Library Chic

Why Libraries Rock

2009-08-31T11:46:00.005-05:00

I'm reviving this blog (however briefly) to join the LFPL Blogathon! As you may have heard, the Louisville Free Public Library in Louisville, KY, suffered major damage from the more than FOUR FEET of flood water in their building in July. The water was a result of a flash flood. Steve Lawson, of the Library Society of the World kicked off a PayPal drive to raise $5,000 for the library foundation by tomorrow, Sept 1. Then a blog-a-thon was created by Andy Woodworth to push the fund drive over the edge. So, go, give, and support a library in trouble.

Why should I support a library, you ask? Because Libraries Rock! (c'mon, you had to see that coming, with the title and all). Libraries rock because they are a haven. Public libraries, especially, allow anyone to come in and learn. Read, discover, learn, talk, get online - all of that takes place at your local public library. Storytimes for small kids, book groups for bigger kids (aka grownups), teen programs (gaming! comic books!), computer lessons for seniors (and others), a warm dry place in the winter, a cool one in the summer. All that is your local public library. Librarians and staff who will help you find almost anything, whether they agree with your views or not.

In these times of economic stress, the library can be so many things to people. You can use the library to find a job, "rent" a movie, check out books on tape for that commute or vacation trip, improve your skills in *whatever* to fix your house, your job, your marriage, your life. Whatever you want to do, chances are you can find out how to get started at the library.

Lets not forget academic libraries, special libraries and school libraries! They rock too! Academic libraries are full of people who want to help students succeed. All the academic librarians I know are passionate about helping students learn and improve the skills they need to do top-notch research so that they can be successful, both in academia and whatever they endeavor to do in the future.

Special libraries....the forgotten few. Tucked away in hospitals and corporate headquarters, these librarians and library staff have to continually prove they're worth the money the company spends on them. They support research and development, patient education, physician education, and so many other things.

School librarians....we all hear about how education funding is cut and school librarians (or school media specialists, if you will) get cut. These are the people who teach your children not how to read, but how to *love* reading. How to do research. How to use a computer. How to avoid bad information on the internet. All the most basic skills that students need to be successful adults in this information heavy world we live in. They toil tirelessly in schools, loving the kids and working for them.

In short, libraries rock. Hard. They support all walks of life, from Kindergarten on into the corporate office. They help you find what you need, and maybe even what you didn't even know you wanted! They provide the community with a place to gather and a place to find inexpensive entertainment. They're, in my unbiased (yeah, right) position, one of the best values you can get for your tax dollar. Even if you don't support Louisville Free Public Library with a donation, I hope you support your own local public library by stopping by. Get a library card! It's free! You'd probably be amazed at what you can find there.

The Librarian Digital Divide

2009-06-18T10:11:00.005-05:00

I was thinking yesterday about the digital divide. According to Wikipedia, the digital divide

refers to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology and those with very limited or no access at all. It includes the imbalances in physical access to technology as well as the imbalances in resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a digital citizen. In other words, it is the unequal access by some members of society to information and communication technology, and the unequal acquisition of related skills. The term is closely related to the knowledge divide as the lack of technology causes lack of useful information and knowledge. The digital divide may be classified based on gender, income, and race groups, and by locations.

I realized that the digital divide applies to librarians as well as library patrons. School librarians (those in K-12 institutions) usually have very strict filters installed that prevent them from accessing various social networking and Web 2.o sites. Many public librarians also have filters (of varying strengths) that block access. Public librarians, however, often have the capability of overriding the filters to access certain sites. Academic librarians generally have no filters at all. This spectrum of access causes a disconnect (even more so than existed previously) between school, public and academic librarians.

As an academic librarian who is working on an outreach program to our local school librarians, I am faced with this spectrum regularly. Even if the school librarians would like to learn about and use social networking and Web 2.0 tools in their schools, they are not allowed to. So they must learn about them on their own time, and in their own homes. This hardly seems fair, since the school librarians I know already go above and beyond for their students. I'm not sure what, if anything, can be done about this, but with the growing push towards making libraries more user-friendly and present on social networks, this is going to be a bigger dilemma.

