by This week there are soft moments that I steal alone. My forefinger flicks through pages of books. The hum of the lights overhead and the heater kicking on periodically are the only sounds aside from my inhales and exhales. It’s in this, that my fantasies really breathe to life. I’m a cloaked keeper of the books in the deep archives of the castle, surrounded by a lush green forest where I stopped to pick berries on my walk. It’s only in the picking up of a pen to paper that distances me from my library duties and makes me harborer of souls, instead.
Hey heyyy. Week 4 in the books. My first week without my elder trainer shadowing me (Miss Bonnie). She was greatly missed, but I still saw her for the overlap of shift change :p
Here are some notes from the week! It was a great one.
MONDAY: Closed due to President’s Day
TUESDAY ☆⋆｡𖦹°‧★
- Shipment dayyy which means plenty of totes for me to unload woop woop
- Tuesdays are our story time days, and this week was Mardis Gras themed! The kids loved it. They made feathery masks, caught beaded necklaces around their necks, and ate chocolate gold coins.
- I had a patron call requesting a book on France from 200-500AD. She had taken up an interest on it from other books. Y’all it was so fun going on this hunt for her. We have a really small library, so I looked in the bibliographic records (a catalogue that shows all of the books circulated in all surrounding libraries) for key words. The timing of my uni studies were right on because we were just learning about the Protestant Reformation and though that was far after, it made me link France to that time as being a part of the Roman Empire still and then I looked up key words around Christianity and Catholicism and bam—I found a title that referenced the independence of France around 500. She was so overjoyed and I felt so useful lol.
- It was super busy the whole day and flew by.
WEDNESDAY.ೃ࿔
- Today we had a LEAP training, which is the add on to Polaris (the system that most libraries in the northeast use). I was literally leaping for joy (full pun intended) because the old system was ancient it literally looked like this:
And though, I love a vintage little workflow—I usually lean toward analog, not brick block microsoft style. Sooo, this upgrade is so refreshing. It is now in a web browser and literally almost everything is superior. Though, Miss Bonnie knows the ins and outs of the old Polaris probably better than anyone on this Earth, so Sharon (our system’s branch overseer) said she can continue with the old platform. ‘Twas a win for all.
- We threw a listening party for Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. It was really sort of sad because no one showed and our new director threw it, buttt we hope for more people to come next time! That happens often in a quaint town. I took some cute photos to market it for the socials though!love a well-loved bookthe copies we gathered muahah
- Lastly, the ladies were all gathered around and asked me:“You’re studying English, right?”“I am, yes.”’“Did you graduate yet?”“No, I’m still in undergrad. It’ll probably take me a couple more years because I’m doing part-time with the kiddos.”The new director Gianna nodded, “Oh girl, it took me so long.”Linda chimed in, “Oh yeah, do it at your own pace. But, how do you feel about poetry?”“Oh, I love it. It’s mostly what I write, aside from my book.” “How would you feel about leading a poetry group or class this summer?” Mackenzie asked. “Uhm, I would absolutely love that, are you kidding me?”All three girls got so bright-eyed. “Perfect, you’re doing it,” Mackenzie confirmed. (I probably squealed or did some lame celebratory dance). Linda, the director that has been there for ages and has so much love for the library, actually started tearing up. “I am just so happy right now. This is exactly what I wanted this library to be. I could cry. I really could.” It damn near made me cry right with her! And genuinely, I am so excited. I have wanted to do things like this for so long and now I actually get…paid to?!?! (It’ll be a free program I just say that because I will be doing it during my shift hours hehe).
THURSDAY: Closed
- Though we were closed I wanted to note a huge moment for me as a writer! I edited my book a lot this day because I had a mutual on instagram dm me the night prior and ask when it was coming out because they visit my website often to check because it seems so intriguing. I…
- Felt beyond grateful that someone actually thought about my book and even more so wanted updates on it to eventually read. I think it was a really defining moment that my book doesn’t just exist in my head, now that it’s finished and I’ve posted a bit about it…it’s tangible and real and soon—ready to be perceived!!!
- I never felt more motivated to get my crap together and get back to editing it. It is such a process but I need to stop putting it at the bottom of my ever-growing, never fulfilled to-do list so consistently. She also posted one of my substack articles on her story, it made my week!!!So yeah, a pretty surreal moment!! I’ve also always thought she was so pretty & cool so I was even more enthralled lol
FRIDAY‧₊˚ ⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
- I walked into a TOWER of totes. I got to check in kindergarten bags for the first time (which are literally the cutest thing ever). It’s a collection of 10 books in a big bag or 5 books to a small bag. It[s hand-selected…a bit of a “mystery bag” for children to grab and go! I am def going to bring one home for my kiddos. I have my eye on #13 lol. We have 10 books out right now currently, so after we return them!
- Our director Gianna lived in Puerto Rico for a time, and she ordered this really cool collection of books that are in English and Spanish. We got to add them in the system because no one else had them yet!
- We had a snowstorm, so we closed a bit early!
SATURDAY*ੈ✩‧₊˚
- This was an exciting shift because I got to open the library on my own and be the only one on staff. Although I am naturally very outgoing in the presence of others, I love my own company. I often crave solitude, a bit of a battery recharge, as I often call it. On my Meyers Briggs personality test I scored an E (standing for extroverted) but it was 49% introverted and 51% extroverted—a very fine line. As I age, I feel my that 49% climb up! Saturdays might be my new favorite hehe.
- I wasn’t alone for long, however…there was a group hosting a princess story time! It was so cute. The pageant winners of the local fair this summer read in their crowns to kids who came dressed up in princess gowns and prince suits. There was cake and hot coco and lots of child-like wonder.
- In my downtime, I took to designing some bookmarks to print out and have patrons grab for free if they wish! They’re so cute, if I say so myself. blurred out the branch name for safety :p
SUNDAYৎ୭
- We were closed this day but the library put on Clifford’s birthday party and I brought my twins and they loved it so much!
That was my super eventful and fun week. Thank you all for tuning in. I am going to try and do some writing soon…I have had a thought-piece brewing for quite sometime and unfortunately with poetry it truly seems that I can only write it when I feel a truly unendurable ache! I’m happy I have these weekly updates for some consistency.
What do you draw from for inspiration?
If you like these posts, I do articles on my substack under @rhyonnford, the publication name is Share of Psyches 𓏲ּ𝄢
🙂