Library Musings

After having some LM-Net members evaluate the blog, I've decided to move it to EduBlogs where it will be more accessible for school systems.

The new URL is http://librarymusings.edublog.org. Oops! Just got a comment that the URL didn't work. Try this URL instead: http://librarymusings.edublogs.org. (Those tricky s letters always get me.)

To subscribe to the RSS Feed check the fine print at the bottom of the page.

Later, I hope to transfer the archive of posts from here to EduBlogs.

Thanks for following me here. I hope you'll also come visit at EduBlogs!

Current Mood: hungry

One of the entries I just posted disappeared into thin air. It was about the advantages of having a special ed class in the library. I'll have to re-post it later. Sigh.

Current Location: Home
Current Mood: annoyed

I've been displaying our new books since the start of the year, but interest in them has waned. Probably too many books on display at one time.

I'm going to switch now to my Stephenie Meyers display. I've got the poster so that part is ready. I think I'll sprinkle a few more vampire books in to fill out the display space. Besides being a good preview to the upcoming movie I think it makes a good lead-in to Halloween. I'll probably update it before Halloween though to offer more horror. Stephenie's books are not actually all that scary.

On the other hand, Halloween displays don't seem to generate much (if any) interest here, so I may do something completely different like the special display for guys that I have planned. As a life-long tom-boy the whole idea of this display still irks me, but I hope it will be effective in encouraging guys to read. I mean, they're definitely not going to read girly books, are they?

I wish I had more talent in designing displays, but it's never been a strong point. Instead, I think I need to read more of the books so that I can answer that eternal question, "What is this one about?".

I've signed up for the YALSA class on The Right Book for The Right Teen at the Right Time. (Still haven't gotten any info on where to go to access the class, and it starts October 6th, so I'm worried.)

Well, I'm far off my original subject now, so I'll end this entry here.

Current Location: Home
Current Mood: still achy

I had a good professional accomplishment that wasn't even planned. There was a "dead" space on a counter as you enter the library, so I put two slanted (magazine) shelves back to back there and started displaying "coffee table" books there just because the pictures were pretty. I noticed the boys taking an interest in one on cars, so I shifted over to all photo books on boy interests--cars, motorcycles, hunting, etc. And, lo and behold, I had some boys who have NEVER checked out a library book ask to check these out. Happy Dance!!

Current Mood: cheerful

I may be last on earth to know: go to http://icanhascheezburger.com/. Is fun, fun, funny! kthnx. Also, http://ihasahotdog.com/. go, plskthnx. Will help you connumi--comunik--talk wif student hoomins.

Also, see LiveJournal community http://community.livejournal.com/nomnomicons/ for lots of pretty icons (not lolcats related; just nonnom). Some celtic, some artsy, lots pretty.

We now return you to proper grammar and spelling. Have a nice day, and be safe out there.

I'm planning a full-day technology "conference" for my faculty on a date-to-be-determined. ( skip this link if you don't want to hear me whine and moan about stuff )

My focus will be mostly on Web 2.0 concepts. This will be very new to 99% if not all of our faculty.

The great thing about the Web 2.0 theme is that our county has finally developed a more sophisticated means of filtering so that we can access some Web 2.0 materials from school.
My rough list of workshop titles includes:

Get Connected--Listservs for Teachers

Wikis--No, it's not a candle shop; and no, it's not just Wikipedia (Get professional, will you?)

Catch up to the students--Using the OPAC & Searching our Databases

Got Grad School? Our databases can help!

Got a Sub? Or a Student in ISS? Quick and Easy Lesson Plans and Worksheets from the Internet

It’s Not as Scary as it Sounds – Windows VISTA and Office 2007

Feeling Lost? Navigating the GHS Library Web Site (and why you’d want to)

TeacherTube--Learn, share, and teach like it's 2009

Blogging: Share your ideas online

Social Networks: The land professionals fear to tread

I'm going to ask another of our high school librarians if she could join us on that day to lead the workshops on the OPAC, databases, and/or lesson plans & worksheets from the Internet, or Windows Vista/Office 2007. And our ITRT will be there to take those who are interested on a GPS expedition.

I think that a lot of these workshops can be designed so that I can segue from one to the next. For instance, I can upload a video to TeacherTube that serves as an intro to how the site works (or use one that's already there); take them to a second video that is well known on the Tube; and conclude with my own video which introduces the concept of the next workshop.

