Musings from ALA 12

 I'm in wonderful sunny Anaheim, and while I'm filling my days with meeting people and sessions about leadership and technology, I seem to keep coming across the importance of stories.

I’ve deduced that part of the reason librarians love author talks, is that sometime in most of these talks, in front of audiences full of librarians, they say something like ‘I went to the library when I was 4 or 7 or 13 and we had no money/I had trouble finding friends/I was a kid with a big imagination  who grown ups didn’t understand and the library was there for me with books/ a helpful librarian .

And it’s a fantastic story.  It’s heartwarming. It makes you feel like you’re doing something useful, contributing to the next George RR Martin every time you hand someone a book. But it’s a story from a different age. It’s a story from when books were the main way of conveying stories, after the oral tradition was squashed and before bits and bytes became fast and cheap enough for streaming video.

But books have company now.  Story creators have options. And those options should be at the library, so that the next generation of storytellers can say “I went to the library when I was 4 or 7 or 13,  or 25 or 67and we had no money/I had trouble finding friends/I was a kid with a big imagination  who grown ups didn’t understand / I needed a new skill / I had something inside me that needed it’s own space in the world; and the library was there for me with books, and video editing classes, and open mic nights and computers where I could write code and … and … and… they gave me a way to tell my story.  

We need to give up the idea of being repositories of information, and find ways to cultivate, create, and curate information, stories and ideas.

Enough of the Traveling...On to the Librarian!

Like many librarians, I enjoy reading.
That is a bit of an understatement. Reading is my relaxation, my way of re-centering myself in my world. I'm usually in the middle of a few books. My list of current reading includes:
Voyager by Daina Gabaldon -in it's printed form
Sag Harbor by Colson Whithead-on CD, I listen while I drive
the O'Reilly Drupal book (which I don't totally understand--waiting on our copy of Drupal for Dummies)
Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations by Clay Shirky
and the one I finished today (ok I started it today too, it was that good) This Book is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson.

The best part about This Book is Overdue may be that it was not written by a librarian. So much of the library literature (and blogs, and websites, and journals, and so on and so forth) is written by librarians for librarians. The outsiders view of the profession is refreshing. It helps that the author is fully on the side of librarians, not ready to see us replaced by Google and Yahoo Answers. Some things that surprise the author (and I'm sure will surprise the non-library working reader) include the prevalence of poop in tales librarians tell. Most books about professions that require a Master's Degree don't often include the term "rouge turds". If you are not a librarian, you are likely squirming a bit and rethinking ever touching a book, table, or person that has been in a library. If you are a librarian, you'd likely shake with laughter through that section as I did. Yes, even in libraries, poop happens.

The book addresses a lot of issues that get air time in library land, but perhaps not in the rest of the world. Virtual Reference services in Second Life, the collecting and preserving of ephemera and detailed archives, the institutional knowledge that is lost when librarians retire, and are replaced by digital natives, or not at all.

The Chapter about St. John's M.A. in Global Development and Social Justice was moving and touching. I admit bias, St. John's is my Alma Mater, and of the people highlighted in the chapter, included were the Director of the School of Library and Information Science, who in addition to advising me on academic matters, was the supervisor of my Graduate Assistantship; the woman who had previously held my graduate assistantship, and left me some rather impressive shoes to fill; and the professor whose course convinced me I could, and should, in fact, be a librarian. Their involvement in my life non-withstanding, these brilliant individuals are training groups of people, some who have never seen a computer before, to research and learn in a connected world, so that they can bring to their developing countries a way to investigate, document and fight injustice, and "realize the fullness of human life." This is what librarians can do--they can help to change the world.

I'd recommend this book to librarians of course, as it is always important to see how the outside world views us, even if the praise in the book seems almost too much at points. But more so, I'd recommend it to library lovers. Whether you enjoy walking the stacks to find an interesting read, or knowing there is always someone available to answer your question, even if you haven't been in a library for years, read this book. See what is happening in this world librarians have created, and how this world can help you.

