Gearing up to get away

The last two weeks have gone by in a blur.  I’ve been trying to get my 15 minute presentation for the PNLA preconference ready.  The session is called “The Young and the Restless: a new breed of library customer” and the presenter/facilitator is Aaron Schmidt.  He’s one of the presenters that got me going on the right track to serving digital natives at a conference long ago.  I’m on a panel within his session.  The panel will make short presentations about what their library has done/is doing that addresses the ICFL Perceptions of Digital Natives on Public Libraries focus group report — and more specifically, what the DNs have to say on the DVD that came out of the study.  Since the name of the session borrows a soap opera title, I went a little further.  My little session is called… Days of Our (library) Lives: the Young and the Restless as our Guiding Light.  Over the top, I know, but hey!  It fits the theme AND the content.

What does all of this have to do with the interns?  This week is the last that I’ll work with most of them.  After PNLA, I’m going on a two week vacation.  I’ll come home in time to go to the appreciation BBQ Laura is hosting for them, and then they will be leaving us to get ready to go back to school.

While I’m gone, they will be executing their group project, which is to unshelve, box, label, store ALL of non-fic.  Then dismantle, move, and rebuild the shelves.  Finally, they’ll measure CAREFULLY (interns, please read this!) and when the rows are perfectly spaced and super straight, they’ll restock the shelves, knock down the boxes, and eat pizza.  I think they might have to eat pizza a few times before the job is done.

Ross will round up the posse and assign duties — and generally oversee the whole project.  And like I said, I’ll be       On.  Vacation.

The Human Side

*Note: I found this post in drafts — see how distracted I was?

I’m late for blogging.  The interns and I are supposed to be blogging at least once per week, and though technically, I did blog last week, that one was late too.  I’ll just keep trying to do my best.  Work is very important to me, but … the sun is shining!

We had a really good week.  The interns are learning how to expedite things at the circ desk.  They’re also learning our procedures for weeding.  And of course, they’re doing all of the other things that keep materials moving through the library’s work space.  At least three interns have chosen their display projects.

To be truthful, I’m not in work mode as I write, and won’t be much of this week.  I’m leaving after CSI night (TSRP) for Boise to see my little girl compete in the Origin Records/Gene Harris talent search with her band, Take 2.  That, after the Jazz in the Canyon weekend, with just one work day sandwiched in between, makes it really hard to get into anything but jazz and this terrific weather.

Week One Down

What a week!  Interns everywhere — you turn around, take a step and knock another one over.  Just kidding.  They do more than double the usual population in our work area, though.  And since my computer near the Flight Deck isn’t working right, I find I’m competing with the interns for any free staff computer.   Well, not really competing.  They have work to do too, so I just find that I’m getting less of my own computer based work done, while much more general library work is getting done.  Small sacrifice, terrific returns.

Ross is terrific to work with.  He’s not a kid at all — he’s intelligent, quick witted, a fast learner, and kind of nice.  Don’t tell him I said that last thing, I’ll deny it.  Mary tells me that she’s so thrilled with the interns that she’s already anticipating missing them after summer is over.  She emailed me a page of things they’ve done to help her this week.  I think the rest of the staff is happy too, though we’ve been crazy busy and haven’t had much of a chance to talk about anything.

ROSS IS A KING AMONG MEN

There.  That’s my intern typing while I’m away from this borrowed staff computer.  See what I mean?  Do you think he’s a little full of himself?