Practicum
I helped Linda again in converting a local history interview on VHS onto DVD, and then I made labels for ILL and spine labels for books whose labels had faded. I did some work on the fax machine - it had the incorrect phone number, and the place name had some spelling errors. Then I pulled books for the holds list and figured out the DVD-label-making software. I manned the reference desk and spent most of my time there helping a woman at the computer - she needed assistance finding maps and directions, setting up an online bank account, and getting into her e-mail. I also answered non-computer-related reference questions as well. I continued to work on a document Linda had started which was a sort of FAQ sheet concerning the move. I learned that through the Public Library Fund, the State gives out money to each county. The libraries in this county divide up the funds amongst themselves. This library gets 8.3% of the county's money (only around $325,000 this year). The County's Budget Commission reviews each budget, and it said that this library's operating costs were too high - they weren't comparable to the other public libraries in the county, and they needed to control these costs. Hence the move - it was the way this library figured it could best cut these costs (by closing off the second floor and moving the reference section to the first floor). There are still some materials upstairs, however, including some of the genealogy and state reference materials as well as the rare books, and I am worried that some of these, especially the rare books, will not do well if the climate isn't controlled (and it was rather humid today). At the end of the day, I made more spine labels for children's DVDs.
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