The first library I chose to visit was the West Kendall Regional Library located at 10201 Hammocks Blvd. Miami, Florida. The library is open Monday thru Thursday from 9:30am to 9:00 pm, Friday and Saturday from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm. I chose this library because it is a library I visit frequently as a patron. I was curious to go behind the scenes and see how it is managed and organized. I have always had pleasant experiences when visiting this library as a teenage student, college student, mother, and now as a graduate student. This is why I was surprised to find two librarians that were not willing to help me with this project. One said she was too busy and the other said she graduated a very long time ago and did not want to be interviewed. The head librarian at the time (or librarian 4) then called a younger, newer librarian that was more than happy to sit with me.
I had the pleasure of meeting with Alisha who is a young adult librarian. Alisha has a BA in Chemistry and a MLIS from the University of South Florida. As she was finishing her BA, she realized she did not like chemistry. Before entering into the workforce, she decided to continue her education and was undecided between becoming a teacher or a librarian. She worked as a page in a public library and really enjoyed her work. This helped her make the decision of becoming a librarian. She has never thought about working in any other library because her experience has always been in public libraries. Alisha is passionate about her work and she loves working in a public library.
Alisha belongs to the South Florida Young Adult Network (SFYAN). This group meets quarterly to discuss what is new in the world of young adult literature. She was a member of ALA but has not renewed her membership. She continues her education through workshops provided by the public library system. She also attends workshops offered by the South East Florida Library Information Network (SEFLIN). Alisha is not required to attended workshops, however, there are some she finds interesting and chooses to attend on her own and others are strongly recommended to her by the director.
The West Kendall Regional Library serves a middle class community made up of many Hispanics. They currently circulate over 60,000 items a month. All residents in the Dade County Library System’s taxing district are eligible for service at the West Kendall Library with the exception of residents in Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Hialeah, Miami Shores, North Miami, North Miami Beach and the Town of Surfside. Residents from Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Miami Shores or the Town of Surfside and Non-Miami Dade County residents may purchase a library card for $100 per year .
The Public Library System provides many services to residents of all ages and abilities. There is an Adult Literacy program which provides free tutoring to adults to help with reading and writing skills. Talking Books Library loans Braile and audio books and magazines by mail. This service is for those who have difficulty reading printed materials because of blindness, visual impairment, physical impairment, or reading disability. Their Connections program provides books by mail for those who are homebound. Jump Start is a story time kit that may be checked out by licensed preschool and kindergarten programs. The S.M.A.R.T. program provides students in grades K-12 free tutoring in Science, Math, and Reading. They also offer story time for children, book clubs for teens and adults, special guests will read, perform magic tricks, or tell stories, and computer instruction classes. They even have Bookmobiles that stop in different locations throughout the community for those who can not make it to a local library. These are just a few of the many programs offered by the Public Library System.
As for Alisha, she is in charge of the teen knitting club. Her club meets weekly. There are about seven girls that attend every week and three or so that come every now and then. She is also working on a scavenger hunt with a librarian who is traveling for the summer. They chose different young adult books that take place in the cities she would be visiting. They assign a book each week. A weekly clue is posted on Facebook and the teens use the clue along with what they read to guess where she is that week. So far they have less participants than they hoped to have. But she thinks it may be because Facebook recently changed their format and they had to create a new page. She also mentioned that most of the teens that participate in the book club have very protective parents. Chances are, those teens do not have access to Facebook. You can visit their Facebook page and follow the scavenger hunt.
This library has 54 computers to access the database and internet as well as laptops available for patrons to use in the library. They have televisions and projectors available in their auditorium. This branch may request Nintendo PlayStations and Wii’s to use during special events. Ebooks and trial EReaders are also available to patrons. The library provides free WiFi to all who visit. More information is available on the Miami Dade County Public Library website and on Facebook.
Miami Dade County Public Library website:
Facebook:
There are currently 25 staff members at the West Kendall branch. There is 1 library supervisor which overseas several branches, one librarian 4, two librarian 2, and four librarian 1. Alisha is a librarian 1 as she is fairly new to the field. Throughout her work day, she rotates with the other librarians and is either at the reference desk or in her office. She spends a total of about three hours at the reference desk a day. These hours are usually spread out throughout her shift. When she is in her office she works on planning for promotional programs, weeding the collection, checking her email, and searching for books to recommend or read with her teens. Although many people think she spends the day reading, she does not have time to read during her work hours.
When I first walked in there was someone at the door greeting and ready to answer any questions one might have. The circulation desk and the automatic check out computers are found in the lobby. The children’s section, movies, and adult fiction titles are found on the first floor. Upstairs are the computers, young adult section, magazines and newspapers, and the reference desk. There are couches for those who are reading for pleasure as well as tables with chairs for those who are studying or working with laptops. The atmosphere is very quiet and friendly. I asked Alisha if the teens ever got rowdy and she said luckily all she has ever had to do is ask them to quiet down. Considering it was 2:00pm on a weekday, the library was very busy. It is nice to see so many people of different ages taking advantage of what our community has to offer.
Over all it was a very pleasant environment. I love the fact that Alisha has her very own office. I think it is wonderful that they rotate their duties throughout the day so you can work with different patrons. I was very surprised that two librarians were not willing to help me. They both seemed a little bitter. I wonder why? One of them mentioned the budget cuts and how busy she was because they were short staffed. I don’t think this is information I need to know. As a Dade County School employee I too am affected by the budget cuts but I would not refuse to help a student or tell them I was too busy. I would not want to work in a public library because I am a teacher at heart. I really enjoy teaching and a media center is the place for me.
