may your learning curves be vertical

today was another very full day. Not only have I not set foot on Bahamanian soil, but I was barely outside today at all. I'm hoping tomorrow. There was lots of library activity this morning & again more helpful volunteers. Everyone, it seems, wants to volunteer in the library. And then faculty/staff started boarding & the library got VERY busy with questions. 2 days ago, I knew nothing. Today, I know more than everybody else here! Which is still not very much, but definitely more than everybody else knows. I was giving directions around the ship (though, at least once, they turned out to be the wrong directions!) and sharing all my wealth of library & shipboard knowledge ...

then we had a big faculty/staff meeting where everyone was introduced. It was lovely to finally put faces with all the names of people I have emailed over the last three months. Everybody is incredibly friendly & meets with a hug more often than a handshake. Found that odd at first, but I'm getting used to it. I don't know any of these people, but I do. It's definitely weird. Leigh Grossman spoke at the introductory meeting from UVA. She was amazing -- I'm really liking her. Leigh is the Vice Provost for International Affairs & a doctor of pediatric infectious diseases (she had weighed in on my Yellow Fever vaccination debate last month as well). She said when her children are struggling with something, she tells them that their learning curve is vertical. Hang in, be ok, it's just that right now your learning curve is vertical. Leigh is sailing with us to Puerto Rico and then I’ll be the only UVA representation aboard. Most everyone else left today.

Then we had a reception & dinner & then a faculty meeting. And now I’m blogging. And then there’s a “social hour” in the faculty/staff lounge. And then sleep, maybe?

Tomorrow, the morning is packed with orientation programming but Sherri & I are hoping to see some of the Bahamas later in the day. Friday & Saturday, we are anchored during the day, so if we get off the ship we can’t get back on until the ship comes back into dock. Since faculty are trying to get organized and the library is hopping, that’s not going to work for us.

Scary & exciting & overwhelming & exhausting & exhilarating all at once … trying to take it all in … Leigh ended today with: “… Godspeed … and … may your learning curves be vertical ...” Yesterday, I was feeling pretty darn vertical, but today the library is much better prepared & watching the faculty and staff board, I’m feeling now much less so. Wondrous & amazing how that works.

Some pictures coming this morning into the Bahamas:









the Bahamanian ensign (though not our ship):

at sea!

i am at sea ... wahoo!
we left about 8:00 tonight & we are definitely moving with some speed. I can feel the motion sitting here typing. We stood outside and watched the pilot jump off the ship and watched Florida drift away ...

exhaustion

Erika & I worked VERY hard today. (Chris, too, but don't tell anybody. Chris' job was shelf-reading because books were very out-of-order after the interim session voyages. Chris also uncovered many classification errors & location errors in the collection! I told him to email fixvirgo ...) Erika & I unpacked boxes & sorted & labeled new orders & reserves & textbooks & donations, etc., etc. We also had the assistance of Jo, one of the ISE staff, who has just finished library school and was interested in helping out. She was great. She helped shelve all the materials used during the interim voyages (Seminar at Sea & the reunion voyage).

The library system upgrade did not go so well today -- surprise, surprise -- but I got to spend some time in the ship's IT room which was kinda cool. We're connected to the server & that is all good, but the ship's server needs to talk to the vendor's server in order to validate the software & that's failing due to firewall issues. So, the crew is working on fixing that. We're hoping things on that front will be better tomorrow.

The ducking-under-the-bar-to-get-behind-the-circulation-desk-thing, while not entirely enjoyable, is much less difficult than I had thought it would be. Happy news there!

Yesterday's missing boxes arrived today (heavily searched, it seems, more so than the others). But, very happy news nonetheless also.

We had a good meeting (yes, meetings on the ship too), with ISE and UVA information technology staff and UVA administration and that was very productive.

All in all, a very full day.

