The Multi-Tasking Librarian

For those of you who don’t know me I have two master’s degrees. One, of course is my M.L.I.S. The other is in History. I feel compelled to mention this because it is an important factor to my library philosophy and to this post. I began working on my History MA before I went to Library School. My focus was Modern European History, but more specifically I focused on 19^th Century French Antisemitism. I began my graduate education pursuing what was called the “Thesis Track.” I soon realized that if I stayed on that track that It would take me years (I would probably still be procrastinating) to finish. So, I switched to the “Exam Track.”

This, I believed, was a good move because not only would I finish grad school sooner but the change would also give me more breadth in knowledge thus making me more marketable. After I graduated I learned that my decision was a good one because the community colleges I applied to wanted me to be able to teach any of the history classes they offered.

This was a great learning experience for me because it led me to take a broad approach during my library school studies. Many told me that this was a mistake and that I should specialize as that was what potential library employers were looking for. Nevertheless I stuck with the approach I began with and was able to secure a position as a reference librarian.  

The broad approach I took paid off and I find myself utilizing a wide variety of skills in my daily routine.  As time went by I began noticing that multi-tasking was the norm.  The lines between librarian, library assistant, circulation assistant, and “shelver” became blurred. In addition to my wide range of “librarian duties,” I often work at the circulation and audio-visual desk and shelve books.

What is multi-tasking in the library world? For librarians it means having the ability to perform any task in the library. We check out books, collect fines, clear printer jams, address patron complaints, answer directional questions, plan programs, supervise and train volunteers, trouble shoot computer problems,  and the list goes on and on and on.

The point is that in today’s library climate, with ever shrinking budgets (California Governor plans to zero out the state library budget: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/02/funding/brown-proposes-zero-state-funding-for-california-public-libraries-for-second-year-in-a-row/ ) and doing more with less, it is vital that librarians, indeed all library workers, be good at multi-tasking. It is critical, however, for library administrators to carefully consider which tasks should consume library workers’ time.  Service should be the priority. Programming should be reassessed with emphasis on children’s and young adult programs. Obviously, what works for one library may not work for another. This is why it is important to be in tune with your community’s needs and wants. A successful library is one that involves the community it serves.

So, how is your library multi-tasking?

The Post-PC Era @ Your Library

Sarah Perez at TECHCRUNCH has an interesting article about the Post-PC Era (”When Will the Post-PC Era Arrive? It Just Did” http://tinyurl.com/7y8bkr2) .  She argues that current trends suggest that the Post-PC Era has indeed arrived as evidence by two important benchmarks. Perez notes that “smartphone shipments outpaced PCs for the first time ever, and Apple became the world’s largest PC maker” (this number includes iPads). It looks like consumers are shifting away from desk top and laptop PCs to smaller more portable computing solutions.

This will most definitely change how libraries provide technology to their patrons. Librarians should be attuned to this as it will be a crucial factor in library planning. So, will libraries replace desktop computers with iPads or other portable devices? (3M has a portable eReader option for libraries that subscribe to its new eBook platform). How will your library adapt?

Ebooks and Privacy

There has been a lot of talk lately about Amazon, Overdrive, and privacy issues.  When I first heard that Overdrive was adding Amazon I thought "good now it won't matter which device patrons own, they will all have equal access." (Obviously this was wrong. I'm not even going to go into the various Overdrive catalogs out there).

The central issue is Amazon's policy of collecting information from Overdrive users. This shakes the many librarians to their very core. I mean we're all about freedom of information and being free from undue influence in the things we choose to read. About a week ago I checked out a book using a Kindle. No problem; it was easy to complete the process. I started reading it not worrying about the due date (which is one of the best things about checking out library eBooks). Then I got the message "Your public library book will expire in 3 days. If you ~purchase~ [emphasis added] Battlefields of the Civil War [A Guide for Travelers Volume I] from the Kindle Store or borrow it again from your local library, all of your notes and highlights will be preserved." Having my notes saved is a cool feature, but what really burned my pipes was the sales pitch. I liken this practice to the answering the doorbell  on a Saturday morning by some zealous salesman.

Is this something that we can all unite under and get it changed? Is it even worth trying? Is this another side effect of living in a capitalist society? What’s a librarian to do!

New Post Coming Soon!

Wow! I have really neglected....no scratch that...I have really abandoned my blog. While I hate making New Years resolutions I will venture to resolve to blog (at least weekly) about various public library issues during the coming year. Heck, I might even through in some book reviews to spite myself!

Tales from the Vault #2

Marie Beale & Decatur House
This edition of Tales brings us to one of the most interesting of Kern County’s pioneer families. We have all heard of the remarkable stories about General Edward Fitzgerald Beale, Mexican/American War Hero, and friend of Kit Carson, gold smuggler, Indian Agent, and land holder. We have also heard as many stories about his son Truxtun Beale. The focus of this tale is on Marie Beale, Truxtun’s wife who was just as intriguing as her husband and her father-in-law.

