Library Experience – Heather Bailey Terrell

Rookie Librarian: Mechanics’ Institute Library

July 15, 2015 Heather (she/her)

It’s official: beginning August 3rd, I will be the Public Services Librarian at Mechanics’ Institute Library. I’ll be maintaining library statistics, co-administering book groups, scheduling classes, and co-designing library displays. I’ll be assigned collection management for certain subject areas as well, but these haven’t been ironed out yet. I’m looking forward to working with all of my colleagues, learning new skills, putting my education into practice, and transitioning from my paraprofessional library roles to this professional one.

Tomorrow is my last day at SFPL, and over the two weeks while I’ve been working there knowing I’ll be leaving, I’ve had a few moments of “I’m gonna miss this place” pre-emptive nostalgia. I’ve gained insight from my co-workers at SFPL, and developed more patience and empathy while working with patrons.

With my first professional position in sight, I admit that my anxiety is kicking in — a crisis of confidence, of the “what if I’m not good at this” variety. My brain knows I’ll do well in my new role, but my inner perfectionist has to be reminded that yes, I ~~might~~ will make some blunders — especially at the start. The key is to know that I’ll make mistakes, take them in stride when I do, and engage in post-mortem analysis to glean lessons from each misstep. That anxiety, of course, is mixed with a lot of eagerness. I attended my first librarians’ meeting yesterday (just before working my last Library Assistant shift at MIL — !!), and came away feeling enthusiastic to work with this intelligent, engaged, and interesting group of people.

nervous + excited = ready!

Reading Lessons; Leading Lessons

December 22, 2014January 3, 2015 Heather (she/her)

Facilitating a book group can be daunting. So, naturally, I wanted to try it.

I submitted a proposal for a short stories book group six months ago, and my library thought it was a good idea. I designed a flyer, wrote a blog post and newsletter blurb to introduce the group, and selected six books for the reading group’s trial period.

The Progress of Love / Alice Munro
Fragile Things / Neil Gaiman
Vampires in the Lemon Grove / Karen Russell
A Better Angel / Chris Adrian
The Dog of the Marriage / Amy Hempel
This is How You Lose Her / Junot Diaz

I made several mistakes, but during the book group’s introductory period I’ve learned much about supporting readers in a group discussion setting. Preparation is key, but the right level of participation and the right book are equally important aspects of a flourishing fledgling book group.

Preparation

The leader needs to prepare by knowing the basics of the author’s biography and developing open-ended questions that pique readers’ interest. It goes without saying, the discussion leader must have read the book. If there’s time to read it twice (once for pleasure, and one close reading of the text), forming questions will be much easier. It’s essential to read reviews of the book — at the very least those in major sources like The New York Times Book Review, Atlantic Monthly, and New York Review of Books. Many ideas about theme, character, and plot will surface in the reading of reviews — and these elements formed the basis of every list of questions I developed for my group. When developing questions, think in terms of how a reader interacts with a book. When learning how to devise questions for a book group, I started with LitLovers “How To Talk About a Book” article.

Participation

The discussion leader’s role is to get group members talking to one another — asking a variety of questions, interjecting when a theme is being touched on by several group members but isn’t explicitly recognized by any of them, and/or turning the conversation when one member begins to dominate. It’s important to adapt the discussion to the group — considering the group’s size, members’ interests, previous reading experience, et cetera.

My major rookie mistake was assuming that I needed to have answers to all of the questions I posed, and to contribute those opinions to the discussion. To avoid developing a pedagogical tone for the group, the leader should hang back, let the readers drive the discussion, and steer mainly when it veers off topic. The leader should be flexible with the question list — favorite topics may not garner the enthusiasm the leader might have hoped for, the group may not even get to all the questions on the leader’s list, and members may come up with insights very different from those the facilitator has anticipated.

On the other end of the spectrum, the leader should always be prepared to discuss the work in depth, one on one. I once had a single member show up for the group — it was a rainy night, there was a popular event happening in the adjacent room, and parking in the Financial District was especially bad. Though intimidated, I approached the situation as if I were meeting a friend for coffee to talk about a book we’d both read. I posed a single question to get us started, and a true tête-à-tête ensued from there. It was a successful meeting despite an attendance of one.