Our last task today was to move all the sorted books to the floor so they won't fall off the tables when we sail tonight. Below are a few library photos & you'll see stacks of books on the floor. We leave Fort Lauderdale tonight & arrive in Nassau tomorrow, when Sherri will board. There are also lots of orientation goings-on tomorrow too, which I could definitely stand for at this point!





maps, maps, & more maps:



circ desk/bar:



signage is everywhere (as well as the UVA honor notice), this particular one is hanging at the end of the stacks:

on ship

Erika (our fall voyage librarian) & Chris (her partner & also a UVA librarian) & I are sitting on the pool deck. Kind of astounding. We got here pretty easily, good travel karma. Arrived in Charlotte a little late so there was a little flight-connection worry, but all turned out just fine -- both people & luggage. Got some food, Erika gave us a tour of the ship. And now we're just sitting here in the Florida warmth taking it all in. I tried to take some photos of the ship down at the port but security officers prevented me. No photos allowed. I'll put up some photos as soon I can. Erika says no one will care in Nassau. We thought we were to sail tonight, but actually we're here in Fort Lauderdale until tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'll start to figure out the library. We're missing a few of the boxes we sent, but since we're here until tomorrow night, I'm trying not to obsess about that yet ...

Several people commented that if we couldn't both embark & disembark in the United States (students board in Nassau & we disembark in San Diego), this must not be a U.S. ship. The ship sails under the Bahamian flag & it was built in Greece. 'Tis your trivia tip of the day.

words of wisdom

I'm mostly packed & my house is mostly clean & I feel mostly under control. My flight is 9:30 tomorrow morning to Fort Lauderdale.

some words of advice:

Annette says: don't miss the boat.
Paul says: don't fall in.
Toni says: eat everything, even if it's looking at you.

some words of astonishment:

Pat says: This has got to be one of the most exciting things I've ever heard of.

and some words of friendship:

Jane says: I hope you stay well and see everything in the world before you ... sea, sky, and new places and people ... Old Sea Captains wrote logs ... new Sea Librarians write blogs ...
Tim says: You are truly the coolest....I will be watching...
Ann says: I'm starting the count-down for your trip, but when I am rational I realize it won't be any different because we talk by e-mail anyway. How odd is the world??
Mrs. D. says: Bon Voyage Ma Cher and seize every precious moment and hug it to your heart.

I promise to do my best ... next post from the ship ...

goodbye to me

today is my last day of work & my staff threw an amazing party for me.

This is Annette (left), who will be interim Department Head while I am away (there was a grass skirt which is difficult to get the full effect of here), and Ewa (right), whose daughter -- Kamila -- has promised to send me Girl Scout Cookies at sea!



This is the most amazing cake ever -- the MV Explorer!



Other staff & party photos:







And this is the first & very last photo of me that will be on this blog!



Annette also provided a great selection of travel quotes:

There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it.
-- Charles Dudley Warner

They change their climate, not their soul, who rush across the sea.
--Horace

If you look like your passport picture you're too ill to travel.
--Will Kommen

Most travel is best of all in the anticipation or the remembering; the reality has more to do with losing your luggage.
--Regina Nadelson

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
--Mark Twain

Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.
--Miriam Beard

Being in a ship is like being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned.
-- Samuel Johnson

When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.
-- Susan Heller

Thanx to my staff for being so incredibly supportive & for throwing me the greatest party ever.

sherri's blog

Sherri Barnes will be my librarian-in-crime this voyage. She is the Humanities Collection Coordinator at UC Santa Barbara. We serve together on the ACRL Women’s Studies Section & so we know each other a little.

Read her blog @ http://sojournerlibrarian.blogspot.com/
(or linked at left)

Sherri is well known for her project: Black American Feminisms: A Multidisciplinary Bibliography, so check that out as well @ http://www.library.ucsb.edu/subjects/blackfeminism/

And, if you are interested in the ACRL Women’s Studies Section, we'll happily take the opportunity to plug that also @ http://www.libr.org/wss/

grandma lock

Deb's mother died last week. Mrs. Lock was always very good to Ilisa & me, always remembering us for birthdays and such. When I lived in Spain, she wrote me extensively. It was always a little surprising & odd & lovely & entertaining -- all at the same time -- to get mail from her. When she used nicknames, rather than given names, she would put them in quotes: Your Dad and "Debbie" came out to Indiana … "Patty" and Mark took Zane to see the Christmas lights ... I never really figured that out. As I've been planning for this voyage, I've been thinking a lot about living in Spain and all the traveling I did in Europe that year. No one, of course, writes actual letters anymore -- not that letter-writing is convenient when you are at sea -- but I do hope that you will email me. And may those emails be surprising & odd & lovely & entertaining, all at the very same time. Much love to "Debbie" and "Patty," to "Skip" and to "Rick".

gotvoice?

