Let's get it started.

OK, it's been almost a year since I posted, but with the new phase in my life, I wanted to get my blog up and running. Here's a low-down on what's been going on with me:

1) I am no longer in Buffalo, which means that I no longer spend my afternoons with Hiller, but the name of the blog will stay because I like it.

2) I am no longer at the Library of Congress. My time there was short, but amazing, and I learned a lot about a lot of things.

3) I spent the summer digitizing financial records for the Seamen's Church Institute . While this might not sound as glamorous as working with archival collections at LC, it was great and varied experience for my resume, and the people I met were wonderfully nice and so much fun! I also now have a reason and purpose to knit tons of hats and scarves, and I'm going to learn how to knit socks as soon as my Christmas gift backlog is taken care of.

4) I work at Gettysburg College! Yep, I'm back to the ol' Alma Mater, and it actually feels really good. I'm in Technical Services at Musselman Library cataloging CDs, scores, books, and whatever else they throw my way. I will also work at the reference desk once a week, and I have a few other projects in the planning stages (and it's only day 5!).

So there's the low-down on my life. Join me as I move into and decorate my apartment, become a full-fledged cataloger, and enjoy life in the 'Burg!

It's been a while!

It has been a while since I blogged last, so here's an update. Before I left Buffalo for break, I spent a great deal of time in the Treasure Room with my trusty laptop taking an inventory of the Hiller materials, noting their condition and carrying many of the flowcharts to Preservation to be cleaned and encapsulated. Basically, they are going to take all of the remaining glue off, re-glue some labels and then vacuum seal the charts in clear mylar. The ultimate goal is to create a finding aid to attach to the Music Library website. It's slow going, but I'm getting there!

In holiday news, I got Nils Grinde's A History of Norwegian Music! It is a book that I fell in love with in Gettysburg, and checked out of the UB Music Library from about mid-August to mid-December (way past the allowed loan period!) When I unwrapped the book, I literally cried. I'm a loser, I know, but I never, ever thought that I would ever own this book. It's the seminal volume for research in Scandinavian music, and I am thrilled that I now own it! I also received the ornament above, and my mom wrote "Buffalo 2008" on the back.

In musically unrelated library news, I had the chance to see my friend Matt this past week, and he was telling me about his library experiences in Durbin, South Africa. Apparently, he walked into the library looking for a book, which should have been on the shelf, and when he went up to the desk to ask about it, the guy behind the desk basically told him that it could be on the shelf, or it could be in any of the random piles on the tables. Apparently, there is no system in place for reshelving books so they just kind of sit there. Matt said that he said to the guy, "You know, where I come from, books get put on a cart and then someone puts them away so that people can find them later." The guy behind the desk looked at him and said, "Yeah, that is a good idea...." Crazy, just crazy.

One last thing, I promise! Two days ago, I booked a trip to Norway in March! Not only will I spend some time in Oslo, but I'm also going to go North and visit the Ringve Music Museum and Library in Trondheim! I'm so excited!