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October 26, 2007

What I believe: The Children's Librarian edition

Since I have a few new staff members, and am hiring one more, lately I've realized that I spend most of my time training people on procedures. I spend very little time telling them about what I think are really important things about being a Children's Librarian in general, and a Children's Librarian in my department in particular. So I thought I'd see if I could come up with a few, and here's the first one:

Walk patrons to wherever it is they need to go in the library.
Don't shove a piece of paper at someone and expect them to decode it and find where they're supposed to go. Don't say things like "Turn right at the doorway and then turn left and go past the desk and up the stairs one flight and turn left and ask at the big desk." If the patron is anything like me when it comes to verbal directions, you lost them back at "turn left".

The reason I give this one such importance is that I hate feeling stupid, and I have a feeling that a lot of adults out there associate feeling stupid with the library. They feel that they should know how to look things up and find them themselves, so if they even have to ask the question, right there they feel a little dumb. Dads in particular, like the annoyed-looking father I helped the other day who said he was having a hard time finding Where the Wild Things Are even though he had the author's name, "Maurice", do not like looking stupid in front of their kids. So walk them where they're going so they don't have to ask someone else.

It also gives you the chance to talk with them as you go--you can use that time to explain a little of how things are organized, or just chat with them so they have a warmer library experience.

So, that's the first thing I believe: Walk the patrons where they need to go.

Posted by susan at 9:44 AM | Comments (0)

October 17, 2007

Want to buy a snowflake?

Robert's Snow Snowflake Auction
I first became aware of the annual snowflake auction the same year that my dear friend's nephew Allen was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma. In a sad coincidence, children's book illustrator Grace Lin's husband Robert was also diagnosed with this cancer, which tends to strike young men, but Grace took action by recruiting her fellow children's illustrators to raise money by creating an amazing series of wooden snowflakes, each painted or decorated in the artist's personal style.

Even during Allen's fight against Ewing's, medical developments were moving along quickly, and Allen's family gained more time with him before he slipped away at age 17; Grace Lin's husband Robert also slipped away this past August. But the snowflake auction to benefit the Dana Farber Cancer Institute continues in 2007 with a stunning array of wooden snowflakes for us to bid upon. You can see all of the snowflakes here.

Ilene Richard, illustrator of The Teacher with the Alligator Purse and others, contributed her 3D snowflake "Maude" to the auction. Her snowflake isn't yet on view on the official site, but here is a sneak preview.

You can also see her ebullient style at her website. Her artwork is lively and fun with its intense colors and comical exaggeration, but Ilene began creating snowflakes in memory of her father, who also died of cancer, so her mission is a serious one. We hope you will take the time to see the snowflakes and come back in November to start bidding! I will post a link to "Maude" as soon as it is available.

To see the entries featuring other illustrators each day, don't forget to check the always entertaining children's literature blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast!

Posted by susan at 6:53 AM | Comments (0)

October 15, 2007

Do we work for love instead of money?

This past week I've been serving on a jury, and its been a fascinating experience. Putting aside all aspects of the case and the court procedures, which are interesting in their own right, this has been a great glimpse into the lives and careers of other people. It's also been an unsettling reality check, as I cannot help but notice that just about all of my fellow 15 jurors works in business, drives a nicer car than I do, has a Blackberry, and has lots of good stories about their travels to South America and other (to me) exotic parts of the world.

As a person who graduated from library school 25 years ago and supervises a department of 10, I currently make just about what the 25-year-old juror who works as a developer makes, as nearly as I can tell. She's planning to make a lot of deals close together so she can go to her boss and show him how much money she's making for him so her salary can go up. My salary, meanwhile, is fixed with a slight incremental increase each year. So is yours, if you're a public librarian. So the question I've been grappling with this past week has been, Why did I make this choice, and Was it a good choice?

I don't know the answer to the second question, but I do know the answer to the first one and that answer still stands: I love being a children's librarian. I find children endlessly interesting and amusing, and I love the books written for them. I love the way they will belt out Johnette Downing's "Up and Down and Around" song while twirling with their scarves, and I love the way a book written 50 years ago still resonates with today's kids. The work is deeply satisfying, and it is making the world a better place. I just don't think I could do a job that didn't make the world a better place. So although I cannot deny coveting my fellow jurors' shiny cars, I don't covet their jobs. I work for love, and a little bit of money.

On another subject, today is the first day of "Blogging for a Cure". If you check in at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast each day, they will point to the current day's featured snowflakes. My day is this Wednesday, so I'll have more then!

Posted by susan at 4:01 PM | Comments (0)