There are six events and meetings on my agenda for today. That's a lot for me! Usually a heavy day is three. Thankfully, I have a short buffer in between each item, but today is going to be busy.

Here's what I'm working on:

1. Info Tip of the Week: We are pivoting to add more video content to our library repertoire. Making videos takes a lot of work. While there are plenty of polished tutorials I need to develop, I've decided to start small. Each week, I am making ONE video in an "Info Tip of the Week" series. These are designed to be short snippets that explain library or research things, share tools and tips, or simply better connect people to information.
2. Presentations: I'm still developing content and slides for several presentations and webinars I have coming up. This week, I added a new one to the list. Two colleagues and I are working on a proposal for a roundtable discussion at the 2025 ACRL conference. We've got ideas, now we need to form them into something we can submit.
3. Scheduling: There are a ton of excellent things happening in our area over the next few months. The husband and I have been selecting a few to attend. Our weekends are filling up.

I was supposed to have jury duty this past Monday. I lucked out and was told I did not have to report. In DC, that means I get a two year reprieve from petit jury service. Fingers crossed I don't get a grand jury summons in the mean time...

Here's what I'm working on:

1. Library Scavenger Hunt: As a librarian, I'm not the biggest fan of scavenger hunts. While they do get students into the library, what knowledge they retain is up for debate. Some students take a lot away from the event while others just play around on their phones. But, they are "a thing" and my colleagues and I were asked to put one together for some classes. My colleagues put together the text, I designed the hunt sheet, and we're all working with classes to get through the event. At least they get fun stickers!
2. Many Slides Decks: Between the webinar I'm hosting on background research and four upcoming presentations, my slide design skills are getting a workout. At least two of those presentations are based on previous sessions I've given. I like when I don't have to make things from scratch.
3. Who Wants Kid Stuff: We've got some kid stuff we need out of our home. I struck out on the local list-servs which means I now need to head to Facebook Marketplace and NextDoor... I really don't want to... but I want this stuff out of my house even more.

Normally, I give myself a buffer day when returning from vacation. Not this time, we rolled right from our last hotel night straight to work. On top of that, the husband had to immediately jet out of town for a work trip. It's been an intense 36 hours, but coming off such a relaxing vacation, it could be worse.

Here's what I'm working on now:

1. Banned Books Week Prep: A colleague and I are developing some material to recognize Banned Books Week which starts in a few days. He wrote a blog post which I formatted and scheduled. Together, we're working on a book display. Next week, I'll be posting daily on social media.
2. Faculty Resources: Each semester, I send a list of relevant departmental resources (plus some general library marketing), to every single faculty member (adjuncts included!) at our University. In recent weeks, I've been updating all the links and changing information to discuss our new location in those resource sheets. I also went through our course catalog to make sure I had every since faculty member accounted for. Today, I started emailing everyone. This is going to take a few more days to finish, but it always has our highest ROI for faculty replying to the messages.
3. Vacation Reentry: Lots of laundry. Lots of getting the kiddo used to mommy and daddy rules again. Lots of putting stuff away. Lots of catching up on a backlog of email, messages, and general household management. One thing I didn't have to do? Clean our condo. Cause my mom is awesome is surprised me by tackling that before we got back.

You can file "build a kids' table" under my "other duties as assigned. We ordered a table from a vendor and it arrived last week. Today, I discovered that the pre-drilled holes were slightly off kilter for the legs. Luckily, I could adjust the brackets and get it all together. But, what should have been a 10 minute project ended up taking 45. Annoying.

Here's what else I've been working on:

1. Pivot to Video: Our students want video. They like video. We haven't really made a lot of videos. That changes this semester. This week, I kicked off a new short video series called "Info Tip of the Week." The plan is to share short tips about information, research, and library skills. Just stuff that makes people's lives easier. The first video went up today, I recorded the snippets for next week, and I have a list of topics to round out the rest of this year. 
2. Embedded Classes: I'm embedded in a dozen classes this year. I've spend the past few weeks doing pop-ins to say hi, setting up my discussion boards, and even teaching a few sessions. Normally, I get to ease in to instruction each semester. Not so much this year. It's been full speed ahead since day one.
3. Need a kid bed?: We upgraded our kiddo to a lofted big girl bed. Now we're trying to sell her convertible crib, linens, and monitor. I've posted this "Nursery Starter Kit" to several list-servs and, sadly, have had no takers. I may need to resort to Nextdoor or Facebook Marketplace. I really don't want to... 

This might be the first, in-office day since our library moved that I haven't been rearranging furniture, building something, or setting up a space. It's not for lack of trying though! Some items for our family-friendly study room arrived this morning. I would be putting them together but I need to bring in a screwdriver first.

Here's what else I'm working on:

1. We're over here!: I'm updating any and all materials, slide decks, handouts, talking points, etc. that reference our library's old space. Today, I finally had time to record, edit, and post a video showing people how to get to our new location. It wasn't a hard thing to do, it's just something that took time I did not have. It finally feels like we're settling in. Still lots of things to tackle, but we've made HUGE leaps in our to do lists.
2. Embedded Librarian: We got our assignments for the semester. I've spent the past week creating my discussion board, posting announcements, and popping in to my classes to introduce myself. This is the most classes we've handled in a single semester. It will be interesting to see what things look like in December.
3. Kiddo's School Stuff: Our kiddo started kindergarten this week. (*deep calming breathes*) So far, she seems to be taking to the change very well. She's also been exhausted every night from all the new adventures. On the parent side of things, we're figuring out how to handle all the new logistics, submitting paperwork, and generally trying to orient ourselves to this new normal.

