Cutest Patron of the Day

My cute patron of the day was a little girl who in her tiny private school uniform came up to the reference desk to grab some kleenix. Then she waited close by my seat to ask in the highest possible pitch," Oh, I was just wondering...do librarians love to read books?" Her mother pushed her along saying, "Come on..." and I told her, "Yes, I do love to read books!" She was so little! So cute!

Lost phone

I found a cell phone left at a PC so I took it downstairs. I thought I could look and see if I could call someone from his/her address book. This always makes me nervous because you never know what kinds of personal information I would come across and later regret seeing. I had no idea what age this person was, but I had found a “mom” entry, so I decided to call that number.

Lady: Hello?

Me: Hi. My name is Gina and I am from the *Salem Library. I think your son might have lost his phone here.

Lady: Oh. Well, aren’t you sweet. Thank you.

Me: I thought to call you. Do you know a way to contact him?

Lady: Well, (laughs) I am in Fresno, and where did you say you are at?

Me: Oh, I actually know where that’s at. I am in *Salem City.

Lady: What did you say your name is?

Me: My name is Gina. I’m a librarian here.

Lady: Well, sweetie, thank you. He does mention going over to that library. You know what, I’ll call his friend. Thank you, sweetie. God bless you.

Me: Thank you. Have a good night!

One minute later… A man comes up to the desk asking for his phone.

Man: I think I lost my phone.

Me: I just called your mom.

Man: You did? Thank you. What is your name?

Me: My name is Gina.

Man: Thank you, Gina.

Me: Your mom sounds really nice.

(:

*all names changed for fun

Patron of the Day- teen edition

I meet a lot of different types of teens during our teen programs. One of the teens I recently met this school year is a good artist. She shares with me her sketches whenever I see her, and one time she asked what I thought about a series of characters, and wanted to know which I liked the best. I felt honored that she wanted my opinion since I can’t draw for anything. She drew 10 or so of the same character in different ways. We talked about heroes, villains, storyboards, and she was drawing on the back of scratch paper. I mentioned there’s this one paper that already has the lines drawn in for you that way you don’t have to draw those in.

Yesterday, I saw her at our program and I gave her a couple pieces of storyboard paper leftover from a past teen drawing program, and told her that this was the storyboard paper I was talking about the other time. She thanked me for the paper, then I handed her another folded paper. I also had made her a birthday card since she casually mentioned that it was going to be her bday soon- well, it wasn’t really a birthday card, but I do this thing for my family and friends where I actually photoshop a picture since I can’t draw and am cheap, on folded 8.5x11” paper that I think they might like, and then I’d write my personal message in the inside. It is kinda cheap looking too, but it is my thing that I do for people, and they seem to like it so I just kept doing it for years.

Anyways, I made and handed this teen a folded birthday card with a picture based from one of the characters that I thought she might like. She unfolded the birthday card and she said, “OMG! That is awesome! Look, that’s like that character and it is holding a small cake…hahaha…how did you know?” and before I could respond again, she gave me a hug, and thanked me again. I felt really happy that she was happy with my cheap looking birthday card. She told me that September 12th is her birthday, which is today, so I hope she is having a good time celebrating.

2 years later...

I started writing in my blog again because not only do I like to write and share with others what it is I do for work, but because I was asked by a special someone why I hadn’t blogged in awhile. I actually don’t remember why I stopped, but I do know that a lot has changed in 2 years. I wouldn’t have been able to get through any of the changes in my life without the love and endless support of my husband. I don’t always know how he does it, but he makes me often feel like the luckiest person. Now I found the job of my dreams, I’m a fulltime Teen Librarian, and I believe this is where I want to be.

This is what I have always wanted to do once I started taking my graduate courses, and learning in the field at different library systems. I’m still learning and being trained on things like software systems and applications. Even today I learned another layer of my job position, which also brings more responsibilities and power. Awesome. I got my latest position this past April, which ironically was also the time I planned on getting married. I didn’t plan on this job coming along, but I knew I had to take the teen librarian position when it was presented to me. Best decision ever.  

I’m also much busier than I thought I would be. This also means that I may not write on this blog all the time, but I will when I can. I am thankful all the time for what I have in my life, and what I have accomplished because you won’t believe how long it took me to get in this position. Let’s see what I can accomplish in another 2 years…

Othologies

Patron-of-the-Day:

A polite young boy came up to the desk inquiring,

“Do you have a list of all the othologies?”

