Library

I am sitting here at my desk at work, and admiring the work that I've done over the last few weeks. It has been a slow few weeks, library-wise, with everyone working too hard to get through materials for APs and SAT subject tests to come and do any research in the library. So, what is a librarian to do?

A couple of years ago, I decided that it was time for an extensive weeding and catalog clean-up. It was an intensive project that took up most of my time for the better part of a year. It was not the most exciting of tasks, but it was something that had badly needed to be done, and when it was over, I sat, much like I am sitting now, resting on my laurels. I admired the clean MARC records in the database, the images of book covers that now appeared in the catalog, and that the number of old and decrepit books downstairs that had been greatly diminished. Weeding is like pruning, in my opinion. It may seem harmful, to cut away what outwardly looks like healthy growth, but in the end, it makes the whole plant (or library collection) stronger.

Last year, I guess I was still resting on my laurels, since I had no major, year-long project in which I immersed myself. This year, however, I made up for it (without meaning to). In the fall, I took an online class in what was billed as a dabbling into website design and information organization. It ended up having much more to do with build a website from code than how information was organized, and I was very, very glad it was over.

In the spring, I decided that I needed another project to keep me going, and zeroed in on another slightly dreadful task - cataloging the six shelves' worth of books that had been sitting behind my desk for the last few years. Cataloging is not a very labor-intensive task, at least, not anymore. We have program that we use to search for the electronic records, and then import them into our library catalog. While it is not strenuous, it is time consuming. Very time consuming.

It took a few weeks (and as soon as I get the shipment of paperback book covers in, I'll be completely finished!), and now I have six lovely free shelves behind my desk. I also decided to move the nonfiction collection around downstairs to create more display room. A previous librarian's efforts had left a huge gap in the collection, which I filled in and dusted and put displays in. It now meets the librarian ideal of 3/4 full, with a display book at the end.

Now I am sitting here, surveying my work with a sense of pride and accomplishment. The books are organized, weeded, displayed and cataloged. The shelves behind me are clear, and my desk is clean an organized.

As the year winds to a close, I wonder - what can I get my hands on next year?