Why I'm A Librarian

I am currently a part time librarian looking for a full time job. I graduated about a year ago with my MLS and have had an extremely difficult time finding a full time position doing adult reference in the Chicago area. I got straight A's in school and was always one of the "leaders" in my classes it seemed. My resume is full of a lifetime of experience in IT, and while I was in school my classmates and teachers told me I should have no problem finding a job once I graduated given my previous skills and experience.

I keep telling myself it's the economy. Chicago Public Libraries has had a hiring freeze for over a year now with no end in sight. When the largest employer of public librarians in the Chicago area isn't hiring it makes it that much harder to find a full time job in ANY library in the Chicago area. The competition is intense.

In the meantime I consider myself very lucky that I at least have a part time job working the adult reference desk at a public library.

I've been working at this library for almost two years now and the patrons have gotten to know me well. Many of them greet me by name and I know their names as well. Maybe I'm easy to talk to? Maybe I listen well? Maybe there are just a lot of lonely people out there that need a friend? But I'm amazed at how many patrons seem to go out of their way to spend the time to come in and talk to me. Many of them tell me that I'm the "nice" librarian at the library. It seems like almost once a week a get a comment like, "Wow, you really helped me out! The other librarians aren't as helpful as you."

I recently read the book "Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian" by Scott Douglas. I enjoyed the book, I found it a funny insider look at working in a library. But I couldn't identify with the writer of the book in the sense that he always seemed to be questioning why he was working in a library. He often doesn't seem very enthusiastic about it all. I on the other hand am only questioning why I can't get a full time job so I can contribute in an even more meaningful way to a library. I am extremely enthusiastic about the profession.

A few days ago I had an experience that put it all in perspective for me. One of our regular patrons came in like usual. He greeted each other by name as we know each other by this point. After he was on the computer for an hour or so he came up to my desk.

He told me that he was in serious trouble and was hoping I could help. He told me that he had a serious gambling addiction and was in bad straights. He called in sick to work and lost everything he had earlier that day and wasn't sure how he was even going to eat for the week. He was curious if I knew of a hypnotist in the area that could "cure" him. He was also curious if I knew anything about using a hypnotist for gambling addiction. I told him I would see what I could do, he asked me if I could send him an email with the information I found, and he walked out of the library with his head held down.

I think some people in a situation like this might be judgmental. The first thought that went through my mind was, "gee wiz, he was really brave to ask me that question. I could never do that." I can be stubborn. I like to figure things out myself. I can't imagine going into a public library and revealing my problems like that to the librarian.

I also did my best to help. I found several books about gambling addiction and passed on several recommendations. I also found information about using hypnosis to cure gambling addictions and pointed him to information that both supported the practice but also an article from a medical journal that said that hypnosis doesn't work. I then found information about state sponsored programs to help people with this problem that are free.

I saw the patron today like usual. He came up to me and thanked me so much for actually caring and finding him the information. He told me he had already called some of the numbers and had an appointment to see a counselor next week. I told him, "no problem, it's all part of the job" with a smile on my face.

This is why I became a librarian. To help people. I like to think that in small ways I can help people make their lives a little better by providing them the information they need.

Now, if I could only do this on a full time basis instead of just part time, life would be great!

A public librarian twitters

My father-in-law sent me a great link a couple of days ago to a funny librarian site. "Dispatches from a Public Librarian" by Scott Douglas. I really enjoyed his most recent post "The Librarian: A Twitter Story". It really struck a chord with me.

So I'm going to plagiarize it! Or more to the point do my own attempt at a day in the life of a public librarian. Just like Scott Douglas, all names have been changed, or never even mentioned, for the sake of privacy.

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Lost and found:
1 - Everfresh juice bottle full of water. (I think)
2 - broken sets of headphones.

Amazing how quickly the crowd clears out and the library becomes an oasis of calm. Isn't it always supposed to be that way? (6:00)

I just turned off all of the monitors in the computer room. Time to say bye bye. (5:58)

I didn't get a single person asking me where the restrooms were today. This is unprecedented. (5:54)

I just straightened up the "quiet" room. (5:53)

Got a call from a man looking for a book that another library said we would have to order through OCLC. I found it at one of our affiliated libraries so the other library was wrong. (5:50)

20 minutes to go! (5:41)

I just placed a hold for a patron. She changed her password also, but she remembered it. (5:40)

A woman asks for a book on how to write a resume. I hear that a lot these days. (5:29)

One of our regulars keeps calling me "Tim". I wonder if I should correct him? I didn't notice for awhile. Now it's a habit. I kind of like Tim. (5:25)

Circ just called and offered me a piece of chocolate. I'm happy! (5:25)

While walking around the library I just realized that tech services just put out some more of the graphic novels I ordered for the library. cool! (5:21)

