Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

Prairie Dawn and I jokingly have a mantra here at the Library that goes, "Don't make me be a grownup." This line basically means I can be cool and we can have fun, but don't do or say anything that's going to make me have to put on my grownup pants and say or do something grownup-y. I had to put on my grownup pants today with my staff. Ugh. I happened to be at the desk doing something when a patron came up to check-in/check-out materials, so I gladly did it while my staff finished some conversation in the work room. Then the conversation turned to politics. Hey, I get that I live in the conservative part of Ohio, and I'm in the minority being a Democrat here, but no one knows that--you know why? I don't talk politics at work because A. you never know where others lie politically and B. it's not cool to talk politics at work. And they weren't shy about loud-enough-so-the-patron-and-I-could-hear-them-at-the-desk-discussing their dislike of Obama an...

A commencement speech that shares the importance of kindness. The back story . Sorry for the spacing, this wouldn't copy and paste without getting all kinds of wonky! "Down through the ages, a traditional form has evolved for this type of speech, which is: Some old fart, his best years behind him, who, over the course of his life, has made a series of dreadful mistakes (that would be me), gives heartfelt advice to a group of shining, energetic young people, with all of their best years ahead of them (that would be you). And I intend to respect that tradition. Now, one useful thing you can do with an old person, in addition to borrowing money from them, or asking them to do one of their old-time “dances,” so you can watch, while laughing, is ask: “Looking back, what do you regret?” And they’ll tell you. Sometimes, as you know, they’ll tell you even if you haven’t asked. Sometimes, even when you’ve specifically requested they not tell you, they’ll tell you...

I had this a couple weeks back at a favorite restaurant. It was their Omelet Provencal with cheddar, mushrooms, and Canadian bacon. It was UH-mazing! Umm, I'm hungry now...maybe I can sneak out of work and go get one?

This quote speaks so much to my relationship with God and my ever evolving sense of religion. Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate; Happy Sunday to those who don't!

I made a promise to my dear Germans , Yannick and Magdalena, during their visit last summer (their second visit to Ohio!), that I would go and visit them in Germany. I asked the Board and was granted the ability to use my vacation time as one huge chunk at the end of the summer. The Germans and I discussed dates via Facebook. And I BOUGHT MY TICKET!! I will be headed to Germany (and who knows where else!!!) for 2.5 weeks in August and September!  I honestly don’t think I’ve been this excited since I was a teenager gearing up for my first foreign travel. Though I’ve done quite a bit of traveling, this is the first time since I went to Jamaica 11 years ago that I will be traveling alone…and there is something exciting in that, no Now can it be August already?!

We had 3 babies born within the last 6 months in my inner circle of closest friends: my best friend Kim & Joe had my Goddaughter, Mika on my birthday (October); friends Kate & Chris had Ellie in November; brother A3 and sis-in-law, Dayna had my nephew Alex in February. My sweet Savannah Banana celebrated her 2 nd birthday two weekends back, all of us gathering to celebrate her and all of our babies being together for the first time. It was just too sweet. Lots of little smiles from the girls; lots of passing around Alex, our newest addition and his first time meeting the gang; new parents looking up any time a baby cried, to see who it was, since all of them spent the afternoon not holding their own. Mom is coming down today for Easter weekend with me, though we're going to meet A3, Dayna, and these two for breakfast tomorrow.  Life is good. Protective big sister, Savannah with Alex Savannah and Alex, sweet sibling love

This past week our staff closed the library and attended one of the Ohio Library Council’s regional conferences; enjoyed catching up with colleagues and friends within the profession, grabbing freebies from vendor donors, and listening in on sessions given by peers within the profession. It was good that I had received word about the OLC State Conference before attending this regional one because I feel as though I scrutinized the speakers more than I would have, I watched and took note of what I did and didn’t like about their presentations.  Some things I want to keep in mind for my talk at the state conference: DO NOT read your presentation off of your Powerpoint Share examples of things that did/didn’t work for you/other libraries, but don’t focus on that solely Speak clearly, stopping for questions throughout Do not speed talk Stay hydrated Keep eye contact Keep the audience engaged by asking them questions, write your shared Q & A on a wipe-board if possi...

I am a member of one of Ohio Library Council’s division committees, and at one of our last meetings we discussed how best to get our presence/name out into the world of public libraries in Ohio; we talked about what our presence should be at the Ohio Library Council’s state conference in October. I offered to do a Poster Session (information boards that are kept up at a table for passerbys, so that they may obtain information about your group), I also ballsily said that I would consider doing a Session with another librarian (sessions are hour long talks about a topic that is pertinent within the profession); we even came up with another librarian who would be willing to split the session with me. So we did the proper paperwork and submitted it, and holy Jesus, we just found out last week that the council who decides ACCEPTED OUR PROPOSAL! I AM GOING TO BE SPEAKING IN FRONT OF TONS OF PEOPLE AT THE FREAKING STATE CONFERENCE. NOBODY PANIC!! I literally already starting having ni...

This is what my naughty staff did to me on April Fool's Day. This was the funny bit...the sharp toothed, terrifying clown pictures that they taped EVERYWHERE in my office was mean. JUST MEAN.

Our Summer Reading is coming up again the last weekend in May. We’re again hosting a Touch-a-truck (with a local tractor, police car, ambulance, and fire truck), 4-H animals, face painting for the kiddos, as well as a HUGE yard book sale (fingers crossed for good weather). Summer Reading 2014 themes: Kids: Fizz, Book, Read Teens: Spark a Reaction Adults: Literary Elements Our Summer Reading program, which is for all ages Birth-Adult, will again be 6 weeks long, and positively packed with over 60 activities for all ages. The things we’re most excited about for the kids are: Mr. Molecule, a performer who combines science/magic/comedy into a show that got very high reviews from EVERY ONE; a local “turtle lady;” a Lego Robotics class taught by a local institute that teaches the connections between Legos and science/math; and a Space Lab, which will be brought to us from the Toledo Imagination Station.  The Teen/Adult programs that we’re excited about are: Bigfoot,...

Remember back in January when I hired a Page? It’s going pretty good, and she’ll have enough time and experience under her belt when we begin Summer Reading the first week in June. In the event that you’re also in a small library and you’ve never had/hired a Page and you’re going to, some tips I’d pass along as I learn through this, my first, Page hire: Have a list of jobs that need to be done daily, i.e. shelf read the DVDs, shelf read the Board Books (the areas that see the most traffic/get things put back in the wrong order the most) Have a list pertinent to their particular shift (opening, middle of the day, closing), activities, i.e. turn off computers, and check restrooms Make sure when you hire them, their job descriptions includes things like, “small cleaning tasks as they arise,” or “will assist in preparation of Childrens/Teens/Adult programs.” Especially as we creep closer to Summer Reading our Page will be cutting out and preparing more items for our littlest patrons ...