...I wish. They must be desperate for librarians there; in some libraries you don't even need an MLS to be a librarian. Of course, the downside is that they only pay you $10-$13 an hour, and apparently some small libraries are only open around 20 hours a week. Still, it's Maine! I'm going to apply for one of those jobs just for the heck of it, to see if I have any more luck.For those of you who don't know, I've been enamoured of Maine ever since I was a kid, thanks largely to books like One Morning in Maine, Fudge-a-Mania, and Miss Rumphius (which doesn't say for sure, but I'm pretty sure it takes place in Maine).
I'm at work right now, and I can tell it's going to be a slow day already (it's 11 am, and only a handful of people have come into the library so far). Technically, I'm in charge today, as my supervisor called in sick and I'm the only library assistant in the building. Like I said, it's probably going to be a slow day, and therefore uneventful, but I'm praying that nothing goes wrong. Yesterday around 4 the computers all went down. While not exactly a crisis (I actually enjoy it when that happens, as it makes the day interesting and a lot of patrons leave), I'd rather that not happen while I'm in charge. I just realized I don't know who to call if that happens. And when I realize things like that, I know that I'm just not suited for management. Even in my current status as library assistant, most of the clerks know more about the minute operations of the library than I do. I just learned today that it's okay to collect fines for patrons even if they don't have their cards or IDs (which normally are required to do anything with their accounts). That was news to me! Of course, only working 2-3 days a week doesn't help. A lot happens when I'm gone, and no one ever thinks to tell me. There was another whole mess with my winter schedule this week which I won't go into; basically, there was a lot of confusion as to which branch I would be moving to, due to the fact that no one bothered to tell me what was happening.
Bottom line, management just isn't my thing. I don't like solving problems; I don't like telling people what to do; I don't want to be the one having to calm down patrons or call the police in an emergency. I just want to do my job, help patrons find the information they're looking for, and not worry about anything (or anyone) else.
[Case in point: I just took a call from a lady in meeting services, and she asked about a DVD player in our meeting room that was supposedly stolen. I had no idea what she was talking about, and had to ask her to call back Monday when one of my supervisors was here. I feel really incompetent now.]
One last note on management: rules and procedures shouldn't come to employees through word-of-mouth. We all have e-mail; if someone decides something, or brings up something that not everyone knows about (like the fines example), management should take the time to let EVERYONE know through e-mail. I'm not complaining about current management, I'm just saying that this seems to be the case in both the libraries I've worked at. It's true, in a library there are millions of tiny details and rules, and it would be impossible
HOLY FREAKING COW. I was in the middle of writing this post when something amazingly scary happened. That was more than an hour ago now, but my heart is still racing. This patron came out of the bathroom and suddenly started holding his chest, clutching something in his hand, and screaming (loudly!) in pain. I couldn't think, my brain had shut down, and it wasn't until someone called "Call 911!" that I finally did so. I was stuttering out the library's address and trying to describe what was going on; meanwhile, the man screamed a few more times. I called to him that help was coming while two clerks kneeled beside him to comfort him. They found out that the man had a pacemaker, and that it was giving him shocks. The man seemed cogent and calmer in between screams, but all I could think was "oh my god, oh my god, someone's going to die in the library while I'm in charge." The firetruck and ambulence arrived within a minute, and I stayed on the phone talking to the operator all the while. By the time help arrived the patron had stopped screaming and seemed better, but they took him away on a stretcher nonetheless. As per tradition, the firemen and police left without a word to us, leaving us effectively in the dark. I called a librarian at another branch to make sure I needed to fill out an incident report. I found the form, did so, and sent it to the appropriate people.
THAT, and it's been incredibly busy ever since. So, my first real test as a person in charge. I've been the person in charge at several occasions in the past, but this was the first time a real emergency happened. Except for me freaking out internally, I think I handled it pretty well...not that I did anything but call 911. Still, no one got hurt, and the library didn't collapse afterwards. So pat on the back for me.
Sure, like most of America, I hadn't heard of Sarah Palin before McCain's surprise announcement. Why would we hear anything about a politician with so little experience? But now stories are surfacing everywhere about the "pit-bull" hockey mom, and most of them are so unflattering, it's clear that the old man couldn't have picked a more venomous veep. And as if the moose hunting, aerial wolf gunning, oil drilling, and general anti-environment message weren't bad enough, I read an article tonight that angered me more than all that put together (and believe me, I care deeply for the environment and animal welfare):
Palin asked city whether she'd ban books
I read several more related articles and blogs on the subject, and my outraged tutting grew louder each time. The problem is this: shortly after she became Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Palin asked Wasilla's librarian Mary Emmons whether she [the librarian] would consent to banning books on Palin's command. Of course, like any good librarian, Emmons refused. A few months later, Emmons got a letter stating that Palin was firing her. This may or may not have had anything to do with the banning books comment, but there's a suspicious red flag there.
