flea, my university (basically a carbon copy of the one where you are interviewing) has been consolidating physical library branches for 20 years, on the grounds that if you are accessing services from your office computer, it doesn't matter if they are 100 yards away or across campus.
As a faculty representative on the U library committee I've seen the Sturm and Drang of this, particularly on the part of older faculty, but the librarians have been pretty satisfied with the results. There hasn't been a reduction in the number of librarians (dramatic cuts in support staff have driven the economics) and they kind of like being grouped together as a unit, with each responsible for curating an electronic presence for their discipline.
I'm no expert in this but the library Dean tells us that the old way can't stand, if only because the interdisciplinary nature of scholarship these days means that people with an interest in classics may be spread across campus in traditional classics departments but also in public health, policy, gender studies, environmental affairs, Asian studies, and other far flung departments, and they aren't well served by a decrepit vestigial library in the basement of the Latin-Greek building, far from their own office. Scholarship and physical space just don't line up the way they used to. Well, that's what she says, anyway.
So it's possible that these folks were just waiting to make a pitch to you for the consolidation they have planned and to rouse a chorus of testimony about how well it is working out.
OMFG my job is trying to kill me today.
I'm with you, Jesse. I have WAY too much to do in the time allotted. So after this, if I'm posting here (unless I say it's a break), shoo me away.
OMFG my job is trying to kill me today.
Kill it back! Bludgeon it with a C38 tape dispenser, and then set it on fire!
I was expecting that a consolidation of branches might be on the table. It's the fact that I brought up the topic and invited them to tell me about it, and they said nothing, and then I found out that they're actively planning to do it before the position is filled, but didn't tell me about it when I asked them, is what's bothering me.
Flea, I'm with you on being lied to. I don't tolerate that. And until Rauner is run out of the state (or thrown in prison like most IL governors) I'd be very leery of any state uni job.
I'd be bothered, too, flea, and I would definitely ask them to explain the context of the document, because you're "confused."
After nearly two years in my present office, I finally hung my degrees up this morning. Go me?
Well, that's done. I've applied to my own damned job.
Trip prep 3 days out. Mostly packed. Have passports out. Dog care arranged and drop off time confirmed.
Still need to: have cat sitter over, clean out car (parents are driving it to airport), get Mac to pack.
Yeah, that's troubling.
Oh, man, this morning is already a bit too exciting for me. Nothing really of interest to people who aren't me (or who don't sit near me while working, anyway), which is really too bad. Stress that makes for a good story is more acceptable to me, I think.
Although my coworker across the way wants to bring "resplendent" back and that made for a fun conversation - he wanted to know when he was bringing it back from, so I googled and got it's 15th century origin, but not when it was in popular use. He suggested googling "when it was last in vogue" so I did exactly that and came up with a tweet from Vogue UK in 2012, but he claims that is not "in Vogue" so much as "by Vogue". Probably erinaceous could help with this.
Kill it back! Bludgeon it with a C38 tape dispenser, and then set it on fire!
Ha! I had to check - my tape dispenser is a C15, probably not suitable for bludgeoning.
