Biographical
Name?
Amanda M. Leftwich
Current job?
Circulation Supervisor
How long have you been in the field?
Four years, but I received my MSLS in August 2017!
How Do You Work?
What is your office/workspace like?
I have a backwards L shaped desk with piles of paper, reserve label stickers, books, and notepads (it looks a HOT MESS right now). I don’t have any pictures of family or anything fun. I do however have some Frida Kahlo notecards, a candy dish for the students, and a picture that one of my student worker’s shot for a fashion show.
How do you organize your days?
I write down everything that has a deadline on my desk calendar. I’ll mark them off with a red marker when completed. For all other duties, I’ll use my Outlook calendar’s flagging system. It’ll send me reminders of things I need to do (for example, completing timesheets for the student workers). There’s a lot of moving parts for circulation to keep track of, and this system has worked the best for me.
What do you spend most of your time doing?
Making sure my student workers are getting the job done, statistics, billing, and collection shifting projects.
What is a typical day like for you?
A typical day is hectic, especially right now, as it’s the beginning of the semester. The bulk of my job is making sure that the circulation desk runs like a proverbial well-oiled machine. That means making sure the student workers are up-to date with policies and procedures; helping patrons find items in the library; and reminding professors to put items on the course reserves. A typical day is me walking in seeing what’s wrong --- fixing the issue, checking in with the workers, then working on statistics, and finally adding journals into the system.
What are you reading right now?
I’m reading the Wonder Woman comics (Rebirth) series by Greg Rucka, Confused Spice by Mathis Bailey, & Bitch Planet by Kelly Sue Deconnick. I love graphic novels and usually read about three or four volumes of those a week. I’ll usually grab a smaller fiction novel for my train ride. And, I have a TON of reading material on my Kindle. You can never have enough!
What's the best professional advice you've ever received?
Don’t worry if everyone likes you….just get the job done.
What have you found yourself doing at work that you never expected?
Cleaning skulls and bones! The Library rents model skulls, a skeleton named Billy/Ziggy (there’s a debate about the name), and bones for drawing classes.
A typical day is hectic, especially right now, as it’s the beginning of the semester. The bulk of my job is making sure that the circulation desk runs like a proverbial well-oiled machine. That means making sure the student workers are up-to date with policies and procedures; helping patrons find items in the library; and reminding professors to put items on the course reserves. A typical day is me walking in seeing what’s wrong --- fixing the issue, checking in with the workers, then working on statistics, and finally adding journals into the system.
What are you reading right now?
I’m reading the Wonder Woman comics (Rebirth) series by Greg Rucka, Confused Spice by Mathis Bailey, & Bitch Planet by Kelly Sue Deconnick. I love graphic novels and usually read about three or four volumes of those a week. I’ll usually grab a smaller fiction novel for my train ride. And, I have a TON of reading material on my Kindle. You can never have enough!
What's the best professional advice you've ever received?
Don’t worry if everyone likes you….just get the job done.
What have you found yourself doing at work that you never expected?
Cleaning skulls and bones! The Library rents model skulls, a skeleton named Billy/Ziggy (there’s a debate about the name), and bones for drawing classes.
Inside the Library Studio
Amanda is on Twitter as @thelibmaven. This is the second time she's written for Letters to a Young Librarian. The first was “Handling Microaggressions in the Library”.
What is your favorite word?
Apothecary
What is your least favorite word?
Moist
What profession other than your own would you love to attempt?
Aromatherapist. I love working with different scents and healing people from the inside out.
What profession would you never want to attempt?
Anything involving driving for a living (I’ve never learned; nor do I want too). I’m thankful for all the Lyft drivers getting me home safely!
Everything Else
What superpower do you wish you had?
This is a hard one!!? Teleportation would be nice especially if I could avoid lines at security!
What are you most proud of in your career?
I’m still new, but helping students further their own interests and become a mentor to those that have asked. The ability to pay forward what I received as a mentee has been a great honor and pleasure. I’m also proud of another post a wrote for this blog.
If you're willing to share, tell about a mistake you made on the job.
Mostly thinking that everyone has the same level of urgency that I do. Most days, I have a lot of energy to put into work. I’ve come to realize most people like a slower/more thoughtful approach. It doesn’t make it wrong, just different from my style.
When you aren't at work, what are you likely doing?
Planning trips, researching, studying aromatherapy practices, reading, watching a sci-fi show, etc.
Who else would you like to see answer these questions?
Recent graduates/new librarians like myself, diverse librarians, and archivists.
Amanda is on Twitter as @thelibmaven. This is the second time she's written for Letters to a Young Librarian. The first was “Handling Microaggressions in the Library”.
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