In 1984 I got a job working for the Murray State University Library in the periodicals department. One of my responsibilities was to return magazines and books to their places on the shelves. I did this for a couple of years. At some point I realized that my brain was like a library and could be organized in a similar fashion . As I live my life in the moment I do what I did in the library... I look for signs about where an experience should be put back on the shelf for retrieval at a future time.
When I would sit at the front desk watching people go by I would see them holding their books or magazines and wonder what they were reading and why. I still do this when interacting with people throughout my days. What are they thinking/reading and why? .... and usually what I find is that most folks are thinking/reading the same old books and aren’t prepared to discuss anything else. As a former librarian I prepare myself to make suggestions where I think people should go in the library to become a smarter person. I get excited when I meet people actively becoming a more knowledgeable person.
Dig this story and relate a lot. Was it possible to pick up another library job later? I loved working in the library during college a lot more than the manic pace at Starbucks where people were already impatient for sweetened and burned beans before iPhones were ubiquitous. I swear I can still catch a wiff of the stale stench of a washed out milk apron. The plasticine stench of clinging to ones own ideas...even visions...I am looking forward to your perspective on this!
You worked at a Library ? Very cool. I never did get a library job after that but always considered it a viable option . I'd gladly do it again. Having to re-shelve books meant I spent a lot of time becoming familiar with all the isles through out the library. It was a real immersion experience that changed the search patterns of my mind.
Before search engines the Dewey Decimal System was how we found things...as I'm sure you remember vividly. People either know how to conduct a search or they don't. People who routinely conduct searches stand out. I like the Mind as Library metaphor because it helps when interacting with people....are they a small town community library or are they a vast state university Library. When I meet a person for the first time I wonder what section of the library they would frequent. Are they a fiction or non-fiction kinda person ? Do they read comic books or encyclopedias or both ? Science or gossip magazines ? .....the mind as library metaphor can be used to size just about anyone up.
Yes in undergrad :) that plus playing the piano for church were some of the best jobs I ever had. In the context of this post...I am giggling! mind as a library is a great metaphor and a useful one at that. Conspiracy section folks...right this way.....people who want to know it all, hei hei! Dig those :D You see, as I trust you do, I have struggled much of my life to understand why people do what they do. Perhaps because I was not raised within a city and aware of my deficiencies more than my assets...working at a library these days (so I am told) requires a degree...which is strange given: if one understands the system, can attend to requests with ease and is good at organizing, plus loves reading...what else would there be. I am sure I could be schooled here...one of my dear friends from grad school is a librarian in TX now. I could see you enjoying the library yet wonder how you could fair so far away from the tools you use everyday? Thank you so much for your comments! I wish more folks were brave to speak out- alas these days people seem to be stuck in the 1984 sci-fi realm....which I used to think was a warning and joke, not a de-struction manual.
In 1984 I got a job working for the Murray State University Library in the periodicals department. One of my responsibilities was to return magazines and books to their places on the shelves. I did this for a couple of years. At some point I realized that my brain was like a library and could be organized in a similar fashion . As I live my life in the moment I do what I did in the library... I look for signs about where an experience should be put back on the shelf for retrieval at a future time.
When I would sit at the front desk watching people go by I would see them holding their books or magazines and wonder what they were reading and why. I still do this when interacting with people throughout my days. What are they thinking/reading and why? .... and usually what I find is that most folks are thinking/reading the same old books and aren’t prepared to discuss anything else. As a former librarian I prepare myself to make suggestions where I think people should go in the library to become a smarter person. I get excited when I meet people actively becoming a more knowledgeable person.
More on this subject later.
Dig this story and relate a lot. Was it possible to pick up another library job later? I loved working in the library during college a lot more than the manic pace at Starbucks where people were already impatient for sweetened and burned beans before iPhones were ubiquitous. I swear I can still catch a wiff of the stale stench of a washed out milk apron. The plasticine stench of clinging to ones own ideas...even visions...I am looking forward to your perspective on this!
You worked at a Library ? Very cool. I never did get a library job after that but always considered it a viable option . I'd gladly do it again. Having to re-shelve books meant I spent a lot of time becoming familiar with all the isles through out the library. It was a real immersion experience that changed the search patterns of my mind.
Before search engines the Dewey Decimal System was how we found things...as I'm sure you remember vividly. People either know how to conduct a search or they don't. People who routinely conduct searches stand out. I like the Mind as Library metaphor because it helps when interacting with people....are they a small town community library or are they a vast state university Library. When I meet a person for the first time I wonder what section of the library they would frequent. Are they a fiction or non-fiction kinda person ? Do they read comic books or encyclopedias or both ? Science or gossip magazines ? .....the mind as library metaphor can be used to size just about anyone up.
Yes in undergrad :) that plus playing the piano for church were some of the best jobs I ever had. In the context of this post...I am giggling! mind as a library is a great metaphor and a useful one at that. Conspiracy section folks...right this way.....people who want to know it all, hei hei! Dig those :D You see, as I trust you do, I have struggled much of my life to understand why people do what they do. Perhaps because I was not raised within a city and aware of my deficiencies more than my assets...working at a library these days (so I am told) requires a degree...which is strange given: if one understands the system, can attend to requests with ease and is good at organizing, plus loves reading...what else would there be. I am sure I could be schooled here...one of my dear friends from grad school is a librarian in TX now. I could see you enjoying the library yet wonder how you could fair so far away from the tools you use everyday? Thank you so much for your comments! I wish more folks were brave to speak out- alas these days people seem to be stuck in the 1984 sci-fi realm....which I used to think was a warning and joke, not a de-struction manual.