Here's something to know about: http://www.gotvoice.com/

You can get your voicemail messages delivered to your email account. For free. It saves them as .mp3 files. You can download them, set them to shuffle on your iPod, have them forever or forward them to other people. Or just receive them as email if, like me, you'll be in places with no cell phone access but where you will have email.

The Internet is an amazing & wondrous thing ...

Thanks much to Mary & Kelly (fall 2006 voyage) for this tip!

for shipboard & maritime operations

UVA Library has been acquiring new digital content right & left. On my to-do list before I leave has been downloading records & getting a handle of what's where to pass on to Janis. One of those databases is Referex Engineering from Elsevier, where I happened upon this title:

Seamanship techniques : for shipboard & maritime operations / D.J. House. (2004)

Contents: The ship -- Anchor work (fundamentals) -- Ropework -- Wirework and rigging -- Lifting gear -- Cargo and hatchwork -- Boatwork and life saving appliances -- Survival craft and practice -- Communications -- Watchkeeping duties -- Marine instruments monitoring and measurement -- Meteorology -- Preventing collisions at sea -- Emergencies -- Fire-fighting -- Search and rescue operations -- Ship-handling - equipment -- Ship-handling - manoeuvring and mooring operations -- Tanker operations -- The application of MARPOL and the prevention of pollution.

Looks like I've got some reading to do ...

missing ALA

Let me start by saying that I’m VERY excited about going to sea. I can’t wait. But, I’m also sad to be missing ALA Midwinter. Folks here are getting read to leave for Seattle. I love the ALA energy and this is the first conference I’ve missed in several years. Here are some of the things I would be doing in Seattle this weekend if I were going:

• ALCTS Forum: The Future of Cataloging and Basic Values
• The Next Evolution in OPAC's and Search Engines (MARS Hot Topics)
• Managed Discussion of Issues Related to Metadata Creation and Management (Networked Resources and Metadata Interest Group)
• MARC21: Going Strong, or So Long? (MARC Formats Interest Group)
• How Catalogers and System Developers Work Creatively with Metadata (Cataloging Norms Discussion Group)
• Training for Implementation of the New CONSER Standard Record (Continuing Resources Cataloging Committee)
  
• Whither Women's Studies?: Feminism, (Inter)Disciplinarity, and the Future (ACRLWomen’s Studies Section)
• Resource Description and Access (RDA) Update Forum & the Committee on Cataloging: Description & Access (CC:DA)
• Name Authority and Name Disambiguation Challenges (Cataloging & Classification Research Discussion Group)
• The Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS): Bringing Vocabularies to the Web (LITA Standards Interest Group)
• MARBI: RDA/ONIX Framework for Resource Categories; RDA/MARC report; Recording the linking ISSN (ISSN-L)
• Evaluation of Libraries External Operations for Sharing Bibliographic Records & An Operational Model for Metadata Management (Catalog Management Discussion Group)
• OCLC Connexion Users Group & OCLC eSerials Holdings
• ALA Metadata Get-Together

Of course, all the good sessions always conflict with each other anyway …

And then there would have been seeing Bob, who I miss a lot & who could have shown me all around Seattle, which I’ve never been to before.

And what has turned into a lovely biannual tradition: dinner with Evelyn (my Director at SJU), Elliot (President & Director of the Free Library of Philadelphia), and Lisa (Deputy College Librarian and Information Literacy Librarian at Franklin & Marshall).

And running into lots of other colleagues, Pennsylvania-folks, former-UVA-folks, visits with Geac & ex-Geac friends, Lester, Bill, Jackie, Mel, Phil, Allison (Phil & Allison must have a baby now? pregnant as she was at Annual in New Orleans in June).

I hope you all have fun in Seattle without me.

planning

I’ve learned a number of interesting things along the way that thought I’d share in case you ever need to know:

• You can die from the Yellow Fever vaccine. The vaccine is a live virus & you should absolutely get it if you absolutely need it, but you should absolutely not get it if you don’t absolutely need it. (I got it.)
  
  
• You shouldn’t get pregnant in any malaria-infested areas.
  
  
• The typhoid vaccine is available in pill-form. Who knew you could get vaccines as pills?
  
  
• University Human Resources can get you a “vacation override” for prescriptions if you need more than 90 days. The UHR healthcare ombudspeople are GREAT. Something you very well might need to know some day.
  
