A Day in the Life of a Reference Librarian

Some days are calmer than others (as are some weeks at times), but yesterday seemed to move in a tornado formation while at work leaving me utterly exhausted after getting home. I'm sure the rest of the week will be smooth-sailing from here.

9:00 am - Programming Meeting/Brainstorming session with Adult Services, representative of Youth Services, representative of Circulation, and Branch Manager. Happy to report we're pretty set with ideas for the rest of the year.
10:00 am - Prep computer lab for Library Orientation.
10:30 am - Present Library Orientation to attendees regarding services for our community and to the students of the university campus.
11:30 am - Coffee Break, though I was unable to sit with said coffee as my fellow Supervising Librarian needed to speak with me about our audiovisual materials order.
12:00 pm - Reference Desk in which I observe one of my library assistants in her customer service and offer assistance where needed.
1:00 pm - Lunch with beau.
2:00 pm - Impromptu meeting with Colleague regarding a matter that occurred earlier in the week. The matter was resolved on Monday, and I explained the situation to my Colleague.
3:00 pm - Reference Desk in which we assist several college students with a project to locate full-text, scholarly articles regarding human development and social patterns.
4:00 pm - Revise reference and information desk schedule for following week. (It will be rather gnarly.)
4:30 pm - Snack Break and conversation with Academic Librarian regarding next week's schedule and events.
5:00 pm - Reference Desk in which I did a reader's advisory for a student who had checked out a book I'd recommended to her before though she had been unable to read it due to time constraints. Makes me happy when they return for the same book when they do have time to read. ^_^
5:30 pm - Begin closing procedures in which Desk Partner and I informed two young students of other study areas for after the library closes at 6:00 pm. Some have difficulty paying attention to the closing announcements and choose to pack up their belongs at 5 minutes til closing. And be advised, if a reference question is asked after the final closing announcement, we will give the short answer and recommend coming to the library the following day for a more detailed answer. ^_^
6:05 pm - Close the library after a patron with several children finishes checking out materials.

A Reference Librarian's Day

Being a full-time librarian, I have my busy days and not-so-busy days, and with new staff to train, most of my days are busy.  Sometimes, I have the feeling that some still believe the stereotype that librarians sit at the Reference Desk and read, which actually is against policy unless reading through professional review journals.  Here's a brief schedule of what my Monday was like. ^_^

12:00-1:00 pm: Arrive at the library, updating and printing copies of the weekly meeting schedule to distribute to all departments.  Update meeting log to include applications accepted over the weekend.

1:00-1:30 pm: Prepare the conference room for the Adult Services Book Club meeting, printing out reading guides and handing out the title for next month.

1:30-2:30 pm: Have a rousing and enlightening talk on current month's Book Club title.  Help direct the discussion along the reading guide's questions.

2:30-3:00 pm: Take down and close conference room, taking a 15 minute break afterward to check out next month's Book Club title and discuss possible titles for next year with coworkers.

3:00-4:00 pm: Review and contact patrons' requesting the use of the library's meeting/conference rooms if clarification is needed.  Take meeting room applications down to branch manager for approval.

4:00-5:00 pm: Lunch/dinner

5:00-7:00 pm: Cover Information Desk and Reference Desk, answering patrons' questions, directing patrons to titles and/or research materials, and opening meeting/conference rooms for tonight's outside organization meetings.

7:00-8:00 pm: Start planning out Reference Desk Schedule for following week and update Shelf-Reading Schedule to reflect new full-time and part-time employees.  Clean staff kitchen.

8:00-8:30 pm: Cover Reference Desk and train new full-time paraprofessional in closing procedures.

8:30-9:00 pm: Prepare the branch for closing, checking technical closets, straightening out the bookshelves, tidying the desks and tables, vacating the study rooms and meeting rooms, and closing the computer lab.

If you're a librarian, tell me how your day goes!  And if you're a library patron, tell me how your librarians help you! ^_^