That's right, boys and girls! Those zany librarians (and archivists) are at it again, posting about what we do all day. Guess what? We don't spend much time reading books and shushing patrons!
Yesterday I tagged a few Tweets with #libday8, but after seeing some blog posts by some of my library heroes, I decided to try a timeline format today.
6:30: Got up and (eventually) out the door.
8:15: Arrived at library. Turned in book. Chatted with colleagues about books we've enjoyed recently. Helped dean take down panels from an old exhibit that is no longer on display.
8:30: Opened Special Collections. Checked calendars, email (quick read through), and socnets. Discovered that teh Googlez think I am a 55-64 year-old female with no interests (if I ask it when I'm in Firefox). Well, ok, then. (In Chrome, by the way, I'm 25-34, female, and am interested in rock music and Los Angeles. Who knew?) Started this blog post.
9:00: Technically, the department is now open. I'm expecting a researcher at 9:30, but I'm not sure which boxes she needs from the collection she's researching. I've put a copy of the finding aid out for her and will pull the boxes when she arrives.
9:09: More email to read and respond to. Some random books were found in our loading dock/technical services area, and they're coming to Special Collections. Assistant has arrived now. Caught up with her. Sorted through some gift books to see how many we'd like to have cataloged (three). Took books to cataloging. Picked up mail and sorted it. None for me! Yay!
9:30: Quick email check. Delete, delete, delete. Don't want to start anything big since researcher is expected. Looked at some suggested titles to read during an upcoming research day. Need to pull some after the patron arrives and gets settled. Now back to checking the catalog for gift books.
10:15: Researcher is here and underway. Pulled boxes for her to use. Discarded old duplicate directories we didn't need. Chatted with tech services colleague about a cataloging project. Roamed the stacks and selected a few titles for my research day. Answered email from boss that will require sending another email for a status update on a digitization project. Sent that one. Also contacted art faculty about some student photographers I need to have photograph some artifacts for a display. Updated calendar to reflect a meeting I've added for tomorrow afternoon. Updated online membership directory for the Academy of Certified Archivists.
11:00: Did some database searching for more research day material; scribbled some notes. Researcher needed another box. She hopes to come back later in the week to do more digging. Quick socnet perusal. Printed out a journal article.
11:35: Did a little reading of an article for a faculty reading group that meets next week. Researcher has departed. Read over an obituary for a well-known Baptist minister. Skimmed an article on "Career Satisfaction of Young Archivists" by Amber L. Cushing. Printed that out for further review. Skimmed and printed an article on sociology and office relationships. Seeing "reciprocity" and "kinship" made me miss my anthropology classes. Should do more reading on that in my free time.
12:00: Time for a lunch meeting!
1:50: Meeting was good (wellness and spirituality). Picked up our mail (3 boxes of journals and a box for the archives). Sorted out that the volunteer isn't coming in today. Now off to learn about "thin clients." *whoosh*
3:40: Stayed awake (it was a battle) in the meeting. Learned some useful things. Now for more email and to see if a researcher who just appeared needs anything.
3:55: She needs to scan. Haven't installed good software for that on the computer in our reading room since we got a new-to-us computer. Found a work-around. Checked a file for the group she needs pictures of, but we don't have much.
4:15: Battling with the second of our two scanners. :(
4:55: Ok, finally got all the scanning done. Assistant talked to a potential donor with some old magazines; I'll contact him tomorrow. Time to take my pile of books down to circulation and head out.
Stay tuned for more adventures later in the week!
Showing posts with label librarydayinthelife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label librarydayinthelife. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Friday, July 29, 2011
Another Week in the Life
Welcome, dear reader, to the end of #libday7. I haven't been able to post as much as I'd like this week; it's just been wild.
Today I got to do a couple of things related to my job as a university archivist (or archivist in a university, which isn't exactly the same thing). As part of our "facultyness" at MPOW, librarians (and yours truly, as the archivist, or special collections librarian) are expected to participate in professional development activities. This may include writing articles, presenting papers, serving on committees, or whatever we do to further our academic careers while trying not to embarrass the university.
I'm currently serving as the Secretary of my state archives organization, and we had a board meeting today. So I was able to take a day off work to further my professional development. The group has a terrific, enthusiastic board, and taking the minutes isn't difficult. It's a good way to stay involved and to keep current with what's happening in archives in GA.
After the meeting, I came home and reviewed applications for job vacancies. That's another part of my faculty life, helping to recruit for our library faculty positions. This is the first time we've formed a search committee to deal with all the applicants (we have a lot, and we have two jobs available). It's definitely easier to be on the hiring side of the table when it comes to job searches!
I hope all of you have had a good week and have enjoyed seeing some of the diverse activities librarians are involved in. We don't just shelve books, you know!
Today I got to do a couple of things related to my job as a university archivist (or archivist in a university, which isn't exactly the same thing). As part of our "facultyness" at MPOW, librarians (and yours truly, as the archivist, or special collections librarian) are expected to participate in professional development activities. This may include writing articles, presenting papers, serving on committees, or whatever we do to further our academic careers while trying not to embarrass the university.
