Last week the Geology library gave us about 70 boxes with journals. It took most of the day to load, unload, shelve and fold the cardboard. Lucky for me I didn't have to do any of it. I still had to be present at the storage to unlock doors and give advice. I engaged in shelving of our ordinary collection instead (it was much needed).
There isn't much going on here now. The weekend was slow. I did pick up the princess cake the local grocery store gave me for my birthday. It's already consumed. Yes, it was very tasty.
Monday I changed the tires on my car. Meaning I went to a tire business and they did it for me. There was never any real need for winter tires this season but it's mandatory so we have to comply. The weather is very sunny and warm right now.
At the library we are decreasing the service more and more. Starting yesterday we closed off all the reading rooms and facilities. It is now only possible to pick up reserved books and hand in returns. Nothing else. The collections the users can order from have been limited very much. Needless to say, our users are really angry. This time of year many students are writing papers and require a lot of printed materials. I have avoided the information desk and have stayed in the stacks. I don't want to have to defend a decision I am very much against. This will have long term effects on the student's academic results, and also their economy. If they can't hand in their papers they will not graduate.
At work many people are working from home. We use a communication service called Teams. I found myself to be included in three different groups on Teams. In the beginning I didn't look at it. It took quite a while before I understood that the absent colleagues send messages to me from home. They are searching for errors in the database. There are thousands, for various reasons. For instance, we have moved books to storage but the catalog post indicates the book is still in the main building.
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Big birthday
The library management had decided to shorten the opening hours to two hours starting next Monday but the staff objected to this. Especially my department. I sent three emails with arguments against it and they listened. We still have a lot of visitors. It's not going to be possible to keep the appropriate distance if all of them have to come those two hours. In general, I don't think we should give up so soon. If there is staff enough to man the information desk we should stay open. My department will be the last to call it quits, I'm sure of it.
There are a few of my colleagues who probably have had the corona virus. It's difficult to tell because they don't get tested unless they are hospitalized, and they weren't. Other than this, I don't know anyone who has been affected. My parents are isolating themselves in their homes. My sister has reduced working hours, like many others. I'm lucky to have a secure employment (universities are government funded).
The first Sunday in April was my big birthday. I turned 50. This was actually celebrated, despite the situation in society. I invited my closest colleagues for brunch at my place. My father and his girlfriend also dared to come. We were only nine people but it was a fun party. I was given flowers and chocolate, and some cards contained promises of dinners and events to take place later when it's safe to do so.
The Easter weekend was spent at the summerhouse, where my mother and her boyfriend are in isolation. They have engaged in a lot of garden work to keep busy. The hygiene standards are high these days, so we kept a distance between us and we ate outside on the deck mostly. We didn't use the same towels and washed our hands often. My mother and I did a project, we made an Easter bunny out of fabric and yarn. I took the opportunity to wash my car, since I don't have access to a water hose at my place. My mother also gave me a haircut. The last day I went grocery shopping for them, so they will be ok for at least two weeks.
There are a few of my colleagues who probably have had the corona virus. It's difficult to tell because they don't get tested unless they are hospitalized, and they weren't. Other than this, I don't know anyone who has been affected. My parents are isolating themselves in their homes. My sister has reduced working hours, like many others. I'm lucky to have a secure employment (universities are government funded).
The first Sunday in April was my big birthday. I turned 50. This was actually celebrated, despite the situation in society. I invited my closest colleagues for brunch at my place. My father and his girlfriend also dared to come. We were only nine people but it was a fun party. I was given flowers and chocolate, and some cards contained promises of dinners and events to take place later when it's safe to do so.
The Easter weekend was spent at the summerhouse, where my mother and her boyfriend are in isolation. They have engaged in a lot of garden work to keep busy. The hygiene standards are high these days, so we kept a distance between us and we ate outside on the deck mostly. We didn't use the same towels and washed our hands often. My mother and I did a project, we made an Easter bunny out of fabric and yarn. I took the opportunity to wash my car, since I don't have access to a water hose at my place. My mother also gave me a haircut. The last day I went grocery shopping for them, so they will be ok for at least two weeks.
Friday, April 3, 2020
Research finds
The library is still open limited hours, and weekdays only. We have been told to call in sick if we have the slightest of colds or soar throats. Still nothing like that for me so I work almost like normal. The past few weeks I have had desk duty a lot and this will probably continue. We still have visitors, particularly for the special collections reading room. Many people whose jobs have closed down are now engaging in personal projects. We have many visitors who are studying old magazines, newspapers and archive material right now. The number of requests is down but we are certainly not idle.
The past two weekends I have done some spring cleaning. I cleaned the interiors of my car, moved items to the attic storage and got recycled items to the bins. I have also done some cooking, filing of documents and dusting. Last weekend I helped clearing out items to charity at a friend's place.
The research is continuing, of course. One of my colleagues talked about her grandfather, whose mother left him and moved to Denmark in 1911. I have done some research in Danish records but not that much. I looked for information and found quite a lot. It turns out that this woman died in 1970, without ever having contacted her family back in Sweden. Remarkable.
In my own research I have found the Helsdingen ancestors. They seem to have led interesting lives. They were Dutch from the beginning but they lived in South Africa. They were a part of a Dutch community living right at the Cape of Good Hope. One member of this family lived in Copenhagen and sailed for the Danish East India Company. His father and several siblings worked for the Dutch East India Company. My ancestor died on one of the voyages to Asia. It said in an old newspaper that he died 1827 in Bengal, present-day Bangladesh. This is just amazing. I have never known about this before, the only thing I knew was the surname, that's it.
Today there was a small celebration at work for my upcoming birthday. My colleagues gave me a large bouquet of flowers and then asked for my account number. I wondered about this but they had decided to give me money, suggesting I should use it on a subscription for a genealogy database. My colleagues know me quite well, it seems.
The past two weekends I have done some spring cleaning. I cleaned the interiors of my car, moved items to the attic storage and got recycled items to the bins. I have also done some cooking, filing of documents and dusting. Last weekend I helped clearing out items to charity at a friend's place.
The research is continuing, of course. One of my colleagues talked about her grandfather, whose mother left him and moved to Denmark in 1911. I have done some research in Danish records but not that much. I looked for information and found quite a lot. It turns out that this woman died in 1970, without ever having contacted her family back in Sweden. Remarkable.
In my own research I have found the Helsdingen ancestors. They seem to have led interesting lives. They were Dutch from the beginning but they lived in South Africa. They were a part of a Dutch community living right at the Cape of Good Hope. One member of this family lived in Copenhagen and sailed for the Danish East India Company. His father and several siblings worked for the Dutch East India Company. My ancestor died on one of the voyages to Asia. It said in an old newspaper that he died 1827 in Bengal, present-day Bangladesh. This is just amazing. I have never known about this before, the only thing I knew was the surname, that's it.
Today there was a small celebration at work for my upcoming birthday. My colleagues gave me a large bouquet of flowers and then asked for my account number. I wondered about this but they had decided to give me money, suggesting I should use it on a subscription for a genealogy database. My colleagues know me quite well, it seems.
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