In general, I totally realize (to the max, man) that they aren't all going to dash out and start using Web 2.0 tools at the end of the day, but I want to at least give them a taste of it. Much like a particular style of music, sometimes you have to force yourself to experience something a few times before you develop a liking for it.

Current Mood: thoughtful

With the exception of a couple of small errors, my library website is now updated. It's still not where I'd like it to be (nothing ever is, is it?) but you can see the direction I'm headed now. I am very proud of the Reference Desk page. I will keep adding links to it, of course, but in terms of appearance and the ways it can be used I'm totally happy with it.

http://tazewell.k12.va.us/schools/ghs/library/

Current Mood: okay

I will share the URL for my website soon, but not yet. For now I've just got some rugly bare bones pages up to hold my place until I get the re-design done. I'm thinking I'll have the real thing up by the end of this week or beginning of next week.

Oh, what the heck--If you want to see how bad it looks right now, go ahead to http://tazewell.k12.va.us/schools/ghs/library/library.html. You'll be able to get a "before-and-after" picture of it that way.

Current Mood: sick

As I work on an update to my library web site, there are a few valuable lessons I've learned. I thought I'd share them with you here. ( more )

Current Mood: tired

I enjoy reading several books at the same time, both for the variety, and because of the interesting synchronicity you often find when reading that way. ( read more here )

Current Location: Home, watching news coverage of Gustav
Current Mood: rejuvenated

I've now got 24 items in my Pile Cabinet. (Some are folders with related items in them; a couple are books--I used post-it notes to record their serial numbers.) ( more here )

Current Mood: energetic

As is often true, I have been looking for new ways to stay organized. You're probably familiar with the (somewhat) recent revelation that some people are filers, but others are pilers. I am definitely a piler, so I'm currently trying out Blair Hornbuckle's Pile Cabinet system. ( read more here )

Current Mood: good

It's amazing how actually going back to work in the fall cuts into the time available for learning about and reflecting on my librarianship.

I am swamped with processing the books I received from Pocahontas High School when it closed. Today I managed to shift the books from 700 to 739 along with the 600s; I shelved some books; and I only got about 20 books cataloged (tops).

The shifting has to be done to make room for the fiction books I received. They're a top priority since they are the books that will interest the students. I can't even catalog any more of them until everything else is shifted because the shelves for fiction are packed so tight...Oh well, stress.

I'll just stop there for now. Not in a very reflective mood.

Current Mood: crazy

Have I been working as a librarian for 30 years or have I worked a year as a librarian thirty times?

Current Mood: okay

Keeping Found Things Found review at tametheweb.com. Couldn't find any additional info on the book, but serendiptiously ending up at http://sf0.org/coreopsis/Leave-Clues/ where I found inspirational ideas for a treasure hunt exercise for libraries. The one described there is for an academic library which lends itself more to treasure hunting since academic libraries tend to be larger and have books placed in stranger, harder to find places. But, I think I could adapt it to a treasure hunt requiring use of the OPAC, including some detailed reading of the records there. I especially liked the idea at sf0 that the hunt doesn't necessarily have to be part of a formal instructional project. The starting clues are simply left in plain site as a possible study break for the students.

I'll return soon and add more info to this entry, but am going to go ahead and post what I have here.

Got totally distracted putting together this year's library calendar. Maybe I'll add more info here after dinner.

Current Mood: sleepy

A list and description of my current favorite ways to organize professional information sources and a few that are falling out of favor with me:

Speed Dial - Available as an add-on to Firefox. Displays nine windows to a page that show thumbnail shots of web sites. Additional pages (groups) can be added as needed. I use it to keep track of sites where I have memberships (in most cases I've been able to set it up so that when I click on the thumbnail I'm not only navigating to the site--I'm also logged in.) I have to do this because I forget about sites I have joined and if I do remember them I forget my login info. I also include blogs that I have started following recently. I like to have a few visits to a blog under my belt before I decide to get an RSS feed to it.

Twitter - Virtual post-it-notes such as, "Tame the Web has a brief post on a new book: Keeping Things Found. More info is promised later so I'll keep an eye out."

Feeds - I have to admit I've gotten overloaded with feeds. I weeded them just awhile back and they've already become un-manageable again. And they're now spread across three places: Google feeds, Live Bookmarks, and Internet Explorer (I think). I think I may be learning with more certainty exactly which sites I really want to follow that closely, so maybe I can weed things again and get them back into some kind of usable state.

Bookmarks - I have completely given up on bookmarks. They're totally impossible to control no matter how hard I try to organize them into folders and so on.