I'm currently serving as the Secretary of my state archives organization, and we had a board meeting today. So I was able to take a day off work to further my professional development. The group has a terrific, enthusiastic board, and taking the minutes isn't difficult. It's a good way to stay involved and to keep current with what's happening in archives in GA.
After the meeting, I came home and reviewed applications for job vacancies. That's another part of my faculty life, helping to recruit for our library faculty positions. This is the first time we've formed a search committee to deal with all the applicants (we have a lot, and we have two jobs available). It's definitely easier to be on the hiring side of the table when it comes to job searches!
I hope all of you have had a good week and have enjoyed seeing some of the diverse activities librarians are involved in. We don't just shelve books, you know!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
What a week!
I'm behind on my Library Day in the Life posts. It's been a zoo of a week, and it's not over yet. Some highlights include:
- getting workouts loading an archives collection into and out of my car on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively,
- sorting out the duties of MPOW's first ever search committee for a library job (actually, two jobs),
- attending a campus wellness "lunch and learn" program on gardening,
- printing out a large number of job applications for the above-mentioned positions,
- hosting a research team working on another college's 150th anniversary plans,
- showing one of my great staff members how to log in to our archives blog,
- keeping up on new writings about QR codes,
- and a whole bunch of stuff I've forgotten!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Another exciting round of "Library Day in the Life"
Yes, friends, fiends, and fans, it's time for another exciting week of "Library Day in the Life" posts! Follow the fun on Twitter by searching for #libday7, or see more at http://librarydayinthelife.pbworks.com.
My own day thus far:
My own day thus far:
- Before 8:00am - stop to pick up lunch and some cookies for today's going away party for two colleagues.
- 8:15 - 8:45 - check in with colleagues to find out what I missed by being out for professional development on Friday.
- 9:00 - 10:00 - check email and voice mail to discover an urgent reference request for a campus department. Start digging. Find out from assistant he is working on same question. Email campus department and learn that they have already answered one part of their question.
- 10:00 - 11:00 - library management group meeting. Discuss fall plans (we're short on reference and subject librarian help) and brainstorm ways to survive. Deliver report from library communications committee on next steps.
- 11:00 - 11:30 - open snail mail from Friday, delegate contents of some envelopes, put other items in box for student to file.
- 11:30 - 11:45 - start blog post on #libday7. Talk to circulation desk about fall student hiring.
Monday, July 26, 2010
A Day in the Life!
It's time again for a Library Day in the Life post. Whoo-hoo!
See http://librarydayinthelife.pbworks.com/Round-5,-July-26th,-2010 for more info. And watch this space!
EDIT: Now if I can just remember what I did today... I'll start with my Twitter posts containing the #libday5 hashtag and then fill in the gaps:
Ok, those were my tweets today. Let's see what else I can remember:
See http://librarydayinthelife.pbworks.com/Round-5,-July-26th,-2010 for more info. And watch this space!
EDIT: Now if I can just remember what I did today... I'll start with my Twitter posts containing the #libday5 hashtag and then fill in the gaps:
- "I'd like to be writing my Library Day in the Life post or installing the new scanner. But I'm just moving things around on my desk."
- "Paid my contribution for fried chicken for recent library potluck."
- "Found the correct campus address for a check that ended up on my desk. Sadly, not for me."
- "Met with summer intern for debriefing on her project. Worked on material for Friday's unconference."
- "Agreed to let the nominating committee put my name on the ballot for a state organization's election this fall."
- "Scheduled meeting with history prof to look at old books/maps he found while cleaning his department."
- "Helping @ashuping test the mobile version of the library's website."
- "Fun with MS Access 2007! :P"
Ok, those were my tweets today. Let's see what else I can remember:
- Confirmed time for meeting with Digital Library of Georgia staff on Thursday.
- Started outline for unconference preso.
- Set up demo meeting with digitization vendor for next week.
- Delegated returning a reference phone call to my assistant (excellent move on my part).
- Rounded up a few boxes to be reshelved; delegated said reshelving.
- Lunched with intern to celebrate completion of her project.
- Chatted with intern about networking at professional conferences and getting involved with professional organizations.
- Paid annual dues for ACA membership.
- Answered (I think) a question about a name change of a campus department.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Random Day in the Life
No, it's not time for an official round of "day in the life" postings, but I'm doing this one for myself. It's Monday, and I've been at work for about 45 minutes. So far I've:
- chatted with a colleague about some boxes in the mail room
- gone through email
- perused a campus newspaper before filing it
- cranked up iTunes for some motivational music
- jotted down the call number of a book I want from the stacks
- checked out the book
- rescheduled afternoon meetings (maybe)
- approved vacation days for my assistant; put them on calendar
- researched info on copyright and unpublished 19th century documents
- looked up an obituary for a researcher; photocopied page for biographical file
- helped ILL student find a periodical
- asked assistant to create bio file on man whose obit I looked up
- made to-do list
- emailed legal counsel about copyright and letters
- answered email about church history booklets
- printed materials for university files
- printed items to review for afternoon meeting
- looked over spreadsheet pertaining to a collections shift
- proofed document on library closings (for inclement weather and such); delivered to author
- returned paper clips and binder clips to supply closet
- put a flyer on an upcoming exhibit in the staff lounge
- looked up a possible speaker for a campus group
- found project for student assistant to work on
- responded to an email about an upcoming research conference on campus
- worked on newsletter that needs to be mailed ASAP
- back to newsletter
- meeting prep
- two meetings
- chatted with assistant about instruction session he handled today
- emailed faculty member about upcoming instruction session
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Customer Service 2.0
Last week as part of my Library Day in the Life posts I mentioned on Twitter that I had ordered some boxes for the archives. According to the sales rep, they weren't going to be available until March 16. A library colleague in another state saw my tweet and replied that she must have ordered the same boxes. I responded to her (in my public Twitter feed) yesterday with "Acid-free storage boxes from Gaylord? I can't believe they're going to take that long!"
