You usually won鈥檛 find me at the front desk of your neighborhood library, but the work I do can be seen all throughout the library system. Sounds like a riddle, right? It鈥檚 not!
Some people may find it surprising how much needs to be done before a book ends up on our library shelves. Have you ever heard of cataloging? It鈥檚 the process of pulling relevant information (publisher, author, illustrator, even the measurements are important) from an item and deciding where it fits into our collection of more than 1.1 million items.
Let鈥檚 say you like to read mystery novels so you go to your favorite library and explore their mystery section 鈥 seems simple enough, right? Now imagine that there was no mystery section but, instead, an assortment of books in no specific order. That鈥檚 where cataloging comes in 鈥 we make it easier for you to find materials.
People are also reading…
I am the interlibrary loan manager in the Technical Services Department. If you鈥檙e wondering what in the world that means, you鈥檙e not the first. Let鈥檚 just say that my job doesn鈥檛 make for simple conversation at the dentist鈥檚 office or while getting my hair cut. No, you won鈥檛 see me at the front desk of your neighborhood library, but if you were to visit me on the fourth floor of the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, you might find me neck-deep in a mountain of books.
The books you鈥檇 find me (happily) drowning in are popular titles that the library leases from one of our vendors, Baker & Taylor, to meet customer demand. Yes, you got it 鈥 our Collection Development Department helps make sure you don鈥檛 have to wait years for that newest bestseller. Surprised you didn鈥檛 have to wait two years for James Patterson鈥檚 latest? We leased it. What about that Stephen King book you鈥檝e been counting down the days for? Leased. The 鈥淒iary of a Wimpy Kid鈥 book your child has been asking about since they finished the last one? Leased.
Once the leased books have fulfilled their holds, they start to make their way to my desk (aka Book Mountain), where I inspect and send them back so we can get new ones. During any given month, we call in about 2,000 leased books to return to the vendor. It鈥檚 fun to see what titles are popular with library customers. In fact, most of the audiobooks I鈥檝e listened to recently were titles that I discovered from working on leased books. But don鈥檛 worry, I waited my turn.
I鈥檓 also a backup delivery driver. Now listen, being a library delivery driver is not as easy as you might think. Sure, it鈥檚 a nice break from my usual desk duties. Sure, I get to listen to my podcasts while I drive around 蜜柚直播. Sure, I get to see many colleagues that I wouldn鈥檛 normally get to see. That鈥檚 all lovely, but delivery is hard. Our usual delivery drivers deserve major props because doing that every day in the 蜜柚直播 heat is not an easy task. At first, driving the large delivery trucks was daunting, but that鈥檚 not even the hardest part. I realize that this doesn鈥檛 come as a surprise to anyone, but books are heavy. And when you have six boxes full of them stacked on each other and it鈥檚 your job to transport, unload and deliver them, you really start to realize how heavy they are.
I鈥檝e worked at Pima County Public Library for almost six years starting off as a page and now, a library associate. Most of what I do day to day has changed, but no matter what it is I鈥檓 doing, I love that I鈥檓 able to serve my community. Sometimes, you can still find me filling in at your neighborhood branch. I hope to see you there sometime.
Jacqueline Felix has worked for Pima County Public Library since 2015. When she鈥檚 not wading through piles of books, she works on the Library鈥檚 LGBTQ+ Services Committee. She鈥檚 currently reading 鈥淎ll Adults Here鈥 by Emma Straub.
