It is the time of year when I find that things slow down a bit in the library. There are nearly non-existent classes to teach and the reference desk is seeing less traffic due to students studying for exams. I find that around this time of year, I miss the euphoria that comes with teaching library sessions. However, this is the perfect opportunity to devote oneself to neglected duties such as collection work, professional development (read: research) and what I call maintenance. I spent about 30 minutes clearing my INBOX of 300+ email messages and organized them in their proper folders. I also found, to my shame, a few unanswered emails from students asking for help, vendors peddling their wares and 1 or 2 faculty requests! Ooops! I’ve also uncluttered,somewhat, my desk to the point that you can see that it is in fact a desk!
I’m currently trying to catch up with some library-related blogs that I’ve neglected to keep up with during the mad academic term. There is also the two research projects that I’m trying to pursue this summer. I got an email from the research ethics board at our university. Apparently, I don’t know the difference between minimal and non-minimal risk! I have to admit I didn’t understand the difference. If a research project is potentially harmful to participants it should be labeled “potential risk” instead of “non-minimal risk”. It sounds like a double-negative to me! Anyhow, this wasn’t covered in library school! But now I know! I won’t know until end of May whether I get the grants that I applied for. In the meanwhile I’m working on my research methods a bit more. I seem to have a lot of free time on my hands these days. I’m trying to be productive, but with the warm weather I’m looking forward to a mini-vacation!
