Blog #1:  My Workplace: Tuesday Oct 11th
My work place is the Hayward Public Library. The library is not a business or large corporation. It is a building that is accessible to every member of the Hayward community.It has many books, and computers for all people in the city to use. Also, there are many friendly librarians to help these people find the information they need. The Hayward Library is located in Hayward, California. The address is 835 C Street Hayward, CA 94541. It is some what a large building, surrounded by bright green grass and shady trees. Near the entrance there is a huge tree that travels so high in the sky, you have to step back a bit to see it completely.There are many people who work at the library( I do not know the exact number). There are librarians, managers, volunteers, and youth service helpers. All these people are very kind. As employees, it is a requirement for them to talk to people patiently, and respectfully. They are also have to be very knowledgeable. When children and adults ask them questions they have to be quick in response, or if they do not know the answers form the top of their heads, they must know where to find them. As for the education of Librarians, they must  have a graduate degree in library science or information and most have a 4 years of college degree.The strengths of my work place is that it is open to all types of people. It is a place that can provide to all. Like my mentor says. A person can come in with completely nothing but they can leave with something.The strength of my work place also happens to be it’s weakness. Because the library has a large variation in the different types of people that come in, it at times has problems dealing with them. When trouble arises Librarians have to now how to calmly handle the situation without creating a scene.


Blog #2: My Mentor: Tuesday Oct 18th 
The name of my mentor is Clio Hathaway. She is a youth service manager. She makes sure that the teens that come to the library have an interesting and current variety of books to entertain and educate themselves with. The typical day of Clio is she comes in, and goes upstair to the children’s room where her office is located. For about a quarter of the day she will be on the computer checking emails, and making lists of books to order. In the of the day she is helping manage the children's room upstairs. She is signing kids to get on a computer, finding their book request, suggesting books to help with school projects, and helping them check out the books. Lastly, at the end of the day she makes sure everything in the children’s place is in order. As for how she came to be a librarian, my mentor said that at the age of 5 she knew she wanted to be a librarian because that is what she told her mother. Then, in high school when she was about sixteen, she started working at the library. She did this until she finished her four years of high school. Then, when she went to college she had this dream of becoming a history profesor so, she stopped being a librarian. But, after a while in her hiatus, she found that she missed her old job and she went and pursued her career as a librarian. The education she needed was that she had to get her degree in library science. I also think she went to college for four years. The skills had to have were good communication skills. She had to know hoto talk to and deal with diffrent types of people.


Blog #3: My Role: Tuesday Oct 25th
My main responsibility is to help Clio, my mentor, organize things in the library. My title is Youth Service Volunteer. The tasks I will complete in the next ten weeks are: organizing papers and books, taking inventory of things such as, toy give always for summer reading time, cleaning up the toys children play with, cleaning up the scary closet filled with a lot of things,  helping  out in the children’s room, and helping out in the homework center.  The first thing I do when I enter the library is I go up stairs, where I say hi to my mentor and put my things away. Next I pick up my gorgeous name tag and put it on. Then, I call Joel. After, I call Joel I get to work. Usually, Clio has a task for both my co worker and I. (Yes, I do have a coworker from our school, which makes my work so much easier and fun). The task given to us may range from stapling packets, helping out a librarian, taking inventory,  etc. It takes us about half of the day to complete it.After that task we go on break. I usually walk to the nearest restaurants to buy lunch.  My goal is to try out food in every restaurant nearby. So far I have to this Mexican restaurant(delicious Quesadilla) , Panda Express(good chow mein), sub way(all right sandwich) and Wing Fiesta (HOT wings). Anyways, after my lunch break I go back to the library and I help set up for the homework center. When kids start  coming in, I am assigned a table to help out. I do this until 5:30 pm. After homework helping my coworker leaves and, I am assigned another task which I do until it’s time to go home.

