Seeing My Skin - a review

Jarrett-Schell, Peter, Seeing My Skin: (A Story of Wrestling with Whiteness) [New York]: Church Publishing, [August 17] 2019.

I picked this up as an ARC (Advance Reader’s Copy) at ALA this summer. In unusual fashion, I actually was reading it as the publication date arrived. It has made me stop and think about many of the things I think, say, and do.

The book opens with an incredibly powerful vignette of an actual event, and is the author's Facebook posting of that event. The rest of the book is divided by location and starts with a series of vignettes, followed by a “debriefing.”

The stories tell of his experiences of the racial divide and his reactions to what he has experienced. It starts with his growing up, and ends with incidents after the most recent presidential election. The debriefing section of each chapter is probably the most powerful.

The author is an Episcopal priest who met his wife in college. She is also an ordained Episcopal priest. He is white, she is black.

I think this a book which I want to sit and read again … that doesn’t often happen.

https://www.churchpublishing.org/seeingmyskin

Happy Birthday, Blog - 10 years!

It is hard for me to believe that it has been ten years since I started this blog. But, yesterday, marked the 10th anniversary of the blog. I have published 584 posts - there are some still in draft mode which may, or may not see the light of day.

I am in my third job, and state, since starting. I have had a lot of changes in my life which I could never have imagined ten years ago. Some are good. Some were much more painful.

The blog has varied in purpose. Originally, it had a good deal of library content - including reflections on my day job, and information/thoughts about ALA. I was serving on the ALA Executive Board - actually, I was more than half way through.

There was a time when the blog was just a parking place for links - mostly library related.

More recently it has become a more personal and philosophical forum, but still with a focus on libraries.

I don't get many comments, but I do get a lot of views. I guess, I don't worry about that any more. It amazes me to see that ALA 101, written in 2006, still gets traffic. I did go and look at it last year, and it is still pretty accurate.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

Thoughts on Vacation (2015)

Trivia

Miles traveled             4,265

MPG (trip)                  28.4

# states visited             14
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida (for dinner), Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island

# state capitals             7
(in the order first visited/driven through): Baton Rouge, Montgomery, Atlanta, Richmond, Providence, Dover, Columbia

Shore light

There is something about the air and light near the shore. Artists have known this for years, which is why there are so many seascapes. To me, I feel like I can tell that I am getting close to the shore just by the nature of the light – along with the vegetation. Certainly the American Impressionists (Childe Hassam, John Henry Twachtman, J. Alden Weir, Mary Cassat) knew this. It is why (in my opinion) so many of their paintings are from the shore. To me, it feels like they have been able to capture the light and feel of the shore.

For me, approaching the shore, feels like coming home.

Beaches

I love the beach. Always have. The part of this trip which was not about family and reunion was about the beach. (And one part was both family and beach.) On this trip I had the opportunity to visit a number of beaches and beach areas, some of them new.

My trip started with time on the Alabama Gulf coast. A couple of years ago, I discovered the joy of the Gulf beaches. Facebook friends know that I visited there just before Easter. The sand is soft, the water is warm. What is not to like?

Rhode Island – My family has been visiting the Rhode Island shore for generations.

Great-great grandparents owned property on the beach which was destroyed in the Hurricane of 1938. The family legend has it that the “cottages” stood about where Misquamicut State Park is currently located. I headed to Matunuk Town Beach which is where my mother used to visit when she would spend a month at the shore after her retirement. I remember going to Carpenter’s Beach (about ½ mile away) even as a very young child (and probably before the town beach was developed).

The water is cold!! Probably in the mid 50s. Much to cold to swim, even on a very hot day. It looks like more beach has been lost to the ocean. The boardwalk at the Town Beach is much shorter than the last time I was there, and the pavilion with the rest rooms has been moved inland, again. The sand texture is fairly rough, and there are a large number of smoothly polished small stones/pebbles. One of the summer passtimes at the beach is often collecting “interesting rocks.” One of my sisters had family members collect them one summer and she painted our names on each rock, and then took photos of them for the family calendar (and other crafty uses). It is a beach I know and love.

Connecticut – Truth be told, I did not actually go to the beach. I drove through several beach towns, and ate a meal sitting on the dock in one of them. Like Rhode Island the beaches are rocky, and the water is very cold – even at the end of summer.

Driving through Delaware – I took the Turnpike through New Jersey, and got off the Interstate right after the Delaware River bridge. I headed down DE-1 towards the shore. Delaware sure has a lot of tolls. There was a toll for the bridge, and two tolls along the state highway – which was generally limited access to Lewes and the beginning of the beaches. The road goes through the edge of Dover Air Force Base, and through lots of rolling farm country. It was a pretty drive. At Rehoboth Beach the road turns due south and goes along the shore. It is, in some ways, a typical beach community. Strips with shops specializing in “beach activities” (towels, surf stuff, kites) and seasonal bars and restaurants. Since I was there right after Memorial Day, it did not feel overcrowded – school had not let out for the summer. It reminded me of parts of Cape Cod, in terms of the business communities. There were hotels, and silver-grey, cedar shingled cottages and buildings. I got glimpses of the ware from time to time. There were only a couple of tall hotels/condos. Most of the buildings were no more than 2 – 3 stories tall. [The Delaware Official Transportation Map is physically about the same size as many other state maps. Because Delaware is so small, that means that the scale is about 4 mile per inch. A fair amount of detail is on the map!]

