Confession time: I’m a proud TLAM student who took the course in 2011, but I haven’t attended a TLAM event in a very long time. So on Sunday, July 1st, I decided to spend a sweltering Sunday afternoon in the pleasant SLIS library, where I helped process children’s books for the Ho-Chunk Learning Center.
Joined by several TLAMers, including Rachael Page, Robin Amado, Phillip Yocham, Peter Redrud, and Eleanor Johnson, we spent a rapid three hours sorting children’s and young adult books. Armed with Rachael’s delicious beer bread and chocolate cake, we set upon our task.
Our processing soon fell into an easy rhythm. After emptying books from donation boxes, Peter, Phillip, and Rachael would consult a list printed from LibraryThing to see what category the book fell under, like children’s, picture book, or young adult. Finally, Robin and I would affix labels to the books, clean up any extraneous markings or stickers, and sort them into new boxes. Often, we found ourselves debating whether particular books were picture books or children’s fiction, depending on how complex the text was. We also re-classified some books that had incorrect cataloging.
It was fun work and went quickly; piles of books building up around us on the tables. The selection of donations was eclectic, and seeing which books came across my path was my favorite part. Disney books, kids’ crafting and cooking books, Eyewitness books, Harriet the Spy, Tummy Girl, the Babysitters’ Club, books about animals, friendship, Abraham Lincoln-simply a wide assortment.
In the end, we processed about four boxes of books, with several left to go. This means that there will be another TLAM book processing party in the near future, so keep an eye out for an announcement. As someone who’s been away from TLAM for awhile, this was a great tangible project that introduced me to new friends. Now, I feel back in the loop.
– Crystal Schmidt