Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life. (unknown)
I landed my dream job: library assistant. Every task is a joy. Work feels like play.
Each morning I empty the book drop and check books for damage and forgotten items. Often pictures or a piece of mail are tucked inside. Although, last week we found four crumpled dollars.
I put books on the shelves where they belong. Despite extreme confidence, at first I made some rookie errors. I realized for 40+ years I have probably been putting books back wrong when I thought I was actually helping. Gasp.
Each morning I run "the pull list" and gather items that have been requested. It's like a mini scavenger hunt. Sometimes books are missing or lost or I just don't see them. I take this too personally.
Monday is movie day. In the afternoon, I drive out the ancient TV/DVD combo on its metal rolling cart and park it in the children's area. I select a G-rated Disney DVD. Yes, we have a special license that allows us to show movies at the library.
Monday nights we are open until 7:00 p.m.. There is something wonderful about being in the library at night. There's a monthly Monday-night poetry reading.
Tuesday is the very best day of all days at the library, because we receive "delivery." Delivery is all the books that have been returned from other libraries and books our patrons have requested from other libraries. It's like Christmas. Boxes and bins full of books, DVDs, and CDs are unwrapped and stacked into piles. For the next few hours I work through the piles. I check them for damage and detritus. I scan them into the computer. I separate them into their categories: transit, holds, and shelves. Finally, when the piles are gone, I organize the shelving cart and tuck the books into their shelves.
On Tuesday afternoons the third graders visit. I read them stories and give them a matching craft project. Then they have 10 frenzied minutes to check out books. In the afternoon, I wheel out the Legos for "Lego Tuesday."
Tuesday is also the day Miss. G comes to volunteer. Miss. G is the former librarian. She retired a few years back. She always brings snacks.
On Wednesdays I read to a small group of toddlers, some more interested than others. We do a craft. The parents visit. The toddlers play.
On Thursdays the fifth graders and second graders visit. I field reference questions; such as, "Where are the penguin books? Do you have any books on pig hunting? Do you have any Roblox books?"
So far, I have decorated the library for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's, and Saint Patrick's Day. The library has been open since 1960, so there is a stash of hand made and store bought decorations to use. Of course, I have supplemented our collection with my own decorations and garage sale purchases.
Every day I add books to my Goodreads "to read" list. I will never have time to read all of these books. But, a girl can dream.
I never used to be the kind of person to check out multiple library books. What if I lost one? What if I forgot to return it on time? I currently have seven books checked out. All were checked out on different days. I have 1 overdue book that has accrued $4.00 in fines. Despite my frugal nature, my fines do not worry me. The library uses fine money to purchase new books. Thus, my money is going to good use.
Before I started, I imagined myself sitting at the circulation desk reading a book only looking up to "shhushhh" unruly children. In reality, we don't "shhushhh" at the library anymore. I don't have time to sit at the desk reading books; although, I did get to sit by the window and read one day when our power was out. Now that was truly living the dream.
In reality, this job is so much more than I ever dreamed. I am so happy. Every day is a good day at the library.
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