Hello There

How's everybody doing? Keeping on keeping on?

Photo of Abby wearing her book mask and a #TeamKentucky shirt that reads "Healthy But Nervous"

Sorry it's been a minute, but you know how it is right now. Here's what's been up with me.

We've all been working from home at my library since we closed on March 16. I'm so thankful that we have not had furloughs, although working from home has been a much bigger struggle for me than I thought it would. It's definitely very different, even for those of us who are mostly behind the scenes and who have access to most of the things we do at the office.

This past week, we started staffing the library in small teams and taking book returns. We are not open to the public. Tomorrow we start curbside pickup of holds and we have pulled for sure over 800 holds (some of which were from before we closed or right after we had closed). I am now working in my office at the library two or three days a week, wearing a mask and being careful to maintain distance and clean everything after use. I will continue to work from home the other days.

It feels relatively amazing to be able to provide curbside pickup and get at least a small sampling of our collection going back out into people's hands. We have been promoting and booktalking our digital collection throughout, but it in no way truly compensates for our print collection. We are looking at ways to provide computer services soon. Our director has been amazing, coming up with a phased plan that focuses on providing what we can for our community while keeping staff and patrons as safe as possible. We're proceeding deliberately even as some parts of our community throw the doors wide open.

Collection Development's about to get really busy because our vendors will be starting shipments again this week. The past two months have not felt like any kind of a respite, but they really were compared to the cataloging work I've got ahead of me once our books start shipping. On the one hand, I'm anxious about it, but on the other hand it's another kind of relief because it'll give me focus. And then the rest of it - the blog posts and webinars and TLEUs - will just have to wait because getting the books out to people will be the priority. As it should be. And maybe work from home with its ample time to concentrate on cataloging (when I'm not in a Zoom meeting....) will turn into a positive again.

I'm struggling to read right now. I'm struggling to write because so much of my work from home tasks have been writing heavy. We're trying to update our staff blog almost every day. And I've been throwing myself into my side work for NoveList and writing for School Library Journal and the ALSC Blog. My own blog seems to be the place that I'm struggling with the most (if I'm honest, because it does not really pay me).

So things will probably be a little slow around here for awhile. I'm still around. We'll get back into business here with regular posts at some point. Time is weird right now. It's either crawling or flying and there doesn't seem to be an in-between. I would love for everything to go back to normal, but I'm sensible enough to know that it doesn't just happen like that. I'll take my small moments of normal, like being in the office and picking up the phone to quickly resolve a question, where I can. And we'll just keep on keeping on.

How are you?

A Day in the Life of a COVID Work from Home Librarian

The world's a bit wonky right now and I know many (most? all?) of us are out of our normal daily routine. The life of librarians during the COVID-19 Pandemic looks very different right now and there are librarians dealing with all kinds of situations. There are librarians working from home (like I am lucky to be able to do). There are librarians not allowed to work from home, librarians who are reconfiguring jobs now that they can't do the work they normally would do, there are librarians who are on paid leave or unpaid leave or furloughed or laid off. My experience is by no means representative of the librarian population at large, but I thought you might be interested to see what a work from home day looks like for me.

So here we go... tomorrow might look completely different...

6:30am - My husband's alarm clock goes off and we both get up and start getting dressed. I check personal social media and snuggle with my cat Howie for a little bit before getting dressed. Yes, I'm getting dressed, doing my hair, and putting on makeup and earrings every morning. It helps me feel a little more normal at a time when nothing feels normal.

Photo of a librarian taking an early morning walk around the block

7:30am - I walk around the block for a morning "commute" and then eat breakfast. It's been helping me to add some movement in throughout my day, so I try to replicate the approximate times I would be traveling to and from the library with a short walk in the morning, at lunch time, and in the afternoon when my work is done for the day.

