Library Day in the Life 8 - Part 2

It's day two of #libday8. Here's the plan for today:

-Update Excel handouts for next week's class. I taught it last month, but want to tweak the bit about charts/graphs a bit. (Started 4:20pm)

-Print handouts for a meeting I'm presenting at on Monday. The Library Network Adult Services Committee invited Mary Kelly and I to their regular meeting to talk about weeding technique, weeding schedules, and shelf balancing. My favorite topic! We don't usually provide handouts, but this is a smaller group than we usually present to. (DONE 12:53 PM)

-Finish going through the stack of publisher catalogs. I have two left. I found some good titles to buy this spring! (DONE 10:45 AM)

-See how my co-worker is doing with a collection project I gave her. I weeded all the VHS tapes from the 500s, and I asked her to find some new math & science DVDs to buy. She's a library school student, so hopefully this will be a good project for her! I've set aside some money from my 500s budget for her to actually place the orders, too. (DONE - Received month-end report from her that included this. 12:30 PM)

-Meet with my boss and the Youth Services Coordinator about salaries. This library had a consultant set up the pay rate system ten or so years ago. It's time to see where everyone is currently placed in the scale and whether it is time to have it looked at again for adjustments. She explained the philosophy of the system to us a few weeks ago and gave us the original report from the consultant. I read that report in 2009 when I was new here, but it was good to hear it again and be reminded of how the system works and why it is set up that way. I'm glad to have this meeting today because I have to admit that I have found the system to be...difficult. (DONE 3:00 PM)

-Our Technical Services Librarian is setting up a new order system with one of our vendors, and she was using my February order as a test. It didn't go through right on Friday. I need to get those items ordered, though, so I have to find out where she is in the process of getting it to work. I think she was waiting on a phone call from the vendor, so it could be a while! (UPDATE: She's going to try placing the order again today.)

-Three hours on desk: two at reference and one at youth. Cool. I made today's desk schedule, so I can't really complain! Again, though, my perfect day is spent half on-desk and half off-desk, so I wouldn't have minded a fourth hour. We're really well-staffed on Tuesdays, though, so I couldn't fit myself in anywhere else (and still get all that stuff above accomplished!). I tend to go light on desk hours on Tuesdays and load up on Thursdays. (All three hours DONE 9:00-11:00 and 1:00-2:00)

-Send the draft of the collection management policy I wrote to my boss. Yay for having that project mostly done! The Youth Services and Teen Services Coordinators have already seen it and made their suggestions. After my boss sees it, I'll send it to the librarians for their input. I believe in this document a lot. Public libraries like ours should have collection management documents, not just selection and weeding policies. More on that in an upcoming post. (DONE 10:05 AM)

Things that came up later:

-While I was on desk I got distracted by the PLA program list. Wow, there's some good stuff. I've started a preliminary list of sessions to attend.

-Two new review journals showed up at the reference desk. I should be able to get through at least one of them. (1 down, 1 to go. 1:52pm) - (DONE, 4:17PM)

-My boss likes the collection management policy. She made three suggestions, which are completely do-able and good ideas. I'll make those changes tomorrow, probably.

-After meeting with my boss and the Youth Services Coordinator about salaries, had an impromptu meeting with my boss and the Technical Services Coordinator about the timeline and plans for implementing a new ILS this year.

-Received a contract in the mail for an upcoming speaking engagement for the Library of Michigan. Signed, sealed, mailed back.

-Spoke briefly with co-worker about feasibility of the library goals I drafted yesterday, to be shared with Admin staff at tomorrow's meeting.