Lost in the Stacks

Signs can be deceptive. Many times I have seen something in the distance…

…got excited about it…

… then got closer and sensed something was wrong…

… only to discover...

This week with much fanfare we went to the Howard Tilton Memorial Library at Tulane University to return the first recovered books to the collection. The shelves awaiting the music collection are so empty and sad.

But to cheer them up we brought balloons and books and booze (no, that’s right… Matthew forgot the booze)! The precious books were transported on a golden book cart to the waiting shelves. It was only ten books but everyone was very excited. We were all quite loud and silly (the books set off the security alarm!) that we were sure we were going to be shushed. Then we realized that the really boisterous people were the ones who would have done the shushing.

I’ve mostly been concerned with basic necessities of life like food and shelter, but now I should mention the great job that I have. I (along with two others) am a Cataloging Technician for the Tulane Recovery Project located in the Tulane Recovery Center. Sounds grand doesn’t it!? It’s a big warehouse full of boxes full of books.

This warehouse used to be a wine distributor and is right next door to Tulane University’s off-site storage (a warehouse full of shelves full of books). The storage area received no damage from the floods and it is a fabulous sight to behold. As the lights flicker on and slowly warm up, rows and rows of books are revealed. It’s like heaven! These are still in the catalog and circulate to the students and faculty. Also housed in this area are some statues.

What we have been doing so far is checking in the catalog for the books and then re-barcoding them. We started with the very important music collection which many people at Tulane are chomping at the bit to get back into the collection. After the catalogers get done, the books move on to processing where they are labeled, tagged with security tags, and stamped.

Books that didn't survive Katrina

Books that were recovered

Despite being a big city, places to shop are few and far between. This is mostly concerning the area that the RV Park is in, NO East. There were some large strip malls along Chef Menteur Hwy, but now they are empty. In the Mid-City area houses and businesses are coming back but still there are many impressive empty buildings. Any store that is open is usually mobbed with people. So, if you are thinking of starting a business, come on down to NOLA, the people here will show their appreciation with cash in hand!