Dirt in Libraries September 11, 2007

We like to think of the library as a clean place.  Thankfully, somebody empties the trash cans overnight and cleans the publicked restrooms.  Sometimes my job includes shifting part of the the collection.  It’s a dirty job.  Some books are no longer best sellers, as indicated by the accumulated layer of dust on top.  By taking a breath and blowing over the top of the books, a large dust cloud is created.  Space is valuable in a library, so shelves are vertically close together.  There is usually little space above the top of the book and the bottom of the shelf above it.  A brush or vacuum head isn’t effective in that little space.  I’m a gadget guy, but a tool that only cleans the top of one book at a time would take way too long to use.  A tool that cleans all the books on a shelf at once is hardly good enough.  I was contemplating this after finding a recent vandalism, not done in ink or scratching, but with a finger in the dust.  The metal crossbeams get lots of dust.  It said “I (heart)” and a name, instead of an obscene message.  Charge the perpetrator with vandalism?  Perhaps if he had a good lawyer, he would reply with a bill for partial cleaning.  Last year to the public, the Library was closed for a minor holiday.  This was a working day at the library for the whole staff.  We had a cleaning half day, and the remaining half of the day was devoted to staff training.  Yes, the ladies liked the idea of cleaning, but didn’t realize the full challenge.  This was a chance for me to dismantle shelf bottoms, fish into dark holes, and generally find stuff even more disgusting than bookdrops.  Not dust bunnies, think Bunnicula.  Archeologists also found clues from the past.  Would you believe a card?  As from a card catalog?  No, I don’t mean a RAM card.  Air conditioning systems include some filtering, but the quality thereof is dubious.  Filters need cleaning or replacement, assuming there was a well engineered system to begin with.  You don’t get what you don’t pay for!  What’s not in your budget?  Perhaps I should suggest that our budget include another cleaning day.   On the other hand, I’m a guy, and can live with the dirt, even when I can see it.

learning project 7 September 5, 2007

I’m going to take another shot at lesson 7: RSS feeds.  Tried the “Feel the needs” link, but couldn’t get the video.  Tried the next link “Palinet” and it worked.  Tried the “Commoncraft” link and it worked.  Tried to set up a feed account with www.bloglines, but they don’t send me a confirming email.  Tried the Commoncraft link again and it failed; I think the DSL wasn’t giving enough bandwith to get the job done.  Sent an Email to Bloglines about the feed account problem, the  site says reply takes 2 biz days.  I have been using the tag surfer on my blog site (I subscribed to “libraries”) and find it entertaining.  One thing that seems to be true of all aspects of computers and the net is they are very time consuming.  I am tempted to do some blogging in the category “libraries”.  Should I refer you to such blogs by Email?  I’ve decided not to face Facebook; at heart, I am still a nerd.  Start the party without me.