Life as a working artist. Part 2, Early introduction.

The format of this post title complies (if my memory serves me) with the Anglo-American Cataloging Rules, 2nd revision (aka AACR2) for titles of the individual parts of multipart works, where these titles have both numeric and textual components.

In other words, I have been a cataloguer.

Why the confession/demonstration?  Reviewing Con's list of #blogJune participants against my draft posts, I felt I needed to assert my library chops - because I won't be talking much about current library practice.

For most of my working life I've thought of myself as a librarian, though I don't hold a library degree.

In the 1st caterpillar phase I shelved books at the local public library, learning about order, searching on microfiche and film, caring for serials, profiling and selecting for housebound customers, managing volunteers, most importantly delivering service to a community.  My colleagues were clever, well-educated women with an amazing work ethic and esprit de corps. We had so much fun.

We also worked through the mission that is a green-fields library computer system implementation - from card catalog/circulation to a menu-based amber screen system. 

Then I went to library school and moved on to 10 years of cataloging. Books, yes but also music (sheet & recorded), MBA videos, journals, newspaper articles, exhibition catalogs, jigsaw puzzles, toys, artworks, a rug, a banana and my favourite : packets of chocolate biscuits.

I learned about meticulousness, accuracy with speed, judgement, access, supporting discovery, indexing. My colleagues were clever, well-educated women with an amazing work ethic and esprit de corps. We had so much fun.

[Part 3, Later introduction will follow]