Today I received an email from a Group Product and Merchandising Manager with Gaylord Bros. who had seen my tweet. My boxes are shipping today. Way to go, Gaylord! I'm glad they took the time to search for mentions of their name and to track me down. If you buy library and archives supplies, let me recommend them. And if you want to follow them on Twitter, as I now do, they can be found at @GaylordBros.
Today I received an email from a Group Product and Merchandising Manager with Gaylord Bros. who had seen my tweet. My boxes are shipping today. Way to go, Gaylord! I'm glad they took the time to search for mentions of their name and to track me down. If you buy library and archives supplies, let me recommend them. And if you want to follow them on Twitter, as I now do, they can be found at @GaylordBros.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Friday, July 31, 2009
It's time for another "Library Day in the Life" update!
Yesterday I jotted down a few notes about what I must admit was a remarkably productive day.
- Completed time sheets for my students and staff.
- Talked to the carpet installers about their plan of attack for the archives. Helped move a few things out of their way and open doors.
- Printed, sorted, and counted correspondence from June.
- Processed an order for one of our for-sale books.
- Delegated a couple of reference questions; answered a couple myself.
- Updated the draft of a proposal for my boss.
- Moved books out of an antique desk in preparation for carpeting in that area.
- Received a request from a colleague who wanted to borrow a student assistant for a project.
- Compiled statistics for an annual report.
- Attended a lunch planning meeting.
- Printed items for our vertical files (biographical and university).
- Received a request for an obituary. Found, scanned, and emailed to happy (librarian) patron.
- Worked more on proposal.
- Took student assistant to meet colleague who needed help.
- Met with boss.
- Ended workday, and went to see the new Harry Potter movie.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday Afternoon Grins & Giggles
This afternoon's highlight was listening to/chatting in "T Is for Training." If you haven't checked it out yet, you should!
Other than that, I've been answering some email reference questions and counting photocopies in order to bill a researcher. At present I'm doing some research into the possibility of uploading some of our photographs into Flickr. If your institution is doing that, please let me know. I'm sure I have questions for you.
Well, I think it's time to call it a week, at least as far as these postings are concerned. Thank you all for joining in the fun! Enjoy your weekend!
Other than that, I've been answering some email reference questions and counting photocopies in order to bill a researcher. At present I'm doing some research into the possibility of uploading some of our photographs into Flickr. If your institution is doing that, please let me know. I'm sure I have questions for you.
Well, I think it's time to call it a week, at least as far as these postings are concerned. Thank you all for joining in the fun! Enjoy your weekend!
Friday at Last!
Welcome to the end of the "week in the life" postings. Aren't you glad it's Friday? (And orange you glad I didn't say, "banana"?)
Today is off to a rather slow start. So far I've chatted with a reference colleague about a history class we're teaching together next week (methods of historical research kind of thing) and with our systems guru about the best way to put some of our photos online. Time to do something productive! See you in a bit!
Today is off to a rather slow start. So far I've chatted with a reference colleague about a history class we're teaching together next week (methods of historical research kind of thing) and with our systems guru about the best way to put some of our photos online. Time to do something productive! See you in a bit!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Even More Thursday Fun!
What have I been up to since lunch? I'm not exactly sure; this sinus thing has me in a bit of a fog. However, I do remember scanning and emailing some pictures for a researcher, helping a graduate student from another school with a church history project, answering questions for a student worker, talking to the 84-year-old about two boxes of material he's working on, and spending a good bit of time arranging photograph files on an external hard drive. Whee!
I can't imagine the next hour being much more exciting than that, so this may be the last post for today. :)
I can't imagine the next hour being much more exciting than that, so this may be the last post for today. :)
Thursday, continued
I have a few minutes before lunch, so I'll bring you up to speed.
The Homecoming meeting was run well. We have a vice president who has a real knack for problem-solving and keeping people on task. There was some debate over where to have the tailgate/lunch event before the basketball game, and he asked if we could come to consensus and "agree with enthusiasm" before dismissing. (In the end the discussion was referred to a new subcommittee, but I liked the way he put that.) It lasted about an hour and 15 minutes, which wasn't bad for a meeting like that.
I came back and tackled one more thank-you note I missed from yesterday's pile. I also responded to some email and prepared some documents for filing. I talked to the dean this morning, and we agreed we didn't have anything to talk about at our weekly meeting, so we eliminated it for the week. This afternoon I hope I have time to scan some yearbook photos for one researcher and email another a follow-up message about his request. I also need to formulate some questions about using Flickr to showcase archival collections to send to a virtual friend and colleague (thank goodness for social software!).
