There was quite a bit of noise and activity as another tenant (actually a couple) moved into the apartment complex. They sounded American and may just be one of the new Fulbrighters (Don Bogen) and his wife (Cathryn). I was feverishly putting together one of the conference proposals so opted to make myself scarce for the moment. I had a lunch scheduled with Karen Latimer, a medical librarian at Queens whom I had met at a previous dinner engagement hosted by the Gender Initiative director yvonne Galligan, and we were to discuss the proposal so I was on a tight schedule to finish the piece. I'll have to welcome them to the apartment properly -- maybe tomorrow will work. If not, we'll surely see each other in London next week at the Forum.
Lunch went well with Karen who is very outgoing and pleasant to speak with. She reminds me of a librariain version of our beloved Dr. Linda Wilson. Years ago, her husband had a two year Fulbright stint at Rice and she worked at the University of Houston as a librariain. From there, she worked on the east coast for a short while before moving back to the UK about ten years ago. She's been at Queen's ever since and oversees the administrative aspects of McClay library as well as several of the branch campuses (medical, architecture). Lunch conversation revolved around Fulbrights, comparisons between educational systems in the U.S. and the U.K, and a reminiscent journey of the last 25+ years of librarianship -- and how so much has changed since we both entered the profession. After lunch, I walked with Karen to her car to look over her recently accepted article that she had submitted to Library Trends. Her special research interests lie in library architecture and the piece dealt with the history of library structures (both form and function).
She is quite busy with committee work as well and is flying to London next week to meet with David Cameron to make a plea for a Museum and Library digital repository that has been slated for removal. She is part of the committee/group that formed and maintained it for several years. Given the economic down turn, it was one of the first programs to be closed. She has parties interested in continuing it's maintenance and access but there's a governance issue given the program was financed with government monies and the interested parties are for-profit businesses. Hopefully, some legally acceptabel viable alternative will come about. Otherwise, the archival shelf-life of this vast amount of intellectual property will be lost forever.
I spent the latter part of the afternoon attempting to contact the Bunscoil principles again -- no luck. So, I decided to Google their email addresses and sent contact information requesting the possibility of a future meeting. The week is almost gone and I had hoped to get at least one visit to a school prior to my departure to London. Next week will be spent in London, Cornwall, and Tintagel which leaves me only two weeks upon my return to Belfast. Where did the time go?
Off to Bookfinders Belfast -- a quirky little cafe/bookshop near Queens University (beside Villa Italia restaurant), that deals in rare and second hand books. I walk by it every day on my way to and from the office -- it's located at 47 University Road -- I'm at 53-67 University Road -- and have never stepped inside. I think it's about time I checked it out. On first entering it appears to be a bookshop, but it opens up into a cave-like cafe complete with retro style wine-bottle candles & poster covered walls. I hear the food is homemade and hearty - fresh soups and a range of sandwiches, and some tasty cakes. The locals say the atmosphere is what makes it so special, - it's a quiet little gem in which to meet friends for a peaceful lunch, or order a coffee and spread your books out for a studying session. And like the Alibi (another bookstore I've been to around the corner from my apartment) it often has poetry nights.
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