Out to lunch - weekend blogging

It is my last Saturday and Sunday reference shift for this term and I am using my "lunch time" for blogging. With complete and utter joy can announce as of today, the first weekend in March, I have completed both my rotating evening (2) and weekend (also 2) reference duty obligations. Unlike my reference librarian counterparts, terms end is busiest for me due to the education course we facilitate in the resource center. For this reason I often opt to be scheduled early. Today was a regular early term Saturday with only a few international students and a very dedicated high school student doing research. If not for various phone inquiries, hours inquiries and book renewals, it would have seem to have been for naught. Luckily, there were many other tasks to hold my attention.

How so? This morning I updated my class WebCT calendar information; I am doing adjunct work for the college of education this term, and resource center web pages to reflect spring break hours for both the library and resource center. Naturally posting colorful and appropriate signs followed. Then the class blog had to be updated and linked to the WebCT calendar and resource center hours as well; cover all the bases and flood every source with pertinent information.

Later that same evening ....

The fabulous new printer I ordered earlier this term arrived Friday afternoon; two drawers for paper, duplex printing, and an extra memory card for faster printing (it boasts 8 seconds). However, since all thirteen computers will have to have their ghost images/partitions updated before we can use the new printer, it is currently sitting pretty, occupying space, and confusing patrons. When the young men arrived to install it, they did not have instructions to configure any of the partitions. Since we cannot go without a printer, perish the thought, I moved our old printer to a new location a very short distance away and had the student techs set up the new printer where it belongs. Students are creatures of habit, so a sign had to be placed on the new printer indicating it did not work and directing them to the old printer. Then, I had to make a sign for whoever updates our images reminding them that the Dell's and Gateway's have different software applications. Yes, another sign was needed. Luckily I have left over bright paper in yellow and blue. No one should miss this signage; hope springs eternal.

Signs were followed by the weekly update for my GA's and student workers. In lieu of staff meetings, there simply is not time, I do weekly updates for the staff so we are all on the same page with recent happenings. Next in line were student timesheets, due Monday and requiring two copies, and subsequent entering of hours into my trusty spreadsheet tracking federal work- study dollars. To make the morning even more adventursome, my scheduled GA has strep throat and is unable to work the weekend shift. I worked two hours in the resource center before working the remainder of my day at reference. Yet one more hours sign was posted for tomorrow indicating we will not open until 3 pm when I arrive.

All of these activites took place before noon. By the time I settled in at the reference desk it was ridiculous to bother with lunch and I chose to have a working/blogging lunch. It was almost a relief to have the high school student ask for assistance with his research. A very sweet youngster, he was overjoyed with the available database selection for his psychology topic and must have thanked me ten times for my help. It was an eventful, yet uneventful, start to my last weekend of work this spring 2007 term.

Tags: Academic library, Library weekend hours