8:00am - I get settled in my "office" and start checking emails. In addition to going through my own email, I'm periodically checking our general information email where we've directed patrons to contact us with questions or help getting connected to our digital materials. We have several librarians checking it throughout the day to provide responses as quickly as possible. I also check our library's Facebook page to check for any questions or requests for help that have come through on there.

Photo of my "office" - a corner of my library with an armchair and a reading lamp. It's not the most comfortable for long-term sitting, so I tend to move around my house throughout the day.

8:30am - Only a few emails this morning, so I start working on some blog posts. Our staff blog is one of the few ways we have to communicate with our patrons right now, so we're trying to update it daily-ish. During normal times we update it twice a week and I have a team who are scheduled to post. We've been getting a lot of questions about accessing our digital resources, so I write up a post about getting started with our digital services for easy sharing.

10:45am - I switch over to working on creating some Hoopla collections. We are preparing to run our Summer Reading Program virtually, so one thing I have been thinking of is how to translate our grade-level book lists to digital formats. So far, I've been working with Hoopla and I'll tackle Overdrive in the future, too.

12:15pm - Time for a walk around the block and lunch! I heat up some 5 bean chili and watch an episode of Kim's Convenience while I eat. That's been a nice, happy show for me during this quarantine.

1:15pm - Back the the grind with more emails. I check up on some emails to patrons, answer emails about ALSC committee work and our spring reading program.

Photo of my "coworker", my cat Howie snuggling on my legs as I work

2:30pm - Time to work on some purchasing. I am still ordering materials while we are closed, although we are having our physical shipments held until we get staff back in the building regularly. Of course I am ordering digital materials, as well. My director has just cautioned us to be careful with our spending since tax delays and a high unemployment rate may affect our funding and the timing of getting our cash draws. I've recalculated my weekly spending goals and I'm sorting my "Upcoming" carts by popularity to make sure that I'm prioritizing the more popular books coming out in the next month or so.

4:00pm - Time for a brief ALSC Membership Committee meeting via Zoom.

4:30pm - Our meeting's done, so I check email again and then "clock out" and head to the park for a stress relief walk. I have been walking up a storm to help keep my anxiety at bay and to get some movement in my day since I'm sitting all day now. I'm on the lookout for ducklings at my local park, but haven't spotted any yet. I'm sure there will be some soon!

Photo of a tree with white blossoms against the blue spring sky

5:30pm - Back from the park, I check all of the email inboxes one last time before unplugging for the evening.

5:40pm - I shower from my walk and start cooking dinner (tacos tonight!)

6:30pm - My husband and I eat dinner and watch the news, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy (our normal routine).

8:00pm - I get started on some work for NoveList. I love my side gig writing readalikes as a NoveList contributor

8:00pm - WELL. The plan was to work on some NoveList work after dinner, BUT my amazing husband bought me a Nintendo Switch for our anniversary, so instead we spend the evening playing Animal Crossing. I'll work on NoveList stuff this weekend. ;)

10:00pm - Heading to bed with a book. I'm reading Parachutes by Kelly Yang (her YA debut) and I'm loving it.

10:30pm - I'm exhausted and it's time for lights out. Good night!

Self Care During COVID19

Last week, I posted about some of the things my library is doing to serve our patrons during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week I felt a great deal of panic. Our buildings were shuttered suddenly and we had never approached switching to an all-virtual model before. There was lots of figuring-out-of-things and I felt like it all had to happen yesterday so that our patrons knew that we want to help them and that we're here during this crisis.

I can't live long term at the stress level I put on myself last week, so here are a few things I have already learned in the brief time I've been working from home:

This is a photo of the solitary daffodil that grows in my garden.

Being accessible doesn't mean you personally being accessible 24/7. When our buildings are open as normal, we have regular hours. Some services are available 24/7 (like access to our databases), some services are available only during open hours (like resolving expired library cards). It's okay to continue that when we are serving our patrons virtually. No one is demanding that we answer their question immediately at every hour of the day. Do what is reasonable. Check as often as is reasonable and turn it off for the night at some point.