Maryland Eastern Shore/Virginia Eastern Shore – Delaware Highway 1, becomes MD Highway 528 at the border, just below Fenwick Island (DE). I spent the night in Ocean City, and wandered the beach a very little bit after doing the work-related webinar (as scheduled). There is not a lot of length of beach along the highway in Maryland. Just south of Ocean City, the road crosses the bay and goes inland. South of Ocean City are Assateague (in Maryland) and Chincoteague (in Virginia – but they are parts of the same island). I did not go to the park/seashore/wildlife refuge. Instead, I drove down US 113 and US 13 into Virginia. It is very different than the shore and road in Delaware and beginning of Maryland. It is clearly “beach territory” but you don’t get glimpses of the water. Many of the buildings (houses, condos, and even motels/businesses) are cedar-shingled which turn that wonderful gray near the ocean. Along the beach, there were not only many “traditional” older hotels (4-6 stories), but also a number of “resorts” with 10 – 12 floors. (Those were more reminiscent of the Gulf area.)

Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel – I was sort of disappointed in the bridge/tunnel. It was longer to get to from the Maryland shore – about 3 hours. When the person at the hotel said that, I did not believe him, but he was right.

It is expensive, $13.00 was the toll – one way, and they collect at each end. The bridges are no higher off the water than the Lake Pontchartrain Bridge. Like that bridge, there are a pair of spans with two lanes in each direction, but for the tunnel parts, the lanes collapse and there are only two lanes in the tunnels – one in each direction. There are two tunnels. I stopped at the Virginia Beach side where there is a viewing spot and a restaurant/gift shop.

I continued on US-13 through Virginia Beach, and connected with VA-168 to head south into North Carolina. I picked up US-158 to get me into the Outer Banks.

The Outer Banks – I can see the charm. I can see why folks like to visit here, and even more so, why people live here. The beaches are wonderful! There are so many houses, and not nearly as many hotels/resorts. There are houses right along the dunes/beach. I stayed in Kill Devil Hills in an older motel from which I could walk right out the back door to the dunes and beach. I guess I should not have been so surprised, but while the air was nice and warm, the water, even this far south, was still pretty cold. According to the sign on the lifeguard stand, the water temperature was 58^◦ F. Too cold for swimming!

There is a road closer to the shore (NC-12), which has mostly homes and a few of the motels. The “main drag” – a long block away – has more of the chain restaurants and newer construction. It is the business street. I really liked the area where I stayed, and am thinking about a return trip.

Ferries – I continued along down NC-12 the whole length of the Outer Banks. I stopped at the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. There are a lot of protected areas along the route, and not a lot of development. It is an incredibly beautiful area. I took the free ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke, and then through Ocracoke to take the ferry (pay) to Cedar Island. The first ferry used to be about a 30 minute trip, but the shoals – which had been dredged – keep returning, so the ferry now takes a longer route through Pamilco Sound for an hour ride. On Ocracoke I had two choices: to go to Swan Quarter or Cedar Island. Since the latter was a shorter ride, and seemed to take me further towards my goal for the night that is the one I chose.

These two ferry boats, and the one I took earlier this year to Dauphin Island in Alabama, all reminded me of the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry. They are all smaller ferries than some others I have taken (Bridgeport/Port Jefferson, Block Island, Hyannis-Nantucket, Woods Hole-Nantucket, and even the Canal Street Ferry in New Orleans). They were all had open air space for the vehicles and a raised bridge which was much narrower than the vessel itself. The last ferry I took (Swan Island) was larger than the Hatteras Ferry. It had a small, enclosed lounge for passengers.

Back to the Gulf/Orange Beach to Biloxi – After returning to the mainland, I headed inland. I spent the night in Florence (SC) which is where I picked up I-95 for a bit. I then headed through Colombia (SC), Atlanta, and Montgomery (AL) before heading south before my final beach stay, back where my beach trip started: Orange Beach AL.

I was going to add some comments about sand and the nature of sand, but this is so long, I think I will make that a separate post.

Relationships

No, I am not going to post about what is happening in my personal life.

Being at the ALA Annual Conference has put me in a reflective mood. One of the topics I have been thinking about the nature of personal relationships.

I love going to ALA Conferences, because I get to spend time with various folks who I do not get to see very often. For some of them, my relationship with them goes back to the mid-80s or before. (The mid-80s is when I began my active work in ALA.)

There are several folks with whom I have spent a great deal of time, in intense discussions, for a period of time. I am thinking of ALA Executive Board (EB) and ALA Council in particular. Service on the  EB is very intense. There are 4 - 5 meetings in person each year (Midwinter and Annual included) with almost monthly phone conference calls, and many, many emails. Catching up with those folks is important to me. This is the one time of year when that happens.

From among my "Council friends," one of the things I value is the ability to disagree on any given issue, but to still maintain a relationship, if not deepen it. Respect for a person does not mean you cannot disagree.Indeed, some of the folks I most respect on Council, are some with whom I disagree on one or more issues. We can disagree without being disagreeable. I have one friend (from Council and EB) who often says, what is most important is keeping an open mind and listening, especially to those with whom you disagree. She cites an example (I remember the event, but not the issue), when she and I were among a small group who stood in support of a particular motion with some of the folks with whom we most often disagreed. We had sat and listened to the arguments, and changed our minds! Getting to hang out with folks like that is part of what has enriched my life in ALA.

Facebook helps to maintain contact with many of my ALA friends, and, for me, enriches many of my relationships. At the same time, it is important for me to have the "face-time" or IRL (In Real Life) contact. That is and important part of what ALA meetings are about for me today.

I also had one of those "serendipity" moments. The first day of the conference, I had wandered through my hotel, and accidentally into the next one. I "saw the light" and was headed towards the street. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice someone else headed that way, but I was trucking on. Then, after having passed the person, I heard my name. It was someone to whom I had been introduced on Facebook, and with whom I had chatted a couple of times, but had never met (even though they were from New Orleans!). We chatted for a few moments, and after I mentioned I was headed out to find food, we agreed to go have breakfast. We wound up at the restaurant across the street, aptly named Serendipity.

For me, it was a great beginning to the conference. Many relationships were solidified, and others renewed. It is part of what I need on a periodic basis.

