Monday, November 9, 2009

Nights that make me love my job

Last Thursday was one of them.

I had about 10 public administration grad students, who all had papers due Friday, in the reference area. Now, it would have been BETTER if they had not waited until Thursday to do their research. But that did not stop me from reveling in finding articles and books for them, helping them use their sources as support for their arguments, and teaching them APA style. And giving them peppermints and encouragement. I was definitely on a high at the end of Thursday evening (but was out of time to blog, and didn't get around to it until now).

Part of what made this experience so satisfying for me was that the students didn't have unrealistic expectations. They KNEW they were late, and they were ready to make due with whatever information we could find in a limited time. They also understood that they were all in the same boat, and were very patient as I went back and forth between them to help.

Hooray for 11th hour reference triumphs! :-)

2 comments:

Astra Libris said...

Wow, Libby, you are the coolest librarian ever!!! I love the image of you dashing between all the students, spreading joy and peppermints... :-) You are amazing, truly!

Libby said...

Thanks, Astra! I don't know about "joy" (the best we were going for at that point in the evening was "lack of total despair"), but I was having fun.