It looks like the kiddo loves spring flowers as much as I do. Our neighborhood is in bloom. On our walks to school, she's constantly stopping to look at the petals. We've even used iNaturalist to help us identify the ones I don't know. It might slow us down, but it's made the trip to school more fun.

Here's what else made me happy this week:

• Freshly laundered sheets and towels
• Won the basket I wanted at the school fundraising auction
• Lavender scented everything
• Spotted a bunny in some daffodils
• Sitting in the sun while the kiddo played on the playground
• Simple dinners
• Watching the Artemis II launch as a family
• Teaching a class of super chatty and engaged students

I read a lot of books with my kiddo. Kid Reads is a biweekly look at what we've enjoyed recently. 

What makes a good reference librarian?

There's the obvious stuff - knowing where to look, technical search strategies, and an abundance of persistence. But some of my best reference moments have had less to do with professional training and more to do with my life.

I grew up in Cooperstown, New York - the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. So when a student asked for help researching rules changes in baseball, I didn't just point them to a database. I practically inundated them with material none of my colleagues would have been able to rattle off the top of their heads.

Then I became a parent, which meant searching and absorbing all things kids. When another parent asked about playgrounds within walking distance of campus, I didn't have to dig. I had a list of options in my head with some opinions to go with them.

Living in DC has been its own kind of training. Local government resources - looking at you DMV! - are notoriously hard to navigate. That firsthand frustration makes me a better guide when someone comes to the desk not knowing where to start.

And then there's leisure reading. When a student came in looking for something like Fourth Wing, that is my wheelhouse. I read a lot of romantasy. I just had to figure out what tropes this reader preferred before I gave some options
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Being a reference librarian is funny like that. You can be professionally trained and educated in all the ways a librarian should work, but most of what you know comes from personal experience. Literally everything I do in life could, one day, turn into a reference question.

I added all of these from one recommended list.

Y​ou can see my complete TBR list on Pinterest.
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*Items featured here are Bookshop.org affiliate links.

The husband likes to, jokingly, give me grief about the typos and grammatical errors in what I post. I do review things before I hit post but, when you've been staring at the same text all week, you miss things. 

Hey, at least you know it's not written by AI! To err is human.

I have thought about popping my text into Claude and treating it like a copy editor, but I simply can't be bothered.

Now, when I made a you're/your error in an exhibit sign I had to hand draw for work... that I fixed. You have to have some standards after all.

I took today off from work as a "life maintenance" day. Man does it feel good to knock a few items off of my needle list.

Here's what else made me happy this week:

• All the trees are in bloom...
• ... which I can enjoy because I, thankfully, don't have allergies
• Spotting a coyote on the walk to school with the kiddo
• Reheating yummy leftovers for lunch
• Having fun with a work social media project
• Going to a hockey game as a family
• Kiddo's teacher posting pictures of the school day
• Enjoying a movie in a theater for the first time in years
• Helping a student get to an "Ah ha!" moment
• Getting the kiddo to school - on picture day - before the rain hit

Brimstone
Callie Heart

It would have bene a good idea to read a recap of the first book in the Fae & Alchemy series. I’m 200+ pages into this title and there are still some characters whose storylines I don’t quite remember. At least this plot is moving!

*Books shared here are affiliate links for Bookshop.org

I was at a conference for most of this week. Computers in Libraries has always been one of my favorites. Because it's in DC, it draws a diverse crowd of librarians that makes for some really interesting presentations.

The diverse crowd was still there - but almost every session was about AI in some way.

*sigh* I'm tired.

I get that AI is important, and I genuinely do want to learn about it. But I need a break. The sheer volume of AI-focused presentations meant there was a lot of overlap, and I found myself hearing the same five talking points repeated ad nauseam. By the last day, I started picking sessions based on how little AI was mentioned in the description. Sadly, even those sessions managed to work it in somehow.

Oh well. There's always next year.

The day outside is brilliantly sunny. It's been pretty sunny for the past few days, but I've been stuck in inside conference ballrooms in a basement. Getting a full day of sunshine feels like a treat.

Here's what else made me smile:

• People asked lots of questions after my conference presentation
• Treating myself to some lunches out
• No issues with the metro
• Kiddo calling daffodils "egg flowers" (white on the outside, yellow on the inside)
• Still getting to drop off and pick up my kiddo from school
• Finishing and filing my taxes 
• Singing "Umbrella" in the car with the kiddo
• Following a silly Instagram account just because it brought me joy

I read a lot of books with my kiddo. Kid Reads is a biweekly look at what we've enjoyed recently.