Date: January 22, 25, & 29 Arrival: 22nd 3:30 25th 3:30 29th 3:30 Departure: 22nd 5:30

5:30 25th 4:30 29th 5:30 Total Time: 5 hrs Time to Date: 5 hrs (DCL)

Activities/Observations (22nd): These first few hours of my field experience with the Dubuque County Library were spent becoming more familiar with the day-to-day schedule and general library procedures. I met the Director, Dawn Hayslett and discussed the purpose of the field experience required for this course. We were able to setup a tentative schedule for my hours and we discussed the expectations that she had of me while I was with the library. These expectations included; assisting with the circulation desk, helping plan and develop the young adult section and new teen advisory board, processing and cataloging, and assisting in the weeding process. She introduced me to one of their clerks; Lisa, that I would be working with frequently. She also showed me around the library while pointing out the different sections. The various sections in this library include the childrens area, young adult section, public computer area, adult fiction and nonfiction, audiobooks, and DVDs. During another meeting Dawn and I discussed how the five branches work together. They do a library interloan exchange where they transfer different types of the collection (i.e. books, audiobooks, DVDs, etc.) to the different branches once a week. This provides the opportunity for all five branches to see different books from time to time. They select a certain number of materials and one person drives from branch to branch to circulate the collection. There is one branch (Farley) that shares its collection with the local school (Drexler Middle). There have been some challenges with students needing to have a county library card to check out county library materials, but overall the two libraries have worked together and have actually made great progress in working together for the patrons. On the last day, I continued meeting with Dawn and become more familiar with the county library and how it operates. With ordering, Dawn divides up the collection to different people. One person orders YA, another orders DVDs, etc. She says this helps her to delegate the ordering responsibilities although she does see and places the official orders. She considers the collection to be a popular materials collection. That is, the goal of each order is to meet popular demand of materials. Dawn does not consider the library to be a research, archival, or school based. Dawn shared with me copies of the collection development policy, annual budget sheet, and request for reconsideration of library resources. Analysis (22nd): I am excited about the opportunity to work with Dawn and the Dubuque County Library staff. I am thrilled about working with the Young Adult collection and assisting them with the various activities in the library. I am interested in learning how the collection works with five branches and feel that it was important for me to understand the inner-workings of the DCL (Dubuque County Library) as it gives me a better feel for the collection. We decided that the next few visits I would begin working the circulation desk and assisting with processing and cataloging. I was initially surprised that Dawn was so open to sharing her library documents with me, but she said that she wanted me to be as familiar with the policies as possible. Standard(s): 3

Date: February 4 Arrival: 4:00 Departure: 8:00 Total Time: 4 hrs Time to Date: 9 hrs (DCL)

Activities/Observations: Tonight was my first night working the circulation desk. I was training with Lisa; who I had previously met, and we began immediately. Since I had already been given a tour of the library, I was able to assist with shelving. I shelved books for two hours! The person who regularly shelves (a volunteer) only comes once a week so I was able to get quite a lot of the materials cleared. I then shelf read for an hour and cleaned up the stacks (i.e. putting miss-shelved books in the right place, adjusting full shelves, etc.) The last hour I trained on their circulation system, Library Solutions, and learned how to check materials in and out, how to reserve materials, renew, etc. Analysis: It was interesting to work the circulation desk for the first time. I was surprised by the amount of shelving that needed to be done. I did not mind doing the work, but I think that they need to have someone there more than once a week to shelve materials. The amount of materials that are circulated are more than enough to justify having someone every other day. When I went to shelf read and clean up the stacks, I was very curious as to why the stacks were in the condition they were. I can see this being a constant upkeep for them. I know that I am constantly sending workers to shelf read at the high school library and I assumed the public setting would be better. The circulation system; Library Solutions, was easy to learn and navigate. I am confident in my ability to work the circulation desk and feel that Lisa and I worked well together. She was pleased that I caught on fast and we discussed the possibility of me working the desk alone in the future. Standard(s): 1

Date: February 5, 6, & 7 Arrival: 5th & 6th - 3:45 7th 4:00 Departure: 5th & 6th - 5:45 7th 8:00 Total Time: 8 hrs Time to Date: 17 hrs (DCL)