  
• The UVA Travel Clinic folks are also great. UVA has a travel clinic that can answer all your burning questions & give you all your vaccines. Make your appointment well in advance. They are only open Tuesday afternoons.
  
  
• We have some very helpful people at UVA.
  
  
• Safaris are very expensive and very hard to choose among.
  
  
• Melarone (for malaria) is very expensive. But it doesn’t make you delirious or give you nightmares or cause yeast infections, like other options. I’m willing to pay.
  
  
• Visas are very expensive.
  
  
• Getting many prescriptions for more than 90-days all at one time is very expensive.
  
  
• The UVA travel clinic is very expensive.
  
  
• Just when you decide to take advantage of a wonderful, fabulous opportunity, cool things happen at work while you are away: Google-planning, faceted-browsing research, Deanna Marcum & Lorcan Dempsey both get scheduled to come to UVA. Oh well. Not that I’m complaining. I guess there has to be a downside.
  
  
• Blogging is very fun. And deciding on templates & colors & layouts is absurdly addictive. Especially when you are moderately obsessive-compulsive about such things to begin with.
  
  
• It’s not easy to improve the Internet access on the ship. It’s not just about throwing more money at the problem (although money certainly would help some). Different satellites are different. Cruise ships can take advantage of an individual satellite’s technology because they are going round & round in a single area of the world, often interacting with only a single satellite. But, our ship is going round the whole world, so it’s basically lowest common denominator amongst all the technology. (Z39.50, anyone? … libraries know all about lowest common denominator …)
  
  
• The University offers employees (for free) Medex Plus, “a comprehensive program providing you with 24/7 emergency medical assistance -- including emergency evacuation and repatriation -- and other travel assistance services when you are 100 or more miles away from home.” Medex -- in case you need to know -- does not cover expenses arising from: “mountaineering or rock climbing necessitating the use of guides or ropes, spelunking, skydiving, parachuting, ballooning, hang gliding, deep sea diving utilizing hard helmet with air hose attachment, racing of any kind other than on foot, bungee jumping, operating a vehicle when not properly licensed, or participating in professional sports unless otherwise agreed to in writing.” Good thing I read the fine print.
  
  
• If you spill a full glass of water on your laptop, it’s not a lost cause. Take out the battery and the hard drive and turn it upside down to let the water drain out. I am proof. I am typing …

frequently asked questions

How long is the voyage?

100 days + orientation/training:
January 29th – I board with the Administrative Team in Ft. Lauderdale
January 31st – Faculty/Staff board in Nassau
February 4th – Students board in Nassau & we set sail
May 14th – Ship returns to San Diego
May 15th – I return to C-Ville

How many people are on the boat?

About 750. That number includes students, faculty and staff, “life-long learners” (adult passengers/continuing ed.), and officers & crew.

Is it called a boat?

Nope, it’s a ship and we’re going on a voyage, not a cruise.

Where’s Mauritius?

Southwest of India – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritius. It’s an island.

Is the library really in the casino/bar?

Yup.



(Photo courtesy of Barbie, our summer voyage librarian & the first one of us to go)

Do you really have to crawl under the bar to get behind the circulation desk?

Yup.



(that’s Barbie)
Although some librarians have reported jumping over the bar instead.

Why don’t they just fix the bar to make a passageway or install a hinge-thing?

Because the Institute for Shipboard Education, who runs the program, doesn’t own the ship. They don’t like making alterations to the ship.

Is there a laundromat?

No, laundry is not self-serve. There is a service that you pay for. $5/bag.

How about housekeeping?

Yes, there is housekeeping, it’s like a hotel.

What’s the weather where you are going?

According to http://worldclimate.org average temperatures are:

nassau, bahamas ..... february ..... 69
san juan, puerto rico ..... february ..... 82
salvador, brazil ..... february ..... 79.5
cape town, south africa ..... march ..... 68
port louis, mauritius ..... march ..... 84
chennai, india ..... march ..... 91
penang, malaysia ..... april ..... 81
ho chi min city, vietnam ..... april ..... 83
hong kong ..... april ..... 71
beijing, china ..... april ..... 56
qindao, china ..... april ..... 50.9
kobe, japan ..... april ..... 58.1
honolulu, hawaii ..... may ..... 77

The ship is described as cold & dry.

