Article issues

Both weekends were spent at work to write on the article on the local libary in my hometown. By chance I came across a newspaper article from 1950 where a bookmobile service was reported to have started in that area. There was a photo from my town where six girls asked the librarian for adventure books. The librarian was also interviewed. It was a great addition to my article but it presents a big problem. The current bookmobile librarian told me this service started in 1972. This is also stated in the literature about the main county library. There is a gap of 22 years here. Most likely, the service in 1950 was discontinued shortly afterwards, but I can't find any information about that. This is typical of research - when you find more clues on the subject, it inevitably yields more questions.

At work I have given more guided tours of our catalogs. I had two desk duties and one storage round. The past week we also had quite a few meetings. We have started to have informal meetings every Monday morning, which is a good idea. The technicians hosted a national conference on the database system we use but I couldn't attend because of other tasks.

Movie

Last Thursday evening I actually went to see a movie. It was a documentary about a comedy duo, Hasse & Tage. They made several movies and revues together. The archive material from the productions is at my library. The people making this movie had been here to photograph some of it. The library name was also mentioned twice in the credits. It was a movie worth seeing.

Saturday I went on a fleamarket round in Malmö. I visited six stores, one of which was new to me. Got a fair amount of books for the library. Also groceries.

The week at work was hectic. I have almost caught up with the piles on my desk. I got a genealogy request from a library visitor, which was relatively easy to do. I have also started to do more catalog tours. I invited all my colleagues to this tour of the small but useful printed catalogs placed in the library. I have done that four times this week. Also had to go to the storage yesterday to remove a few meters of books. I am in the process of changing the call numbers on these books and will move them to the main library instead. There is high circulation numbers on those titles and it will be easier for everyone if they are closer at hand.

Back to work

Last week was mostly about research, flea markets and making preparations for work again. Friday morning, however, I drove north to Hässleholm. I met my mother and her boyfriend there, we visited an elderly lady who had invited us for lunch. A very tasty lunch, I must say; chicken casserole with cauliflower. After this I drove to the cemetery to plant some heather at the family graves. Then on to the summerhouse for the weekend.

Saturday I went to Färlöv to attend an event hosted by the local historical society there. Some people I know gave a speech about a book they are writing. I went through the archive material the historical society had brought. I also added to this material, giving them the bibliographies I had compiled and a few other things. Sunday I washed my car. We invited some relatives for afternoon coffee and waffles. After this I returned to my place. (My mother and her boyfriend have returned to Borås for the winter now).

Monday was the first day at work in a long time. During my absence the name of my department had changed. Two other departments also have new names. I will probably never learn to say the correct thing. There was a pile of books to attend to, and also several requests and e-mails to review. Tuesday I got desk duty and managed to remember most of the passwords needed. One of the recent employees wanted to learn more about this desk duty so I had an assistant for part of the day. Wednesday I still tried to catch up with the piles. I could tell people had noticed my presence because my phone rang quite a lot. In the afternoon I drove to the storage to search for missing books. At the archive center (where the storage is) I also attended a lecture by one of the people giving a speech this Saturday. This time the topic was different. She talked about three generations of women who were all baptists and how to find them in archive material. It was an interesting lecture.

Spa

The past week was rather relaxing. The biggest effort was undertaken Monday when I went to the Archive Center to do research. The staff wondered about my presence, they thought I was on duty, so I had to explain that I was on vacation. The research result was not that great but I got some more details about both current and old cases.

Tuesday morning I took the train north to Båstad, on the northwest coast of Skåne. I was there picked up by my mother and her boyfriend, who had driven across Skåne from the east side. After some driving we ended up (more or less by chance) at the right place - a spa in Torekov. It was really a great place. There were small pools both indoors and outdoors with 38 degree water, a cold pool, two different saunas and a room with a nice view of the ocean, where you could sit and just relax. In the afternoon we all got massage also. Lunch, afternoon coffee and cake plus snacks and fruit were all included. After this incredible day we drove down to my place. My mother and her boyfriend returned to the summerhouse the next morning, along the south and east coast.

The rest of the week nothing much happened. I did some chores, went for groceries and looked through some research cases. Today is Culture Night in Lund and the library will participate with exhibits, lectures and a stand-up comedy event (featuring one professional, one librarian and one technician).

More shopping

Over the weekend we hosted a visit from some relatives. We usually meet them once a year. This time we met up at a flea market. We all made some small purchases. I got books for the library. Afterwards we had lunch at a restaurant and then apple pie at the summerhouse. Sunday we went to a harvest market and got some local produce.

Monday I returned to my place. It took the entire day, since I made several stops on the way. I visited two libraries, my cousin's clothing store (bought a few pieces), a charity shop, a mall and an outlet store. It took about nine hours to get home. Back home I have mostly done chores like washing, planting new flowers (heather) in the balcony box, moved the summerclothes and cleared out some items for charity. My fridge was quite empty so I had to get groceries also. Wednesday I went to work to do more research. This time I couldn't hide, I was cornered by a colleague asking for advice on a big project. The weather is colder now; quite a lot of rain and high winds.

Research and shopping

Thursday last week I returned to the summerhouse via Tomelilla, a town in southern Skåne. There is a large outlet store, where I made some minor purchases. The next day I went to the County Archive in Kristianstad. I had asked to see the minutes from the library organization in my hometown, Norra Strö. There was a fair amount of material for being such a small place. I will use this for a book about the local library, which existed 1855-1985. I am in the process of gathering material for this. I have talked to librarians and relatives and have gathered quite a lot of documentation already.

This past Saturday it was time for the second cemetery tour this year with me as a guide. We spent almost two hours walking around, talking about the locals buried there. We also covered other related topics, like inscription images, people's professions and the amount of moss and lichen on many stones (and how to get rid of it). After the tour my father invited me to his place for lunch and I spent the rest of the day with him and his girlfriend. She served moose meatballs, yet another great meal.

Sunday some friends came to visit. They brought a nice gift for me; two books on emigration. Monday I was at the city library to ask about the history of the book mobile and a few other things. Very early Wednesday morning I drove to work again to make copies of material I had borrowed. Yesterday I went by train to Copenhagen. The main purpose was to go shopping and I did. I got five pieces of garment and a pair of sandals. I also visited the Royal Library to ask for an article in a Danish newspaper from 1955. It was very easy to get, since it's scanned (however not available outside the library).

Today I'm visiting at work again and this time I got a few work-related questions. This afternoon I will return to the summerhouse.

First week of freedom

The week at the summerhouse was very nice. I was there alone until this Friday evening, when my mother, sister and her family came. The week contained lots of different activities: several fleamarkets, farm shops and outlet stores, hiking in a national park, cookie buffet at a well-known café, large icecreams in Åhus and general touristing. I also did some research, including visits to two different libraries and the Historical Society Museum Archive (twice). I also visited some relatives to ask for newspaper clippings and old photos.

This Saturday my mother and I went on a trip to town for some errands and groceries. The photo viewing in the evening (showing recent images from travels my sister and family have done) was very entertaining. Sunday the rest left again and my mother and I drove to a garden show, which was quite nice with sales of local produce. Very early Monday morning I drove to work because I had to copy the clippings and photos I had borrowed. It has taken two days to get that sorted out. Some of my colleagues have wondered about my presence but no one has asked any questions. I will go back to the summerhouse again shortly.