He explained to me how he read almost all of them.

“I found Dragonology (he’s read it), Pirateology (read it), Mythology…”

The boy’s eyes got really big with this title.

“Oh! Do you have that one- Mythology?”

I told him to follow me, we went into the stacks where the immortals lived- Zeus, Hades, Prometheus, Aphrodite, etc. As we were approaching the big book, he started saying,

“All of my friends have almost read this book…” (I love how kids get all passionate about things.) “THERE IT IS! THIS IS SUCH A RARE FIND!! THANK YOU!!!”

I was very pleased to have found this treasure for him.

BUGS! Storytime

Tonight’s storytime theme was BUGS…eww. I asked for a very brave volunteer from the audience, whom I was going to cocoon, and then all of a sudden all these kids started raising their hands, so I picked a girl, but then there was already a boy standing right next to me. I told him he could help me toilet paper the girl into a cocoon which he was so excited that he almost started wrapping all the way up her head, and I had to tell him that she needs air to breath, so I had him stop at the chin.

Everybody watched in anticipation. Then I told the girl, “Spread your wings, come out of your cocoon!” and the whole audience went, “Yay!” and clapped. Then we all pretended to play with butterflies as I threw scarves into the audience…

BUGS Storytime set list:

*The Very Hungry Caterpillar (book + flannelboard pieces)

*Cocoon! (toilet paper + child)

*Butterflies (song + scarves)

*”Two Little Blackbirds” (song + puppets)

*”Head, Shoulders, knees and toes” (song)

*”Itsy Bitsy Spider” (song + puppet)

*Polliwog + Caterpillar (movie)

*butterfly stickers!

Casual Gamer Gina Reviews Super Mario Bros. Games!

The weather has been colder, and Casual Gamer Gina has been staying indoors mostly playing video games...

Mario Party 9 Wii Game
I have played Mario Party games ever since they were on the N64, and now for the Wii you get 80 all-new minigames! Play the minigames solo or in a group. Whomever collects the most MiniStars on the board game is the Superstar! I would say the boss battles were more fun when you played with friends.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games 3DS Game
As a fan of both Mario and Sonic, this sports game was a hit. There are a couple of options to play the Olympic games in single, multiplayer, or story mode. In story mode, Dr. Eggman (Sonic game) creates so much London fog that they’ll have to delay the Olympics. You could also play minigames alone or in teams with your favorite characters from the Nintendo and Sega franchise. It’s interesting that the characters talk after winning/losing a game, but they resort to just grunts during cutscenes. The dialogue in the story mode is quite funny. My favorite player to be is Luigi because whenever he wins 1st place, he busts a breakdance move!

Mariokart DS DS Game
 Mariokart is a pretty fun arcade game, and now you can get it handheld with all the same action. I don’t mean to brag, but I am always first place as Princess Peach.

The Art of Video Games Book
 Are video games art? For those who could not make it out to one of the 10 cities featuring The Art of Video Games National exhibition, you can read about the art of games since the 1970’s Atari system, and all the way to the Playstation 3. I’d recommend this book to gamers of all levels, who appreciate the graphics, storytelling, music, and cinematography of video games.

The Wizard DVD
 Starring a very young Fred Savage, this movie tells a story about a boy who is a video game wiz, who gets a high score on everything he plays, and travels with his brother and friend to a LA National Video Game Championship. The Super Mario Brothers 3 game is featured.

Wonderful World of Disney Games!

For this blog, I will be shortly reviewing video games, along with some other titles that may be of interest to those who like these games.

Disney Epic Mickey Wii game

Mickey has gotten into a painting mess, and now has his magic brush to make everything right. The first thing I noticed was how dark this Disney game was. It had a darker mood and was a little bit more challenging than another Disney character filled game- Kingdom Hearts. The controls were a little interesting, especially with the nunchuk to navigate Mickey around. It was difficult for me to control Mickey whenever the camera angles would change, but it was done for artistic value. It was funny how Mickey opens treasure chests like in the Zelda games. The music sounded like a Danny Elfman soundtrack, which I loved! Overall, I’d recommend this game to anyone who would love seeing Mickey Mouse go on a magical action adventure inspired by real Disney cartoons.







