#27 Introducing Erika

Let me introduce you to Erika. She lives in a log cabin; she is a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation; she is a film librarian at the University of Virginia; and she hired me to be her assistant on this voyage. She fell in love with the beauty of the east coast of Oahu and was heard to say, “I don’t think I’d go to movies if I lived here.”

For the spring and fall semesters, there are two librarians per voyage – one from UVa and a second hired from what I imagine to be a large pool of candidates from across the country eager to take advantage of this opportunity. I am thankful that Erika opted to hire someone who complimented her skills rather than duplicated her skills as an academic librarian. She is a delight to work with, to dine with, to laugh with, and to travel with. We have worked some long days together to get the semester started, but we now have a good system in place and we have trained six enthusiastic work-study students to help us staff the library from 0800 until 2300 each day the ship is at sea.

If you really want to know what’s going on during this voyage, you’re reading the wrong blog. You should read Erika’s blog. She tells a good story; she gives more insight; and sometimes she even includes a picture of Kelly and me.

Yours in introducing Erika,
Mary