Take breaks, drink water, get outside. The first few days I was working on so much all at once that I was skipping some activities I need to keep me healthy and happy. Take a breath. It'll all get done. I need to get outside for a bit when the weather allows. It's okay to be a bit flexible with my at-home work schedule so that I can de-stress myself.

Keep in touch with colleagues. It feels like we're each working in a vacuum, I know, but connecting with my colleagues via text, email, or Facebook messenger has helped. I don't feel the need to micromanage, but I do feel the need to know that I'm not alone and to let my colleagues know they're not alone. I need folks to brainstorm with, to bounce ideas off of. And we can still have that even if we're not in the same building. I know this is going to become more and more important as we need to brainstorm additional innovative ways to reach our patrons in the coming weeks.

Work wherever works for you. We don't all have a home office (I don't, really). My husband's working from home, too. He's camped out in the basement, I set myself up in my armchair in my library. Set up a desk if that works for you, but if working on the couch with the TV in the background or in bed with your laptop works for you, do what you need to do.

Keep informed, but turn the news off every now and then. This speaks for itself. I've noticed that Facebook has been flagging some posts that have misinformation, which I think is really great.

FaceTime or video chat with family and friends. I miss my parents and my nieces so much! But it helps to connect with them and see their faces and talk to them every now and then.

Make some time for reading! With so much screen time each day and so much frantic activity, it's been hard to get my brain to focus and let me read some books. I need this! I am trying to take breaks from my phone and read each night.

What are you doing to take care of yourself?

The Honest Truth

So I just got a survey from my alma mater, Indiana University, which is up for re-accreditation next year. And one of the questions was "Why did you choose to attend Indiana University Bloomington for your degree?"

And I gave the honest answer.

Which is this:

My boyfriend lived in Bloomington and I wanted an excuse to move back there. We broke up two months after I moved back, BUT I got a  great education and have yet to break up with libraries. 

So, y'know. We all have different paths and at least the ex was good for something.

A Bookish Wedding is Coming

I'm getting married on Saturday!

And of course we're integrating books into our wedding in a couple of ways.

My fiance designed these awesome Game-of-Thrones-themed bookmarks with sigils for each of us. We sent them out as save-the-dates and every time I use one to mark my page or see a friend using one, it makes me happy! 

I saw the lovely Rita Meade's book-page bouquet from her wedding and I had to have one, too! Krista from Krista Mae Studios did an awesome job with my bouquet and the bridesmaid bouquets...

...she even made us custom comic book boutonnieres and corsages!

And what better place for a bookish couple to honeymoon but The Wizarding World of Harry Potter?!

Fiance has even read/reread all the Harry Potter books in preparation for our vacation. 

All this is to say that I'll be back in a couple of weeks! See you then! 

Is Reading Entertainment?

Laying in bed the other night, I put down my phone and told my fiance "Okay, I better be productive and read a book."

And he said, "That's not productive; that's entertainment."

And I was totally surprised that he thought that.

And then I was surprised that I was surprised.

Because of course reading is entertainment. Millions of readers all around the world read because they enjoy it. It's a hobby. It's FUN. That's what we believe and tell kids and grownups all day, every day at the library, right?

But the truth is that it sometimes feels like work for librarians.

Sometimes it legitimately is work; if you're serving on a committee, for instance, or if you're prepping for booktalks or if you're reviewing for professional journals. It might be fun work, but it's still work.

But what to do when all reading has started to kinda feel like work? What to do when you're surprised that reading is supposed to be fun?

It's not that I'm not picking up books I enjoy. But somewhere along the way, I've been more focused on hitting (and exceeding) my GoodReads goal. I've been obsessed with my ever-towering mountain of to-be-read books. I've been reading because it feels like an accomplishment to finish a book and mark it down. This is especially true if it's a library book because then I can return it back to the library.

