Two days a week

This week, I started volunteering two days a week. I got a chance to speak to Vicky, the Teen Services Librarian, about my ideas for using barcodes. I was thinking we could use them to spotlight specific awards and showcase any of the winners or honorable mentions in the library's holdings. We could also think about speaking with local teachers to create lists of Web sites relevant to school curricula and use the barcodes in the library for the students to access the lists via smartphone.

Out of curiosity, I checked an online database for some similar ideas other libraries have tried using these barcodes. I found out this new interactive media is called "augmented reality." I hope to have a chance to read these articles soon and share them with Vicky and Melissa.

I created a list of ideas using Google Docs and shared it with Vicky. Speaking of, I also wondered about teaching the use of Google Apps to local teens. The local school system is giving laptops to each student, beginning about middle school. Teaching the students cloud computing might be a great way of inspiring some great group projects.

In the meantime, I got to work the reference desk, again. I absolutely love working reference. I cannot stand to let a patron walk away empty-handed. Even if I can't help them find what they want, I push Inter-library Loan. Hopefully, this will keep them coming back.

I find it interesting that teens are reluctant to ask for help. One young lady came in looking for a vampire series. All copies were checked out. I made a point of telling her that she can use her library card to place a hold on an item she wants online from her home computer. Once that item becomes available, someone would call her. She seemed to like that idea.

Likewise, an older gentleman was looking for a specific author. The library didn't seem to have any holdings. He mentioned that he had received a book written by this author and it contained a list of the author's other works. I suggested he bring the book back on his next visit and the library could try to obtain them through ILL. He liked that suggestion.

That's all for this week. Until next time, Library Lovers.