How I became a librarian meme

(Sneakin' one in under the hiatus blanket...) First outright tag for a meme - tagged by Christina! Thanks! Started by Jill, the question was what got us interested initially in our fields of interest? Lemme 'splain... no, that would take too long. Lemme sum up...

I've always been in and around libraries (my mom was a career librarian until her retirement last year; my dad was career Air Force so we were always on the move, but wherever we were, there was a library). I fell in love with astronomy in 7th grade Earth Science and knew I'd be in the sciences one way or another when I grew up (I read my first copy of Jastrow & Thompson when I was 15). I originally went to college on an Air Force scholarship to study aerospace engineering, but a game of ultimate frisbee gone really wrong ended those plans, and I switched my study focus to astronomy, which is what I wanted to study in the first place (I will always miss Dr. Tom Swihart, my most excellent advisor). I landed a student job at the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab, which led to my first post-college job with the Mt. Graham International Observatory. I moved from there to the new Gemini 8m Telescopes Project (which became the Gemini Observatories when it went operational), and one of the things that I took on was managing the engineering documentation.

I really got a kick out of it, and was also contemplating going back to school - these two things finally clicked together and I headed down the street a couple of blocks to the School of Information Resources and Library Sciences. I met with Dr. Charley Seavey, who became my advisor, and it's all thanks to him that I even made it through, as the philosophy and social epistemology stuff really threw me off (I did great in statistics, though!). But make it through I did, with a focus on technical librarianship (fairly new at that point, this was back in '97-'99), and I graduated with a job offer in-hand from the Gemini Observatory in Hilo (Hawaii) to come out and set up the new research library. I jumped in the deep end at that point - up until then it'd all been databases and engineering archives!

Although I will always treasure the time I spent in Hawaii, the two years I spent out there setting up and managing a traditional library really brought home to me that I was much happier in the computers - webmastering, DBAing, things like that - and with engineering documentation. When the time came to move back to the mainland, I looked around at other large astronomy engineering projects, and hit up my current employer for a job. (Obviously, it worked.) I love being part of something no one's ever done before, and the skills I've built along the way have made me especially suited to dealing with both scientists and engineers, managing various electronic documentation systems, juggling configuration management issues, and configuring new web site management systems. That's what I spend my days doing now; I do order an occasional book, and snag journal papers and conference proceedings for the scientists and engineers, but I'm quite happy in my life as a systems librarian and intend to do so for many more years :-)

OK, so that's a bit long for a sum-up, but believe me, it's shorter than the whole story! I'd be interested in answers from Hedgie, G, Emily, Stephen, and Effing, if they'd like.

Old & Cranky

Well, it's been ten days since the fantabulous Gold Digger's Ball at SLA in Denver, and my knees are still giving me fits. I guess it might maybe kinda sorta be time to admit that no matter how much fun I have, and how much I adore dancing, it's perhaps time to not dance quite so long, or so enthusiastically. Sob...

104° yesterday. Currently only 89°, but supposed to hit 106° today. Thank god for low humidity. Wonder when the monsoon season is going to start? Our dewpoints are still way below the criteria (54°) ...

Happy Birthday, Blog!

Wow! A year and a week ago I started this blog... hard to believe it's been a year already! Thank you, dear readers, for letting me share my musings on image, systems librarianship, and desert weather with you! (Speaking of which, it's up to 87° now.)

Not dead yet...

...just flirting with the idea. Did you know adults can get tonsillitis? I started out last weekend with pinkeye, was diagnosed with the tonsillitis Monday, and now have an ear infection too. Needless to say, not a lot of librarianship is getting done this week. Mostly it's just whimpering.

Am sure I'll have lots to post about after I get caught up sometime next week. Until then.

RefGrunt, 14 March

An interesting exercise...

8:30am Arrive at work. Make coffee, the nectar of the gods.
Email.
Install software package on user's laptop.
VNCviewer fix on Macbook.
IM: Track down someone.
Print several sets of change request forms.
Email.
Video capture/recreate problem for technical support.
Install new USB KVM switch and wireless KM combo on user's desktop.
Phone.
Email.
Enterprise Rights Management research, view demo.
Review & proof newsletter draft.
Lunch!
Blog: USA Today's Tech_Space (new to me)
Phone.
Windows update, with inevitable reboot.
Change Control Board meeting
Update change request forms after meeting, submit for approval, file hard copies, update systems database.
Verify workflow notification setup for user not getting notifications. There's a problem somewhere...
Summary email of forthcoming changes to document vault, WBS and ICD chart to staff (this also serves as my to-do list for the next week).
System upgrade timing issues and discussions.
Install software package on user's laptop.
Email.
Leave at 4:00pm for doctor's appointment.

Weather yesterday was wicked for mid-March; we hit 87° and are likely to hit 90° today. Sigh. It's too early for this....

Brats Film Tour

I'm back....

Shameless plug! Brats: Our Journey Home (which I've mentioned here before) is doing a film tour this year. Donna and her crew will be in Tucson March 6th - when will they be in your town?

Not dead yet...

...just really busy at work, then dealing with a migraine, and today there's no daycare so I'm "on vacation". I've got a few posts saved up - they'll appear here soon!

Currently cold and grey with a threat (promise) of rain. So much for going to the zoo today!

Friday Fun

No real library-related posting here, folks, just some Friday afternoon fun with character generators:

South Park Me, via South Park Studio

M&M Me, via Become an M&M

WeeMee, via Skype Weeworld




Have a good weekend, everyone!

Things that Don't Happen Here

Snowy Fish Hook Barrel Cactus
Originally uploaded by desertlibrarian.

Apparently we should be on the lookout for flying pigs, because it snowed in Tucson this past Sunday night. If you ever want to see a truly amusing spectacle, watch Tucsonans if it ever snows again - we all become capering fools *grin*

The Sinus Cold of Satan...

...has had me pretty well pinned down for the last week, but I can see the light of humanity at the end of the tunnel, at long last. Expect more musings and babblings next week!

5 Things You Don't Know About Me

As usual, I'm late on the meme, but hey: it's my first meme since starting this blog!

1) I'm a military brat who spent my formative teenage years in the Benelux region of Europe. Until I got to college, I had never met anyone who'd never left the town they grew up in before. (I didn't think people like that were real!)
2) I went to college on an Air Force scholarship to study aerospace engineering.
3) I still have my tonsils.
4) I like disco. (OK, my husband knows - and deplores - this.)
5) I hate vi. (Long live emacs!)

It's currently 75° and sunny; a really beautiful day. However, they're forecasting a strong possibility of SNOW before the end of the week! If such a thing occurs, I will definitely capture an image for posterity.

My Brain is Gold

Hmm... interesting. Oddly enough, in the space of a few questions, the quizmaker got me almost right. I think the subject list is a bit off, and I could care less about my friends and their money (that's their business), but dang, the routines and organization parts are spot on!


GOLD:

At work: I like set routines and organized ways of doing things; rules and directions are a great help to me. I prefer to stay on one topic at a time. I need to know what is expected of me, and I always want to know if I am on the right track. I like subjects that are useful and traditional, such as business, accounting, history and government.
With friends: I prefer people who are careful with their money and who make plans ahead of time. I like my friends to be loyal, dependable and on time. I am serious about love and show it in many practical ways.
With family: I like stability and security and enjoy traditions and frequent celebrations. I like to spend holidays with family members, and I plan ahead for such gatherings.
Take this quiz!