After arriving at work on Wednesday to see a newly erected metal detector* at my workplace, I was preparing to have another rant here this week. I was going to go on about how something advertised as “employee/visitor threat screening” did anything but make me feel safe and/or secure at work. I was going to pose the question, “How are we supposed to be a ‘community’ when we’re seeing one another as threats?” I was going to state how overly sick I am of the over-reaches into my privacy through badge swipes at every door, security personnel at main entrances, an onerous visitor policy – all for what is still supposed to be a public university. And lastly, I was going to ask when we suddenly became such a dangerous place to work. Either the administration is hyping up security for no other reason that sucking up to the expanding, fear-based (and lucrative) security industry or they’re being anything but transparent about what goes on here. As far as I know, there hasn’t been a single incident to warrant all of this build up. Nothing ever close. If the latter is true, that is the real fear, i.e., keeping secrets.
But…
I’m not going to waste anymore time nor thought on this today for a couple reasons. First, when I went for a lunchtime stroll and noticed the fancy detector is gone. Whew!
Secondly, I went for a lunchtime stroll with my newly discovered app, Seek, and I earned the “Plant Eaters Challenge” badge.
Seek is a companion app to iNaturalist, a tool I’ve enjoyed for some years. Both are great ways to learn about nature, participate in citizen science, and have fun meeting challenges. I am drawn to the latter. It’s likely a big part of why I enjoy being a librarian. The “finding stuff” part. The hunt for some elusive thing. The rush of satisfaction when I have said thing in hand. I also love looking for seashells and sand dollars, counting and tracking birds, and staring at patches of clover for that lucky, four-leafed one. Oh, and tracking my beers on the app, Untapped. That one earns you badges, too. I’m pretty certain all of these things are connected.
Learning about nature, paying attention to the animals and plants and insects around me, noticing them, this is much more joyful than entering locked down, guarded up campuses, that’s for sure. Talking with a doc while we looked over the students’ community garden, her being impressed when I pointed out a Baltimore oriole on a nearby tree, this is community. These are the things that make any workplace enjoyable and healthy.
It seems like the administration here is spending an awful lot of money on two very competing things – security and wellness. Right next to where the offending scanner was set up stands a large banner touting our Wellness Network, an elaborate web tool to help employees track their fitness, engage in mental health activities, practice mindfulness, and more. The juxtaposition of these two messages, “Be well!” and “Be wary!”, well I’m just not buying it. It’s a mixed message.
I’m going to focus instead on the things that make me happy and healthy and whole. Like a long weekend ahead! Happy Summer, everyone! And for those in the US, have a safe and happy 4th of July!
*The word is that it wasn’t a metal detector but a “gun detector”, an AI-enabled detection system. Sigh…
A Librarian by Any Other Name 
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