Books Read in 2011

End of the calendar year is often a time for reflection. This year it seems like I read less than usual (and I can't quite put my finger on why.) I have also listened to more radio and fewer books. A part of that my be related to the rearrangement of the collection at MPOW from an accession number arrangement to Dewey. Here is the list. (It is in reverse chronological order, since I just cut and pasted from the side bar where I keep track.) Note that this is a full year list, not a half year like some prior lists.

Books Read (paper)

1. The Chalk Girl by Carol O'Connell ARC
2. The Invisible Ones: A Novel by Stef Penney ARC
3. Grimus: a novel by Salman Rushdie
4. If Jack's in Love: A Novel by Stephen Wetta ARC
5. Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman ARC
6. Too Far by Rich Shapero ARC
7. Broken Pieces: A Library Life, 1941-1978 by Michael Gorman
8. Delirious New Orleans: Maifesto for an Extraordinary American City by Stephen Verderber
9. The Quiet American by Graham Greene
10. The Weird Sisters: a novel by Eleanor Brown
11. The girls from Ames: a story of women and a forty-year friendship by Jeffrey Zaslow
12. Doing social media so it matters: a librarian's guide by Laura Solomon
13. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt: A Novel by Beth Hoffman
14. Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin
15. Room: A novel by Emma Donoghue
16. The Glory Wind by Valerie Sherrard a review copy
17. The Rievers by William Faulkner

I had been planing to read Water for elephants by Sara Gruen in paper, but I wound up listening to it.

Read on the Nook

1. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares
2. A Voice in the Box: My Life in Radio by Bob Edwards
3. Main Street Public Library: Community Places and Reading Spaces in the Rural Heartland, 1876-1956 by Wayne Wiegand
   Advance PDF copy for review in Public Libraries
   

Recorded books/Listening

Lots of NPR on both WWNO and WRKF
Neither station covers my whole trip. I also sometimes listen to NPR Now on Sirius XM

1. All the king's men by Robert Penn Warren, read by Michael Emerson
2. Play Dirty by Sandra Brown, read by Victor Slezak
3. Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke, read by Suzanne Toren
4. Lies and the lying liars who tell them: [a fair and balanced look at the right] by Al Franken, read by the author
5. Car talk: doesn't anyone screen these calls?: calls about animals and cars
6. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, read by Robert Whitfield
7. Various speaker disks to select a speaker for an upcoming even
8. 'Tis by Frank McCourt, read by the author
9. Islam : a short history by Karen Armstrong read by Richard M. Davidson
10. Water for elephants: a novel by Sara Gruen, read by David LeDoux and John Randolph Jones
11. Remarkable creatures by Tracy Chevalier, read by Charlotte Parry and Susan Lyons
12. The necklace: thirteen women and the experiment that formed their lives by Cheryl Jarvis, read by Pam Ward
13. Attack poodles and other media mutants: the looting of the news in a time of terror by James Wolcott read by Dennis Boutsikaris
14. Executive privilege by Phillip Margolin, read by Jonathan Davis
15. My year of meats by Ruth L. Ozeki, read by Anna Fields
16. Stonehenge: [a novel of 2000 BC] by Bernard Cornwell, read by Sean Barrett
17. My life as a fake by Peter Carey, read by Susan Lyons
18. Smoke by John Ed Bradley, read by Christopher Hurt

A Statistic -- Oh, and license plates

Well, I was bold enough in my last post to observe about the number of cars on the side of the road. Last Friday night, I became one of them.

For a couple weeks, off and on, the tire pressure warning light would come on in my car. One tire seemed to lose air (rear, passenger side). I'd fill it up and it would be good for a week or more. I had done this the weekend before, and on Friday morning, the light came on. I didn't think too much, and after work headed out to the Interstate (about 1/2 mile). As I accelerated up the ramp, the car sounded different. But with sort of heavy traffic, it was hard to pull over. About a mile and a half, there was a safe spot, on the side of the road, and it was even in the shade. I pulled out the car battery-powered tire pump and plugged it in.

After about 10 minutes, nothing had changed, and I decided it was time to pull out the spare. First I had to grab the book and see where the jack went, and had to get some of the items stored in the trunk into the back seat. Other than a moment of panic when I could not find the special nut for the "anti-theft" device on the tire, it went smoothly. Of course, I had just lowered the car, and was getting ready to do the final tightening of the nuts when the Motorist Assistance Patrol van arrived. So, about 45 minutes later, I was back on the road.

Only to get to LaPlace, where despite the lack of warning on the traffic signs, traffic was backed up all along the 12 mile bridge. I don't know what the problem was, but after a long, hard, stop-and-go drive, I got off as soon as I could. It was traffic for the Saints game.

Oh, one thing I have noticed is that you can see a large variety of license plates here. In addition to the usual neighboring states (Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi), and other nearby states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia), I recently passed a car with plates from Alaska. It is not uncommon to see other Midwest/Mississippi River state plates (Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota). I think that it is the schools (universities) that attract folks from New York, Connecticut, Washington, California, Colorado, New Jersey. Some day I'll get ambitious (organized?) and track them.

Reflections on Driving

With the Library Day in the Life project over, perhaps I have been in a more reflective mood than I have been in a while.

Perhaps too, for those who actually look at the sidebar to this, and not just the feed, I have been listening more to the radio (generally NPR) as I commute to and from work.

I have been reflecting on some of the similarities and differences in my drive now, and drives I have done in the past. The beginning and end of each drive is city driving. Not much to say about that, it is what it is. In Baton Rouge they are doing a project to widen parts of I-10 between the I-10/I-12 split and the edge of the city. It seems to me that it is being done in a somewhat haphazard way, with some parts having work completed, but not being able to be connected to other parts. And, frankly, there is a stretch where the new road surface is a foot or more above the currently used surface, and I wonder how that will be resolved.

