Working Overtime

I know I’ve already Tweeted, and Facebook-ed, and Social Media-ed the video that our team at the Archives put together for a digital exhibition at the Legislative Assembly building - not to mention that my boss beat me to the [blog]punch a few days ago - but I’m really proud of the video and feel the need to shout from the rooftops again. Okay, maybe not shout from the rooftops, since it’s a lot of effort to scale a building and I dodged the radioactive spider, but at least a little explanation of our efforts and achievements are due. 

So the story starts off in late June. The boss had just returned from his vacation in Europe, and we in the Preservation Management Unit and Digital Records Program were steadily working away on a variety of projects. I was waging war against our new OCRing (optical character recognition) software and forcing it to cooperate with our newly digitized microfilmed newspapers (another big project that’s scheduled for launch in November), but when our team was given the opportunity to create a four-year exhibit to commemorate the Great War the boss said yes (we followed suit) - and then started cooking up some wild ideas. 

We’ll find diaries of Sasketonians who lived during the war years, he said.

We’ll scan a whole bunch of never before exhibited materials, he said. 

We’ll research artists, and photos, and make a giant banner (or two), he said.

We’ll get a giant high-definition television, he said.

We’ll make a display of archival material that we can change every year, he said. 

No. We’ll make a MOVIE, he said.

All in four-and-a-half-weeks, he said…

And so we did. Research was conducted: the diaries of soldier-bros were found (seriously, they are brothers), regimental escapades were laughed over, interviews with the 46th Battalion were discovered (otherwise known as the Suicide Battalion), and reams of photos & diaries & scrapbooks were scanned. A voiceover script was written, people were cajoled into reenacting diaries and speeches, a storyboard was constructed, and video segments were parsed together. 

And at the end of it all we wound up with an unsurprisingly fantastic video and accompanying brochure (hello, we’re awesome, and we don’t do things half-assed) that went live on August 4th at the Legislative Assembly Building during the re-commemoration ceremony. Our exhibit will be up for the next four years, with the current instalment lasting until next Spring when it is replaced by a second exhibit of materials which focus on the war during 1915. 

If you’re in Regina you should definitely check it out live (the experience is practically cinematic considering the size of the television that was donated by Radio Centre), and if not you can always check it out on our YouTube channel which I’ve embedded below!

***update: we couldn't upload the HD version of the video until our account was verified, but it's live now so you can revel in the full visual/auditorial brilliance! (It really makes a difference with the newspaper pages, since you can read the smaller type-sets)

The New Age Wonderwoman

She sees the world in Technicolour, no judgement or bias clouding her sight.

Her weapon is the Key of Knowledge, which unlocks the secrets of the ages.

Clothed in language, she is armoured by the almighty word - not of God, but of all who speak, think, and write. 

On her feet lie magical shoes, kin to the silver slippers of Dorothy. Two spins on her toes and she is transported home. 

Her home that she also draws her name from...

She is the Librarian. 

* dress by QED London, shoes "Zingg" by Aldo, vintage key

Hidden Agenda: a Sunday Shoe Story

Beneath the starched shirts and regulation length skirts of this archivist 

lies the heart of a rock n' roll princess. 

shoes by Chinese Laundry, jeans by Silver Jeans

Spaceships in the Sky

In 1965 the first gondola lift in British Columbia was installed on Whistler Mountain, carrying skiers from the Creekside base to the powder-covered hills. For the next 35 years the aluminum-plated capsules would be a staple for destination skiers and locals alike until their replacement with more modern (read – larger) counterparts. The Creekside Gondola Barn may have been demolished and the base remodelled, but the original gondolas did not disappear. Many were purchased by Whistler locals, and now reside in backyards around the Whistler neighbourhoods, and I’m sure that some disappeared to the metal recycling yards, but one was saved by the Whistler Museum and Archives Society.

For many years the Gondola has had a place of honour on the roof of the Museum building – a shining beacon of Whistler’s colourful history if you will – but recently a decision was made to remove the Gondola from its place of honour and bring it indoors. The Museum is slated to construct an exhibit which includes the Gondola to open this Fall, but before the artifact is considered “tourist friendly” – it will be a hands-on exhibit – some restoration work had to be done.

The task of removing the “grime of the ages” from the Gondola fell to the resident archivist, myself, and the other collections summer student. For those of you who think that working an archive or museum is a cakewalk, I’m sorry to disillusion you, but this was filthy dirty work that took a large amount of determination.

You’ve all cleaned cars right? Well, the Gondola is no car. We couldn’t use a powerwasher, or abrasive brushes, or chemical solvents because they don’t qualify under the archival best standards. Fun fact: did you know that a baking soda solution can be used to remove gunk from almost anything? Except aluminum, since it attacks the protective oxide layer that coats raw aluminum. So we went at it with a solution of vinegar and water (bio-friendly cleaning products for the win!), toothbrushes, and brillo pads.

Cut to four days – and much whinging – later, and the Gondola is finished. It may not be in brand-new condition, but it looks infinitely better than it did before. In fact, some might even say it shines!

The Librarian: a Sunday Shoe Story

sling-back wedges by Frankie & Dany

Everyone knows that I collect books, but I'm not sure that most people understand quite how ridiculous my collection is. I've lost track of the official count, but the last time I checked it was over 600. And that was more than 2 years ago. The few people who have been to my house inevitably end up seeing my collection at some point, and get the picture, but I've found that explaining how many copies of certain books I have is often a good substitute for the real deal. Neil Gaiman's Stardust is often my go to example, since I have (almost) legitimate excuses for owning multiple copies. Like the fact that there is a graphic novel and a regular novel version. And then there's the single issues of the graphic novel and the collected version (I still need issue #4, so if anyone sees it let me know!). And one of the novel versions is autographed. But that still leaves 3 "extra" copies. My final excuses are this: one copy is my reading copy (the white spined trade paperback), and one is my shelf copy because it has the cover I like the best (the brown old-book copy), but the final copy has no excuses. I have it just because I'm a collector. It's extremely likely that I'll find more copies throughout my bookhunts and be unable to resist buying them, so don't be too surprised to find that eventually I'll have many more. Some probably not even in English!

