Interim Head Librarian: Week One

It occurred to me that today is the final day of my first week as interim head librarian of the Tumbler Ridge Public Library.  In recognition of this, I thought I'd give everyone a little bit of insight into what has happened in my first week on the job.  If this seems somewhat egotistical to you (and to be fair, it probably is), please feel free to continue on to my older blog posts.

Before I go on, I'd like to clarify my first sentence.  I am still a library technician, and I've become the library manager at the Tumbler Ridge Public Library.  I refer to my position as "head librarian" because I like what the term implies.  It harkens back to the days before I knew the differences between library clerks, community librarians, library technicians, and librarians (people who hold a master's degree in library science).  I really think there's something to be said for a child's belief that everyone who works in a library is a librarian...

Tuesday, March 2nd

• Spent a fair bit of time talking with the library's board chair about the job
• Had a mini-staff meeting with all the library employees to inform them about my new role
• Was invited to a Success by Six meeting (had very little to contribute)
• Attended a library board meeting (had very little to contribute)
• Requested an interlibrary loan of Managing for Dummies

Main thought:  "Wow...  How in the world did my life change so much between Friday at 4:30 and now?"

Wednesday, March 3rd

• Finished inventory of junior paperbacks with Sharon
• Divided up the tasks from my old position as head of technical services
• Started training staff members on their new tasks
• Had Melissa and Rebekah start working on the next phase of inventory (computer work)

Main thought:  "We're just about done the inventory!  I can see the finish line!"

Thursday, March 4th

• Had another meeting with the library's board chair to get me up to speed on the budget and its status
• Created a farewell card (with a verse I wrote) for the outgoing library manager
• Discussed my weekly schedule with the library staff
• Enjoyed Sarah Gamble's Itchy Feet presentation

Main thought:  "Am I going to need to take an accounting course?  I hope not..."

Friday, March 5th

• Worked on the library's budget
• Finished the inventory of the audiobook cassettes
• Received my interlibrary loan copy of Managing for Dummies

Main thought:  "Should I assume the fast delivery of Managing for Dummies is some kind of a sign?"

Saturday, March 6th (today)

• Continued working on the budget
• Wrote this blog post
• Hoping to work on my origami (in preparation for the second week of Spring Break and my origami workshop)

Main thought:  "I really should blog all this stuff..."


So that's sort of what happened in my first week as interim head librarian.  I'm still sitting at the same desk I've been using for the past eighteen months, but the view has changed drastically in the last five days.

I'm working hard to learn the ropes of this new position, but it's going to take some time before I've got everything figured out.

In Japan, there's a phrase used when meeting people:  "doozo yoroshiku."  It roughly translates as "Please be kind."

Minna-san [everyone], doozo yoroshiku.



Endnote:  For those of you wondering, the title of this blog post *is* a reference to the fantastic graphic novel (which just happens to be available at the Tumbler Ridge Public Library), Batman Year One.  However, as you've read, this blog post did not tell the story of a masked vigilante, a police detective, and the formation of their odd friendship/working relationship.