Last week at work was incredibly busy. Since the new database system LUBcat started Tuesday we got lots to do. We had a huge backlog. The system seems to be functioning relatively well. Unfortunately it didn't tell us if a book we returned in the system was requested or not. We discovered this rather quickly but the next day we still had to return a few hundred books one more time. All the returns were finally done by this Monday. That's also when we had the official launch party, with a speech and cutting of a ribbon. Also some snacks and drinks.
I think my presence at the information desk has never been in such demand ever before as this past week. My phone kept ringing constantly. Since I was on the education team for this database people thought I knew everything about it. This was perhaps not entirely true... Many things are new; the way you log in, how to register a new patron and how to register a new book. So pretty much everything. The biggest challenges of course show up when you work at the desk. I often found myself standing behind the librarians on duty like a prompter, giving advice and explaining things.
Thursday afternoon I was very tired when I travelled to the summerhouse. My sister and her family were already there. Friday it was Midsummer Eve. There was some dancing around the maypole but not by us. We helped decorate the maypole, however. This holiday is also about food. The herring tasted very well. We could sit outside and eat but had to go inside shortly afterwards when the rain came. Saturday my father and his girlfriend came to visit to play with the kids. We engaged in a lawn game called kubb, where you throw sticks at blocks to knock them over. It's actually quite fun. Since the winds have changed the ocean water was cold. The only one who jumped into the 11 degree water was my niece.
This summer it's the soccer world championship and because of this my mother's boyfriend got a new big TV for the summerhouse. Sweden qualified this time and so far they have won one match and lost one.
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
New database system
Last week we had a wake for our departed database called Lovisa. We had a small gathering at a pub, where the old ones (me and a few others) told tales of Lovisa's introduction almost 20 years ago.
One of the more memorable library visitors recently was the American man who asked for information about his grandfather. The grandfather was an American who had been involved in some committees relating to the Lutheran Church and had visited Sweden in the 1940s. I was able to find the minutes from the meetings he had taken part in and also two newspaper articles where his name and photo were included. We even found five letters he had written to Swedish religious leaders. The grandson was ecstatic about the finds and thanked me excessively.
Last week I held one more education session for some colleagues that still hadn't seen the new system. It was a very positive atmosphere and we all thought it will be better and easier to use for the staff.
Our new database system, called LUBcat, started today. I was invited to an improvised launch party in the technicians' office. There are of course problems already. For some reason we can't print anything from the website... At least not the things we want. Luckily, we didn't have that many patrons today. We have, however, about ten carts with books that need to be returned in this database but we can't do that right now because of the printing issues.
Over the weekend I visited the summerhouse again. The temperature is lower, around 20 degrees and the wind has changed so the ocean water is colder. Still, I jumped in once. We went to two fleamarket stores and surprisingly my mother actually donated much more than she bought this time. I got a book for my library. We are supposed to have all Swedish books but some we have never received because they are published abroad. This particular one had text in Swedish but was printed in Germany. Monday morning I travelled directly from the summerhouse to work. Once again the railway company had a bad day. The train crew apologized several times. The delay was about an hour in total.
One of the more memorable library visitors recently was the American man who asked for information about his grandfather. The grandfather was an American who had been involved in some committees relating to the Lutheran Church and had visited Sweden in the 1940s. I was able to find the minutes from the meetings he had taken part in and also two newspaper articles where his name and photo were included. We even found five letters he had written to Swedish religious leaders. The grandson was ecstatic about the finds and thanked me excessively.
Last week I held one more education session for some colleagues that still hadn't seen the new system. It was a very positive atmosphere and we all thought it will be better and easier to use for the staff.
Our new database system, called LUBcat, started today. I was invited to an improvised launch party in the technicians' office. There are of course problems already. For some reason we can't print anything from the website... At least not the things we want. Luckily, we didn't have that many patrons today. We have, however, about ten carts with books that need to be returned in this database but we can't do that right now because of the printing issues.
Over the weekend I visited the summerhouse again. The temperature is lower, around 20 degrees and the wind has changed so the ocean water is colder. Still, I jumped in once. We went to two fleamarket stores and surprisingly my mother actually donated much more than she bought this time. I got a book for my library. We are supposed to have all Swedish books but some we have never received because they are published abroad. This particular one had text in Swedish but was printed in Germany. Monday morning I travelled directly from the summerhouse to work. Once again the railway company had a bad day. The train crew apologized several times. The delay was about an hour in total.
Monday, June 11, 2018
Weekend at the summerhouse
Saturday a week ago I went to Lund with a colleague to see a minor re-enactment of the Battle at Lund 1676. It was in a park by the Cathedral. The battle included people in armour, old weapons, horses and cannons. It was loud and dusty but rather fascinating. Any other horse would have freaked out but those ones must have been trained to stand such sounds. One of the participants had a cell phone that he used to take photos of the crowd and that looked really out of place.