A patron wants to use the stand up computers and they're all being used. I ask biker guy and the twin if one of them can please get off. The twin goes quickly. Maybe he isn't a hacker. (5:08)

I check the schedule to make sure I'm not working this weekend. I'm glad I remember correctly that I'm not working. (5:05)

A couple comes in to use the computers. I remember that a few months ago I had to show them how to point and click. Now they surf on their own. (5:03)

I am now reading. It's a graphic novel so in a way I'm doing collection development. (4:55)

Someone just asked when we close tonight. I realize that nobody has asked where the bathrooms are yet today. weird... (4:53)

Time has slowed down to an imperceptible crawl. (4:30)

I'm reading Huffingtonpost to get the latest on what's going on in Iran. I feel like reading the latest news is part of my job. (4:15)

Just tried to place a hold for a book but the default password didn't work. The patron changed her password but can't remember what it is. (4:11)

Hmmm... it just hit me that I'm here alone tonight. The person who is usually here is on vacation. I could take a break but then I would leave the desk unattended. I'll just stay. Not a big deal. (4:03)

Talked about accessibility issues with the patron and thanked him for his great ideas. I'll send off an email to the powers that be after my break. (3:55)

A gentleman just asked if we had any plans to set up an ADA compliant computer station. I think he was surprised that I knew what he was talking about. (3:50)

The first article I found seems to be the best article I found. How often does that happen? (3:45)

A very large person comes to the desk and asks for a book about eating disorders. I actually think this is a brave act and admire the man. (3:40)

Still looking up articles that critique HIPAA laws. (3:35)

A father just came in with his son's 9th grade summer reading list. I chose "Stranger in a Strange Land" for the kid to read. It was on the list. Hope the kid has fun reading it! (3:25)

One of our other "regulars" is now at the third stand up computer. So all three may be busy for the rest of the evening. I may have to enforce the 15 minute time limit. (3:17)

I found my first good article already by using the ArticleFirst Database. (3:12)

I'm thinking of the best approach to this question. The patron would like a critique of current HIPAA laws and how they pertain to family counselling and therapy. (3:02)

Phone rings and the patron asks perhaps the most difficult question I've ever gotten at the reference desk. I tell him I'm going to have to do some research and get back to him. (3:01)

It looks like the sun has come out. All of a sudden the library doesn't seem as busy. hmmm... (2:47)

Contest man needed help printing out a form from a web site. I helped him print it out so he can try to win a new car. (2:45)

The lady on the computer just asked me what the date was next Wednesday. Couldn't she have found that on the computer?! Glad I'm here to help! (2:30)

One of the circulation staff just gave me her way of remembering what room is what. I don't think I'll ever forget now. (2:28)

I found the man and directed him to the right room. I was smiling and he was smiling so we're all good. (2:26)

A man just asked me where we were showing the film today. I told him the wrong place! (2:25)

A lady just came in and saw the twin on the computers and asked him for some computer help. That's my job! She said he was her "friend". Maybe my suspicions are wrong? (2:21)

Sometimes I wonder if the twin is doing packet sniffing and knows all my passwords already? The library would be a great place for that. Maybe he's reading this now? :-) (2:18)

Lady wants a book that she heard about on NPR this morning. I can't put a hold on it for her because it's so new. (2:14)

Phone rings. The man at the other end of the phone is hard of hearing. I have to yell for him to hear me. I hate it when that happens. (2:11)

Biker guy shows up. Two out of the three stand up machines will probably be used all night tonight. (2:10)

One of the twins is here on one of the three stand up machines. I know he'll probably be here till 6. I have fantasies that he's a hacker. (2:07)

I check my email. Looks like I handled the porn "incident" as well as I could have the other night. (2:05)

I log into the computer and bring up the important stuff. Excel, SirsiDynix, and Firefox. (2:03)

A woman with a thick Russian accent asks if she needs to register for the ESL class tomorrow. I tell her to just show up. We're mellow... (2:02)

Dark, cloudy, and thunderstorms outside, but the library is busy. (2:01)

Arrived at work just on time. (2:00 pm)

The Julie/Julia Blog and book

One recent movie trailer that I found interesting was for the upcoming film, Julie & Julia. I started doing a little research and found that one of the film's claims is that it is the first film based on a blog. Diablo Cody was discovered through her blog, but the film Juno had nothing to do with the content in her blog. This appears to be the first film directly based on someone's day to day blog.

Here is a link to the original Julie/Julia Project blog.

Does this mean that suddenly every blogger is an aspiring screen writer? If nothing else it shows how the lines are becoming more and more blurred as to what "professional" content is.