This digital divide is also preventing school librarians from being able to network and access professional resources that are not available through traditional channels. One of my most valuable professional networks is composed entirely of people that I have met almost exclusively online. Since starting that network, I have met some of them in person, but many of the librarians around the country that I talk to every day, I've never met in person. But these are the people that are my water cooler buddies at work. By not allowing school librarians access to these kinds of networks at their workplace, we are severely hampering their ability to grow and become even better librarians.

Another Day in the Life

2009-04-21T16:29:00.003-05:00

It's been a few months since I've done this, so I thought I'd share. I've had what I would consider a typically random day for me also, so here goes....

8-8:30am

chat with coworkers in the ILL office

9-9:30am

check email for overnight emails
prepare email address list for the local roundtable I am chair of

9:30-9:45am

compose email chairing a virtual business meeting/election for the roundtable, ensuring we are following both Robert's Rules and our bylaws

9:45-10am

cleared off desk
keeping an eye on email for the virtual business meeting

10-11am

cleaned up emails
took care of missing payment for online resource
tallied votes for virtual meeting
sorted catalogs for Education collection development

11am-12pm

cleared bulletin board of snowflake display
put up spring & alphabet book display
organized display materials
emailed website suggestion to colleagues
rebooted my computer to fix mouse issue

12-1pm

attempted to find downloaded file for student that was saved in unfindable location
lunch!

2-3pm

poked on Envisionware to try to change guest pass settings
helped student find primary sources for her Education paper
started gathering titles for an updated professional collection for library faculty

3-4:30

showed Education students how to do collection development
tallied votes for roundtable meeting
ran invoices to acquisitions
contacted photographers about my wedding
wrote this blog post!

As you can see, there is a wide variety of activities during my day, and not all of them are directly related to my job title :)

TLA 2009 Conference

2009-03-27T15:30:00.002-05:00

The Tennessee Library Association 2009 Conference is rapidly approaching!! Since I use my Google Calendar for everything, I made a calendar with all the conference sessions and events on it. I thought others might find it useful as well, so I made it public! Please feel free to add it to your own calendar and link to it at will!

http://tinyurl.com/nfhs9

Award-winning!

2009-03-26T11:22:00.002-05:00

Hey, look! I've won something! You can win too! Just hop on over to the Shovers and Makers website and write yourself up (in the good way, of course!)

Day in the life....

2009-01-26T08:35:00.009-06:00

Last time the Library Day in the Life went around, I skipped it. I was feeling unproductive at work and didn't want to share how much time I thought I was spending online in my social networks. This time, however, I am keeping my one New Year's Resolution of doing more work at work, so here's my typical day (I hope...we'll see if anything blows up on me today...)

I am an Electronic Resources and Education Librarian at a small liberal arts school in Nashville, TN. I usually have too much on my plate, so it'll be interesting for me to see how much I have to do during the day.

6:20am - the alarm goes off, playing NPR. I hit snooze.

6:35 - time to get up and walk the dog and do the morning routine

7:40 - grab a Diet Coke and it's off to work!

8:00 - try to find a parking place somewhere near the library...Our campus is just like any other- parking is at a premium.

8:05 - make it into the library, and make my way upstairs to my office.

8:10 - eat breakfast (oatmeal) while checking email and checking in on Twitter,FriendFeed, and Facebook. Read a variety of links from Twitter/FriendFeed that look interesting (this morning? see my Delicious links to see what I thought was useful)

8:40 - start going through work emails to see what needs to be done today and what has to be responded to.

9:00-9:30- email inbox is cleaned up, with all remaining emails functioning as today's "To Do" list.

