Thursday...

[fajrdrako]

Good day at work: collecting computer serial numbers. At lunch, talked with Steph and gamergrrl about the Women's Show the way we would want it to be, and Apaplexy, and all manner of things.

The library is still closed "because of technical challenges related to a recent computer system upgrade." Hmmph.

I did my weights while watching The Sound of Music

Comments

[monsieureden]

"The library is still closed "because of technical challenges related to a recent computer system upgrade." Hmmph."

Ha. That's never stopped us. ;)

This reminds me of This Book is Overdue! It is true, librarians have a love/hate relationship with the technology that so runs libraries now.

[fajrdrako]

That's never stopped us. ;)

Looks like one step forward, two steps back - ! There was an article in the paper today about how the people who were supposed to be doing the upgrading in two days (and who took four) are in Utah and the city is handing them scads of money every year, and the head of the Library is furious. Maybe if the City cared more... [Sigh]

I often think that things ran more efficiently before everything was electronic. I'm not a Luddite, but sometimes computers really screw up processes that ought to be straightforward and simple.

[monsieureden]

Yeah, systems / techies usually aren't in touch with librarians. We're typically very different brains. Though systems is becoming more a part of library school, which is good. Some of the mentality behind it will change w/ a younger generation. However, computers will never cease to be frustrating!! LOL.

Computers do screw things up; but I've only ever lived professionally with them, so I can't imagine pre-electronic libraries now! When the system is down at our library, there's basically nothing to do. We are THAT connected.

I am so thankful I never had to write out card catalog cards... omg (!!!!!)

[fajrdrako]

What's wrong with card catalog[ue] cards... just that there'd be so many of them? Card catalogue cards are dear to my heart.

Come to think of it.. I could make and use them at home. What would I keep them in? Hmm. Things to muse upon.

[monsieureden]

Writing out full, manual cataloging on cards was a real pain compared to linking it all electronically through OCLC (or a comparative system - i.e. copy cataloging). You still learn original cataloging, but it simply doesn't compare to having to make that many cards for so many items in a collection.

Never mind when people ripped out the see also cards and you had to rewrite them all appropriately.

I still love to hear older librarians complain about this: "When I was in school, we had to handwrite everything on cards!" Hell, I couldn't even do it with my penmanship. I'd have to decipher for everyone.

That said, we all have a soft spot for the card catalog. I used to use it. But I would never want to work with it again; it's safely in the library "museum." :)

[fajrdrako]

The cards I remember were all typed on computers. And in university, it was all done on computers, but we still had cards, and drawers of card catalogues.

It was really fun finding the cards at the National Library in the British Museum.

[monsieureden]

Yes, but librarians still learned how to write them in school. Doesn't seem to have been a fond memory for most.

[fajrdrako]

I think I would have liked it; at least, I like it conceptually.

[monsieureden]

This is fun: other obsolete librarian skills. lol. http://acrlog.org/2008/02/20/obsolete-academic-librarian-skills/

[fajrdrako]

Obsolete skills for most people, I think!