Selection

A word on book selection: choose materials with broad appeal, especially for the introductory period. My members’ favorite collections were those by Alice Munro, Karen Russell, and Junot Diaz. On the other hand, it’s also worth keeping in mind that even if everyone hates the book, a good discussion might ensue. Don’t shy away from challenging your group with something they may not find accessible. For example, Amy Hempel is one of my favorite authors, but the readers who attended the discussion of The Dog of the Marriage announced immediately that they did not like the collection. I asked pointed questions as we dissected the book story-by-story, and as the hour progressed, attendees talked at great length about the stories’ complexity. At the end of the discussion, one member asked whether I liked the book; when I revealed that it was one of my top ten favorite books of all time, the group reacted with shock and awe. From my perspective, it was a coup that they couldn’t tell what my opinion was throughout the conversation — and that we had engaged in a sophisticated discussion of the themes and details of Hempel’s delicate work despite the group’s collective “dislike” of the book.

The most important thing I’ve learned about leading a reading group is to think of it as a discussion, because that’s what it is — an exploration of the worlds contained within words. Each meeting will be different based on who’s in attendance and the book on the table. Strong familiarity with the book, respect for each members’ contributions, a willingness to let the discussion unfold, and the ability to adapt to readers’ interests are essential in building a thriving reading group.

MLIS Lessons

August 26, 2014September 28, 2014 Heather (she/her)Leave a comment

Education, especially when you’re a librarian, does not stop at graduation. This is one of the things about the profession that drives me toward it. I expect that the lessons I’ve learned during grad school will carry through my career. I may end up in a very unlikely place, doing work that requires me to build experience in many different areas, collaborating with a variety of inspiring individuals who guide me in my endeavors. This is why I have taken coursework in a wide spectrum of disciplines, from history to web programming. Such a broad variety of work potentialities results in an amazing career to cultivate, full of possibility and requiring a zest for ongoing learning and adaptation!

I’ll be graduating my MLIS program this Spring. As the end (a.k.a., the beginning) draws near, I’ll share some of the things I have learned about the process of graduate work.

Where You Start May Not Be Where You End Up.

When I began, I thought I was fully committed to children’s librarianship, and that alone. After grounding in the program, I’m more interested in the ways we use technology in providing access to materials, and in information literacy for all age groups (including –just not limited to– children). My horizons have also expanded to include an interest in archives, skills in programming and web usability, and experience in research as a discipline.

Get Experience.

Doing is part of learning. I would even suggest that, if possible, prospective MLIS students plan to take fewer classes per semester so they can work or volunteer in a library, get involved with professional associations, and/or complete an internship or two along the way.

The library I’ve worked at (since before I began grad school) is a wonderful institution to be involved with, partly because we have such interesting patrons and staff, partly because of the prestige of being one of the oldest continuously operating libraries in the West, but mostly because there is an openness to trying new things in service to our members. Library management has consistently allowed me to test out what I’m learning in class in the Real World of our library. Sometimes it has failed, as in the Saturday morning storytime I tried to jump-start, which was attended by zero participants. But more often, it’s been a mutually beneficial arrangement, e.g.,

I completed a research class on writing grant proposals, and the proposal I wrote on behalf of my library was fully funded by a like-minded granting institution; the project is currently well underway.
I was inspired by course readings to suggest a staff picks display, and it has been a hit with our patrons.
Most recently, as a complement to my reference services course, I began leading a book group.

Developing a career begins well before graduation, and while one is collaborating with libraries and librarians, she may meet a mentor or two…

Cultivate Mentor-Mentee Relationships.

Mentors are beneficial in any profession, comparable to a guild or trade union apprenticeship. The apprentice works under the guidance of a master until she reaches journeyman status, and eventually, becomes a master herself. (Someday, MLIS student, you too may be someone’s mentor!)

Mentors can help the MLIS student identify her strengths and interests, guide her to acquire a deeper understanding of the work a librarian does, and act as an ally in all aspects of career development, from job hunting to providing references. These relationships can be casual or formal, and many mini-mentors might occupy the role of a single mentor for some. Mentorships don’t always need to be formalized, and in some cases (for me, in all cases thus far), they develop very naturally when I build relationships with people whose work interests me.

Adaptability is paramount in this vocation. If the student keeps this in mind as s/he works through the program and cultivates varied skill sets while gaining experience, the profession will begin to look like a wide-open place in which to apply what one has learned.