Week Two: Cedar Rapids Public Library Adventure

It's week two of my senior year and things are moving right along! More classes, more schoolwork, and more time with my Kohawk family.

It's a little surprising how quickly I'm falling into my groove. My schedule is pretty much set and I move efficiently and confidently across campus. I sort of love being a senior!

My big adventure of the week was definitely on Wednesday. After class, myself, Olivia, and Peter all took a trip to the new downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library. It opened at the end of August (during Orientation Week) and we decided it was time for a change of pace.

Let me tell you, THIS LIBRARY IS AWESOME. The three of us probably spent a good chunk of time exploring every aspect of the library. This library is very modern yet functional. There are lots of big, open windows that really help to lighten up the space. There's a cafe on the first floor for coffee beverages (how smart is that!?!?!). The three of us ended up on the second floor patio; we were outside and studying. Not only was it a beautiful day, but also very peaceful to study outside. We had a nice view of the street outside the library and of Green Square Park (right across the street). After a few hours of studying, we made our way to the third floor, which is a rooftop garden complete with chairs to sit on. We sort of wished we had come up there first!

A small photo of the outside of the place. Taken from the Cedar Rapids Public Library website:

It was nice to get off campus and study. There will be plenty more trips to CRPL throughout the rest of the school year; why not take advantage of this beautiful new library?

"What?!? It can't be your LAST day!" Saying goodbye to NYPL (for now!)

When I walked into the Mid-Manhattan branch on Wednesday morning a little before 9 AM, a wave of nostalgia hit me. As my shoes clinked on the title as I walked towards the staff elevator  I had a hard time believing this was the last time.

It couldn't be.
But it was.

I couldn't help but remember back to my very first day. I had no idea where I was suppose to go or who exactly I was looking for. I wandered up to the mezzanie and tentatively said I was there to see Nick Higgins. The lady behind the desk steered me towards the staff elevators but didn't say much. And when I got up to the sixth floor, I had no clue where I was going. I stumbled into Louise and she showed me to Nick's cube.

Nick was upbeat and friendly, logging me into the computer that would become mine for the next several months and handing me a hot off the press copy of Connections 2013 as a way to aclimate myself to correctional services. That very first day I wrote countless letters to prisoners and learned all about marriage proxy laws.

My first day ended with meeting and listening to Denny Meyer, one of the veterans who's story I would get to know. Denny was interesting and full of life; he is truly an advocate. The interview ended up being two hours long and suddenly, it was 5 PM.

I had no idea that this somewhat atypical first day would turn into the cornerstone event of this term.

Over the next three months, I would build myself into the community outreach department. I sort of took over the Veteran History Project, created a book discussion group, started a Music & Memory drive, wrote several blog posts for NYPL's website, and get to know some fantastic people. Brigid and I went on several adventures to the Bronx and attended workshops I would have never attended on my own. I spent time with Sarah, a passionate Correctional Services librarian who loves a good drawing and was always so much fun to talk to about libraries, librarians, or our lives in general. And then of course, there was Nick, my boss. A great boss who wants to do everything he can, even if time doesn't allow him to do so. Nick was always there for a "good job" or "keep up the good work." He gaves me ideas of where he sort of wanted a project to go and then let me take it on and discover my own way for the project.

And now I'm back to Wednesday. As I went through my usual tasks, I knew it would be the last time I was doing it. I was definitely bummed.

Around 3 PM, Nick brought me into his office and the whole crew was there with goodies. They threw me a party! It was so sweet and so thoughtful. We sat around for about 45 minutes talking about my term and telling random stories. They had sort of become my library family and I appreciated every one of them.

Then it was back to work; well, more like I met with Nick and passed off all the information I had complied together for the Veterans History Project for the person who fills my shoes.

And I was done. Hugs were shared and I promised I would keep in touch.
Which I will. Obviously.

This internship was nothing what I expected but everything I needed, if that makes any sense. I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by passionate librarians who supported me and continued to affirm my decision to become a librarian. They wanted to see my succeed and helped me however they could. I couldn't have asked for better people.

Another NYPL Blog Post Up!

Well today marked the publication of another NYPL blog post by yours truly!

I couldn't help but snap a picture

Read it here! It's called "The Beauty of Snail Mail." Pretty proud of it :)

Another Friday Adventure to the Bronx

Another Friday arrived which meant I spent most of the day at the Paley Center. PaleyFest is officially over, so I was working on some post-event items.

