Day 1 Bradley Central Library

Questions
1. What is one of your biggest responsibilities as the librarian?
2. What kind of a budget do you receive for the library?
3. What made you decide to become a librarian?

Answers
1. My biggest responsibilities can vary from day to day. Currently my biggest responsibility is meeting the deadlines for this yearbook production. I am in the process of editing and proofreading the entire book, and you can see by all these piles that this is no easy task. Fortunately my library assistant is able to lend a hand whenever she is between tasks.
2. Bradley is a Title I school, so I receive a $10,000 budget for the school year. Our library also runs Joe Bear's Coffee Shop, and I am able to utilize the profits from that to further benefit the needs of the library. The coffee shop profits allow us to purchase things for the library that we would otherwise be unable to acquire. For example, I am looking into purchasing a treadmill with an attached reading table, so that students or teachers could come in and get a little exercise while they are reading their books.
3. My daughter was the person who influenced me to become a librarian. While she was teaching, she pursued her librarian degree, and upon starting her new job as the librarian (which she loves!), she encouraged me to do the same.

Reflection
My first day of this high school practicum began with severe feelings of apprehension. I couldn't find the correct parking lot and my first attempt landed me in the senior's lot. A kind student put me on the right path, and I was able to make it to my post on time. I was nervous about meeting the librarian, and my apprehension doubled when I realized there was also a librarian's assistant. My nerves were quickly put at ease after introductions and a good laugh about my parking fiasco. The librarian was very busy trying to meet yearbook deadlines, so I spent a good part of the day with the assistant. It was interesting learning about the Destiny Follett program utilized by the library. The layout and tools are far different from Atriuum Book Systems; the system used by my county. Overall it was a day filled with learning about the routines of a Bradley librarian. The traffic in the library was pretty slow that day, so at one point the assistant stepped out and left me to handle the circulation desk. I was like a "deer in the headlights" when I student asked me if I could give him his computer login information. Fortunately for me, the librarian was close by in her office and was able to come and assist the student.