At Sea

It is 7:16 pm in Piraeus, Greece, and The Scholar Ship just set sail for our first port. Students boarded the vessel today and now things are in full swing! The Learning Resource Center (LRC) staff (librarians) spent several days and long hours getting the Opening Collection books registered - by hand, folks - we're talking Accession Book, pen and ink here! - and processed them. They were on the shelves in time for the students to see the LRC in decent condition. We librarians were not the only ones who worked long and hard to get the space ready, however. Turning a cruise ship gift shop into a library is no small feat. Carpenters, electricians, and housekeeping staff combined efforts to get shelves attached to the walls and guard rails attached to the shelves (to keep books from sliding off the shelves when the ship tilts), install computer desks, build an atlas case and install a BEAUTIFUL mahogany service desk. The phone was just moved from the far wall to the desk and we're ready to shut down for the night.

We're sailing for Lisbon, Portugal, which will take about five days. We'll spend seven days in port in Portugal. I'll update the blog when I have my next opportunity.