When I first started pursuing my degree program it was highly recommended that I get involved at a local library. Although I was my church librarian for three years being in the public domain has given me a whole new appreciation for what the volunteers and staff do on a daily basis. I started at Dale City Neighborhood Library in April of this year and love working with Jerry, Carleen, Linda and Jenny and so many of the wonderful people who work and volunteer there. Tuesday mornings can be crazy, especially after a holiday weekend and Wednesday afternoons, although a little slower bring fresh faces and High Schoolers who need help that most Mom’s and little ones don’t during the morning hours.
As a volunteer one of my primary jobs is to check in and check out. I also shelve as I have time, help patrons with special requests, do a little shelf reading when we aren’t too busy and generally have a great time helping all those who use the wonderful resources available at DCNL. Since we are a branch of the Chinn Park Regional Library system we get many hold and transfer requests and sometime I get the opportunity to shelve holds or get transfers ready to go. One of the reasons I chose DCNL rather than one of our larger branches is because as a volunteer at a smaller branch you can learn about most everything the librarians do as opposed to our larger branches where volunteers are only used for specific areas such as check out. Our head librarian, Jenny is willing to teach whatever you want to learn and our branch is small enough I am learning to recognize patrons and their names which give it that true neighborhood feeling!
What a great place to get my feet wet as I begin the adventure that is Library and Information Sciences.
-Jane Blue
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