Yes, I'm a Children's Librarian

Hello!

I haven't highlighted my work escapades in a while, and since it was my turn in the rotation to cover the main library's children's desk this past Sunday, let's talk about it.

Indeed, I worked. On a Sunday. On Valentine's Day. At the library.

I'm willing to bet some of you never suspected librarians work on Sundays. Well, I'm here to tell you some of us do.

At my library, the main branch is opened 1-5 p.m. on Sundays, starting after Labor Day through Memorial Day. (Can I get an AMEN for no summer Sundays?!!) There are 12 of us in the children's department, and we rotate through. Lately the teens have been coming in full force, and since their hangout area is separate from the children's, two of us are manning the desks instead of only one. This is so nice. One more of us to answer questions, keep an eye on things, and to not feel so lonesome during those four hours.

This past Sunday I worked with the teen librarian, Sarah. I love Sarah. Sarah was not feeling well at all. Poor Sarah. Thankfully, she was able to relax a little since there was nobody in her area. There was nobody in my area. Because it was Valentine's Day. Monday was President's Day. There was a snow storm coming. Normally this would have been a very, very long four hours. However, Sarah kept me company, and we chatted about home life, work life, upcoming programs and conferences, and yes, SUMMER READING! It will be here before you know it, y'all. (I am stoked for this year's theme!)

This particular Sunday was dead. Sloooow. I didn't see a single child or parent in my area until after 2 p.m. Maybe two other families the remainder of the day... one asked about a library card, the other helped their kids on the early literacy computers for about half an hour.

This allowed me plenty of time to get ahead on some upcoming programs. I peeled crayons. I peeled more crayons. Next Tuesday I'm having a Crayon Love Bake program for school-aged kiddos. We take old peeled crayons, break them up, place them in silicone molds, and bake them in the oven, re-purposing them into new crayons. I have snowmen and heart molds for this one. I did this program four years ago around Christmas and I had a bunch of boys. Who would have thought? It takes between 20-30 minutes for the crayons to melt, depending on their thickness, and the boys were bored out of their mind while they waited. And they got into trouble. This time I have a few library scavenger hunts planned and a snack to keep the kids entertained.

Other things I did on Sunday ---> read through a few new books, searched Amazon for some yoga tools/equipment for future programs, perused Pinterest for craft ideas, jotted down summer reading program ideas, and peeled more crayons.

This was a complete turn around from the last Sunday I worked back in January. There were so many kids and families and questions, I didn't get any actual work done. I had a bunch of kids asking for biographies because there was an assignment due that week. Someone was always at the computers, all working on homework, except one child playing games. The printer was in constant use. I had quite a few parents in looking for chapter books and popular series for their children. There was screaming, a few arguments over the computer, and one child kept dumping out all the crayons. Puzzles were out, displayed books were either gone or askew, and of course there were hardly any winter or hibernation books left on the shelf for the one teacher who came in looking for them because all of the other teachers had them. It's nice to see people of all ages still wait to the last minute.

On that Sunday I worked with Nicole, and she was just as busy in the teen center. I was hoping to chat with her a bit, but I only saw her once the entire four hours... when she ran over to the children's department to sharpen a handful of pencils. Thank goodness we had two people that day!

Thus, when you work a Sunday downtown, you never know what covering the desk will bring. I always make sure I bring work to do and a sweater.

And caffeine.


With Love and God Bless,
Brindi