A Day In The Life Of An Outreach Librarian At State Library

It depends. I can tell you about librarians in many different positions.

In a public library, as a librarian, you worked at the desk, helping people who came in with questions. It was almost like working in social services. I was on the social services committee, helping people find housing, food, and jobs, and with resumes.

We also did a lot of early literacy programming and story time with kids. I was a big part of STEM education in the libraries, showing kids what STEM is and how they can apply it to their lives. That's what my life looked like as a librarian in a public library.

Here, my day looks like I'm in front of a computer a lot. We have many virtual meetings. I don't always drive places. Sometimes I'll be on a Zoom call, contacting people and setting up future programs for campaigns we're working on. This includes monthly celebrations, like Black History Month, where we do a program.

I look for people to do programs or do them myself, focusing on topics people want to learn about from the library and handling the logistics. For April, National Poetry Month, I invited the North Carolina Poet Laureate to speak. She's a high-profile figure here, appointed by the governor, and an amazing person.

Respectfully reaching out to her and asking if she'd be open to doing this program involved logistics. I considered who would be in the auditorium, who on my staff would be involved, and what she would talk about. I spoke with her about that, as well as with other departments in the state, like the arts council and humanities, to see if they wanted to be part of it.

The secretary of our department did an introduction. I coordinated with his staff because he's very busy. That was most of my April, getting everything together.

The day after our program with her, I was away at a conference for the rest of the week, talking to people and sharing the library's resources. About a week before that, I had a program at the science museum, doing a sensory day. I talked to people about the library in a different way.

You have so many different customers. It's about talking to people in a way they'll understand what the library can do for them and in the way they need it.

I also work the desk, answer phones, and do chat through our "Ask a Librarian" service. I'm on five committees, including the D E I A committee. I participate and help create policy for any changes in the library and for staff, which is very important.