More orientation today. We covered intellectual freedom, harassment in the workplace, and customer service. I got a name tag too!
Harassment in the workplace and customer service are pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll discuss intellectual freedom below, as it’s a topic I find interesting.
Intellectual freedom essentially means that library patrons should have access to whatever materials they want. The library staff cannot limit access because they do not personally agree with the materials. Essentially, the First Amendment of the US Constitution applied to a library setting. The library staff does not have the responsibility of limiting what children check out – that responsibility falls to the parents.
After orientation, I added the programs I’m interested in attending on my Google Calendar and then shadowed the Reference desk for about an hour. The library doesn’t have a huge fortress of a Reference desk on the second floor. Instead, they have two small rolling “rovers” with computers and other materials. I was shadowing Jenny (who’s in charge of the music collection), Kathy (who’s in charge of the international books and magazines) and Chris (who’s in charge of outreach and large-print). They were all great. I particularly enjoyed shadowing Jenny. We discussed a lot about music and other facets of being a public librarian. She also went to library school at Kent State, which is likely where I’ll go, should I pursue being a librarian further.
I really enjoyed being on the floor. There were some interesting people, but fun. I felt very comfortable being around the Reference desk and could definitely see myself working there.