Why I am a proud Vermonter

There are so many things that make me thank the day that my father and mother decided way back in the early 1970's to run from the urban environment of New York City and settle down in a rural lil town in Vermont. It wasn't easy...We are Indian (East) and both my parents are doctors. We stood out. We also loved our town and after a few years were a part of the community and though there was some ignorance, prejudice and jealousy, there always was a lot of support, loyalty and friendship to be had. It also was and is beautiful...A place like a natural theme park of perfect. It was where I first developed my ideal of beauty and it was the view from our window out onto the mountain range covered with snow. I have always gone back to Vermont even though I have lived in Seattle, San Francisco, Providence RI and other places, it just calls to me. I love the independent, liberal (to a certain extent), community spirit of the state and feel proud to be one of them.

And now....

We have Jessamyn West. I'm pretty sure you all know her, but I just found in her Wikipedia entry one of the coolest things in her Patriot Act stance. She devised a sign to put in libraries that states "The FBI has not been here. Watch very closely for the removal of this sign." It further states that the Vermont Library Association provided copies of this sign to all Vermont public libraries.

Yeah, Vermonters rock.

Check out Jessamyn's website at librarian.net . She has a funny blog post about the incumbent ALA pres. having a blog....As opposed to Mr Gorman.

Until this weekend.......

So, in my management class, we have been talking a little about the future of libraries and what needs to shift on order for the results of a library to match that of it's expectations. We are reading this really interesting book called "The Experience Economy" which really has some cool ideas, though bathed in the typical corporate good ideaology and a little too much religious dogma for me to feel totally comfortable. The main point is true in my opinion though, that we should be providing something more than service. We should be providing an experience. One that changes people after they have it. In my opinion, we should be looking at our ability to get patrons what they want instead of just traffiking in information. Im thinking full service...but what do I know, Ive only just started this course. What do y'all think? I mean, our prof told us there are the same (roughly) number of McDonald's as public libraries...why do we think of MikkyD's as convienent and not libraries? (Im thinking as a consumer here)...I mean, the Harold Washington public lib. is a really cool invention in my opinion as it does make life easier for me to run in and get a book, DVD, or CD, but I dont go as much as I should because for me the experience of seeing all of those unhappy workers there...and the total lack of interface in terms of patron/librarian conversation. They are automatons there, is it by design or by choice? I cant believe that the customer service there is that consistently bad by accident. I mean, in theory, that job should be a pretty cool one to go to every morning...Im just confused, I guess. If you want to check out more, visit thier website.

Has the world changed now that I can blog? Not really...

though it has gotten more interesting I must say. My father was a great amateur photographer, and he loved taking pictures wherever we went....A few years ago, I realized that he had left his camera behind when we went on our vacation. I asked him why, and he replied, "I started to look for the picture, and stopped enjoying the moment." My Dad is a wise man, I tell you. I have been going about my day as a boring student with a new eye...I've been looking for things to write about, new and witty observations on a road very well traveled. Lets see how this goes. All I gotta say, is if Prof. Stevens can get me excited about this, he should be that fitness guy that Mr. Arnold California Governor Guy was for Reagan...he could get us all trim and fit!

Does Library School pertain to Archivists?

I don't mean this in the sense that Archivists don't need to learn something, or that Library School doesn't eventually get there, but I am in my second semester now, and we have yet to talk about anything close to archives. Interesting stuff, but everyday I go back to my little perfect job and realize that we didn't really do anything that would help me in my department. This is a lot of money wasted, then, for me. And time. I understand the whole networking thing, but I am starting to realize that the networking that could go on, goes on in my workplace much more than in school. Please don't get me wrong, I feel the MLIS degree is a wonderful thing, but I wonder if there shouldn't be a pathway that is exclusive from the beginning. In my management class, we talked about watching the job ads to see what companies are looking for. When I asked about archives, I got a blank look. IM not saying that my professor was lacking in her duties, but I felt (again) that I have been inundated with public library experience and have talked at a maximum of maybe one whole class COMBINED about archives/special collections during my entire tenure in Library School. Is it that this is a bad profession? I have no idea, that's why I went to school! The Academy of Certified Archivists talks about needing a Master's Degree in something in order to get certification, but nothing really on the necessity of a MLIS even. IM confused a little about all of this and a little frustrated. I do know that now certification is needed. I also know (and have applied for) the Public History program dual master's program. My questions are, is it worth it? Whets the profession's future? Looking at the salary offered to archivists at CPL, am I going to constantly be behind the 8 ball? Enlighten me....Please!!!!

Welcome to my blog

My name is Veronica and I am an archivist. Hence the name of my blog. I am in school to get my MLIS and (hopefully) my Master's in Public History, so I can stay in Archives. This blog is being created in our Internet and Fundamentals class...on a Sunday. All day Sunday. Please don't expect great thoughts today, then. I know you'll understand.