New Display

The only real thing that takes some creativity in my current job is the creation of library displays.

I was just handed my new assignment: non-fiction books that are entertaining to read. (Not the exact words, but essentially what it is.)

I've already got some ideas for how the display will look, and I want to create some sort of bibliography, or at least call number ranges for people to check out. I don't think I can have handouts with this display, though... I'm going to have to talk to my supervisor.

Maybe I could post something on the inside of the glass that talks about the ranges where people can look. (This job would be a lot easier if the biographies were stored together instead of interspersed with the rest of the collection.)

I'll try to take some pictures to share once I've put it together. Due date: July 31

Intro post

As a recent graduate of Seneca College's Library and Information Technician program, and a rabid internet junkie, I am convinced this blog must exist.

Herein you may find my ramblings of my experiences. Only my experiences will be recorded, no gossip or any such rubbish. I am hoping this blog will serve two purposes:
- serve as a log of things I have done, should I need to refer back to them
- share my experiences with other library techs or librarians. Who knows, maybe what I have to say may be useful to others?

My final time at school was unkindly brutal on me. Not that the program is terrible (quite the contrary) but needless to say I was burnt out and feeling unequipped to face the world of libraries. I love helping people find information, but after the last roes of exams, I felt like crawling into a hole.

Of course, it has taken some months to recover. Now I'm feeling a bit braver and wanted to share my experiences.

I'm currently employed in a medium-sized public library in my hometown. I fill a position called Public Service Assistant which is a mix between circulation staff and receptionist. Apart from the usual duties associated with these two positions, I also:
- mend material
- receive orders
- process in-house publishing requests
- put together a seasonal best seller list
- create library displays
- direct patrons to their desired section in the library
- help patrons get set up on the computer
- etc.

It's a varied position and I'm happy to be involved at this level. I feel very lucky, but I am craving a bit more responsibility.

I may have the opportunity to shift the non-fic collection a bit. We currently inter-file biographies with the remainder of the collection. There is some discussion around separating biographies into their own section. If this occurs, I'm putting my hand up first to volunteer this job. I so badly want to do more.

Well, I will keep this short and end here. There are pictures of the library displays that I have assembled. I would like to share these pictures sometime, as well as possibly compile a resource for library techs to refer to when creating a library display. They are so hard to throw together sometimes. It's often nice to see what others have done for similar topics.