See you after lunch!
The Homecoming meeting was run well. We have a vice president who has a real knack for problem-solving and keeping people on task. There was some debate over where to have the tailgate/lunch event before the basketball game, and he asked if we could come to consensus and "agree with enthusiasm" before dismissing. (In the end the discussion was referred to a new subcommittee, but I liked the way he put that.) It lasted about an hour and 15 minutes, which wasn't bad for a meeting like that.
I came back and tackled one more thank-you note I missed from yesterday's pile. I also responded to some email and prepared some documents for filing. I talked to the dean this morning, and we agreed we didn't have anything to talk about at our weekly meeting, so we eliminated it for the week. This afternoon I hope I have time to scan some yearbook photos for one researcher and email another a follow-up message about his request. I also need to formulate some questions about using Flickr to showcase archival collections to send to a virtual friend and colleague (thank goodness for social software!).
See you after lunch!
Fourth Day in the Life
Hello!
This is Thursday, the fourth day in the "library day in the life" blog emphasis. Thus far today I have crawled into the office and read email. A glance at the calendar reminded me that I have a 10:00 Homecoming Committee meeting, so I don't want to start any big projects this morning. I'm importing some CDs into iTunes and going through some mail from my desk right now. I'm also planning to go to the break room and fix some cocoa - the sore throat and headache have been joined by congestion today, and chocolate makes everything better (right?).
It is also student timesheet day, so I'll pick up their time cards when I go downstairs.
Now working on timesheets. Researcher has arrived. Emailed admin. asst. and former student worker who wants to return about what we do next (find out if she qualifies for work study).
Timesheets are done but now need to be copied and delivered to the admin. asst. We only do this every two weeks, but somehow it seems like EVERY Thursday!
Off to the meeting! More later.
This is Thursday, the fourth day in the "library day in the life" blog emphasis. Thus far today I have crawled into the office and read email. A glance at the calendar reminded me that I have a 10:00 Homecoming Committee meeting, so I don't want to start any big projects this morning. I'm importing some CDs into iTunes and going through some mail from my desk right now. I'm also planning to go to the break room and fix some cocoa - the sore throat and headache have been joined by congestion today, and chocolate makes everything better (right?).
It is also student timesheet day, so I'll pick up their time cards when I go downstairs.
Now working on timesheets. Researcher has arrived. Emailed admin. asst. and former student worker who wants to return about what we do next (find out if she qualifies for work study).
Timesheets are done but now need to be copied and delivered to the admin. asst. We only do this every two weeks, but somehow it seems like EVERY Thursday!
Off to the meeting! More later.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wonderful Wednesday, part two
After lunch and visits to the chiropractor and allergist, I'm back! I think it will be a pretty quiet afternoon. One student worker has come and gone, and another is working on the files of a women's college that merged with our university in the 1980s. I just highlighted terms in email and article printouts for other students to file if they appear.
I'm hoping to write some thank-you notes I've been putting off for no good reason. Baptist associations within the state often send us a copy of their meeting minutes to retain in the archives. These are invaluable for church historians, and it would be nice of me to thank them.
The maintenance guy just came to look at our remote door latch; of course it's working fine now that he's here! He thinks there's just interference with the radio frequency our remotes use. It's as good an explanation as any, I suppose.
Now back to my thank-you notes... (time passes). Yay! They're finally done! Copies made for filing; letters taken to mailroom. Ahhhh. It's nice to finish a task you've been putting off!
And with only 15 minutes left in my workday, I think I'll go change into my workout clothes. See you tomorrow, I hope!
I'm hoping to write some thank-you notes I've been putting off for no good reason. Baptist associations within the state often send us a copy of their meeting minutes to retain in the archives. These are invaluable for church historians, and it would be nice of me to thank them.
The maintenance guy just came to look at our remote door latch; of course it's working fine now that he's here! He thinks there's just interference with the radio frequency our remotes use. It's as good an explanation as any, I suppose.
Now back to my thank-you notes... (time passes). Yay! They're finally done! Copies made for filing; letters taken to mailroom. Ahhhh. It's nice to finish a task you've been putting off!
And with only 15 minutes left in my workday, I think I'll go change into my workout clothes. See you tomorrow, I hope!
Wonderful Wednesday, part one
Good morning, faithful readers! Thank you for joining me for today's escapades in the archives. Today is day 3 of the "day in the life" series of postings. It is almost 8:30am, and my day is off to a slow start. I have a raging sore throat, but I'm at the office. I feel fine other than that, so I don't know what's going on. (Update - I now have a headache, too.)
Today is Wednesday, which means Special Collections is closed to the public, and my two assistants are both off. I may have some student workers appear later in the day, however. So far today I have dropped off two bags of trash at our local recycling center, made it to work, caught up with Twitter and FriendFeed, and started plowing through work email. I think it's time for some caffeine of the fizzy variety! (I'm not a coffee drinker.)
Rather than yesterday's play-by-play, I think I'll just summarize today's achievements, such as they are.
