An exploration of how we are using macros in our current system, contrasted with what we're getting pitched by vendors. We want to: enter consistent data, avoid typos, improve system design, add conditional logic, and generally save the user repetitive, mindless work. Right now, that seems to require macros.| Ruth Kitchin Tillman
Today mom would’ve turned 80 years old. It could’ve been a pretty epic Mother’s Day celebration. Instead, this summer, we’ll mark 15 years without her. I’m still not as old as she was when she became a mother, my mother. Later this year, I’ll turn 40 and we could have celebrated my being half her age, finally. When I was a kid, I used to tell her “someday I’ll be 40 and you’ll be 80.” I really had no idea what those meant besides numbers. After so many years, missing her r...| Ruth Kitchin Tillman
Earlier this month, Jessy at Library Shenanigans posted some charming onomatopetic instructions for circ workers performing checkins at a freshly-automated library in the 1990s. The “Doot-doot” and “Deedle-deedle-dee” are delightful. They may have been a little annoying. But what struck me about the post is that they solve a problem I’ve been aware of for a good 15+ years. And they did so a good decade before I first recall encountering it. The Problem: Popups, Barcodes, and Returns...| Ruth Kitchin Tillman
While extremely rare, Nasacort nasal spray can have the side effect of severe anxiety or even suicidal ideation. This post describes my experience going from fully managed anxiety to planning suicide after only 3 days of using Nasacort. I wrote about it primarily so that others experiencing similar side effects can know they're not alone and that stopping Nasacort was very effective for me in returning to normal.| Ruth Kitchin Tillman
I manage this site and several of my others using Hugo, a static site generator based on the “Go” language. I’ve learned a little bit about Hugo themes over time, not as much as I used to know about Wordpress, but enough to whip up a few mini site themes from scratch and heavily modify the academic theme I use on this one. A little knowledge is, of course, dangerous. As I posted on the 15th, I’ve added a quilt module to the site. These publish to the main RSS as well as their own loca...| Ruth Kitchin Tillman
Coding up a new section of the website to document and share some of the many quilts I've made over the years.| Ruth Kitchin Tillman
Something bad has happened and it is once again time to make a statement. Or, more likely, if you’re the member of a professional organization, to demand that the organization’s leadership make a statement. As we’ve endured the first month of a second Trump presidency, I’ve been reflecting on the last time around. In early 2017, I was in a digital collections role and active in the Society of American Archivists. That was also the last year of the (dysfunctional) Archives & Archivists...| Ruth Kitchin Tillman
Content note: this post discusses the “calories burned” during workouts, but mostly really absurd numbers It all started when I bought a heart monitor. Well, back up a little bit. In Spring 2023, I started powerlifting. I’d done some weight training before, mostly dumbbells in the 12-25lb range, but powerlifting is a completely different adventure. It turns out I love it! I’ve done regular cardio for ages and I did ballet as a kid into my teens, but never had a sport give me either th...| Ruth Kitchin Tillman
January 21, 2025 marks the 500th anniversary of the small gathering of Christians who chose to re-baptise each other, setting off what would become the Anabaptist movement. As a Mennonite, I’m an Anabaptist. So are Church of the Brethren and Brethren in Christ, with whom we often find ourselves teaming up, as well as our cousins the Amish and the more distant Hutterites or the more modern Bruderhof. In light of this anniversary, I’m writing about my journey to becoming Anabaptist. This is...| Ruth Kitchin Tillman
After last week’s talk on making use of the period between now and fundamental shifts in cataloging, regular expressions (regex) came up during the Q&A as one of the things I think it’s helpful for catalogers to learn. Afterward, one of the attendees emailed me asking for more specific recommendations on how to learn them. I’m sharing the resources I pulled together, since I think they could be of use to more folks. I would also recommend that, if you get the opportunity, this is a good...| Ruth Kitchin Tillman