Beyond Orientation: A Look at Scheduled Time and Unscheduled Time in a New Librarian’s First Sixty Days

Abstract

Some new librarians feel alone and are not excited about the orientation process, but library science literature is focused on this first phase of employment and its importance. This article is a self-reflection of one librarian’s allocation of scheduled time and unscheduled time in the first sixty days of employment and its possible role beyond the orientation process. The analysis of the librarian’s time within the first sixty days showed a balance between scheduled time and unscheduled time. The analysis also showed that only 5% of the first sixty days was spent in a formal orientation program. The new librarian experienced a stronger sense of employee engagement than previous positions that did not have a balanced time allocation.