Unfortunately, I am one semester shy of being qualified for this position, but I thought that I should share this job announcement–just in case there are any rare book catalogers with an interest in children’s literature among my readers. The Cotsen Children’s Library at Princeton is seeking a three-year project cataloger to complete the cataloging of Cotsen’s pre-20th-century materials. The position requires an MLS, original and complex copy cataloging experience, and reading knowledge of German, Latin, or French. The search committee is reviewing applications now and will continue to accept applications until the position is filled.
The library is also hiring an Education and Outreach Coordinator–perhaps, an ideal position for someone with a background in rare books and children’s literature, public programming, and K-12 education.
November 22nd, 2005
Today’s Fresh Air included reviews by David Bianculli of the recently released Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and Shelley Duvall’s Fairie Tale Theatre DVDs … After listening to that segment, I wondered how many of my favorite children’s shows are available on DVD now. I suppose that is something to think about when I am filling my Netflix queue.
November 18th, 2004
Working with rare materials, I spend more time worrying about the art of removing staples and other troublesome fasteners than the art of adding them. Yesterday, however, I read a post titled “The Perfect Angle to Staple Paper” (via things), and I started thinking about stapling and how vexing the mechanics of staples and staplers are for many people.
Anyone who works in a library or office where unsupervised stapling is allowed can probably attest to this. At a library where I worked previously, jammed and broken staplers were a daily sight for me. The regular staplers for public use had to be unjammed two or three times a day, and the (very expensive) heavy-duty staplers had to be stored behind the circulation desk after three were broken in less than a month.
For a long time, I assumed that this was a public services problem, since people are often careless with “free” equipment and materials, but a recently overheard customer service interaction changed my perspective. I was in a local stationery/office supply shop when a customer came in to return a “defective” stapler. The clerk explained that the stapler was not defective; it was not working because the man had put heavy-duty staples in a standard stapler. “Well, how am I supposed to know that heavy-duty staples can’t go in a regular stapler? No one ever explained that to me, and it doesn’t say that on the stapler,” complained the customer. With much grace and aplomb, the clerk sympathized, claiming that he also had trouble with staplers and staples before he started working in an office supply store. Then, he helped the man select a new stapler and a supply of standard staples.
The moral of the story: everyday things are not always as simple (or self-explanatory) as they may seem.
July 6th, 2004
I noticed this comment/question on my post about archivists and weblogs while taking care of some much-needed site maintenance this weekend, and I thought that I should start a new discussion thread in response. If anyone knows of a weblog focused on EAD (Encoded Archival Description), please comment. I would also like to gather a list of weblogs about rare books, special collections, archives, etc., so please feel free to add those links as well.
June 6th, 2004
Not only does the librarian action figure have “amazing push-button shushing action”, she also has a good sense of layout and design. Annie at Catalogue Blog has posted a really fun picture of her Nancy Pearl librarian action figure preparing a poster exhibit.
May 14th, 2004