I’m enjoying my new position so much! Things are going really well so far. I’m preparing for teen book club, researching display ideas, and planning some (I hope) interesting programs. I’ll write about those as they happen. So far I’m feeling well, too. I’m still adjusting to full-time work, but
Continue readingTag: becoming a librarian
wmtc: i am a youth librarian. this is a good thing.
I am so excited about my new position! As I mentioned, I am now a librarian in the Mississauga Central Library’s “Readers’ Den” department. It is a full-time position, and lasts until July of this year. Right now it feels like my ideal job; I only wish it were permanent. My
Continue readingwmtc: i hate christmas 2013: christmas in the public library
My annual I Hate Christmas post is a mixed bag this year. Last year, I found Christmas less awful than usual, thanks to the absence of both commercial TV and my law-firm job. Those changes are permanent (at least I hope they are!), so I may never need to hide
Continue readingwmtc: in which my library career takes another step forward
I am very pleased to announce that I’ve landed my first full-time librarian gig! It’s a temporary position, for six months, in the “Readers’ Den” Department of the Mississauga Central Library. Readers’ Den takes in all the fiction, magazines, and movies, and very importantly, the Youth department, both teen fiction
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #11
Customer: “Hi, can I print from a USB here? My printer at home isn’t working.” Me: [I explain how our printing works: you buy a card, it costs such and such, etc.] Customer: “I just want to print from my USB.” Me: [I explain how our printing works: you buy
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library # 10: weeding, the library’s not-so-dirty, not-so-little secret
Wmtc readers have told me that they like the inner-workings-of-the-library posts, so I’m going to let myself write those whenever an idea comes up. That means the “things I heard at…” category becomes less literal… not unlike the title of this blog. Did you ever wonder how a library manages
Continue readingwmtc: how to pursue something you don’t really want
Since the day I decided to go to graduate school and change my career(s), my mind has reeled with questions about the future. When will I be able to quit my horrible law-firm job? When will I get a professional position at the library? When I get it, will I
Continue readingwmtc: my favourite customers and two-way readers’ advisory
The children’s library where I work services a huge age-range of young people and their caregivers, from birth up to around age 12. I enjoy the full range – helping parents understand the importance of reading to their children, helping kids find fun books to read, finding material for school
Continue readingwmtc: the incredible shrinking life: a flood, a hotel room, a library
I’m always amazed how when personal upheaval strikes, whether tragedy or happy Big Life Change – your world shrinks down to a tiny little circle. We moved to Canada the day Hurricane Katrina struck, and days later, we were struggling to take in all we had missed. Since the flood
Continue readingwmtc: simon says, grumpy bird, and an evil witch: summer reading club begins
Summer is the busiest time of year in the Central Children’s Library. Actually, we are wildly busy any time school is out; the summer is just the most sustained period of busy-ness. Many of my colleagues have been preparing for summer programming since the end of March Break. All through
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: # 9, or why this new librarian found the reference desk a little scary
In this post, I described doing reference as “a bit scary,” and Impudent Strumpet asked why. I started to write an answer, ran out of time, then found myself on my first real shift at the reference desk! During my training and orientation weeks, I did two half-shifts at the
Continue readingwmtc: my life at the children’s library so far (plus happy birthday to me)
What a difference it makes when you enjoy going to work. What a difference when you don’t dread your job. Wow! This is what I’ve done in my new position so far. – I participated in the finale of Grade 4 Read To Succeed, in which the winning classes – the classes
Continue readingwmtc: in which i remember what big life change feels like
Even though I’m following several important news stories – from the revelations about the massive NSA domestic spying campaign to the slow-motion implosion of the Conservative Party of Canada to the show-trial of Bradley Manning – I seem unable to blog about anything but my own life. I remember two other times
Continue readingwmtc: in which i enjoy my first day as a librarian, and explain something about library work
Yesterday was my first day as a librarian! And it was great! I’m only doing orientation and training right now, but I can tell how much I’m going to enjoy this job. I love the environment; I share the same goals and many of the same values. I have concerns,
Continue readingwmtc: in which i officially become a librarian
We interrupt this travelogue to bring you an important announcement. I got my first librarian job!! This is a part-time, temporary position in the children’s department of the Central Library, where I was a page for 14 months. I am thrilled. But wait, there’s more! I also interviewed in a
Continue readingwmtc: i am a master of information
The degree will not be official until May, but I’ve just completed my very last school assignment. This means… I. AM. DONE. Done!!!!! My apologies to everyone who already saw this at Facebook, but such momentous news must be posted on wmtc! I am honestly unable to express my joy
Continue readingwmtc: in which my library career moves forward
Page no more! I’m not a librarian yet, but I’ve managed to get out of the page level. I’ve landed a part-time position as a circulation clerk, doing circ and customer service at the front desk in a branch about 20 minutes from home. I’m thrilled. My hourly pay rate
Continue readingwmtc: three library issues, part 3: the human library
January 26, 2013 was the first Human Library Day, but the Human Library, also known as the Living Library, has been around for several years. The idea is to assemble a diverse group of people to be “books”, then invite an audience to “borrow” the books by engaging them in
Continue readingwmtc: three library issues, part 2: rfid self-checkout
Increasing numbers of public libraries are moving towards a self-checkout system, based on radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. This is not the slow and often painful process you encounter in Ikea or Home Depot, where customers are forced to supply free labour by doing the work of cashiers, while corporations pocket
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