today i met three people in the library

Leif works at the circulation desk. I went to him to ask about the University Archives, which is where I was hoping to end up in a lengthy discussion with the eccentric archival librarian I had invented in my head. No such luck. He did give me loads of information, most interestingly that the library is divided up into smaller departments within itself. This makes sense now that I think about it. I might think about narrowing my focus to a particular department. He told me about Library East, a small room at the end of a "long, dark stairway" in Smith, where they write code and make records for all the books in the library. Then we discussed the merits of the Library of Congress System over the Dewey Decimal System, which kind of broke my heart a little.

I met Don next, after Leif sent me upstairs to the reference desk to find out more about the university archives. Don is an old man who wouldn't tell me his name without an explanation, and then only his first name. I discovered his last name after reading his email over his shoulder while he looked for an email address for me. Don was both confused and amused by me, and he tried to discourage my interest in the archive room. ("It's just a bunch of old documents. I don't really understand what you're looking for.") He is the Library Liason for the University Honors department and the Government Documents Librarian. He did not volunteer this information, his colleague Heather did. (whom we will meet in a moment.) He studied at Harvard in the 1990's, and is a self-proclaimed "baseball scholar." Don seemed troubled that I was an art major, and asked me what I planned to do with my degree. I told him Graphic Design, which seemed to calm him. He asked if I was almost graduated and I laughed, which made him laugh.
Heather overheard Don and I talking about the archival librarian and wandered over to get in on the conversation. Heather is the Library Liason for the English Department and University Studies, though I think it's an interim position. She said she's filling in for someone on sabbatical. Heather has a masters in Library Science, which she was sure to tell me about. The people at the circulation desk hold service positions, while the reference desk staff are ACTUAL librarians with degrees and things.

My meeting these three people was facilitated by my search for a way into the University Archives room on the fifth floor. They all pointed me in the direction of one Cathy Alzner, the interim archivalist ("NOT a librarian, there's a difference.") Things I have learned today about Cathy Alzner:

– while she never checks her voicemail, she can be reached by email.
- she is a professor at PCC
- she is a baseball fan and sometimes shares memories of stadium visits with Don


i also found the card catalog. whoa.