9:30-10:00 - check links on the library website, update links to new database subscriptions, provided requested usage statistics to subject liaison, email about updating links on our proxy server

10:00-10:30 - send information to various liaisons about their subscriptions, and about a subject guide on the library's website we are collaborating on; updated more links on the library website, passed on database renewal information to the appropriate parties

10:30-11:00 - walked across campus to pick up the toner cartridge for my printer, stopped for a snack on the way back (yogurt!), and returned to the office for still more emails, chatted with a colleague about a problem we've been having with our print release station, updated the problem log for said print release station

11:00-11:30 - prepped renewal invoices for director's signature, checked in on Twitter and FriendFeed and discovered my Twitter feed has been taken over by LITA-related tweets.

11:30-12:00 - updated the case file for our ongoing print release station problems, looked into a possible problem with our 360 Link

12:00-12:30

12:30-1:30 - Lunch! Time to escape the building for a bit, even if it is frigid outside.

1:30-2:00 - play catch up after lunch - check emails, fax renewals to publishers, update another subject guide on the library's website

2:00-2:30 - troubleshoot print release station, answer more emails,

2:30-4:00 - move donated Education books out of a study room so that the students can begin using it again

4:00-4:30 - back to the office to answer emails before going home for the day!

Is it really Google?

2008-09-16T11:45:00.005-05:00

Tennessee has a purchasing consortium called Tenn-Share, and every year, Tenn-Share hosts a "DataFest". The DataFest is a day-long gathering of librarians from around the state, and from all types of librarians. Various database vendors are invited to show off their products, and it's always an interesting day. This year, several of the vendors contacted me to meet with me personally before the DataFest, which is fine. But in those meetings and at the DataFest itself, I heard vendors say things about how Google has caused everyone to want that single search box on the screen. And it hit me that I'm not sure that's entirely true. I think what Google has done is made searching easy. And *that's* what people want.

Google wasn't the one who made people want easy searching, but it was probably the catalyst that made people realize that's what they wanted. Previously, to find good, reliable information you had to know a librarian who could search DIALOG for you. Then came the internet and online databases. Wow! All that information! But you still couldn't find what you were looking for. So back to the library for the librarian who could search the database. Vendors didn't feel pressure to make their interfaces more user-friendly because patrons weren't actually using them. Librarians, with their specialized training, were. With the further advent of the internet and online databases, more and more patrons can get to more and more databases from *outside* the library. This means there is no friendly neighborhood librarian to help them out when they get stuck. So the librarians get more comments about how people can't find anything, which are passed on to the vendors. And voila! Vendors are talking about how people want Google-like interfaces for their databases.

Well, of course they do! Patrons don't want to search! They want to *find* the information they are looking for and move on. Librarians are the ones who enjoy the hunt (and not even all of them do). So it's not really Google's fault that people want thing simpler and more user friendly. It just so happens that Google *is* simple and user friendly. And really good at giving people what they want. It's the competition from Google for information sources that has caused the vendors to play catch-up with all the web services that have been around for a while.

Database interfaces are now morphing into simpler, more easily understood things. And they're offering RSS feeds and email and exporting features that people are (hopefully) making good use of! Grandted, for some of those features, you still may want a librarian's help, but patrons are less intimidated by the initial screen.

I'm happy to see the 2.0 versions of search interfaces from database vendors. My questions is.....when is the ILS going to follow? I know there are these new "discovery tools" that are supposed to "lay on top of" the existing ILS. And they're nice. But they really don't solve the underlying problems of many ILSs. Searching is still difficult, LCSH are still weird, and there aren't as many interactive features that would be very helpful for some people.

I guess maybe the ILSs will catch up with "web 2.0" when "web 3.0" hits :)

Who'da thunk it....

2008-08-20T14:57:00.003-05:00

One of the blogs that I read on a regular basis is Yarn Harlot. Imagine my surprise when I see this: Children's knitting group turfed from library under new craft ban. in her blog. My librarian and knitting worlds are colliding!

This article has been passed around the library blogosphere, of course, even being nominated for discussion on Uncontrolled Vocabulary. While it is interesting that the library has opted to keep their gaming events and not knitting, Yarn Harlot makes a good point in today's post:

"PS. There are several really good comments yesterday on the library issue, as well as more information here, and here. Keep in mind, as you debate - that we were not presented with all of the facts (and as suggested by the director - see the comment from Maureen August 19 at 8:25am- perhaps the ones we got were not even wholly accurate.