Activities/Observations: These evenings I continued to assist with the circulation desk. I checked books in and out, put materials on hold, called patrons about pickup for holds that were filled, shelved and did more shelf reading. I helped a few patrons setup accounts and assisted several teenagers find some selections in the young adult section. On the evening of the 7th I trained with Lisa on how to process materials for cataloging. I worked with some books that were brought in as a donation and learned how they inscribe the information, label, and prepare the book for circulation. Before starting the process, I helped evaluate the books for selection into the collection. Some we decided to include, others we did not. They same process is used for new books to the collection. Once Lisa showed me how to process, she handed me a large stack and I processed for three of the four hours that night. Once one stack was gone, another one just as high was brought in. Analysis: These evenings were beneficial to me because I felt that I learned how the library functions on a day to day basis. I was able to see the flow of the circulation desk and review the process of starting a patron account. It was an easy process, but was still interesting to watch. The processing part of the experience did get a little tedious, but it is a necessary part of working in any library. There were a few

moments when my coworker seemed a little too happy to be giving me all the processing, but I accepted with a smile and continued working. I am hoping that I will be able to start analyzing the young adult section soon. Standard(s): 1, 4

Date: February 11 Arrival: 4:00 Departure: 8:00 Total Time: 4 hrs Time to Date: 21 hrs (DCL)

Activities/Observations: Todays hours started off exciting because tonight was the night for the Teen Advisory Board meeting. When it was time for the meeting to start only 2 teens had showed up to participate. The meeting was monitored by the childrens librarian, Jill Doyle. The YA coordinator had recently received a position at a different library, so Jill is filling in until a replacement is found. We went ahead and started the meeting focusing on the YA adult collection and on selection and purchasing. We discussed the latest VOYA, looked at where we stood with the series books, and discussed new and upcoming books. I showed them www.teenreads.comand we spent some time browsing through that website. They did a service project of making origami bookmarks for the juvenile section and concluded with scheduling the next meeting (2 months away!). Analysis: I have to say that I was extremely disappointed with the number of teens that showed up. The librarian said that usually there is 5-6, but maybe it was just the day.....I really like this program that they have started and I hope it continues to grow. The teens involved listened and were attentive; they gave great recommendations and seemed to enjoy being a part of the program. I did not agree with the schedule time of the next meeting. I think that they should meet once a month because it provides more opportunities for the teens to make the meeting, not to mention that it stays current with monthly releases for new books. I am hoping that even though I will not be there for the April meeting, that more teens will show up and participate in the program. It truly does have great potential and a great staff member in charge. It would be heartbreaking if the program was cancelled. Standard(s): 1, 2, 4, Date: February 19th & 21st Arrival: 19th 3:45 21st 4:00 Departure: 19th 5:45 21st 8:00 Total Time: 6 hrs Time to Date: 27 hrs (DCL)

Activities/Observations: These six hours were completely devoted to analyzing the Young Adult collection. I began with spending time in the section, reviewing what titles were already there and making note of any popular titles I did not see. I cross-checked and compared what titles were in my high school collection with what was currently available at the county library. Time was spent looking through the book reviews in the latest VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) journal and on www.teenreads.com to get ideas for some new and upcoming titles to order. Analysis: I must say that analyzing the young adult section is becoming a tiresome process. I did not think that it would possible be this exhausting! After reviewing the existing collection and looking at

various resources for ideas I feel that I am running in a circle. I am finding it interesting comparing the two libraries (WDHS and Dubuque County Library) young adult sections. There were many titles that were found in both and both libraries gave me some title ideas to order for the other. The workspace that I have is tiny and in a back corner, but it gives me the opportunity to focus. I have $1300.00 that was allocated for me to spend on the YA collection, so needless to say, I am ecstatic about the number of titles that I can order! Standard(s): 4 Date: February 25th & 28th Arrival: 4:00 Departure: 8:00 Total Time: 8 hrs Time to Date: 35 hrs (DCL)

