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Shelving Possibilities
March 20, 2008

While I continue to apply for professional library positions, and watch the clock for timely responses, I also have continued to spend several hours each week volunteering at my local library. The time has not been wasted, and I understand that selecting a new employee can be a delicate and time-consuming process. I still hate to wait.

Volunteering locally has been a benefit to me as well as the library, really. On Wednesday afternoons, I help with programming and outreach at the local schools. On Thursday mornings, I pull holds. “Pulling Holds” means that I take a list of requested books and a rolling library cart, and I disappear into the stacks to pull requested items off the shelves. I’ve found a variety of interesting books and topics in the process, and always walk away with a stack to put on hold for patrons, and a stack to check out for myself.

Some people might think of that as grunt work, not even related to my current goal of University Reference Librarianship—but I find that my comfort in helping patrons find the information or resource they need grows as my awareness of the library’s physical collection expands. It’s one thing to understand that libraries promote equal access to all topics and patrons, and quite another to find a book about children’s poet Shell Silverstein’s comic work for Playboy mixed in with the Calvin and Hobbs collections on the shelf. It’s amazing what one can learn in the library!

Having recently purchased a slow cooker, I went searching for recipe books, with mixed results. I eventually found my favorite resource when pulling holds for someone interested in international cooking. I’ve seen the books about ghosts and the books about psychology, and even the books about the psychology of ghostly phenomena, there on the shelves. I know that in my local library, books about the history of WWII sit across the aisle from the books about international travel for the single woman, and that we just don’t seem to have very many books about travel to Canada. I found that particularly interesting, considering how many books we DO have relating to travel in Mexico.

I look at my time spent pulling holds as practice for the searches I will lead as a reference librarian working directly with patrons. And the time I spend on collaborative programming has taught me other valuable lessons as well. Lessons about group communication and shared leadership, about the importance of testing any project or activity before putting it into action, even if you’ve done the project in previous years. I’ve learned to navigate difficult cultural barriers, and work with students who have a range of learning challenges to overcome. These aspects of my volunteer work can be applied to any group I am privileged to assist in my future professional position, and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn them while working with a staff of experienced and capable librarians. It’s amazing how much one can continue to improve as a professional, even while unemployed. I am, however, looking forward to applying my “continuing education” in a professional (read employed) capacity…

Posted by Staci B Elliott on March 20, 2008 | Comments (5)