Donalyn Miller had a really great post recently about those times when we take a break from reading or from writing. It got me thinking. Maybe I'm still in Committee Mode after serving on the Newbery Committee last year. I don't remember what a normal reading life is supposed to look like. I read a bunch on my recent Readcation, but I also kind of stressed out about it, which was not very conducive to, y'know, vacationing.

And when I think about other ways I like to relax - watching TV, playing games, taking walks and talking with friends - I never feel like I want to do those activities so I can "be productive" and finish something and mark it down. Not the way I do with reading.

So, I'm going to strive for more balance, and that may mean less reading. But I'm going to strive to be more thoughtful about what I'm reading and why.

Because reading should be entertainment. It should be fun, at least some of the time. Otherwise, what are we doing this librarian thing for?

Do YOU ever feel this way? How do you keep reading fun instead of allowing it to just become part of your job?

Yes, One Thing at a Time

Janssen Bradshaw of the lovely blog Everyday Reading wrote this post yesterday about taking one thing at a time and I have been thinking about it ever since. Since I read that post, I have been noticing all of the tasks that get in the way of all the other tasks throughout my day. I am definitely guilty of starting something and noticing something else that needs doing and switching gears way too often.

Right now, I'm moving into a new house and planning a wedding, in addition to, y'know, working full time. As I type this, I have five tabs open on my browser. One is Janssen's post so I could link it, but I also have GoodReads, my email, and Facebook open.

I often feel like I should be available, like I should have my email open constantly and be willing to stop what I'm doing and work on everything all at once. And really, is that the most productive way to tackle projects? Is it the most pleasant?

Because feeling like I'm constantly in the middle of a thousand little things is actually not the most pleasant feeling, now that I stop and think about it.

I can definitely slow down and be more purposeful about my tasks throughout the day. My bullet journal is a great tool in this endeavor because I can always jot down tasks as I think of them and then tackle them later instead of in the middle of whatever I'm currently doing.

Maybe I'll actually finish a blog post instead of having ten drafts in various stages (or mostly in my head, truthfully)...

So, here's to slowing down a bit. And taking it "one thing at a time".

(PS: Nine months in and I am still going strong with the bullet journal! I am now on my second notebook and my awesome fiance and my mom have bought me tons of colorful washi tape! I love it!)

Family Book Club

This year, the ladies of my family are doing something we've been meaning to do for a long time: we've started a book club. The idea came about last year, but of course I couldn't commit to a book club during my Newbery year. Once my Newbery work was done, we decided to get started and it's been a lot of fun!

It's fun to have an excuse to put a social event on the calendar and make sure we get together. We're all book lovers and we're taking turns hosting the book club at our homes, so it's been fun to get together just to talk about books.

We typically read adult books (occasionally a YA book, too), which I love because it gives me motivation to pick up books that are not for work. Yes, even children's librarians deserve some time to read something that's not directly related to work (YES, we do). And since we try to share suggestions for our next book at our meetings, it encourages me to stay on top of what's coming out that I would be interested to read.

Since we're a new book club, we're still kind of feeling out the types of books that we all enjoy, so we've read quite an eclectic selection so far. Here's what we have all read and discussed:

• Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
• The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (of course!)
• The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
• Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
• A White Wind Blew by Markert

And our next read coming up is The Book of Lost Things by John Connelly. 

So far, our biggest "problem" has been that it's hard to decide what to read next. We don't really like the idea of taking turns choosing because we're all wary of choosing a book that no one likes, so we have each been bringing suggestions. But then all the suggestions sound good or no one wants to choose. This last time, we wrote all the suggestions on slips of paper and drew one out of a hat!

Are you in a book club? What have been some of your group's favorite books to discuss? 

How I Use My Bullet Journal

This year, I wanted a better organizational system. We started using a new scheduling program at work and we have a million school visits that we're doing now and I was terrified that something was going to fall through the cracks. I am not unorganized and I have great attention to detail, but I had never really found an organizational system that I had stuck with. I tended to use something for awhile and then eventually stop updating it and flounder until I tried something else. Day planners, Google calendar, etc. all went by the wayside.

