Realia

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

For Thing 11, we’re supposed to talk about our experiences with mentoring. I participated in a formal mentoring program through the American Library Association about a year ago. My mentor and I emailed back and forth a few times, but I feel like it was hard for either of us to make it a priority, and I don’t feel like I got that much out of the experience. I’m not sure how I feel about formal mentoring programs in general. They seem like a good idea, but I think the mentoring experience can feel somewhat forced in these situations, and it really takes a commitment from both parties in order to make it work.

Personally, I have benefited much more from informal mentors. I can identify two people who I feel are really good mentors to me, and the mentor-mentee relationship has just grown naturally through our interactions with each other. I feel comfortable turning to either of these people for career advice, and I really feel that they have a genuine interest in watching me succeed in my career. I don’t work with either of these people, and in some ways, I think that can be a good thing when it comes to a mentor-mentee relationship. Talking to someone who is removed from your workplace can be a good way to get perspective on career issues.

Some of you may be wondering what the title of my blog refers to. If you are a cataloger, you may be familiar with the term already, but, judging from the fact that my husband asked “What’s realia?” while reading my blog for the first time, I assume that people may not be familiar with the term. Realia, in the cataloging world, is a term used in a catalog record to describe a three-dimensional object.

So why did I choose this as the name of my blog? I was looking for a cataloging-related word to reflect my job. I admit that it probably came to mind, at least in part, because I was preparing a workshop on how to catalog realia when I started this blog. Beyond the cataloging-related definition of the word, realia can also be defined as “Objects from real life or from the real world, as opposed to theoretical constructs or fabricated examples,” and I think that spoke to me as well, since I want this blog to be not just about my work as a librarian, but also about all aspects of my “real life.”

I’m reviving a somewhat old Internet meme, inspired by Steve Lawson’s revival of an even older Internet meme. It captured my imagination a few months ago, and now that I have a blog, I present to you my list:

1. My parents realized I could read when I quoted them some fact about George Washington from The How, Why and Wonder Book of the American Revolution. I think I was three at the time.

2. I’ve read The Catcher in the Rye more times than I can count. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s my favorite book, but it’s sort of my comfort book.  I read it when I want something very familiar.

3.  There are three authors that I buy every book they put out, sight unseen, without reading reviews: Barbara Kingsolver, Sherman Alexie, and Nick Hornby.  They all had new books that came out this past year, which made me very happy.

4.  My mom was usually the one who read to my sisters and me when we were growing up.  However, my dad had two specialties, the Little House on the Prairie books and the Wizard of Oz books.  I have very fond memories of him reading these two series to my sisters and me.

5.  It is not unusual for a conversation between one of my family members and me to contain a quote from a children’s book, particularly Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, or one of the Frog and Toad books.

6.  Because of #5, when I was in college, I bought my boyfriend (now my husband) a copy of Winnie the Pooh and Days with Frog and Toad, just so he could understand what the heck I was talking about when I quoted them. 

7.  When I was a kid, I was scared of this version of Frog Went A-Courtin’.  There was an illustration where they were pouring medicine down a chicken’s throat with a funnel, and that freaked me out.

8.  One of the most voracious reading periods of my life was when I was in junior high.  I usually check out library books based on recommendations and reviews, but in junior high, I would wander the young adult section of the public library and check out anything that looked remotely interesting.  It was a great approach to reading, but I wish I kept better track of what I read, because now I have all these memories of great young adult books, but I have no idea what books they are.  I remember them with vague descriptions like “the book where the girl has a dog named Bribe and it ends up dying because it falls out of a pick-up truck bed.”

9.  In my high school speech class, my best friend and I had to present a commercial together.  Our chosen product was a “Discuss Writing with the Dead” hotline, where you could call dead authors for writing advice.  One part of the commercial involved someone calling Dr. Seuss to ask him what rhymes with Xerox.

10.  When reading non-fiction, I need to be able to highlight passages in the text.  I sometimes don’t even go back and look at what I’ve highlighted, but somehow, highlighting helps me process the information.

11.  The summer before my sophomore year in high school, most everyone chose to read Of Mice and Men off of our summer reading list (probably because it was the shortest book).  For reasons that I don’t completely understand now, I chose The Fountainhead.

12.  I feel compelled to see movies based on books that I’ve read.  Even when I loved the book and know that I’ll most likely be disappointed by the movie, my curiosity gets the best of me; I have to see what the movie is like.

13.  I like reading non-fiction history books, but I’ve never really gotten into historical fiction.

14.  I’m not a big fan of fantasy and science fiction books.  I think that I don’t have the patience for world-building.  I like to pick up a book and immediately have at least a rough idea of the environment in which the characters live.

15.  I generally take good care of books, though I’m not obsessive about it.  When I was working on my degree in museum studies, I inadvertently ruined a book by letting juice spill on it in my backpack.  Ironically, it was the textbook for my Conservation and Preservation class.

Yes, an original title, I know. After debating with myself for a while, I’ve finally decided to commit to the whole blogging thing.  Though I’ve based the title and tag line on my professional identity, I have a feeling this will end up being a professional/personal blog. So stay tuned, and see what I can come up with!