Library day in the life, 1/28/11

8 AM -- Arrive at work to open the library for a staff member who had to take a sick day.

All day -- There's really no point in breaking it down by time. Today it's me and one workstudy until 11:30, then it's just me until around 2:30 or 3, when the staff member who is coming in late (not to be confused with the one out all day) should get here. Then it's just us until 5, when the library closes. There are sometimes days like this, when one is the director of a small library at a small university that has gone through a couple years of budget cuts and reorganization. Every day is kind of like this. One of the reasons I love meetings and presentations and one-on-one research appointments so much is because I know I won't be interrupted to check a book out or fix someone's electronic reserves password or whatever. I tell our patrons that they are most important, and they shouldn't feel apologetic about interrupting library staff, and that is completely true. But it affects my productivity to always know that I can't just sit down, put on my headphones, and *do* something. Even if nothing does come up, it's still on my mind. Small libraries are all kinds of awesome, especially mine. But there are trade-offs.