The only email I have to act on is one inviting me to write an article for the newsletter of the Archivists of Religious Collections Section for the Society of American Archivists. Apparently I volunteered to do that on last year's membership survey. I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time! I only need to write a paragraph or so according to the email. But what shall I say? Just looked over some back issues of the newsletter, Archival Spirit. Looks like most folks submit information on new collections or projects they are undertaking. I'll have to think about something regarding our Baptist collections to share; most of our recent acquisitions have related more to our university side.
Yesterday's pile-sorting and inbox-cleaning yielded a couple of checks and a book order for the Georgia Baptist Historical Society. I've prepared a deposit slip, copied the checks, updated our membership list, mailed the books, and sent the checks/deposit slip to the bank. While I was in the mailroom, I discovered that my recent Gaylord supply order has arrived, so I brought the boxes upstairs. I'll let a student unpack them later and make sure everything is accounted for. I also chatted with some folks from Technical Services while I was downstairs. Special Collections can be pretty quiet, so it's nice to visit other departments when I can.
Weather check: 64F and rainy. I need to go out for an allergy shot, but I'm also going out at lunchtime and again to the chiropractor this afternoon. I think I'll wait and get the shot after I go to the chiro. Just spent some time reading other people's "day in the life" postings. Librarians and archivists do a lot of neat things! And I'm always relieved to see that other folks procrastinate (like I do) and struggle to find projects for their student assistants (like I do). It's nice to know you aren't alone in this business.
Our dean mentioned an Educause e-book in our library management group meeting the other day. I thought the title sounded familiar, so I looked it up. Yes, I recalled correctly - my former office-mate and I cited it in our article for the 2006 issue of Provenance, the journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists. Maybe I'll check out the print version instead of trying to skim the online copy again. I haven't read it in several years.
Ok. I have an hour until lunch. I think I'll work on a paper I have to write and present this spring. I'll go ahead and post this much now; hopefully I can add more this afternoon. Enjoy your day!
Today is Wednesday, which means Special Collections is closed to the public, and my two assistants are both off. I may have some student workers appear later in the day, however. So far today I have dropped off two bags of trash at our local recycling center, made it to work, caught up with Twitter and FriendFeed, and started plowing through work email. I think it's time for some caffeine of the fizzy variety! (I'm not a coffee drinker.)
Rather than yesterday's play-by-play, I think I'll just summarize today's achievements, such as they are.
The only email I have to act on is one inviting me to write an article for the newsletter of the Archivists of Religious Collections Section for the Society of American Archivists. Apparently I volunteered to do that on last year's membership survey. I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time! I only need to write a paragraph or so according to the email. But what shall I say? Just looked over some back issues of the newsletter, Archival Spirit. Looks like most folks submit information on new collections or projects they are undertaking. I'll have to think about something regarding our Baptist collections to share; most of our recent acquisitions have related more to our university side.
Yesterday's pile-sorting and inbox-cleaning yielded a couple of checks and a book order for the Georgia Baptist Historical Society. I've prepared a deposit slip, copied the checks, updated our membership list, mailed the books, and sent the checks/deposit slip to the bank. While I was in the mailroom, I discovered that my recent Gaylord supply order has arrived, so I brought the boxes upstairs. I'll let a student unpack them later and make sure everything is accounted for. I also chatted with some folks from Technical Services while I was downstairs. Special Collections can be pretty quiet, so it's nice to visit other departments when I can.
Weather check: 64F and rainy. I need to go out for an allergy shot, but I'm also going out at lunchtime and again to the chiropractor this afternoon. I think I'll wait and get the shot after I go to the chiro. Just spent some time reading other people's "day in the life" postings. Librarians and archivists do a lot of neat things! And I'm always relieved to see that other folks procrastinate (like I do) and struggle to find projects for their student assistants (like I do). It's nice to know you aren't alone in this business.
Our dean mentioned an Educause e-book in our library management group meeting the other day. I thought the title sounded familiar, so I looked it up. Yes, I recalled correctly - my former office-mate and I cited it in our article for the 2006 issue of Provenance, the journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists. Maybe I'll check out the print version instead of trying to skim the online copy again. I haven't read it in several years.
Ok. I have an hour until lunch. I think I'll work on a paper I have to write and present this spring. I'll go ahead and post this much now; hopefully I can add more this afternoon. Enjoy your day!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday in the Archives
Week in the Life, day 2
Here are today's antics. Enjoy! (And pardon my tense-switching.)
6:25am - Alarm goes off. Ignore until 6:45, then get up. Dress for work and pack clothes for workout, eat some oatmeal, and head out the door about 7:20. It's very foggy today.
8:00-8:30 - Arrive at work. Find parking spot. Put lunch (egg salad sandwiches-to-be) in fridge. Haul self and stuff to third floor. Open department and boot computer (this happens in stages). Turn on space heater. Check voice mail - one message from yesterday afternoon that I missed. Good - I can delete that one. Check email - about 15 new messages, but that includes ads and spam notifications. Respond to one message; print out newsletter draft for assistant to check. Scroll through Chronicle of Higher Ed email; nothing I want to click through today. Quick romp through Twitter and FriendFeed.
8:30-9:00 - Make lunch plans for tomorrow. IM friend. Email former student who created newsletter draft to thank him. Proofread document for colleague. Delete canceled meeting from online calendars. Boot up iTunes. Chat with building steward about recycling program in library.