The parts between the cities vary between suburban and very rural. Some of the drive is literally swamp (Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area).

One thing I noticed some time ago, I don't see much roadkill along the highway. Once in a while there is a dead armadillo. In a huge change from both Wisconsin and Connecticut, I have never seen a dead deer by the side of the road. On the other hand, "dead" vehicles are there all the time. In the 80 mile trip, there are an average of about 8 vehicles on the side of the road. Most have one tire off. Some remain there for extended periods of time (as in, more than a week).

One thing I know from experience, in Connecticut, they don't let cars sit there very long. Deer can be there for a while, but cars no. I don't have a strong recollection of vehicles along the road in the Upper Midwest where I lived, but there were often deer, turkeys, even the odd coyote or wolf.

Library Day in the Life Project - Round 7

Bobbie Newman has been diligently convincing library bloggers to participate in the Library Day in the Life Project, semi-annually, where we each talk about what it is really like to be a working librarian. This is Round 7. Over 200 librarians are participating this time! What a resource.

This is my second time participating. Last time there were two posts. The first covered Monday, and then there was a summary post for the rest of the week.

Post-ALA, it has rained a fair amount. The weekend was quite rainy. Monday was, well Monday. One of the reference staff is out for some surgery this week, and that went well for her. That also means that the remaining three of us are spending more time than usual, staffing the two public service desks. One nice aspect of Monday was that, since my wife was off of work, she drove to Baton Rouge, and we got to have lunch together! Doesn't happen very often any more. Much of the rest of the day was either on the desk, or dealing with email.

Tuesday, I was motivated to get moving (for some reason), and it was "gas day" for me. [Since I drive 80 miles, each way, every day, I get gasoline in the car every other work day, or about every 320 miles or so. What a racket.] In addition to being on the desk, today's activities included my first meeting as the Volunteer Coordinator for the book festival held at the end of October. I learned even more about what is expected, and have now started with a number of new tasks. The afternoon was pretty quiet, with a fair amount of desk time.

Wednesday dawned. This was the first of three days in a row (two of them open to the public), when there are only two of us in to staff the two desks. That means that except for lunch and the occasional "comfort break," we are both on the desk all the time we are at work. It was pretty slow for me in the morning, and I was able to catch up on assorted professional reading. The highlight of the day was an interesting reference question. The patron was looking for information on “nazzorites.” One of the things we started doing a while ago was keeping a wiki with a number of things including interesting reference questions. [More on this below.] I look at it as a way to provide the library administration with some concrete, real-life examples of the service we provide. Thank goodness, the drive home was very uneventful, and I had a chance to chat with my eldest son on his birthday.

Thursday was day 2 of the long reference days. Had a quick hour on the desk, then a database/discovery tool demo which ran more than 30 minutes longer then I expected. More desk time, lunch, desk, then a meeting with other staff here. Whew! In the mail were several "prisoner letters." These are reference questions which we receive by mail from the inmates of several prisons of the state. We try to answer them as best we can, knowing that they do not have any internet access. The questions about Louisiana, we can send to that section of the library, and the legal questions we forward to the state's Supreme Court Law Library. We do track the "prisoner letters" on the internal Wiki. I started doing that just to get an idea of where the questions were coming from. I'll also note that we have some "regular" correspondents who make frequent requests.

Since July 1, the library building is not open to the public on Fridays. Staff still reports to work, and for my department, it means that we can actually have a departmental meeting (which we did last week, this week there are only two of us here.) It is also officially a casual dress day. My day started with a blood draw (just routine stuff). Then, it seems that no matter how hard I try, the day gets chopped up. Some of my accomplishments today include:

• Getting a second Center for the Book staff member set up on Facebook for tagging photos (so we can publish the work site page)
• Creating an email reminder on entering statistics, and getting the language approved
• Typing up notes from Thursday's meeting for my staff and a fellow department head the latter of whom was called away
• Reading many, many emails
• Working on an (e)mail merge for libraries who are missing data
• Sent that email (with only one strange error)
• Entered data from the 5 libraries which responded immediately
  
• Spent time in the stacks with our gun books to answer questions from two different parish libraries
• Almost cleared off my desk
• Sent an overdue email to participants in the Library Support Staff Certification class from this spring.

Whew! What a day. I am glad that the week is over!

Library Day in the Life - Round 6 - Part 2

For the rest of the week, here is a short daily re-cap:

Tuesday: I was worried that the rain would affect my commute, but it did not. Good news for me is that the temp is still in the mid 50s (above zero). Watched "the regulars" come in this morning. It is interesting how each library has its own group. Here some of them are homeless, and use the library as a place to hang out. They also often know each other. I have gotten many of them to greet me with a hello each day. (I try to be welcoming.) There are periodic changes in the group as someone gets a job, or moves away, but this is a pretty well behaved group.

One of my tasks each morning is to open the seminar center if a group is using it. Yesterday and today it has been a training session for math instructors and is being done by staff of the Department of Education. This morning one of them asked me about our services, so I had the opportunity to promote the library.

I also have now become the "go-to person" for stats, and get to play with the state's system of gathering statistics from our agency. And, today, I was asked to help with the library's Facebook presence. Moving forward!! Had a very productive afternoon meeting with the folks who run the other public service departments. We resolved several issues.

Wednesday: Had to get gas to start the morning trip...But today was sunny. It was 10 degrees (F) colder today when I left than yesterday, and, as usual, got colder as I drove from the city into the more rural areas (i.e. swamp). One staff member is out today, so more desk time than usual. Yesterday it was nice to have a full staff. Quiet at the Reference Desk this morning. I forget what it is, but Wednesday morning there is some event which has our "regulars" arriving late, like 8:30 - 8:45. It was quiet enough that I took the first steps to set up the Facebook page for the Library.

