30 September 2018

Library to Library

This fall, I began my second year as a school librarian. As I wrote in the previous post, I was excited to begin the year and to continue exploring ways to make the school's library the best it could be. 

What I didn't write was that back in August I got another job at the public library. I originally envisioned the position as just a way to make a little extra money during Summer break. But the Children's Services Director and the Executive Director convinced me that I could put my training to use in the Children's Department and that the position could serve to strengthen connections between school libraries and public library services. That has definitely proven true so far.

I am about to begin my third month with the public library, now working a few evenings and a couple weekends a month. (That was also one of the pieces that convinced me to accept the position--that they would work with me and my school schedule. Not too often is an employer so willing to do such a thing.)

The most challenging aspect so far has been to keep the two libraries separate in my mind, job to job.  I'm still learning my school's collection but now I'm working to familiarize myself with a whole new collection over thrice the size. Knowledge of one can help the other, but mostly they keep blurring together.

But more than that: the circulation system, the procedures, the conventions, even the foundational purpose of service, all remain fundamentally the same even while being completely different. Right away I likened it to SAE versus Metric--basically the same but just enough different as to cause complications.

Nevertheless, I look forward to keep developing as much as I'm able and to continue applying all I'm learning--in both library arenas.


 

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