Author: Michelle Filleul

Staff Shout Outs

Are you ready for some shout-outs? If you’d like to submit a shout-out, fill out the form on the Forms page. Don’t be shy! Shout it out! And I KNOW there are more shout-outs from other departments. Let’s see them!

Shout out to Nemaya for going above and beyond, keeping it positive. She came in on a day she wasn’t working to spoil us with the sweetest Valentine’s Day treats. But the best gift is getting to work with Nemaya! From the Children’s Room.

Shout out to Kathleen Wilcox for going above and beyond and exemplary customer service. Kathleen took charge when entering the library this morning. The alarm had been going off since around 3am(?) She called Kevin Cabuzzi (facilities) to make the awful ringing stop! This is my first time working with her and every interaction she has had with patrons has been positive & high energy. From anonymous.

Shout out to Cate for coming up with a new idea with the signs on the stairwell. There was high praise by a patron for such a great idea and learning tool!

Shout out to Desiree for leading by example. Desiree is always on top of the publicity for the library, and she also keeps me on track. We are lucky to have her! From Michelle.

Shout out to Ally for exemplary customer service. When we get push back from patrons outside of our state about Pride Storytime, Ally is there with a firm hand or an outgoing voicemail message. It’s a huge relief not to have to battle these people over the phone from wherever they are across the country. I simply press “forward call,” and I don’t have to think about it anymore. Ally taking the brunt of it and knowing exactly what to say shows what a strong leader she is! Thank you for dealing with all of that! From Olivia.

Shout out to Susan, Ashley and Ally for going above and beyond, coming up with a new idea and exemplary customer service: Ashley & Susan developed a brand new series for young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual and Developmental disabilities; the amazing new Nature Connection program–such a wonderful addition of services for these patrons and their caregivers!. Despite some bumps and rescheduling, AW & SB hosted their first program the end of March to an almost full house. A big nod to both of them for brainstorming this idea and working hard to pull all the pieces together to create something very special and important to the library and its patrons. From Cate (And Ally-two separate shout outs for this program!).

Praise for RPL in the local paper!

If you get a chance, read the column called “From the Inside” on page A2 of the Tuesday, Feb. 8 Daily Times Chronicle. It’s full of lovely praise for RPL — the building and facilities (“spotless and inviting”), the resources, and especially the helpful and friendly staff (“always have a ready smile or friendly greeting”)! Great job, everyone!

Staff Shout Outs

Are you ready for some shout-outs? If you’d like to submit a shout-out, fill out the form on the Forms page. Don’t be shy! Shout it out! And I KNOW there are more shout outs from other departments. Let’s see them!

Shout-out to Cate for Going above and beyond and helping a co-worker: Cate was super helpful during Plant Lab! The room was total chaos (delightful but still chaos) and she helped wrangle the kids, kept the room from being completely covered in paint and dirt, and worked with the caregivers as well. The help was deeply appreciated! From Lisa R.

Shout out to The Post-Holiday Crew for going above and beyond and helping a co-worker. Shout out to all the intrepid RPLers who worked the Sundays after Christmas and New Year’s Day! You are holiday heroes! From Cate.

Shout out to The Children’s Room peeps for solving a problem, keeping it positive: You all made the COVID pivot in January with smiles on your faces, virtual programs for families, live storytimes on Facebook, slime bags and more on Fridays, and amazing energy every day! TY!!! From Cate.

Shout out to Ally for helping a co-worker, leading by example and solving a problem. Ally is always calm, cool, collected–she is a compass, providing comfort and vision in these chaotic times. Plus, she’s always ready to talk about the wonder weird of Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson! (seriously what is UP with that?? editorial note from MF) From Cate.

Barron’s newspaper changes

Going forward, Barron’s will be in library use only, like the other newspapers. It will have a sticker that says library use only and it will not have a barcode. It will still be findable in the catalog, just not allowed to be put on hold or checked out. This will be for ALL Barron’s issues going forward, not just the most recent one.

Racial Justice Bookshelf

I just found this extremely helpful website while looking for more title for the “Racial Justice: Then and Now” book display: https://www.racialjusticebookshelf.com/

I’m just going to quote straight from the “About” page:
“The Racial Justice Bookshelf was created to make it easy to find and buy anti-racist books from Black-owned bookstores. “

Nice things someone said about Susan + all of us

In Susan’s new role as community health librarian, she’s organized outstanding programs. Here is an email that came from an attendee of last night’s Age Well, Be Well: Eating For Your Health presentation:
“Thank you for coordinating the excellent program on aging last night… RPL has done an outstanding job throughout the pandemic to provide services despite many obstacles. Thanks to everyone.”
Be proud of how we’ve kept offering ourselves and our services despite painful times.

Staff Shout Outs

Are you ready for some shout-outs? If you’d like to submit a shout-out, fill out the form on the Forms page. Don’t be shy! Shout it out!

Shout-out to the Display Committee for Going above and beyond and coming up with a new idea: I LOVE the Stonehenge in the “Short Days, Long Nights” display! Genius! From anonymous.

Shout out to Tech Services for Helping a co-worker and keeping it positive: For making a new roommate feel welcome! From KathGS.

Shout out to Louise for Helping a co-worker, Exemplary customer service: for chatting up a mama with her baby before Baby Wearing Dance and convincing them to join us! They were delighted to attend the program and it was lovely having another happy baby in the group! From Lisa.

Shout out to Lisa, Olivia, Nemaya and Smritha for Helping a co-worker. My amazing Children’s Dept friends have been so helpful when I run out of time either prepping for or cleaning up after storytime! Thank you for having my back, cleaning up my messes, and sticking velcro on my laminated animals. You da best. From Ashley.

Talking with Patrons About Books

When talking with patrons about books, I try my best to keep the conversation to book characteristics (this book is engaging and fast paced) rather than whether or not I liked it. This post from Book Riot covers most of the “best practice guidelines for bookish interactions” that I follow here in the library:

Why Library Staff Don’t (or Shouldn’t) Comment on Your Library Checkouts

I don’t necessarily agree with everything, word for word, but I think that it’s an interesting piece, and worth a read!