Week 2 - "Training" Commences

My second session as a public librarian had a bit more to it, since the branch manager was able to be there and "train" me a little more substantially. Most of this "training" was admin procedures and more on the SIRSI system. A bit more activity on the patron front though:

• Another branch called to place a hold on John Irving's Cider House Rules. Our copy was on the shelf where it should be, albeit, rather battered. Never read it myself, can't say as Irving has ever caught my interest.


• Another branch called to place a hold Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island. Again, right where it should be! Haven't read Lehane either, although I've read plenty from his buddies George Pelecanos and Michael Connelly.


• A young female med student studying for exam needed stapler. I had one. She used it.


• A middlle-aged white woman was looking for Tracy Chevalier's The Virgin Blue, which she couldn't find on the shelf. Turns out it was mishelved, and was sitting up a level (not to mention completely falling apart). Never read Chevalier either.


• A middle-aged white woman was looking for books on CD. I showed her the shelf and told her about Overdrive downloadables (see last week's post).


• An elderly white woman was looking for Michael Arlen's The Green Hat and Rosamond Lehmann's Invitation to the Waltz and Weather on the Streets, none of which I've ever heard of, and none of which are in the system. According to the interweb, both are writers worth knowing. Arlen was an Armenian who became a rather well-known writer in the '20s and '30s, working in multiple formats and genres, even making the cover of Time Magazine before fading into obscurity in the '40s! The Green Hat is his best-known work and was made a Greta Garbo film called A Woman of Affairs. Lehmann was another well-known writer of the '20s and '30s, whose works are all still in print through the feminist Virago Classics imprint.


• A middle-aged white woman called looking for Edith Wharton's The Custom of the Country, which we had. I put it aside for her since she said she would come get it. Not a Wharton I'd heard of; apparently it was for her book club.
  


• Another branch called to place a hold on Dennis Kimbro's What Makes the Great Great. I pulled it from the shelf and we're 3 for 4 today on shelf-checks.


• The circulation person stepped out to grab a snack, so I stepped over and checked out several books.


• A middle-aged white woman wanted to know how to print from the public computers. I got her a print card and showed her how to use it. She seemed inordinately thrilled by this, although she was British, and maybe you can't print in British public libraries? I know I'm not supposed to look, but her printouts were results from some kind of horse jumping or showing competition.


• A case of new books from Baker & Taylor was sitting by the desk, so I was shown how to process these. This involves checking the contents vs. the packing slip, putting a "New" sticker on the spine of each book, stamping the date of receipt on each book, and then checking to see if there are any holds on the book.


• There was a folder sitting on the desk that appeared to be "lost", so I went though it to try and see if there were any identifying documents inside. Found one, contacted the patron, and he came in and gratefully picked it up.

MLS or GED?
Which of the above interactions really need an MLS to sucesfully resolve?
Week: 0 for 11
Year: 0 for 5