Fall Internship 2014 - Tying Up Loose Ends

Whenever I think of the term, "tying up loose ends," I always come up with the image of a captain on a ship that has several ropes just flapping in the wind. These ropes are the loose ends that need to be put away neatly, so that the sail or ship itself doesn't become damaged. It's probably not the way that this idiom came about, but it makes sense to me. For my internship, I may not be the actual captain of the ship, but I do consider myself as an integral part of the crew. And while the captain is taking care of other matters, I can go ahead and tie up these ropes that are flapping in the wind. 

This week for me has been a "tying up loose ends" and "cleaning house" week. There were some social media posts that I hadn't been able to get to that needed to be scheduled before the week is over. I made sure I took some time to get those scheduled and out of the way, so that I could clean up house a little bit more. I also had time this week to finish the blog posts that I had been meaning to get to for a while. These posts highlight the performers of the Tricycle Music Fest, some of which are award winners! What I have done is pulled information from interviews I did with each performer and added other information that I have found from each of their websites. I ended each one with a list of upcoming dates that people can go and see the performances at the various Tricycle Music Fests at local libraries. Each one of these artists are so talented that it would give families a great excuse to come out to the library! You can see an example of the blog postings below. 

Finally, I am going to start the Pinterest board for the SMCL. I haven't started pinning anything yet, but just knowing that I am registered and can easily log in and do so whenever I see something that would be useful to the public.  I also want to get in touch with some friends who are also teachers who might be able to point me in the direction of websites that would be useful for families. 

One problem that keeps coming up is the actual POSTING of my blogs. I have an account, and I created a blog about a week ago, but it for some reason has been removed from my account and the site itself. So, another thing I need to do is ask why this happened and ask those in charge to rectify the situation. 

It feels great knowing that all of those flapping ropes have been tied down, and the ship can sail safely onward! Hope all of you have a great week!

Mariea :)

Internship Site: Millbrae Library
Week: September 22-28 2014
Hours Completed: 7

Fall Internship 2014 - Constant Contact

For this week's blog, I'd like to start out with a quote: "Communication - the human connection - is the key to personal and career success." Paul J. Meyer.
A lot of us are starting to have a game plan and settling into a routine in regards to each of our internships. But perhaps the one thing that we need to remind ourselves of is proper and prompt communication. This week's title is called "Constant Contact," which is interesting because there is an online newsletter program called the same thing. (Side note, I highly recommend said program because it allows you to easily compile newsletters and other online marketing with just a few clicks! Its a great way to reach those who do not have social media.)

For myself, I've found that having prompt communication with my internship supervisor is key. Sometimes, she will ask me to edit something I had sent her the previous day. And in some cases, she needs the aforementioned document as quickly as possible. However, there are times when the hard copy, or the editable file, is on my home computer, miles away from where I can access it. Therefore, this week I have decided to cover my basis by uploading these editable files on Google Drive, which Ms. Risley can access as well. If you have not heard of Google Drive, it is a program through Google where you can share documents, presentations, spreadsheets, etc., and they are all accessible online. All you have to do is share the file with others through their email address. And example of Google Drive, of which I have shared with my internship supervisor is posted below. 

What made me come to this decision is that Ms. Risley asked me to put together "Performer Profiles" that we could send out to people in the community, so that they could understand what the Tricycle Music Fest was all about in one document. There were many edits that I needed to make, but I was at work and could not access it, which meant that I needed to wait until I got home before I could. Usually by that time, Ms. Risley had left for the day. Uploading the file on the Drive is much easier. Others may find using Dropbox or other online storage as a way to do this as well. 

I also believe this week I was very accomplished in sending out more TMF event logistics  answering emails, finishing up social media for the events. But perhaps the most interesting thing - which also ties into the communication theme for this post - is a survey or evaluation form I made through Google Docs. I received a request that we needed to gather information about the various events. I made one that could get all the information in one document and compile the information that way. I plan to send it out at the end of each event.

So, to conclude, communication is the key to personal and career success. I would also add to the phrase "internship" as well to that statement. Proper and prompt communication will allow your internship supervisor to remain confident in your work and your ability to do the work. Lack of such would not put you in a good light.

Hope you are well and have a great week!

Internship Site: Millbrae Library

Week: September 15-21 2014

Hours Completed: 7

Fall Internship 2014 - Work Smarter, Not Harder!

According to the last post, I got all my information together because being organized is a key part of any internship. This week, I put that to the test and started to schedule out the posts and tweets for the Tricycle Music Fest. The theme for this week for me is "work smarter, not harder." which means to me that if there is a way that I can consolidate all of my work into one program, I am going to utilize it to the best of my ability. Therefore, I have decided to use the program Hootsuite, which combines all of your social media into one, easy-to-use application. I've used Hootsuite in my past two jobs, where I've had to be in control of the department's social media. I love it because I can do everything I need to in once place. I can also schedule tweets and posts in advance, and edit them if needed, which is also great. To post to the Bookmobile's Twitter and Facebook account, all I have to do is log in once, and have access to all social media. This way, I can schedule everything in one place, instead of bouncing around from site to site. I have included a screenshot of the Hootsuite application below.

Another thing I am working on is creating blogs for the San Mateo County Library site. My goal this week is to write blogs on two of the artists and performers for the TMF, and get people to want to come out to these events. Each performer deals in "kindie" rock, which is music specifically geared toward children., Focusing on that and relying on some of the interview questions, as well as their Youtube performances, I hope I can garner some interest in this really neat program!

The last thing completed this week was to contact all of our TMF coordinators to get a dialogue going about how to increase the attendance to these performances. So far, mostly everyone has chimed in the email I have sent out, and many of them have had great ideas that have led to a successful turnout. Now, other areas can use these ideas and try to get more attendees to their shows!

Hope you are all having a wonderful week!

Mariea :)

Internship Site: Millbrae Library

Week: September 8-14, 2014

Hours Completed: 7

Fall 2014 Internship: Organization Is KEY!

I can't believe how time is flying by! This week, I am discussing perhaps the most important aspect of an internship - organization. I'm not sure if anyone out there is like me, but I like to have everything into nice, neat tables. Something I can glance at and immediately know what I need to do. Since my internship supervisor and I meet mostly via emails and chats, I get a lot of information at once. However, this is great because I can sort through it later on! On Wednesday of this week, I sat down and went through every single email I received from Ms. Risley, and made a spreadsheet on Google Drive. I did this so that I could share it with Ms. Risley, and she could see what I have planned out for every week. A screenshot of my efforts are below. Each performer is going to several different places, so I had to double check and make sure when I would upload our social media to make sure. The spreadsheet also has when and what I am uploading to social media, as well as contacts for each of the event coordinators.


I also updated all of the event logistics for each performer, of which will be sent out to each event coordinator. The event logistics also included an interview by me, asking the performers some questions about their art. Finally, I am also going to be posting a video link on our social media, that is supposed to be very inspirational to parents and getting their children to treasure reading. When I was done, this spreadsheet was very handy, especially when I had to go back and forth between the performers and my contacts.


I hope all of you will try and utilize your own way of getting organized for your own internship. Have a wonderful day!

Mariea :)



Internship Site: Millbrae Library
Week: September 1-7, 2014
Hours Completed: 8