Now, there are lists popping up all over the Internet of books that Palin supposedly had banned. Apparently the lists are fake, which of course gives another reason for conservatives to defend their new celebrity. But even if Palin didn't ban a single book, the fact that she was even willing to ask such an unconstitutional question proves that she is not only an idiot, but that she was willing to abuse her authority (it wouldn't be the only instance) and bend the rules of the First Amendment to conform a library's collection to her warped ideas of morality. This goes against everything librarians stand for, and I shudder to think what would happen if this woman were given more power. In the future, would her destructive whims become more than a threat? Obviously, her threats have been carried out when it comes to other areas. I fear for our country's intellectual freedom and educational/cultural well-being if such a conservative administration is put into office (again).
I haven't touched this blog in quite awhile. Because it was mainly a graded assignment for my web design class, I've let it go since I graduated in December. But recent thoughts about my career have inspired me to blog again.When last I posted on this blog, I was a library assistant in the greater Denver area. I still am, much to my chagrin. It's been approximately 8 months since I graduate with my MLIS, and I've had barely more than nibbles for a professional librarian job, though I've applied for everything that's come along. Around April I had a phone interview for a school librarian position, and more recently I had a face-to-face interview for a part-time public children's librarian position. I was really hoping for the latter one; the library is very nice and is pretty close to my house, which makes a huge difference compared to the 45 minutes I drive to my current job. But neither interviews yielded a job for me; I've attributed it to lack of library experience on my part. This brings me to the library Catch-22: in order to get a professional job, you must have professional experience. But how can you get that experience without a job?My preference, of course, would be either reference or youth services (mainly YA), but I can't afford to be choosy when applying for jobs. So I've applied for everything from government documents librarian to business librarian, even though I have no experience with either specialty. I'm reminded now of last August, when I was applying for jobs while I finished school so I could move to Colorado. I easily got two interviews in the same week, one for my current job and one for a children's librarian in Castle Rock. Of course, Castle Rock would've been too far a drive every day, and a full-time job would've been a bit stressful on top of school. I ended up canceling that interview anyway because I was offered another job. But how ironic is it that I was able to get a librarian interview without even having graduated? Especially given that, now that I've had my degree for more than half a year, I'm having the worst luck finding a job?When I first started graduate school - no, even before I started, word on the street was that I would have no problem finding a job. Older librarians were retiring and not many people were entering the field. Librarian positions would abound. Well, either it was a lie, or conditions have changed drastically since then. True, there are a lot of jobs opening up...about 3 or more a week according to Library Jobline. But then how come I'm having so much trouble finding a job? My library experience is increasing every day, and with 2 years experience (albeit not professional), that's becoming a flimsy excuse for not hiring me. In my current job I do pretty much everything that the librarians do, at least concerning reference. I'm willing to learn, to take classes, go to workshops, anything to ensure that I do the best at any potential job. But apparently that's just not good enough. So what am I doing wrong?!?One problem is DU. At home in Arkansas, I can see why librarian candidates are scarce. Arkansas has no ALA-accredited library school, which is why I went to Oklahoma to get my degree. But with the University of Denver cranking out graduates from their program, the competition is more fierce. For the meantime, I'll keep working at my current job. Maybe in a few years I'll finally have enough experience to count for something. But there's still the money problem. Only working part-time, I'm often short on money. If I weren't living with my fiance's parents and paying nominal rent I would be destitute. Until I get a full-time job, I'm attempting to get my 3-year substitute teaching licence, which is probably more trouble than it's worth. But if it works out, at least I'll have a little extra income. I used to get annoyed at my church pianist job, but at the moment I certainly wouldn't scoff at an extra $200 a month. A few times since I graduated, out of desperation for money, I've applied for full-time support-staff positions such as L.A. jobs that only require a high school diploma. I never got a definitive answer for why I was turned down, but it's probably because I have too much experience. More irony. My degree is too much for some jobs, but apparently not enough for others. Sometimes this thought makes me cry; right now, though, I just feel incredulous. My fiance currently has a full-time job, which is good for him, but it's only seasonal, so it'll end sometime in October. They may offer him a winter job, which would be great, but if they don't, I'm going to supplicate him to consider moving elsewhere in Colorado. There are a lot of jobs I haven't applied for simply because they're too far away. But I have a feeling it might be easier to find a job in a smaller town, rather than in this huge sprawling urban area.