If you haven't seen the trailer the premise is that Julie Powell, a 30 year old temp secretary, decided to make every recipe in the original "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child, in one year. While she was doing this she created a blog to post daily updates on her progress. The blog caught on and she soon developed a legion of fans who would forward to her daily updates. The blog ended up generating so much interest that Julie Powell was eventually offered a book deal and wrote the book "Julie & Julia".

At this point I've read both the book and a great deal of the original blog itself. One of the things that struck me very quickly, and I found this very interesting, was that I enjoyed the blog itself much more that the actual book.

The book was an enjoyable read and provides much of the background story that I'm sure much of the film will be based on. But the blog for me was a much more interesting read and I'm asking myself why?

While I enjoyed the book I found it a bit repetitive. Julie works her day job, goes home to her "loft" apartment, some sort of catastrophe occurs, and she and her husband and friends end up having a great meal. The day to day catastrophes may change but the basic plot remains the same through most of the book.

The blog is different however. While the book concentrates on the background the blog concentrates on the recipes themselves with the background basically adding color to the daily entries. During the book I often found myself wondering more about the various recipes and their preparation. In the blog all of this is revealed in rich detail.

What I also found very interesting about the blog vs. the book is that the blog also includes the comments from her friends and fans. The book mentions these comments and some of the commentators become minor characters in the book. In the blog however you can read all of the comments and they add a whole other layer to the blog. It makes the blog more three dimensional in a way. It certainly adds more depth. It was a lot of fun to read some of the comments and threads that were mentioned in the book.

So we almost always say that the book was better than the movie but in this case I think I can say that the blog was better than the book. I wonder if the blog will be better than the movie?!

Iran, Revolution, and Proxy servers...

I've been following with great interest the recent developments in Iran.

The graphic novel "Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi really opened my eyes about life in Iran and I've had a fascination with the country ever since.

Did Mir Hussein Moussavi win the recent election over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Moussavi's supporters claim? We may never know... but it seems like there is revolution in the streets of Iran. I always find it fascinating to watch history unfold before my eyes.

Ayatollah Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guard are already fighting back and they have a history of quickly taking control in situations like this but it will be very interesting to see how this all plays out over the next few days.

For this techie guy one of the other very interesting things about this potential revolution has been the use of technology by the forces of reform. The opposition has been spreading the word through web pages and also by Twitter. Iranians are using Twitter to send constant, live, up to date, posts on what is happening before their eyes. They are making sure that the whole world is watching. They are also using these updates to send information out about marches and rallies.

Of course the government of Iran is doing as much as possible to disrupt this web activity and make things difficult for the opposition.

But you, yes you, can help if you have a spare PC around your house.

http://blog.austinheap.com/2009/06/15/how-to-setup-a-proxy-for-iran-citizens-for-windows/

This site shows you how you can use a spare PC to set up a proxy server to help the opposition set up web pages that are harder for the Iranian government to track and take down. In many ways you are essentially opening up your machine to Iranian hackers. But in this case the hacking is done for a great cause. I'm planning on trying to set up a spare PC we have in the house this afternoon to help the cause.

Work, expression, manifestation, Star Trek!

One of the things that I found most interesting while I was in Library school was the concept of the work, expression, manifestation, and then item.

The example that was often used while I was in school was the Wizard of Oz. There is this "thing" we know of as the Wizard of Oz. This is the work. This work has taken the form of several different expressions. The book, the movie with Judy Garland, the musical with Diana Ross, and let's not forget the original stage musical written by Baum himself.

I couldn't help but think of this concept as I watched the latest Star Trek movie. I'm guessing this could be the new standard when budding young library school students discuss this concept.

In this case we have the work called Star Trek. We all understand what this means. The starship Enterprise with Capt. Kirk at the controls, Spock at his side, and Scotty down in the engine room. I think most people watching the new Star Trek movie had no problem accepting the new actors in their roles in some ways because of this concept. The characters acted the way we expected them to for the most part. (I'm still trying to get over the Spock/Uhuru kissy face stuff) When we see a frantic fellow with a scottish accent saying, "Captain, the engines can't take any more!" we instantly understand this is Scotty and we know his character already. When we see the grumpy doctor with the southern accent we know it's McCoy.

In other words the work we call Star Trek is well established at this point.

In this particular case the expression of the work is the script or perhaps J. J. Abram's vision for the new Star Trek movie. Fans are still debating its merit, (it's no Wrath of Khan in my book) but it's a fascinating example of the concept of how an expression relates to a work. We have had the original TV show, the movies, the spinoffs, the books, the fan fiction, and now we have this particular expression which is so much based on the original series.

The manifestation of this expression is the new Star Trek movie. The script and the ideas have been used to create a film. This manfestation is still very popular in the theatres and has been one of the top grossing films of the spring of 2009. In library school terms, "a manifestation is the physical embodiment of an expression of a work."

