Gail Warren
State Law Librarian
Virginia State Law Library - Richmond, VA
Isn't the View Spectacular!
Law Library Journal Fall, 2001
"Hey, come over here. Isn't the view spectacular!" My feet move slowly, inching along the carpeted floor. The closer I move to the floor-to-ceiling windows, the larger the knot in my stomach grows; a thin bead of perspiration is spreading rapidly across my upper lip. I plant myself approximately three feet from my colleague, who is leaning over the railing that spans the wall of windows. Her nose almost touches the glass. "Yes, it's beautiful," I reply, "I can see everything from right here." Slowly, but deliberately, I inch my way back to the bank of elevators in the middle of the room and wait, breathlessly, for the next elevator going down.
"Listen, you have to do this. Just stand here between us and don't look down. It will be great!"
As the Monongahela Incline begins its ascent up Mount Washington, I'm wondering how I ever let myself get into this predicament. The familiar knot is rising in my stomach; as we approach the top, a huge sigh of relief escapes. But there's more. Of course one can't take the incline to the top without sightseeing along Grandview Avenue, appropriately fitted with overlooks. "I can see fine from here," I mutter as my colleagues rush to the edge, the edge, of the precariously positioned concrete overlook. Perhaps they don't notice the glistening sweat on my upper lip—after all, we have to take the incline back down to the bottom.
"Where are the guardrails?" I'm laughing, but my stomach is doing flip-flops as the jeep follows every twist and turn of the snakelike road, Route 1, the "Pacific Coast Highway." Fortunately, my seatmate traded places and now I am sitting on the passenger seat behind the driver, positioned on the inside edge of the road and not the outside, right at cliff's edge. "Oh Gail," she says, "There aren't any guardrails!" After she pulls over, parking the jeep in the small gravel wayside, we tumble out for a better look. Again, I plant my feet firmly and take a big breath.
I not only survived each of these experiences, I'm a better person for them. Some readers may even remember these adventures because they all happened at outings with friends during AALL Annual Meetings or institutes. When asked to write about the ways I continue to feel challenged and energized in my career, more than eighteen years into the same position at the same law library, I thought the answer would be simple. Actually, it is simple, just not the one I first thought it would be.
My family supports my participation in professional activities and accepts my "absences" while traveling and attending library meetings, and that is certainly important in terms of balancing one's obligations at home and at work. My employer also supports these activities through professional encouragement and financial support. I've always known that my active involvement in professional organizations such as AALL provided that extra boost of energy to my work life. After each Annual Meeting I return to work re-energized, enthusiastic, and ready to tackle the most daunting project. Most of that energy is drawn from the wonderful friendships I share with law librarians from both coasts and the heartland in between—friendships we celebrate at the Annual Meeting and other events. So, I think, the answer to a long, productive career is simple—it's the friendships with library colleagues, friendships nurtured through shared experiences, long conversations, and lots of laughter that keep my career "young."
Yet, that isn't really the answer. When I invoke memories of shared experiences in my professional career, for some reason I automatically think of the "heights" I've scaled. Until now, I've never made this connection. To you this might not be notable, but to me, forever fearful of vertical elevations—like high bridges with long spans (1992 Annual Meeting in San Francisco), the top of the Sears Tower (1987 Annual Meeting in Chicago), or even the rooftop patio of the Maryland Science Center (1997 Annual Meeting in Baltimore)1—it's really something. But what's even more noteworthy is that while I've been "forced" to join these outings at almost every AALL venue, my colleagues also have encouraged me to take other risks—risks such as chairing a committee,2 writing an article for AALL Spectrum, or speaking to a room full of peers early on a Sunday morning. Those who skydive and bungee jump have nothing on me. Accepting the inherent risk, pushing the fear aside, and moving "upward" is exhilarating. The answer is not solely active participation in my profession and it is not simply the very personal memories of those excursions to see local sights, it is the combination of both, inexplicably intertwined, that keep me coming back for more.
1. Acrophobia is defined as an "abnormal dread of being at a great height." Webster's Third New International Dictionary 20 (1993). Of course, "great height" is rather relative, isn't it?
2. Editor's Note: Gail Warren has chaired AALL's Preservation and Nominations committees; the State, Court and County Law Libraries Special Interest Section; and the SIS Council. She has also served as president of the Virginia Association of Law Libraries.
For More Information About Law Librarianship or the AALL Recruitment Committee, contact committee chair Sarah Mauldin.