Lawrence Niculescu is a Consultant in New York City.
Why did you join AALL?
My AALL membership goes hand in hand with my career. I was a young cataloger at the NYU Law School when I joined, starting with CALI. Then, almost every year I attended the annual meetings, keeping current with the latest developments in the profession and making new friends.
Why do you stay a member?
Since then, I kept receiving the CS-SIS email regularly, I check the blog for new ideas (and toys!), and I still get the Spectrum on paper. AALL is a well-structured collection of great materials, for all levels of expertise.
What one membership benefit is most valuable to you?
I find My Communities to be an invaluable resource, from job descriptions to research papers.
What is your favorite memory associated with AALL?
I still remember the 1996 annual meeting in Indianapolis. I saw there Professor Arthur Miller, whose books I had cataloged, and Michael Gorman, one of the most interesting voices in the community. It so happens, my son, who was five at the time, had some fun in a real Indy car.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
My hobby is Artificial Intelligence (I have a degree in linguistics). After work, I go home and I play with Perl, Python and the like, trying to find new solutions to classic problems: automatic translation and text analysis. When I cannot find an answer I take my dog to the park for a walk. We take a lot of walks.
What book(s) are you currently reading?
I read mostly contemporary history of Eastern Europe, young Romanian novelists and I just re-read Borges. He should be the patron of all librarians – no pun intended.
What’s your favorite travel/vacation destination?
I have good memories of a trip with my wife to Coconut Grove last year, during a New York winter. We got sunburn in February. There were plenty of tennis courts around. We have good memories from Montauk and Lake Placid. And of course, Paris, the left side of the Seine.