 The Nightmare before Christmas DVD

Not only is this a great Halloween movie, but it is also a dark and unusual Christmas movie.











  Best Of Boingo CD

Before Danny Elfman did music soundtracks for Tim Burton movies (like my favorites Edward Scissorhands , Batman Collection , Pee-Wee's Big Adventure) he also was apart of an eccentric 80's group. 










Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ; And, Through the Looking Glass Book

The original and sequel to Alice in Wonderland’s magical story by Lewis Carroll.











 Kingdom Hearts Graphic novel

Those who enjoyed the game can now read about Sora while he explores a new world, meets some new friends, runs into some familiar characters, and joins a quest to help his friends and find the King! Stay tuned for Epic Mickey 2 for all consoles, as well as the 3DS coming soon!

I Love Basketball

Patron of the Day

I love basketball. I love playing it, watching it, and apparently talking about it at work. One boy was asking me if we had any books on basketball.

I asked him, “Do you want to read a story with basketball in it? Or do you want to read about a certain team, or how to play the sport?”

He answered, “Team. Well, do you guys have any books about the Lakers?”

I asked while searching the catalog, “Who’s your favorite player from the Lakers? Wait. Let me guess… Kobe.”

He smiled really big, “Yeah, he’s good.”

I joked, “Man, everybody likes Kobe.”

He asked after a quiet minute, “Who do you like?”

I told him, “I’m a big Lebron fan… Kobe’s aight.”

He chuckled, “Well, I’m sad we’re missing them play in the Olympics right now.”

I agreed, “I know! Let’s hurry and get you these books then.”

As I was walking him to the stacks, he added, “Well, actually I think the best player of all time is Michael Jordan.”

I smiled, “Now THAT’S someone we can both agree on.”

Patron-of-the-Day

I had this cute little boy come up to me, and he was pointing at the book on display and speaking baby talk, gibberish I thought.

I asked him, " Do you want to read that book?"

I started to walk over with the book, and he started slowly walking towards me while he reached out his tiny hand, and took it.

Then he said, "Thank you."

I learned that the boy could talk, just needed something and didn’t know how to ask for it.

I overheard him tell his mom, "That nice lady over there gave me this book!"

His mom said, "She did?"

Then the boy said, "She was nice to give me this book."

And the mom said, "Yes, she was nice."

Kids Say The Best Things

I really enjoy working at the children reference desks. At the children’s desk, I get to help out so many smart kids, and sometimes I’m amazed by how much they remember the little things. Kids are very visual. There was this one young girl with her even younger sister, and they both came up to me after perusing the paperbacks.

The jumpy older sister asked, “Aren’t you the librarian at another library?”

She was right! I do sometimes work at different libraries. I smiled, and really couldn’t remember these two girls.

I told her, “Yes! I also work at the two-story* library.”

Then the girl was thinking hard, “No. I saw you at the big cabin-looking* library. You got me Princess Fairies.”

Wow. That was amazing because she remembered me from a specific library where I haven’t worked at in awhile, and getting her specific books. Princess Fairies are apart of the popular Rainbow Magic series for young girls in 1^st and 2^nd grade and up. She was very observant for someone so young.

Her younger sister confirmed it, “Uh huh. The big library.”

Well, they are both big, but I knew what she meant.

So what I learned about the two girls was how amazing kids can remember, from what you looked like, to what you said to them, and what you did to help them. My first impressions with kids are important because those interactions will stick with them, and so I have to make sure it is always a positive one. Lately, a few patrons have been starting to recognize me at the two-story* building, and while I don’t remember their names all the time, I won’t forget our conversations.

*names changed!

Crying Kids Are My Weakness

I feel so bad for kids who are left alone in the library looking for their parent. The other day there was a little girl crying whom I immediately walked over to. I used my gentlest voice, “Sweetie, I can help you.” I was trying to say it in a way that would allow her to feel comfortable enough so I could help her because she was obviously lost. This worked. Her eyes were so red, and she was so little that I couldn’t believe a parent could just leave her behind. She brought a toddler book that she was hugging over to my desk. We looked over some stickers in a box together as I called her mother’s name over the PA system and waited… And waited. 

