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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

That didn't go as planned.

So ... yeah. I never wrote here about how setting up the library went. There's a very simple, very good explanation for this: I was too busy with the process. In a flurry of activity, my boyfriend and I ended up cataloging over 4,000 books in the month of August. We had those, and the newly ordered books through Follett, on the shelves and looking beautiful in time for the open house the Thursday before the school year began.

Was it worth it? YES. The kids love their library. They love me, too. It's worn off a bit, but I had celebrity status for a while. If I went into the cafeteria at lunchtime, I'd hear choruses of, "Hi, Miss Librarian!" It's so rewarding. And the numbers show that the library is being used: nearly 2,000 checkouts in the first marking period.

I am so blessed to work there.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

First entry

Hi. I'm the Moonlit Librarian.

Moonlight: verb; to work at an additional job after one's regular, full-time employment, as at night. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/moonlight)

I'm a full-time librarian at a regional cooperative which serves many public, school, and school/public libraries. My job there is web design and maintenance for libraries that don't have the resources to make their own web sites, and management of the digital audiobook and eBook collections for many of the cooperative's libraries. I also worked on an LSTA grant this past year, which had the goal of using technology to attract teens into their local libraries.

I've also been contracted by a local charter school to design their new library. It's being built this summer as part of their elementary wing. And it's mine to design! It will be serving roughly 240 students, Kindergarten through twelfth grade. The school has some books from an older collection that closed a few years back, and I have a $10,000 book budget to round out the collection. This exciting experience will likely lead to a job as the school's librarian. And since not many librarians get to build a library from scratch, this will probably be the focus of this blog.

So, welcome to my blog.