A Day in the Life: Friday

This week I am cataloging my daily activity for Hack Library School's "Library Student Day in the Life" project (#HLSDITL). You can read others' posts -- and see pictures and videos -- here. Maybe you want to write your own!

FRIDAY

10 AM: Oops. I hit snooze at 9 and apparently I turned off the alarm. That's okay, but we need to leave by 11 as we've reserved a car from CityCarShare.

Shower, etc. and roust the wife from her slumbering nest. She has the day off from work, but will work a midnight-to-8 shift tonight and tomorrow, so needs to rest up when possible.

Get news from the friend we were going to visit that she has a conflict. Cancel CityCarShare reservation. I can take a bus to the library instead. Maybe we'll reschedule in the afternoon.

11 AM: Breakfast: fried eggs, toast, whole wheat farina (which I have three bites of and then pass on to Mikey -- er, my wife -- 'cause I'm full). Catch up on Google Reader and Facebook.

I was interested by the story of Mary Edwards Walker, the second female surgeon in the U.S., but I was also amused by her parents' names for their daughters: Vesta, Aurora Borealis, Luna, Cynthia... and Mary.

Got dressed. I tend to "dress for the job I want" when I visit any library, so today I have scarlet tights, a denim skirt, a red tank top, and a black corduroy jacket. With black suede Mary Janes. I even wore makeup... unusual!

12 PM: It's a lovely day, so I walk instead of hopping on a bus. I don't mind walking most places except in nasty weather or when I'm ill. I so rarely get out in the world during daylight hours.

1  PM: Reached the library. Figured out the wireless connection and also where to plug in. Rummaged through the "Moving Up" section for intermediate readers and pulled a dozen or so books to check for content. I also have to make sure that they're available in the Chicago Public Library system! If there are only a few copies across all the branches, that won't be helpful for the summer learning program.

Ideas for activities, without specific books:
mixing potions
making a meal/snack
make a spaceship
percussion from found objects

2  PM: First round of books checked and sorted. I have 1 picture book, 2 primers, and 4 easy chapter books. Time for a break and a snack. It's sunny out, but windy enough that I take care to keep my napkin under something heavy.

The restroom was pretty grim. One clogged unflushed toilet (out of 3), a rickety door that had to be forced to lock, torn toilet paper all over the floor. And apparently the middle stall was out of paper (as I had to hand some under the door on my way out of the restroom).

3  PM: Second round of browsing (this time in picturebooks) and checkout. I learned that I can have up to 40 books checked out at one time! (I have 23 currently.) I think I'll be coming back this weekend.

My wife picked me (and my very heavy shoulder bag) up at the library and drove to our friend's house (yay! my sartorial effort was not for nothing)... where she realized just as we walked up to the door that she'd forgotten the items we were meant to be returning. D'oh!

4  PM: Had a quick cuppa with our friend and chatted about recent happenings while her cats ignored me. They aren't used to seeing me dressed up, either. We only had the car for an hour, so on our way home we swung by a chip shop and picked up some popcorn shrimp and chips for early dinner.

5  PM: Read this 2010 article about twenty-somethings not growing up like they used to. I've hit 4 of the 5 milestones, and I'm turning 29 next month. Nonetheless I think of myself as a late bloomer.

Google Reader, Facebook, email. Invited friends to the gospel concert I won't be singing in this year (I've been away from church choir since the end of 2012, in favor of schoolwork): Be Glad!

Read discussion posts for class and school email.

6  PM: Blogger stats are coming along nicely. Over 200 views every day this week. And it seems that Monday's DITL post was linked on Facebook somewhere.

Checked in with the kittencam. Ah-dorable.

Checked the rest of the picturebooks against the CPl catalog. Ruled one out -- they have about a half a dozen copies, but that's not enough. Also found a supplemental book to share the same topic with one that didn't have a large number of copies.

7  PM: Sarah from Lezbrarian linked to this YALSA article on the problematic whiteness of YA novel cover art. That led me to author responses and of course many comments. I think that YA novels generally show too-perfect, conventionally attractive faces and bodies when they use human models for the cover art; and yes, many many many of them are white. I found the sampling of books that were about non-white characters, but did not show that on the cover, disturbing. In the comments, readers discussed what publishers were getting -- or thought they were getting -- out of that. Do teens buy more books with white characters on the cover, even if they're not white themselves? Are the whitewashed representations of nonwhite characters something aspirational -- is it "better" (for sales) to have a light-skinned black woman with wavy or straightened hair on the cover, because that is an accepted standard of beauty for black girls? Do non-white teens have less money, on average, to buy new books, and is that why sales are down on covers with non-white characters? Follow-up: What are the circulation records like for those books in areas with majority minority patrons? Additional follow-up: Why don't white kids buy those books?

8  PM: My wife brought a whole crab back from the store. As a treat -- second dinner? -- we cracked it and ate it (largely over the sink) together.

Back to the picturebooks, this time working on the challenge cards themselves (each card has an open-ended assignment, activity, or challenge, where the reader is asked to do or create something related to the book).

9  PM: Challenge cards. Kittencam. HSLDITL posts. Catbox and water dish.

10 PM: Tumblr report (bit by bit). Logged hours for internship. Checked discussion forums again.

11 PM: Updated this blog post. Said goodnight to my love, who is headed out the door to work an overnight shift. Climbed into bed with Anne's House of Dreams. (I've been much better about bedtime this week!)

I think I'll continue DITL through this weekend, since that's when I do the bulk of my library school work. Hope it's not too tedious. Comment if you like!