The Masks I Wear

... man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. (Oscar Wilde, "The Critic as Artist") The word "person" comes from the Latin persona (from the Greek prosopon), meaning mask, as in the mask worn by actors on the classical stage. A …

Banned Halloween! Eve Merriam’s Halloween ABC

The Devil's Advocate was once an official position in the Catholic Church. It was his job to argue for the unpopular idea, the idea that went against what people assumed was right, morally or factually correct. This was back when educated Christians, at least, had a healthy fear that going along with the traditional or …

A word about Halloween, fluid identity, & Christian panic

When I studied literature, I was particularly drawn to Decadent literature. You might know such titles as Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, the story of a young dandy who retains his youth by magically transferring all the rot and aging consequent to his sins to a portrait of himself, stashed away in secret. …

Exhausted, Early-Morning Reflections on the First 3 Weeks

Omg, y'all. There is so much to learn, so much they just can't teach you in library school. I have 2 long lists of things I want to accomplish, one largely created before I started (check out "New Director" resources, learn the particulars, meet the community, etc.) and the other one I create on the …

Happy 5 Years to Sisyphus in the Stacks!

I just noticed that this blog's 5-year anniversary was 2 days ago! That was during my inaugural semester in library school. Now, I stand on the precipice, ready to leap into a new career as a library director. Time is weird. It makes things happen. Then (September 16, 2016): A youthful 45 years oldIn one …

The Interview

Yesterday, I met with the Board of Trustees of Dorr Township Library, interviewing for the position of director. I felt and feel good about the way I represented myself. The more I talked with the trustees, the more I became excited about the possibilities in this job: growing community, near a fairly large city, at …

Stigma/ta, or Against the Defense of Stigma II: This Time It’s Personal

I'm going to tell you a story or three before I get into what I've been reading and thinking about. I was a nurse once, an RN. Not for long; turns out, I was not a very good one, although I had potential as a psychiatric nurse. It ended when I was going through a …

The Challenge of Everyday, Post-grad Life

From the vanity press of this blog and my soon-to-be-orphaned home page to my career-on-hold to the developing relationships with my children, I have no idea what I'm doing. When I think about it, I can get overwhelmed with anxiety. But as long as I keep my head down and do what's in front of …

Neurodivergence & the Public Library

... public institutions such as public libraries encounter on a daily basis many people living with mental illness. Yet, it is imperative that libraries not fear these encounters but embrace them as opportunities to serve with professionalism, compassion, and dedication.Jeffrey Babbitt (me), "The Functionally Diverse with Mental Health Issues and the Public Library: A Community …

Gigs

Hey folks. I'm interested in getting by financially until I have a chance to enter into my new profession officially. Of course I am, who isn't? Anyway, I thought I'd share some services here in case anyone needs or wants or knows anyone who needs or wants anything I can offer at the moment. Unfortunately, …