It's the first day of classes and I am BEYOND EXCITED to finally open our new space to students. There are still things we need to finish up, but at least we can open. People are already using our space! It makes my heart soar to see students feeling welcome. I had the first reference desk shift of the semester this morning. On top of the usual printing and textbook questions, there were a lot of people just wanting to see the renovation. It was great!

Here's what I've been working on:

1. Other Duties As Assigned: We didn't want red tape or departmental slow downs to get in the way us opening. So, my colleagues rolled up our sleeves (read: wore workout gear to the office) so that it was easier to move furniture, unpack boxes, and dart all over campus. Just now, I finished deconstructing some weird sliding privacy walls on two workstations that we didn't want. I even brought in my own screwdriver from home to do it.
2. Onboarding: Our team is overjoyed to welcome a new colleague. We've been onboarding him to both the University and the library. This morning, he shadowed me on the reference desk and it was a great way to show him how things work.
3. Laundry: While I'm home solo, anything that can be machine washed is being machine washed. It's so much easier to tackle things like dining room chair cushions when you don't need to worry about drying time.

We started moving into our remodeled library this week! I'm still nervous about being ready by the start of the semester next week, but at least we are here. Our team is scrappy so I know that we will make it work. Finishing details will still need to happen, but at least we will be able to serve students in our new space.

Here's what I'm working on:

1. Student Orientation: Our University is holding a ton of new student orientation events this week. Today I'm tabling at our flagship campus, tomorrow I will be at our workforce development campus. On top of this, I've got a colleague presenting at a jumpstart session. I had to scramble to update those slides with as much info about the new space as I could. In between these events, lots of students are wandering campus and I'm answering questions as they come up. Plus, I gave an interview to our marketing office to help them develop material to share about the new library.
2. Family Friendly Study Space: For whatever reason, the room to this space is locked. (The University is working on it.) In the meantime, I built a bookcase and a little kid activity center. I've got a box of books and small toys ready to go. As soon as that doors open, I'll be ready to set up everything. We've still got stuff on order to arrive, but I can futz with all of that as things arrive.
3. Back to School: I still cannot believe our kiddo is starting kindergarten at the end of the month. Our public school system is not as communicative as our daycare. We've been reading everything we can get our hands on in order to prepare. Emails from the school are starting to trickle out, and I plan on attending as many events and meetings as I can in the next few weeks. This is a big change, but kiddo has been pretty good with those in the past. 

Summer classes end on August 10. Faculty are due back for Fall semester PD on August 16. If we do not move into our renovated space before then, I am going to be one cranky librarian. LET ME IN!

In other news, I bought a new office plant today because I can't seem to keep them alive. This time, I got one from Whole Foods because it was already bigger and healthier then my last one. I'm going to need to buy a plant light for it because my new office will not have exterior windows.

Here's what else I'm working on:

1. Common Read: I finished the book and updated the guide. I sent the link of said guide to all the faculty who will be using the book in their course. One of them sent me back some good ideas for content to add. I'll be working on that this week.
2. Move Prep: While we haven't moved yet (ARGH!), I'm preparing as much as I can just so I can pivot on a dime the second we do. I even packed up most of my cubicle today. I know which office I'm moving into. At this point, I just may move myself over there next week because it's ridiculous that we're not there yet. 
3. Watching the Olympics: Every day - as many events as I can.

I've gotten so used to Zoom calls that phone calls seem weird. Our library works with faculty to help them adopt OER for their courses. One of our new adjuncts wanted to meet to discuss an upcoming class. I automatically scheduled a Zoom. Then they asked if we could make it a phone call. No lie - I had to look up my office phone number in our directory. But the call went well!

Here's what else I'm working on:

1. Common Read: I am about two chapters away from the end of this year's selection. I've taken 5 pages of notes. Next week, I'll turn all of that work into a guide to support our University's use of this book in classes. Good thing I have several years of this program to draw from. It's a lot easier to make a guide when I know what works.
2. Email Newsletters: By a quirk of the calendar, it just so happens that I need to send out several email newsletters on August 1. I spent this week gathering content, writing, and getting everything set to publish. Just waiting on some final statistics from this month.
3. August Life Management Prep: August is going to be quite the month. Our library *should* move into it's remodeled space, our kiddo is graduating from daycare and going to kindergarten, and I've got a week to myself where I want to DO ALL THE THINGS that are easier to accomplish when no one is around. So, I'm doing a lot of calendaring, setting up my bullet journal, and prepping lists so I don't miss anything.

Between vacations, conferences, and illness, our library is a bit short staffed right now. Luckily, summer is lighter in terms of questions and teaching but we are still getting ready to move...

Here's what I've been working on:

1. Common Read: I'm just over halfway done reading this year's selection. It's a fast read and I do think some parts of it will resonate with our student body. I've been diligent about taking notes so, when I get around to updating our LibGuide, things won't take too long. My plan is to get this finished in mid-August. That would be just in time for our faculty to work the material into their fall courses.
2. Move Prep: Buying things, listing things, preparing things... but I can't really do anything until we are in the space! At this point, it's just a lot of planning. I can't readily make marketing material or take pictures until we have a move date and are in the space. LET ME IN!
3. Evernote Clean Up: My Evernote turned into a wee bit of a disaster. I spent some of my COVID down time formatting new notes and deleting ones I no longer need. Who needs 10 different recipes for baked cheesy pasta? Not me.