Christmas is a'comin'

Christmas is a'comin' and that means that this semester is nearly finished. How can that be? Didn't this Practicum just start? How can it be nearly finished?

Yesterday was a busy day full of questions. Um,...I guess that's what it's s'posed to be. Chiltons is such a great resource for those needing car repair information. Francine Rivers books were what one delightful older lady was searching for. Did you know there is a book entitled Hip Knit Hats? Well, I didn't either, until someone wanted to place it on hold, ready?...because her teenage nephew asked her to knit him a hat like the one she had knit for his brother last year!!! A teenage boy asked her for a hat!!! Amazing!!! Amazing!!! Barry White CDs were what another gentleman was looking for. One patron came to ask for one of James Herriott's books. She said she makes a point of reading ALL of them every so often and this is one of those every so oftens. I do enjoy those titles, myself. Stock market information for a beginner was one topic in the morning. The Scarlet Letter -- on dvd, please -- was what would satisfy a teenager. The closest one wasn't close enough. One patron wanted the large print copy of a title. And on and on. At the end of the day I thought it would be interesting to see how many questions we had tallied. It was over 60, closing in on 70. I was sort of surprised as it seemed as though there were only a couple of spurts of activity while the rest of the day was steady, though pleasant allowing sufficient time to find what patrons requested. And, of course there were the phone requests for titles. I guess it didn't seem so daunting because there were at least two of us on the desk all day, while our third had "off desk" time for other projects. One project that I was asked to proofread was for an author visit. Sign-up is required for the book discussion in April, but the book signing itself doesn't require sign up. The ref librarian putting this together wanted to make sure it was clear. It was. The other project she needed "off desk" time for was to put together the Winter Reading Program information and handouts for recording books read. Then my other companion needed some "off desk" time for a weeding project she is working on. Turns out my time spent there is useful...to the other ref librarians as well as to the patrons.

Practicum time is something I look forward to each week. Looking for new things or retrieving old friend books is a pleasant task. I like the peace of knowing exactly where a resource is...and I love the challenge of finding a resource for something I have little experience with. And it gets the patrons what they want. And, that's why we're there. Right? One comment I have appreciated hearing from the Head Ref Librarian on occasion is that she has absolutely no idea about the topic a patron has asked about but she's very interested now in finding out all sorts of information for the patron! I liked that honesty and eagerness.

While I haven't used the available online databases much for patron questions, I have used NoveList for a couple of projects I've helped the ref librarians with. I'm rather surprised that I haven't used them much. They are there, there a good number of them, and they are good ones; they are just not what any of us have used. I actually listened yesterday to the other ref librarians just to make sure my impression was correct that they too seldom used the available databases. I'm wondering what better way there can be to have them available/accessible but not cost based. I think they are useful but may find a better use in being free access for everyone, not simply local library patrons.

I can't wait to see what next week brings. Yes, I'm continuing as a Volunteer in the Ref Dept at this library. I like being trusted with all manner of information from placing -- 37 holds for a patron (They tell me she's an avid reader!!! I guess!!) though I couldn't place holds for the other items she wanted, yet, as they aren't avaliableat the present time -- to creating a Christmas books list, to proofreading a document to searching for books for patrons to finding the needed information, to whatever is needed. It's fun, interesting, constantly changing, and makes it a great day to hear "thank-you for your help."

One resource I did run into that works most of the time is dexknows.com. I was actually trying to find my niece's address to make sure I had it right. According to Dex, I did,...though I've found other information that is not correct. Still, it's an interesting place to start a search for addresses/phone numbers and things of that nature.

I hope over the semester I really have been of help. The ref librarians say I have been a great help. Patrons, too. I do know I have learned a huge amount not necessarily about a lot of NEW resources but how to better use old, trusted friend resources and then how to even more confidently find something new when the situation warranted. And then there has been the High School Yearbook project. That was fun. That was fun because I know some of those people as adults who are in the books as kids.

What an education. What a great experience. I'm so glad to have been able to enjoy the fruits of this practicum. Some questions were harder than others. There was never a dull moment.