A Day in the Life of a Library: March 2012

One thing that is absolutely non-negotiable to the successful function of a library is The Library Assistant. A librarian can get roughly twice as much done on a daily basis with a competent assistant. I have almost 600 students, PK-6th grade, that visit me weekly; many of them visit daily. It is impossible for the librarian to get done all that needs to be done on a daily basis without someone working alongside her.

I am one of the lucky ones; I happen to have an assistant, and he has many wonderful qualities. But perhaps the most important characteristic of all:

He is just so cute!

Besides his exceptional cuteness, he brings many other pluses to the library, including setting a wonderful example for being quiet, always having a smile on his face no matter what is going on around him (seriously---I so wish I could achieve his level of contentment in the middle of crisis!). But perhaps the most important quality of all is that he always has a great hug waiting to give away to anyone who needs one.

However, W.P. does have a few shortcomings. He really likes to take long snoozes during the day, and he invests quite a bit of time in the taking of numerous snack breaks. His hands are often sticky after these breaks, and that causes a problem when shelving books or typing.

Even with these pesky problems, I cannot think of letting him go. He has been with me since my very first week as a librarian, and sometimes it is just nice to see him sitting there in his rocking chair, smiling. But the main reason I keep him around is because of what he does to help out with the students.

One of many examples:
Three years ago, a little boy started Pre-K at our school and cried every single morning that he came to school. His mother had to literally peel him off of her and walk away. It was so difficult for him. He had some learning disabilities as well, and I know he just didn't understand why he had to be at this place instead of back home with his mom. His class came to the library each week, and just that little change from his routine would set him off and he would enter the library sobbing.

One day, Pooh volunteered to help out. Brilliant idea! I told the little boy that Pooh wanted to sit with him because Pooh was feeling sad and asked him if that would be all right. The crying stopped and he sat there the entire time, hugging Pooh and listening to every word I said. Each week after that, Pooh would be waiting for him at the door. And pretty soon, he did not need Pooh to sit with him anymore. Today that little boy is a confident, happy 2nd grader and I can't help but believe Pooh is very proud as he watches him during class time each week.

Pooh is still in the business of cheering up sad or crying children and he has gotten very, very good at it. It is a special honor for a child to have Pooh ask to sit in his or her lap. And to this day, he has never failed to stop a child from crying. Not once. Amazing.

As wonderful as Pooh is with the children, there was still the problem of his skills as a library assistant. And then one day, I believe it was Valentine's Day, out of the clear blue sky, a box arrives in the library.....and magically, a new assistant appears! I have to say, I have come to love having him around.

Kids of all ages get such a kick out of him gently reminding them that we should be quiet in the library and that no matter what happens, they should of course, always, without question, love their librarian! My husband confessed to the designing of the assistant's t-shirt and he did a perfect job. My library clientele absolutely love this helper and they consider him one of their own.

And, seriously, is he not just too cute?

I mean, really, do the books need to be shelved? And checked out? And checked in? And ordered? And paid for? And repaired? And budgets balanced? And book fairs worked? And libraries weeded out? And organized? And kept in order? And reading reward programs implemented? And kept up with? And prizes bought and points counted and rewards handed out regularly?

You know, as I think about it...

it is a very lucky thing for them that my assistants have that major cute factor thing going on!

If you are a librarian, here is my advice for making sure that you have an assistant, a serious asset for the professional, successful library:

Give your administrator a list of all the things you could achieve with an assistant. Make it a before/after format and let him/her see the huge difference in production, student/teacher communication, and class involvement with someone to cover some of the day-today library tasks for you.
When your administrator says no, explain what all you can do with 1/2 day to give teachers, students, and your library with someone giving you that time by helping out at the desk.
When your administrator says no again, explaining there is no money for an assistant, consider enlisting volunteers. A word of caution: I have found that most people last only one day. Who knew there was so much WORK to do in the library? But once in a great while, you might find a treasure who will stay with you for an entire school year and allow you to take your library to a new level. Thank God daily for her if she appears at your door.
If these things do not work; if the administration does not think it necessary to add another employee to the library, if there really is no money, if volunteers do not appear at your door or if they are the kind of workers that you wish had not appeared at your door----------
Go for the cute factor. You will love the fact that the assistant is always quiet, always cheerful, and loved by everyone. And book shelving, cataloging and dusting are way over-rated. Trust me.

If you give a librarian a library,

she might want to clean it up a bit...

because she will want it to be the most productive and beautiful library of them all.

When she gets it all cleaned up, she will realize how beautiful it would look with a new rug.

When she gets a new rug, she will want round, colorful tables sitting around the new rug.

When she gets new rugs and tables, she will want to rearrange things.

When she gets bookshelves moved, library cleaned, books organized, library weeded, classes taught, thousands and thousands of books checked in and out, and every book in its place with new books on the shelves for the next school year, it will be time for summer vacation.

When she comes back from summer vacation, she might find that a teacher and numerous students have created a classroom in one-fourth of her library space.

And they might be there for the entire school year.

And she might find that her desk and work space have been transformed into a teacher workroom for the coming school year with bulletin board paper, laminator, cutting boards, copy machines, etc.

And it might be there for the entire school year.

She might find books removed from shelves and shelves removed from the library space, furniture stacked up, and the contents of her desk and files loaded on a cart in the back of the library.

When she gets the much smaller, more crowded library space cleaned up and shelves rearranged, she will want work space with a desk for her, and a quiet, private space for her library students.

She might not get either one.

When that (long) year is over and she is told she will have her entire library space back for the next school year, she might want to rearrange the library.

Again.

She might want to move the teacher workroom out, move the classroom furniture and furnishings out, and move the shelves and books back to where they need to be. She might move 3,000 books back to the shelves where they belong.

She might be very tired.

Then she might want to get the library all cleaned up and place new books on the shelves for the students to see when they come back for the next school year.

When she comes back to her library at the end of the summer, she might find that she had received a surprise gift of new carpet installed in the library.

She might not be able to think of one single reason why a librarian would be happy about such a gift.

The carpet installers might have forgotten what bookshelves went where.

And they might have forgotten to clean up after themselves.

When the librarian looks at the chaos around her, she might want to cry.

But then she might notice that the library needs to be painted.

For the first time ever.

When she gets the library painted, she might need to move the shelves, organize the books, and get everything clean and in its place and ready for the students.

And then she might like to hang some big, colorful kites.