The Authority File

How much have we learned about COVID-19 since February or March? Chances are, we’re no longer sanitizing our groceries or stockpiling gloves (if we ever were). Chances are, we’re no longer sanitizing our groceries or stockpiling gloves (if we ever were). No matter how much we prepare, as we know more, we adjust. New information calls for recalibration and flexibility. Sarah Copeland of the University of Tennessee Chattanooga and Lauren Magnuson of California State University San Marcos quickly discovered which plans worked and which didn’t. As they progressed further into the fall semester, each librarian had to rethink her library’s original strategy. Do we need to keep charging for late fees? Do students really want contactless locker delivery? Who should be the ones sanitizing computer lab keyboards and mice? In this third episode, Sarah and Lauren dive into the everyday of the fall semester, and the quick decisions that were necessary to keep workflows efficient and patrons safe. They also reflect on the transformation of work culture, and what’s been lost in the process. The stress of the pandemic and the lack of interacting face-to-face with your coworkers take its toll. As Sarah notes, “You forget how important some of the day-to-day check-ins and casual interactions are for just helping everything go smoother.” Sponsored byTaylor & Francis group

It’s the question routinely posed to artists, writers, and poets: who are your major influences? We expect famous names—Plath, Wallace, Morrison—but what about the people close to the creator who affect their character and, consequently, general oeuvre? Sherrill Grace, author of Timothy Findley’s biography, Tiff: A Life of Timothy Findley, can certainly name some of Findley’s creative influences; Malcolm Lowry, Joseph Conrad, and fellow Canadian Margaret Atwood make the list. But Findley’s parents, other matriarchs in the family, and partner Bill Whitehead distinctly impacted his personal life and outlook, too. In this third episode, Sherrill discusses Findley’s main influences and themes, especially those that made their way into his most famous novel, The Wars. Sherrill also delves into her memorable experience meeting Bill Whitehead, who ultimately gave her access to the archives needed to write the book. “This man met me at the door, opened his arms, greeted me with such warmth and welcome that I rather knew my fate was sealed in that very moment.” Wilfrid Laurier University Press

It’s one thing to plan how to operate an academic library during a global pandemic. It’s a whole other beast to actually put it into action. Sarah Copeland of the University of Tennessee Chattanooga had to contend with an open library. Lauren Magnuson of California State University San Marcos had a fully virtual semester on her hands. How did each execute their plans? Sarah needed to switch from a two-desk service model to a single desk, enact a rotating cohort model in her staff, and ensure that students comply with mask and social distancing rules. Lauren, on the other hand, had to find solutions for the hundreds of students that relied on physical reserves for their textbooks. In this second episode, Sarah explains that using compliance walk-throughs as a way to connect with students produced better communication and familiarity with library staff. A clipboard kit of individually wrapped masks, straws, and handouts on university and library policy helped too. Lauren reveals that her library’s existing structure of building digital reserves eased the transition to remote learning—not to mention, uncovered how many students rely on the library for accessible, free options. Plus, San Marcos’ new patron driven approach amassed inclusive and diverse materials that the collection had previously lacked: “Students have really stepped in with what they’re requesting and what they’re researching, and shown that students are very good at identifying resources that are going to reflect their lived experiences.” Sponsored by Taylor & Francis group

What did you want to be when you were growing up? A doctor? An astronaut? A princess? As it turns out, most of our career ambitions at five, eleven, twenty-years-old don’t end up becoming a reality. The world shifts, as do our interests, talents, and prospects. Timothy Findley, the acclaimed Canadian author and playwright, originally set his sights on acting. Encouraged by a few minor roles at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, he moved to London to live with the Guinness family and study the craft. He spent most of the next decade playing bit parts, which led to many dissatisfied journal entries and disillusionment with the discipline. In this second episode, Sherrill Grace, the author of his biography Tiff: A Life of Timothy Findley, discusses how the pains of traveling actor life—lousy food, unpleasant living spaces—added to Findley’s impatience and ambition for better things. Sherrill also touches on his journal entries and short plays that led to his transition into writing. As she notes, in hindsight, his talent was there all along: “I remember saying to myself at one point, ‘why is it taking so long for you, kid, to see who you really are here?’ It’s there.” Sponsored by Wilfrid Laurier University Press

Miraculously, the end of the fall semester fast approaches. But before looking to spring, academic librarians will have to reflect on the past few months. With a full semester amidst a pandemic under their belts, what worked and what didn’t? Sarah Copeland’s library at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga is open to students, albeit with a number of restrictions. Stacks are closed and computer lab space is at a minimum, though hand sanitizer abounds. At California State University San Marcos, Lauren Magnuson tackles an entirely virtual fall semester, which includes a ramped-up patron driven acquisition approach and contactless lockers for print pickup. This month, we have the opportunity to dig into two divergent libraries’ plans, execution, and learned lessons during the COVID-19 fall semester. In this first episode, Copeland and Magnuson explain how their own institutions prepared for their re-opening plans, whether by specialized task force or a necessary all-hands-on-deck line of attack. They also come to find surprising similarities in their patrons’ needs—who knew today’s students would miss print books? Taylor and Francis group

