November 28 -3

I only actually came in for one day this week since it was the week of Thanksgiving but, I did want to note that there is a rush to get into the library before this holiday. The library was very busy, I guess people need their books to give thanks!

Week???

Sorry Dr. Welsh, this blog has been a long time coming. I was sick for a while and I decided not to go in for my practicum. As a result I did not really have anything to post for reflection in this blog.This post is going to be for the last two weeks because it has taken me a while to catch back up with everything.
 During the week of November 7 my practicum advisor taught me how to repair books. I have been coming in on Saturdays sometimes to do book repairs. I now know about ,and really appreciate, sewn in spines. Books that are glued into their spines fall apart so easily, after you crack the spine it's all over! Publishers are more likely to use book glue because it is cheaper but it is a serious injustice. Here are some photos of glued in books:

These past two weeks I have been trying to get back into the swing of things. The new software for the computers crashed. Now we have gone back to checking out computers and printing the old way.(of course I forgot) I personally think the old way is not as efficient because whenever someone prints there is no buffer between patrons and the printer. As a result, whenever someone prints something and then decides not to get it, the library waste ink and paper because it will automatically print anyway.
I have come in for two Saturdays and I have met some of the other staff members. Saturdays are very interesting. People come in waves but ten minutes later it can be completely dead, until the next rush. On this Friday and Saturday two different authors came in to promote their books and I got to eat the leftover goodies and listen to their discussions. I had never been to any thing like this before but I really enjoyed myself. Seeing and listening to an author in person is WAY better than looking up their online interviews.
I have not been back to story time yet but the week of November 7 we made turkey puppets out of brown paper bags. Unfortunately, I learned that I will not be here for the gingerbread house making contest. Well, that is all I have for now; sorry it has taken me so long to update.

Randomness: A staff member made some delicious pecan pie for her book club, I devoured it!

Week 10

Sorry, this post is very late. I had a great time this week at Oak Grove. I have been missing other events that the library holds because of time constraints. However, this week I worked during the Mystery Dinner Theatre the library held this Saturday. The event started at 6PM and I had such a good time. The library staff and I served a salad, entrée, and a desert to patrons and around 32 people came. My practicum advisor said it was one of the first events where everyone that signed up came. At the end of the night, I even got some homemade cheesecake! (It was delicious). I also guessed who the murderer was. (It was just a guess I really did not know) The Oak Grove Public Library often holds events such as book clubs and author visits. Last week they showed the Maltese Falcon movie in honor of the Big Read. I hope that I will be able to go to more events before my practicum time is up.

Randomness:CHEESECAKE!

Week 8

This week I was not at Oak Grove Public Library because of Fall Break. So, instead of blogging I have posted two pictures from previous weeks at Oak Grove.

This is me, I decorated a pumpkin. Isn't is beautiful?

This is a spider craft that was made after story time.

Week 7

This week at Oak Grove...

 On the Tuesday, I got back from the weekend everything was set up for The Big Read. We have several copies of The Maltese Falcon. The librarians have been promoting it every time I turn around. The Big Read is something that comes to Hattiesburg every October that was put into action by The National Endowment of the Arts to promote classical reading in America. From what I gathered, the book is an old-fashioned detective mystery.

On Thursday, I felt a bit off. I was late because I could not find my car keys and it affected my whole day. I was also still getting over a bad virus or something (I really do not know what it was) that had me in bed the weekend before. I knew what I was doing but it felt like it was my first day. I read a book for the kids that come for story time and the kids made

This Friday we did pumpkin decorations with small pumpkins, which was fun. A few of the kids I am already familiar with from story time were there.  

Randomness: Here are a few pictures of me from a few weeks ago when I was freaking out because we had a LOT of books to shelve. This is a picture of me, taken by the children’s librarian that expresses that.

Week 6

This week at Oak Grove, on Friday, I learned how to look for ILL’s. Oak Grove uses a system with the Mississippi Library Commission that looks up the books from the entire state. If the books are not on this system we get it from OCLC. I was allowed to look up books to loan for the library. The rest of the week was more business as usual. I am really starting to get into the swing of things at Oak Grove. I feel like I am beginning to fit in with their system. Oak Grove is a smaller library but I really hope that I can work at a library like it when I get out of school. I really like the environment at Oak Grove.

Randomness: On Wednesday, I went to lunch with all the other librarians, it was one of the librarians birthday. We also decorated for Halloween; I am beginning to think that one of the ‘hidden’ jobs of the librarian is interior decorator.

Week 5

This week at Oak Grove Library, I was allowed to work in collection development. Oak Grove receives many donated books so this week I spent some time looking up donated books in the catalog. My on site practicum advisor said that he usually decides to ether offer the books to other libraries in the system or put them in the Friends of the Library ongoing used book sale. In my post-it note reports, I put whether or not the book was in the catalog and some other details, I tried to be give all the information I thought would be important.

Also this week, on Thursday, there were a lot more kids at story time.(which I am NOT used to) I read books about leaves changing color which was a little odd since it was still so hot last week and the leaves have not changed yet. But, it was okay because I had fun and the kids seemed to be enjoying themselves. Afterwards the children made leaf people with silk leaves and glue.

On Friday, Oak Grove library is close for ‘maintenance’. Because they do not have regularly scheduled clean up, the staff at Oak Grove clean up every last Friday of the month. I helped out by dusting all the shelves.

Randomness: Next week my practicum advisor said that I could work with ILL’s, not sure what is in store yet.