A day in the life of a library assistant
Sharing my career path into the library world
I was hired as a part-time library assistant at a public library in March of 2022. This was a pivotal moment, as I decided that going into libraries could be a good career path.
Shortly after getting promoted, I applied and got into library school at UNC Greensboro.
So what does being a library assistant entail?
I’ll share my typical workday:
I spend most of my time at the circulation desk assisting patrons with questions. They often have directional questions, readers’ advisory questions, or are looking for a specific book. I help them place holds on books they want, renew books they’ve already checked out, and check books in and out. I also help people sign up for library cards.
Part of my job involves programming. (Of the event-variety, not the computer-variety.) I mostly do a program called ABC Craft and Learn, where you focus on a letter of the week, read books related to that letter, and guide children in a craft for that theme. There’s a lot of invisible labor that goes into planning this program, though: You have to print out all the materials, check out the book you’re reading, set up carpet squares, portion out the supplies, organize…
