Haleigh's Practicum Diary

Date: 6/16/26

Time Worked: 8:30am-5pm (approx. 8 hours)

Name: Haleigh Hare

Supervisor’s name: Marisa Bateman/ Taylor Brannan (Marisa is supervising my entire experience within the D.C. Public Library System, while Taylor is supervising me in this specific, Georgetown Neighborhood Library, branch)

Description of the Day:

Today was my first opportunity to work alongside my practicum supervisor, Taylor, and it was great to finally hear more about some of the projects she has planned for the children’s department. One of the biggest projects she introduced me to involves completely reorganizing the library’s board book collection. Right now, the books are tucked away in a corner of the room against the wall, and they aren’t arranged in any particular order. They also don’t have spine labels, only barcodes on the back, which makes it difficult for both patrons and staff to quickly find specific titles. Taylor explained that her vision is to move the collection to a more central location in the children’s area, add clear spine labels, and alphabetize everything so it is easier to browse. She also pointed out that having the books organized will make pulling titles from the library’s Pick List much more efficient, since staff won’t have to search through every single book to find the one they need. Listening to her explain the reasoning behind the project helped me realize that even something as simple as where books are located can have a big impact on how families experience the library and how efficiently staff are able to do their jobs.

I spent most of the day tackling the first step of the project by sorting the entire board book collection. I organized each book by the first letter of the author’s last name, and when no author was listed, I used the first letter of the title instead. Series such as Sesame Street and Daniel Tiger were grouped together under “S” and “D,” which will make them much easier for families to find once the project is complete. It was definitely a bigger task than I expected, and I quickly realized just how many board books the library owns. As I worked, several curious babies and toddlers wandered over with their caregivers to see what I was doing. Those little interactions were one of my favorite parts of the day because they reminded me that even routine library work happens in a public, shared space where there’s always an opportunity to connect with patrons. Later that afternoon, we hosted a LEGO Challenge for older children. Only one child attended, which we thought was probably because DC Public Schools had not yet started summer break, but it was still nice to see how much fun he had building and sharing his creations. Before leaving for the day, I also began thinking about my first independent book display. I looked ahead at the July calendar and noticed that it is Disability Pride Month, and I found myself excited by the possibility of creating a display that celebrates disability representation and highlights inclusive stories for children and families. It felt like the first time I was beginning to contribute my own ideas, and I’m looking forward to seeing that project come together over the next few weeks.

Pictured above is the current state of the board book collection. You can notice the discolored labels and general chaos. In this state, the collection is difficult to navigate for both staff and patrons.

Pictured above is how I set-up the Lego Challenge program. I pushed the tables together and displayed some smaller Legos and larger Duplos.