Sally Bosken, Librarian, U.S Naval Observatory

Sally Bosken, Librarian, U.S Naval Observatory (USNO), USA.

Q: If you weren't a librarian, what would you be?

A: A Broadway singing star - no, I was always going to be a librarian, just like my mother was. As a little girl, I would play 'library' with my dolls; I would hang out in the school library; I also volunteered in the public library. I am a librarian and there is nothing else I would rather be.

Q: What is the last book you read?

A: My book club voted to read Proust's Remembrance of Things Past over the summer. We always read a classic because we have so much time to read it. Furthmore, when the summer started I visited the SLA conference and read Neil deGrasse Tysons' Death by Blackhole. Following this, I went to ALA and read Pat Conroy's South of Broad. I also read Before the Big Bang by Brian Clegg. Book club is soon, so I had better get back to Proust as I have around 500 pages to read.

Q: What book would you recommend reading?

A: I would recommend The Sleepwalkers by Arthur Koestler. He gives a poetic telling of the history of cosmological thought. The old astronomers come to life. A great read!

Q: Name one place that you would like to go back to?

A: Childhood. Sitting at the end of the dock on the lake in Michigan with my grandmother watching the Perseid meteor shower. It opened up a new world and the sky to me.

Q: How do you like to relax after work?

A: Working on my new passion which involves volunteering with other astronomy librarians at a conference in Pune, India. The event is due to take place on 14 February, 2010 and is called 'Library and Information Services in Astronomy (LISA)'. This will be the sixth gathering of this group. I am seeking donations for scholarships for librarians who would otherwise not be able to attend. It has been a great experience as I have heard from generous librarians all over the world. Here is the website to learn more about LISA VI www.libibm.iucaa.ernet. If you would like to make a contribution, please contact me directly. Every dollar counts!

Q: Can you highlight three qualities of your institution?

A: 1. We have everything. In the 166 year history of the USNO library we have collected all astronomy works and have not thrown a single thing away. We are the largest astronomy library in the United States. Thank heavens we have had people working here who didn't know how to weed! 2. The historical knowledge of our collection lingers on. My co-worker, Gregory Shelton knows every book in the collection and remembers where it is. My predecessor, Brenda Corbin and I enjoy talking and love to meet for lunch. I have my own personal mentor who is the authority on astronomical librarianship, how lucky am I? Also, it is wonderful for the Navy to benefit from librarians and a free library. 3. It is a beautiful place to work. The American architect Richard M Hunt designed our building and the library. He worked for the Vanderbilt family and designed the Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island, as well as the Biltmore in Ashville, North Carolina. We have a rotunda with a fountain in the middle. Vice President Joe Biden is our neighbor and comes by to use the library as a backdrop for his early morning news appearances. He says, 'It is a great, great library.' I agree!

To find out more about U.S Naval Observatory (USNO), please visit the website www.usno.navy.mil/USNO