by Cecily on June 27, 2008
Meet MARV.
MARV - short for Mobile Assault Reading Vehicle - is our library’s latest attempt to bring new kinds of content to the library’s website. MARV is made up of a first generation Flip Video camera, a Gorillapod tripod, two bike lights (one at the front, and one at the rear) a book, some rubber bands, inspiration, and a whole lot of mischief.
Kay, the Virtual Services librarian, had the bright idea that it would be great if we could film the inner workings of Translogic, the library’s conveyor system that transports books and other materials between departments. I’m known as somewhat of a gadget geek in the department, so when Kay told me about the project, I of course volunteered my camera and the tripod. Together with a couple of colleagues, we came up with MARV’s initial design, and set about trying to film what happens when a book is dropped in the internal and external book drops.
Sadly, there were some problems with the prototype; MARV tipped over when we put him down the internal bookdrop, and was too tall to fit in the external slot. We re-engineered the design and made a second attempt at the outside slot, only to find that we hadn’t secured the camera properly, and the force of the impact caused MARV’s camera to flip forward onto the book cover, resulting in about 2+ minutes of dark footage.
Yet worry not: MARV will rise again.
by Cecily on April 22, 2008
I know, I shouldn’t gloat. It’s unseemly.
But y’all, I love my job.
I got into work today and my supervisor asked me if I wanted to sign some pants. I blinked, but really didn’t think too much about it because the pants were there on the desk right in front of me, and being that I work in a public library, one must be prepared for unusual happenings every hour, never mind every day.
The story — because you knew there’d be a story — is that my boss has an acquaintance who is a librarian in Purdy, MO. The librarian serves a group of homeschooled students who recently read the book Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and as part of their learning objective, the students sent a pair of pants that traveled (get it?) to Vancouver. Kay had us sign and decorate the pants, and seeing as how I never go anywhere without a camera, I volunteered to be the official photographer as the pants traveled throughout the Central Branch.
And if that wasn’t enough, I used the N82 to take video of the pants.
by Cecily on February 18, 2008
I was filling out the profile form at WorldCat the other day when I had a moment:
Check out what it says next to “My Occupation”. After three and a half years (the amount of time passed since I got my degree) it feels so good to finally call myself a librarian and mean it.
[click to continue...]