I left the Paley Center around 2:45 PM to head up to the Bronx. I was attending another TAG (teen advisory group) meeting. Good news is that the iPod drive for Music and Memory is taking off and Friday was the first "official" day of the drive.

It is so cool to see something I've put together take off. I got to talk to a woman from the NYPL's PR department about the point of the drive and she said a news team was coming to cover the event. Unfortunately, New York City traffic got in the way and they were delayed. If all goes well, they will come back next week. If they do return, I will most likely be interviewed because I know the most about the drive. Who would have thought I might be on Bronx TV next week?

After the library, it was back to the hotel to drop things off before heading to the Hell's Kitchen area to visit Whitney. She has an uncle who lives over there and she was watching his apartment while he was away. Whitney made me dinner (yum home cooked food) and we chatted for a while. Nothing like a calm Friday to end the week!

Dinner with Library LEGENDS

On Tuesday night, I left the library a bit early with Brigid to head uptown to the Columbia area. Our destination, Le Monde, a French restaurant. We were meeting two retired NYPL librarians, Karlan and Lydia. Both are friends with Brigid and both of them helped me land my current internship. Lydia has taken a memoir writing class for the past 19 years at her assisted living home. Her teacher for the past 19 years has been none other than Susan, my theater professor. It's a small world!

Anyways, the four of us had an amazing dinner. The food was out of this world (I had a croque monsieur aka grilled ham and cheese with melted cheese on top of the bread) and we just talked about libraries. Both Karlan and Lydia shared stories of their time as librarians. They talked about what they did and the branches they served at. They also wanted to know more about me and why I love libraries. 

Now, this might not sound like the most interesting dinner conversation, but let me tell you, I was hooked. It was hard to eat because I was talking and listening to their stories. It's librarians like Karlan and Lydia that remind me why I want to be a librarian. They also remind me that I have the passion to be an excellent librarian and that's always encouraging to hear.

I am so thankful for this amazing dinner. Another New York Term item to add to my list of incredible opportunities. 

So yes, I got to eat with NYPL legends. Pretty neat, right?

Modern Dance and French Cinema

This weekend was relatively light in terms of events. We had two, one on Friday night and one Sunday night. On Friday, we went to the Joyce Theater to see the Martha Graham Dance Company. Martha Graham started choreographing in the late 1920s and is considered "modern." This performance included four dances and a video. Two dances were Graham originals and the other two were homages to Graham. It was an excellent performance and the theater was BEAUTIFUL. The red velvet seats were comfy and I felt like I was right there, practically on stage next to the dancers. Also, seeing Graham was crucial to the dance timeline we've been constructing in our heads. Graham comes after traditional ballet and before Trisha Brown, Karole Armitage, and Yvonne Rainer. What's interesting about Graham is that towards the end of her career, she actually slid back towards traditional dance elements, basically defeating her purpose: rebelling against ballet and other traditional dance. Nevertheless, it was an important performance to up my dance knowledge.

During the day on Saturday, Whitney and I went on yet another walking adventure. We spent Saturday night catching up with some Coe alums living in the city and enjoying the night life. 

Sunday was my day of relaxation before our other event. This event was at the IFC Center and was a French film. IFC along with BAM, the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and Unifrance Films presented Rendez-Vous With French Cinema. This is the eighth year of this festival which brings the best of French cinema to us. The best part of this festival is that the directors or actors are available at some of the showings and do a talk-back after the film. 

The film we saw was Dans La Maison (In the House) by Francois Ozon. The movie was originally released in France around 2012, but is just coming to the United States. Last night, we saw the movie and then Ozon was there, along with a translator, to answer questions and discuss the film.

I kind of forgot how much I love French cinema. In high school, our French teacher was insistence on watching films and in my short film class, my teacher showed us La Haine (The Hate). There is a subtle difference between French and American cinema. The French seem to experiment more and it just looks different than the Blockbuster movies I've grown up with. That's cinematography for you.

