Just a quick post about the image I’ve chosen for the top of this blog. It’s a small portion of a picture of Lake Baikal in Siberia, taken by my father in September 2007. We were travelling together with friend David on what I like to think of as the ‘trip of a lifetime’, taking in Beijing, Mongolia, and the Trans-Siberian Railway, ending up in Moscow before coming home.
Why pick this picture? Well, firstly because it’s pretty and shows off the sparkle of the water in the sun! Secondly, because it reminds me of a great holiday, where I was able to get away from the usual concerns of life and experience several totally different cultures. And thirdly, because the sea symbolises (for me) the flow of information.
Information comes and goes, it flows in and out of our lives. And I’m interested in the whole package. Whether I’m helping people find out things they need to know, or using my writing and speaking skills to get relevant information out to others, I love it all. We’ve all experienced the frustration of broken systems and unnecessary hold-ups, and we all know what a relief it is when things work the way they’re supposed to. Well, that’s what I’m all about – I want life to run as smoothly as the tides, and I’ll do what I can to make that happen.
We stayed by Lake Baikal in a ‘log cabin’ open to tourists. There was no shower, the loo was a hole in the ground (albeit in a carpeted shed!), and the only opportunity for cleansing oneself was the sauna. Despite it being autumn in Siberia, we found ourselves sitting on the outside terrace of a lakeside bar, in our T-shirts, listening to Britney Spears on the sound system. Not quite what you might expect!
Information can come from surprising places, and I believe librarians have the ability to keep their eyes open, their ears alert and their noses to the ground in order to spot it when needed. We can find the right information at the right time, help identify that crucial piece of evidence, or push out that key message, to make the difference in someone’s life.
Plain sailing, you might say!
The Constant Librarian 
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