The Driveway inside my Guest House Coupound

When I am picked up for work, the vehicle drives all the way inside. Then the doors are closed (more or less). I get in and we drive off.

Along the right in this picture is a greenhouse. To the left, but unseen, is the garden/yard space.

I have been told that I am moving beginning this weekend (more or less).

About a Filing Cabinet

Today, one of the library staff had to get something out of one of our filing cabinets. In doing so, somehow, the top drawer became dislodged and fell in.

The first step was to ask our janitorial staff to assist. When this started to fail, H., a library staff member gave advice and looked at the progress. Eventually it was concluded that the cabinet was broken.

Then our library director dropped by and mentioned that he had fixed that before. We waited a while and when L., another library staff member, had waited enough, she asked him to assist.

We took everything out and sorted the parts and then nearly gave up when I threw off my headscarf and said, no, we can get this fixed!* You just need a little tenacity.

With a little more analysis and a lot of elbow grease (literally, greasy), we put it together following the director's known experience looking for that little switch that allows you to disconnect the carrier that holds the file drawer from the main mechanism. I found it and that was that. File drawers fixed.

Hands washed and all is well.

*I think that I said something like, 'no, this can be fixed! [then threw off headscarf that had been getting caught by the various components] I am an American!"

My work: What I do here in Kabul

I work in technical services and systems in the library at the American University of Afghanistan. AUAf is located on the southwest side of the city closer to the Darulaman Palace ruins than 'downtown'.

My work includes cataloging, acquisitions and systems work. Our integrated library system is Koha and we have a contract with Liblime to make things run as smoothly as possible.

In my first few days here, I have been exploring the current setup and sorting out some particularly difficult sets for cataloging. Most of my time has been talking with and observing the library staff in how they go about their work.

In the near future, I will be installing and testing new modules and working on workflows that provide the library with a few efficiencies in our approach to materials management.

It's a good job.

Front Doors to the AUAf Library

Conversation about a fire alarm

At work on Sunday, I had noticed that the newly installed fire alarm was beeping at regular intervals. I asked a local colleague if it had been reported to facilities and he said that the security office had installed it and said that we got the kind of alarm that beeps. I mentioned that the alarm beeps because it needs a new battery. He said, no, the alarm that we have beeps to let us know that it is working.

So when my other colleague arrived, I asked her if the noise bothered her and she said she would call security to check to see. She did and security staff came over relatively promptly.

I told the man from security that the battery needed to be changed; that the fire alarm needed a new battery, but he said, no, the battery is new. Just some of the fire alarms beep and others just have the light. I said I would prefer to just have the light, then. And so he went and got another fire alarm and this one just had the blinking red light. He installed it and we all said thank you and appreciated his efforts.

I am going to bring in one of my duracell 9v batteries tomorrow. When I look up at the fire alarm now above my desk, it does not seem to be blinking any more.

American University of Afghanistan. Sunday morning. January 31, 2010