the cash register.
12:00 - 1:30 - Lunch with the Head of Reference and Instruction. Among other things we talk about her daughters (who are growing so fast - one is prepping for college already!), about work. I let her know that my EdD advisor has asked for me to design research instruction modules for the EdD students at two stages - one for incoming students, and one for students who make it to the pre-dissertation seminar. I okay it with her so that I'm not stepping on toes, and let her know I'll likely as to pick her brain; we discuss her work in a similar project with the Nursing PhD students, the surprising research habits of students who come in with a master's degree, other fun instruction and research and library stuff. We chow on cheeseburgers. Life is good.
1:30-1:45 - Taming the email beast again; make a note that I need to check my LibGuide links to make sure everything is working, some Faculty Senate items, an update on the job search my ILL unit has near-completed from the dean. An editor I know at a publishing house says she would be interested in seeing the proposal for my next edited collection once the table of contents is firmed up. I rejoice on my social networks on the interwebs. The world seems to be in order, for a change.
1:45-4:00 - Collection development. I have $4200 to spend on the Political Science collection, and not once have I ever been caught dead not being able to spend someone else's money. I concentrate on public administration and public policy; the collection review I just completed where I touched every book in PoliSci gave ample evidence that most of our collection is from the 70s and needs pretty serious updating. I toss a few emails to our Head of Materials processing and Lord of the Collection about items that are expensive ($350) but that I think we need. I'm going to leave those off my list and see if he has enough money when we're all done with our spending to pick those up. I compare my purchase list against both our catalog of current holdings and the approval plan purchase list, thinking that it would be great if all this data was in one damn place so I didn't have to search for each item in three different platforms. Grr.
4:00-4:20 - Stephen, our handy Knower-of-All-Things-IT stops by my office to let me know he's getting a scanner set up on the second floor service desk so that staff can process reserves while stationed there; he reminds me we agreed to use a web-based file sharing thingamajig, and that Melanie in ILL may already have documentation we can hand over to reserves processors on how to use it. He also asks where exactly I wanted ILLiad installed; I ask for it on one of the front circ desk machines so that we can get circ folks trained on checking items in and renewing, as well as on a staff machine since we're adding some part time help to ILL for the rest of the semester. That seems to cover things for now, all our other techstuff seems to be working okay *curses self for thinking that* *knocks on faux wood desk in the hopes it will ward off bad tech luck*
4:20-5:00 - More email triage, sending responses to things I had flagged earlier. Briefly meddle with the library's surveymonkey account.
5:00-5:40 - Hellish traffic on the way home. I should have probably just stayed at work until 6:00 so I could have a clear drive home. Instead of grumbling, I blast "Copperhead Road." Drivers around me frown and roll up their windows.
5:40-6:20 - Home! Walk the Ottodog, feed the Ottodog, change into gym clothes. Walk Ottodog again, quickly check my personal email before heading out to a place I really don't want to go. Blugh.
6:30-7:30 Tortured by personal trainer, who is actually a pretty nice guy. He reports he was held up in the gym parking lot last night by two men with guns; I think maybe I should be at the shooting range instead of trying to buff up my arms. Trainerman Alec and I disagree on my priorities, so he punishes my triceps.
8:00 - Home. Walk Otto again, watch him gad about with his bone, decide it is too late for dinner. Hit the discussion boards for my two grad classes. Catch the end of something that may or may not be Glee - there's a lot of singing, and Dance Moms, at which point I decide my brain must be rotting and I should just go to bed. I'll write my public admin paper tomorrow night, I swear.
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