THE BURGERS WERE HUGE

Well, today was my first day at the Marion County Library internship. Let's see if I can break down everything that happened - it was pretty darn eventful. I apologize for the length of this post! I tend to be a little too detailed.
I walked into the library at 9:30 AM, right went they opened up. I asked if Cathy, my supervisor, was there, and I was told that she normally runs late but should be in shortly. In the mean time, I met one of my main coworkers, Jean Townsend. Jean was very nice, bubbly, and easy to talk to. She gave me a brief overview of the library, asked me some questions about Duke and where I was from, and told me to just look around in the mean time. The Marion library is definitely old and limited in technology, space, and resources; it is smaller than the Georgetown library, but still functional and appeared ok. I discovered a featured display on Dean Koontz, one of my favorite thriller novel writers, and quickly picked up a book I had been wanting to read for a while - Velocity. It was at this point that I went and applied for a library card and internet access. I used my newfound library power to check out the book, as Jean happily replied, "Thank You, and we welcome you to the library!" I read a little of my new book to pass the time, and a few minutes later, Cathy arrived.
Cathy Pruett was funny and energetic, with a hint of well-timed cynicism - just how I like it. Wearing a gumby pin next to her name tag, I could tell that she was going to be fun to work with. Cathy took me on a more in-depth tour of the library, as well as introducing me to each of the library's employees; everyone was so friendly and nice; the Southern hospitality I had come to enjoy in Georgetown was even more prevalent here. Already, I felt like "one of the regulars."
After filling out some paperwork, Cathy, who is the library's Children's Librarian, explained to me the situations that plagued the library: first of all, there is no space for children's programming like storytime, arts and crafts, or perhaps most importantly, the summer reading activities. They currently use the South Carolina reading room or the periodicals section of the library for these tasks - certainly not an ideal situation. Also, the library needs more funding - they want/need to expand to three times their current size, but the project would obviously need a lot of money to succeed. Money that the library simply doesn't have. Cathy informed me that I would be helping to plan the Summer Reading program which begins in two weeks at the library. I'll be doing things like planning arts and crafts programs or helping with musicals. It should be a lot of fun. I wasn't able to meet Salley, the director of the library yet, and there wasn't much to do at the moment, so I went home for a lunch break.

When I came back from my lunch break, I met Salley, a very interesting woman who had even been to Andrews, a small suburb near my hometown (and asked me if I was familiar with the town's practice of hiding cops behind trees to police people speeding through their town - I was.). After a brief chat with Salley, I was given my final assignment for the day - I would get to ride with Barron, another one of my coworkers, in the BookMobile route this afternoon.


We departed for our route - extremely rural areas of Marion, Mullins, and the surrounding area. The bookmobile provides a mobile library service to the rural areas in Marion county; places where people don't have access to a library or the means to have transportation to one. Arriving at our first stop, I met a family who rushed out almost immediately after we pulled up to their house. A mother with three children marched up to the bus and began pulling books they were interested in off the shelf and returning ones they had from a previous visit. I noticed that one child, who was apparently in 5th grade, had a huge stack of books he was very excited about. They were all primarily picture books meant for 2nd or 3rd graders, though. I think this was my first exposure to the education gap that Marion faced - this was probably emphasized by my placement in rural Marion, where transportation to school alone is a huge factor. Anyways, the family was very nice and happy to meet me. They brought their dogs inside the bookmobile and introduced them - adorable! Our other stops were less eventful, but nonetheless, I had fun. My first day was quite an introduction to the library.

At home, we were shortly served with an extravagant meal cooked by John Deans and David Womble - GIGANTIC Burgers, Hot Dogs, Salad, and Baked Potatoes (complete with bacon bits and other dressings!). They were amazing - and, well.. ENORMOUS. Also delicious. We had some great dinner conversation too. Wow. What a huge day. And this is only the beginning.
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Memorable Quotes:
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"If I had a choice, I'd pick The Sims over school." - Noelle
"A good burger is like a good woman - pretty damn good." - David Womble