Today? Well, today was kind of slow. I’m waiting for our programmer to make some changes to a MARC record converter so I can get a new set for QA, and I guess it’s more troublesome than he first assumed. I spent most of my work time today with another programmer, talking about workflow issues and hashing out the impacts of various database design and query decisions for the long-term efficacy of our project. We’re in a strange place right now where we’re supporting the archiving process for a single program, but trying to build a system that will be generic enough to support a variety of programs. That’s hard when we only have the example of how a single program works, but I think we’re doing a pretty good job of interrogating every design decision we make to ensure the decisions are right.
I had a good conversation with Michael Porter at Library Renewal about what they’re doing and how I might be able to volunteer my time as an advocate, and potentially my metadata and systems knowledge. I’m glad I got a chance to hear more about the project outside of a standard pitch presentation. I often find that when I’m in conversations about big projects and big ideas, it’s hard to get past the surface level of enthusiasm and a desire to do something. I liked being able to hear more of the details.
I had a great lunch with the Tuesday Lunch Group at a new Mexican place in old Oakland. I had a decent torta, but nothing too special. The tacos, though, they looked pretty amazing.
I’m leaving work a little early today to pick up my bridesmaid’s dress from the tailor (fingers crossed). Tomorrow is packed full of about 4 1/2 hours of meetings, and I’ll probably have a lot of QA and continuing work on workflow and database design, as well as finalizing my self-assessment and submitting a review to Library Journal, so I’m sure tomorrow will more than make up for today’s relative staid-ness. I still do have that tendency to put things off until the last minute. Sigh.