I wouldn’t want every week to be like school vacation week, but oh how lovely it can be to have that change of pace once in a while.  It reminds me of the days spent proctoring MCAs exams when I worked at the elementary school – I was still at work, but the flow of the day was so totally different that it didn’t feel like work, and once the MCAs were over I felt quite refreshed.

At the library during school vacation weeks, I don’t run any programs other than the usual Tuesday book group.  We are a programming-heavy children’s room, and it feels appropriate to take a break from programs when many residents are out of town.  (Not to mention that there are a plethora [word inserted just to bug Jean] of great vacation week programs available at museums and other institutions.)  So no storytimes during vacation weeks, no game hours, no special events.  Without these programs last week, I was able to really focus my attention on reading review journals and ordering books.  To have that concentrated chunk of time devoted to ordering was incredible, and I accomplished a huge amount.

Best of all, at the end of the day on Saturday, as I was setting up the story room for Monday morning’s toddler storytime, I couldn’t wait to come back in on Monday to run the storytime and see my friends.  Change of pace = renewed energy and enthusiasm.  It’s a good, good thing.