I haven't tried del.icio.us in a long while. Don't know if it would be helpful to me at all.

Forwarding e-mail - I get LM_Net Digests at school, but the individual posts at home. When I read them at home and find one I really, really think I can use, I forward it to my school address. I have also done this with the occasional US-CERT post, and a few other e-mails. That way when I receive an e-mail from myself at school I know it was something that I considered to be very useful. And on a good day I may have included a note in the e-mail to remind myself what it might be used for.

A BIG problem in tracking information as a school librarian is that when I'm at work I am behind the iron curtain of a firewall and under the thumb of the Internet gods there. This means that I can't access my home e-mail (except on my cell phone); can't go to any site that so much as mentions the word blog or that might be a social network; and can't download any updates to programs (such as Speed Dial for Firefox). So I do most of my professional research at home, and try to be creative about getting it to school.

Well, that's ending on a negative note. Sorry.

Current Mood: cranky

"...it is essential not only to discover and develop your strengths...but also to help the people around you build on their natural talents." (Rath)

What are your library assistants' strengths, and how can you build on them? How can their strengths complement your strengths?

Process

1. Use a diagnostic test such as the Strengths Finder test to determine your own strengths.
   
   
2. Reflect on what your strengths are and how you can use them as a librarian.
   
   
3. Consider the areas where you are relatively lacking in strength or talent. How can your library assistants best fill in these gaps for you?
   
   
4. Design "tests" to help identify your library assistants' strengths. Are they best at organizing (shelving books, etc.); at designing (displays, banners, bookmarks); interacting with others (greeting students and having them sign in, working the circulation desk, communicating with teachers); or in some other area? Tom Rath's book has a much better list of strengths that you could draw from to adapt for this idea.
   
   
5. Assign your library assistants to work in the areas where they show the most strength whenever possible.
   
   
6. Re-assess your own strengths and determine how you can personally develop additional strength in areas where neither you or your assistants naturally shine.
   
   
7. And, as always, give your student assistants lots of support and praise for their work.
   
   
8. ...and don't forget to give yourself a pat on the back, and not beat yourself up because you aren't strong in every area. No one is.

Current Location: home
Current Mood: sick

I visited Zoomii for the first time today. I have some mixed feelings about it. ( read more here )

Current Mood: mellow

Gothmom has suggested that we post a little info about ourselves. So, here goes:

1. First Name: Deb

2. Age: 51

3. Location: Green Valley, West Virginia

4. Occupation: High School Librarian and Technology Facilitator

5. Partner: None.

6. Kids: None, unless you count my cats and dog. I do have three wonderful grand-nephews, Alex, Danny, and Nathaniel.

7. Brothers/Sisters: No brothers. I have two sisters. We were paced out very evenly every three years, so Vicki is three years older than me, and Cherie is six years older. Vicki is an administrative assistant (not a secretary--much more involved than that) to the dean at Ohio University. She is also well-known for continuing a decades long tradition of feeding the squirrels outside her office building. Cherie is between jobs right now, and is very much enjoying having time (for the first time in her life, really) to be at home--gardening, taking walks, cleaning house, petting the kitties, and so on. Vicki has two daughters, Adrielle and Molly. Adrielle is a musician, and the three boys are her children. She teaches Kindermusick in her home. Her husband, Ryan, is also a musician. He teaches school and plays trumpet with a jazz band for extra money. Molly is a renaissance woman. She speaks fluent Japanese and works extensively with Japanese exchange students. She is also a skilled editor, writer, and does other things in the communications field that I don't quite understand. Molly is married to David, who is a high level computer geek, currently working on a project for NASA.

8. Pets: Here's a list of my cats. Tanner, Streak, Sneakers, Ripley, Shine, Petey, Benji von Bunnykins, Fat-and-Fuzzy, Lady Grey, Gretel, Tink, and Flea. My Pekingese is named Precious. I'm pretty sure I've forgotten some cats in that list. It's hard to keep track.

9. The 3-6 Biggest Things Going On in my Life:

I just visited the Lowes Creative Designs website. It includes some online lessons (including videos) on projects for the beginner. I especially liked the newbie's woodworking lesson--learn to build a box. ( more )

My other creative project for this summer is learning to make clay mosaics and jewelry. Not directly related to my library, but if I take a liking to it and if it proves to be fairly easy I can see it as a fundraising possibility.

Just trying to link my summer fun to my professional life. What are your summer plans?

Current Mood: creative