The talk-back was interesting. The audience was on the older side and asked a lot of plot based questions. While the plot was interesting, it definitely wasn't what kept me going throughout the film. I'm still thinking over the film before I write my response. And now I've got a French cinema bug. I need to see more French cinema. ASAP. Thank goodness I work at a library ;)

Speaking of library, work was good today. It feels so nice to stride confidently into the Mid-Manhattan branch and know exactly where I'm going. It was a slower day, I answered letters and worked on some advertisement for the Music and Memory drive. 

Carmen, Rain, and Brooklyn

So last night...our group traveled a few subway stations away to see Carmen performed at the Metropolitan Opera. This was by far our fanciest shindig, so all ten of us were dressed up. Actually fun to see us in our prettiest dresses. Unfortunately, no photo was snapped due to the fact the opera finished around 11:45 PM and some girls were ready for bed!

Overall, the opera was good. Definitely a change of pace from the plays and music concerts we have already seen. I knew the plot of Carmen so I could spend more time focusing on attempting to understand the French (mildly successful) and watch the actors (little tough being up in the dress circle). Both Murray and Susan were along and Susan luckily brought binoculars which we passed around during the performance. That definitely helped.

As I mentioned in my last post, it was raining here this morning, putting a damper on things. But nevertheless, I made it to work, dried off, and was kept busy.

My first project was to listen to one final veteran oral history I hadn't heard yet. It was a fascinating interview, especially since this vet was part of a unit that responded to 9/11. He was there, amid all the gray dust when the towers had fallen. Throughout the interview, he had a lot of poignant moments and his passion to help foster father-daughter relationships is pretty incredible.

Sarah (one of my bosses) asked me if I would like to write for a NYPL blog channel called Freedom of Thought. The way blog writing works at NYPL is that they have several channels on a wide variety of library topics and then various librarians (or interns like myself), write and post content. Of course I told Sarah I would be more than happy/thrilled/etc. to blog (because you know I LOVE to blog). I wrote my first post today, but it has to go through all the administrative channels before being published. But I will for sure let you know when it is on the web for you to read!

The last part of my day was spent getting some balls rolling on my other large project, the Music and Memory drive I've talked about. I got a hold of the recreation/outreach director from a nursing home near the Kingsbridge Library and hopefully next week, we can start creating a solid timeline. I'm super excited and happy things are falling into place.

I dashed home so Whitney and I could take a train to Brooklyn for an event I really wanted to go to. It was the publication release of the literary magazine A Public Space. The event took place at an independent bookstore called Book Court and Whitney and I had actually checked it out last week when we ate dinner at Joya. There was a fair turnout and the event began with Brigid, the editor in chief, introducing the readers and thanking us for attending. We heard from two fiction writers and one poet. All were fantastic. Post-reading, Whitney and I both expressed how much we are missing The Coe Review right now. Just the atmosphere of writers and putting together a literary magazine really excites me. And, I want to mention the readers because they were AWESOME. First was a short story by Tom Drury. Then we switched to poetry by Mark Bibbins. And we ended the night with part of a short story by Jessica Francis Kane.

Oh, can you tell I hang out with Whitney a lot? All the photos seem to be of the two of us! Haha!

Now it's time for some response writing and sleep because it's an extra special day tomorrow.
Aka my birthday! :)

Back To Campus (But Only For a Few Days)

Alison and I headed back to campus this afternoon, concluding our 2011 Fall Break.  The five days I was back in Mt. Horeb seemed to FLY by and it's hard to believe I'm back on campus.  For the second half of my first semester.  Crazy, right?  Right now I'm in the library, occupying my favorite second floor long table with some friends, working on homework.  I made a To-Do list before I came back and so far I've accomplished a fair amount on the list.  That feels so good.  It will be a busy two days of classes and meetings before I head back to Wisconsin on Thursday afternoon.  I'll make another blog post once I'm in Madison, an off campus post!  Exciting right?

Happy Fall! :)

An Abnormally Beautiful Fall Day

Today was GORGEOUS.  It was also a homework day.  So how did I enjoy the weather yet still do the things that needed to be done?  Well, since the majority of my homework was reading, I sat outside and read today.

It worked surprisingly well.  Not only did I get a lot done, I also was able to enjoy the beautiful weather.  The sun was out and shining brightly with a perfect, light breeze.

I also worked my first reference desk today in the library.  It went well, I helped a few people and hopefully I directed them to the information they were looking for.