Processing

Tomorrow is the first time we'll give a presentation about our Korean experience. We have the safety net of a powerpoint, (I think...I hope) but I'll be doing one in the future where the familiar routine of 'see picture, talk about picture, next slide' is not an option. For me, and my motormouth that attempts to keep up with my mile-a-minute mind, that means sorting out my thoughts about the trip. And while the day trips, host families, food and cultural experiences we'll talk about at these presentations is one thing, there's also the whole personal experience of the trip that I haven't put in words yet. Particularly the whole getting married, being married for a month, then leaving for a month thing.
I get a lot of questions about that, and my answers usually revolve around the hubby's reaction. He was incredibly supportive of me, through the application process, and everything else that came before me leaving. He encouraged me to go--until I got there, then he encouraged me to come back because he missed me. This is an example of why I married him, he's always considering what's best for me, even when it's not really what he would want. He knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and I wanted to go, so he wanted me to go.
Why I wanted to go is complicated. Of course it was exciting--Korea?!?! for a month!!? and I don't even have to pay for a plane ticket? Where do I sign up? However, there was another force, not as strong as the wanderlust, but sitting the the back of my mind nonetheless. I'd be a married woman when I left, but that didn't have to mean I wasn't that highly independent person who could up and leave her regular life to go traipse around the globe--right? I'd done it before (twice!) and why should this time be any different? I'm still that person, and nothing should change that--not even marriage--right?
Well, yes and no. The part of me that wants to see everywhere is still there, ready to tackle the next big adventure. But since my last two trips, there's a new part of me, the one that decided to connect itself (and all those other parts I've got hanging around) to another person. I missed that little bit of co-dependence we've developed. I wanted to be sharing all of these new, wonderful (and some not-so-wonderful) experiences with him--something not easily done with spotty internet connections and a 13-hour time difference.
It wasn't all bad of course, the separation from the hubby and all the rest of real life allowed me to form deeper connections with my team members, since we were all in the same boat and could only turn to each other. It's not something I'm looking to do again anytime soon, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it to any newlyweds. I don't know that I'd dissuade any newlyweds either. Being away for so long taught me as much about marriage (or my marriage at least) as it did about Korea. It's more that just a sum of it's parts, it's not just the big stuff, or the little day to day stuff, or anything in the middle. There's a person who I want to spend the rest of my life with, and if that means I don't pack up and leave for a month at a time anymore with out taking my person, I think that's a fair trade. I don't think the trip really changed our marriage, just how I see it. It's not something that's going to hold me back (and yes, this is a fear I had even as I was preparing to get married, which may have influenced that whole 'I'm independent, I'm going to Korea' thought loop in my mind), but something I am now prepared to participate in fully, with no 'what-ifs'. I like that.

Photos!

It is really about time...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2267070&id=27611421&l=ccccf9b842

Technical Difficulties

The only problem with recording every thought in one notebook is that when the notebook goes missing, so do the thoughts.
I had two blog posts written out in the notebook, as well as an outline of the presentation we have to create of our travels. I've looked high and low, and even on the airline's online lost and found bin, and my green notebook is nowhere to be found. So we'll have to start from scratch here, and find some original thoughts to finish out my record of this trip.
And once that's all said and done, (written and done?) I get to decide what to do with this blog. Once the traveling part has quieted down, is there enough interest in the Tales of a Librarian who dosen't go very far for me to keep this up? But I get ahead of myself. First we must think our original thoughts...

What's a blog with out some introspective rambling?

We leave our seaside resort today, and while I'm sad to go, I'm excited that we are now at the one week until home point. A month is a very long time to be away from real life, and I am ready for real life again. Though some of the creature comforts I'm used to were available here (I may have been waaaay too excited about the full sized towel in the hotel bathroom), there's still the uncertainty of our daily schedule, and the lack of control of simple things like when you eat or when you can go to bed. I've done my best to go with the flow most of the time, but I can't fully change who I am, and that I like to be more in control than this trip allows me to be.
This whole process has been a learning experience for me, about myself as much as Korea. I've had a chance to step back from my life, and maybe look at it critically for a bit. It turns out I was just as happy with everything as I thought I was, but it's always a good thing to stop and reevaluate.
As busy as these last few weeks have been, I'm looking forward to the different kind of busy that I'll be greeted with at home--the busy I choose everyday. All of the big projects that wait for me (summer reading! battle of the books! teaching summer session! remembering to breathe!) are things that i choose because they make me happy. A few of the things that await me are more necessities than big exciting projects--no one considers fund creating or cleaning the bathroom fun, but at least there's a sense of accomplishment when they are done. One of the negatives of this trip is sometimes it feels like the only thing I'm accomplishing is being on the trip. Though that's not consistently true--I've of course learned about Korean culture, and seen a University library organized by DDC, which boggled my mind, and met some wonderful people who I know will influence me for years to come--there is a nagging feeling that this may not have been the best choice for me right now. Not that it's bad mind you, it's a life changing experience that will stay with me forever. I know that the world is spinning quite nicely for the people I've left, but I can't help thinking I could be doing more there than I am here and now.
By chance (or by a subconscious need for meaning in everything) my reading choices for this trip have all revolved around journeys---physical and emotional. I suppose it's a common enough theme in literature that I shouldn't read too much into it, but it's still interesting to me that I'm so enjoying books that are so closely related to my daily events. Feelings of isolation, of being lost, of miscommunication, they are definitely undercurrents to this process. The books have all had happy endings, with joyous reunions and feelings of being home, and I'm very looking forward to my own happily ever after to this story.
This trip has definitely solidified one thing-my love for my Kindle. The fact that I packed about 40 books, with the intentions of reading 6 or so of them on this trip, and it took up the space of a small paperback is reason enough to love this thing. It is probably the technological invention that is influencing this trip for me most, other than the internet (or lack thereof). I throw it in my purse, and spend long car rides and gaps in the day reading. If I were to do this whole process all over again (and I'm not planning to anytime soon) the only things that would defiantly get packed are the Kindle and my sunglasses. Everything else would require analyzation and some second guessing--even down to the suitcase I packed in. These are the things one learns though. I packed much lighter and more efficiently than I did for my last month long journey, and will likely pack better even for weekend trips now. I did learn that 3 pair of shoes are sufficient for a month-but that will not change the number of shoes I keep in my closet. If I don't have to carry them around every three days, more shoes are certainly better than less. :D

