No self-respecting blogger who has subtitled her blog “thoughts on life in a 21st-century library” could avoid at least a couple of posts on the impact of budget cuts on her work life.

For now I will reflect a bit on the difference in the attitudes of myself and a few co-workers between the first round of the Early Retirement Program (ERP) and the second round which is ongoing right now and includes a Voluntary Separation Program (VSP/ERP2).

ERP(1) had an application deadline of February 23, 2009 and the last few early retirees left employment in the last couple of weeks. The application deadline for VSP/ERP2 was December 1, so we are right now in the limbo of knowing about a few and wondering about many. (In case you had any doubt in your mind, I will state now that in recent years I have become the major wage-earner in my family so taking the VSP was not at all an option for me.)

I have been struck by one difference I have witnessed in my own mind and in my discussions with colleagues. During the first round, I and others engaged in robust speculation about who would and would not take the ERP, and what those possible vacancies would mean for our workload as well as opportunities for new and different work. Most of that speculation proved dead wrong (which speculation often does – I wish the cable news pundits would take note).

This time around, I find myself and (inferring from conversation topics) others are in a patient, wait-and-see mode. I think there are at least two reasons for this. First, ERP(1) proved that speculation is a waste of time.

The second explanation is, I think, closer to the truth. Even though all of the ERP(1) retirees I know of took the package “with gusto” – looking forward to the newest episode in their lives and feeling just a little more free – those of us still here see that our new environment is a little less rosy than we may have thought it would be. In the Library staff areas, there are now a number of empty offices and desks, and I’ve seen the same in other offices on campus.

I would say it’s bittersweet, but there’s nothing sweet about it. It’s something to adjust to – the new normal.