Her mother came over to us from the same floor. The mother told me, “I was right over there.” She sounded mad. Hmph… if I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was even upset. I stood up and used my stern voice which I really don’t like to but when duty calls, “Well, your child was over here and was looking for you, so you need to be by your child.” Stone cold librarian face.

Why must parents leave their tiny children alone in the library? I know babysitting was not particularly in the job description, but it does make me concerned how some of these parents treat their kids. Some parents would rather ignore their own kids, drop them off at the library for hours, or have their kids walk to the library until someone picks them up, and I suppose parents think it is up to the librarians to look after the child’s wellbeing. I will not babysit your child! The public library is a very public place which means all types of people come together under one roof. Some parents (and I know this is probably not you reading this) need to take more responsibility for their children. Otherwise, I have no problem reminding those certain neglectful parents know that they are the parent, not me. 

From the time I started work, till 9pm closing, I felt like I had just gained more librarian experience than before. Maybe even some parenting experience as well.

My First Date

My First Date

Whoever said that interviewing for a job is like being on a date is full of (expletive). I have been to so many interviews and I have been on plenty of dates. So, I can assure you that the two are nowhere similar. The article I read was trying to give advice on how to conduct yourself for your interview as if you were on a date and even stated in its title how interviewing is just like dating. This article was showing “how to successfully ace that interview!” It seemed promising. But this article was not helpful, so I would not recommend that piece of advice for my fellow friends. No, my first date was nothing like my interviewing experience.

My first date was akin to a little league baseball game. Lots of throws but a whole lot of misses. Yes, I used to play little league softball. No, the date did not have any game. My first date was a year older than me and while I would like to think of myself as a pretty confident person, I was a little bit nervous on that date night. I don’t remember too much, actually (I would like to forget about him). But I do recall it being easy. I suppose there was more pressure for the guy but I think it had to do with confidence because he must have thought he would at least get a “yes” when he asked me out. There were definitely signs that showed that we were interested in each other- smiling, laughing, body language, etc. He would ask me a question about what I liked to do (and I like to talk when I am comfortable), so I would tell him all the things that I was into. I would get his eye contact…he would be nodding and smiling. There was reassurance that he was actually into what I was saying and this made me feel good.

During a library interview, often there was no indication from the interviewers that you were even close to saying something good enough. I would be answering a paragraph, and I would have to pause and formulate an essay on the spot. It was very nerve-wrecking because there would be more than one person on the panel and most interviewers wouldn’t even crack a smile. I have learned through my library interviewing experiences that this was the trend. Oral interviews were the worst. Interviewers would sit there with barely any eye contact, each firing away their questions, while they were writing as you were answering. And they were grading you based on the information you gave. I am fine with one-on-one interviews, but a whole panel of people makes me incredibly nervous. I don’t even go on dates with more than one person at a time.

For my advice for preparation, I would say to study like you’ve never studied before! Get to know the company and what it stands for. Be optimistic and smile. Just don’t smile too much or you’ll end up looking weird.

eReaders eXpo

I like all kinds of book formats but I prefer physical books. I felt lucky, though, because this past month, I learned about the eReader world.

In January, I had the opportunity to play with some eReaders with people at our library. I had a crash course first on all the types of eReaders our library was compatible with for an eReaders eXpo workshop. My goal was to show people who were not tech-savvy, step-by-step, how to get the OverDrive software directly from their mobile device and download an ebook on their own. We had 61 patrons who attended the workshop with only 4 of us librarians at 4 tables. My table was the “petting zoo” (kind of like how the Mac store has all those devices out and ready to be played with). I felt like I was in sales again, informing my first client who was considering purchasing an eReader. He had many questions and I only had a few days to study about the Kindle Fire, iPad, Nook, and Sony Reader. I was mainly informing this client about the pros of owning each of these devices. The biggest selling points were that you could enlarge the print on an ebook and internally illuminate the screen for those who were bedtime readers.