So in January, inspired by the awesome Jennie Rothschild of Biblio File, I decided to give bullet journaling a try. I had seen some discussions of it around the interwebs and I figured there wasn't any harm in giving it a shot.

Guys, I love it. And let me tell you why it works for me:

I think of it less as a calendar and more of a clearinghouse for my to-do lists. The beauty of it is that it is super customizable since it's basically just a notebook and you can design the planner aspect of it however you want. Prior to starting my bullet journal, I had scraps of paper with to-do lists flying all over my office. When I lost a note about a parent visit at a school and then had no idea what we had talked about the library doing at said visit, I knew it was time for a change. And so far bullet journaling has been the change that has worked for me.

Before I go farther, here is a short video from the creator of the bullet journal that outlines the basic principles:

 

You can find more information at bulletjournal.com.

I don't do everything like the official bullet journal calls for. Let me show you what mine looks like. I bought a fairly cheap, cute notebook at Barnes & Noble. Some folks like Moleskin, there are also cute notebooks at Target:

I start off each month with a little calendar that I paste in and a to-do list for tasks to be accomplished this month. These are not day-to-day items, but bigger items that I will be assigning myself throughout the month. As a task is completed, I color in the box. Honestly, I don't find myself using the calendar spread very much, so I may take that out at some point. I also number the pages as called for in the official bullet journal, but that's also something that's not really useful to me, so I may stop.

Then, I write in each day. I typically give myself half a page for each day unless I'm off work, in which case it might be a third of a page or less depending on what is going on. 

I use different symbols for different types of tasks. Squares are tasks, circles are library programs, and triangles are meetings or social engagements. I write down my work shift to the right of the date. And I use the bullets to write down any extra info I want to. I don't always use the bullets, but I do sometimes. 

I don't use my bullet journal for super advanced planning. I still use the calendar on my phone when I need to schedule appointments way in advance and we have a huge master calendar at the library where we can schedule our programs and school outreach way out. Each month, after I make the monthly staff schedule, I transfer it into my bullet journal. 

I thought I wouldn't like the extra work of basically rewriting the entire schedule, but what I have found is that it helps me have a sense of what's coming up over the next couple of months. It reiterates to my brain what programs I have and what I'll be working on. I use a paper clip to keep track of where I am in the journal. I can easily open it up to the current week and flip back to the current month to check off larger tasks as they're completed. 

I started lists of Summer Reading Club items in the back and I have devoted pages to listing possible baby storytime books, possible summer readalouds, a wedding guest list, and blog post ideas. The great thing about doing this in a notebook is that the pages can be whatever you want, whatever is helpful to you. (This is where the page numbers and index are supposed to come in handy. We'll see.) All my to-do lists and random notes about things in one place.

And, of course, I bought some stickers and washi tape to give it a little color and make it more fun. :) 

Using the bullet journal has helped me keep track of what I need to do and it's made me more productive. I love the satisfaction of coloring in boxes as tasks are completed. I don't know if it's something I'll keep up forever, but I've been going strong since late December, so there's hope! 

Bullet journaling may not be for everybody, but this is how it's been helpful for me. Again, it's very flexible, so you don't have to do it any one way. Some people keep track of meal planning, household chores, etc. You can find tons and tons of ideas on Pinterest. 

Have you tried bullet journaling? What organizational system has worked for you?

Merry Christmas to Us!

I have some happy news to share.

The Boy and I got engaged last weekend!

Our first wedding-y gift from my sister-in-law!

No date's been set; I keep promising that planning won't start until after Newbery (but short, TIMED Pinterest sessions can make a nice reading break).

And other than that, my life has been reading, reading, reading, reading...

Merry Christmas!

2015 Newbery Committee, Here I Come!

The Newbery Award is administered by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Newbery Medal image copyright ©2013 and used with permission of ALSC/ALA.