Monday last week the climate indoors was terrible and so hot that I had to go home after lunch. My brain was not working, it was no use staying. Wednesday it was our National Day. It means that the stores are open in Denmark. This time I took the train north to Helsingborg and then (a very crowded) ferry over to Helsingör (Elsinore). It's a pretty little town with very old houses. I found four second hand stores and one outlet store with plus sizes. I bought a summerdress in the latter. I bumped into a colleague in one store. There were thousands of Swedes in Helsingör that day. I had lunch at a typically Danish family restaurant. Dessert was an incredible chocolate cheesecake. It was a very nice visit to Denmark.
Thursday at noon was a milestone in the history of the library. Our local database system was shut down. We have had the same for about 20 years and it was time to get something else. It will take time before all the data has been migrated into the new system. Most likely we will have a new database next week. Right now we can't do much. We can't register new books or lend books to anyone. In the stacks we are busy shelving, however.
The hot weather means water shortage and most places now have a ban against watering outdoor areas such as gardens and lawns. Last week we had no hot water in my town (still unclear why) and Friday hardly any water came through the shower. That evening I travelled to the summerhouse and spent the weekend there with my mother and her boyfriend. Saturday was the first time this year I jumped into the ocean. It was great! Pretty high waves and acceptable temperature. Of course I got burned by the sun but it was still worth it. We also covered two fleamarkets but spent most of the time relaxing. Very nice.
Monday last week the climate indoors was terrible and so hot that I had to go home after lunch. My brain was not working, it was no use staying. Wednesday it was our National Day. It means that the stores are open in Denmark. This time I took the train north to Helsingborg and then (a very crowded) ferry over to Helsingör (Elsinore). It's a pretty little town with very old houses. I found four second hand stores and one outlet store with plus sizes. I bought a summerdress in the latter. I bumped into a colleague in one store. There were thousands of Swedes in Helsingör that day. I had lunch at a typically Danish family restaurant. Dessert was an incredible chocolate cheesecake. It was a very nice visit to Denmark.
Thursday at noon was a milestone in the history of the library. Our local database system was shut down. We have had the same for about 20 years and it was time to get something else. It will take time before all the data has been migrated into the new system. Most likely we will have a new database next week. Right now we can't do much. We can't register new books or lend books to anyone. In the stacks we are busy shelving, however.
The hot weather means water shortage and most places now have a ban against watering outdoor areas such as gardens and lawns. Last week we had no hot water in my town (still unclear why) and Friday hardly any water came through the shower. That evening I travelled to the summerhouse and spent the weekend there with my mother and her boyfriend. Saturday was the first time this year I jumped into the ocean. It was great! Pretty high waves and acceptable temperature. Of course I got burned by the sun but it was still worth it. We also covered two fleamarkets but spent most of the time relaxing. Very nice.
Friday, June 1, 2018
Hot weather
I haven't had time to write here in a while. This time of year is very tough at the library with lots to do. It's the end of the semester and the students need books for their reports and then they also return large numbers of books to us. This year it has been worse than usual, I think. There are many other things going on also. Both our local catalogue and the national catalogue Libris will be down for upgrading in June. Many of us have been rushing to get things done before the closing. The catalogues will be drastically different when they go live again, so many fear that everything will take longer time then. We are still testing our local database to see if it will cope with such a workload as we expect with full capacity. It's still uncertain. The education sessions have ended. Now I'm involved in the project group that will produce guides and manuals for the staff.
This summer two students will work in the stacks and in preparing for that we needed five bookcases installed. The janitor is so busy we had to get a moving company to do it. There has also been an afternoon with lectures for the staff. The topics were equality and diversity. It was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.
The weather is extreme in every way. The month of May has never been this warm since they started keeping records in the 19th century. The ventilation system at work is not functioning well. It's 28-30 degrees inside my office and the stacks. It's very difficult to do manual labor under these circumstances. The heat is affecting my brain and I have made several mistakes these past two weeks.
This summer two students will work in the stacks and in preparing for that we needed five bookcases installed. The janitor is so busy we had to get a moving company to do it. There has also been an afternoon with lectures for the staff. The topics were equality and diversity. It was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.
The weather is extreme in every way. The month of May has never been this warm since they started keeping records in the 19th century. The ventilation system at work is not functioning well. It's 28-30 degrees inside my office and the stacks. It's very difficult to do manual labor under these circumstances. The heat is affecting my brain and I have made several mistakes these past two weeks.
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