Library Buzz

Greetings readers,

There’s so much going on at this time of year. I always get a bit nostalgic around the end of August. It is especially bad when I see cars packed to the roof as students are returning to college. I had so much fun in college - I enjoyed the classes too, but then I was always a decent student.

Fall has always been a time of beginnings for me. The school year and my birthday is coming up too, so that is something to look forward to as well.

I was looking over my wonderful little blog and realized that I have posted more during this month of August than I have in any other month. So maybe I’m feeling inspired. I happened to be on Wikipedia today and chanced to look up “Librarian“. As I scrolled through the listing I saw that the External Links included some blogs. So - I added myself. For now at least - I’m on Wikipedia.

Later I was looking around on the Site Admin section of my blog and discovered that there were comments waiting for action. I had never noticed them before. Most were spam. Many of those were from Chinese language posters who apparently LOVE my blog. Or something - I don’t read Chinese. So, I cleaned that up and approved several comments.

I feel just like Sally Field must have felt after she won a second Academy Award for Places in the Heart. Remember that - she cried out “You love me. You really love me!” Such exuberance - well that’s sorta how I felt today when I saw some of the comments.

And just for the record, today was pretty busy at work. I finished getting the Bulletin ready for the Website and scanned in several articles for that. I attended a meeting. I handled several reference questions. I opened and sorted two GPO shipments - and I managed to read some more of the Agatha Christie that I’m reading - The Seven Dials Mystery. I think I’ve actually read it before. There’s a great scene between Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent and her father, but I digress.

Today I briefly considered embracing this whole laziness thing and even renaming my blog The Lazy Librarian. I still might - so no one else can have it! I figured it might be a good way to point other lazy librarians to resources to help them do their work. Come to think of it - I might not be so lazy - just more efficient than some other Librarians… But that isn’t going to be a productive approach!

So Labor Day is fast approaching. Have a good weekend and drive safely.

Cheers!

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Laziness must be a Catholic thing!

This being reported from a Franciscan attending the International convention in Rome - Brother Lawrence reports on the opening homily by Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM, the Archbishop of Boston.

In his homily, delivered in Italian, Sean recalled the story of how Saint Francis asked Brother Leo how he came to his vocation. After initially refusing to answer, Brother Leo finally responded that he owed his vocation to laziness. When he went into the fields, instead of working he would look at the flowers and listen to the birds. This finally led him to contemplate the source of such beauty. Sean then urged the capitulars to leave room for some of Leo’s laziness-that is, for prayer and contemplation. Brother Lawrence heartily endorses the Cardinal’s call for laziness.

I think I’m actually on the right track!

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Yesterday I talked with Marie Kaddell, Librarian and author of the Government Info Pro blogsite. I had been asking her some questions about the Lexis/Nexis Certificate of Mastery program.

In the course of the conversation she mentioned that she’s actually showing my blog to other federal librarians! Yikes! That means I have to start being responsible to an audience and put aimless ramblings onto a less “professional” site.

But it was Friday, and there was little that I could come up with on such short notice to uplift my fellow government and other Librarians. So for now — have a great weekend - and I’ll start being more professional on Monday - well maybe on Tuesday - I’ve got to take Monday off and wait for a repairman.

peace out!

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I wasn’t actually looking for something to exonerate myself - but it is nice find someone on my side.

There is an article from the Catholic News Service about Pope Benedict XVI who is taking a month-long vacation. They quote the Holy Father who is, in turn, quoting St. Bernard of Clairvaux who warned against

the dangers of excessive activity, whatever the condition or office held, because many occupations lead to a ‘hardening of the heart’ and suffering of the spirit.

So maybe I’m not really lazy after all - just intuitively practicing a Catholic work ethic. Of course - St. Bernard was pointing out that prayer and contemplation should be the focus of our lives and we shouldn’t let our work take us away from that.

Okay, so I still have some work to do in that regard.

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Greetings all,

A friend at work has loaned me a few different books. We began talking about books when he saw that I was reading the Harry Potter books. As we talked about other books, he mentioned the Lemony Snicket books. I hadn’t read any of them, but I think by then I had seen the movie. Though not the best film in the world - it has a wonderful texture to it. It would have been a perfect movie to have filmed in black and white.

Anyway… he loaned me The Carnivorous Carnival which I devoured. It is a children’s book - it isn’t like reading metaphysics. Yesterday Theo loaned me The Slippery Slope. I have only just started reading it, but I am quickly entranced by the world and the author’s style.

