Archive for the ‘librarianing’ Category
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
I’m back to work as of Monday, and well, it’s not clear how I ever spent my whole day away from home. How did I leave the house at 7 with the child and not return until evening? The mind boggles.
I’m working on a project related to C’s work, in fact, it’s for his boss. There’s no denying that it’s a spouse job, but it’s not all coat-tails. A librarian was needed and that is what I do (or did, and will do again). The project is pretty interesting and has sent me both physically and virtually into the French agricultural archives. I can explain in more detail for those who need more, but for the moment, I need to tell you about my first day at the BNF (Bibliothèque National de France).
I’m sure it’s a huge hassle to get to the goods in the Library of Congress so I can’t really compare my entry process well, but it was incredibly French in ways that have become very familiar. First, I had an interview with some sort of access-preventer. I presented my attestation stating that I indeed have a purpose, my contract stating that I am employed, and French-ily, my lease and a copy of my habitation insurance. I showed off my identity card and the man helpfully pointed out the upcoming expiration date. In the end, it was all rather fast and painless, and about 99% in French. He completely misunderstood the nature of my project, but I think that was less about my French than about his sense of the topic.
Donc. I get my card, I go pay for it, I exchange my stylish bag for a clear plastic box, I swipe my card, walk through a mysterious door and descend. One escalator. Two escalators. All the way down to the garden. I left my snacks behind but I shouldn’t have worried. It being France, there are cafes scattered throughout the place. People are sipping vending machine espresso and looking scholarly. I decide that I will make friends in the cafe. Eventually. Since I need to be back in our neighborhood soon to get T, I proceed straight to my assigned seat in the reading room.
It turns out that the materials I ordered would take an hour to come out, at essentially the moment I needed to leave, but now I know that I can pre-order next time. While I wait, I look around, I search the catalogue, I browse what’s browse-able on the shelves, and I feel really psyched about this new endeavor. Eventually, my first materials arrive. I open the cover and smile when I see the excellent 70s graphics:
Library, I missed you.
Posted in books, librarianing, work | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007
One of my hopes when I became a librarian was that I would always have an answer to the question “can you recommend something?” When I was an unattached graduate student, I had what seemed like endless time to soak up news and events, and read journals and reviews, and basically cultivate a few stock answers to that question as well as some subject-specific ones. This was back before amazon was amazon and there were few algorithms to sort your purchases and spit back a recommendation. Now I’m constantly taken aback by such questions, like last night when my mom wanted to borrow something for the airplane or this morning when a colleague asked for ideas on how to spend an unexpected windfall in my area–geography.
My proudest recommendation, Norman Bel Geddes’ Magic Motorways, was offered back at my old job as a librarian in a public library where you never knew what could come your way. This is an incredible book that that can cover requests across many areas: geography, california/los angeles, history, urban development, highways, cars, design, weird corporate stuff (he designed the GM pavilion for the 1939 world’s fair), theater (he designed sets), and general “give me something strange and random that I haven’t seen before” queries. It’s in the spirit of the finds at the Prelinger library described in that recent Harper’s Article (this might be the only reason that I miss pumping–the time to catch up with Harpers and the New Yorker).
So, you heard it here, one belated New Year’s resolution: get back my status as the recommender. It’s the most fun part of being a librarian. I hope I can send something as gratifying as Magic Motorways in your direction. Please, request away.
(oops, edited to delete lame, sleep-deprivation-induced typo).
Posted in librarianing | 2 Comments »
Saturday, September 2nd, 2006
We got home from our trip this afternoon. It’s September 1st, Labor Day weekend, and summer is over. So is my maternity leave. I go back to work on Tuesday. I will deposit T. at my employer’s day care facility and go sit at my desk and read 4 months worth of email. I will likely cry when I leave her and each of the many times I have to hang a sign saying “room in use” or “do not disturb” on the staff room door as I attempt to lactate on the job. As if I weren’t worried enough about the whole thing, I came face to face with the New York Times front page story about Nursing Mothers on the job. After reading that, I realize how lucky I am. I will only be working 4 days/week, occasionally from home, and the little girl will only spend 2 days/week in day care. C. and I will be with her the rest of the week. I won’t have to give up lunch or other breaks to pump; I won’t have to pump in a shitty fast food restaurant bathroom; and I won’t even have to pretend to work while I’m doing it. I can sit in a private space, ogle pictures of my sweet daughter and even nurse her in person at least once during the work day. I am really lucky. Still. It feels terrible.
I never wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, but I wouldn’t mind being a stay-at-home-longer mom. I arrived home today to a letter from my employer’s third party leave management company telling me that September 5th is my last day of approved state leave. So I’ll go back to work then because as far as I remember I like being a librarian, and I think, or rather hope, that in the long run it will be a good thing for me, for T., and for our family. Still it feels so ridiculous, leaving this sweet little person to answer reference questions. Clearly they have been getting along fine without me.
I remember people telling me that the first weeks/months with a baby are hard, but that around 3 or 4 months, it got really fun. I’m not sure I agree. The beginning was a bit of an adjustment, but each stage has had its own rewards. Yet I see why people say that. I am just starting to see T. emerging from her larval state. Poor word choice, but she really “grew up” on our trip. She rolls over again and again and again. She smiles all the time. She giggles. She stands. She lights up when her Dad and I enter her viewshed. She trusts us.
I know millions of mothers have returned to work, mine included, but it’s still going to be damn hard.
Posted in child, librarianing, parent | 1 Comment »
Friday, August 25th, 2006
We’re almost halfway through T.’s first East Coast tour. The traveling has gone well so far. It turns out that T. finds both subways and taxis and little overwhelming. The subway was so overwhelmingly loud that she passed out after a few minutes. It’s not clear why she hated the taxi, maybe because it’s the first time she’s been in a car without her carseat, but she screamed the whole ride. Really screamed. For those of you who’ve always wondered, it turns out that being able to breastfeed the baby in the car doesn’t necessarily calm them down.
In deference to my librarian-ness, we stopped by the Morgan Library, a spot I’d never visited. It was the personal library of Pierpont Morgan and the place screams “capital.” In the spirit of philanthropy, the $12 admission is discounted for students and teachers, but no nod to librarians. It seemed like a cruel shun, but I’m still glad we went. I spent half of the visit feeding T. at some conspicuous online exhibit computer station and the other half scanning the shelves of the Morgan’s reading room. Very nice time. I’d also forgotten how important it is to have well-timed A/C stops during a summer visit to New York.
In addition to a little bit of sightseeing, T. has been hanging out with her cousins in Manhattan. L. and A. are 5 and 2 year old girls who doted on T. and treated her like their own real live doll. It was very sweet.
We returned to New Jersey last night to C.’s childhood home. T. must have been working on her mental game since she saw her friend The Olive perform her championship rollover sequence the other night, because she squirmed all over the bed until she finally flipped herself over. She did it about twenty times, passed out, and then barely slept all night she was so excited.
When we get home maybe the Olive can explain how to extract the arm, the last step of the difficult maneuver.
She got it out eventually and was very pleased.
We leave for Boston momentarily for the next stage of the tour. We’re so back in the land of the small states.
Posted in geography, librarianing | No Comments »
