tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28938281441362547002024-02-18T19:15:39.929-08:00متحف الفن العربي الحديثThe Library [Al Maktaba] of the Arab Museum of Modern ArtUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2893828144136254700.post-4650712842761797502010-05-14T04:30:00.000-07:002010-05-14T05:02:39.493-07:00Library Management Systems Maketh Not a Great Blog.<div>It may appear that I have abandoned my baby blog in its first days of life.<div><br /></div><div>Shame on me? But I have an excuse. Excuses, excuses, excuses...</div><div><br /></div><div>My time has been occupied by many things that are important to library development but are either not library blog-worthy...or TOP SECRET.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>I attended a week-long training for the LMS/catalog which will be implemented in the museum library. I cringe at the thought of writing about cataloging. I just cringed while typing "writing about cataloging"...and again. </div><div><br /></div><div>I will spare you the details of my other day-to-day activities while learning the ropes or however the expression goes, and I am happy to report that I have arrived at the blog-able part of library development. Or at least I am now adding it into the mix of tasks and goals. </div><div><br /></div><div>I have begun collection development. That is, adding to organized lists/folders for potential book orders AND going through the existing collection. I have the help of the now curatorial staff member who was working on library stuff before Qatar Airways swooped down and dropped me on a sand dune. </div><div><br /></div><div>I will be sharing interesting details about books in the near future.</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of excuses, do you know the <i>song</i> "Excuses"? Last night, I discovered that my library predecessor and I share an affinity for it. So, while totally unrelated to the subject matter of the museum, library, and blog yet much more pleasurable than MARC records, I leave you with the happy live version: </div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7jgmgE-QDzA&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7jgmgE-QDzA&hl=en_US&fs=1" width="480" height="295" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2893828144136254700.post-71316666837091862652010-04-19T05:03:00.000-07:002010-04-20T01:39:47.538-07:00Vagabond Family: An Introduction<div><span style="color:#000000;">As-Salam alaikum. </span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#000000;">Peace be with you.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">السلام عليكم</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="color:#000000;">Welcome to the blog of the library of the Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar. </span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="color:#000000;">You are probably not familiar with the museum because it has not opened yet. I arrived in Qatar less than two weeks ago, on April 9th. I was hired as the Head of the Art Library, and I am developing the library collection and services.<br /></span></div><br /><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">In addition to the books and resources to be acquired, I will "weed" a base collection of books and magazines donated by an art collector and patron of the arts who also happens to be a Qatari Sheikh. The collection includes a wide variety of books about art and culture both in the Arab world and abroad. I intend to use this blog to enable others to learn and benefit from the library and collection at AMOMA throughout its evolution from a room full of books into my favorite kind of space: a library.<br /></span><span style="color:#000000;"></span></p><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">I'm a bit of a strange character, so here's a little background on me. I am an American librarian. I worked for Brooklyn Public Library in New York City while getting my Master's Degree in Library Science until I made the decision to move to Lusaka, Zambia in 2008. </span></p><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">I helped develop a library for vulnerable children and street children. I had lived in Harare, Zimbabwe in 2003 and longed to return to the region. I kept an infrequent blog of my activities in Zambia because I had no internet access at home or at work. You can find it here: </span><a href="http://www.hllp.blogspot.com/"><span style="color:#000000;">http://www.hllp.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">. I ended up in Cape Town, South Africa. I was finishing my cultural studies research for an independent study on vulnerable children, attempting to surf, and dreaming of staying forever. Of course, I didn't.</span></p><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">I made a summery return to the States before heading south once again, this time to Buenos Aires, Argentina, a wonderful city. I searched for Latin American artist's books, taught English, met some lovely people, including a few talented artists, and I eventually landed a job as a Cataloging Librarian for a Latin American book company. </span></p><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">As these things often go, I was offered this fantastic professional opportunity in Doha at about the same time Buenos Aires began to feel vaguely like home. </span></p><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">I spent a couple of months visiting friends and family in New York City and my hometown in Pennsylvania, and here I am. Doha is treating me very well thus far. Estoy muy contenta.</span></p><br /><p></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462136350711695842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 160px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 163px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJk6TyxpWYLrOTIX5a3U2Bs88xlD0JhqhEwG2fmK9dyC__-AC6vk5msesnWfYkfB3n9QmNgRkXhWaZgQGjQ9lghqnIZXJbDgp4LxQJwxlw2wKUZUH_1_GmdJyYmNLADov22VAhJI-F2NXJ/s400/vagabondfamilyalsaid.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">In my reading and research on modern and contemporary artists of the Arab world, I learned about Iraqi artist Shakir Hassan Al Said (b. 1925). He created <em>Vagabond Family</em> [pictured] during his transitional phase from figurative to abstract work. Needless to say, it seems like an appropriate work to share in this introduction, although I don't have a family with me. I'm just a vagabond librarian.</span></p><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">It will be a great journey for the vagabond books who will find their home at the AMOMA library. Maybe someday I will find a home, too.</span></p><br /><div><span style="color:#000000;">Insha'Allah. </span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#000000;">If God wills it. </span></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;">إن شاء الله</span></strong></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1