Cataloging: Day 7

Today's observations:
High productivity continued today, this time with nonfiction books from the set that Brenda spared from weeding. She was a bit more generous towards the nonfiction because they seem to have been borrowed less (this is where the usage statistics that can be derived from library system data would be really handy), but the section would have been gutted if she had used the fiction criteria. Also, some subjects are less prone to change than others. The books about geology and bird-watching are about as accurate today as they were when they were published 30 years ago. People are probably less likely to borrow those books, because they can just look a rock or bird up on the internet, but they may come in handy for a patron looking for reliable print sources.
In addition to all the cataloging, I also created an illustrated step-by-step guide for creating item records in Verso. It focuses on recent fiction (like the books I cataloged yesterday) because I think that's the best place for people unfamiliar with the system to start. We're going to have a cataloging marathon in Union on Saturday (because obviously that's what the cool kids do on weekends, right?) with a couple of directors from nearby library systems and another cataloger, who have all graciously agreed to donate some time to make Scooba's online catalog a reality. Although I was planning on whipping through the fiction as quickly as possible in the next few days, I'm thinking now that I might save them for Saturday since that would make the work go faster. I feel like I'm constantly changing my priorities for cataloging, but I don't think that has impeded my progress so far.

Titles cataloged today: 81

Titles cataloged total: 450

Audio entertainment during the drive: Animals - Pink Floyd; The White Album - Beatles

New Southern discovery: You can buy boiled peanuts fresh out of the crockpot at gas stations. Not mom and pop shops either, but major brands like Shell. I decided not to try them, because I figured that I would end up spilling them on myself while driving and cause an accident.

Something I miss from California: Thai food. I went to Noodle World the day before I left and had some delicious Yakisoba noodles, but I didn't even get to eat the leftovers because I had to be at the airport so early the next. I had dinner at the community college cafeteria yesterday (it was me and about 50 football players - I felt both old and small at the same time) and they had Swedish meatballs with sweet and sour sauce and vegetables. There's a small restaurant on the eastern edge of De Kalb (one town to the west) called Rice Hot, which I think is an Asian food establishment, and I may have to try it. That name isn't doing much to reassure me, though.