I'm writing from inside a diamond and it's kind of bright in here

The building in which I work, though deceptively called a library, has no books in it. (Well, there are the archives in the basement, but you need the kind of super-special clearance they don't give to clumsy, dirty-fingered, college students like myself). You can have books sent here (here being the Black Diamond) to pick up, but we're technically not a lending library so there are no open stacks to peruse or old books to smell. We function more as an aesthetically appealing and academically inclined hang out space. There are three or four art exhibitions, a concert hall, and a cafe, cafeteria, a bookstore, and restaurant inside. A lot of students from the University of Copenhagen study here (as well as professional historians and such) because we've got sick reading rooms and free wireless and CS4 and it's perfectly OK to walk around with your shoes off.

So my official job description says that I am running a comprehensive user survey of all library services as experienced by non-Danish speaking students, which is more or less accurate. I'm essentially going through the Library's body of online resources (catalogs, databases, faculty and department websites, etc.), sticking my fingers in it's gaping, bloody holes, and telling them, yes, it's not looking so good. I spent my first two weeks here reading literature on the information needs of International students (the volume of which is astounding), and designing a survey for the International students asking about their Library usage patterns as well as the faults and virtues of the system.

And that segment of my job is pretty straight forward, but, as always, there's a twist. And so I make the transition from Clark Kent to Superman. The survey design part of my job requires me to critique the Library system from the point-of-view of an innocent international student, but I also have to give the Library recommendations on new programs and restructuring which are feasible for them to accomplish. And that means knowing about which ministries run which parts of the University and Libraries (since some of the University of Copenhagen Libraries are managed by the Royal Library and others are effectively autonomous), grants, budgets, employment hierarchy, etc.

Currently I spend my days harassing my frenemies at the Office for International students to make sure they send out my survey before the students return home for the summer, running around the city dropping off paper copies at each of the libraries, and doing mini-research projects to see how the catalogs and such are working.

Job perks:
1) I have my own office with an entire wall of picture windows from which I can see the tops of the rides at Tivoli, the amusement park at the center of the city.
2) My hours are super-flexible so I usually come in between 9.30 and 10.00, which allows me to sleep through the high-stress mornings of our 13-person apartment. I also live close enough to work that I can go home for lunch (also a pick-you-own-hours-event), and catch a quick nap if I need to.
3) I just got the golden ticket of library cards, the staff all-access card that allows me to call up anything the in Library's collection--you know, like the Gutenberg.
4) I also get free access to all events and exhibitions being held at the library, which are genrally pretty sweet, and always have free food.

So, that's pretty much it. You're welcome Christina!

Siempre imaginé que el Paraíso sería algún tipo de biblioteca.
-- Jorge Luis Borges