The best teacher-student relationships are symbiotic. When students prod at an unexplored subject, a good instructor wonders why. They look deeper. They question why that topic pulled at the students to begin with. What stone is still unturned? While teaching the books of Timothy Findley, Sherrill Grace of University of British Columbia found her students resonating with the acclaimed Canadian author and playwright. They wanted to know the man behind works like The Wars, Famous Last Words, and Headhunter. Simply put, “other writers didn’t hit them the way this one did.” In the first episode of this four-part series, Sherrill explains how her students inspired her to look into Findley’s life, and the breadth of archival material—manuscripts, letters, journals—she happily dove into to write his biography, Tiff: A Life of Timothy Findley. Sherrill also picks apart what Findley means to her, and why his work continues to reach current generations even after his passing. Sponsored by Wilfrid Laurier University Press

Over the past three episodes, this series has explored what free time really is. It has explored how we can differentiate leisure from recreation and why we might want to do so. And it delved into the philosophical arguments about why it might be useful to carve out a subsection of Catholic solidarity that listeners can apply on a smaller, more human scale. The question then is, “So what? Why’s that useful to me?” In this episode, Conor Kelly, assistant professor at Marquette University, thinks through some of the most common ways Americans use their free time: from watching television to lurking on Facebook to watching football and basketball, and how they might get the most out of their free time. Kelly illustrates the ways he thinks through using his own free time, and how his moral convictions inform his personal decisions. In an interesting case study, Kelly explains the moral considerations he brings to watching football, and how the difference between the compensation of professional versus student athletes complicates the question of whether he should or shouldn’t watch them compete. Sponsored by: Georgetown University Press

What is solidarity in Catholic philosophy, and what does it have to do with leisure? How does “everyday solidarity” differ from Catholic solidarity? Can “everyday solidarity” help a lay person make decisions about their free time? These are all questions Conor Kelly, assistant professor at Marquette University, explores in his new book, The Fullness of Free Time: A Theological Account of Leisure and Recreation in the Moral Life. Kelly explains solidarity as a way of thinking less about “number one” in order to create a good for everyone instead of just a good for the individual. But to his thinking, that good isn’t purely utilitarian. It’s more than that, and the reason why is wrapped up in Catholic social teaching. Kelly then takes this definition and, as he says, creates “a new species” within the genus of solidarity called “everyday solidarity.” But isn’t thinking about leisure an inherently “bourgeois” project, since not everyone has access to free time? Kelly explores that question and others in this week’s installment. Sponsored by: Georgetown University Press

Basketball players talk about “being in the zone” or “on fire.” Musicians describe losing themselves in the score. Characters “lead” their writers through a story. Gamers can lose hours in their digital worlds. What do all of these disparate practices and descriptions have in common? Well, for someone playing at or near their potential, each of these activities allows their practitioners to achieve what Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls the “flow” state: a sort of transcendence or a complete mental and physical absorption in a task. Conor Kelly, assistant professor at Marquette University, begins to unpack the relationship between flow state and leisure in this episode. Kelly argues that leisure can have intrinsic value, as opposed to purely instrumental value because, through leisure activities, we can achieve flow state, which he likens to the Catholic idea of “resting in God.” Join us for a look at free time and a thoughtful discussion on making it as productive as possible, and whether that should even be the goal. Sponsored by: Georgetown University Press

With work, family duties, household chores, who has free time? And when we do, should we zone out to Netflix and a quickly-depleting box of Cheez-Its? Or is free time better used on altruistic efforts in our own communities? How do we make our free time not only restorative, but meaningful? Conor Kelly, assistant professor at Marquette University, faces these questions in his new book, The Fullness of Free Time.  Years in the making, the text can be traced back to the logistics of a much-needed fall break getaway during his undergrad at Notre Dame. When he asked a friend if she’d like to join the group on the trip, she said a better use of her time would be spent volunteering. “What you’re talking about just seems indulgent, was basically what she got at, and I was jarred a little bit, as you might imagine. No one wants to think of themselves as indulgent, particularly when the opposite is selfless acts of service for the world around you.” In this first episode of the four-part series, Kelly discusses how that fateful conversation stuck in his mind, coalescing into a dissertation and eventual volume. Kelly also explains the interplay between moral theology and theological ethics, and how studies from psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi informed his work. Sponsored by Georgetown University Press