We had different kinds of clients that day. From seniors who loved their eReader more than their significant lover, to the not-so-tech-savvy client wishing they had asked for an eReader for Xmas. I have to admit that my favorite device was the iPad. I am a Mac user, so this was self-intuitive to use. It reminded me of a lightweight iMac in which you could download ebooks in two different formats (unlike the Kindle). I realized how fast librarians needed to become familiar with the newest technology to show that public libraries are relevant for their lifestyles. My first client was at the eReaders eXpo because he was interested in an eReader for himself since he travels a lot on business. He liked the idea of having lots of books in his cloud. This specifically can impact public libraries because patrons who want instant access to a book on their mobile device can now download ebooks from anywhere as an ePUB, PDF, or mp3 file in a few minutes for free. There are still apps being developed as I write and I think that this will lead to even more eReader customers in the future.

  

I learned a lot at this eReader eXpo, even though I am a faithful “physical format” kind of girl. Until they develop an eReader with the same smell, feel and comfort as a physical book, I will continue to finger through the pages of the books on my shelf.

Slasher Movies

I have to provide information quickly and accurately to patrons, but at times this can be challenging at the reference desk, especially when patrons ask me about subjects/topics I don’t know much about.

I had one male patron, who wanted to discover the world around him through movies that scared the shit out of him come to my desk. “Do you know of any really good scary movies? Something that’ll scare me so bad. I want nightmares.” Through my signature big smile, I asked him which horror movie has been his favorite. Now, I hate horror movies because of this exact reason- I can’t sleep after watching a good one. Of the horrors I do watch, I’d say I am a classical horror film type of girl- Psycho, Mike Myers films, A Nightmare on Elm Street, maybe because of Johnny Depp, but that’s not the point, the point is that I generally do not willingly pick a horror to watch by myself!

I concluded by his fav. movie that he liked what we catalog in our system as “slasher” horror. I have seen some gruesome stuff, so I first thought of what I already knew, starting with Wes Craven’s 1972 first film “The Last House on the Left.” This movie is just wrong. They torture the hell out of these girls, which is so not my thing, but I did watch it. This also is not technically a slasher type film, so I only mentioned this one to him last, along with a precaution.

I searched solely for slasher films, and I already knew from other times the patron would share with me his music, video, and book selections that he liked world music, foreign films, and books in Spanish. I knew I HAD to recommend Spanish and Japanese titles like “Ju on” and a few others, which he admitted he had never heard before. He looked intrigued with the list, and thanked me over and over again, and I felt like I was on the right track, and I knew watching, reading, or listening to obscure things would come in handy at some time.

Librarian by Day

What is a librarian’s day really like? 

If you have ever wondered what a typical day is like for a librarian, then I will try to paint that awesome picture. I will start from my first day’s experience as an extra help librarian. I think by starting from the beginning of my librarian career will help show new librarians how I adapted to using my practical experience from the theories you learn in library school. “Library school” is a term I use whenever I’m trying to explain to someone else not in a School of Library and Information Science program. I think it is easier to roll off the tongue, and it is straight to the point, even though the number one question I get from my family and friends immediately follows with a “You have to go to school to become a librarian?” If you want to become prepared in this profession, I would strongly advise those prospective students to not only enroll in the program, but also start working in a library or volunteer at anything library related! The transition was easier for me this way also. I started out as a volunteer then worked my way up!

So, once I graduated from the library school program, I became an extra help librarian fairly quickly. This was an exciting time for me (:  I was being trained at a very busy library, much bigger than my home library, and I was extremely nervous and anxious because I wanted to do well. I remember I was working an afternoon shift right when all the kids were just getting out of school.

Here’s a sampling of all the different types of questions I received on that glorious first day:

-Do you have any books on Pearl Harbor?

-Why isn’t my library card working on the computer?

-I’m doing a book report on owls.

-Do you have any Harry Potter books?

-Do you have How to Speak Dragonese?

During my short shift that day, I learned how to keep asking the right type of questions in order to find out what they really needed. In school, the reference interview is probably the most important thing in getting the patron what they really want. So, this is a skill that you have to practice. Not only did I have to locate the items on the catalog system, I had to learn sometimes along with them because that was my first time at that particular library. The only way I could do this quickly was to go into the stacks, once I knew the call number, and write down all these notes for myself like: J paperbacks are near the computer station, autobiographies are interfiled with non-fiction, romance novels are interfiled with fiction, etc.  I already knew how to do some things, like how to transfer a call, or what the library’s policy was from my clerking experience. Even though at times the amount of people asking questions seemed to come in waves, I still was satisfied knowing that I helped out so many different types of people, and I couldn’t wait to do it again.