Years ago Allen Smith observed to me that the great thing about being a reference librarian was that “It All Counts!”

I’ve been doing a lot of organizing out in the barn (“winnowing” is another candidate descriptor for the activity), discarding lots of paper that’s been tucked away in file drawers for years. Along the way I’ve found all sorts of stuff that’s really worth saving, and reconnected with avenues and back alleys that have absorbed my energies at various times. I’ve been reminded how much energy went into exploring topics for students and colleagues and preparing classes, and I’m pleased to see how good I was at those things. But I’m also discovering that the net effects of my efforts were very limited –indeed, were principally and primarily good for my own learning. And I’ve convinced myself that there’s nothing wrong with that, that no grander legacy is necessary or maybe even desirable.

I still harbor inclinations to build something with my musical and photographic and textual archives, but I can’t imagine where to set the foundations or how to erect the skeleton or design the floorplan… I suppose this blog could serve as the accumulator and distributor for such a construction project, if I was a tad more systematic and less irregular in posting. Maybe I’ll try that.