Born about 1881, Marie Oge married Truxtun Beale on April 23, 1903. The only witnesses present were Marie’s mother and Truxtun’s sister. Soon after the wedding they set sail for Europe aboard the S.S. Kaiser Wilhelm II built in Stettin, Germany.[1] The Wilhelm II was seized April 6, 1917 by the United States Government after it entered the Great War. Some notable passengers on the same voyage were Fremont Older, the San Francisco reporter who exposed the corruption of Abe Ruef, and newspaper millionaire William Randolph Hearst.

Although Marie Beale married into one of America’s preeminent families, she too, came from a family with its own claims to historical fame. Philander Chase (December 14, 1775-September 20, 1852), founder of Kenyon College in 1824, was a great grandfather . Philander’s nephew, Salmon P. Chase, was a U.S. Senator, Governor of Ohio, U.S. Treasury Secretary (under Abraham Lincoln), and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

After Marie’s marriage to Truxtun, they moved into the historic Decatur House on Lafayette Square in Washington D.C. The Decatur House, built in 1818, was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe and was home to a variety of historical figures including Henry Clay, Martin Van Buren, and Edward Livingston. Edward F. Beale gained ownership of this magnificent abode in 1872 and soon remodeled it in Victorian Style.[2] Mary Beale (Truxtun’s mother) occupied the house after her husband’s death in 1893. At first, Marie and Truxtun lived part of the time in California (Tejon Ranch) and part of the time in Washington D.C. It seems, however, that her fondest moments were spent at the Decatur House. She shares those memories and its history in her book Decatur House and Its Inhabitants (1954).

Marie was the quintessential Washington socialite as she frequently entertained American Statesmen and foreign diplomats. Hers was one of two places to be in Washington D.C. She notes that "as in its first days, guests now came to only two places in La Fayette Square--the President's Mansion and Decatur House--which somehow symbolized the completion of a long cycle." [3] In 1938, Life magazine paid tribute to Marie Beale in the article "Life Goes to a Party with high Washington Society at Mrs. Truxtun Beale's historic Decatur House." The article included fourteen photographs of notable figures including the Belgian Ambassador, Mrs. Patrick J. Hurley, the Yugoslavian Minister, the German Ambassador, Lady Lindsay, Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers, the Rumanian Minister, and, of course, our esteemed hostess Marie Beale. The article noted that she was "one of Washington's topflight hostesses, has been giving her post-Diplomatic Reception party ever since the War. An affair so exclusive that even guest lists do not appear, it has never before been photographed." [4] The article goes on to note that the reception in question would quite possibly be the last, as she was looking to liquidate the estate.[5] This must of been bad news for those who attended her receptions.

Sadly, Marie Beale died in 1956 while visiting in Zurich, Switzerland. Thanks to her efforts she was able to get Decatur House to become a national shrine. It is managed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Of Decatur House, Marie had this to convey and is worth quoting at length:

Like a prim dowager, Decatur House serenely overlooks the park that grew up in its front yard, preserving unchanged its original simplicity. During more than 130 years of intimate connection with the main stream of American history Decatur House has been the inner sanctum of La Fayette Square. Few houses have witnessed such a panorama of events. Here the dying Decatur suffered out his last hours. Here foreign Ministers represented the power and policies of other nations. Henry Clay struggled here for the Good Neighbor Policy and the Presidency, attaining one but not the other. The "gorgeous hussy" Peggy Eaton quarrelled here with the wife of the Chief of Staff, and the astute Van Buren moved on to the White House and subsequent defeat. In this house the jurist Livingston had averted the first secession threat by South Carolina. The gaudy Gadsby lived here, the unimpeachable Dallas, and the benevolent Appleton. Two leaders of the Confederate cause, Cobb and Benjamin, walked these floors as they reached the most momentous decision of their lives, and renounced their country. After the interim of the Civil War years, a General and a President, Ulysses S. Grant, came here for friendship and counsel from General Beale, himself one of the architects of the American West, a "pioneer in the path of empire." Through the tumultuous period that followed, Truxtun Beale preserved the historic role of Decatur House in the life of Washington. Residents of Decatur House have occupied the Presidency and Vice Presidency; they have been Cabinet members, military leaders, Congressmen; they have been foreign diplomats and American envoys to other nations; the roster includes Confederate Statesmen, a jurist and an inn-keeper. By all of them Decatur House was valued, and perhaps beloved.[6]

This story and many others are waiting to be told. If you want to learn more about Marie Beale and the distinguished Beale Family, the Local History Room has many sources at your disposal. The original Marie Beale Papers are kept safe in the vault, however, there are copies to be found in the Vertical Files; just ask the librarian for access. There are also numerous files and books concerning the Beale family, all of which can be found in the Local History Room.

Come on down to the Jack Maguire Local History Room; you never know what you will discover!

--Chris Livingston


[1]The Bulletin, April 23, 1903.
[2]Decatur House on Lafayette Square, http://www.decaturhouse.org/people/ebeale.htm
[3] Marie Beale, Decatur House and Its Inhabitants, (Washington D.C.: National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1954), 136.
[4] Life Goes to a Party," Life, January 3, 1938, p.58.
[5] ibid.
[6] Beale, 134.