Do check out the Lemony Snicket Website.

But my new favorite quotation -

Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don’t always like.

A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Tenth - The Slippery Slope, by Lemony Snicket p.21

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Hi readers - I guess it is time to come clean on this. I’m a lazy librarian. I’ve been in denial about it for some time, but I’ve had an epiphany. Actually it was an unsolicited comment.

Several years ago a friend pointed out that realizing that I have a character flaw isn’t sufficient - I have to work at overcoming the flaw. But realization is the first step.

For years I have blamed my lack of ambition on boredom - I enjoy being a Librarian and doing research and working with clients. But if there aren’t any customers, I find it hard to create work. My second excuse is that I am not really interested in the subject field I work in. A few years ago I intereviewed for a Librarian position at the Library of Congress in the Motion Picture & Television Reading Room. That would be my dream job - but banking and finance per se isn’t very interesting to me.

An academic Library job would be good - there would be diversity in the types of research and I enjoy teaching - so giving overviews of how the Library works etc. would be a lot of fun.

All that being said - I still feel as though I am finding my path at this agency. I’ve been here for two years and my boss is in retirement mode, so nothing is going on to expand our horizons. We haven’t been able run any outreach programs for several years - and we’re grossly understaffed should we start providing real support for our personnel in the field.

At least one of the bosses up the chain of command sees the value of hiring an intern (or two?) who can assist in our daily routines. So there is something to look forward to — in the middle of next year.

I do plan to apply for my boss’ job after he retires. I’m a good candidate for it - but even if I get the position, I don’t know that I’ll want work that position until I retire - that’s ten years from now - talk about boredom!

For right now I’m letting off a little steam about being lazy. I’ve been meaning to brush up my resume and apply for my own internship with the Museum of Television and Radio in New York City. I may have a chance to do that soon, depending upon a couple of developments. And I’ll do that!

On the bright side - it is a beautiful day here in DC. It is a Friday and I have a nice weekend ahead.

Cheers!

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Greetings readers. It is a nice, sullen, rainy day here in Washington. Too bad it is making things steamy outside. This is the kind of day that Jack and Mary Murphy called roll-over days. You wake up, open one eye and look at the gray day and roll over and go back to sleep. Jack and Mary had earned their retirement and deserved that luxury – though they seldom took it. I did overhear my boss say this morning, “Just nine more months and I’ll be able to stay in bed on a morning like this.”

A few things are in the news. I got word that the courthouse in my hometown burned the other day. I’m heading up there this weekend and am saddened to think how empty the town square will look.

There was an item in the news that someone in the US Army had pitched the idea of turning a museum at Fort Belvoir into some kind of amusement park. Fortunately the idea was nixed.

I remember back in 1992 after the Gulf War, Bush the Elder wanted to have a Victory Parade here in DC. So they hauled out the heavy artillery and war jets did flyovers and tanks chewed up the asphalt along Constitution Avenue. Yea, hooray!

A friend of mine was working as a CIA analyst (not like Jack Ryan in the Tom Clancy novels). My friend worked at a desk analyzing images and identifying targets. He was anxious to see just what the artillery that had hit his targets. So the two of us with another friend in tow visited the National Mall and walked around with everyone else looking at helicopters and tanks and anti-aircraft guns. It was all great fun and kids were climbing all over these weapons of war.

After about an hour of this we were near the National Gallery of Art. It was hot, I was getting tired and frankly I was weary from looking at weapons of destruction. We agreed that it was time to seek the cool tranquility of the art museum. I stepped into the quiet of the gallery and started to look at paintings. The contrast between the weaponry outdoors and the beauty of paintings was so striking. I almost cried – my soul was so comforted by the one, the true, the beautiful… art.

“I’m gonna’ lay down my sword and shield down by the riverside and study for War no more.”

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Chicago is an incredible city. I’ve had a wonderful time on each and every visit. My first visit was back in 1978, with a dear friend Lorraine Hall. She had lived in Chicago and her sister’s family was still there.

One of our stops on that trip to Chicago was the fabulous Palmer House Hotel on Monroe Street. We walked into the Lobby and I was transfixed. On this trip I was delighted to be staying in the Palmer House – only my second time staying there. Plus I found the wonderful Miller’s Pub just down from the Adams Street exit. I recommend it highly!

