Diary of an Intern

~Post by Kate, BookPeople Intern

My name is Kate. I am the newest BookPerson and first-ever BookPeople intern. I guess that makes me a BookBaby.  I go to St. Andrew’s, where in order to graduate seniors must fulfill a “Senior Project” requirement, in which seniors  spend three weeks doing anything from community service to book writing to internships. As a voracious reader and prospective English literature major, my dream project was to work at BookPeople. I’d always loved the atmosphere of the store. Ever since I went to my first author event, I’ve been going to Book People regularly for more author events, college interviews, study time, and book browsing fun. Luckily, my middle school English teacher had a contact with BookPeople, and even better, they were willing to take on an eighteen-year-old intern in the spring. I was elated.

Showing up Monday morning to Book People instead of school was weird, but mostly wonderful. I spent my first day following various people around and learning the tricks of the trade. I was escorted on several tours, including the Kids’ Section, the first floor, and the second floor. I became familiar with the idiosyncratic program that is Square1, the search catalog of all the books in the store. I’m always so impressed with the dexterity the employees have using it. It will definitely take a long time for me to master that one. I also got to test my BookPeople geography skills and  do my first round of shelving! I’m sure the other employees will find it funny that I genuinely enjoyed solving the puzzle of putting books back on the self while maintaining alphabetical order and making sure some books face out. I could have organized some sub-standard shelves, but, again, I’m still getting the hang of things. It’s both humbling and exciting having to acquire so many new skills for this job.

I’ve also made several mistakes and mishaps in these past three days. The few times that I’ve picked up the phone I’ve always messed something up–whether it be misspelling titles or mistakenly saying that we don’t have a book when we did. I’m always asking the other employees questions. Thank goodness that they’re gracious and patient with me! I also set off the stairwell alarm today. John assured me that “things like that happen” and Bryan quipped that I am an official Book Person now that I’ve done that. I just have to keep remembering what John says: that I may make mistakes, but, no matter what I do, I won’t set the store on fire. My experience has been a comedy of errors so far, but I’m really having fun learning and enjoying myself every day. And, if you call Book People and I answer, please be patient and gentle. The Book Baby is learning!