I deliberated for some time about the title of this blog. Of course my first thoughts went to television. Not being a fan of The Librarians (ABC TV) I tried thinking of other series that had episodes based in libraries. There was David Tennant and Catherine Tate’s fabulous turns in the library of the 50th century in the two part Doctor Who “Silence in the Library”/”Forest of the Dead”. I was keen on “Silence in the Library” but didn’t want to steal the excellent thunder of Catriona at Circulating Library. And then, both titles weren’t available as blogger addresses. So, my thoughts, as they so often do turned to Seinfeld. The classic episode where Jerry is vigorously pursued by library detective Mr Bookman is memorable for me because of Kramer’s classic line where he poo-poos those newspaper readers who choose to go to the library every day, instead of shelling out for their own quarter. They are, in his words “trying to save a quarter”.
So now I have a title, what exactly is my purpose here. Well, I have somewhat impulsively started studying a Masters degree in Library and Information Sciences. I’m enrolled at the same institution where I was accepted into a Grad Dip in Library Studies (note: exact name of degree may be inaccurate) many years ago after I finished a degree in music. For reasons that I cannot remember, I chose not to take up the place, instead choosing to do another undergrad degree in English and Cultural Studies. Yes indeed, that was guaranteed to find me a job.
Enough sarcasm. Some 16 years later I have returned to library studies. Times have certainly changed. Back then it was a big big deal to have a computer at home, internet was dial-up and highly dodgy. Now, there is technology and more technology which has impacted immensely on the sector. I’m not IT expert (understatement) but am looking forward to increasing my knowledge in this area. Exactly where I want to end up I’m not quite sure, but life is short, so (cliche alert) there’s no time like the present. I am enrolled in one full subject for the first term, Information Retrieval. So far I have managed to keep up with the first two weeks of reading and audio lectures. It is time to start my first assignment this weekend. Four years after vowing that I would never EVER study again (post-PhD syndrome it might be called) I am sort of looking forward to it.
Trying to save a quarter 