I grew up in Georgia in a suburb of Atlanta.  I managed to visit the ocean a couple of times as I was growing up, and this was supplemented by a good dose of watching Jacques Cousteau on TV.  So I was pretty young when I gave up my plans to become an MD and instead switched to a PhD (that way I can still be called “Dr.”).  Along the way I needed to make some money, so thanks to one of my four sisters who came home one day and told me the local library was looking for someone to shelve books, I got my first job.  I kept that job all the way through college as I earned my bachelor’s degree in biology.  When I didn’t get into a marine biology program the first time I applied, my backup plan took me to Emory University for a masters in library science.  While getting that degree I built up my resume and re-applied to PhD programs in marine biology.  The second time was the charm as I was accepted at University of Southern California.  Thus began a long standing practice of blending my interests in libraries and science.  While I was earning my science degree at USC, I managed to get hired to organize the library at USC’s marine lab on Catalina Island.  I also worked on the crew of the hyperbaric chamber treating diving accidents.  When I had to return to the mainland to finish my degree, I avoided the need for student loans by working a couple nights a week at the Beverly Hills public library.  And no, the movie stars do not come in to use the library.  They can afford to buy any books they want, but I suspect we were providing library service to some of their spoiled kids.