Alone

Friday was my first day all alone in the department. Totally alone, I was responsible for everything that went on during the day. My morning was pretty hectic. I arrived and went through opening procedures. Luckily, Diane (the library director) had already started setting up for the join program we'd be running. I'm not sure I would have had time to get it all done in time. So I finished opening procedures and finished set up for our morning program.

Since everyone else was on vacation or off for the day, Diane and I tag-teamed a program that Suzanne had planned. It was for a local kindergarten (I think that's what they were) and it was about cubism. It went okay. My issues with it were that I only found out I'd be doing it on Tuesday and it was someone else's program. I know Suzanne's passion is art and she loves introducing it to kids. But I don't share that passion and I'm not particularly knowledgable about art. So I wasn't too interested in the program to begin with. I also worried that the program was a little too specific and advanced for the children we were presenting too. Additionally, I was expected to present this program with the library director. THE LIBRARY DIRECTOR. Talk about pressure.

Once we got into the program, though, it was okay. It had clearly been a long time since Diane had run a program and I think she seemed a little nervous. Perhaps I was the only person who noticed but she seemed to ramble and lack focus a bit. I believe that you don't need to talk down to kids when talking to them. However, you have to make sure they understand what you're saying, and I'm not sure Diane really accomplished that part. And I discovered an additional issue with performing someone else's program: Diane kept mispronouncing the artists' names. After Diane's overview of cubism and my presentation on the color wheel, we let the kids loose with watercolors and reproductions of cubist paintings. They were great! They were all so into painting and so meticulous about the details. All the paintings were unique and well done. I was a bit at a loss about what to do while the kids were painting. I basically just told them how great they were doing. Diane kept trying to teach them information, which I think bothered some of the kids. Towards the end, I read a story while they finished up. They seemed to like it. Then we went outside and played with the parachute for a couple minutes. And then our program was finished. Like I said, it went okay. I don't think the kids noticed any discomfort Diane or I might have been feeling. I would have felt better if it was a program I had planned myself or had more of an express interest in.

I cleaned up after the program and then sat at the reference desk until lunch. I worked on my program while covering the desk. After lunch, it was more of the same. I sat at the desk, answered questions, signed kids up for summer reading and programs, awarded prizes, and worked on my programs in between. It was actually a really slow afternoon. Usually, the afternoon is the busier time, especially in the children's department. But I only had a handful of patrons throughout the afternoon. It was good in that I didn't feel too overwhelmed for my first solo day in the department, but it made for a long afternoon. Overall, I think the day went well. I did all the closing procedures and everything went pretty smoothly. I didn't come across any questions I couldn't answer and I didn't feel swamped at any point. I think I can do this!