A Library-Themed Christmas

This Christmas, my husband gave me several library-themed gifts. I said I was touched because it demonstrated to me how he was supportive of my decision to pursue an MLIS degree and change careers. His response was, "Oh, sure, that's what I was doing."

Okay, so maybe he didn't intentionally select the gifts for that reason, but he has been very supportive and I love the gifts. (If you're wondering where he found them, he searched Google for "librarian.")

My favorite gift (shown at right) is the Deluxe Librarian Action Figure, with “amazing push-button Shushing Action.” Featuring the likeness of real librarian Nancy Pearl, the 5” tall vinyl figure comes with a reference desk, computer, book cart, multiple book stacks and some loose books, including a tiny plastic replica of Nancy's book, "Book Lust."

My other gifts included the following books: "Death Books A Return: A Scrappy Librarian Mystery," by Marion Moore Hill, which I very much enjoyed reading over the holiday break (I also ordered her other book in the series); "Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian," by Scott Douglas, which I'm reading now (very funny); and "Library: An Unquiet History," by Matthew Battles, which I'm planning to read during the semester break.

Cool. I love Mad Men

NY Public Library's researchers field calls & texts 24/7
By Jeremy Olshan, New York Post

They have an answer for (almost) everything. Whether it's the writers of "Mad Men" calling to ensure the hit show's portrayal of the city in 1963 is accurate, or a fourth-grader stumped on her science project, the research librarians at the New York Public Library are the question authorities.

Created in the 1960s as the telephone reference desk, the team of six senior librarians in the catalogue area of the stunning Rose Reading Room now take hundreds of questions each day by phone, e-mail, online chat -- and, as of a few weeks ago -- by text message.

Most of the requests relate to mundane matters such as obtaining a library card, but each day there are several dozen juicy "cherry questions," senior librarian Bernard van Maarseveen told The Post.

"These are our bread-and-butter questions -- the ones that keep us coming in each day and keep us from calling out sick," he said. "These could take days or weeks."

The writers of "Mad Men," for instance, call frequently while working on the show. For example:

"Right now on taxi cabs you have lights that say 'off duty,' and they wanted to know if those lights were on in 1963," said Maarseveen, whose desk is piled with books filled with such Big Apple arcana.

"They also wanted to know what was scheduled to be on TV the day of the Kennedy assassination," he said... (full article)

Spring 2010 and Snow!

Well, I've made it through 2-1/2 semesters of the program. This term I'm taking LIS 2500: Reference Resources and Resources and LIS 2585: Health Consumer Resources and Services. I'm also continuing my internship with the ipl2, with a focus on marketing. So far, everything is going well.

The campus has been closed this week because of the blizzard so I have another week to catch up on my work. The photo to the right is of the Hillman Library. Pittsburgh has gotten about 2 feet of snow. I live north of Pittsburgh and we've had a lot less - about 10 feet - but it's still coming down.

Homecoming Weekend at Pitt

Last weekend was my first Pitt homecoming and my first visit to Heinz Field. It is a beautiful football field, but it is so big that it didn't feel much like a college game. We couldn't find any of our friends until after the game at a local restaurant. We were lucky that the rain held off and it didn't get cold until the end of the game. Pitt beat USF in a blowout. They are doing so great this season! Much, much better than when I was an undergrad student.

The weather on Sunday was even better - cool but sunny. Natalie and I had lunch at the "O" (we split a turkey sub and small fries and were stuffed!) and walked around campus. The campus now has a Pitt Panther statue that was donated by the class of 1999 (after we graduated), so we got some pictures of it. We also walked around Station Square and took some great pictures of the city from Mt. Washington. We caught the end of the very exciting Steelers game on the radio. What a great weekend for football in Pittsburgh!

Visit to Pitt - Twice in a Month

Fall semester has been challenging. This month in particular as I keep getting colds, probably from the changing temps. Last weekend I was in Pittsburgh for fasttrack weekend and this weekend I'll be there again. My friend Natalie is flying in from Denver for Pitt's homecoming and she is staying with me. We're going to meet up with other friends after the game Saturday (my first visit to Heinz Field) and attend an event on campus Sunday. I'm really looking forward it since I haven't seen anyone since college.

Fasttrack weekend was hectic as usual. I didn't see as many people from cohort 9 as I expected I would. Some of us were communicating through Facebook afterward that it would be fun to plan a get-together for next time (in March). I can't believe it is already time to register for spring classes! I need to figure out what classes I want to take and register next week. I think I'm going to take Health Consumer Resource and Services and Information Visualization.

Well back to cleaning the house to prepare for my guest and then off to the airport.

Internet Public Library Internship

This semester I will be working with the Internet Public Library as a Digital Reference Service Intern! The IPL is a public service organization and learning/teaching environment founded in 1995 by the University of Michigan. It is currently managed by Drexel University and Florida State University. Pitt is a partner university.

I was excited to find out that although my supervisor is employed by Florida State, she works from her home in New York. I will also be working on the site remotely. This experience should be helpful to my career if telecommuting continues to be a trend -- I would love to work from St. Croix part of the year in the future.

As part of the internship, I'll help with the IPL question and answering service. Anyone can submit questions through the website and interns and volunteer librarians research and respond to the questions within 24 hours through email.

Second Semester Begins

It's my second semester in Pitt's MLIS program! I am taking 2 courses and I just love online learning. I can watch the lectures at my leisure in comfort. There's no driving to Pittsburgh or paying for parking (just one weekend each term, which I enjoy). There are a lot more students this semester, which could be challenging. In my summer classes nearly everyone was online and used Blackboard. Now my classes are a mix of on-campus and online students. We need to work together on group projects and I think some of the on-campus students are hesitant to use new technology. Besides Bb, I've used Skype for conference calls and Google Chat and Docs for effective group work.

I really enjoyed my break in August, but I didn't get as much work done around the house as I wanted to. I did volunteer at the public library in the small town I live in. The library received a state grant which was matched by private donations to double its size and renovate the current space. The project is long overdue. There was a lot of excitement when I was there as the construction was just starting. As the library director explained to me, a lot of time in a small public library is spent talking to the patrons. I found this to be true, especially with the older people. Many people stop by every day. Most patrons would ask about the building project so the director had the same conversation over and over. She didn't seem to mind, though. August is a slow month for the library, so there wasn't much for me to do, but I did help update the website content and created a user survey for future use. The website needs a redesign, but I don't have the time or skills to do that right now. Maybe in the future. Rather than volunteer on a regular basis, I'm going to check in with the director from time to time and help out with special projects.