LibraryTechtonics

My first day at work was *excellent*. When I first came in, there was a lovely bouquet of flowers on my desk, with a festive and colorful sign that said, “Welcome Andrea”, and I really felt like I finally found the right place to work. I almost didn’t want to come home at the end of my shift. It was such a busy day, and I learned so much about my new place of employ, it’s hard to sort it all out into words.

My fellow coworkers are smart, friendly, and fun, and the general policy of the library is to do anything to help the patron feel satisified. Working the information (reference) desk for a few hours, I learned that the Reading PL way of reference is very comprehensive and friendly, and I like it. For instance, if a patron calls to see if something is on the shelf for pickup, we check to make sure it’s there even if the catalog says it is, and if a patron needs to find something, we come out from behind the desk to help.

Interesting things that Reading PL lends out to its patrons:

• Art: Yes, if you see it on the walls and like it, you can indeed check it out and hang it in your home using your library card. There are bins on the lower level that contain more art for you to choose from.
• Canvas bags: They have a stash of canvas bags that are bar-coded using little retail-like tags, so if you have a ton of borrowed items to take home, you can carry them, then return the bags when you’re done.

Each day of my training, I’m scheduled to spend time with each department to get to know who they are and what they do. Today, I got a comprehensive tour of the local collection room, which is just next to the reference desk, where Dateline filmed a some segments for a Reading cold case story. The collection actually includes historic and recent information, so along with vital records on birth, death, and marriage, there are plans for new construction projects and copies of the most recent and proposed budgets for the town.

It’s a lot to take in, but I’m loving it.

Tags: work