There will be madness

March has arrived. Evaluation season is in full swing. In addition to getting my own evaluation materials in order, I'm preparing to be on the other side of the process. There are plenty of resources and people to ask to make sure the process goes smoothly. I can also see how it can be a rewarding experience. To think I've only been here five months.

Although I haven't done any work or conference related travel since Midwinter (shocker!), I've kept myself busy. On a personal note, I received an offer on my house and will be closing on the 14th. This makes me very happy, but my new housing search has been challenging. I'm happy to report I have found a place to live closer to my new job. I'll sign the lease and move next week. It's been a tight window since my realtor advised me to wait until we had a final commitment letter from the buyer. Thankfully it came through on Friday, a week earlier than anticipated. Fingers crossed I pull off the shortest move of my life.

After spring break (next week) and the students return, I'll be back on the road. Conferences and meetings await. Thank goodness for a move to break up the monotony!

Breakfast with Peter

I had a wonderful breakfast with the fabulous Peter Hepburn at the Omni Hotel Pittsburgh. He was in town for the ASIST conference. I'm glad he was tweeting from the conference, otherwise I might have missed the fact that he was here. Ironically, I was in Chicago when the conference started, but returned to Pittsburgh before he left.

I made sure not to disappoint in the footwear department and wore a great pair of boots. We caught up on all things library: tenure and promotion, my new job, and ALA. It was a refreshing conversation. I always find talking to colleagues at peer institutions fascinating. I'm looking forward to working with Peter on ALA Council since he'll be representing the GLBTRT for the next three years.

Of course, no post related to Peter would be complete without a photo of food.

Head Librarian

On September 20, I started a new position as Head Librarian at Penn State Greater Allegheny. The University Libraries completed a national search and I was the successful candidate. In a way it has been interesting to refresh my knowledge of the job search experience. I am very happy after the telephone interview and two full days of in-person interviews to be in this new role.

As the Head Librarian, I am responsible for all library operations and services. This includes staffing, budget, reference, instruction, and collection development. My staff includes an awesome reference librarian, one full-time staff member, three part-time staff, and several work-study students. Greater Allegheny is an exciting campus for me to head a department, and it's an exciting place to rethink library services and the idea of 21st century librarianship.

The most immediate excitement is having cake in my honor. Yes, it is as good as it looks. In fact, it might be even better.

Library Bar

I was invited to attend Pitt's ALA Student Chapter networking night. It was an evening of "library themed food, fun, and networking" held appropriate at the Library Bar. It was a lot of fun. I did not get to meet everyone, but I stayed for the entire event. It was even more fun to have someone I'd never met before, upon learning my name, be thrilled to meet me because of my roles in NMRT and ALA.

I wonder if I'll win something from their raffle.