Minions

Several years ago on the AUTOCAT email list, someone posted the comment: Catalogers don't have OCD. They have CDO. That's like OCD, but it's in alphabetical order.

As a cataloger, I thought that was pretty funny - and pretty accurate.

Fortunately for me, there are several library staff members of MassCat libraries that also have CDO. They regularly send emails asking me to upgrade bib records, or merge bib records, or correct bib records in other ways.

I'm so appreciative of these people - my minions - for their help.

Cleaning up the MassCat catalog is a massive job, one that will never be completed. But it is a little bit cleaner and more accurate because others also care about it.

Thank you, minions.

Where Have I Been the Last Six Months?

Taking a break from posting on this blog. I just haven't been motivated, though I am today.

Reading a lot. Mostly mysteries, of course, but many other books, too.

Cleaning up the MassCat catalog. I merged duplicates of Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel yesterday.

Leading the Senior Exercise class in Hatfield. There are 20-25 people who participate every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, though only 6 showed up yesterday, the day after Christmas. Maybe there was too much holiday cheer going on.

Visiting Italy for 2 weeks in September. Italy is a pretty big place to see in two weeks. M wanted to visit some artist/woodworkers and also see some archaeological sites. After doing a lot of research, he settled on the Tuscany area. We landed in Florence and immediately went looking for a phone store so that we could get Italian sim cards for our cheapie cell phone and the iPad. The airport is tiny and when we rented the car (4 passenger Smart Car) were directed to the local mall.

We stayed in some lovely B&Bs. One was Villa Barbetti in Sienna. Another was Podere Fonternaccia in Colle di val d'Elsa. I highly recommend both. We met some wonderful people, ate good food (though the best food was in people's homes rather than restaurants), and soaked up the ambience of the old, walled cities. Driving is difficult. Italian drivers are aggressive. The walled cities were not made for cars. They have narrow, steep, cobblestone streets. Many people in Italy use mopeds or other 2 wheeled vehicles. Once we parked the car, we walked a lot.

The weather was hot and sunny the entire time. After we returned home, I was told the weather in western Mass was wet and chilly.

We have no more trips to Europe planned, but may go to Cuba in February. By February, I'll be more than ready for hot and sunny.