I Was a Volunteer School Librarian, BC (Before Covid)
A chill in the air. A warm drink to soothe the soul. Fall is a time of unfolding new beginnings. Around this time last year, I learned of an opportunity through the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia to become a volunteer librarian at a nearby Philadelphia public school. I was excited by the opportunity: a chance to learn more about working in a library environment and serving school-age kids. In the middle of my graduate coursework, I was just about to take a course in Children’s Literature. This would be the perfect opportunity to learn more about what kids loved to read firsthand. Within the week, I’d reached out to the volunteer coordinator and was on my way towards completing the mandatory clearances for all Philadelphia school volunteers.
Fast forward through online training videos, background clearance applications, and a fingerprinting appointment in Center City, I was ready to submit my completed packet to the school office. Finally – I was ready to roll! On a day in November, I met up with the head volunteer Pam who took me upstairs to the K-8 school library, and showed me the ropes. I was given a tour of the library, learned the basic protocols of the materials check-in and check-out process, and was trained to use the school district’s library management software to find classes of students, search the database, and pull overdue book reports to deliver to teacher’s mailboxes.
After learning all of this, Pam invited me to stay for the next class of kids coming into the library. She let me take the lead checking books in and out, and reshelving them in the correct locations. I left my first day with the distinct impression that the children all seemed so polite and well-behaved. Asking their names was part of the process of checking out their books, and everyone was perfectly sweet when they recited their name for me to find them in the online database. After this initial training experience, I was ready for my first day on the job. I was in for a real surprise.
After this initial training experience, I was ready for my first day on the job. I was in for a real surprise.
On my first official day as a volunteer librarian, I arrived with plenty of time to get settled for the first class coming in that day. I logged in to the computer system, got my bearings, and awaited my co-volunteer. The clock jumped to 10:54 a.m., and two student representatives from the next class came in to return their books for check-in and reshelving prior to their group library visit. Five minutes later, the entire class was walking through the door, and my fellow volunteer (who I hadn’t yet met) was nowhere in sight.
I’d done my best to check in all of the books brought back, and by the time the class was settling into their seats at the tables at the far side of the room, I was busy trying to get the returned books reshelved in their proper place. I can’t remember how many books I still had to put away when the first student was up at the counter, ready to check out their latest find. The kids came in waves, getting up to browse the shelves table by table as called by their teacher. It worked well, but the process left me with a steady stream of kids checking out books, and little opportunity to float around to help them find specific titles they were searching for.
When my co-volunteer arrived, a half hour had passed and the first class had come and gone. She claimed that the school must have changed the schedule for library classes, as she searched in her phone for a missed e-mail. With that introduction, I was on my way to more bustling library classes, and even more unexpected opportunities for learning on my feet.
(to be continuted….)
Main photo by Robyn Budlender on Unsplash
Inline photo by Pam B.