In addition, remember that this is a very, very, very tiny library - open only part- time hours in a very small community. Unlike a city library, or even a town library, there aren't whole days to fit in programs, nor are there multiple activity rooms - or even multiple librarians. Think singular. There aren't as many choices as there would be in a larger space, and that matters. Finally, the library has said that the video games (which would be an occasional evening, not a bi-weekly programme, like the knitting) would be part of a larger themed literacy evening with other components, not just a whack of teenagers sitting around wailing on guitar hero. This article was written by a member of the knitting group (which it turns out, is not just a group of little girls) and has - as you might expect, contains a bias towards their situation designed to make you sympathetic to the cause. ) Nowhere, in any of the articles has it said that knitting or arts and crafts is being replaced by weekly video games. Nowhere."

Before we go off and condemn this library, we do need to keep in mind that they are making the choices that they think best for their library (or at least I hope they are). The knitters can still meet at the library, I'm sure, but the library can no longer support their meeting times/organization.

Privacy: Is it time for a revolution?

2008-06-29T15:34:00.026-05:00

was tweeting/ lsw meebo rooming during panel presentations. see bloggers (kate, etc) for reports

hmm....panel just got asked what's at stake for protecting privacy

Beth Givens says we'll lose our privacy if we don't speak out. Uses Minority Report as example...

Roth: What happens when we develop into a nation of niches? because of loss of privacy and specialized ad serving

Cory Doctorow - giant databases of info are toxic - copying, info is immortal

Roth: no one knows what to do with info they're collecting. if something is going to happen it needs to happen now.

Beth: 50%+ use facebook, google, etc as hiring decision influencers - law is silent

cory: regulate way info is used, teach people how to use info. build skinner box to reward people for guarding their privacy & being safe/smart online (PMOG.com has added this in...)

Roth: consumers don't have any idea why they should care about privacy

Beth: gaining access to your profiles is important (like to credit report) so you can check data. Data broker industry is unregulated. Right of access legislation very difficult to pass (want law as robust as fair credit reporting act)

"Data Valdez" - happening over and over (Tracked on her org's website - privacyrights.org)

Cory - SkipXIP - login manager to fake registrations, etc; writes deceased on direct mail

Kate- is it feasible, practical, etc, to make yourself invisible (cash only, etc)

Beth: you can do it, but must rely on someone else to do things (like take your mail, etc)

Cory: green can be glorious; privacy can be sybaritic (luxurious)

Roth - figure out what you're giving away and what you're not - incomprehensible privacy agreements

Beth - known access (but wouldn't this require a centralized database - or list? That scares me more than having data scattered everywhere)

Cory - minimal logging as default setting in Apache would lead to radically different world; FF could do more to surface what happens to data when it leaves website; Linux could do better with privacy settings

Cory - password reading robot; something disclosing everything you just told the world via web would be very powerful

Beth: friend working on game called PrivacyMatters; creative ways to educate and inform people is good thing libraries are already doing

kate: libraries get asked for information that we don't track b/c of privacy concerns on our end

cory- demand better privacy stuff from vendors and the tech is there to do those

Audience questions:

**What kind of arguments can we make to admin of institutions that protecting privacy is cost-effective?
Beth - scare tactics - more you collect the more you're liable for $$ cleanup (larry ponemon- calculated data breach costs)
Cory - best way to avoid breach is not to have data

**As a consumer, i felt as if i was able to control personal id info and leave less around before 9/11 and before buying a house, but now i feel that it's everywhere. any tips to help reduce amount of data leaving around?

Beth - start young and create trust fund for holding property, PO box and only PO box
Cory- 3 things - take control of tech (OS software, jailbreaking DRM); take control of debate (learn stats about rare occurrences & how things don't make us safe)

**Question about surveillance and society - after 9/11 increased access by us gov to records of various kinds. wants to hear more on privacy and gov't and things like that because bigger danger is more like social control - how much safer are we if gov't knows what people are reading?