Blog #4: Project Brainstorm: Tuesday Nov 1st
For my WLE project I am thinking of doing a book drive.  I want to do a book drive where I will raise one thousand books and five-hundred dollars by March. I understand that WLE will be over before March 2012 but, maybe my goal for December will be 250-500 books and 100 dollars. These books will be sent to a country in Africa where they will start a library. The money is for the shipping. I came up with my idea because I was inspired by the other internship I have with the organization named African Library Project (ALP). This organization has volunteers named Book Drive Organizers ( BDO), who commit to collecting  books in their local areas. They then ship the books to factory that belongs to the organization and in this factories the books are sorted and packed accordingly and then they are sent to Africa.  I think that this project will take a lot of work and planning but, it is something that I am willing to do. Also, some of the organization skills that I am learning about in the Hayward Library such as taking inventory of books will very likely come in handy.Another skill that will come in handy is writing press releases. For the ALP organization I am their communication intern and I write press releases for book drive organizers. This time however, I will get to write my own. I am really excited about this project because if I succeed I will feel like have accomplished one of the greatest things in my life. For as long time one of my greatest dreams has to spread the joy of reading to everyone all around the world. I know that there so many people out their who don’t know how to read, and I think it is because they are not given opportunities such as libraries to learn. For example, one of the most important people in my life, my grandmother, cannot read and as I grew up and watched her flipping through the one book she owned, her Bible, it hurt me so deeply because I saw how much she wanted to read those words. Well, I think if she had grown up in a place where their was a library she definitely would have learned how to because she would have been exposed to books and people willing to help her. I really want to do this most especially for my grandmother. I want her to feel proud of  herself because even though she was not able to read she raised a granddaughter who was able to provide that opportunity to many others. Also, I want to do this for those children who will receive the books. I believe that these books will make a huge impact in their lives. In the next 3 weeks, in order to get the book drive going,  I will announce that I am doing a book drive to the whole school. I will tell them the purpose and I hope it will inspire them. Also, I will probably place bins for placing the books in the school halls, in the cafeteria or in teacher’s room if they permit. I am thinking I should have a donation box that will carry around or place someplace safe and, during lunch I can take it out so people can put a dollar in it. Also, I talked to several of  my friends, and they are willing to help with the promoting and fundraising.  I will welcome anyone who wants to help with this project. I think it will be a great community builder. Lastly, as for my part, I have to make sure I organize it really well because it will involve so many people and BOOKS!

Blog #5: Progress on my WLE Project, part 1: Tuesday Nov 8th
In my WLE  My mentor was sick so she was not there this Tuesday. Michael the other youth librarian was my backup mentor. He really did not have anything for me to do so, I just continued doing inventory of the summer reading books. I was in the basement all morning and afternoon until I finished the inventory. When I was done, I went back upstairs. It was around 3:00pm, which is the time homework center opens. There were a lot of children there. The person in charge of the homework center had me help children with there Spanish homework. I was somewhat able to help them so, I was really happy Daisy had taught me Spanish well. Also, I helped a student with her history homework. We researched the 4 types of verbal communications. Google was not so helpful. After the homework center, I went on my break. It was almost dark so I went to a nearby restaurant and ordered a huge salad. Then, I came back and cleaned up the children's area. Since my mentor was not there we did not talk about my project. However, last week I had informed her about the African Library Project and she said it was a lovely idea. So far for my project, I have confirmed the book drive with the organization. The books will be going to create a small community library in Ghana. The deadline date I am supposed to ship the books to the warehouse is May 15, 2011. This means I have to have collected all the books and money by about March so I can have 2 months for sorting, boxing and shipping. Also, I announced my project to the entire Upper Division. Everyone seemed really enthusiastic about the project which made me really happy. Unfortunately, I was not able to announce it to Lower Division because I was in a meeting with Ms. Tucci. We were discussing about safe  places to place the donation boxes, and store the 1000 books. Ms. Tucci at first suggested storing the books in the OVENS!! As you can imagine, I was quite hesitant about this. However, she quickly explained that the ovens did not work after she saw the expression on my face.  Still I was a little hesitant about placing them in the oven so we ended deciding on a little room in the LC.  As for the boxes, we decided on placing the boxes somewhere high on a table where they will not be in everyone’s way. Also, I did one more thing to publicize the book drive., Last night it Lower Division exhibition so my friends and I placed a huge donation box on a table near the entrance with some fliers for parents to pick up. I am very happy to announce that today I got an email from someone who got the flier and is interested donating some books.

Blog #6: Leadership Skills: Tuesday Nov 15th
The two leadership skills that I am using frequently are Completing Projects Effectively and Collaborating Productively. As I have mentioned in the previous blogs my partner and I do a lot of inventory projects. For example, just last week organized over 300 books. The first thing we usually do when we receive a project is we ask our mentor how she wants the material organized. Then, my partner and I collaborate productively on how we should work. We sometimes divide the work in half; he takes one half of the stack to organize and record and, I do the other half. Or, sometimes we work like an assembly line; he picks up a book records it in the computer and then he hands it to me and I arrange it in the box. Most of the time we finish our projects on the very same day they are given to us so, I guess we work pretty efficiently. One way I think we could improve on the leadership complete projects effectively is when we are planning we should consider our different schedules. For example sometimes my partner leaves for lunch earlier and so I am usually left doing the project of the day. At times he does not come back to help finish the project because after his break he blogs and then starts working on his WLE project. When this happens things get difficult for me because if we had been working together to complete something and then he suddenly gone I am left confused on where to go from there. I usually end up creating a whole new plan on how I can finish the project alone and in the end I am left quite exhausted. I think that if we from the beginning if we create a plan that was not so dependent on both of us working together, then the load of work would be more even on both sides. My mentor uses the leadership skill communicating powerfully because when she just doesn’t tell us to do something and the she leaves. She usually takes the time to really explains in detail what she wants us to do. She asks for questions and clarifications. She also is always near our working area so that when any problem arises we can reach her easily and she can guide on how to fix it.