Who’s taking care of your animals?

I have a great dog/cat/housesitter (Ashley) who my animals love & who has stayed with them many times before. I will, however, miss them very very much.

Who’s going to do your job?

One of my staff will become interim department head (Annette) and she will be fabulous & wonderful.

What does your staff think?

My staff (and my boss!) have been amazing & supportive and several of them also hope to go on this adventure. I very much hope they will also have the opportunity.

Do you really get your normal UVA salary?

Yes.

How did you get picked?

I responded to a call for volunteers. Quickly.

How much time do you spend in port?

Roughly 5-6 days in each location, though Hawaii for example, is just one day. About 55% of the trip is spent at sea & 45% in port.

How long does it take to cross the ocean?

Salvador, Brazil to Cape Town, South Africa is 9 days.
Kobe, Japan to Honolulu, Hawaii is 8 days.

Do you get seasick?

No, I'm usually ok. I went to Alaska a couple of years ago on a cruise & I was fine. And I've been on a number of other boats from time to time. They say sea-sickness is hard to avoid when the waters are rough, though, so we'll find out!

Do you have a roommate?

No, faculty & staff don’t have roommates (unless families are traveling together). Otherwise, only students have roommates.

Are you the only librarian?

No, the fall & spring voyages have an assistant librarian. Sherri Barnes is the assistant this voyage. She is the Humanities Collection Coordinator at UC Santa Barbara. Sherri & I serve together on the ACRL Women’s Studies Section & so we know each other a little. She is known for her project: Black American Feminisms: A Multidisciplinary Bibliography @ http://www.library.ucsb.edu/subjects/blackfeminism/ I’m looking forward to working with her! We’ll additionally have 5 or 6 workstudy students.

How many volumes does the library have?

About 9,000.

What’s in the collection?

The collection is largely an eclectic mix of titles requested over the years for course reserves. The classes taught aren’t necessarily the same from voyage to voyage. There are also ready-reference materials, travel guides, DVDs (both recreational & documentaries), and maps. UVA will focus on collection development as the voyages proceed. We are also providing access to the entire suite of electronic resources available through the UVA Library.

What are the working hours?

The library is open 0800-2300 all the days that the ship is at sea and is closed when the ship is at port. On previous voyages, one librarian has often worked 0800-1600 & the other 1600-2300, though there are also other models. Sherri & I haven’t figured that out yet. (You’ll notice I’m practicing my 24-hour time …)

How’s the Internet access?

Not good. It’s satellite & has been described as slow-dialup & is often unavailable when the seas are rough or when you are at port & the satellite signal is blocked by a larger ship.

Are you worried about Internet withdrawal?

Yes. Very very very much so. Though I have slow-dialup at my home in rural Virginia, so I’m hoping that’s some preparation … stay tuned …

Are you ready to go?

NO! ... but, I imagine I will be by January 29th. Wish me luck.

happy new year

Today is New Year’s Day and so it seems a good day to start a blog. This is my first official post as I get ready to go to sea. I will be the University of Virginia Librarian for Semester at Sea, spring 2007. I am the third UVA librarian to head off on this voyage.

I first want to thank everyone who helped me think up creative blog names. For those of you who don’t live in the #1 city in the country, you need to know that we go by C-Ville (or CVille or C’Ville, punctuate as you like). Sea-Ville, therefore, seems all too appropriate for a blog name as UVA undertakes this still very-new adventure. Other names in the running included:

Luna Sea (already taken)
Water Log (already taken)
Seas the Day (already taken)
I-sea-a-librarian
LibrarianOverboard
ESS, oh ESS!
Around the world in 100 days
(or, cataloger joke: Around the world in 1XX days)
Sea-also
Sea-reality
SeaQuestered
Finding Stalberg
Sea-span
Fishy Pokey, which even came with a song:

Put your left fin in, take your left fin out
You do the fishy pokey and you turn yourself around that's what it’s all about
Put your right gill in, take your right gill out …

Or, quite amusing, but much too long to type:
LibrarianAtColloadialSuspensionOfSaltMicrofaunaAndFloraAlsoKnownAsSea

Aren’t you glad I chose sea-ville instead?

Anyways, we sail February 4^th. I leave C-Ville on January 29^th.
Bookmark this space!