A Librarian with a jones for Travel

I've discovered another great thing about a library career -- the opportunity to travel. Now that May graduation is behind us, long summer weekends loom. And there's no better place to begin the summer travel season than than Greer, Arizona!

Greer, in the upper northeast quadrant of the state, lies in Apache Country, in the middle of Arizona's White Mountains. Driving north, the high desert of mid-Arizona quickly gives way to tall pines in 8,000 elevation, approaching ShowLow and Heber, Arizona.

The mountainous drive winds along scenic Highway 260 into 'rim country' -- Arizona's Mogollan Rim -- through the small towns of Strawberry, Pine, and Payson, clean mountain air and piney smells, assailing the senses. No trip through Pine is complete, however, without a stop @ the small antique galleries on Highway 87, or the Herb Shop and the Nifty 50s Diner for breakfast.

Next trip? perhaps that long-awaited look into Navajo land @ Monument Valley.

Have 6 months Really Passed in LibraryLand?

It has indeed been that long -- guess time really does fly when you're having fun. We spent most of the months of September and October teaching information literacy classes in Room 123 -- the new Instruction lab. This room has 40 computers and is very popular with faculty. Where else can they get their students all in one room and working on software programs all together? The other buildings on campus have computers here and there -- 10 in one lab or perhaps 20 in another.

This month is Aviation History Month so we created a display (see photo) with a timeline of aviation history and included some old model planes we have in our collection as well as some rare pilot books. Perfect for an aviation university such as ours.

This new Hazy Library has an additional 40 computers upstairs in the Information Commons -- the place to see and be seen! It gets so busy up here that the computer stations are soon filled, and students spill over downstairs to the Instruction Room computers or borrow a laptop.

We are now working on completing an application/proposal to enter the John Dana Cotton Awards sponsored by ALA -- an award for outstanding marketing and advertising programs in libraries. We're pulling together the information to submit our application detailing all the work we did for Opening Day @ the Hazy Library in March, 2008. Wish us luck! If we win, then Suzie may go to Washington D.C. for the award ceremonies -- RAH!!!!

Small Library Winter

A single inch of snow was all it took to shut down the university this morning.

Even as Facilities plowed the roads around campus and lay down cinders, some people declined to come to work citing poor driving conditions. One librarian even told of sliding down her driveway in the car with all the ice and snow. Another told of gliding down snow-covered hills on the way to work. Those of us who made it to work have the promise of 'flex-time' for being here even though the university was officially 'closed' this morning.

According to the old-timers in Prescott, this small mountain town in northern Arizona used to have lots of snow in its pre-global warming days. Winter today is now relegated to the occasional dusting that causes students to run outside and try their hand at lobbing snowballs. And, now, half a day later, the snow is nearly gone except for the occasional patch lying in a cool northern exposure up against a tall pine tree. Flurries in the air and a promise of more ...