First World Problem: The Seattle library has been upgrading its online catalog system and everything related to it. This involved taking the whole catlog offline for what was supposed to be two days two weeks ago but turned into three, but that's no big deal. They publicized it extensively, and it's not like I was stunned it took them 24 hours longer to get it back online than scheduled.

But Interlibrary Loan and Purchase Suggestion got taken offline at the beginning of January as part of this process. They're still down, and neither the website nor my local branch librarians can give any indication of when it'll be back up again. Now, I'm very dependent on ILL for research, and I make a lot of purchase suggestions, especially when local author friends have new books coming out. So I'm starting to get downright furious every time I go to the ILL/Purchase Suggestion webpage and it still has that "we had to take it down Jan. 7, we'll let you know when we have an estimate of when it'll be back" message.

And I'm also confused. The library catalog and online circulation system, the thing that was down for 72 hours or so, seems hella complicated. While the ILL/Purchase Suggestion form seems equally simple. You go in, you fill out author/title/ISBN-type info, and hit submit. Presumably it gets emailed to someone in the Central Library who buys or tracks down another library's copy of the book as appropriate. So can anyone more familiar than I am with the inner workings of libraries and/or large, complex data interfaces tell me if there's a good reason this isn't as simple as it seems? Because I have a feeling my calling the library to scream about not being able to request books on turn-of-the-19th-century obstetrics or ask them to buy my friend's debut book that comes out in May would be counterproductive.

ask for the paper forms ... they probbably still have them.

What I actually just did was give in and request the titles I need most urgently through the King County library system--the two systems have a reciprocal agreement where city residents can get county cards and vice versa. I would've done so weeks ago, but I kept expecting them to fix the system at any time, and I didn't want to juggle having books out from more than one library if I could help it.

And I just talked to DH, who called me on a break from some terribly boring professional development class he has to take--his educated guess is that the reason it's taking so long to reestablish my favorite library services is that they're having to reprogram the linkage between ILL/purchase suggestion and the new database. And that it's a relatively low priority, and the library is chronically underfunded, so us researching types just have to suffer for awhile.

(Of course, there's the separate question of why a city that prides itself on its bookishness to the degree Seattle does can't FUCKING FUND A LIBRARY PROPERLY, but that's another rant.)

-t has a new tag.

I work in a major university library, and believe you me, the back end computing systems are fiendishly complicated. We completely changed computer systems last July and many things are still doing the wacky (though in our case, ILL was not affected). I am sure your DH is right.

OK. Instead of ranting about the Seattle library, I'll reflect on my good fortune that I have the county system as a backup.

Those who know Amy, go and congratulate here. The hidebound Utah State Legislature approved medical licensing for direct entry midwives. Amy's gonna take herself back to school.

Oh, hooray. One of my good friends is a midwife in B.C.

Great news, for Utah in general and Amy in particular.