Cataloging: The End

Today I said goodbye to Union, the headquarters of the Kemper-Newton Regional Library system. I waited until all of the ladies were in, and reminded them that for the next decade they are free to blame me for any and all issues at the library. "I'm sorry ma'am, but there was this lady here from California and she just messed everything up!" They joked about finding another system in the area that's in need of a new director so they could keep me here, but I could never do what Meredith does. I'm nowhere near polite enough, and I'm way too much of an outsider - I would guess that they're suspicious of Meredith here (or were when she started), and she's only from Georgia. Also I've been doing a very good job of maintaining silence on political subjects (the mantra worked, mom!) but I would not be able to sustain that for any length of time. I'm glad I'm going to be gone long before election season gets really intense.

In 11 days of work I've cataloged 822 titles, and I have a pretty good idea that this project could be replicated elsewhere. Not necessarily by me, mind you, though it would be an interesting undertaking. After all, I am Kate C. Peck, Librarian* at Large.

(*degree pending - until Saturday!)

Cataloging: Day 13

Today's observations: I ended up with one more cart of books today because Gregg couldn't get to our long-distance cataloging experiment, but it didn't take too long. The cataloging is officially done!

Surrounded by Scooba books, with a whole bunch of discards on the counter

It feels a little anticlimactic, but it is really nice to be done. I had set aside around eight items that I couldn't find records for in my initial run through the collection. It turned out that only one of them needed original cataloging, and of course it was a DVD, not a book. I'm not sure how many people will be looking for music by Mary J. Blige on DVD, but they will now be able to find it at the library.
I'm finishing up my paper for Professor Yates (Hi Professor Yates!), which will be an odd amalgamation of rural library research and practical advice for future cataloging projects. Given how many books I was able to get through in such a short amount of time, I really think that this type of project could be replicated elsewhere with some success. You might be thinking that there can't be THAT many other libraries that are without an automated catalog, but according to one source there are almost as many as 600. My guess would be that most of them are in situations similar to Scooba, supporting a poor, rural area that has never been able to afford a professional librarian on even a part time basis. Perhaps it should be a goal for ALA and state library commissions to seek out these small libraries and help them. Something else to include in the paper.


Titles cataloged today: 54

Titles cataloged total: 822 (plus another 148 by my cataloging comrades, bringing the final total to 970!)

Audio entertainment during the drive: More talking with Meredith, though there was some Bowie, Beatles, and Led Zepplin in the background.

New Southern discovery: When I heard someone refer to a "combo meal", I thought they were talking about the kind of meal that you would get from McDonalds - burger/chicken nuggets, fries, and a drink. Turns out, this is a combo meal:

Meredith and I had lunch at S & A Fine Food Restaurant a couple of times, and the above meal cost $7.00. That's chicken, rice with gravy, fried green tomatoes, a roll, dessert, and a drink. For $7.00. I told them on the way out that I would miss their food, and although I would try to find fried green tomatoes in Los Angeles, there was no way that they would be as good or as cheap. They seemed to find that amusing.

Something I miss from California: I miss Filemaker Pro. Database management software isn't the most exciting stuff in the world, but those stupid spine labels are infuriating.

Cataloging: Day 12

Today's observations: I'm so close to reaching a stopping point! I think that if I had another week I might have been able to get through the last few sections, Easy Reader and Juvenile Nonfiction, the latter of which is due for a thorough weeding. Alas, I must move on, but I trust Rita (or whoever draws this fun task) to finish what is left.

The last full cart!

I discovered today that children's books are considerably more difficult to find appropriate records for, because they are in so many different editions. I will be perfectly happy to never see a Hardy Boys book again in my life. Their more recent adventures, by the way, have gotten considerably more dramatic than they used to be. There are spies and kidnapping and amnesia... I don't think that Nancy Drew's new adventures are quite as exciting, but I could be wrong.


Titles cataloged today: 88

Titles cataloged total: 768 (plus another 148 by my cataloging comrades, bringing the final total to 916!)

Audio entertainment during the drive: Talking with Meredith. We discovered that our movie tastes diverge considerably once you get past Fried Green Tomatoes and Inglourious Basterds. Although I was not in the car at the time, I also started listening to the audiobook of The girl who loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King. Some people collect Pokemon, I collect Stephen King. To each their own.

New Southern discovery: The guys who direct traffic in construction areas are referred to here as "flagmen". I have always just called them "guys who direct traffic in construction areas".

Something I miss from California: Byron, the black bear, who lives on our couch and watches movies, tv, and sports with us. Eleanore did this fabulous drawing of Byron as Speed Racer. (Also, she's a really good artist and you should check out her work here.)