Well, the ALA Election results were announced last Friday and I am thrilled to announce that I have been elected to the 2015 Newbery Committee!! I'd like to thank everyone who voted in the election. It is so important for ALA members to make our voices heard within the organization. And congratulations to my fellow Newbery committee members and the elected members of all the other ALSC and YALSA selection committees! 2015, here we come!!

(And if you're wondering what that means for this blog, well, I'm not entirely sure yet. I will certainly refrain from reviewing anything eligible for the award here, but I hope to continue blogging about library programs and services during 2014!)

A little break...

Posting's slowed down a bit here over the past couple of weeks (as you may have noticed... or you may not have noticed...) and it's just because other things have been taking some priority here. I'm the co-chair for the ILF District 6 Conference Planning Committee and we just had our annual conference on the 13th. We've also been in the process of interviewing potential teen librarian candidates at my library (a fun process, but definitely lots of work, too). Summer's coming right up and I've been busy getting our plans finalized and scheduled visits to the schools. 

And I'm also planning to move to a different state at the end of the week. (Don't worry - I'm not changing jobs or anything. I'm just moving across the bridge to Southern Indiana, much closer to work!)

I've been a little neglectful of this blog (to my mind, anyway) since I got back from vacation in February, and now it's time for me to take a little break so I can concentrate on Life Stuff. 

I'll be back in May! In the meantime, here's a portrait of the artist as a young blogger (i.e. me, age 6 or so): 

Reflections on Vacation Reading

Last week, I was here:

While I love traveling to see friends and to do things and even to work, my favorite vacation definitely includes plenty of time to read on the beach. And read I did! I brought seven print books with me and oodles more on my Kindle (thanks, Netgalley!). I know it's overkill, BUT I never want to be stuck somewhere with a book I'm not enjoying, so I need to have some variety. 

The interesting thing? Not once did I pick up my Kindle. 

One reason is that I definitely chose my print books carefully and took only books I was particularly excited to read. Another reason is that a lot of my reading time was spent on the beach or by the pool - not exactly the best environment for electronic devices (although I did notice a LOT of people of all ages with e-readers at the pool!). And yet another reason is that when I have a print book in my hands and I finish it and I close the books and stack them up... I guess it feels like more of an accomplishment. I need to change my mindset, because finishing a book on an e-reader is just as VALID. It just feels different somehow. 

My suitcase certainly would have fit into the overhead bins more comfortably if I'd left the print books at home!

I was not the only one reading this week! I was vacationing with my family and we're a mix of voracious and reluctant readers. My brother and my mom were both devouring The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay this week. My brother doesn't read a lot of fiction, preferring nonfiction unless he's on vacation, but he's read and loved Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan books and the Hunger Games trilogy this year! What else should I recommend to him? 

My dad kept himself occupied with a John Grisham book (which he claims to like because "the lawyers are the bad guys") and my brother's girlfriend K was alternating between a fluffy beach read and The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. She's totally inspired to pick up some Hemingway next and I just might be inspired to pick up The Paris Wife so I can talk to her about it. 

It was lovely to talk books with my family over the week. Even though it's something we're all doing separately, it's also something we can do together.

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll post some reviews of the books I devoured while on vacation, so look for that (blog might be a little slow for awhile until I catch back up). And in the meantime, I'm just going to concentrate on happy things (like the BRIDGE IS OPEN AGAIN*) and dream of the day I can take another week off to read!

* This is a big freakin' deal. I have to cross this bridge to get to work, so for the past 5 months my commute has doubled and I've had to change my schedule so I'm almost never home before 7-7:30. It is seriously a bummer. And now it's oooooover!!!!! Woo hoo! *happy dances*

A Christmas Gift from Me to You

As it is Christmas Eve Eve and also Poetry Friday, my gift to you is an original poem that my mom discovered while sorting through the Stuff as they're starting to move house. It's not dated, but based on the handwriting, I think I was probably 9 or 10 when I wrote the following:

Fish in a Cake
by Abby Johnson (age 9 or 10, probably)

Once my mom made cake out of trout.
I tasted it and spit it out.
It tasted like dirty socks
That had walked over many rocks.
It tasted like a dead seahorse
Or maybe dead trout of course.
I asked her what she put in the cake.
"Oh, a little water from the lake.
The rest is secret you know,"
She said while standing on one toe.
So I will advise you,
If fish is in the cake it'll turn you blue.
Don't ever eat something like that.
Just put it out with the cat.

