about

It has come to my attention that I don’t have an About page for this blog. I never really thought that I needed one, but perhaps I do. I first learned of blogs and blogging when I read about Jessamyn West in Library Journal. I started reading librarian.net on a regular basis, and I was … Continue reading “about”

It has come to my attention that I don’t have an About page for this blog. I never really thought that I needed one, but perhaps I do.

I first learned of blogs and blogging when I read about Jessamyn West in Library Journal. I started reading librarian.net on a regular basis, and I was inspired to try this blogging thing myself. The first incarnation of my blog was called “because everyone else is doing it” and was powered by Blogger. Wanting to get away from free webhosts and BlogSpot, I took the plunge and purchased my own domain name and hosting through Powweb. Thus, the eclectic librarian was born.

I have worked in libraries since I was an undergraduate student in 1994. By the time I left to begin the master’s program at the University of Kentucky, I had experience in almost every department of a library. At first I thought I wanted to be a cataloger, but the technology classes interested me more, and I began to explore that aspect of librarianship.

My first post-graduate job was as a serials and database cataloger at a medium-sized comprehensive university in Kentucky. It was mainly a paycheck and a foot in the door of academic librarianship, but after I attended a NASIG conference, I gained a better appreciation of the serials and related electronic resources specialty. My responsibilities shifted more towards electronic resources, mirroring the serials industry’s shift to online access and the issues surrounding that.

Now I am the serials department head and electronic resources librarian for another medium-sized comprehensive university, but this one is in Washington. I work closely with the systems librarian to improve service for our electronic resources. I am still quite interested in the technology aspects of the profession and issues related to them, which is evident in the contents of this blog. I don’t write much about serials in particular, and that’s mainly because most of the innovative work is being done on the electronic side of serials publishing, and there are other blogs that specialize in those issues.

I have a wide variety of other interests, including music, internetbased hobbies, and outdoor activities. I am also occasionally politically minded with a left-of-center flavor and a bit cynical.

Lately I have been writing reviews for Blogcritics.org, so you’ll see a few of these pop up occasionally.

beer, bluegrass, and Shaker lemon pie

I have some pictures of myself at the NASIG “beer node”, but I haven’t had the time to scan them in yet. I’m debating over whether it would be a good idea to do that. Yesterday, I went on the new faculty tour. I’m not exactly “new” here at EKU anymore, but they only do … Continue reading “beer, bluegrass, and Shaker lemon pie”

I have some pictures of myself at the NASIG “beer node”, but I haven’t had the time to scan them in yet. I’m debating over whether it would be a good idea to do that.

Yesterday, I went on the new faculty tour. I’m not exactly “new” here at EKU anymore, but they only do new faculty orientation once a year. Anyway, I toured the bluegrass region with a group of 25 new faculty, and it wasn’t as bad as I was afraid it might be.

I have been to Keeneland before, but this time I was able to see the clubhouse and the boxes that the corporations lease. Pretty spiffy, but I still prefer my usual spot along the rail down by the track. After Keeneland, we went to Lexington Community College. I worked in the resource center as a graduate student at the University of Kentucky, so there wasn’t much new-to-me information to be had. The best part of the day came next – a visit to Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, where we had lunch. I have been to Shakertown (as it is commonly known in the region) twice before for dinner, but I had not had the opportunity to tour any of the buildings before. It was very interesting and informative. I think that if I had lived back then, I would have been drawn to the Shaker lifestyle.

After lunch, we hopped back into the bus and drove down to Danville, where we toured the EKU Danville Center. By then, I was on sensory overload and trying to recover from the piece of Shaker Lemon Pie, but that didn’t stop me from having a bowl of homemade peach ice cream. Yum. I was glad to finally see my car when we rolled back into Richmond at 5:15.

This next week I’ll be on vacation in Toronto, and right now my main agenda is to take a nap every day. Ahh…. sleep…..

css.php