Library Practicum Day 1

Seeing and participating in how other libraries perform daily reference duties is fun, interesting and usually full of diversity and change -- all things I'm accustomed to as I work in a smaller public library. Good, new ideas are easy to come by in a new setting as activities are seen through fresh and unhabituated eyes. Troubleshooting an obstreperous printer that had only just a couple of days before undergone an upgrade as a part of the system upgrade; learning a new web page location to contribute to a "good reads" book review list; helping a patron new to the rigors of creating an Excel spreadsheet to build confidence and skills; locating a legal form in a copyable format for a patron; placing patron holds on SILK; discussing the content of a skit concerning appropriate patron service: these were among the experiences today. Although contained within the same department, it's possible to wear many hats and change them rapidly in a larger (than what I'm accustomed to) setting.

While becoming familiar with some of the ready reference kinds of handy materials, I found that there are Home Schooling Resources available and close at hand. And, the customary sorts of items were there too, including Standard & Poor's Outlook, Morningstar and ValueLine, Consumer Reports, and some unanticipated sources like Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie information.

Several patrons came to the Reference Desk asking for particular titles, or they hoped they had the correct title/author information. Sometimes they did; sometimes not. One young man asked for information about Physics. Upon further questioning and shelf searching, it turned out that he really needed weights and measures information which was readily available and handy for use. A conversation began about Kevin Trudeau initiated from a patron query. Regular staff members attended to teaching a beginning Excel class, creating a listing of appropriate benchmarks for determining whether jobs have been appropriately completed for job evaluation...and other needed issues

It was a busy day and a day of diversity. It was a good way to start this practicum.