Confession #3...it's quiet here...

In general, the library is quieter than most places I have worked. The exception to this would be during storytime, right after school and pretty much anytime there are kids who are respectful.

Having said that, the library is quiet. The first week I started working at the library, I could hear the sound of clicking (people typing at the computers), soft whispers and the air conditioning/heater running. Since it has been four months since I  began, I can say, it hasn't changed much.

Some libraries are louder than others. But long gone are the images I had of what a librarian looked like and behaved...

FYI, this is NOT the type of librarian I am...

Gone are the days of card catalogs, stamping books and shushing patrons. Now they are librarians who in my opinion are real people. When I was young, I wondered if librarians were aliens because they never smiled. Now I do my best to smile at every patron I see.

I think it is important to note that a library doesn't always have to be quiet. At the library I worked at last night, it is quite the opposite. My first day there, I was taken back by the underlying "buzz" of the library. There always seemed to be something going on. Even at 10 am when the library opened, there were a plethora of people. There is a real community vibe to this library and I think it is all the better for it. At other libraries, I can work a 4 hour shift and if I see 10 people, it's busy.

Even though I have discovered that a library isn't necessarily the romanticized version of what I thought it was when I was a kid, I have grown to love the library and love the job I have. While I may miss music playing occasionally, I don't miss hearing the same CD's over and over and over again in the same day (all I have to say about that is GOTYE! AH!!!!!)

Simply put, I love working at the library. Even if it is quieter.