Roth: people are trying to say that post 9/11 increased info has not made us safer; may not reach golden age of full privacy, but people asking questions

Cory - safety & security are not platonic universals with single definitions. if safer from terrorists, are you safe from gov't? saying that we are taking away freedom and safe from abusive gov't is non-american principle

**Cult of celebrity - cool to divulge information, needs to be shift for us to eucate people about what future will be like if you don't think about consequences of giving out that much info

Beth - PSAs showing how uncool it is to spread info is good idea
Roth - daughter of very secretive billionare kept 2 yr very detailed online journal that enabled roth to approach him and say what he knew about the billionare

**transparency and privacy ebb & flow across history, will never have absolute. need to assert positive rights to protect selves as well as defending privacy

Cory - a lot to be said for encouraging people to notice things ,not let it fade into background

blogger - demystifying media- it's okay not to believe MSM all the time and work on

**useful for us to look at successes of ecology mvmt and piggy back on how it evolved. maybe haven't reached financial point yet - information footprint/handprint

roth - real problem convincing people not to buy into stuff that they want to do (facebook, google toolbar) - need alternatives

cory - privacy represents adversarial relationship b/t people and corporations - 3rd alternative - while lobbying for legislation, use technology to protect privacy

**how to work with IT people to have them understand concern and work with us
how can we persuade systems designers to work with us?

cory - vendors believe strongly in privacy for selves; get them to expand universe of privacy they want to protect

**EFF has program called TOR to anonymize web surfing (started with office of naval intelligence)

Final words:

take survey at privacyrevolution.org
follow privacyala on twitter to keep up w/revolution

ALA Membership Meeting I

2008-06-28T17:53:00.015-05:00

1st speaker - "must" pay for virtual meeting attendance?

Steven Bell (who is he?) virtual participation encourages *more* full participation - yes, i think so - you have to be more alert and aware to be involved virtually

But does this run into the question of people who will say anything online because it's not f2f? not "real" people, so can truly speak mind

distance learning - 3 distance students for every on campus student

still need f2f meetings, sure, but online not boring

Ester: ACRL IS has lots of virtual stuff - task forces, standing committee

open meeting policy is byzantine(?) (heavy req's, esp for virtual committees that may meet on a whim or very short notice)

confidentiality issues?

Aaron - IT issues w/confidentiality are not necessarily issues for users (and there are IT solutions). Do something, soon.

SRRT Task Force on Env - e-participation will reduce carbon footprint

Heidi - open meeting - in person meetings are not open to people who are not here. Virtual meetings will make things more open.

Peter McDonald - no real issue with robustness of tech. Sociological implications are overcome as well (many people see virtual participation benefits)
Finances rest on exhibitors who are at annual/mw - if exhibitors complain of few bodies, will be big problem

Michael - benefits clear, issue to consider - been coming since early 1970s, greatest value derived from conference attendance is serendipitous meeting of colleagues; employers might not finance f2f meetings if virtual meetings are big

Sylvia - IFRT councilor - experiment in e-participation - opened listserv of exec board to general population, allowed e-voting using listserv (13 exec board only)

Alexia Hudson - must choose between conference participation and aging parents/family; don't forsake public gatherings, but include regional activities in conjunction with ALA, state assoc, consortia, etc.

Heidi - revenue - need new opportunities to retain revenue

Task Force on Env - wants regional conferences - video feeds of content + local content in various locales (distributed conferencing)

http://blogs.ala.org/memberblog.php?title=electronic_member_participation_survey&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 SuRVEY!!

wishing for the transcript to be available online - having trouble keeping concentration focused. plus, avoid misqoutes!

Going to ALA

2008-06-24T17:26:00.005-05:00

I'm joining the crowds in Anaheim, CA for ALA this year. My ALA schedule can be found embedded below, or by clicking on this link.