Thursday: Both the wife and I got up very early (middle of the night) so we did a first run at the taxes. Getting a refund! Woot! However, that could be the down payment for her to purchase the car she has been leasing for the past three years....I left earlier than usual, and had an uneventful drive, but the sunrise (in the rear view mirror) was spectacular. There were just enough clouds in the East to make the colors glorious as I drove across the swamps. Down one staff member today (as opposed to a suddenly down 2 yesterday) means less desk time than yesterday, but more than a normal day.

Got a lot done at work, in spite of spending a lot of time on the desk. Spent about 45 minutes, off and on, with an electrician who had been to a job center. They took his resume and reformatted it to post it to the job folks web site. However, this guy, an admitted "three finger typist" did not like how it looked. We went through, cutting it, pasting it, re-formatting it, saving it to Google Docs, and for insurance, emailing it to himself. It reminds me of how much I really do know!

On the drive home I was reminded again about the beauty around me. First of all, there were enough Eastern clouds, that the setting sunlight was reflected nicely in it. Right by where the Interstate leaves the swamp/lake and enters the metro area are two sights that always amaze me. I noticed the firs early in my first spring. There is a large, tall tree which has a cluster of sticks in a crook near the top. One day, I saw a bird there....I looked closely, and it was an American Bald Eagle. I have seen both male and female birds, and even the heads of the young, over the time I have been doing the commute. It is on the south side of I-10, right by the I-310 cut-off. On the other side, there is an area of "bushes" (maybe they are mangroves?). In the morning, and sometimes in the evening, it looks like white plastic shopping bags have been caught on the branches by the water. But that is not what they are....they are roosting egrets. I see egrets all over the place. They are water birds, and a bunch of my drive is along water. I have also seen them in Audubon Park here in the city. A final note is that I can tell when it is "wet" or "dry" based on the level of Lake Pontchartrain along "the Spillway." Lately it seems like the levels are dropping. We are in winter, and I guess that is OK. All the snow up north will melt, and run down, eventually into the Mississippi River, the Spillway is an outlet to keep New Orleans from flooding by diverting water into the lake. We'll see!

Friday: It is payday. Yay! It is also another gas fill-up. But, gas prices are down to $2.81! Got to work and got the last info I needed for my first time entering the departmental data into the state-wide data collection platform. It was an interesting experience, and not as difficult as I feared. Of course some of that is that folks in the other library departments are good about entering their data monthly into an Excel spreadsheet which is the basis for the organization wide data. It was a relatively quiet morning on the Reference Desk with the usual questions about tax forms....and I asked for more state forms from the folks up in the Louisiana Section (who collect all state publications, and therefore deal with the tax forms for us). I will be glad when the instruction booklets come in!

The mail brought professional journals, ads for publications, and letters from the prison. One of our jobs is to respond to requests for information from prisoners. This spring, I started an internal wiki to keep track of both the types of questions and the prison from which we were getting them. One of these days (maybe around the first anniversary, or at the new fiscal year), I'll have to sit down and analyze them.

Bonus: When I was growing up, and when my kids were growing up, we often played variations on the "license plate game" while on long trips. There are many visitors to Louisiana. Here is a list of state license places seen on the highway this week (other than Louisiana), in rough order of appearance: New Jersey, Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Oregon, Ohio, South Carolina, Wyoming, Colorado, New York, Missouri, Washington, North Carolina, Illinois, Maryland, Arizona, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Iowa, Nebraska. That's 28 out of the 50 states. I did not see any Canadian or Mexican license plates -- this week.

Blog Bonus: I read 162 different blogs in Google Reader. But I want to give a shout out to one of my favorite Monday - Thursday cartoons. It was created by half of the creative genius team behind Unshelved, and revolves around computer programing. The title says a lot Not Invented Here.

Library Day in the Life - Round 6 - Part 1

I have never formally participated in this project before, but in looking through my blog archives I found this posting from August 2005 about what administrators do, and this one from September which is a very brief snapshot of that interesting day. I did participate in the Library Routes project and posted my route here.

While I live in New Orleans (NOLA), I work in Baton Rouge at the State Library of Louisiana. My drive from NOLA to Baton Rouge is about 80 miles (each way), and as a result I put a lot of miles on my car. I passed a milestone earlier this month.

I serve as a "Library Consultant" as part of Library Development, and as the Head of Reference.

Here is how today went:

Went to bed last night feeling "off." I think that my headache (which woke me up at 2 am) was more about dehydration than about anything else. I got up at about 4:50 (am) well before the time my alarm was set for (5:15). I went through my usual routine which includes looking at my checking account online, reading personal email, the usual morning ablutions, making breakfast (a slice of toast from homemade sourdough bread) for me and Miss R, and making sandwiches (lunch) for the two of us. Miss R actually was up for a few minutes for a nice morning good bye. I am sure she went back to sleep! I was out the door by 6:15. Because I had planned ahead, I did not have to stop for gas this morning -- I got it last night when I ran the holiday decorations back to the storage locker. Because I drive 160 miles each work day, I get gas every other day. I am getting about 27-28 miles per gallon, but with prices going up again, it costs me about $17.00 per day for gas alone. I haven't done the metric conversions, but I noted today that Shell is at $2.95/gallon and Exxon is $2.87. I get gas at the gas station in between them which is $2.83. Now, that is lower than elsewhere in the country. But, I'll note that I see about a half-dozen refineries on my travels every work day, so it is pumped out of the ground here, and made into gasoline here, also.

The drive was almost uneventful. My route takes me on the Interstate (I-10) past the airport. I was thinking this morning about my first post-Katrina trip. Driving from the airport, the access road dumps cars going towards New Orleans on to the highway. I was there for the American Library Association Conference in June 2006, and was one of the Board which had to decide whether we would hold the conference there. That trip, I remember seeing some less devastation than I had expected, but there were many businesses which were clearly not in operation, and many of the homes had roofs covered in blue tarps. I think the latter is probably the clearest memory of that whole stay. This summer, ALA returns. It will be interesting to actually live in the host city for a big conference which I am planning to attend.

