Colleagues

2011 was a year in which I met and maintained professional relationships with many people I am proud to know. Writing about mail last week set me to thinking about what I have learned about making contacts (but more personal than that) with colleagues inside and outside your profession. I think this has become very important for both Jen and myself, and I feel as though we are much better at meeting people and initiating relationships than we once were. So, indulge me as I share five brief thoughts I have after meeting some great people and making new relationships within my profession.

The Power of Mail

The holiday season (which is just about over as of this writing) is quite the time for mail. Holiday cards and letters, thank-you notes, and packages filled with presents. It’s amusing, then, that it appears that the postal service is ending next-day delivery and shuttering many of its locations across the US. Of course, as pointed out recently in The New Yorker, the rise of email and other forms of electronic communication are largely to blame.

Still, receiving a piece of mail is far more exciting than an email or an “@” mention in a tweet. Our many holiday cards on our mantle reminded me of this, and set me to thinking about why “analog” mail is such a joy to receive.

2011 Books in Brief

Remember last year when I posted all about what books I read, when, and what I thought of them? That was really great, wasn’t it? I started 2011 fully intending on doing another series like that, but, well, it didn’t happen. As you know too well by now, Jen and I moved to Arkansas, and we both started new jobs. That said, we certainly did not stop reading. I think overall our reading pace slowed some, but overall, things were about the same. Except for keeping track of the books!

Well, instead of a series of posts about what I read this year, (and lacking a list) allow me to point out some highlights from my reading this year.



And here they are, in reverse order:

• James Turrell: The Wolfsburg Project I love Turrell and the piece he did in Wolfsburg. And, it came with a cool bookmark!



• Baseball : a literary anthology Of course, this was mixed - some pieces were great, and others were not as great. Still, one of the best books I read this year!



• The Island of the Colorblind Jen and I both love the writing of Oliver Sacks. This is one of his older titles, but it’s still great!



• Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865 I finally finished Lincoln’s collected writings, and true to form, this second volume of later writings was much better than his first. It was interesting to see his development as a writer, and how great stress and responsibility improved his writing.



• Print the Legend: Photography and the American West I will freely admit that this is a surprising best book choice for 2011. It ties together almost all of my interests and passions, though - American history, photography, books, and printing. Sandweiss’ writing style is quite readable, but it is certainly a serious study of photography and its impact on our perceptions of what the West is, and the native and non-native cultures within it.

So, there you have it. I apologize for not keeping good track of the books I have read this year, and I have a plan in place to rectify this. Namely, my Goodreads profile.

I have started tracking what I have read, and what is in my reading queue now, and I will give it my best effort to keep it current and updated. If you are on Goodreads, please add me as a friend (as this makes it much more fun for everyone) and if you are not, consider signing up and add me as a friend.

That said, I would love to hear about any books you really enjoyed this year. Have a great 2012!!

Dickson Street Bookshop

It’s a little hard to believe that Jen and I have lived in northwest Arkansas for just under a year. It has been quite a year indeed for us, but more about that in another post. For now, let me share with you one of the places in Fayetteville that we loved, and still love going to: the Dickson Street Bookshop.

Twenty Favorites

One of the benefits of working in an art museum is having an art collection just a few steps away that one can enjoy during the course of the work day, or while visiting as a guest after working hours. Supporting research of the art (both artists, works, and supporting themes) requires a basic working knowledge of the collection. I would argue that this basic working knowledge includes not just facts on a sheet, but spending time with the works in the collection on the walls. I feel strongly that a reproduction is a poor substitute to the actual item, and that this holds especially true for artworks. The nuances of paint and brushstrokes, perspective, and small detail all escape even the best reproduction.

With this in mind, I have spent a reasonable amount of time with the art in the galleries at the museum. I am also hopng that you good readers might come visit some day, and in this hope and with my experience being among these artworks, I want to share with you my favorite 20 items from the collection, in the order in which they appear in the galleries. Some are simply listed, but others have some information taken from the collection catalog.

A Bibliographic Framework for the Digital Age: My Take

At one of my committee meetings at the University of Arkansas this week, I was asked to give a brief overview of the document shared by the Library of Congress, titled A Bibliographic Framework for the Digital Age. I begin this post with my cover note, and then pick up with the thoughts I shared with the committee and want to share with you, reader. If you have any comments about the report, or my opinions about it, I would love to hear from you!

Cataloging Nursery Catalogs

Readers, I have been working on this paper about cataloging nursery catalogs for the past few weeks, and I think I am ready to share it. I would love to hear your feedback! (PS - thanks to Jen and Penny Baker for their help!) The paper is below the jump!