AN's travels

Toward the end of this week, AN travels to Wichita to attend a conference related to her career. She will be a presenter this year. (Good luck on your presentation, AN!!!)

Computer Lab Evolution

It was a busy day today in the computer lab. Most of the PCs were occupied throughout the afternoon and evening. MP was the lab associate on duty this afternoon. And it appeared to me that he had a busy day almost to the point of frustration. There were a lot of new users to sign up and MP also had to juggle questions from novice users as well as apply the proper policy to patrons who forgot their library card or who had used their one hour time limit with patrons waiting. And, of course, at three o'clock the junior high school kids invaded the lab. I mentioned this before, but the lab as well as other spots in the library has become a daycare facility for these students. I had to play the role of enforcer and send some kids away from the lab because they were bothering patrons who were doing legitimate work.
I am thinking of suggesting to LL, my supervisor, that we have two associates monitor the lab on weekday afternoons so that patrons can be assisted with computer-related questions and the junior high school kids can be kept in check.

Twenty five years ago on this day......

Mom married for the second time. I was fifteen and a freshman in high school.

This is kind of trivial, I know......

Fire alarm

While the janitors were barbecuing our hamburgers for our staff get-together, they accidentally triggered the fire alarm. Fortunately, we were able to disable it and keep patrons at ease.

Reader's advisory project coming into focus

After many revisions, LC may have settled on a script she likes. Some scenes--like the parody of Travis Bickle--had to be cut out. But overall, I think LC should be proud of her efforts.

New Associate found

I got an email from my branch manager letting me know that my choice for new lab associate has been approved. His initials are TF--KU student by day and now computer lab associate by night. I will have to manipulate the scheduling of my associates so that every one is happy.
I need to note the office politics involved with this hiring. I originally made my choice last week but HR said I had to wait a week to allow the job announcement to achieve penetration via the internet and the help wanted pages in the newspaper. Also, HR sent me some other applications that were grossly out of date. I informed my supervisor that I was comfortable with my choice of TF as my new associate. She went to bat for me and sent some emails to expedite his hiring.

Closing time at the library

We have been having problems with kids being left outside of the library after closing time. Apparently, their parents arrive later at the library to pick them up OR the parents display complete irresponsibility and think the library will babysit their kids for them. In an effort to assuage this problem, we have been telling kids to make an arrangement for a ride home at one hour before close. Kids being alone outside the library building after close is a problem for us and we hope this proactive approach might help. (We hate calling the police on parents who think the library provides a babysitter service).

Interviews begin

I had my first interview today for the computer lab associate's position. This candidate is a full-time KU student who lives at home in the KCK area and is in need of a part-time candidate. His interview went superbly.

Estate sale

When I got home from work tonight, I saw a fluorescent orange sign in my neighbor's yard that read "Estate Sale." In a previous post in my blog (I believe entitled "New Neighbors coming"), I noted that my neighbors moved out because the son had cancer and the mother moved into a full-care facility because of Alzheimer's. I think the orange sign tells me that something sad has happened.

Random Notes

I received an email from MN. He and his family were vacationing in Northern Florida in late August when Katrina clipped South Florida and then proceeded on its destructive path. For me, I think the soberness of the Katrina carnage hit me when I saw my hometown newspaper with a color photo of the city arena with cots set up on the basketball floor in preparation for the reception of Gulf Coast refugees.

I am trying to hook up with MM, his wife, and children for this coming weekend. It had been more than a year since I last saw them. When I called earlier this evening TM said her husband was participating in a Knights of Columbus meeting somewhere in Overland Park.

At work, I am going to try to set up a couple of interviews for the computer lab associate position. JF's last day will be Tuesday.

JG and I have been doing a makeshift needs assessment at the library. We have been walking around and talking to fellow staffers and asking their opinions about putting up a blog on our branch's web site. So far, the consensus has been half and half. Our reader's advisory librarian likes it; however, our community services librarian doesn't see a need for it. More research to come.

LC is busy writing a script for a Reader's Advisory skit-like presentation that has to be made at our staff inservice in November. It sounds like LC wants to parody some popular movies, like Shrek and Taxi Driver, and popular TV shows, like Star Trek, to deliver her perspective on Reader's Advisory.

Price of gas

BTW, I paid for one fill on C and A's car on the way up to Omaha. Gas was 3.19 a gallon. On the return, they paid at Platte City, MO where gas was 2.99 a gallon.
This is cheap compared to what's happening in the south US.

Back from Omaha

I arrived back last night from my short trip to Omaha. C and A and children and I stayed at the Hilton in downtown Omaha. This city has a lot going for it and I think KC with the impending completion of the downtown arena can learn a lot from Omaha. We were within walking distance of Omaha's Market area where we spent most of the first day. The area is replete with loft apartments, brewery restaurants, antique shops, and the Qwest arena (where the Creighton University basketball team plays) is right across the street from the Hilton.
Yesterday, we spend nearly 7 hours at the Omaha Zoo which includes the IMAX theatre. Highlights of the zoo include the Desert Dome, the aquarium, the rain forest jungle, and the brand new gorilla exhibit. The zoo is a wonderful day trip for any family. The IMAX theatre featured a safari film in 3D.
On our drive home, we stopped off at a buffet restaurant in St. Joseph, MO for dinner. A weekend well spent with Labor Day celebration at MS/PS awaiting.