I helped unload totes today at my new branch. This is commonplace in the library world of MCPL. When I was at Blue Springs South branch, we would always unload totes in the mornings. The totes held items returning to our branch for shelving and those items that have come in for patron requests. It's a pretty uneventful job, but it is absolutely necessary in order to process holds in a timely manner when there are many totes.
As I stationed myself in between some totes, I had an interesting encounter with... we'll call her Trudy.
Trudy: "What are you doing?"
Me: "I'm helping you unload totes."
Trudy: "Are you supposed to do that?"
Me: "I always have, so I figured I would help out. It needs to be done."
Trudy: "But the managers don't really help with totes in the morning."
Me: "Oh... Well, I am. I actually kinda like it."
Trudy: "Well, you certainly are a breath of fresh air."
I don't know about you, but I found this to be pretty amazing. I've never been one to follow rules (even unwritten ones) perfectly, and I was blown away that normal clerk stuff seemed off-limits to managers. I may be new to this manager stuff, but I don't think it's a good practice to ignore the "clerk work." I did that stuff for three years, which I know is a short timed compared with many library workers. I am happy that I am not required to do that anymore, but that doesn't mean that I won't still do it from time to time. I know that I have a lot more stuff that needs my attention now, but helping unload the totes, as mundane as it seems, is not only a great way to break the monotony of sitting at a desk, but also a great way to get to know the staff, even if I am technically above them. Just because I have a different title doesn't mean I'm better than them. I've been asking a lot of questions during my first week, and I'm sure that I will ask a lot more. Anyway, manager work is manager work, but manager work is also clerk work. By the way, clerk work may also be page work at times. Although, I could just be a weirdo librarian.
I have a lot of respect for my managers and one reason is that I know I can count on them to jump in anywhere and do any task, regardless of whose official duty it is. It's like they're managers but also TEAM MEMBERS--which is as it should be. Managers are "above" me, but it's really my respect that puts them there...otherwise they're just a-holes. :)
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