On books and blood

*Legal disclaimer* The following entry discusses my work. The opinions mentioned herein do not represent the views of my employer. However, given the nature of said opinions, I doubt there will be trouble over it.

I was given the responsibility for ordering French books for adults yesterday. I must confess that the task seems a bit daunting. However, I think I will get used to it and certain aspects of the new assignment look fascinating.

As luck would have it, this week is the Salon du Livre de Montréal. So this morning, I went to scope out some new books for the Library at the Palais de Congrés. At the ticket counter, I was asked if I had a City of Montreal library card which would qualify me for free entry. I replied that I didn't but that I was a librarian working for a public library. The clerk then gave me a free ticket. (I don't know if this qualifies as a conflict of interest, so I will report this when I return to work tomorrow.)

I had thought that today (Thursday) would be quieter than on the weekend. Unfortunately, it was "Matinée scolaire" day so there were a large number of school kids, some of whom were running past me, which caused me to flinch for worry that they would step on my bad foot, as it was relatively unprotected owing to the fact that I had disassembled my left crutch in order to stow in my backpack so I might have a hand free to wield my iPhone and its barcode reader app.

There were a lot of books to consider. I mean a lot. Thanks to the aforementioned iPhone app, I was able to record seventy-odd barcodes which is far more than I would have written down without it. I am certain that some of the books will prove to be ones the Library has already purchased, while others will prove to unsuitable or simply unnecessary. However, the exercise gave me a mental picture of what is out there and gave me some ideas about how the collection might be developed in new directions within the strictures of the Library's acquisition policy. 

One interesting direction was suggested by the presence of a Korean book zone. The Library serves a growing Korean population and interest in Korean literature (in translation) might be spurred on by Han Kang being awarded this year's Nobel Prize for Literature. Another direction the collection might expand into would be the new "romantasy" genre (romance fantasy) that one vendor had a large table dedicated to. Unfortunately, the titles appeared to be mostly translations from English rather than original French works.

There was blood donor clinic set up on the ground floor of the Palais de Congrés. As I was leaving, I stopped by the front desk to thank the volunteers and employees of Héma-Québec, as well as a younger man who was about to give blood. I am alive today because of blood transfusions.