When I leave New Orleans each morning, it is before sunrise (at this time of year), the traffic in my direction is pretty light. However, by the time I get to Baton Rouge, not only has the sun risen, but I am in the midst of the daily heavy traffic flow through the city towards the university and downtown. Today was no exception. Traffic was stop and go from Essen Lane onwards. Why? Well someone had a bad day...after Acadian Thruway, there was an accident where a smaller car had rear-ended a pick-up truck. After that point traffic cleared, and I was at work, on time, for my 7:45 opening of the desk to be ready for the public at 8 am.

It has been a relatively quiet day for me. Not much activity at the desk. After my first shift at the first floor desk, I took a walk around the green space being created across the street from the library. Every day, at least once, I try to get outside the building and walk around. First of all it gets me away from work. Second, it gets me to do some (very moderate) exercise. Third, I get to breathe some fresh air, and fourth, during some of the year, it lets me warm up.

While eating lunch, I listened to the archived version of a web cast by Toby Greenwalt called "Designing Customized Library Services: Book-a-Librarian and BookMatch." It was a good session, and since I have been asked to develop a "book a librarian" kind of service for my library, I will probably go back to it again.

I then returned for a second, short stint at the first floor desk. Although, we recently integrated our books on MP3 into our spoke word audio collection (along with the comedy "albums/collections"). A patron came up and asked about them, and I said that they were integrated. He looked disappointed, and I called the head of technical services to see if we could search for them in the catalog. The format information is there, just not search-able, yet. She quickly sent me spreadsheet listing them (which made the patron very happy), now we are working out how we can add that as a search in the catalog.

The rest of the afternoon was on the third floor (where the circulation collection 000-899 are located. (900s and biographies -- for now -- are on the fourth floor.) Here I was able to spend some time catching up on professional weeding, talking with the stacks manager about some shifting and weeding projects, and working on the files I need to send so that we can begin data collection for the federal report.

It was raining by the end of the day. That meant that traffic started off very slow, however after a few miles it picked up, and was pretty steady all the way into New Orleans. That's where it got bad. Just before the I-10/610 split, there was a spin out into the median wall. That slowed folks down. Then, as I continued on I-10, just before my exit, another spin out into the median (thank goodness I was getting off the highway!). The rest of the trip was uneventful. About an hour and 45 minutes home, home just after 6 pm.

On my way in, I finished listening to My life as a fake by Peter Carey, read by Susan Lyons, and then I started Stonehenge: [a novel of 2000 BC] by Bernard Cornwell, read by Sean Barrett.

So, this is supposed to be A Day in the Life but runs for a week. This has been my day...on Friday, I'll post any highlights between now and then.

For now, the rain is pouring down, and I hope that does not affect tomorrow's commute. As you can tell, commuting is a big part of my life!

The Car

In the history of my writing, and also earlier in this blog, I often talked about my vehicle. I have not done so very much recently. Even though I drive 80 miles each way, every day to work, my car has been very reliable. It is a Volkswagen Jetta which I purchased almost three years ago in Wisconsin.

Well, yesterday on my way home from work, I passed a milestone: the car turned 100,000 miles. It is definitely the shortest time it has taken me to reach that milestone. The photo above shows the dashboard -- note that I pulled over to take the photo.

Below is the view out the windshield where this momentous milestone was reached...a couple miles west of the I-10 exit for US-61 (Airline Highway). It is the middle of nowhere! If you look on a map, that is very clear.

Here's to many more driving miles in my car!

Skills and shifting skills

Several days ago, a friend who is a librarian (but not working as one) sent me a very thoughtful note about the skills needed for the 21st century job hunt.

The day he sent it to me, I had spent a good quarter hour with one of our library users. He had found a posting for a job on Criagslist, but did not know how to apply. First we walked through getting an email address, and then we went through the reply process on Craigslist.

Other days it has been helping folks find their way through various job application web sites. Yesterday, it was 15 minutes on the phone with someone who was trying to apply through a civil service web site.

Here is what my friend said:

Recently I’ve been helping a group of unemployed adults apply for apprenticeships. Many of these people have been without jobs for years; some are parolees, others simply down on their luck in these recessionary times. They have many strikes against them: criminal records, long breaks in employment, lack of marketable skills. Most of them find the process is like trying to jump onto a speeding conveyor belt. And in fact it is the process that they find daunting, even more than their own personal challenges or lack of qualifications.

Over the past few years the job-seekers’ required kit has gone from simply owning a pen (for filling out applications) to the possession of a resume (required to demonstrate experience) to the ability to understand and manipulate computer applications.

Take a look at how job-seeking works these days:

There are almost no more newspaper help-wanted ads. Job seekers must search the internet for openings and then complete applications online. Most of these applications require applicants to attach documents such as resumes and to submit the whole to whatever firm or public entity is offering the job. The process assumes the following skills and abilities:

1. First, the possession or adequate control of a computer. Occasional availability leaves the person at a distinct disadvantage: it takes hours of searching to find openings, hours more to submit applications, and then the applicant must wait for results, invitations to interview, et cetera. The person forced to use the public library computer or one at a job center has too few opportunities to search and apply and respond.

2. Second, the ability to use a computer and the internet with sufficient skill to make the process work. A large portion of the population have difficulty with keyboarding; they type so slowly as to make application an ordeal, particularly in the case of resumes and cover letters—and this is assuming a fair level of literacy, which with the longer-term unemployed is often not the case.

3. Finally, a high level of patience and the ability to endure frustration. This has to do less with the win/lose nature of job-seeking than it does with the cold, faceless and often maddening character of the internet.

