And Wednesday...

          Another day of fun at Pequot Library... the most interesting part of my day was sitting in on a meeting where I got to hear about the conference some of the staff went to. First of all, I didn't even know there were librarian conferences (although now that I think about it, it makes sense). You learn new stuff every day.

          They debriefed about the sessions they went to. My favorite topics were social media marketing and filtering vs. free speech. The latter topic discussed how people were free to view whatever content they wanted while at the library. I know there's a right to free speech, but I was shocked that the library had so little say. They could put in filters, but it didn't seem worth the trouble. Patrons could access any site they wanted anyway - they just had to ask. So the staff decided there'd be no filters but they'd make the library policy more specific (so any disturbances caused by inappropriate sites could warrant a ban from the library). Social media marketing was also interesting, especially since I can relate to the technology they were talking about. The library was trying to decide if it needed a Facebook page or Twitter, and what the pros or cons of each would be.

Typical Tuesday

          So I forgot to write one yesterday - I'm still getting used to this - but I decided to take advantage of my lunch break to make up for that. Anyway, yesterday I had some fun. A part of the day was spent putting back books, but I got to help with story time. Now who wouldn't want to do that? It was a 2-3 year old group and they were adorable. I helped them with their craft, which was making a little paper kite. I also saw how the program was run and it made me realize what sort of planning actually goes into this. Susan, the children's librarian who ran it, had a theme so the children could understand what she was talking about easily. The theme was rain so she brought in an umbrella and read a book about rain. She also read one on wind (and brought in pinwheels) and The Hungry Caterpillar.

          I learned that story time consists of more than just reading one story. She had to calm some of the kids when they talked too much, and she had a whole format - introduction song, playing instruments and saying their names, read a story, another song, read a story, read another story, and do the craft. There was a lot of work put into it, but it was fun. Unfortunately this was the last story time she had because in summer they do a reading program, but at least I got to see and help with one.

1st Day! Woohoo!

          So it's the first day of my internship... I can't believe it. Instead of going to school today I went to the Pequot Library in Southport, CT. It's a very nice library and the staff are just so welcoming. Today I was working in the tech department. They basically do all the behind-the-scenes work to get books ready. The books you check out from the shelves are there because of the tech department. We had a lot of books today so I spent the day covering and stickering them (AKA putting on a laminated cover to protect them and adding stickers that say it's a Pequot Library book, which book it is, and when to return it). But tomorrow I get to work at the desk and learn some new stuff. It should be interesting. First day of internship? Check.