Blog #7: What I learned, Reflection: Tuesday Nov 22nd
During WLE I have learned a lot about myself. I have learned that I like organizing things and in general making things tidy. Also, I have learned that I like working with children. I like helping them discover new things or, even just solve problems. It is so satisfying and humbling when they truly understand something and they genuinely thank you.There some challeges that I ahve faced and overcome. The first two happened on the very first day of WLE. When I came in the library I did not come to the children’s room and so I waited for my mentor for an hour for her while all along she was upstairs. I learned that I was to always meet her in her office in the children’s room. The second mistake happened when I forgot to close the lid to something after using it. When I got home I felt really bad, I wanted to call Clio and tell her but, I was sort of scared. Anyways from this I learned to always check and make sure everything was good before leaving home.From this work learning experience I have discovered like teaching. I am quite fond of helping children understand material. Also this experience has craeted  passion in spreading libraries through out world. I have seen how so many adults and children come to the library with so many questions and doubts and how they leave with books to help guide them to answers. It is always very touching. My creativity was put into use during the experience when I was helping children in the homework center. Sometimes we would come across math problems and I would have to simplify them by using real life examples or by relating the problem to their lives.The WLE placement affected my community because through it I was able to tutor a lot of the children that go to various Hayward public schools. Also I was able to help keep things in order in the library so that librarians would have an easier time finding things and helping others.One thing I know now that I would have never learned before working at the library is that being a librarian is not just about loving books and learning it is about loving people and helping them.If someone were to ask me why what I did at my WLE was important I would say, organizing and taking inventory of books, puzzles, toys etc. at the library was important because the librarians now know how much of everything they have. If they do not have enough supplies they can order more so that the public can be provided with enough/current resources. Also, organization helped make the library more tidy so there was more room for more resources to be stored.The skills that I learned during my WLE were organization skills. For example when given a huge task I learned how to divide up into multiple steps so that I could accomplish it faster.  Also, I learned how to communicate with children with simpler language. According to me, organizing and taking inventory of books, puzzles, toys etc. at the library was important because the librarians now know how much of everything they have. If they do not have enough supplies they can order more so that the public can recieve enough. Also organization helped make the library more tidy so there was more room for more resources. When I walked in the library the first day of WLE I knew I was going to love working in there because I just love books but, like I have pointed out above, the library is not just about loving books it has to do a lot with people and organization. This is not to say that I did not love the experience I did however, now I have learned that when choosing something you do not jut look at the obvious fun qualities you also look at the core details involved. When I chose my future career I will make sure that I consider all the details the fun ones, serious ones and boring ones. I want to make sure they are all balanced so that I am always happy and satisfied with my job.

Blog#8: Professionalism: Tuesday Nov 29th
In order to get hired for my WLE I first called a librarian that I knew. I asked her if she could help me find an internship in the library. She emailed me the contact information of Clio Hathaway, my mentor, and told me to  first email her then call her. I did as I was told. When I called Clio she told me to come in on a Saturday for an interview. She asked me about myself and my capabilities. I took this as an opportunity to hand her my resume. She skimmed it then she asked me one very important question, “Do like organizing?” “Yes.” I replied honestly which is good because that is what I was going to do for my whole WLE. After the interview, she told me I was all set and all I had to do was show up for the job shadow.The most effective way for looking for a job and getting hired is first you have to be open minded. It is good to have an idea of what you want and to be really passionate about getting that position but, the reality is there is always a possibility that you might not get the job you want. So, it is best not to attach yourself to one thing but have a variety of job interests to pick from just in case one them does not work out. Also, before you select a job it is important to consider a job that connects to someone or something that impacted your life. This comes in handy because when you go to the interview you have really strong answers as to why you want the job and so your chances of getting the job are higher. As a result of my WLE, I think that being a professional/ responsible adult first means that you keenly listen to the people you work with or for. I remember the first day at my job when we were told to make so many copies of different types of papers. Everything was so much but because I was paying attention and writing on sticky pads I was able to copy the right amount. Also, being a responsible adult means that you take all work seriously and you work diligently. One time where this came in handy was when we were putting library forms for local elementary schools in mailing envelopes. My partner and I had to count out one by one the number of forms each school got. Some school wanted 100 forms others 252, it was very tedious and it required us to be really diligent. If we messed up and send one school less copies then some children would not get a form and the library would look really bad. Lastly, in order to be a professional/responsible adult, you have to love your job. If you love your job you are oblivious to all the annoying things involved in your job. You work happily therefore the product of your work is always wonderful. Most importantly, a person who loves their job has fewer complaints and so their boss is always happy with them.