Over the past few years I’ve been involved in teaching word-processing and internet skills. This has meant attempting to transfer some portion of the typical internet skill set to classroom groups. Success or failure seems to be determined by the characteristics of incoming participants much more than their desire or effort.

● Successful participants will already be adept at keyboarding skills. Those who enter the class without touch-typing skill will almost certainly fall behind and, if they do complete the course, will not be able to compose text or use the computer at any reasonable level of function.

● Successful participants will have a computer at home to practice on; otherwise the learned skills will evaporate within days.

● Successful students will have a reason to continue to use and polish their computer skills, be it on a job or just internet surfing.

● It goes without saying that illiterate or semi-literate students will fail to come away with anything of value.

Though this is the case, most of the programs existing to help the long-term unemployed merely offer their clients a quick run through computer/internet skill sets, then release them into the broad world to thrash about unaided. What the system calls for is a way to offer employment that doesn’t rely so heavily on skills and abilities that are scarce among potential applicants.

There is much talk about the “digital divide,” but the real problem is that there is and will continue to be a class of people who will never become proficient in computer use, in the way that a percentage of people will never become fully and functionally literate. Teaching computer skills is important but obtaining work is much more so. Rather than attempting to teach a smattering of skills it would be better to provide ongoing services to these job-seekers, including personal guidance through the entire process of obtaining work. To believe that the long-term unemployed can simply vault onto the moving conveyor of the employment machine by themselves is wrong and counterproductive.

Let me repeat: There is much talk about the “digital divide,” but the real problem is that there is and will continue to be a class of people who will never become proficient in computer use, in the way that a percentage of people will never become fully and functionally literate.

This is so true and is redefining what libraries can and will offer, but also makes it more difficult to measure any success (outcomes) which is what so many funders want to know about.

Much food for thought here.

Blog Anniversary, etc.

Well, it is my son's birthday (again), and it also means that my blog is having its anniversary also. I started this five years ago today. And, no, I did not do it on my son's birthday on purpose.

This year was the first time in a very long time that I did not attend ALA Annual, and as a result I don't have the same kind of "post-ALA blues" which I wrote about in my first "real" post on July 7, 2005.

My posting patterns have changed over the years, as has the content. I am about to head out on vacation, and for the blog I have two goals: 1) finish editing three posts from April 2009 to wrap up the PLA Spring Symposium; and 2) to spend some time reflecting on where this blog is going to go.

We will be in Northern Minnesota, and have been told that cell service is "spotty" but that the resort has wi-fi.

Stay tuned....

How did I get here?

A while back I stumbled across a wiki based in Britain called "The Library Routes Project." It is an interesting project to gather stories from librarians about why they do what they do. I love this particular quote from the main wiki page:

The idea is to document either or both of your library roots - how you got into the profession in the first place, and what made you decide to do so - and your library routes - the career path which has taken you to wherever you are today. As well as being interesting of itself, it will also provide much needed information and context for those just entering the profession or wishing to do so.

So, here is my contribution.

I was always a reader. As a child, and especially in the summer time, I would walk or bike to the public library in the center of town. It was about a mile away, and in those days kids played outside unsupervised for long periods of time, and going to the library for a few hours was not a problem. It was especially inviting on very hot summer days because the library was air conditioned.

In high school, I got my first job. As a "page" in the public library. The children's librarian of my youth had become the Library Director. I suppose that it did not hurt that the mother of the boy next door (who was exactly two weeks older than I) was both the high school librarian and a member of the Library Board, but I was naive in those days. So, I worked my way through high school, usually going to work straight from school, and then heading home.

When I got to college (Brown University), my financial aid package included an on-campus job. Sure enough, they sent me to the library. Actually to the Biological Sciences Library. The librarian there was a great early mentor. During the Christmas break at the end of my first semester, the Biological Sciences Library merged with the Physical Sciences Library and moved into a brand new 14 story building. I got to work lots of extra hours helping to interfile and shelf read.

I worked in that library all four years. Some of it in Interlibrary Loan, and was often the student-in-charge for when the library closed at the end of the day. It seemed only logical to go to Library School.

I graduated on a bright and sunny Monday in early June, and one week later was in Library School classes. In those days, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign library program could be completed full-time in a calendar year. With student debt hanging over my head, that was the choice I made. Of course, I worked in the library there. I was in Interlibrary Loan (again) and also worked as a student assistant for both the Dean and an adjunct professor.

I got married straight out of library school (to a librarian), and we moved to Arizona. Well, there is a library school there, so it took me a while to figure out what to do. I volunteered and helped to organize, catalog, and teach cataloging for a good cause. Then I went back to school. I received an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) from the University of Arizona. About 9 months before I was done, I was offered a job as a young adult librarian at the public library's busiest branch. What a wonderful opportunity! After 6 months, they moved me to the Main Library as the "Business Information Specialist." As I moved up the ranks, I supervised, including a being the supervisor for a branch librarian 120 miles away!

But family called. I saw an ad for a job in Connecticut, and when I was "back East" for the holidays, I interviewed. A number of weeks went by, and I was suddenly offered the job!

I moved back to Connecticut, to the state's largest public library as the Head of the Technology & Business Department. (No, I did not do technology, I was in charge of the department which covered that subject.) After a couple years I was restless, and applied to be a library director in a small-to-medium sized suburban town. That is where I spent the next 9 years. It was a wonderful experience, and I still am in touch with staff from there.

In the winter of 1994-5, I became the executive director of a multi-type regional library cooperative. It was a great opportunity to learn some new skills (layout and design, flyer design, newsletter editing). I also had the freedom to become involved with the state and (eventually) national library associations. I served as the President of the Connecticut Library Association. I also served as the Connecticut Chapter Councilor on ALA Council. From that I had the opportunity to run for (and win) a seat on the ALA Executive Board. That, too, was an incredible learning experience. I have compiled some information on the structure of ALA, and posted it on this blog.

