Saturday, August 27, 2022

Not a Dead Cat


I often pass this cat on my walk home from work, lying out in roughly the same place in its front garden, in the sun. The first time I saw it I was afraid it was dead -- but no, it's just snoozing.

More getting-things-ready work in the library yesterday. We put together another display, pulled a couple of carts of books for some classes, re-shelved, had a librarian meeting, and attended an "intercultural competency" training session, among other things. It was a pretty full day, and I didn't get to delete departed Lower School patrons as I'd planned.

Oh, speaking of deleting patrons, some of you asked why I couldn't just delete EVERYONE and let the system repopulate with the people who are still here. The "nuclear option," you might call it. The problem is -- and Ellen D. nailed it in the comments -- that would delete everyone's checkout record too. When the system repopulates it won't reconnect each person with their personal checkout history. So we'd lose all the data about which books have been checked out by whom. (It's sometimes useful to see who's read a certain book or what a patron's reading habits are like, in order to make better recommendations.)

And now we're off on a three-day weekend! Monday is a bank holiday and we have no plans. Probably just more walking the dog. (Her dog-walker gets that day off too.)

22 comments:

River said...

I used to want to be a Librarian. I thought it meant I could just sit around and read all day in between re-shelving returned books.

Tasker Dunham said...

Computers are great when they work.

Moving with Mitchell said...

That is one relaxed and trusting cat!

Boud said...

What's the name of the bank holiday?

Anonymous said...

So you can see which boy took out the book named 'Alternate Human Sexuality' and 'A Brief History of the Stonewall Riots'.

Anonymous said...

That was kind of a bad joke, but thinking...I might have concerns about my reading material being monitored and connected to me, even if the information is used for the greater good.

Marty said...

On the plus side, those quiet tedious jobs can be restful.

Ed said...

Figuring me out from my reading history would be pretty easy. Hand me any non-fiction book about something, someplace or someone I'm not familiar with.

Bob said...

We've always had cats drop to the ground and sleep in what seems really awkward positions. I call them "drunken sailors" when they do it.

Mary said...

Too bad that cat can't relax. :)

Never trusting most systems to do what I want/need, I would not have thought to delete all info and start again, hoping it would all repopulate. Good thing as you point out, that method would delete the history you need for other purposes.

Ms. Moon said...

Of course our comments on using the nuclear option were quite tongue in cheek but you make a good point about the history of each library user.
I'm glad you're getting the library all fresh and new in both shelves and systems for the students, new and returning both.
I love the snoozy cat.

Red said...

Your job is interesting as thee always is a new challenge everyday.

NewRobin13 said...

I love that sleeping kitty cat. How relaxed s/he is.
I wondered about the nuclear option. I suspected it might have other impacts that would wipe out important data and history.
Enjoy your three-day weekend!

Ellen D. said...

Hooray for me getting mentioned in your post! Made me smile!
Nice to have a long weekend to rest up after your busy week at work.
Have you read 84, Charing Cross Road? I just finished it and found it quite delightful. I thought of you as so many local London addresses are mentioned in the book. It is a short book but quite interesting and fun.
Have a great long weekend!

Kelly said...

I love the cat. It must have been totally out to let you get that photo. I've had similar situations with possums in my yard. (they really do play possum) Just put "herding possums" in the search bar at my blog! 😂

Enjoy your brief holiday!

Sharon said...

Enjoy your 3 day weekend! That cat is certainly comfortable with its environment.

Allison said...

That is one very relaxed cat. It's surprising, when they're outside they're usually on high alert.
Librarians in the US are quitting, due to being verbally assaulted by parents who don't like the books in the children's section. Soon there will be no books.

Margaret said...

My cat would never be that relaxed. She barely is inside the house. That's a good point about losing everyone's check out records. Do students often ask for recommendations?

37paddington said...

I imagine checkout records are valuable in that they show which books are popular and which are getting no plat at all. Lovely to have a holiday with no fixed plan.

Jeanie said...

Happy Holiday Weekend! And I"m so glad that cat is still alive and kicking. I just love it when they get all mellow like that!

Debby said...

The cat made me laugh. Enjoy your bank holiday!

jenny_o said...

What a beautiful cat! I bet he or she was feeling blissful in the sun. Enjoy your long weekend. We have one coming up next weekend (Labour Day), and then it's back to school for kids here. (And Fall comes rushing in!)