Activities/Observations: These eight hours were split between three tasks. The first was working the circulation desk. I overall worked around three hours at the circulation desk doing the usually jobs (i.e. check in/out, renew, assisting with locating materials, shelving, etc.) The second task was continuing work on my analysis of the young adult collection. The main focus for these few hours was spent analyzing the series books in the YA collection. There were many series that were missing a specific title and some popular series that only had the first book. I added books to fill these series to my existing order of new titles. The new task that I was assigned during this time was to assist in weeding the Juvenile Fiction and Juvenile Easy Reading. We went through and removed damaged/out of date materials on both the shelves and in the computer circulation system. Analysis: The tasks that I performed during these field experience hours were indeed tedious. I fully understand that they are necessary to ensure that the library is up-to-date and runs smoothly; however they are mundane and can become mentally tiresome. I feel that the more time I spend at the circulation desk, the more familiar and comfortable I become. Working with the YA collection has been my favorite task thus far primarily because it is what I am most familiar with. Weeding the childrens section so far has been my least favorite task, but like the others I know that it is fundamental to the library process. I was thrown into weeding rather quickly with no direction of what to look for so about 30 minutes in I stopped and asked for more clarification. After going through a few shelves with the childrens librarian, I had a better idea of what they were trying to accomplish in updating the section. Standard(s): 1, 4

Date: March 2 Arrival: 9:00 Departure: 3:00 Total Time: 6 hrs Time to Date: 41 hrs (DCL)

Activities/Observations: Today was the first Saturday that I have spent in the library. The majority of my hours were spent finalizing my book order for the Young Adult collection. I double-checked my order to ensure accuracy and then went onto the ordering website (ipage) and checked the price listing and number of copies wanted. I prepared the order to go to Dawn for final check and will give the list to her on Monday to start her review. The remaining time I assisted with the circulation desk and continued weeding the childrens section. With a better idea of what direction to head in with the weeding, I was able to move quickly and get a substantial amount of the weeding finished. Today was also the

American Girl reading group meeting. The childrens librarian does a fantastic job at creating good programs and the American Girl reading group is one of the most popular. There were around 10 girls that showed up to participate. They are currently reading Meet Josefina, and made a dream catcher for their project. Analysis: I was very pleased to have compiled the book order list for the YA collection. As I was making the list I noticed that there were several popular titles that were not ordered and several of their series books only included the first book. I thought that it was interesting a library that was said to be a popular demand collection did not have many complete series. Many of the titles they did not have in collection are extremely popular at my high school library. This was my first time using ipage and found it a bit tricky to navigate and understand. The homepage was bulky (text heavy) and was difficult to navigate. After about 30 minutes of learning the page, I was able to start creating my order list. I was surprised how long it actually took me to create the entire order. Even though this has nothing to do with the Dubuque County Library itself, I think that the entire ipage could be easier to navigate. The American Girl reading group was a joy to watch. It was refreshing to see young readers excited to discuss books. Standard(s): 1, 2, 4 Date: March 4th, 7th, & 8th Arrival: 4th 3:45 7th 3:45 8th 3:45 Departure: 4th 5:45 7th 5:45 8th 5:45 Total Time: 6 hrs Time to Date: 47 hrs (DCL)

Activities/Observations: These six hours were spent once again assisting at the circulation desk and processing books for circulation. During one of the nights we had a power outage that resulted in the shutdown of the circulation system. It was off for about 15 minutes and we had around 5 patrons want to check out during that time. We had to check their card, write down their name and the material that they wanted to check out. Once the power came back on we checked out the materials and continued on. The processing went faster this time around as I am getting faster at the process. It begins with inscribing the book with the date purchased, vendor, and price of book. Then the library identification stamp is placed near the beginning, middle, and end of the book. Finally the due date slip is taped to the inside and the library barcode is put on the front cover. During my processing time, I was able to have an interesting conversation with one of the staff members about this particular library and about libraries in general. We mainly discussed some of the logistical problems with having 5 branches, which include: sharing materials, lost/overdue materials, filling patron requests, and keeping records similar. Analysis: One thing that I noticed about processing is that no matter how far along you think you are there is always another pile of books hiding in the background. The staff member with whom I had my discussion with was adamant about technology and the fear she had that it would take over libraries. Ebooks scared her to death and she was extremely worried about the future of libraries. She inquired why I would want to get into the library business when technology appeared that it would take over the library world. I was so surprised that I was actually engaging in this content of conversation that I was taken back. I told her that I was pursuing my library certification because I believed that libraries were not just about having books and materials. Libraries are about gathering quality information in many different resources and making it accessible to patrons. She did not seem pleased with my answer

