A Month of Pictures: 14

 

On Tuesdays, a friend and I take turns being librarian at our church school. 

My order loving soul enjoys checking the stacks of books back into the system and sorting out 'upper elementary fiction', 'lower elementary non-fiction', etc into orderly piles. 

I find great amusement in the first and second grader's antics -- 

Their unchecked verbalizations: "You're not allowed to get books from those shelves, Mrs Miller said!" 

Their unconcealed glee over the fact that I still have a hard time remembering some of their last names: "I'll just have to type it in for you!" 

Their fierce intensity over all wanting to check out The Unforgettable Joke Book: "Tell you what," I say. "I'll make a list and put your name down so you for sure get it next!" We now have several holds on The Coveted Joke Book.

The older the grade, the more polite and demure the students become. It's interesting to see which students thank me, when I've checked out their new stack of books. 

Then there's my least favorite job -- returning all those books to their proper place on the shelves. It's tedious and time consuming and gives my back and knees a workout. But there's also something satisfying about seeing the piles of books disappear and the rummaged through shelves restored to order.