(Sorry for the multiple postings....I had some trouble embedding the right thing)

Tag! I'm It! (aka Meme: Passion Quilt)

2008-05-07T19:09:00.005-05:00

My friend Aaron, over at Aaron the Librarian, tagged me for the Passion Quilt Meme for twittering about Karen Schneider's contribution. I always enjoy Karen's writing, and her post for this meme resonated with me. I've always been a reader, and as my life gets busier it is one of the things I miss the most. I think she's right in some ways - we should *always* make time to read. Take those stolen extra moments and read something!

Anyway....the rules of the meme are this:

1. Post a picture from a source like FlickrCC or Flickr Creative Commons or make/take your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about…and give your picture a short title.

2. Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt” and link back to this blog entry.

3. Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network or whom you follow on Twitter/Pownce.”

original photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/s9500/190387535/

The thing that I want people (not just students) to learn is to PLAY. If you have a new gadget or software or anything, really, just PLAY with it. Play with it until something cool happens. Sure, you can read the manual and follow the instructions. But don't be afraid to start pushing buttons and just seeing what happens. Also, don't forget to go outside and play :) We all need fresh air and sunshine (even if you don't like it). There's nothing like an afternoon of running around in the park with your friends or your kids or your dog to refresh your brain for an evening of playing with your latest toy :)

Hopefully, this enthusiasm that I have for playing with things will never go away. I've always wondered "How does that work?" and then promptly taken it apart to find out. I try to pass this enthusiasm and curiosity on to people that I teach, formally and informally. Maybe it will stick for a few of them and they'll pass it on too.

I'm not sure I've got anyone left to tag, but we'll see who I can pester next :)
1. Tinfoilraccoon
2. Hedgehog Librarian
3. Nirak
4. Warmaiden
5. Ellbeecee

And for more pictures, please visit the Flickr Passion Quilt Pool!

BAM Challenge - April

2008-05-01T10:49:00.002-05:00

Whoops...It's May 1 and I just realized that I had never even chosen a book for the April BAM challenge! Major FAIL on my part. I guess between traveling (both for work and fun), presenting, and several important meetings, it just totally slipped my mind.

This month's challenge hasn't been posted yet, but hopefully I'll have more time to read!

Technology Training Tune-Up: Computer and Technology Skills for All Library Staff

2008-04-10T20:51:00.001-05:00

Click to Play

Technology training should be an essential part of your library routine. Topics covered include: examples of some of the latest technology, examples of core competencies, and some ideas for how to keep up with new technologies.

Technology Training Tune-Up - finished!

2008-04-10T14:07:00.003-05:00

Yay! The presentation is done! I got lots of compliments from the attendees, and it was a "sold-out" crowd - standing room only.

I've posted the PowerPoint file to SlideShare.net (download the file to see my notes).

Or, you can view it here:

| View | Upload your own

The audio file will be up as soon as I figure out how to post it somewhere :) (ETA: See next post for the audio)

Technology Training Tune-Up

2008-04-09T08:49:00.001-05:00

This is the title of the presentation I'll be giving on Thursday, at the Tennessee Library Association conference in Kingsport, TN. Check back here for a copy of the presentation.

Resources used in the presentation are available in my del.icio.us account, at http://del.icio.us/library_chic/TLA2008

Update on managing your online identity

2008-04-02T13:55:00.003-05:00

After yesterday's post, this came through my Twitter feed: How to: Manage your online identity. This post gives pretty simple directions on how to delete your accounts at a variety of sites, and a couple of tips for consolidating the accounts you want to keep.

Learning 2.0 and Corralling Your Online Presence

2008-04-01T12:08:00.001-05:00

I’ll get my first “speaker” ribbon at this year’s Tennessee Library Association annual conference. I’ve been working on my presentation for a couple months now. The title is “Technology Training Tune-Up: Computer and Technology Skills for All Library Staff”. I’ve been looking around at the various training programs libraries do for their staff, and one of the most prominent ones has been the Learning 2.0/23 Things program from the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County (PLCMC). This program was designed by Helene Blowers, and released under a Creative Commons license for other libraries to use. Libraries worldwide have picked up this program and are using it to expose their library staff to emerging technologies online.