And you all thought my shoe collection was out of control. HA!

A Walking Tour of the Shambles: a Sunday Shoe Story

Outfitted in my [no longer quite] white Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars, I give you a walking tour through the Shambles - or in this case, my hometown Kamloops. I didn't have time to go everywhere, but these are the relics of ages past, and note should be taken!

The Royal Inland Hospital, where the momentous occasion of my birth occured
@6:40am on Easter Sunday of '88

Mere blocks away, the house where I grew up
(and where my parents still live)

Our front yard has a whole bunch of young fruit trees.
This one will grow pears in a few months!

Riverside Park, where I spent most of my childhood summers.
Unfortunately they have replaced the awesome pirate ship playground :(

The most important location in Kamloops: the Library!
I still remember when it was housed about 6 blocks West of this location in the old Lotto building, and they closed for a month to move into the fancy new location.
Thankfully they kept the orange carpeted stairs that were such an integral part of storytimes -
And all the books!

Sticks & Stones

When John Galliano was caught on camera saying inappropriate things during a dinner outing in 2011, the public was outraged. Galliano was subsequently fired from his gig running legendary fashion house Christian Dior and it took 2 years for him to begin making a public comeback, so it seems clear that some things just can’t be said. Whether it’s from a sense of libreral guilt, a desire to be politically correct, or an attempt to avoid unnecesary social drama the trend not to say what is on our minds is taking over everything.

It has even become common in the workplace. Many companies have instituted policies which prohibit their employees from speaking about their work – not just on social media, but in every situtation. Even Library and Archives Canada has followed this trend and told their employees to keep mum, which comes as a surprise to many library enthusiasts who are used to hearing about librarys enforcing freedom of information and freedom of speech right alongside.

It’s fine to limit free speech when it comes to derrogatory remarks about race, religion, etc, but when it comes to the workplace what is the benefit? If employees are speaking negatively of their workplaces, shouldn’t that be an indication that there are problems within the organization? If it’s only one person making noise, then maybe they are just a disgruntled employee, but when there is an outcry from a multitude then employers should take stock of whether the complaints have any truth. At least that way the complaints are dealt with rather than being allowed to fester. 

Genre Mixing, or Too Many Options

When we work on Cataloguing at the library, we're often faced with difficult choices. We can't have co-genres, there is no sharing the main entry, and we can't combine subjects except in very specific ways. Now I'm a pretty decisive person (95 points out of 100 on the personality test we did last semester, higher than anyone else in the class), but having to choose single topics for books drives me nuts. I always come to a decision eventually, but there's this little voice inside my head that keeps whinging about how the Anglo-American Cataloguing rules and Library of Congress Subject Headings need to learn to cooperate.

I have the same problem when it comes to clothing patterns. Some people live under the assumption that simple is best, but honestly I find that rather dull. Why shouldn't I wear stripes and polkadots at the same time? Why can't I wear decorative brocaide and leopard in the same outfit? Sometimes patterns just don't go well together, but if you learn to coordinate them properly then the combination can be fabulous. The other day I wore this outfit which contains five - that's right, five - patterns without batting an eye. Sure I got some weird looks, but I just figure that the people who can't handle it just don't have any style!

H&M tunic, Calvin Klein leopard print cardigan, Ardene zebra print earrings, Sirens marbled leggings, thrifted studded waist belt, paint-by-number Converse Project Red Chuck Taylor All Star runners. 

741.5, or My Love Affair with Dewey: a Sunday Shoe Story

Frankie & Dany "New Alva" pumps
& a week's worth of library books

Once upon a time I woke up and realized what I wanted to do with my life: I wanted to be a librarian. At the time I was about 12 years old, so no one really believed me when I started marching around declaring that I had found my one true love.

"You can't fall in love with books!" they said, "You're only 12, you'll change your mind next week."

What no one counted on was how stubborn I was. I sat through the remaining years of elementary, putting an emphasis on reading as much as I possibly could. And then the five years of torture known as high school, where I laughed at math and gym (librarians don't need those besides practical finances) and excelled at English and Social Studies. And then four years of post-graduate studies, where I lost touch with reading "for fun" in lieu of reading for coursework.

Cut to 13 years later: the highlight of my week is still going to the library, I still read about a dozen books every week, and I'm about to graduate with my Masters of Library and Information Studies degree, which will make me a fully-certified librarian.

Now the question becomes: who's going to hire me, so that I can continue my love affair with Dewey?

BTW 741.5 is the Dewey Decimal number for comic books and graphic novels. And now you know!

Digital Safari

Step 1: Discover massive film archive.

Step 2: Fix massive archive database.

Step 3: Quest for lost items, and return to proper housing.

Step 4: Digitize it ALL!

Step 5: Breathe, and repeat song below as necessary.

It's my own fault for taking this volunteer job, but holy crap do they have a massive and unruly collection. It's taken me 3 weeks just to get the collection to be organized and catalogued properly, but now that it is I am off digitizing merrily. So far it's been a breeze, since I've only done the cd-r's and dvds, but this week I start on the film collections. It's a good thing I never let a big quest daunt me before, since this one is pretty massive!