:::In the Reading Room, Part 2:::

Also, make sure that you photocopy every page of the chapter you were sent to copy. Otherwise, you may find yourself all the way back at your office, standing over the scanner bed in the copier room wondering where on earth page 91 is.

(smack)

Thankfully, thankfully, my book was still on the trolley when I made it back over here, instead of lost somewhere in the no man's land between the reading room and the stacks. Thank goodness for small miracles.

And now I'm going to go photocopy page 91, then check and make sure that I have every. single. page. that I need. Then I'm going home. Ear-lay.

Library Assistant, out.

:::In the Reading Room:::

I don't have many 'insider' tips for living in DC, but today I'm going to give you some suggestions regarding our nation's finest research institute -- The Library of Congress.

First off, you have to get a library card. This is done in the Madison Building, which is the ugliest of all the three LOC buildings. I hear that they can sometimes do it at Jefferson, but it's best to just go to the Madison. You need government ID, and for some reason I have a memory of sitting at a computer and taking a test? That can't be right. I might be mixing up memories here.

Now, most people who have to do research at LOC probably want to go to the Main Reading Room in the Jefferson Building. Admittedly, it is gorgeous, stunning, breathtaking and marvelous. It's everything that you'd want an old library to be.

But, BUT...you can't take any bags, purses, or backpacks in with you. Yep. Everything has to be checked at the researcher's cloakroom, leaving you with anything you can carry in your arms and/or fit into the tiny, clear plastic bag that they'll provide for you. Sounds fun, right? Not so much, especially if you have one of those laptop things (which has to be taken out of it's case/sleeve) that all the kids carry around with them these days. Or a cell phone (turn that bad boy on silent), any books and papers you need, plus pens, notebooks, lotion, chapstick, etc., etc. I think that stinks.

Luckily, across the street at the Adam's Building you're allowed to bring in one bag, so no unloading and awkward carrying.

Buuuut, here's the rub -- If you're at the Adams and the resource you're looking for is housed in the Jefferson, they're going to send you back across the street, and vice versa. Asking for a book from a collection in another building adds at least 45 minutes onto the standard 45 minute wait time (you don't get your own books). They don't like it when you do that. You will be strongly, strongly encouraged to go where you belong.

Another tip -- bring a flash drive to download things. If you need to make copies, bring twenty dollars in one dollar bills, a debit card, a credit card, some euros, and a couple strands of wampum. Just make sure you have enough money because no one is going to spot you anything.

And, don't be a menace. Librarians have looooooooooooong memories. You will need extra assistance some day, like I did on Monday when I had the library at the business reference desk helping me find a page in the Congressional Record from 1968. Not here subject, but she helped me anyhow.

Did you know that there is free wireless here? That's how I'm writing this blog. I'm inside the Library of Congress! Fun place.

Aaannd they just brought me my book. Intracranial Aneurysms and Subarachnoid Hemorrhage. Bo-ring. I'm glad I'm only here to make copies.

:::adult behavior:::

in between the more exciting things that happened to me last week, i went to my first professional conference as a full-blown adult. watch out world.

{during my cab ride in the wee smalls}

the annual conference of the special libraries association was in dc this year at the brand new convention center near chinatown. though the decor was standard conference center bland, the gigantic scale of everything made me feel like i was an ant inside the astrodome.

these are only four of the 8 or 16 (i forgot) escalators that you see as soon as you walk in the front door. the place is huge, with additional conference space across the street that is connected by an overhead walkway.

since my class was on the saturday (ovah-time!) before things officially kicked off, there weren't many sessions being offered, and because of that, we weren't taking up much space. the endocrine society was having their annual meeting as well -- endo09. so clever, those endocrinologists are.

i saw a huge banner for one of our clients, and a program schedule with a picture of someone that i recognized right away as current fda commissioner margaret hamburg. i felt jazzed that i knew who she was, but it was also one of those moments when you realize how adult-ish you've become. why do i know this stuff? why, why, why?

the class, in general, was mostly over my head and not what i expected. however, it was an eye opener. though we aren't really employing any practices that require these techniques in our library, maybe we should be. actually, we probably should be, but things are pretty low-tech in my library, and, well...who knows. i walk in darkness most of the time.

at lunch time i learned that a box lunch was part of our registration fee. hurrah! i loved box lunches, i really do. they're like little noontime care packages. i took the soda because it was there, even though i don't like soda. i regretted it the entire time i was drinking my way through the can. waste not want not. poor choices, the inebility to stop myself, regrets -- that pretty much explains my eating habits.

after eating i took some time to wander around the facilities. though the decor in general was fairly sterile, there were some very interesting art pieces hung throughout the convention center. as far as i could tell, most of them were on the subject of minority groups, which i thought was a nice nod to the long time residents of dc and the neighborhood the convention center is in.

as far as i can tell, however, there isn't a large native population here, so maybe the art work was about america's minority groups and not just dc's. either way, this was my absolute favorite piece in the whole center.

since the plaquard with the artist's name and information was completely worn out, i couldn't get more information about this piece. it's either depicting the current location of native tribes, the original location of native tribes, or the location of current reservations. i really wish i knew more about this piece. i showed a picture of it to my mom, and she thinks the idea is that the map has been faded out with tears. oh, my native people. can you see eastern cherokee? those are my people.

after lunch it was back to work for more lessons and exercises that were far beyond my comprehension. this was my favorite slide of all because it's almost completely indecernable to me at this point. i'm not entirely sure what a filing indicator is, but i promise that i'll NEVER USE ONE!

we finally finished right on the nose at 5 pm, and i swiftly left the conference center and hopped in another cab to go home. all in all, it was a very informative and revealing day with the added benefits of meeting new people, exchanging business cards, and a free conference tote. the whole day was worth it just for the conference tote. swag. i'm a sucker for it.