i've got your history right here

When I first transferred to Glendale, one of the things I was geekily excited about was the opportunity to work in a building with a nifty heritage. Which isn't to knock the functional-60s era-government-building aesthetic of Central - at least not entirely. But, I'm one of those girls who likes things to have a history. I shop at thrift stores. I can spend hours at a time browsing used book and record. I love coming across old notes and photos and, as such, think that found magazine is one of the greatest things ever. If I ever get to that grown-up, buying a house stage in my life, I totally want a cute little Craftsman cottage.

Thus, the idea that the physical building where I would be working day in and day out would have a rich history, of which I would play the smallest of parts, was very cool. While Glendale isn't a Carnegie building, it was opened in 1936 and the construction of it was a WPA project. Hadn't I spent hours online, looking at the WPA posters digital collection? Do I not love stories from that historical period? Could I not look at old pictures of the original librarians in this building and marvel over how different they seem and how foreign they would find much of our daily procedures, whilst also noting how remarkably unchanged our mission and regular activities are? Yes, yes and yes.

And now, a year and change later, I still get excited about that stuff. Sure, working in an older building doesn't come without it's difficulties. The occasional leak, odd placement of this and that, the challenge of updating pipes and phone lines and what have you. But those difficulties are far outweighed by the pleasure that comes from discovering a hidden nook, gazing at the lovely interior beams, eating lunch on the front steps, and many other small, daily joys. And, most significantly, I love that I am constantly reminded of the way I fit in with the great tradition of this building, of this neighborhood, of this city and of this profession. It's an admittedly small role, but incredibly satisfying one and I've learned that that sort of thing counts for quite a lot.