The Weekly Wrap: February 2, 2025

This week, as I climbed into an exhibit display case, I realized this was an "other duties as assigned" task.

Almost every library position description has "other duties as assigned" listed at the bottom. Generally, this is code for "you might be cleaning things you don't want to clean." It's added to fill in the gaps for all of the library tasks that need to get done but aren't really "official" bits of library work. It's also there to provide flexibility since what libraries are asked to do change all the time.  

While most people hate this line on their position description, I once argued that it could be turned into a chance for skill development and position growth. (If you're interested in that, check out my presentation slides.) But my exhibit case cleaning work got me thinking about the other random tasks I do.  For example:

• Pushing in chairs (all day, every day)
• Moving furniture back to where it belongs
• Tidying up the family-friendly study space (so. many. toys.)
• Handing out pens and other office supplies
• Cutting down scrap paper
• Shortening our swivel chairs when people raise them up to their highest point 
• Collapsing boxes (so. many. boxes.)
• Building shelving and other display items
• Dusting and cleaning the glass in our display cases (I literally have to climb inside. I do it while wearing socks to not leave footprints.)

What are your "other duties as assigned"?

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• The internet isn't forever. That's a problem. [Foreign Policy - ​may be paywalled]
• This list of ways to start a class would probably be good for meetings as well. [Faculty Focus]
• What good is abundant access to information if you don't know how to discern the truth? [Book Riot]

• What do dogs want to say to us? [The Daily]
• What you need to know about bird flu. [Short Wave]
• This story might be about celebrity gossip, but it's really an example of how your attention is always being manipulated. [The Daily]
• And another story about how your attention is being tugged on. [Radio Atlantic]
• The complex history of the banjo. [Code Switch]
• How Canada can get back at us. [The Indicator]
• My Type-A planning side feels personally called out by this. [Hidden Brain]

• We watched Madame Web and went into our viewing knowing that it would be bad. When you have zero expectations, it's actually enjoyable. It did feel like everyone was phoning it in. Everything just felt a bit below what it should have been. Also, this is the first superhero movie I've watched in a long time. They're not usually my thing. The final battle scene once again reinforced why I usually avoid these films. [Netflix]
• Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre has an incredible cast. Every time a new character showed up I did a little dance. Who knew my teenage heartthrob Josh Hartnett was still so handsome? This flick is a lot of fun because it builds upon Hugh Grant having a blast in his villain era. If this becomes a series, I'll keep watching. [Amazon Prime]

• Roasted salmon and tomatoes with garlic and olives was a cinch to put together and was quite tasty. Then again, I will eat anything that calls for kalamata olives. This one is getting added to our regular rotation. We served this with a side of buttered pastina. [Eating Well]
• In my quest to get the kiddo to try new things, I made chicken thighs with couscous and kale. As predicted, she only ate the "small pasta" but we adults enjoyed the entire dish. I sous vided the chicken with the spices to make the active cooking stage a bit faster.  [Eating Well]
• Penne boscaiola was a prissy meal to prepare on a weeknight. For all its fuss, the flavor was just sort of "there" at the end. It wasn't that it was a bad dish, we just expected more for all the work I had to do. Rehydrating dried mushrooms in wine? I really thought this one would pop. I'd make it again, but I'd save it for a weekend. [Serious Eats]