So. FAST!

Everything's going so quickly here!  I barely have time to stop and breathe!  Now I really know why librarians never eat lunch: NO TIME!!!

But.  As hectic as they've been, these have been the four best weeks of my professional life ever.  I go home happy every night: I get to talk with students about books, help them find research tools, help teachers learn how to use Google Classroom and Chrome Books, and work with administrators that support me.  I know it might not always be this good, but man oh man, I'm takin' it while I can get it now! 

Here's a super quick rundown of the haps in the MSJH Library the first few weeks of school:

WEEK 1 started with LOTS of non-fiction shifting.  LOTS OF IT.  That's ok, cause I found out that the collection has the very first non-fiction book I ever owned:

And, I found out there's gonna be lots and lots and TONS of weeding going on this year.

 Um..."up to date" books on America's hottest, most popular teen idols???

I also found out that some people don't know how to take care of their books. 

 Just COPY THE PAGES, people!  Don't let the sticky notes get caught in there!

WEEK 2 began with some staff training and meet and greets.  I'm super nervous about being evaluated, since that hasn't happened in over three years, and they're using a evaluation tool.  How does a librarian show student growth for 600+ students?  I don't know, either.  We'll find out TOGETHER!

During WEEK 3 I found out that students really, truly check out books here!  Our (already weeded down) fiction collection is now looking a lot less than healthy, and since I forgot to take a picture of my first display.  I thought I'd have lots of time (since books were hardly every checked out last year) to take a photo, but I only got this one, which has lots of holes in it.  Oh, well!

 It was COMPLETELY FULL...I swear!  I should've written all the titles down, like I did last year at Uni, but as a lonely librarian with no aid, there's not time for stuff like that.

This WEEK 4 has started off well, too.  I've already completed another display (more on that later), and I found out I get to have the privilege of getting a Chrome Cart up and running by testing on Wednesday.  That means...I BETTER JET!  (Like I said, things are moving so quickly!)

One side note...Remember how I said I've gone home happy every night?  I felt a lot of guilt about that last week.  I don't feel like I should be so happy when I go home.  Almost like, if I'm not struggling then how can I be making a difference?  Well, I got so guilt-ridden last week that I started to cry on my husband's shoulder.  (OK, OK, you got me: it was UGLY crying.)  He said if I'm happy every night when I come home I can be a better mother AND better educator.  He's right (AGAIN), but I do feel like I should have to suffer for my art. 

Can You Find the Face Out?

It's amazing what a little face out will do.

Our fiction shelves had gotten very uneven: too many books on one shelf, just a few books on another, etc.  Amy has always said she wanted more face outs on the shelves, so I went through and shifted our entire fiction collection to even out the shelves and make room on the ends for face out books.  I think just a simple face out at the end of the shelves make them look so much more appealing:

For the face outs I tried to pick a wide variety of genres, and I also tried to pick books that might not have been as popular as Amy or I think they should.  I tried to find some that should have more
attention than they currently receive.  

It's too bad I didn't take before pictures.  Of course I wasn't thinking that far ahead.  :(  It is kind of hard to tell with the pictures, but the shelves look quite attractive, and when you walk into the fiction room, your eye is immediately drawn to the shelves quicker.

Since the face outs have been put in place, I've had to replace three of them.  That means three face outs have already been checked out!  I know that's not hard scientific data, but it gives us some indication that they are actually working!

So, if your shelves look a little drab, just do a little shifting and face outing...you won't be sorry!