Youth Outreach Practicum Experience and Log

  There is a saying that ta;ks about how the beginnings are so sweet, and there is truth behind that saying. My first time leading a face-to-face storytime ever took place today at the Sweetwater community gazebo. It was such a sweet experience. I met my supervisor Ms. Karen B. at the main library and from there I helped her finish getting the bookmobile ready to drive by checking to make sure carts were secure and moving cones. Once we got to Sweetwater, we parked and set up the bookmobile for operations. After the bookmobile was ready we took the extra chairs, rug, stool, and other storytime supplies out to the community gazebo where I would be hosting storytime. Ms. Karen B had the idea to bring a little gate like barrier which we set up on the parking lot side to help prevent little ones from running into the street (it came in very handy when one little one bolted later and their mom was able to catch them as they were stopped by the barricade). At around 10, I started storyti...

  Spreadsheets are a lot harder than they look. I spent three hours working on organizing and condensing spreadsheets this evening. I was tasked- the week prior-with condensing six different excel documents with the names and information of all the children enrolled with our community partner LTISD Summer Squires. The bookmobile needed a list of all the children and their contact information, so we could then add their library card number next to it that information. From there, during the programs we were at we could let the children checkout library books or have them get free books (if they do not have a library card), based upon the information within the list. Therefore, to make our lives on the bookmobile easier I made one excel spreadsheet with all the children enrolled for the weeks the library was visiting. Within the spreadsheet I included the child’s name along with their parents/guardian’s name, their address, other contact information, along with a column next to the c...

  There is nothing like a quiet Sunday workday. I sat down at 6 with a scone and water in hand then went to work. I started with pulling up my craft list to see the list of crafts for the week of June 5th. I also pulled up my stops I am leading for the week— Summer Squires and Sweetwater. My craft idea was tents so I settled on a camping storytime theme. From there I stated combing the catalog for children’s books talking about camping or an element of camping. Two of the books I reserved were Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping and Ninja Camp . I reserved six different books before researching camp themed preschool songs and rhymes. I settled on “Let’s go camping” song which was catchy repetitive and allowed for some movements with the kids. After outlining my storytime books, songs, and activities for the week of June 5th, I rehearsed my storytime for this week. I read through all the books I had in my head, then I read them out loud. I wanted to add some more movement, so I decided w...

  Let's start by talking about how cute the Lake Travis bookmobile is! My hometown library growing up did not have a mobile library or library vehicle, so I relish in the fact that this summer I get to spend the majority of my time on this little book bus. Bookmobiles are such a great way to reach other members of the community especially youth populations as they have no way of accessing a library without the help of others. However, bookmobiles are a lot of work as I discovered today. This morning I spent a good two hours learning the in's and out's of this little bus. My supervisor started by showing me which keys belonged to the bookmobile, then out of those five keys on the chain which key opened which lock. I practiced unlocking the doors and latching them open with a little metal hook that enables the doors to stay open and steady. I was shown where all the various supplies where kept such as the first aid kit, the checkout computers (and back up computer), roll out ...

  It was busy computer day today. I worked from home today- my supervisor had the day off- and began my internship at around nine and ended around two. I started off by organizing all my notes from the previous meeting and even taped them on my wall as well. I transferred and organized all those notes into my brand new sage notebook that I picked out just for my internship. Next, I wrote my schedule of hours into my planner to ensure I wouldn't miss any dates. Then I created a separate folder within my email for email communications pertaining to my internship so I could easily find and reference them as needed. Once all my information was organized, I reached out to our program correspondent for the LTISD (Lake Travis Independent School District) Summer Squires program inquiring about a program schedule for when and how long the bookmobile would spend with each age group. At our planning meeting, my supervisor hadn't heard back from them yet, however, we wanted an idea of the ...

  Today was my first official day at my internship/practicum! Although the semester hasn't officially started yet, my supervisor noticed there was a conflict with what was supposed to be my day one- Tuesday the 23rd- and her schedule. Therefore, we had our initial planning and logistics meeting today where we discussed my schedule for hours and the tasks, I would complete from home next Tuesday. We met at the Lake Travis Community Library for the meeting for about two and a half hours. We accomplished a lot during this time and went over loads of information- some new and some a review from our email communications from the previous semester.  The first order of business was a library tour and meeting all the other library staff. Even though, primarily I would be working aboard the bookmobile it was helpful to get a feel of the actual library and learn where all the supplies were. I was also given my official library nametag to wear throughout my time interning at the Lake Tra...