All Copenhagen, all day.

As I'm sure I not have yet mentioned on this blog, I'm a public librarian who doesn't work in a public library.  I work for the library system, in a building where I typically have no contact with the general public. Some days, I don't mind this, especially when I remember the bizarre rice bandits from the last library I worked at. (Story for another day.) But some days I do miss it - chatting people up, issuing cards, scoping out the new materials that have just come in, etc.

However, I got to do all of those things and more during my recent visit to Copenhagen Central School as part of their National Library Week Celebration.

The Library Media Center at Copenhagen Central School, Mrs. Greene, center.

There's no public library in Copenhagen; the school library media center serves the village with community hours one evening a week. So when the school librarian Mrs. Greene asked me to come out and represent the public libraries, signing people up for cards and talking about our online resources, I was delighted to oblige. Here are some highlights:

Hooked up my laptop and connected to the school's network. Realized that due to the school's filters, I wouldn't be able to check Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads all day.

Promptly ate a doughnut. #socialmediawithdrawals #bostoncream

Helped Mrs. Greene with a reference question for a student. I'm the last person to describe herself as a good reference librarian, but I know my way through Opposing Viewpoints, and I do enjoy helping out.

Ogled the new books that the library had just processed (¡Hola, Caminar!), and got into a discussion about novels written in verse.

Eavesdropped on Mrs. Greene's library classes, each of which she kicked off by asking the students to name what they loved about their library. It was also book giveaway day, which was greeted with whoops and cheers from the kids.

Helped with craft prep for the evening program.

Paged through a Booklist, e-mailing myself interesting book titles like it was 2005.

(Side note: Honestly, I had no idea how often I use Goodreads throughout my workday - and for Actual Work-Related Stuff, even.)   

Issued library cards and helped people get hooked up with the Overdrive app so that they could start borrowing e-books from the NCLS catalog. (Which they immediately did, no thanks to my sketchy tablet knowledge. I'm more likely to use an iPad as a coaster.)

Overall, a successful visit, and a great opportunity to observe a school library program in action. Thanks again to Mrs. Greene, who invited me out for the day.

Yes, she devours books.