Dutch books

The week at work contained some events worth mentioning. We were visited by a Dutch researcher who asked for all the books we have printed in the Netherlands pre-1800. It turned out to be about 130 books (and I didn't have to retrieve any of them, thankfully). These books will be described in the Dutch national catalog. The researcher gave a speech where he described the project. He had been in several other countries to ask for Dutch books and he was going to spend three months here to go to other libraries also.

Wednesday we had the annual social club meeting. We managed to finish the actual meeting in 15 minutes. A new record. We exchanged four of the board members but I'm still the chairwoman. We invited one of the old (93!) university headmasters to give a speech. He talked about what it was like to be a student at this university during the 1940s. His studies were interrupted by the war a few times. It was very interesting to hear. He brought his wife along, as she had worked at our library in the 1950s and 1960s. She talked about the old times when you addressed the professors by full title. Also very interesting. Both of them continued to talk at the dinner table afterwards. It was one of the most successful annual meetings ever, and many people (including the two elderly visitors) expressed gratitude.

This past week I have visited two malls and accumulated some flowers. The flowers are now decorating both my apartment and the box on the balcony. It's rather cold here, about 6-8 centigrades and sometimes rain/snowstorms. It might be a little early to put flowers outside but we'll see if they survive.