Work Week Ending
I'm sitting here in my office, the sun is shining as I look out the windows of the 21st floor on this beautiful city. Earlier this morning, the glint off the Sears Tower (Big Willy) had created a glare on my desk, but the sun has moved now. This is the first time it's been sunny. I'm going out tolunch with one of my teams, so I'll get to enjoy it.
I am not messsing around --I have been reading documentation, playing with the voicemail system, organizing my Outlook, organizing my office. I am a devoted Mac user so I have to get used to the PC interface. I have used PCs, but mainly just for creating documents. I couldn't even figure out why there was no sound when I tried listening to Pandora and I am learning new keyboard shortcuts. Also, getting used to (trying) right clicking.
I brought a lamp from home -- one of those bankers lamps with a brass base and a green glass shade. It looks nice. The hook is missing from my door so I bought a 3M removable one and put it up yesterday, to hold my coat. The walls are still bare... but the star is the view out the window. I am not sure I want to put stuff up. I have file drawers and cabinets, all empty so far. I have ordered some office organizers.
I work on two different teams. Yesterday, Monday, and Tuesday I was in my office for only brief moments. I was in the production area all day those days, training. The chick there is real workhorse. She doesn't even leave for the restroom unless she has a process going to proceed while she is gone. She works on 2 different computers at once, and it's go go go go all day long. She only works part time so she can keep up that rate. Me, after a couple hours I get eye strain and I need a break. However, I did work hard yesterday and we got quite a chunk done.
By the end of yesterday I felt I knew enough to at least do some of it by myself without her there. For that side of the job, I know what I'm doing and why, and I really just need to learn the specific workflow, naming conventions, file structure, and how they have the equipment set up. But there's another part timer in there today so this is my Office Day. I'm supposed to be working on the other team stuff, which is why I have been reading documentation. That part of the job really requires the Masters degree. It will be a real challenge.
I chatted with a member of my search committee yesterday. She started as a cataloger in an academic library while she was in grad school... in 1969. Whoa. She has 2 Masters degrees. I am definitely the undereducated one around here, as I only have ONE Masters, not two, and no PhD.
She mentioned that if the job had just been production (what the part timers do), I would not have even been considered, bc I am way overqualified. I would have gone for the job and then cried when I didn't even get an interview. But if they had offered me the job, after a year I would have been looking to move on, because there's no challenge and it wouldn't use my degree.
I told her I had wondered if I was a "paraprofessional" bc I don't have "librarian" in my title. Well, neither does she, she's been here over 25 years, she has an MLS and another Masters degree. She said they hired me as an entry level librarian, which is exactly what I wanted.
I can see already that my perspective as someone with a business and publishing background, and a current MLIS, is going to be helpful. There are things I understand intuitively. There are also things I have shared from my perspective on the publishing side that have been helpful. The Executive Director said they were really interested in my understanding of publishing as a business. It is not common for a librarian to have so much experience in publishing.
Of course, that also trips me up. I keep wanting to fix ads and book covers in PhotoShop and being told to stop that. It seems I know PhotoShop better than anyone else here and I hate ignoring things that are in the art area and need fixing. Perfection and speed are the fine lines I walk, always.
oops! time for training! gotta go!
I love my job, I love this place. I love not working in publishing anymore, but still needing to know all about it. I love working in libraries without having to scramble for funding or deal with unreasonable people. I love riding the Metra to work with the other commuters. I love walking down Jackson and crossing the Chicago River twice a day. They are dying it green for St. Patrick's Day this weekend -- it will be green still on Monday. I was prepared to move to some po-dunk town to work in some crappy library and instead I am here.
It's like a dream.
I love that it's Friday and it actually means something that the weekend is here.
I am not messsing around --I have been reading documentation, playing with the voicemail system, organizing my Outlook, organizing my office. I am a devoted Mac user so I have to get used to the PC interface. I have used PCs, but mainly just for creating documents. I couldn't even figure out why there was no sound when I tried listening to Pandora and I am learning new keyboard shortcuts. Also, getting used to (trying) right clicking.
I brought a lamp from home -- one of those bankers lamps with a brass base and a green glass shade. It looks nice. The hook is missing from my door so I bought a 3M removable one and put it up yesterday, to hold my coat. The walls are still bare... but the star is the view out the window. I am not sure I want to put stuff up. I have file drawers and cabinets, all empty so far. I have ordered some office organizers.
I work on two different teams. Yesterday, Monday, and Tuesday I was in my office for only brief moments. I was in the production area all day those days, training. The chick there is real workhorse. She doesn't even leave for the restroom unless she has a process going to proceed while she is gone. She works on 2 different computers at once, and it's go go go go all day long. She only works part time so she can keep up that rate. Me, after a couple hours I get eye strain and I need a break. However, I did work hard yesterday and we got quite a chunk done.
By the end of yesterday I felt I knew enough to at least do some of it by myself without her there. For that side of the job, I know what I'm doing and why, and I really just need to learn the specific workflow, naming conventions, file structure, and how they have the equipment set up. But there's another part timer in there today so this is my Office Day. I'm supposed to be working on the other team stuff, which is why I have been reading documentation. That part of the job really requires the Masters degree. It will be a real challenge.
I chatted with a member of my search committee yesterday. She started as a cataloger in an academic library while she was in grad school... in 1969. Whoa. She has 2 Masters degrees. I am definitely the undereducated one around here, as I only have ONE Masters, not two, and no PhD.
She mentioned that if the job had just been production (what the part timers do), I would not have even been considered, bc I am way overqualified. I would have gone for the job and then cried when I didn't even get an interview. But if they had offered me the job, after a year I would have been looking to move on, because there's no challenge and it wouldn't use my degree.
I told her I had wondered if I was a "paraprofessional" bc I don't have "librarian" in my title. Well, neither does she, she's been here over 25 years, she has an MLS and another Masters degree. She said they hired me as an entry level librarian, which is exactly what I wanted.
I can see already that my perspective as someone with a business and publishing background, and a current MLIS, is going to be helpful. There are things I understand intuitively. There are also things I have shared from my perspective on the publishing side that have been helpful. The Executive Director said they were really interested in my understanding of publishing as a business. It is not common for a librarian to have so much experience in publishing.
Of course, that also trips me up. I keep wanting to fix ads and book covers in PhotoShop and being told to stop that. It seems I know PhotoShop better than anyone else here and I hate ignoring things that are in the art area and need fixing. Perfection and speed are the fine lines I walk, always.
oops! time for training! gotta go!
I love my job, I love this place. I love not working in publishing anymore, but still needing to know all about it. I love working in libraries without having to scramble for funding or deal with unreasonable people. I love riding the Metra to work with the other commuters. I love walking down Jackson and crossing the Chicago River twice a day. They are dying it green for St. Patrick's Day this weekend -- it will be green still on Monday. I was prepared to move to some po-dunk town to work in some crappy library and instead I am here.
It's like a dream.
I love that it's Friday and it actually means something that the weekend is here.