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So, life is change. Living is changing. The essence of being. Since I first mounted this page in 1996, I've met challenges and reached goals. Now it's time to set new goals, and new challenges. So what's happened?
First of all, I earned my MLIS in August 1996. Even now, I can hardly believe it. I began the program during a time of intense personal change. I remember my first day after class, walking down to pick up my syllabus. As I looked around, a peace settled over me-- a peace I had not felt in much too long a time. I knew then that I was exactly where I should be.
I wasn't even sure what librarians did, although I had always volunteered in my school's library. Three librarians made a definite impact on my life. The first one, whose name I don't remember, was the librarian at the elementary school I attended in Melbourne Beach, Florida. I was in the fourth grade, and I was trying to find a book about the ballet, Swan Lake. I would be going with my mother and grandmother, and my grandmother asked me read about the ballet before we went. Somehow it developed that the librarian asked if I would like to help in the library. I was thrilled, and began shelving books there.
Mrs. Jeannette Main was the librarian at Sumter High School, Council St. Campus. I labeled books with transfer tape and stylus; typed cards; glued in pockets; checked in serials; and did inventory with shelflists. Giving us these tasks was a sign of her trust in our abilities. She was a wonderful and caring confidante. And she smiled! Mrs. Main had a great smile. The third librarian is also nameless in my memory; she was the reference librarian at the Sumter County Library. She introduced me to the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, and the microfiche reader. That fifteen minutes of bibliographic instruction took me through college.
In June 1996, I was working on the last class for the MLIS. I was also tremendouly panicked. After all this time, all the courses, I still felt I was missing an essential element. How did all this fit together? The class was on subject cataloging. One of the required books was Thomas Mann's Library Research Models: A Guide to Classification, Cataloging, and Computers (ISBN 0-19-509395-X Pbk.). Thomas Mann is a reference librarian at the Library of Congress. Why was I reading a book by a reference librarian in a cataloging class? (Panic is blinding, or as Herbert says in Dune, Fear is the mind killer.) However, as I read on, I grew more and more excited. Mann was giving me the key that I had missed. He tied together all the loose ends. In effect, I was now able to stand back and see the Big Picture. I owe a debt of gratitude to Tom Mann. Thank you!
That August, I joined the ranks of those librarians who had so influenced me, and immediately returned to school to complete work on the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies, which requires an additional 18 hours. I've since completed those hours, and am on to the next challenge: a job in technical services!
Before we go on, though, I'd like to say that the professors at USC's College of Library and Information Science are the best. I was constantly challenged and encouraged; and I will always be in their debt.
You've seen my name up top. I go by Catherine. Always have, always will. I sign my email Cat., but the rest of the name is there in the signature. My Hebrew name is Tehora bat Avraham, and in college I spent a short time as Gurudasi-- Servant of the Guru in Sanskrit. One day I'll tell you the story of that.
My household consists of my husband, Daniel; my daughter, Morgaine; my two sons, Matthew and Joshua; two cats, Ben Nameer and Midnight; a dog, Michan; two fish, whose names I've forgotten; and a tadpole, yet to be named. We live together more or less amicably-- as amicably as a family can with a 15 year-old daughter, a wife and mother in graduate school, and a wonderful husband who works nights so that I can go to school full-time and not worry about the boys, aged 9 and 10. It goes without saying that the kids are the reasons I have such huge gaps of "non-employment" (hmmm...) on my resume.
I'm pursuing (a very apt description) my MLIS at the University of South Carolina's College of Library and Information Science . And that's how I came to publish this home page. This semester I'm working as an intern on MidNet, the community information network for Columbia and the Midlands of South Carolina. I earned my undergraduate degree in Philosophy at the College of Charleston in 1978.
I've had the opportunity to experience different lands, different cultures and different lifestyles. I'd like to share some of those experiences with you. Go to L'Chaim! and we'll share some stories.
A year later... Well, the fish died this year. We had those two goldfish for nearly three years. They are buried in the garden. The tadpole is now a frog; as a matter of fact, we have two of them, and another kitten, Arisah. Morgaine lives in Tennessee and visits frequently. Daniel is moving back to days at his job-- that's a welcome change. That old cliche, two ships passing in the night, really described our lifestyle! As for me, I'm in limbo. Yes. I really need that job.