Finally we have the item. This is a single example of a manifestation. Each movie theatre that plays the film has as an item the reels of film they project. I suppose in the modern world the item is now some sort of digital content. Do modern movie theatres that show digital versions of movies even use reels of film anymore?

Ultimately the new Star Trek movie will be manifested in a DVD format and the item will be available at my local Target. This Star Trek geek will probably buy that item when it's available.

http://www.loc.gov/marc/marbi/2009/2009-01-3.html

PS - Didja notice that when Kirk and Sulu did the free fall onto that platform it was the red shirt that died?!

Columbine

Columbine by Dave Cullen is a fascinating look at the events of April 20th, 1999 and also a great read. The book takes a look at the tragedy, dispels many of the myths, and tries to answer the hard questions as to why Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold chose to kill that day.

Almost immediately when the shootings started several myths about the shooting developed. There was a "trench coat maffia" that Eric and Dylan were a part of and that other members of this group were involved in the shootings. Eric and Dylan were picked on and bullied by the jocks and deliberately targeted the popular kids that had teased them. Eric and Dylan were "goths" and Marylin Manson was to blame.

Other myths also developed such as the story of Cassie Bernall, who was said to have told one of the killers that she believed in God and was then shot. Because of this the evangelical movement tried to have Cassie turned into a marytr for her faith.

In Columbine we learn the truth and many of these myths are shattered. Because of this, the book has received some critisism. Many in the evangelical community still consider Cassie Bernall a marytr for her faith but the book seems to make it very clear that Cassie never had the conversation she was credited with. What is interesting in this particular case is that another student in the library did have such a conversation with the killers. But when she told her story several weeks after the event few people believed her. They thought she was trying to ride on Cassie Bernall's coattails and get some cheap publicity. It probably emotionally scared this young woman for life having to deal with knowing the truth and having nobody believe her.

Columbine also sheds light on one of the big questions about the massacre. Shouldn't someone have known and been able to prevent the tragedy from happening? It turns out that Eric Harris in particular sent out a number of warning signs. He had gotten so bold that he had even posted threats on a public website against another student. This student found out, told his parents, who then called in the police. A police detective started a file about Eric Harris and found evidence that he was building bombs as well. This detective went as far as asking for a warrent to search the Harris house, but the detective was called on some other cases, the file sat and was never reviewed by a judge. When the local police realized they had a smoking gun on their hands they did everything they could to deny this evidence ever existed. Their coverup could almost been scene as criminal.

What is the most interesting thing about this book is that it really seems to answer the questions as to why it happened. The answer being was that Eric Harris was a full blown psychopath and Dylan Klebold was a manic depressive who was easily manipulated by Eric. One of the most interesting characters in the book is an FBI agent who investigated the killings. This particular agent had a background in clinical psychology, and when he started to go through the video tapes and journals that the killers had left behind, he quickly started to see all of the signs. Many people wanted to blame the parents of the killers but it appears from the book that the parents tried to do all that they could. Eric Harris' father was deeply involved in his son's life and was a strict disiplinarian. Dylan Klebold's father considered his son his best friend. They had season's tickets to the Rockies and often went to games together. Eric Harris was so good at manipulating people however that both sets of parents had no idea how far their kids had gone and both sets of parents were devistated by what happened that day.

According to Dave Cullen it wasn't really the parents fault and this may be hard for many people to accept. If Eric Harris had made it out of high school he probably would have grown up to be a mass killer.

Columbine is a very interesting book that is obviously very well researched and while it is difficult to read in parts it is well worth getting through.

Netbooks and Libraries

There was a recent very interesting article in the New York Times about Netbooks.

According to the article Netbooks are going to be the next revolution in the computer industry. Soon Netbooks will be available for around $100. Because of the low cost it is predicted that Netbooks will soon be a common sight.

This could have a profound impact on the computer industry for several reasons. One, the Netbooks, don't use Intel processors which have dominated the chip market for the last decade. Secondly, and more importantly, most Netbooks run on Linux.

I recently had a patron come into the library I work at with a new Netbook. She wanted help downloading a electronic book from My Media Mall and she couldn't figure out what was wrong. I took one look at her Netbook and could see that it was running Linux. I had to explain to her that the Overdrive Media software used by My Media Mall isn't compatible with Linux.

This patron had no idea what I was talking about. She had never heard of Linux. She thought she was running Windows because that's what it looked like to her. I ended up taking awhile to explain to her what an Operating System was, licensing costs, and Microsoft vs. the Linux open source movement. I "think" she sort of understood what I was talking about by the time she left.

What I ask myself is this. What would most librarians do in this situation? How many librarians are out there that know how to support Linux? Or for that matter even recognize it when they see it? If the Netbook revolution is indeed coming I'm afraid a number of librarians are going to need to learn a little about Linux very quickly.