I left the multi-type to become the library director in my then adopted hometown. I had lived there for almost twenty years at that point, and had twice applied for the directorship. Well, this time I got it, and the great title: City Librarian. Urban public library directors face incredible challenges these days. It is constantly wearing to fight for the money, encourage the staff, be the public face of the library, and try to satisfy the public. In many ways you wind up not having much of a private life, and I also was giving to the profession and to community organizations. In short, after almost 6 years I was burned out.

I had the opportunity to move to a position half-way across the country which would give me a fresh start. I moved, leaving much behind, to a very homogeneous community. There are absolutely wonderful staff in that library, and some great library supporters in the community. However, things did not work out, and I left the position after just over a year and half.

I then moved south. After a while, I had the opportunity to work for the state library. Now, I had had many dealings with the state library in my prior two states, but here was an opportunity to see it from the inside. It was also the chance to work with library directors from all over the state, and to do something I always loved: statistics. That is what got me the title of "Library Consultant" and "State Data Coordinator." After almost ten months, I was given additional responsibilities as the Head of Reference, which I wrote about at the time.

I have moved twice to follow someone (to Arizona and to Louisiana). I had someone move once to follow me (to Connecticut). I have lived in places that I never would have expected, but I have loved almost every minute of it! Just remember to say "yes" and you will never know what will happen next.

"The Commute"

I've been thinking about this for a bit, and wanted to share some commuting reflections as well as comments about what I get to see every day on my way to work.

My current commute (each way) is longer than all of my prior commutes combined. One way it is double what my two longest commutes were. I drive almost exactly 80 miles each way. That's 160 miles a day, or 800 miles a week. I've been tracking my mileage (and MPG). In 2009, I drove over 35,000 miles with an average MPG of just about 28.

People wonder how I can do it. Well, I can tell you that part of the reason this commute is not such a killer is that it is predictable. It is about the same time each day, with predictable trouble spots, and it predictably longer (in time) going home than coming in. For 9 years I drove a route where I never knew how long it would take. Some days it was 30 minutes (for the 20 mile drive). Other days it was an hour or more. There was lots of traffic, and an accident on one roadway would result in tie-ups on the others. It was not predictable, and it was tough.

So, reflections on this commute include: the sun, the route, scenery, roadside "events," highlights.

In this winter season, I get to see the sunrise in my rear view mirror, and I get to see the sunset in that same mirror. Some of them are pretty spectacular. What I have noticed recently is that frequently even the clouds in the opposite direction can be as beautiful and colorful as the ones around the sun. Tuesday (1/12) was a perfect example. The low, scattered clouds in the east took on the pinks and purples of the setting sun, and created a great view as I trekked home. Eventually, I will get to do the drive in full sunlight, and I do look forward to that.

Each morning, I head out on Carrollton Ave, along side the streetcar line. I go past the end/beginning of the line the mile and a half to I-10, passing the Archdiocese of New Orleans Seminary, and a cluster of stores and restaurants between Earhart and the Interstate. The trip on the Interstate is what folks see coming into town from the airport. Cemeteries, the malls, etc. line the road. Just after the airport exit, the highway passes the end of the runway. It is not unusual to see planes taking off or landing immediately overhead. (It is kind of cool, if somewhat close.)

Then, after the rest of Kenner, it is across swampland to the lake. In the area of the interchange with I-310 are a bunch of trees (lakeside) where there are often a large number of egrets roosting for the night. They sit on the branches with their heads tucked under the wings. Big white spots on the trees. Just past, on the other side, are some cypress trees, and in the top of one of them is a large nest. Last summer I would have sworn I saw a bald eagle nesting there.

Then it is on the to the end of Lake Pontchartrain and the Bonnet Carré Spillway. The lake is fairly shallow, and with winds from the East or Northeast, there can be waves which seem to raise the water level. However, with no wind, or winds from West/Southwest and a low tide, the lake can seem rather low. (However that is a difference of only about 2 feet...not really tidal in my mind.) The bridge from the St. Charles Parish border to the I-55 interchange is about 12 miles. (If you go north on I-55, there is another 20+ continuous miles of bridges.) On I-10, you hit solid ground for the weigh station (usually open) and two exits for Laplace. Then it is another 4 - 5 miles of bridge across swamp to solid ground.

The next stretch is where I see more cars along side the road. From the end of the bridge to US-61 is about 15 miles of nothing but swamp. There are some areas which are "DMAP Posted No Trespassing." There are only one or two exits, and no visible buildings. At night (going home in winter) it can seem desolate. There is more swamp after US-61 before hitting the edges of the Baton Rouge metro area. Exit 177 has a large outlet mall and a very large Cabela's store.

It is usually somewhere after there that I hit traffic going in, and lose it going home. There is construction going on from Exit 166 past Exit 160 to the I-12 interchange. I just hope it is a widening of the road, because it seems like a choke point. After I-12 merges in, what you see is malls and urban area. The last stretch, I-110 to the exit, can be tense with folks merging in from I-10 on the left and then a series of three left exits. But by then I am home free -- or standing in traffic on my way home.

Once (just before Christmas), I did see a couple of deer standing along side the road. However, I have not seen a dead deer (road kill) in the more than a year. There is the occasional racoon or nutria. More often than not, the northern equivalent of "roadkill" is the dead vehicle. Sometimes the vehicle is there for a day and gone, and at other times it seems like a week or more.

At this time of year, there are not only the "road kill vehicles" but, further off the road, closer to the "swamp/forest" are the big pick-up trucks. These are clearly hunters. A couple of times I have seen them pulling on waders, and/or getting ready for hunting. There are also sometimes fishermen (sometimes with boats and trailers). There is no fence between the highway and the natural area...gives lots of access!

Anyway...that is my daily commute.