9:00-9:30 - Let researcher and student assistant from other department in. Show student where books go that she is delivering. Continue proofreading. Take document downstairs.
9:30-10:30 - Chat with reference staff about various topics. Pop ibuprofen for sinus headache. IM another friend. Look up address to send a book order. Pack box of books.
10:30-11:00 - Check email. Forward scholarship info to my student assistants in case they have an interest. Take box of books to mailroom; pick up mail. Only one envelope at present - travel forms my dean has approved. Yay! Back to Special Collections - researcher has a question. Look up book for her; no luck. Phone call - does library have a laptop that can be used in a presentation for the Faculty-Staff Christian Fellowship today? I have no idea; please call our administrative assistant.
11:00-11:30 - Show man from facilities where our recycling bins are. Find other resources for researcher, who squeals with glee. Chat with her about her dissertation topic and all the good stuff she's finding here. Chug away on my first liter of water for the day. Print weekly meeting minutes for filing. Photocopy check for book sale. Realize it's time for a deposit. Prepare deposit slip and envelope for admin. asst. Finish that first bottle of water at last!
11:30-12:00 - Took deposit to admin. asst. Chatted with her for a few minutes. Checked catalog for a book I've never read but need to (To Kill a Mockingbird, never read it or seen the movie). Our copy is out. Checked shelves anyway for something I thought might be another copy, but it was just a study guide. Back to Special Collections. Watch a video recommended by a friend before heading downstairs for lunch.
12:00-1:00 - Lunch and weekly meeting of Faculty-Staff Christian Fellowship. Terrific presentation today by one of our professors on his trip to Senegal last summer with a group of students.
1:00-2:00 - Back to Special Collections. Greet student assistants and find projects for them. Chat with assistant. Receive box in the mail - hooray! It's the roller-brush for my vacuum cleaner at home! Find agenda for Thursday's Homecoming Committee meeting and put it in my calendar. Look over Cooperative Baptist Fellowship newsletter from mail. Check email. Find a project (and boxes) for third student assistant. Find project for 84-year-old. Finish reading CBF newsletter and put it on giveaway table. Proofread Georgia Baptist Historical Society newsletter that will be mailed soon. Respond to offsite patron who wants images from yearbooks (photocopies or scans?).
2:00-2:30 - Talk to student assistant about filing; mark some documents for her to put away. Receive final changes for GBHS newsletter; make changes in Publisher. Email former student who worked on this issue; sent him corrected file. Email assistants my upcoming travel dates. Help student who comes in to Special Collections but doesn't really need us; she needs to know how to find books using LC call numbers. Give her a quick lesson in the stacks; find two books with her. Email her a "cheat sheet" for finding things in LC.
2:30-3:00 - (Could today be any more exciting? I can't believe you're still reading!) Finally open yesterday's mail. Turn iTunes back on; it's been off since I went to lunch. Erg - want to shake off-site researcher who wants waaaaaay too much stuff from us. Refreshing Twitter/FriendFeed and catching up.
3:00-4:00 - File some paperwork that has been on my desk. Clean up pile of stuff to left of computer monitor. Make notes based on notes I want to recycle. Look up Robert Oppenheimer's death date. Create new to-do list. Answer reference question. Recycle pieces of paper I no longer need. Check bank balance in moment of terror (after finding dues renewal notice). Handle phone call about our hours for the rest of the week.
4:00-4:30 - Help student assistant look for double-sided tape (find some in closet). Continue cleaning up pile on desk. Find Access report I have no memory of printing last September. Keep it? Toss it? Hmmm. (Put it with the items it was related to in compact shelving.) Oh, good - mystery items. Did I answer these? Should I answer these? (Oh, dear. The autosave feature in Blogger isn't happy. I have 30 minutes to go here, but I'm going to try to post before I lose this.)
Here are today's antics. Enjoy! (And pardon my tense-switching.)
6:25am - Alarm goes off. Ignore until 6:45, then get up. Dress for work and pack clothes for workout, eat some oatmeal, and head out the door about 7:20. It's very foggy today.
8:00-8:30 - Arrive at work. Find parking spot. Put lunch (egg salad sandwiches-to-be) in fridge. Haul self and stuff to third floor. Open department and boot computer (this happens in stages). Turn on space heater. Check voice mail - one message from yesterday afternoon that I missed. Good - I can delete that one. Check email - about 15 new messages, but that includes ads and spam notifications. Respond to one message; print out newsletter draft for assistant to check. Scroll through Chronicle of Higher Ed email; nothing I want to click through today. Quick romp through Twitter and FriendFeed.
8:30-9:00 - Make lunch plans for tomorrow. IM friend. Email former student who created newsletter draft to thank him. Proofread document for colleague. Delete canceled meeting from online calendars. Boot up iTunes. Chat with building steward about recycling program in library.
9:00-9:30 - Let researcher and student assistant from other department in. Show student where books go that she is delivering. Continue proofreading. Take document downstairs.
9:30-10:30 - Chat with reference staff about various topics. Pop ibuprofen for sinus headache. IM another friend. Look up address to send a book order. Pack box of books.
