Welcome to my (professional) world

Have you ever wondered "hey, just what the heck does Roman do at his job?" No? Or was the answer to that a snarky comment about posting here while I'm supposed to be working?

Well, for anyone out there that does wonder what's up with libraries and librarians these days, have a look at this series of articles posted by the British Guardian newspaper. It's a handy guide to some of the issues I and my fellow librarians are facing. Plus by posting it here, I saved you the trouble of Googling it. Score one for librarians!

SPECIAL BONUS BLOGTERIAL:

Did I forget to mark the 3rd anniversary of this whole deal yesterday? I did? Must be because I'm so busy trying to be a better "information broker."

Best possible souvenir of Washington

Take a look at what I found on my recent trip to Washington! Creepy, isn't it? Cathy says "it's like his eyes follow you."

(technically I bought this in Alexandria, but that's apparently where the good souvenirs are to be found)

You're getting warmer

Way back when I was considering a career as a scientist, I briefly considered learning more about paleoclimatology (studying the climate of the geologic past). I think I may have come across this when I was researching grad programs at the University of Arizona, but as this was a decade ago, I can't really remember.

That's why I found this article from Wired fascinating. The human impact on the climate very likely predates industrial times - certainly on a local level, but possibly even on a global level. One of the scientists quoted even stated that the advent of agriculture may have prevented another period of glaciation! I don't think we'll ever know that for sure, but there is tremendous value in slowly uncovering the puzzle of humanity's impact on the earth over the last several thousand years.

In short,