Sunday

Sunday was a 'free day'--so I started in our new house by sleeping in, until almost 11:30!! That was so very needed at that point, it was truly blissful. We had Korean 'brunch', but since breakfast and lunch are traditionally the same foods, it was really just late breakfast.
E and I took a trip back to Art Street with our host mother, to make sure we didn't miss anything on the side of the street we didn't get to walk down the day before. I found some beautiful hand made shot glasses--I'm coming home with an insane amount of ceramics.
We got to sit in a coffee shop for a bit, I had a deliciously strong latte, and tried to remember everything we've done over the past 5 days. There was one whole morning lost to the depths of memory for a bit, but I remembered our trip to the High School before I had to doubt my mind too much.
Lunch was Sushi--with a Korean twist of course. It was nice to have tempura and california rolls and things that seemed more familiar. We walked around a Korean department store, which was very expensive and full of designer brands in tiny sizes. We stopped by Starbucks after the department store--real coffee twice in a day was such a treat. Starbucks in Korea does not have the Venti size listed on the menu, though it was apparently available. The sizes of everything is smaller here, the portion sizes are much more reasonable.
We did some visiting of family with our host mother, and picked up her son from the airport when he returned from a weekend on Jeju Island. (http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/Cheju) He is currently a college student in Canada, and had gone to high school in Canada as well, so spoke wonderful English. It was strange to hear a Korean person saying 'eh' at the end of his sentences though. We had dinner at an Outback Steakhouse, it was nice to have forks and red wine and steak and not share plates with everyone--a western style meal was absolutely wonderful at that point. I even had french fries--with ketchup! That was more exciting than I could have imagined.
Monday's plans went through a series of changes since most of the schedule was places that were closed on Monday. So instead of the museums, we went to a green tea field, drank delicious green tea and ate some green tea candy. In the afternoon, we visited a temple, and had a bit of walking around. We had a Roatary meeting for dinner, and then went to a Korean nightclub, which is very different than night clubs in the states. There's a sea of booths, and a small dance floor in front of a stage. The stage holds a rotating cast of comedians, djs and singers, and we danced and drank for an hour or so before moving houses for the evening. That change was probably the hardest, as we had to arrange to just carry one bag for the night, leaving the rest of our stuff on the bus that was our transportation for these few days. We got in pretty late, and had to acquaint ourselves with a new bathroom and sleeping set up, before collapsing into bed.
We spent Tuesday at Chonnam National University, first in their Robotics department, then walking around the campus. The robotics department does research in biomedical and intelligent robotics, and have been working on things like robots that incorporate bacteria and tiny drills and all kind of things. They even let us poke around in their labs. I got to visit the University's library, and got a bit of a tour. Asking questions that include any kind of jargon is an act in humorous frustration when dealing with an interpreter, since I had to try to explain what I meant in English enough for him to translate to Korean, and even then some things were definitely lost.
We walked through a traditional Korean market after lunch, which was overwhelming. They sell things like meat and fish next to ceramics and housewares, and the smells were strong and sometimes not pleasant. We bought some famous fried chicken from a stall (I tried very hard not to think of the whole chickens--heads and all--merely feet away that were turned into this delicious snack) and had a picnic back at the University. We gave our presentation again, this time to University students who may be considering studying in New York.
We drove for about an hour and a half to our next hosts--who are putting us up in a a beautiful seaside resort. We had a delicious dinner of meats cooked on a grill at the table, before returning to our big comfy rooms. We're out of the city, and the attitudes of the hosts is much more relaxed, fitting the environment. We've had some free time here, and they've left us on our own for a meal or two, after taking care of the bill. The schedules are also more relaxed--the changes are less stressful, and we dont' feel like we're running from one activity to the next. We visited a salt museum, and a shipwreck museum, and were given about 2 pounds of fresh sea salt that is gathered in this area. Today we got to see the workers gathering the salt, which was very cool as well. We also visited a nursery school, and had lunch at a truck stop. This afternoon we spent in a little artist community, and had tea with it's founder in his ceramic studio. Dinner was Korean style sushi, and most of the group is in the 'singing room' while I catch up here. Tomorrow morning we have a late start, before a trip to Mokpo, the large town/small city of this province and then a transfer to another hotel for the district conference this weekend. Our journey is almost over, and I'm very glad to have this period of relaxed activity to reflect a bit on the fact that I'm in Korea...still. Though this last week especially has been rough, on a whole this is a very positive experience, and I'm incredibly lucky to have this opportunity.