Blog #9: Life at my WLE: Tuesday Dec 6th
Today I organized more puzzles. My mentor, Clio ,is trying to consolidate the puzzles because they take up  too much space. What I do is I remove the puzzle pieces from a board. Then, on each puzzle piece I write HPL or Hayward Public Library, the name of the puzzle picture and the number of puzzle pieces of that picture. For example for each boat puzzle I wrote: HPL, boat, 7 pieces. After the puzzle pieces for that board are labeled I put them in a small zip loc bag which I also label. I do this for all the puzzle boards. After I finish doing this, I find the ziploc bags that have pieces from the same board. I put these zip loc bags in one huge zip loc bag. This way I have lots of puzzle pieces in a smaller package. As for the board we only keep one for each picture. We keep more pieces than boards because small pieces are more likely to get lost than big puzzle boards. As an intern, I have improved on being more comfortable with my working environment . At first I was really shy and I just went to work thinking all the things that could go wrong. What if I did not finish the task of the day? What if I printed too many copies? What if I did not understand the directions the first time and I was afraid to ask Clio to repeat? All these questions were such a nuisance and they kept me from looking forward to going to the library and actually enjoying the work. However, as I time passed and I noticed how kind and encouraging my mentor was and,I stopped being so nervous about the work. I realized that she did not want me to stress over finishing the tasks she gave me, she just wanted me to do as much as I could and whatever I did not finish I could do the next Tuesday. After realizing this, I started being more happy with my job and even without stressing I found that I was completing the same amount of work when I was actually enjoying my self.My work place is great because you are always near people who are always quite interesting. In the children center where I spent most of my time I am constantly being mesmerized by what I hear and see. For example one Tuesday there was this little girl who looked no more than 3 years old. Well she went, picked out a book and started reading it out loud. I was so amazed with this. She annunciated the words so clearly it’s as if she was an adult. Then, her guardian came over to the girl and said, “You want me to read that story to you?"  “ Yes," the girl said. “ Well, go get the one in English, this book is in Spanish.” As you can imagine, I was taken aback by this. But, it was not because the child had been pretending to read and had in turn fooled me. I was shocked because, the story that the girl had been reciting had sounded so real, I was actually following it. Yet, this story had been authored by a three year old! My work place has many more great aspects but there one aspect that is not so great. Sometimes the library does not have enough copies of books. For example today when a  child was looking for a book she came up to the librarian all bubbly and excited; but, when the librarian said there are no more copies she became so disappointed and I as an observer really felt for her. Also I do not like that computer time is timed because when I think of students who have long projects to research I really feel bad for them. I think the library should have a new system you can buy additional time.

Blog #10: The End: Tuesday Dec 13th
WLE has been such a rewarding experience. I have learned so much about libraries .When I chose to intern a t the library I thought the work would easy and light. After all, I had been to the library multiple times and everything had looked so calm and organized to me.  However, I was quite surprised on the amount of organizing/work that I did on my first day and the following days afterwards. Like many things in life the library had its secrets. There were rooms below it where many books and supplies were stored. This room was the disorganized “dungeon” of the library. One of my projects for the library was to make sure this room became tidy.  Cleaning this room was a lot of work but, after I was done I was extremely proud of myself. One other thing that I enjoyed doing at the library was tutoring children. I have always loved helping people with their schoolwork and, in the Homework Center there was a lot of students who wanted my help. I discovered that tutoring was not as easy as I thought. I was tutoring children from different schools at different grade levels.   It was challenging to figure out what kind of support each student needed because I did not know each of them. But, I was able to help them by telling them to first attempt the question and then guiding them along the way when they got stuck.  When the students finished their assignments they would always look at me and tell me thank you. This made me so happy.This experience will definitely affect the WLE I choose next year. I discovered that I like organizing so I working in an office might be one of my choices. Also, most likely I might work in a school or a tutoring place since, I learned that I liked teaching kids so much.