Week in the Law Library Life: Alex Ward, Administrative Assistant
Unlike the other members of the library, I can predict almost every hour of every day. I have a set schedule of to-do’s that rarely get altered except on special occasions like library or law school events. Without fail, coffee always comes first. Black – no muss no fuss – from our trusty Keurig in the staff kitchen. If you’ve ever visited my desk, then you’re familiar with my Care Bear mugs. I like to match the color of my mug to my outfit, a simple way to romanticize the day. Today’s color: green!
As the administrative assistant for the library, I am responsible for general tasks like processing the mail, paying invoices, updating our logbook, coding our Pcard transactions into their necessary budget lines, taking care of facilities requests, and assisting the library staff with their day-to-day tasks. This could mean helping Kathleen file loose-leaf, event planning with Erin, Lindsay and Jess, or working on a project for Raquel. As we near the fiscal year’s end, it has become very important for me to stay on top of paying invoices and running reports so we can keep a close eye on our spending these next few months. The more interesting parts of my day happen when I call vendors to talk about the invoices that come in throughout the week. Most of the time, these interactions are pleasant and simple. Other times, I feel like I am on an episode of impractical jokers waiting for the person on the other end of the phone to break character and say, “I’m just messing with you! I have the invoice right here ready to pay.” Unfortunately, this has yet to happen, and I am instead bounced around from person to person to person until finally, after 40 minutes on the phone, I am informed that actually no one in the office can help me and I should call back later. The plus side is my desk faces a beautiful window, and I have no problem watching the wildlife and traffic to pass the time during these calls. Especially now that it’s spring, the birds love to hang out in the trees and everything is so green!
My favorite part of any day without fail is lunchtime. This is when I get to catch up with Erin, Lindsay and Jess, one of whom always has a crazy story to tell. If I’m lucky, we’ll all have something to say and will spend the whole hour talking! But most days, I spend the second half of my lunch walking the seashell path and listening to an audiobook. I just finished The Wedding People, and it was SO fascinating. Funny story, I randomly started it before driving home a couple of weeks ago and was surprised to hear that it took place at The Breakers in Newport! I lived in that area last year, so it was fun to hear the familiar places mentioned in the story like the Cliff Walk, First Beach, Bowen’s Wharf, and Flo’s Clam Shack.
After lunch I like to stick to mindless tasks as I normally have a bad case of the afternoon slump. This includes checking in any more mail that trickled in after the initial morning drop-off, taking a look at Roger Central to make sure no incorrect charges hit our budget, responding to emails, and entering invoices in Sierra so we have a solid record of what we pay in a given week. If a facilities request was entered earlier in the week, this is also when I’d follow up to check the status of our ticket(s). As I’m writing this, we just received our latest update of bound volumes, supplements, and pocket parts for Federal Practice and Procedure. This is over 60 pieces of material. When shipments like this come in, it will easily take the rest of the afternoon to check everything in properly in Sierra and stamp the materials before putting them where they need to go (either on the labeling shelf for Kathleen to process further or on Erin’s cart for her student workers to shelve). And that’s that.😊 Now you know what I do in a typical week. Thank you for taking the time to read this post!