and the conversation changed to general library topics. She felt that the inter-library system was efficient and effective for them to get the materials spread out and moved through 5 different branches. She sees many customer complaints if a material is not at their specific library, but a request can be put in to have to material moved to the library desired. Any fines a patron has will be placed on their account and will show at any branch that the patron tries to check out from. I think that even though there are headaches that are involved with having 5 different branches, they have a solid system in place so that all of the branches work well together. Standard(s): 1, 3, 4

Date: March 9 Arrival: 9:00 Departure: 3:00 Total Time: 6 hrs Time to Date: 53 hrs (DCL)

Activities/Observations: This was the second Saturday that I spent at the Dubuque County Library. Today I continued to assist at the circulation desk and also with weeding materials and processing. There was a steady stream of patrons in the library between 9:30 11:00 and then the flow slowed down considerably. More patrons started to arrive again after lunch (around 1:00). Today was also the Friends of the Library meeting; which is open to all patrons who wish to discuss general library information or would like to discuss changes that need to be made. There were only three patrons who participated in the meeting. The meeting was monitored by the childrens librarian, Jill, and discussion was limited. I sat in at the beginning of the meeting, but halfway through I was called to take over the circulation desk for someone who was taking their lunch. Even though I had left the meeting, I could still hear the discussion taking place and how negative it was becoming. The beginning of the meeting consisted of polite conversation and information on moving the library to a new building. After the initial topics were discussed, the three patrons turned negative and started complaining. They complained about open hours, public computer use, availability of materials, and so on. The childrens librarian handled the meeting well and listened to all of the patrons fully. After the patrons were finished she politely thanked them for coming and said that the library would take their requests into consideration. Analysis: I have to say that the friends of the library meeting did not turn out how I thought it would. I assumed patrons would give a few suggestions, listen to the updates, everyone would drink their coffee, visit with each other, and then the meeting would be over. That is not how it turned at all. After the meeting I had a quick discussion with the childrens librarian and she mentioned that those same three patrons always attend the meeting and always complain about one thing or another. She was hoping more or even different patrons would attend. I was surprised that a library that had 5 branches did not have at least a medium sized turnout for the meeting. The meeting is only held at the main branch (Asbury) so it may be that patrons near the other branches do not want to travel. I was very impressed by the way Jill handled the meeting. She was calm and collected and never once lost her cool or her temper. Upon further speaking with her, I learned that this was not the official meeting, but rather just a quick monthly get together before the official meeting on March 14. Standard(s): 1, 3, 4

Date: March 11th, 12th, & 13th Arrival: 3:30 Departure: 6:30 Total Time: 9 hrs Time to Date: 62 hrs (DCL)

Activities/Observations: For my final hours this week I worked one evening at the circulation desk assisting patrons and shelving the returned materials. Another evening I worked on book processing and was able to help complete an entire book order (85 books) processing. This was one of the original book orders that I started processing at the beginning of my field experience hours, so it felt nice to be able to say that I completed the processing for them. My last evening was spent with Dawn reviewing the incoming book order that I compiled for the YA collection. She showed me how to officially place the order through ipage, (as opposed to just compiling the list) and then we discussed my evaluation and I reflected over how I felt the overall experience went. Analysis: It was bittersweet this week to say goodbye to the staff at the Dubuque County Library. It was a wonderful experience and working with the public gave me a whole new way to look at library service. It is definitely different than a school library in terms of collection development, flexibility, patron inquiries, and patron service. Dawn was wonderful to work for and I felt that she was willing to answer any question that I asked. She was always honest with me and frequently gave me her personal and professional opinion. I will return in a few days to pickup my evaluation form, and I am optimistic that I have met several of the standards required. Standard(s): 1, 3, 4