10:30-11:00 - Check email. Forward scholarship info to my student assistants in case they have an interest. Take box of books to mailroom; pick up mail. Only one envelope at present - travel forms my dean has approved. Yay! Back to Special Collections - researcher has a question. Look up book for her; no luck. Phone call - does library have a laptop that can be used in a presentation for the Faculty-Staff Christian Fellowship today? I have no idea; please call our administrative assistant.
11:00-11:30 - Show man from facilities where our recycling bins are. Find other resources for researcher, who squeals with glee. Chat with her about her dissertation topic and all the good stuff she's finding here. Chug away on my first liter of water for the day. Print weekly meeting minutes for filing. Photocopy check for book sale. Realize it's time for a deposit. Prepare deposit slip and envelope for admin. asst. Finish that first bottle of water at last!
11:30-12:00 - Took deposit to admin. asst. Chatted with her for a few minutes. Checked catalog for a book I've never read but need to (To Kill a Mockingbird, never read it or seen the movie). Our copy is out. Checked shelves anyway for something I thought might be another copy, but it was just a study guide. Back to Special Collections. Watch a video recommended by a friend before heading downstairs for lunch.
12:00-1:00 - Lunch and weekly meeting of Faculty-Staff Christian Fellowship. Terrific presentation today by one of our professors on his trip to Senegal last summer with a group of students.
1:00-2:00 - Back to Special Collections. Greet student assistants and find projects for them. Chat with assistant. Receive box in the mail - hooray! It's the roller-brush for my vacuum cleaner at home! Find agenda for Thursday's Homecoming Committee meeting and put it in my calendar. Look over Cooperative Baptist Fellowship newsletter from mail. Check email. Find a project (and boxes) for third student assistant. Find project for 84-year-old. Finish reading CBF newsletter and put it on giveaway table. Proofread Georgia Baptist Historical Society newsletter that will be mailed soon. Respond to offsite patron who wants images from yearbooks (photocopies or scans?).
2:00-2:30 - Talk to student assistant about filing; mark some documents for her to put away. Receive final changes for GBHS newsletter; make changes in Publisher. Email former student who worked on this issue; sent him corrected file. Email assistants my upcoming travel dates. Help student who comes in to Special Collections but doesn't really need us; she needs to know how to find books using LC call numbers. Give her a quick lesson in the stacks; find two books with her. Email her a "cheat sheet" for finding things in LC.
2:30-3:00 - (Could today be any more exciting? I can't believe you're still reading!) Finally open yesterday's mail. Turn iTunes back on; it's been off since I went to lunch. Erg - want to shake off-site researcher who wants waaaaaay too much stuff from us. Refreshing Twitter/FriendFeed and catching up.
3:00-4:00 - File some paperwork that has been on my desk. Clean up pile of stuff to left of computer monitor. Make notes based on notes I want to recycle. Look up Robert Oppenheimer's death date. Create new to-do list. Answer reference question. Recycle pieces of paper I no longer need. Check bank balance in moment of terror (after finding dues renewal notice). Handle phone call about our hours for the rest of the week.
4:00-4:30 - Help student assistant look for double-sided tape (find some in closet). Continue cleaning up pile on desk. Find Access report I have no memory of printing last September. Keep it? Toss it? Hmmm. (Put it with the items it was related to in compact shelving.) Oh, good - mystery items. Did I answer these? Should I answer these? (Oh, dear. The autosave feature in Blogger isn't happy. I have 30 minutes to go here, but I'm going to try to post before I lose this.)
Friday, January 23, 2009
Monday, Monday: A Day in the Life
"Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head..."
Well, sort of. Woke up about 6:30am. Dressed, breakfasted, and left house about 7:40. Started the day with a visit to the chiropractor, and got to the office about 9:00. Turned in Watchmen at circulation desk.
As I do on most workdays, I booted up my computer and checked work email and Gmail. Only 46 new emails on the work account today; not bad for a weekend. Deleted a number of those that were Facebook announcements. Also checked the answering machine - no messages were left over the weekend. Scrolled through Twitter and FriendFeed feeds quickly to see if there were any I wanted to respond to. Selected starting track for iTunes; I need music!
Doctoral student researcher arrived this morning. Because she was in last week, we already had her materials pulled and ready to go.
Worked on reference question from a phone call I received after 5pm last Friday - when was our softball field given its current name? Oddly enough, we did not have a university subject file on the softball field or a biographical file on its namesake. Spent some time looking through campus newspapers and advancement office publications. Talked to athletics director to see what he knew. Returned call to patron from sports information office who was seeking info; gave him our best guesses.
Faculty member stopped by to chat; we talked about university matters and his daughter, one of my former student assistants.
Talked to dean about a letter I needed to send out and upcoming travel arrangements.
Noon: lunch break! (Saw former student assistant on way to lunch; she's interested in coming back.)
After lunch: responded to a reference question about interlibrary loan of microfilm reels. Sent letter to group that wants their collection back (no dice, according to our university attorney). Made copies for attorney and dean.
Former student assistant stopped by to see if I would be a reference; he's applying for an internship. (Of course I will.) Talked to him about his senior history paper due this fall. Suggested a collection he might find interesting.
Contacted our building steward about problems with our remote-controlled door lock. We either need new batteries for the remotes, or something is wrong with the lock. She has informed the appropriate person in facilities maintenance.
