Thursday, June 18, 2009

Introduction to the International Youth Library

Today was my first real working day at the International Youth Library, or Internationale Jugendbibliothek in German. Here's the link if you want to check out the virtual tour: http://www.ijb.de/files/Seite00.htm When we all arrived, Dr. Veltze gave us a rough idea of the schedule for the day and then we were off to the lockers to deposit our belongings. In the study library, which is primarily where we will work, patrons are not allowed to have any bags, since resources are to stay in the study library. So, we have been allowed to use the lockers that are reserved for staff and scholarship students. Similar to other instances, you must deposit one euro in the lock, which may be retrieved at the end of the day. The library opens promptly at 10 am and closes promptly at 4 pm. The staff, and culture as a whole, seems to very clearly define the lines of work and play, so this strict adherence to the schedule helps to reinforce that.

We then went to the study library, where silence is mandated so that all scholars who are using materials may have the quiet and respect they deserve when working on projects. There are a few other scholars at the library including our group, one student from Columbia, a Japanese-American professor from Chicago, and another Japanese student. The reference librarian in charge of the study library gave us a cursory preview of the catalog and explained how resources are arranged. In addition to the study library, the IJB, as they call the International Youth Library, has a small public library and a wealth of resources which they share with scholars around the world through their lending program. There are several librarians at the IJB, many of whom are responsible for specific language areas, such as English (including those African countries that speak English as a primary language), Spanish, Asian languages, etc.

The library also has several rotating exhibits which tour the world to highlight authors, illustrators, or special collections. They often have school groups come through the library to view the museum areas and use the lending library, as the public schools do not have the caliber of school libraries that we do in the States. Instead, the Bavarian government chooses to put their funding into public libraries that are easily accessible to students within the public school system. Currently, one of their main exhibits is an exhibit of Eric Carle's works, which have been translated into several languages, including German, Japanese, and Norwegian. It's quite fascinating to see works with which I am so familiar in so many different languages. I'll try to take some pictures of this exhibit tomorrow to post.

Lunch at the library is wonderful! We ate outside by the lake and rose garden today and I feasted on the "fleisch" option (meat) of pork cutlets, mashed potatoes, and sauerkraut. There is a kitchen at the library if I choose to bring my lunch, but for the staff price of 3.50 euro, I think it's worth it to have the experience. They also offer a daily vegetarian option, which was pasta today with arugula and Parmesan cheese.

I feel like I got quite a bit of work done today on my paper, almost six pages of the rough draft, and have found a nice desk in the study library by a window where I can set up my laptop and look out at the trees that surround the castle. (Still can't believe I have a desk in a castle for a month!) I'll try to post a picture of that tomorrow also, if I'm allowed to take pictures in the study library.

After work today, several in the group went to Marienplatz, but I decided with Mary that we'd go to Pasing, find a snack (yummy pretzel), and head home. By the time we chatted, walked around, and headed for home, I made it here by 7:30ish. With staying here with no other students, I want to be sure that I'm home before dark, mostly just so I'm more aware of my bearings. Munich is one of the safest cities in the world and my little neighborhood is wonderful, although it's a longer walk with the laptop in the bookbag than I had expected. Did I mention all of the cobblestone streets? Very beautiful, but hard on these American feet!

I'm taking the opportunity here to post some of my garden photos from yesterday, taken both at the library and at Marienplatz. I've also updated the past two days with photos, so you may want to look back. I'll try to post more photos from the library tomorrow.

No comments:

Post a Comment