--

I hope that was as amusing to you as it was to me. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and Happy Poetry Friday to all.

Thanks

Today is Thanksgiving in America, a day when we take a look at our lives and give thanks for the things we have. So, here are a few things I am thankful for:

- I'm thankful for my wonderful family and I'm thankful that I live close to them. After several years of traveling for the holidays, it's so nice not to have to travel to be with them!

- I'm thankful for a wonderful job and wonderful coworkers and employees who make each day a joy. I'm supremely lucky to have found a profession I love, a professional filled with people so passionate about what they do.

- I'm thankful for the support and friendship of the blog community. My life's been so enriched by this blog, I can't even tell you. I wouldn't do it if I didn't love it, so again, I'm thankful to have found a hobby/calling that is rewarding and has lead to some great friendships.

- I'm thankful for my choir. Again, this is something that has enriched my life greatly. I'd forgotten how much I love to make music until some coworkers badgered me into joining this group (so glad they did!).

And there are millions of other things I'm thankful for (like this book and this book and this book and this book and this book). But that's enough blogging: it's time to start cooking!

Love,
Abby

So You Want to Go to Library School?

So, you're thinking about going to library school for children's services.  Or maybe you've decided to go, but you're wondering what you can do to make yourself marketable after you finish.  Speaking as a librarian who had a job lined up before she graduated, I have some advice for you!

But hey, please keep in mind that I'm just one person and this is based on my experience.  I invite other librarians to add to this post in comments!  What advice do you have for people just starting their MLS program?

1.  If you have some flexibility as to what school you can attend, look at their youth-oriented course offerings.  Although any accredited school should have pretty solid basics (reference, collection development, etc.), different schools have different offerings when it comes to youth services.  That said, I attended a school that didn't offer an astounding variety of youth classes and I think I came out okay.  :)

2.  Think about whether you might want to be a school librarian or a public librarian.  If there's any chance you might want to work in schools, I'd recommend going the school media route.  I'm sure some of my school media readers can weigh in on this more, but generally school library positions require that you have done student teaching and have a teaching certificate.  A straight-up MLS program doesn't include that stuff.  So while you can be a public librarian with a school media MLS, you may not be able to work in schools with just your MLS.  This is a great question for your advisor or admissions counselor since I do not have a lot of knowledge about school media programs.

3.  My best advice for making yourself marketable with your MLS degree is doing an internship while you're in school.  Not only does this give you library experience to put on your resume (and it should be in a department or program relevant to what you want to do when you graduate), it helps you make contacts who will be references for you, and it'll give you an idea as to whether you like doing it!  I interned in the children's department of my local public library while I was in school and I'm 100% certain that that's what helped me line up a job.

4.  If you don't have the opportunity to do an internship, volunteer!  If you want to go into youth services, I'd recommend volunteering with children.  Volunteer at your local library, Boys & Girls Club, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, homework help, tutoring, your religious Sunday School or childcare, Headstart...  One thing that library supervisors absolutely look for in applicants for youth services jobs is some kind of experience with youth.  We need to make sure you're comfortable working with kids (and if you don't have experience with kids, you should probably make sure you're comfortable working with them, too!).

5.  The job market's a lot different now than it was when I graduated at the tail end of 2006.  But what I think was most helpful about my job search is that I didn't limit it geographically for my first job.  For my first job, I was willing to go anywhere and then hopefully I could move closer to my hometown once I had some experience under my belt.  I applied for jobs in Arizona, Massachusetts, Virginia, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina and maybe more...  I ended up moving to a suburb of Chicago and then a few years later when a job opened up near my hometown, I was able to move back!

