I'm 90 hours in! Wow! I can't believe how quickly this practicum has flown by! Today was a very exciting day. Laurie, Dori, Ryan and I all went on a trip to visit two other libraries. Laurie wanted me to experience what other libraries in the DPL system were like, as the Douglass Branch is atypical, being a branch for specialized services.
The first library we went to was the Parkman Branch Library of DPL. It was an absolutely gorgeous building. It was built in the 20s, but they recently renovated it to add on a technology center. What is great is that they were able to renovate it, but still keep most of the original architecture. I would love to work in such a library -- just the atmosphere alone made it worth visiting. The staff was very friendly, as well, and the director, Stacy, talked proudly about how the career services they offer at the library has helped at least ten people get employed.
The next branch we visited was the Campbell Branch Library in Detroit's Mexican Village. What is interesting about this branch is that most of the staff is bilingual, so that they are able to help patrons in the community who do not speak English. They also had a significant section of Spanish language books and movies. It is a smaller branch, but they work with what they have, and a whole side of the building is dedicated to the Children's Library, so that's really cool.
After that we got to go out to lunch while in Mexican Village, so that was fun! I can't say I ever thought I'd do that while at my practicum.
After I got back to the Douglass Branch, I helped work the reference desk. Laurie suggested that I go out amongst the patrons who were on the computers and ask if anyone needed help. I felt a little awkward at first, announcing to everyone that I was there to help them if they needed it, but it worked! A patron called me over right away and I was able to help him set up an online banking account. He seemed quite pleased with my help, so that made me feel really good. After that, Laurie showed me how she goes about getting the circulation statistics, etc, for each month. Today she was working on the statistics for the month of February.
On Thursday I will be working back in the HYPE Center at Main Branch. I have asked Janet if I could take on the project of weeding while I'm there. At first I thought it may be too big of a project since I'm not there that often, but I figured if I am able to at least make a dent in the collection, it will still be helping Janet out. So, I'm really excited about that!
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