Moved boxes of personal papers for my 84-year-old part-time assistant. He has organized the material and prepared inventories, but I needed to do the shelving. No problem.
Emailed HR office about whether I need to do an annual evaluation for my new part-time person who just started work in November (no).
Attended weekly library management group meeting. No weekly Tuesday meeting this week, so that's good news.
Found folders for a processing project our technical services staff is helping with. Talked to returning student assistant about her schedule for the semester.
(Two other students came in to work today. They filed everything from the biographical and university "to be filed" boxes and then worked on boxes of papers from the administration building attic.)
And now it's 4:48. I think I've covered all the highlights (and most of the lowlights) from today's work experience. In a few minutes I will attend a fitness class at our gym and then head home. See you tomorrow!
Laura
Well, sort of. Woke up about 6:30am. Dressed, breakfasted, and left house about 7:40. Started the day with a visit to the chiropractor, and got to the office about 9:00. Turned in Watchmen at circulation desk.
As I do on most workdays, I booted up my computer and checked work email and Gmail. Only 46 new emails on the work account today; not bad for a weekend. Deleted a number of those that were Facebook announcements. Also checked the answering machine - no messages were left over the weekend. Scrolled through Twitter and FriendFeed feeds quickly to see if there were any I wanted to respond to. Selected starting track for iTunes; I need music!
Doctoral student researcher arrived this morning. Because she was in last week, we already had her materials pulled and ready to go.
Worked on reference question from a phone call I received after 5pm last Friday - when was our softball field given its current name? Oddly enough, we did not have a university subject file on the softball field or a biographical file on its namesake. Spent some time looking through campus newspapers and advancement office publications. Talked to athletics director to see what he knew. Returned call to patron from sports information office who was seeking info; gave him our best guesses.
Faculty member stopped by to chat; we talked about university matters and his daughter, one of my former student assistants.
Talked to dean about a letter I needed to send out and upcoming travel arrangements.
Noon: lunch break! (Saw former student assistant on way to lunch; she's interested in coming back.)
After lunch: responded to a reference question about interlibrary loan of microfilm reels. Sent letter to group that wants their collection back (no dice, according to our university attorney). Made copies for attorney and dean.
Former student assistant stopped by to see if I would be a reference; he's applying for an internship. (Of course I will.) Talked to him about his senior history paper due this fall. Suggested a collection he might find interesting.
Contacted our building steward about problems with our remote-controlled door lock. We either need new batteries for the remotes, or something is wrong with the lock. She has informed the appropriate person in facilities maintenance.
Moved boxes of personal papers for my 84-year-old part-time assistant. He has organized the material and prepared inventories, but I needed to do the shelving. No problem.
Emailed HR office about whether I need to do an annual evaluation for my new part-time person who just started work in November (no).
Attended weekly library management group meeting. No weekly Tuesday meeting this week, so that's good news.
Found folders for a processing project our technical services staff is helping with. Talked to returning student assistant about her schedule for the semester.
(Two other students came in to work today. They filed everything from the biographical and university "to be filed" boxes and then worked on boxes of papers from the administration building attic.)
And now it's 4:48. I think I've covered all the highlights (and most of the lowlights) from today's work experience. In a few minutes I will attend a fitness class at our gym and then head home. See you tomorrow!
Laura
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Another "Library Day in the Life" emphasis coming soon!
Bobbi at Librarian by Day reminds us that it has been six months since the first round of our "Day in the Life" postings. Do it again! And if you missed it last time, there's no time like the present!
Just post what you do in a "typical" (ha, ha) day in your library or archives. If you're like most of us, you aren't sitting around reading books!
Just post what you do in a "typical" (ha, ha) day in your library or archives. If you're like most of us, you aren't sitting around reading books!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
End of Monday, Beginning of Tuesday
I realized last night that I never finished yesterday's "Day in the Life" postings. Sorry! After lunch, I taste-tested some bonbons a co-worker was making for a shower (yummy) and then found out the 36 boxes coming to us from the law library were on the way! Jennifer and I helped John move the boxes from his car and the loading dock into a vacant office in Special Collections. (The next step is to meet with the dean and the head of technical services and figure out where we go from here.) I also scheduled a meeting at a local private school that wants to start an archives and picked up a few things on my desk.
Tuesday, so far:
I've spent the morning working on reference questions that were backing up in my e-mail. I've also started printing out correspondence from July that will be used to support the August monthly report. I've taken some outgoing mail down to our mailroom and put a catalog in the recycling box. There have been phone calls from a man who wants to buy some books (we don't have them on our "for sale" shelves at present, though) and from the provost's office needing the founding date for one of our colleges. Surprisingly, dealing with all of that has taken over two hours!
Tuesday, so far:
I've spent the morning working on reference questions that were backing up in my e-mail. I've also started printing out correspondence from July that will be used to support the August monthly report. I've taken some outgoing mail down to our mailroom and put a catalog in the recycling box. There have been phone calls from a man who wants to buy some books (we don't have them on our "for sale" shelves at present, though) and from the provost's office needing the founding date for one of our colleges. Surprisingly, dealing with all of that has taken over two hours!
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