Library Technician

Did my job searching first thing this morning, and how easy is that these days with the internet, computers and mobile phones? I have found two more jobs to at least ring up about, but one at least will probably need a drivers licence so it's no good for me. I can't drive. Don't want to. Neither of them close for 2 weeks so I have plenty of time, and so today was a day off tech and job hunting. Lunch in the local caf, a drive thru the country to the nearest town, found a fair on, went for a gentle walk & bought a toy for a young relative, took photos, checked out the local airfield and saw a small plane that I've been up in before. That was fun. Drove back, dinner, watching tv, internet. What more could someone want? Well we won't go into that, there's always more, but altogether a very satisfying day.

What a mad few days. I had an assignment due on Thursday and a job application today. I really wanted both finished. I'm doing an extra course which will open up some new work possibilities for me with any luck and I just want out of this job. The job I've applied for is permanent full time public service job. I'll be able to take paid holidays! And getting out of this workplace is so very important. I'm working in the middle of a powder keg and my lib'n is the fuse and the manager is the match! They really got stuck into each other yesterday morning, not quite a row, but very wound up and a bit too loud and way too public. Luckily no one else was in the library. If anyone had walked in they would have turned and run. The manager is upset because my lib'n went ahead and did something by herself, it was the table of contents emails that were sent out at the beginning of the week. We aren't sure if someone else was involved and getting in the managers ear. Both the lib'n and the manager were at fault this time, neither of them acting in a professional manner. It's all in the approach, if the manager had come down and said calmly 'I can see what you're trying to do, but there is a problem' it would have all come out differently. They are both still mad at each other and I'm tired of witnessing it. It's a bit like watching parents fighting. You know it isn't about you but you're powerless to make it stop too.

Thank goddess it's the fucking weekend.

My lib'n sent off more table of contents for a few of our serials. We are working it out as we go. Of course it isn't planned. She originally asked people to say if they wanted to be on a mailing list for the title but realised she needn't, she'll just keep the mailing lists as she sets them up and only take people off them if they ask to be removed. We are supplying the articles that are requested but now she's worried that it will create too much work. I said not to worry, if that happened she'd just have to send off an email saying we can't provide copies but that the staff are welcome to drop down to the library for copies. She is only this afternoon started working out which ones she won't be sending out contents lists for. Weekly news type serials won't be offered. They are covered by another index anyway. She was going to keep the emails in the email folders, created new folders for each serial, tucking all the emails away accordingly. Then decided we could save them as documents instead and delete them from the email folders. Slowly it will all smooth out and really start working. And we have stats. A spreadsheet I created.

I think she thought I'd hate the extra photocopying but it doesn't bother me, work is just work. We've sent out 14 articles from three mags, and it just means I'm not hunting around looking for work to do and getting bored.