A thank you

It is easy to get caught up in the day to day responsibilities of any job, even more so at the end of an academic year when the pressures often coincide with some of the joys related to working in an academic library. A few weeks ago a student came to me with a thoughtful and charming request; an instructor was leaving the university and her class wanted to place a book in the library's juvenile collection in honor of her accomplishments. I was thrilled to accommodate their request and appreciated they would come to me for help.

We decided the students would purchase a juvenile book that would be of interest to others taking their class block in the future. They purchased two copies of Alex and the Amazing Lemonade Stand, one for the library and one for their instructor that each student would sign. I nagged (smile) the technical services staff to push this item to the front of their cart, catalog the title, and add a library bookplate to the inside cover. I wrote a letter on official library letterhead to the professor informing her of the donation, naming each students, thanking her for her service to the university and library, and then had it signed by the library director. We were all pleased with the outcome, especially on such short notice. It was fun to be a part of their celebration of this teacher's accomplishments.

Today, I recieved the nicest thank-you note signed by all of the students in the class. They thanked me personally, but this was icing on the cake.