As I've looked through the participant blogs from the libraries that are using this program, I've noticed something. Some of the blogs simply exist, some stop after just a few posts, some stop part of the way through the program, some stop after the last week of the program, and a very few continue on after completing the program. Seeing these blogs, in various states of abandonment (especially this one), raised a question in my mind. What happens to all these accounts that get created in the process of the 23 Things programs? Do they just languish at the various websites indefinitely? While some accounts expire after a set time (usually 6 months or so), many of the new 2.0 sites don't seem to have an expiration date on their login information. So, again, what happens to all these accounts? The PLCMC program alone had over 300 participants. If the participants create an account, but don't have the desire to continue using it after the program, do they know how to delete it?

I did find one participant blog missing (http://aboutait.blogspot.com/), but that's the only one that has been removed. Shouldn't we be teaching these participants how to clean up their online presence as well? Isn't part of learning about emerging technologies also learning how to get out of them when you discover they aren't working for you?

With the reports of employers using things like Google, Myspace and Facebook to check up on potential new hires and discipline employees, shouldn't these programs also teach participants how to keep their online persona the way they want it to be? There are many new tools that allow for tracking your online identity. Some of these tools could be added to the end of the 23 Things program, along with the suggestion to go through and delete any accounts participants don't plan to continue using. There should be no shame or guilt in removing these accounts once the program has been completed - the whole purpose of the program is exposure. I have signed up for new websites thinking they would be great and very useful, only to discover that they didn't quite do what I wanted or needed. So I deleted my account (which is not to say that I don't still have accounts languishing around the web). If you try something new, that's great! But you are by no means obligated to keep using it if it's not working for you!

BAM Challenge #3 - Craft

2008-04-01T09:39:00.004-05:00

I have recently become a pretty crafty person, at least in my opinion. I have a lot of hobbies, and most of them are crafty. I like to knit, sew, bake and decorate cakes, and make scrapbooks, among other things. (If you're curious, you can find pictures of my hobbies at my Flickr account.) This month's challenge was kind of hard for me, actually, because I couldn't think of a single book I wanted to read cover-to-cover on any of my crafts. Then I realized that I had *already* read at least one knitting book cover to cover. So, for this month's challenge, I present my favorite knitting book.

Written by Bust founder Debbie Stoller, Stitch 'N Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook provides a wonderful introduction to knitting that also has an excellent essay on being a feminist and a knitter. There are 40 patterns that are suitable for beginners, but the best part is the actual instruction sections. There are very clear, basic instructions for all of the knitting basics - casting on, binding off, knitting, purling, increasing and decreasing - everything you need to know to do the patterns in the book. Or nearly any other pattern you can find. I've been knitting for several years now, and this is *still* my go-to book for trying to figure out how to increase or decrease a certain way. The instructions are clearly written, but they still have a sense of humor, which pervades the entire book.

I normally check out knitting books from the library, but this book (and its sequel, Stitch 'N Bitch Nation) are the first two books that I bought when I was learning to knit. Stitch 'N Bitch Nation has the same sense of humor and feminism throughout, but it goes more in depth on how to change patterns so that they fit your body and your style.

I have recommended both of these books to every new knitter who has asked what books to buy. I know there are a *lot* of knitting books available, but these two are the ones that made the most sense to me and have helped me the most as I continue to knit.

Forward thinking?

2008-03-25T12:41:00.003-05:00

I've been collaborating with colleagues around the country lately on several possible conference presentations. We've been collaborating via Twitter, Google Docs, Gmail and Meebo's chat rooms. While I've met a few of the people I've been collaborating with, most of them I only "know" virtually.

Anyway, the point of this is that in the latest collaboration, we are trying to come up with a proposal for Internet Librarian 2008 about technology and uses of technology and librarianship. We seem to have a good handle on what's being done now with things like Twitter and Del.icio.us and chat reference. It's the future part that we're struggling with. How does one become one of the forward thinking people who seem to be a step ahead of the rest of us when it comes to these things? I'd consider myself a fairly early adopter of Twitter, but I know I wasn't in the first wave.

