librarydayinthelife

A little late, but here’s how day 4 went. Meeting to debrief on an instruction session I helped out with. Met with my blended services mentee (we’re training library staff to go on the reference desk, removing librarians from the desk to allow for more instruction, etc. and moving services to a single service point). Lunchtime meeting. Taught blended services staff the basics of database searching. Tried to catch up a bit on email, feeds, etc. And that’s that.

Another busy day. At work  first thing for another 3 hour instruction session (tech still working!). Caught up on some emails, feeds and lunch while I did IM reference for an hour. Followed a bit of the Apple news of the iPad before offering another 3 hour instruction session. This was the last of the set. Unfortunately, minutes into the first session of the afternoon, the fire alarm went off. Surprisingly and most impressively, the students all returned once we were allowed in the building. The session was rushed, but we got all of the material covered. Obviously, these sessions make for one of my more intensive courses. As an inquiry course, they place a lot of value in the library sessions (I get 2 sessions with each class, 1.5 hours each and I give a quiz worth 15% of their final mark). Lots of work but I love working with this class. Each year it gets better. Went home and checked in on my distance students, checked the survey I gave the inquiry students and that’s where this day ends.

Yesterday was just too busy to post, so I’m playing catch up. Here’s how the day went.

Came in early to prepare for an iClicker session the Teaching with Technology group presented to the liaison (it went well). This was followed by a brief break before a Blended Services Training Team meeting. Worked on instruction prep over lunch at my desk. One hour on the reference desk (shadowed by a blended service member). Went to a last minute meeting. This was followed by a 3 hour instruction session (2 1.5 hour classes). These sessions were my first go with using iclickers in a session – too bad the tech didn’t work. Spent the next half hour with a colleague who fixed the problem. Quick supper, followed by another 3 hours of an instruction (the tech worked!). A very long day indeed!

Well, my day started the way it usually does – checking email and catching up on my feeds. This was followed by a Teaching with Technology meeting, where we prepared for a session we’re offering tomorrow on iClickers. Some more catching up followed by a lovely lunch with a colleague. Part networking, part fun – some of the best info sharing and catching up times. I then went to my regular office hours in the Classics department. While these are often quiet times, today proved quite different. I chatted with a number of profs, answering questions, learning what’s happening in the department, helping a grad student and meeting a job candidate. I then headed back to my office, where I called a fellow OLITA council member (I’m OLITA president this year and looking forward to a great year working with some amazing people) and worked on securing a space for Digital Odyssey (stay tuned for more info on this conference). I then worked a bit on an instruction session which I’ll be giving 8 times over the next 2 days. Phew, then it was time to go home.

My day doesn’t end here. Tired, I came home, ate and rested a bit. Then it was time to put on hat #2 – I teach a distance course for library technicians at Mohawk College. I answered a bunch of student questions and posted the latest lecture. Caught up on some more feeds and I still have a little work to do on the instruction sessions. Sometime soon I hope to sleep!