So here’s what I’ve been working on:
1) The Middle School Hangout. I inherited a Monday-afternoon program for local middle schoolers to have a snack, do a craft or play a game. It’s been wildly unsuccessful. I’m in the process of working my ass off to get more kids in, and simultaneously question why we’re doing it at all if kids don’t want to come in. BUT, it is primarily a craft program, which I’m crazy about, so it’s not like I’m not having fun trying to get kids in. And it seems like I might be gaining a little bit of traction, so the fight goes on. A lot of my work time is devoted to coming up with ideas for projects, demo-ing projects, photographing them, then putting together promotional materials, and THEN getting those materials out.
2) Collection development/analysis. I’m the selector for our Young Adult materials, and as such I make a purchase every month through Baker & Taylor. So I’m working on learning what’s going to circulate and buying that. I’m also learning that our Young Adult nonfiction section basically barely circulates, so I’m figuring out more of the details of that through a shelf list that I’m annotating with circ info and other notes. It’s beginning to look like, with some minor exceptions, nonfiction is just not a seller here.
3) Reading every book I possibly can. This goes for middle grade, YA, and adult materials in every genre I feel like (general fiction, mystery, fantasy, graphic novels, romance, science fiction, women’s fiction, light fiction). I’m reading two to three books a week, and evaluating a bunch more, and keeping track on Goodreads. The fact that reading is my job has lit a huge fire under me.
4) Reader’s Advisory. I’ve made four reading lists now for grades 4-7, and I’m working on a list of series we carry. Graphic novels are next on the list. I’m also thinking about outreach and further RA services.
So those are my major projects right now, in addition to performing reference service. This is way more fun than I’d hoped.
Every Book, Every Reader 