New Schedule

Fall often seems like a time of new beginnings, a habit formed from earliest school days. So this seemed like a good time to try out a new work schedule, thanks to the hiring of Jason at Computer Services. This is the first week, and so far it's been going well, although it hasn't been quite "normal" yet. One day I had a scheduled appointment that altered things, and another day we had to juggle to cover for a co-worker's absence. Even so, I think it will work well - 4 long days and 3 days off! Evenings - I've added 2 - seem to be relatively quiet, so there will be time to work on some projects, and offer extra help to people who might need it. I also will be working with an intern from MSU this semester. Our first staff barbecue is next Friday! Something new, and I think it will be a great time. We usually have a good time at this away-from-work gatherings. Next month there is an all day staff "retreat" too - another new experience! I've been busy helping plan the annual fall retreat at Chico Hot Springs for the ASLD and PLD groups of MLA. We're going with the "Be Prepared" theme - disasters, strange patrons, software are all planned sessions. It's close to Halloween so that seemed an appropriate theme! And, offers lots of decorating possibilities as well...

Winding Down

Summer is fading, school is starting, and I've got a new work schedule. In addition, the roofing project is also finishing, skylights have been replaced (it's no longer dark and gloomy in my area!) and our new person will start this week. He spent yesterday afternoon manning the Computer Services desk - a trial-by-fire kind of day, since we'd been closed for 2 days and everyone came to the library! He handled the commotion very well, dealing calmly with the add situations that only seem to occur when things are crazy. It was a great learning experience, since I could show him how to handle what are rare problems; hopefully he'll be a bit more prepared next time they happen. My new schedule involves 4 longer days and 3 days off - a little experimental, but something I'm looking forward to trying to see how it works. Two evenings - it's been years since I've worked an evening. Fridays are already longer, with our 6 p.m. closing, so Tuesday will be a bit longer too. To adjust to a change in workflow, we've been adding some equipment to my office so both Kari and I can do more processing there, while we're at the desk. We added a scanner and hope to add a spine label printer. An older one started failing so we ordered 2 new ones, and I've spent the past week trying to get it working! Finally a phone call to the dealer's tech support was able to determine that the printer works, but why it wouldn't actually print labels remained a mystery. An additional call by the technician to the manufacturer brought the news that we were just wasting our time: the printer and software will never agree! So we're getting 2 different models that should work. Planning continues for the ASLD/PLD retreat at Chico Hot Springs in October. We've gone with a "Be Prepared - Scary Things Can Happen" theme, appropriate since it will be close to Halloween. My favorite holiday!

August?

So we didn't melt over the summer but it was a close call - we saw a lot of 90+ degree days, which really is a little unusual. It's amazing how pleasant 85 degrees can feel after much warmer temperatures! The Library roof is being replaced, a 2-month project that started last month. The area of Computer Services was the starting point; sometimes it seemed we were the "testing ground" for the process. I'm not sure anyone realized how much dust and debris would filter through the metal ceiling (although plastic was laid out it often looked like a small snowstorm). When black clouds began building, I'm not sure they were taken seriously, with the result that the first rainstorm brought a nice rainfall into the library! But those issues have been resolved (and we haven't had much rain recently!). Things are moving along nicely now, and it's almost time to remove and replace the skylights. The smallest, which is over Computer Services, has already been taken out and the space covered with plywood, which means it's a bit dark and gloomy over here! Although the Library has been open all summer, we expect to be closed for 2 days during the skylight event. It would seem to be just a little too dangerous to have the public walking around - they can't be trusted to stay out of roped-off areas! We also started staying open until 6 p.m. Friday nights, a change suggested by a survey we did last year. So far that final hour hasn't really seen a big audience, but that could change when fall comes around. The few people who do stay are happy, I'm sure. We've hired a new person for the Computer Services desk! That will help with staffing, removing the Reference staff from the Monday schedule, and improving the service we provide by increasing the consistency. Even more exciting (to me!) is the revision of my schedule to a 4-day work week - longer days, but shorter week. I'm looking forward to trying this out. I don't work Sunday or Monday anyway, so this is just taking away Saturday (frankly, a very quiet day when it hasn't really been necessary for me to be here - no computer-related disasters come up, and Saturday staff is able to handle what does). Jason will begin working soon, and this new schedule might start next month. New staff, new schedule, new computers - what a summer! A small but wonderful change: when setting up 2 new catalog computers I realized I could set them (using the software that keeps people from accessing the hard drive) to turn off at closing! This seems like the best idea yet. Don't know why if took so long to figure this out. Now, if we could only get them to log themselves on...