6.  If you're not geographically flexible, I'd advise you to be flexible about the type of job you'll accept.  Maybe your ideal job would be in a children's department but your local library's got a job open in circulation.  A lot of times it's easier to move around within the library once you've got your foot in the door.  And it's always easier to find a job when you HAVE a job.

And that's my advice.  Librarians, please weigh in with your advice in comments.  Potential librarians, let me know what questions you have about library school.  And please feel free to contact me any time at abbylibrarian@gmail.com.

Edited 3/21/12: Links to other advice posts have been moved to my So You Want to Be a Librarian page in order to make them more accessible. If you accessed this page from elsewhere, you might want to check that out!

Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!

One of my Christmas traditions is to go over to my grandma's house on Christmas Eve to open presents (just grandparent presents).  And, of course, my brother and I will watch A Christmas Story on TBS when we get home.  Another of my traditions is to watch A Muppet Christmas Carol with my friends and eat red and green chocolate chip cookies (which we did last week!).




Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, I wish you joy and good times with friends and family and lots of books for the new year.

Love,
Abby the Librarian

Again, not book related

but since it's the holidays...

My choir (the IUS Community Chorus) is singing at a holiday concert tomorrow and it'll be broadcast live on 90.5 WUOL radio!  You can listen over the internet, so if you don't have any other entertainment plans for 3:00 EST tomorrow (Sunday, Dec. 12), please tune in and hear us!  We are singing some really beautiful songs.  The Louisville Youth Choir and the Cardinal Singers will be performing as well!

Fa la la la la!

Thanks

It's Thanksgiving, so I started thinking about all the things for which I am thankful.  Here are a very few of them:

I'm thankful for my family and friends and my wonderful colleagues (present and past!  I have been so lucky in working with nice people).

I am thankful that my library is still open and able to serve our community.  I am thankful they let me work there because I have fun almost every single day and who can say that about their job?

I am thankful for my blog readers because you make it fun to blog, even when it feels like work (which it does, sometimes).

I am thankful for authors working hard to write great books and I am thankful for publishers working hard to publish and promote them and I am thankful for all the other book bloggers who let me know about them and make my collection development that much easier.  And, of course, I am thankful for publicists and marketers and interns who offer to send me free books.  The teens and kids at my library are thankful for that, too, because that's where most of them end up when I am done with them (given away as prizes, etc.).

There are lots of other things I'm thankful for (like purring cats and warm socks and the IUS Community Chorus and mashed potatoes and my car [please don't stop working, car...]).  But that's enough for this post.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I Will Emerge and Lead (I Guess)

Well, it's been announced, so I suppose I can announce it, too.

I've been selected for the ALA's 2011 Class of Emerging Leaders!

What is that?


Emerging Leaders is a program that gives young and/or new librarians a chance for leadership training and networking with the goal of getting them involved in their professional organization.  From ALA's website: "The program enables librarians and library staff from across the country to participate in project planning workgroups; network with peers; gain an inside look into ALA structure; and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers."

What will I be doing?


Well, I'll be attending the Midwinter Conference and meeting 82 of my new best friends.  We'll network, learn about ALA, and then we'll be divided up into groups to work on some sort of project, which will be presented at the ALA Annual meeting in June.

I'm excited to see what it's going to be like.  I'm excited to meet all sorts of library people from all over the country.  And yeah, I'm excited to go to San Diego in January.  :)

I'm also excited because a few weeks ago, I told you that ALA is not your mom.  Being part of Emerging Leaders might just help me put my money where my mouth is.  Maybe it's the first step towards changing the world.  Who knows?

So, what I want to know is who will be at Midwinter?  And can I coerce you into hanging out with me?

And also, any past Emerging Leaders out there?  What did you think of the program?  Got any advice for me?