For supper, Dr. Bob had made vegetable soup for anyone who wanted to stop by the Writing Center.  It was delicious and hearty.  It was also nice catching up with the other consultants who showed up for yummy food.

Now I'm in the PUB (does that surprise you?) working on more homework.  Two papers due this week and lots of reading to accomplish.  But don't worry, I've got this and all will be completed soon enough.

Tips for Freshman: Library Edition

Well, my tips last week went over well so I decided to continue them.  I'll try to focus on buildings this week.  I will also get another feature going about the Marquis Series this year so stay tuned!

TIP ONE: Study rooms are awesome but they are in high demand.

The second floor has some great study rooms complete with whiteboards.  The only problem is that they are usually occupied when you want them.  So get there early if you want a room for the night.  For instance, getting to the library right after dinner, so 5:30 PM or so, should give you a fighting chance for a room.  And if you're studying during the day, morning or early afternoon is a good time to nab a room.  

TIP TWO: Find multiple spots in the library that are your favorites.

I am a library lover and have found many favorite places in Stewart Memorial Library; each place has been designated for a certain type of studying.  If I'm feeling sociable, I like sitting at the long tables on the second floor because I can see friends and get work done.  If I want an area less used, then I might go to the Reading Room on the right hand side of the first floor.  It's usually pretty quiet.  And if I really need to get things done, then I'll go up to the third floor and find a cubicle in a corner not near a window (because I will get distracted at watching people walk by!).  The first week at Coe, you'll visit the library a lot and you'll quickly figure out what areas of the library you like the best.

TIP THREE: Use the library for just more than studying.

The Stewart Memorial Library is a fantastic library.  It has so much more to offer than just study space and computers.  Although a lot of students want to go for the internet sites when working on a paper, there are great books out in the stacks for you to use.  And, we do have some great movies for you to check out too.  A reference librarian is on the first floor during the day and can answer any questions you have and help you find anything.  Make sure to use them as a resource -- you won't be sorry.   

TIP FOUR: Don't be scared when you look at the call numbers in the stacks and go, "THAT ISN'T THE DEWY DECIMAL SYSTEM!"

Our library is organized by the Library of Congress Classification (LCC).  Now, I'm going to geek out in library facts.  Enjoy the history lesson.  The LCC was developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century by the Library of Congress.  Today, the LCC is used most frequently over the world and can be found in many academic libraries in the United States (aka Coe).  The LCC is made up of 21 classes, each assigned a letter of the alphabet.  These classes are then divided into subcategories and these subcategories can be subdivided and so on.  The numbers might look scary at first, but it's not that bad.  If you need help, ask a librarian or find me!  (No seriously, if you need help in the library, I would be more than happy to help)

TIP FIVE: If you're looking for movies, look no further than the basement of the library.

Our AV collection is pretty intense.  We've got basically everything from cartoons, to action, to romance, to foreign, to documentaries, to TV series to, well, you get my drift.  Just be aware the movies are arranged in the LCC system so they might be hard to find at first.  But once you're in there a few times you start to figure things out. 

  

I'm sure I have more library tips but I can't think of them all right now.  I'll add if I think of any more!

 

New Work Study : Stewart Memorial Library

Stewart Memorial Library

If you haven't heard, I was transferred from the cafeteria work study to the library.  I was thrilled about the move and now after a few hours of orientation, I'm working there about seven hours a week.  This work study is perfect for me; I'm able to learn even more about the library and help make it a better place for the students!  I always feel like I'm in my element when I work at the library.  The biggest thing I've started to learn about is the call system we use.  When I worked at my public library back home, our books were shelved via the Dewey Decimal System.  You could ask me where a subject matter is and I could probably tell you the general number if not the specific number where you could find it.  But Coe's library doesn't use the Dewy system, instead they use the Library of Congress System.  This one is a bit more complicated in my book.  Here's a link to some basic information about the system if you're interested: http://geography.about.com/library/congress/blhowto.htm.  Pretty much there are more letters and numbers you have to look at to shelve books and all the books, fiction and nonfiction are shelved under the same system (unlike in the Dewy Decimal system where the fiction books are shelved separately by author's last name).  It's taking some getting use to but I'm picking up quick.

So I'm loving the library and now confidently know all the nooks and crannies of this place.  I promise I'll put a video up about the library soon because I want everyone to see one of my favorite places on campus! :)