Monday, June 1, 2009

Summer Reading is Fun!

Friday was the start of the Summer Reading Program for the Monroe County Public Library. At the Ellettsville branch this meant a surge of parents and their children coming in as soon as the doors opened to get set up with the program. Children and teens have the chance to participate in summer reading at the library to win prizes. Points are given for each book read, programs attended, and for participating in weekly computer challenges and puzzles.
My job was to show kids where they could take the computer quizzes and then lead them over to where the weekly challenges can be found. I also helped signs kids up for the program and explained the rules to them and their parents. It was kind of a hectic day, but most of the kids were really excited to be there. We also took advantage of this time to really sell ourselves with the readers' advisory. Some kids were receptive to having help picking out books and others already knew their way around the library well enough to know what they wanted. All in all everyone was very friendly and engaging. The only bad attitudes I noticed were from a couple of the parents!
So much of librarianship work with patrons is about being able to 'gauge' the situation. Does a patron require more help than you're giving? Or are you insulting their intelligence by assuming they don't know what they're doing? There is a fine line we walk. First of all, they wouldn't be asking us if they already knew, but just because they're asking doesn't mean they're stupid. I can usually tell by the blank look on someone's face when I start talking about call numbers that they don't know their way around the library very well. And frankly I don't mind showing them around because I'm still learning myself.
Now that school is out kids are much more prevalent in the library...and what better place for them to be! I am looking forward to helping kids find summer reads and to helping out with some of the great programs that are scheduled. Next week we have Story Time, a picnic in the park, and more!

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