Postmortems and other procedures...

...Part 2
Wow, I am actually managing to do this the following day as promised! Must be a sign...
Anyway, as I said in my previous post, this one is concerning the new stuff which I have been doing since the end of NBRR as we know it.
The procedures mentioned mostly involve circulation, which does sound rather medical, but which is just the euphemism for (gasp!) letting the readers remove books from the building.
Since the closure of NBRR I, along with a few of my Oriental colleagues have been redeployed at the Bodleian Oriental Institute Library on a rota basis which means for me that I am on the desk three afternoons a week.
Now, back in the mists of time when I began at the Bod, the OIL was regarded as something of a mystery by my naturally misanthropic and suspicious colleague, but I must say that the welcome I have had has been warm and that I am enjoying working in such a different environment from those with which I have previously been familiar.
Being a Faculty Library, OIL is closer to the sharp end of the teaching side of things, so it's actually far more dynamic than the Bod, which is rather ivory-towery. The atmosphere is more informal, and although there are all sorts of new things to learn I am finding it a rewarding experience being somewhere different.
When one is in a rut, it's hard to realise. The walls become familiar and the path easy to follow. My rut came to a natural end thanks to the refurbishment, and as a result I find myself with new horizons (albeit ones blocked by the silly round library next door!). The next big thing will be the office moves in November, but before that there will be the actual start of Term, which promises to make things even more interesting!

Oh, and in case anyone wondered, it was Merton in the photo, taken on a very foggy morning from Christchurch Meadow.

Postmortems, and other invasive procedures...

...Part 1.
I have been meaning to do this for ages.
Thing is, though, I kept being busy.
After my last post on the end of the NBRR I thought I would leave it a bit, see how I got on with my new regime, new library and such, and I find myself now almost a month on feeling deeply positive, which is always a good thing!
I will concentrate on the new place in my next post (part 2, all things being equal), but for now I must bask in the total freedom which I now discover (*basks*).
If I look back, the gradual release from the dreaded Reserve Desk is obvious to see. From the tyranny of the ORR, when I was in the reading room all day every day and only occasionally got to go somewhere else, to the NBRR, where I was on the desk about 14 hours a week to now, when I am at the Oriental Institute Library (OIL for short; it's technically the Bodleian Oriental Institute Library, but BOIL is rather an unfortunate acronym...) for three afternoons a week.
The rest of my time is my own, to do with as I need, and I am finding new reserves (oops!) of efficiency as-yet untapped as I work in an organic, sensible way, fitting in the bits and pieces of my various jobs in the bits and pieces of time as it arises. Finally my time is mostly my own, and I am enjoying myself immensely.
Don't get me wrong; the NBRR was a fun place to work, with interesting people and many challenges, but that rota was Hellish. I had to do two-hour slots at odd times of day, Wednesday lunchtimes being one that was particularly hard as I'd end up with a 7-hour afternoon if I was on evening duty. I didn't mind the duties per se, it was just the lack of freedom... I never was one for being told what to do!
So yes, much as I do miss spending time with my Map and Music chums (although not those weird Map and Music questions!), I do not miss that rota :)
Part 2 soon. In the meantime, major points for anyone who can spot the college in the photo...