I never thought I'd be doing THAT when I went to Library School!

I never thought I’d be doing THAT when I went to Library School!

I know one of the most common topics for conversation among recent graduates of any Masters in Library Science program is the, “I never thought I’d be doing (fill in the blank) when I decided to become a librarian.”

I know that the first time I taught a class for MU in Public Librarianship, I actually dedicated a small section to basic office equipment troubleshooting (how to change toner, clear a paper jam, even plunge a toilet) because you ACTUALLY need to know these things in many public libraries, along with the Dewey Decimal System!

One thing that MCPL does is that when it is time to recarpet a library, the senior administration, along with other specific employees, go to the library, clear the furniture and move the ranges so the old carpet may be removed and new carpet put down. You may have read my entry about my broken PDA. That occurred when we were out recarpeting the Raytown branch library.

For all my complaining about the practice, it does serve a real purpose. Certainly, involving the senior administration allows the employees to see that we are not willing to do anything we do not ask them to do. In fact, we are willing to subject ourselves to much more physically straining activity than we ask them to undertake. It also provides direction. I mean, if the library’s executive director is there saying, “put this range here” whose going to argue? Of course, there are negatives. For instance, by having the five most highly compensated employees acting as manual laborers, it does not make the enterprise very cost-effective!

Perhaps the thing that makes recarpeting very doable was our purchase (several years ago) of range movers. These devices actually link together, attach to library shelves so you can easily wheel the range (books and all) to another part of the building. Typically, we will compress the library ranges, creating a large area for the people to remove the old carpet and to put down the new carpet. Then, we will go back and move the ranges on to the newly carpeted area to open up more space. Finally, after several days of shuffling the ranges, we place them back where they belong.

In the past two months, we have been involved in recarpeting two locations. My back is killing me! But I’m not alone. All the senior administration is really aching if not outright injured! Certainly, one thing I can say. When I decided to go away to library school, I never thought I’d be part of a furniture moving team several time a year!