The Bookcharmer has shed her melancholy and resumes her bookcharming with renewed ardor. Why the sudden change of mood after yesterday's gloomy post? And two posts in two days!
The difference is this: I realized I was nervous. Me, the Bookcharmer, veteran of hours of public service at busy reference desks, lecture halls of students, even forays on the community theater stage during my more naive years. I realized this morning the waves of uncertainty and actual excitement were the signs of nervousness. It's been so long I guess I forgot the sensation.
Nervous you ask? But why? I was a witness to the inauguration of my University's President this morning. Having not been to such an event on this campus, I was a little nervous about how the day was going to go. I needn't have worried. The campus was transformed. All the faculty and staff that usually spend our time apart from each other, we all gathered together. The campus gathered, the community gathered. Leaders from the city, the county, all over the Bay Area, came to celebrate and mark the day. Many of those leaders are also alumni of San Jose State University, and they spoke movingly of what the university means to them. In this era of constant online communication, it is possible to forget the power of large groups of people gathered in one place.
The ceremony didn't leave the technology behind. Lighting, music, video screen, all these were brought together to capture and display the words, the energy, the meaning. Today wasn't just the Inauguration of Mohammad H. Qayoumi, it was a public display of our University's commitment to public education.
I collected extra copies of the beautifully printed program and his inaugural address to bring to Special Collections. As I looked through the address, all my nervous emotions about the day, and really, the future of the campus, melted away when I saw the bibliography at the end of the speech. Nothing soothes a Bookcharmer like a well prepared bibliography. Farewell, trudging! Farewell, need for Gatorade! Armed with a new sense of purpose, I'm ready to take on the future again.
If you want to partake of the inspiration, you can read President Qayomi's Inaugural Address online:
http://www.sjsu.edu/president/inauguration/address/index.html
Below please find a few photos I took to mark the day.
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