So is it a mindset that keeps people on the front wave of new technologies? Or is it happenstance? This is something I'm going to have to think about some more....

BAM: Better late than never, right?

2008-03-03T17:45:00.003-06:00

I actually finished my book for this BAM Challenge a couple weeks ago, but I haven't gotten around to writing my review until now. I went for the "trashy romance novel" genre for this month's "Heart" challenge.

So... I read J.D. Robb's Innocent in Death, one of the latest in her In Death series. J.D. Robb (who is really Nora Roberts) is one of my favorite mystery/romance novel writers. The In Death series, Detective Eve Dallas solves cases that are set in the future, but without being too "science-fictiony". She is an excellent detective who truly cares about her cases and takes them personally. She also has an husband who cares deeply for her. The books are well written, with the story carrying you along. These are some of my favorite books when I want a good mystery that has some excellent steamy romance built in.

Book A Month Challenge - Review #1

2008-01-29T19:43:00.001-06:00

The first challenge of the year over at the Book a Month Challenge blog is to read a book about time. I chose Jasper Fforde's Something Rotten. This is the fourth of the Thursday Next books.

It deals with the element of time as all of the Thursday Next books do. The Chronoguard, the Special Operations department in charge of keeping the timeline of history proper, is featured throughout the book. Thursday Next has several revelations dealing with time, and her own personal timeline, and continues to remark on how difficult all of the time "twists" are to deal with. There are many of the usual Jasper Fforde features - character names that are a play on words, a multitude of literary references, and a fast-moving plot that carries you along with it.

I highly recommend this, and all the Thursday Next books, to anyone who's looking for a "light read" that still has some depth to it.

Lemming!

2007-12-13T09:44:00.000-06:00

Come be a lemming with me! Sign up for the Book A Month Challenge over at http://bamchallenge.wordpress.com/! C'mon, you know you read at least one book a month anyway!

It's really easy to sign up - just go over there and leave your name and blog address. Takes less than 5 minutes, I promise!

Presentations!

2007-12-05T10:01:00.001-06:00

So, I submitted a proposal to the state library association to present something for the annual conference. Several of my coworkers also submitted proposals for the roundtable that I am the co-chair of. Mine was accepted (I haven't heard about theirs).

Now I have until this Friday to decide if my topic - "Technology Training Tune-Up: Computer Skills for All Library Staff" can be covered in 50 minutes. The description "Computer training should be an essential part of your library routine. Topics covered include: vocabulary, shortcuts, simple troubleshooting tips, examples of core competencies, and how to keep up with new technologies" is giving me some concerns. But I'm not sure what to cut.....looks like I've got some searching to do.

And ideas, suggestions, or links to helpful info would be appreciated!

Choosing Conferences

2007-10-29T13:37:00.000-05:00

As I watch many of my Twitter friends tweet from Internet Librarian 2007, I feel a little envious - they're obviously having a pretty good time (even with wireless connectivity issues), and they all get to hang out in person instead of virtually. It makes me wonder why I'm not there.

But then I think more about the conferences I attend - I've been to ALA Annual twice now, and the Electronic Resources & Libraries conference once (I plan on going again this year, though). I've been to the state association's annual conference almost every year for the past 5 years. But that's my entire list of regular conferences. I thought about going to the Charleston Conference this year, but I was a little late with registration and such, so I'm not going.

I choose conferences based on how relevant they seem to my day-to-day job. Maybe that's not how others choose conferences, but I think that if my employer is paying for it (which they do), it should be directly relevant to my work(at least a majority of the sessions I want to attend). I really wanted to go to ALA Midwinter this year to see all my friends, but I just couldn't justify the expense when the only reason I was going was to "network". I do think that the networking aspect of conferences is important, but it's not the primary reason for going to a conference for me. It ranks a very high second, though. I've thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with a wide variety of people at ALA Annual, and I look forward to that part of the conference as much as anything else.

So I will put Internet Librarian on my list of conferences to consider for next year, and continue to read the tweets and blog posts and envy from afar.