Among our stops on that trip was a trek to the Museum of Science and Industry to see the Colleen Moore Fairy Castle. That was my reason to return there this year on my visit to Chicago. It was a sort of homage to my friend Lorraine.

In addition to that delightful exhibit, the museum is hosting a great exhibit on the inventions of Leonardo DaVinci. I had never thought about such things before, but a friend of mine works on museum displays, so I noticed how this was installed. The display models were set on rough, wooden boxes. This gave a sense of being in a workshop. Some of the models were designed to be interactive, so visitors can turn the cranks etc. to see how things worked.

After I toured those two exhibits, I had just enough energy to tour the Silver Streak – the Pioneer Zephyr that ran from New York to Chicago beginning in 1934. To quote a friend, “Trains are signs of the forces of good in the universe.”

By then I was ready for the trek back to the hotel to rest.

That evening I walked from the Palmer House to Millennium Park aka Grant Park for a performance by the Grant Park Symphony. They performed the outstanding choral work Carmina Buranaby Carl Orff. They did a phenomenal job. And the Soprano, Harolyn Blackwell was incredible. First of all, she looked stunning and voice floated effortlessly on the Dulcissime. Sigh!

On my last day in Chicago I visited the Chicago Cultural Center along Michigan Street. It is a Beaux Arts building that is the former home of the Chicago Public Library and also served as a meeting hall for the Grand Army of the Republic. There is a beautiful banquet room there. Well worth the visit.

Of course I cannot fail to mention the Chicago Art Institute. I didn’t have time on this visit, but it is a wonderful gallery!

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And speaking of Friday…

Versified Note to Dr. Mackenzie, Mauchline

FRIDAY first’s the day appointed
By the Right Worshipful anointed,
To hold our grand procession;
To get a blad o’ Johnie’s morals,
And taste a swatch o’ Manson’s barrels 5
I’ the way of our profession.

The Master and the Brotherhood
Would a’ be glad to see you;
For me I would be mair than proud
To share the mercies wi’ you. 10

If Death, then, wi’ skaith, then,
Some mortal heart is hechtin,
Inform him, and storm him,
That Saturday you’ll fecht him.

Rbt. Burns

Mossgiel, An. M. 5790.

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Yesterday, August 2, 2006 was a noteworthy day and one that focused on many aspects of Librarianship.

At work I was putting our daily newspapers on the display racks. Perhaps you recall the wooden poles that are split to accomadate each section of the newspaper. We still use them in my Library (for now.)

As I was impaling The New York Times I noticed the obituary for Frederick G. Kilgour the founder of OCLC. Mr. Kilgour has an impressive list of accomplishments from his long life. Mr. Kilgour died at the age of 92, survived by his wife, three daughters, two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. My heartfelt sympathies go to them in their loss.

My first encounter with OCLC was from my early days filing cards in the Card Catalog. In my life as a Cataloger, I came to know and appreciate OCLC. I was fascinated by the concept of a shared catalog and I enjoyed exploring the database. My library had a dedicated OCLC terminal that was my domain for a few years. Even at that point I recognized the potential of using a catalog like that to located a book or journal and being able to download it. I knew it was only a matter of time.

Thank you Mr. Kilgour for your insight, effort and accomplishment. May you rest in peace!

Later in the day I experienced a reunion of colleagues from my former library. We met to attend the funeral of a friend’s mother. The friend, Diana Smith, is a retired Librarian, and her mother Dorothy also enjoyed a career as a Librarian at the University of Texas.

Dorothy became a Librarian by default and avocation – through practice, mentoring and on-the-job training. She did not have an MLS so some in our profession would try to dismiss her. But in her career, Dorothy was a Librarian and she was a lover of books and instilled that love in her daughter.

During the funeral service, Diana read from one of her mother’s favorite poems Under the Lyre by W. H. Auden.

Thou shalt not live within thy means
Nor on plain water and raw greens.
If thou must choose
Between the chances, choose the odd;
Read The New Yorker, trust in God;
And take short views.

Dorothy – you lived your life on your terms – you always very kind to me. May you rest in peace!

It was a wonderful opportunity to join together to show our love and support for our friend Diana. I enjoyed seeing many of my former colleagues. I worked with a great group of people and I do miss them. I learned from my colleague Noreen actually has looked at this blog. Noreen was the Librarian who first trained me as a Cataloger. She is a patient teacher and has always set a good example as a diligent worker! Thanks Noreen!

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