Day 4 - I'm already behind

I cannot believe I've been here four days already. They have been full days of walking, working on my class, and more walking. 

Tuesday I decided to check out my local branch of the Brooklyn Public Library www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/  in Brooklyn Heights. http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/locations/brooklyn-heights  There was a reference department on the ground floor which had business materials and periodicals. Lots of local newspapers and phone books. The second floor contained reading rooms filled with fiction and non-fiction. I explored the local history section 974.x and found a great book on the Other Islands in NYC.

The AC was off and all the windows were open. The circulating collection was definitely cooking away.

While I will use the collection, I cannot get a card because I have no permanent address in Brooklyn. What a disappointment. At least I can read the local paper, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle http://www.brooklyneagle.com/, which has been publishing since 1841. 

After a few hours with fans blowing in my ears, I headed out to explore the neighborhood some more and admired the beautiful incised designs on the side of the building. 

Once I determine where my father lived in Brooklyn when he was growing up, I'll dig into their reference collection. In the next week or so, I'll get over to Grand Army Plaza where the main branch is located. From what I understand, the Brooklyn Museum is also in the vicinity. Sounds like an entire day adventure, starting with the bus.

First Impressions

I arrived in Brooklyn on Sunday and immediately set off to explore this historic neighborhood. Settled in the 1600s, this area was British when New Amsterdam became New-York in 1664. There is an amazing mix of colonial buildings, eighteenth and nineteenth century dwellings and brownstones, and some modern twentieth century structures, block square apartment buildings and even a few skyscrapers.

This morning, Tuesday, I decided to find the water. Just two blocks away is the “Promenade” that overlooks lower Manhattan Island, providing a view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  (Imagine the skyline without the bicycles.) 

Here's a link to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade http://nyharborparks.org/visit/brhe.html

 The Promenade curves along the westernmost shore of Long Island and skirts 6 pocket parks that were once part of “Fort Sterling” according to the extensive plaque. Just image living in a brownstone where you see the water, the ships, and the NYC skyline while you eat breakfast or write on the computer. It would be much too distracting for me to be productive, but I guess the view could become passé after a while. 

Off to explore more of the sights and sounds.

Packing & Re-Packing

It's Thursday already and I have to decide how little to bring with me. How many electronic gadgets, plugs, cords and cables do I need to capture the sights and sounds of cultural institutions on the East Coast. Will I have enough books to read and things to do? Can I live without a car for so many months? Oh yes! I cannot believe that I'll be in a new city on Sunday ready to start an adventure that has no structure, guidelines, or goals. I'm nervous and excited to leave, yet I'll miss my crazy routine. Teaching will keep me anchored and remind me that I'm searching for what the future brings.

What's on my to-do list? First the Met, that's the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is exhibiting Albrecht Dürer http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2012/durer-and-beyond Here's the entry from the Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History  http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/durr/hd_durr.htm   to read more about the artist.

Of course, I'll have to find my local branch of the New York Public Library http://www.nypl.org for books and DVDs. It's been many years since I've explored their collections and historic buildings. Each branch serves its own neighborhood and has unusual collections. The Research Libraries have an exhibit of Automats and Lunch counters. http://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/lunch-hour-nyc-0 What an interesting idea.  

Now all I need to do is figure out how to get my stuff in my suitcase so I can enjoy the sights and sounds of the city.

Half way through the summer

It's mid July and I'm half way through the summer. It's been a crazy summer semester also where I taught three courses and commuted between Kent & Columbus every single week. The two sections of online Foundations is over. There's nothing like being on call 24/7 for 5 straight weeks. Oh my aching fingers.  With two weeks left to go in my Preservation Management course, I finally have time to think about my fall semester.  I'm crazy, I know it, but I'm teaching Rare Book Librarianship online. We'll see how it goes. 

AND, I'll be exploring  east coast libraries, archives, historical societies & museums, historic preservation programs, digital humanities, and whatever else is interesting. Follow me at http://mbkcons.blogspot.com/ This is my 'quasi-sabbatical', a well-deserved, long-over due opportunity for me to explore the world of cultural institutions and decide what I want to do. In the meantime, I'm continuing to teach for Kent State University SLIS in every mode and medium possible. The challenge is always there. 

Books beckon and the sky is blue. Time to be productive and learn something new today.

On to the next adventure

It appears I haven't written in this blog for months. It's January 2012 now and I've finished my dissertation, successfully defended it, and graduated. I'm now looking for full-time employment teaching, particularly face to face and not online. This semester at SLIS I ended up with 3 classes, the most I've ever taught at one time. I'm teaching Genealogy point to point; Foundations for the first time, and online with 36 students and using Kiersten Latham's syllabus; and Rare Books in 10 weeks because Geoff Smith is quite ill. I must say, I'm not having as much fun teaching online as I am the other class. RB doesn't start until early February. I feel as though I'm typing tons and talking to myself. Maybe after I read the discussion posts I'll feel better. It's very disconcerting to not even see the students.

In the meantime, I'm looking for full time teaching work. It's not that I don't like Kent, it's that I want a new adventure. I could, of course, teach for the History Dept, but at 1/2 the pay, so that's not really a viable option. I've applied for 5 jobs. One said no, one short listed me but didn't bring me in for the first round of on campus interviews, one interviewed me via SKYPE and I'm waiting to hear, one closed on Friday, and the last is silent, they may be waiting for ALISE to be over.

I'll wait another week and then see what's going on with the SKYPE site. I'm also going to look at the job boards again. That must be a weekly pursuit now.

To help me stay focused on being productive, I've started a blog about research methods and primary source tools. http://mbkcons.wordpress.com/  I want this to ultimately become a book, so case studies first, then articles, then a book. I also want to go back to the incunabula project and work on that. It might have to wait until May.

I'm taking two seminars this spring, one on the Medieval Book and one on the Medieval Jewish book. both should help with background and more fodder for teaching RB and History of the Book.

I seem to be doing lots of writing, so maybe all will work out. I should do something with my dissertation. I'll have to talk to John about that and begin to redraft the methodology chapter, or the chapter on life in Akron in the Gilded Age. So many projects, so little time.

Back to course prep :)

Feb 18, 2011

IT's been forever since I've written to this blog. I've made so much progress, yet it's all still in my head. I am putting the pieces together about PEW and WC. it seems to be a start and stop process, where I find, then I think and put together, then find again. I'm in the finding stage.

Am working on getting the loose ends tied up as quickly as possible so I can write in ernest.

Back to thinking and searching.

busy and too busy

I'm busy teaching both World Civ I and Rare Books this fall. On top of that, I'm working on finishing (actually revising and re-writing) my first book on Disaster Response. AND working on putting pieces together for my Dissertation. Boy is my plate full. So no news is good news...
Until next time,