The Unclassifiable Library Remix

Friday, March 09, 2007

Special Projects

Our students and faculty are on Spring Break this week. I am trying to get work done on my special projects, since only during break times am I able to go 10 minutes without an interruption.

Usually, though I attempt to plan my time and schedule things that need to be done so they aren't forgotten, I never seem to be able to do it all simply because Access Services - and public services in general - make that virtually impossible to accomplish.

I always get a kick out of those non-public-services types who believe all library staff can plan their day's activities and stick to a schedule. Don't I wish? Unfortunately, patrons are not as predictable as materials.

In addition to the usual tasks you would find in Access Services, administrivia, and the scholarly work I need to complete as a tenure track faculty member, I have to squeeze in between interruptions my work on special projects. Right now my big circulation project is a complete automated inventory of the collection - the first automated inventory and the first inventory in a decade for my institution. I'm busy in interlibrary loan too implementing document delivery, Odyssey, and getting ready for the ILLiad 7.2 upgrade. Not to mention I have two publications in process that I need to complete by the end of the month.

So I finally get some uninterrupted time to work on my projects...and wouldn't you know it? I get sick and miss three days. Murphy's law at work.

One day I'll get the hang of how to balance all of these different hats. Maybe cloning myself would be easier!

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