Happy Wednesday! I know it is a day early for a Thanksgiving Day post, but it is never too early to list the things one is thankful for in life. And also, because in the United States tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I fully intend to stay away from all things online in order to engage with my family and friends in real life, I needed to send out this post today. (And yes, I know, I know I can schedule the post to publish on Thanksgiving Day but I’m hoping that other people too will unplug for the day and so the post is being published today.)

I think having a day with family and friends when you remember what you are thankful for in life is a fantastic basis for a holiday. And, to my dear long-time readers, the fact that I feel this way should not come as a surprise given my love of lists which have produced the last two year’s posts on things and people in libraries (and archives) which I am thankful for: Thanksgiving Day post for 2008: librarians and optimism and Thanksgiving Day post for 2009: Giving Thanks for Libraries and Librarians.

So this year, I just want to name five of library/archives-related things I’m thankful for and then let you go and celebrate Thanksgiving. (I’m still thankful for everything I named in previous years too, but didn’t want to include all of that here…again.)

1. San Jose State Library School Interns
I always have to include our interns in any list about library wonderfulness. I don’t know how we get so lucky, but we get fantastic interns. It is a blast to work with engaged library school students and I always learn something new. Plus they are just awesome people and it is nice to have an excuse to reflect on teaching philosophies and teaching methods with interested people. Plus, one of the interns could identify my limited edition John Green bobblehead in my office which was just awesome. And did I mention one of our interns was part of the winning Book Cart Drill Team at the CLA Conference this year? I didn’t? Well, take a look at the winning performance in the following video. Interns=awesomeness.

2. Amazing friends who also just happen to be fabulous archivists
Friends are just one of life’s wonders that make life worth living. I always feel very thankful and very lucky that a couple of my closest friends also happen to be archivists. It is so nice to be able to talk about work and research with people who get what I’m saying. These are the friends who I can count on to respond within minutes to a panicked message about confusing metadata standards and who will make sure I don’t lose myself in the Hollinger boxes down in the archives too long. They are the people I can geek out over archives and library stuff and then turn to talking about other important issues such as the best way to make English muffins or debating whether Eccleston or Tennant was a better Doctor. Bonding over paper cuts, freezing cold archives, and late nights talking about anything and everything make these people the ones I turn to for support (and support them) because they are always there. That’s what friends are for and having some that actually understand respect de fonds and OAIS are just (amazing) bonuses. (And I have amazing friends who are librarians too, but wanted to give a special shout out to my archivist friends because, really, archivists need to get some of love too.)

3. Amazing friends who aren’t in the field, but believe librarians are pretty cool
Obviously I don’t spend all my time in the archives or library (really it’s true) and not all my friends are in the field, but they still think librarians are pretty nifty people. And it is awesome to hear about their research and work in aviculture and veterinary practice, among other things. What can I say? I am blessed to have people who want to talk about books, can have fun being fangirls at author book signings, and understand the awesome appeal of Nerdfighteria.

4. Librarians and archivists who are actually proud of their work and their profession
Okay, so we all know that the economy pretty much is pathetic right now and it is seriously difficult to get a job. I will totally not deny those facts. I won’t argue either with the point that some universities are accepting way too many students for the number of jobs in our fields. (I will however take issue with the people who say that a specialization in archives will be a “hot” job segment. First archives are related to libraries, not a specialization in libraries, and second archivists have just as difficult time finding work as librarians, if not more.) But none of these points are what I really want to talk about in this list about things I’m thankful for.

I am so eternally grateful to those librarians and archivists who are proud of their work and their profession. Really, thank you. I’m always thrilled when I talk with people who are confident enough in their work and selves that they don’t feel the need to apologize for it. I love people who won’t make excuses for what they do or put down the profession. We do important work and should act like it. So thank you to those of you who are positive, realistic and true professionals. It makes me smile and glad to be a part of the profession.

5. You, dear reader
I am so thankful for you, dear reader, for continuing to read what I write and to converse with me about topics in the library-archives-tech field. It is fantastic. I adore that I’m not just throwing my writing into a black hole of nothingness. You make the time and energy it takes to write this blog worthwhile. So give yourself a pat on the back and know that you are appreciated.

And to end, enjoy this lovely, beautiful, and wonderful Doctor Who video, His Name is “The Doctor,” made by one of the best video creators I’ve seen on YouTube (and no, it has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, other than the fact that I’m thankful that both Eccleston and Tennant were the Doctor):

I hope you have a fantastic, restful, wonderful Thanksgiving. I’ll be back next week with more library and tech fun. Thank you, as always, for reading and conversing with me.