Adventures in Disconnection

(I’m writing on my laptop, which is an entity unto itself (no internet) and post these the day after I wrote them. In other words, here ‘today’ is, for you, ‘yesterday’, ‘now’ is not now, etc. It is a fait accompli and there is nothing to be done about it.)

The grand adventure was a grand success! I have a new phone number. One that is snazzy and feels like a limerick in my mouth. Also, and this is the weighty part, it has an area code that my new city will understand.  Not that I will stay with my phone company for all that much longer – my general angst and disillusion at how awkwardly-served I am by the 21^st century customer service ideals is well-documented and does not need to be explored here.

Schlafly Library proved to be quite the treasure trove with every imaginable bus route pamphlet as well as a system wide map (I understand that these will no longer be printed. Grr.). Also, there was Nina Simone and Stan Getz, so, you know, that was cool.

This morning was for Mahler. Mahler always makes me think of Martha Nussbaum. If you do not think of Martha Nussbaum when you hear Mahler, that is because we have not read the same books, and there is nothing for it but to accept what I say when I say that it is a delightful and challenging association.

I am pleased/saddened to know that I am not alone in my frustration with the catalog at the St. Louis Public Library. It is not loved by the staff, either. Or at least the one staff member to whom I spoke this morning. I was curious. I did not love Horizon at LCL, but … Well, perhaps this is time for a different approach:

A library involves a collection of items – books, DVDs, CDs, maps, periodicals, links, etc. The nature of the item is not meaningful to me except that it be nameable, trackable and that librarians can discuss its contents and use. Library is as much about statistics as Biology. Only with fewer fetal pigs. In order to use Library, there have to be ways of talking about the collection that bring some semblance of order to what is by nature a totally chaotic entity – it is in its use that Library develops character (this is not an insignificant or unnoticed trait – consider how many writers of science fiction and/or fantasy have used Library to fuel or clarify ideas of chaos, probability, function, impossibility, eternity, and the like.).

How I learned that Reference Librarians are humans beyond all human reckoning was in watching them navigate their way through the reference collection or Google or city archives not by knowing what exact information would be on what pages (it is too dull to imagine what would happen in that case) but where the information is most likely to be found. Because materials had been collected, organized and listed according to a largely arbitrary but consistent system, it was possible to narrow the search field to some reasonably approachable size.

It is notable that the other major skill of Reference Librarians is in being asked questions and finding the way to answer those questions. If you ever get the chance to witness one of these interactions (as in, if you live in a place where the library’s Reference Desk has not been ‘blown up’ (no really, that is the phrase folks use (it’s not just me, right? That’s just tacky and thoughtless.))) I recommend taking notes.

The digression serves a purpose. In order to use Library effectively, it is necessary to know that all the items in the collection(s) are bound together in some way that eases search and recovery. Series titles are one of the simplest connective tissues I can think of outside of an author’s name. Specific subjects that reflect those series titles and fully searchable records are more time-consuming to build, but desirable.

The catalog at the public library here lacks these things. I learned today that it’s only been in place since April. Learning curves with technology spread out over an entire city’s worth of libraries during a time with the Central Library is closed for major renovation tend to take exponentially longer even than outside estimates. I gotta say, though, I miss ratings and reviews and fully searchable MARC records, and I miss being able to search by type of item (book, large print, DVD, audio book, etc.).

Relationships with libraries have become important to me as they relate to my interactions with the city or town that I’m in. The scattered feeling of looking at this catalog creates a relationship that is only partly there. It cannot be whole, because there is no way to see the whole or even the beginnings of the shape of the whole, much less enough connections to discern where the whole shape diverges into something other and more mysterious. The words that I use seem very fluid and metaphorical and they are that way for very specific reasons – Library is no fixed entity; catalogs are in motion and dispute; no one agrees on what Library is anyway.

My wanderings here must begin where they always begin – with the books. The books that speak of libraries and St. Louis, and even one that speaks of St. Louis libraries from 1927-1952 (definitely suggested reading). I let the shelves lead me and while I am frequently disappointed at the lack of options presented, I know the difference between a dead end and an infrequently used path.

Were I a different person, I might take this personally enough that Something would be Said or Done, or at least a Very Strongly Worded Letter would be in order. I would mail it to the local ice cream vendors and hair salons, knowing that their customer base would appreciate the total emptiness of the action.

When I’m co-boss of my own shared library, I’m totally suggesting we use LibraryThing or something very like it to catalog and search our library, although not for the checking in and out and sending to the bindery and stuff. That’s just crazy talk. Although, since my big focus seems to be classics and periodicals and pretty things, I wonder. Hm. I think this will require more concrete thought.

This evening is for tango music and lentil soup.

Be well, darlings.