refdesk #1
my brain vs. Wikipedia, knowing a little about a lot of things, etc.
two whole entire years ago, i asked August to design me a logo for a zine / newsletter hybrid i wanted to start. i chose ref desk as a title because it encapsulated the way i pictured my writing would live: a lot of small bits of information, resources and ideas about lots and lots of different things showcased in a way that felt accessible and open. to provide thoughts and next steps and only sometimes fill in the details. Wikipedia’s (lol) definition of a reference desk reads: ‘The reference desk or information desk of a library is a public service counter where professional librarians provide library users with direction to library materials, advice on library collections and services, and expertise on multiple kinds of information from multiple sources.’ later, it also notes: “To borrow a medical analogy, reference librarians diagnose and treat information deficiencies.” (not sure about this one).
Photo from New York Public Library’s Flickr
while i am not a professional librarian (more on that one day), i have provided this service to many new england public and academic libraries over the past 15 years. ref desk feels like a sweet ode to something i love to do and a bit of a reclamation of language - it can be mine too and yours! for now i think ref desk will mostly be a brain pour - an accountability tool to challenge myself to think and get excited about things outside of school and work and life’s general soul sucking-ness. suggestions, ideas, facts, musings, images, movies, books, ephemera, unfinished projects, finished projects, showing off, archives, lists, bragging, complaining, probably a good amount of shopping, etc. etc. etc. my own version of the reference desk in my head.
two years ago when this idea began, i worked in the reference department of a public library. and then the research department of an academic library. and now the reading room of an art library. i love the challenge of finding the answer to a question i don’t know - maybe one i wouldn’t have ever even have known to ask. i have gotten to do this endlessly in all of these positions. in my reference jobs, i felt a new purpose in answering questions. sometimes funny. sometimes very serious. sometimes small and sometimes big. as much as we always secretly want to believe we are the expert, i am not. i love to not be the expert! i love having and understanding the tools to find answers. i want this newsletter to be a lot of unlearning the expert - i can help you find answers as i help myself find answers. crack open a moment of learning in my life again. smaller this time, maybe to inspire something bigger!
screenshot from Daisy von Scherler Mayer’s 1995 library classic, Party Girl, free to stream on Peacock and some other places it seems
a special shout out to August who did create the sweetest logo for me all those many moons ago - so excited to finally dust it off and give it the shine it deserves.
first order of business
borrowing this concept from a couple of Substack favs, Haley Nahman’s 15 Things I Consumed This Week and Cody Cook-Parrott’s Paying Attention To, here is a little ref desk list of 5 things to introduce myself, this newsletter and my brain
5 things
art i am thinking about: would love to see work by Meghan Brady in real life sometime soon
image via artists’ Instagram
a lil bit of shameless promotion but i work with Geary, an upstate (Millerton) NY gallery who is showing a beautiful group exhibition in their second floor space curated by Elijah Wheat Showroom that is truly something special! When the Spirit Moves You
Roxanne Jackson, Spellbound Amphora, Ceramic, Underglaze, Luster, Gold Leaf, epoxy, 29 x 14 x 14 in. Image courtesy of the artist and Elijah Wheat Showroom
movie review - Clockwatchers: because this newsletter will inevitably become an accidental cry for help in capitalism and work and blah blah blah - i have to shout out this perfect suggestion from the John Early. Clockwatchers is the movie that you might wish Office Space was if you’re at all like me and want 1) ACTRESSES 2) ACTRESSES 3) outfits 4) minor details that get you in the gut. think fish tank, think photo strip! think stapler. it’s the perfect cast. watch and then listen to the A24 podcast convo between John Early and Toni Collette where he talks about his childhood toni collette fan website. 1997 pure magic! free w adds on youtube. also shout out to gill for this perfect meme:
this handknit Mohair Melange Headscarf that i purchased at midnight on Etsy in a sleepy, sleepy daze after seeing it in a TikTok - more to come when it arrives sometime between November 1-13.
been watching a whole bunch of horror movies this october (btw do you love horror movies? get a copy of dan’s nuclear eye fanzine ft. my favorite, a very cool interview with alex ross perry about VHS and video store history) but... my book group read clive barker’s the hellbound heart, the story behind his eventual directorial classic hellraiser this month. reading scary stories is fun and creepy and when you listen to the audiobook no one around you knows the freak shit you’re hearing in your headphones minding your own business, pretty fun stuff.
image from this $34 copy on eBay - epic cover and the 1987 film poster
i think there is a funny response in life when you feel very deeply depleted that makes you think for some reason, you will be able to create something then and there to catch yourself. dig yourself out. learn something new. inspire not only yourself to feel better but even others! i am not fooling anyone, i am sort of trying to do that here. at the very least i am hoping this small space of words will help hold myself accountable to ensuring that Instagram is not the only creative force in my life. i am not sure this is that much different than Instagram (word edition but imagine! still photos even) but that's okay. i have been deeply committed to oversharing my life on the Internet for over 16 years and this is no different or less self indulgent and there has to be some beauty in that! i may feel like the creativity within me has been carefully siphoned to a reduced trickle but i look forward to talking shit here in this space as i have done on so many platforms for so many years.
ok, xoxo
ali
