Preface: by Martha Morgan, Mary Ryan and Nancy Bonne, Beverly Public Library Having Kelli Garvey working in the Beverly Library Children's Room has been a unique experience for all of us. Before she began, we had a meeting with Susan Babb, the Children's Room staff, and the Library Director and Assistant Director to map out objectives. We wanted Kelli to learn how a public library children's room works, and become comfortable in the daily routines. But we also wanted to provide her opportunities to sample the work of a professional children's librarian and to have a chance to be more than a page. One benefit we hadn't anticipated was that, in explaining why and how we do story hours, it made us re-think it ourselves. It became a sort of self-evaluation. One of the paraprofessional tasks we had in mind for Kelli was to have her evaluate parts of the non-fiction collection with an idea of weeding and ordering to bring it up to date. We had invaluable help from Elizabeth Thompson at NOBLE, but couldn't seem to get a handle on method or purpose. Then we decided it wasn't moving, because we didn't know what we wanted to know. Another self-evaluation experience. It's been a wonderful experience having Kelli as an intern in the Beverly Children's Room. She is enthusiastic about doing anything she's asked to do, and also has a sensitivity to the needs of the room, is willing to drop what she's doing to shelve, or take a turn on the desk. All of us thank Susan Babb for coming up with such an innovative and creative idea.

The Intern
By Kelli Garvey

Most college students do not spend time memorizing Mother Goose rhymes or reading picture books aloud. Most college students do not unconsciously sing "I'm a Little Teapot" or "Old MacDonald" on their way to class in the morning. But I have had the privilege of unashamedly practicing these childhood rituals as part of my internship in the Children's Section of Beverly Public Library.

Last summer, while perusing Gordon College's employment website, I stumbled across an advertisement from Susan Babb, Youth Services Consultant at NMRLS, which offered an internship opportunity in the Massachusetts library system. As a lover of books and children, I immediately contacted Susan and expressed my interest in the internship. Susan efficiently helped me "tailor-make" my internship so that it would be serving both the prospective library's interests and mine.

I began my internship at Beverly Public Library in January of this year with a vague idea of what I would be doing (story hours, circulation desk), but I did not realize that a variety of opportunities awaited me. I also did not anticipate working with such fun and gracious librarians, Nancy Bonne, Mary Ryan, and Martha Morgan.

The most enjoyable part of the internship has been working with Martha Morgan in organizing and conducting Story Hours for Lapsit Babies, Babies on the Move, and Mother Goose. From selecting books appropriate for each group of children to learning Mother Goose rhymes, Story Hour has been an exciting and enlightening opportunity. I have learned that Trashy Town is a book that contributes well to a story hour of preschoolers, but certainly not to eight month old babies who much prefer the bold, colorful illustrations and interactive participation of Wrapping Paper Romp (especially when given a handful of wrapping paper!). I have also learned how well children respond to recitation and repetition; these are comforting and fun rituals for them. Lap Rhymes for babies are not simply entertainment for Baby, but a way for the parent to interact with Baby. Often, I notice the parents enjoying the story hours more than the children because it provides for them ideas for rhymes and games, and a cache of new books to check out.

I've also been able to reach another age group of children during my internship, namely, young adults in the Young Adult Book Club discussion that occurs once a month. So far we have read The Bogart, by Susan Cooper; Spying on Miss Muller, by Eve Bunting; and currently Running Out Of Time, by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This has been a learning opportunity as well, considering I am enrolled in an Adolescent Literature class at college. It has been interesting to see what the young adults in the book club like to read and what books contribute to good discussion. This has been helpful as I learn about the difference between children's and adolescent literature, and censorship issues in my class at school.

A visit to NOBLE in Danvers has also been part of the internship, where Nancy Bonne and I met with Elizabeth Thompson to discuss effective means of collection development. I am currently brainstorming the most efficient way for the Beverly Library to take inventory of their children's collection. Learning this aspect of library science has introduced me to the more necessary and routine tasks of a librarian aside from checking out books and responding to requests for library cards: how a library adds to, subtracts from, and categorizes its shelves.

Working at the Beverly Library has put me in touch with not only the wonderful librarian staff there, but staffs from other libraries as well. In February, our library had a Story Hour Workshop in which they invited librarians from other libraries in Northeast Massachusetts. I was able to meet those librarians and get a sense of what their libraries are like. In March, I once again met a few other librarians during my visit to the book review held at NMRLS. For the next book review session, I am excited to be contributing to the discussion by reviewing two picture books myself.

My internship at the Beverly Public Library has been very rewarding because of these various learning opportunities. I look forward to every Tuesday and Thursday, when I shed my college student skin and jump into the world of toddlers and picture books. It's been a unique opportunity to learn something new, outside the classroom setting, and to feel that I am contributing to the library's services while using and developing my own gifts and interests in the literature field. I am considering library science as a very probable post-graduation option. I would never have imagined this possibility if I not had the opportunity to intern at Beverly.

Editor's Note: Kelli Garvey is currently a Senior at Gordon College. She is very interested in pursuing her Masters in Library Science. Kelli hopes to get a job in a library for next year. Next month, we'll hear from Danielle Ambrose, also a Senior at Gordon College, who is interning at the Peabody Institute Library in Danvers!