I am a deeply superficial person. - Andy Warhol

I find it intriguing that the library system in which I work purchased and circulates a book called "Daring to find our names : the search for lesbigay library history" edited by James V. Carmichael, Jr. I would never have imagined that there would be a demand for such an item that it would be created in the first place and subsequently purchased and included in public library collections. Though I sought and found it, so perhaps it isn’t so unusual after all. I am enamored of all things library. “Party Girl” with Parker Posey is one of my all-time favorite movies, essential viewing for all future librarians. And speaking of my future as a librarian . . . where to end up?

Sin City is not a big place for libraries and literacy really. But in my research, the most literate US cities are all cold and rainy places, environments with which I am completely incompatible. The noticeable exception to this rule is Atlanta, GA which, according to Places Ranked and Rated, has well over the national average of libraries. Average for a large city is 27 and Atlanta has over 100! Plus high rankings for art museums, science museums, local music and gay culture – all qualifications high on my list and severely lacking in Sin City. I agree with Warhol’s assessment, “I love Los Angeles. I love Hollywood. They're beautiful. Everybody's plastic, but I love plastic. I want to be plastic”, but I can’t afford to live anywhere in CA.

And speaking of not being able to afford things, the a/c in the house is broken and none of us can afford to fix it. This is terrifically sad, since Jane, Zelda, and I are all degree-holding and employed, yet can hardly afford to feed ourselves, much less finance major repair work. I can gauge the house temperature by the cats and how flat to the ground they are. If they are little furry puddles, it is far too hot. If they are sitting in meatloaf shape and seem relatively animate, we are safe. They still try to cuddle with me at night though, causing a seriously overheated sleeping arrangement.

Lately, I have leaned toward insomnia and instead spend my nights staring into the dark and thinking about library science. Seriously. One of my classes is much like my philosophy undergraduate work and encourages mental unraveling of some of the more intricate ideas presented. The other class is working with government documents but even that isn’t putting me to sleep. I am delighted at the prospect of my MLIS being so close. Then I can put on my helmet and sword and charge out, declaring myself MASTER of INFORMATION to a largely uninterested population. Though my story time kids might enjoy that. Today they were all engaged in our stories, participated in the songs and activities, just generally has the sort of time that makes the job rewarding. They crack up at animal sounds, LOVE to “shake their sillies out”, and go ape for the gluing/cutting/coloring/dot-connecting crafts presented to them. But being in a small room with 53 little ones quickly becomes terrifically unpleasant. I’ll conclude today’s post with a pair of applicable quotes from Dorothy Parker: “I’ve never been a millionaire but I just know I’d be darling at it” and “Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves”.