Socializing on the 4th of July

Declaration of Independence

Ok, I think I’ve already admitted to being a big fan of Michelle’s because she has forced me out of my social networking comfort zone, but now she has pushed me over the edge!  :-)  Her take on how the founding fathers would have used social networking to distribute information about the Declaration of Independence is a riot. 

Although not a web 2.0 app, but could you imagine the crawlers on the bottom of CNN, MSNBC and Fox News?!  And, oh my gosh, we would be at orange on the Homeland Security Advisory System.

 

Twittering on the Cell

Now I’m feeling au courant because I can now use my cell phone to update Twitter.  I don’t know why, but I was having the dangdest time trying to figure out how to use my phone.  Which was really irking me since my husband insisted upon getting me one with all sorts of texting capabilities, web browsers, etc.  And it’s pretty to boot.  :-)  So anyway, you’d think as a librarian I’d just be able to locate help. 

Well, it took me 3 weeks to google ”How do I use Twitter on my cell phone?”  And I found the answer.  It’s not brain surgery or anything but I’m just happy that I can now take Twitter with me.  I doubt I’ll ever tweet anything important like an arrest or an earthquake, but if something funny happens, you’d best believe I’ll tweet it. 

 

Web 2.0 Wednesday on Friday

I am so frustrated with myself.  Earlier today, I accidentally deleted my original Web 2.0 Wednesday post along with all of the comments.  So I’m trying to repost my flickr photos now.

According to the instructions, we were supposed to post something unique about where we live using a web 2.0 technology.  I decided to change the directions a tad and focus on my job because I’m incredibly proud of the changes I’ve made in the 3 months that I’ve been working in the archives.

When I first started, the place was a bit unorganized and there was a backlog of materials that needed to be processed. So I began by cleaning out the outer office first because that is the first area people see when they walk up to the archives. I cleaned out the bookshelf (which is a beautiful piece of antique furniture) and took out all of the materials that simply didn’t belong, e.g. pirate hat, scarves, erasers, etc.

Next I put all of the boxes and unprocessed materials into the inner office and had my student workers go through them and weed out duplicate materials and anything that did not fit into one of 3 main categories:

•  University history
• Sisters of Mercy history
• Back Mountain community history

Because I was new to the library and the archives, I didn’t have the emotional connection to many of the items that people who have been there for years have, so it was easy for me to weed materials.  It’s also easy for me to say “no” when people want to donate materials that don’t fit within our collection development policy.  I do my best to help them find safe homes for their items though.  I’m not totally heartless. 

Anyway, enjoy the pictures…

www.flickr.com curiouschild34’s My Office photoset

 

Hiring a Library Director

We are in the process of hiring a new director for our library, so naturally the  conversation amongst my co-workers is focused on what kind of person we need to run our library.  Of course, everyone agrees on the basic things:  no micromanagers, open door policy, easy to talk to, etc.  But on a deeper level, we know that we need someone who is innovative and is willing to move our library and, ultimately, the campus out of its technological comfort zone.  We need someone who is willing to try something new and explore new avenues of providing information to our students.

As the conversation about the qualities we are looking for progressed, I began to think very specifically about not only what I want in a director, but what I need in a director.  In theory, we are supposed to be patron focused, but I think we need to be a little staff focused too.  We need to be a bit selfish in thinking about the qualities that we are looking for in a new director.

I come to the library field at a strange place in my career.  For five years I worked in an academic library as an Archivist’s Assistant and Reference Librarian but because I was part-time, I was left out of the loop.  Therefore, I’m not up on the workings of academia and how the wheels turn.  So I’m basically learning by trial and error (and, trust, there has been a lot of error).  Furthermore, I wasn’t as driven to be active in librarianship because it was a part-time job that was helping me to meet the needs of my family.  That’s not to say that I was any less dedicated to the profession than full-time librarians, it just means that my focus was on raising my children and not being a mover and shaker.  Therefore, I know that I am need of a lot of mentoring from whoever becomes our director.

With this thought in mind, I have created a wish list of the things I need in a library director:

• Encourages professional development and lifelong learning.  Working at a small private institution has taught me one thing:  money doesn’t grow on trees.  Not that I didn’t know that before, but I just assumed that money for professional development would be a given, especially in an academic institution.  I was wrong.  So I’ve had to be creative in finding my own opportunities for professional growth.  I want someone who not only encourages this, but can help me and the other staff members find ways to develop professionally without it costing a lot of money.
• Has a web presence.  I want to be able to google the individual and see that he or she has contributed to the field of librarianship and continues to contribute using new and emerging technologies.  Our library has opportunities for growth technologically and we need someone who is not afraid to get their hands dirty and try new things.  I like technology and I think it can be incredibly useful in providing access to our students and we need someone who understands that libraries are more than brick and mortar.
• Can advocate not just for the students but for the staff.  Our institution has a lot of people on campus who are looking out for the students but there’s no one really looking out for the library staff.  We need someone who can go to the administration and state what we need and why we need it.   Sometimes libraries get put on the back burner because people really don’t understand that the library is (or should be) the heart of the campus.
• Has marketing skills.  Other departments have people touting their virtues and letting students, community members and administration know what they have to offer.  We need someone who can go into the community and tell people this is what we have to offer to our students and to you, the members of our community.
• Understands that their job isn’t done behind closed doors.  I want someone who doesn’t spend all of their time holed up in their office without bothering to connect to the students, staff and faculty.  For example, I am a big admirer of our president because he is one of the few people I have met who has an honest-to-goodness-true-blue open door policy.  His office is in the administration building and when he’s in there, the door is open.  If you have a problem, you can talk to him.  If you want to stick your head in the door and say “hi,”  he knows your name.  That openness contributes to the sense of family and community that we are known for.

So those are some of the things that I am looking for in a new director.  What would be at the top of your list if you were hiring a new director or even a new staff member?

 

 

Web 2.0 Wednesday Leads to Big Error On Friday

Insert loud, ear shattering scream here. 

I was in the process of cleaning out the 122 drafts that I had saved when I accidentally deleted my post for Web 2.0 Wednesday.  I am so incredibly frustrated with myself now.  This is further proof that we should not clean up, we should just wallow in our filth because, when the moment strikes and we do decide to organize and clean up, this happens. 

So to all of those who had taken the time to comment on my post, I sincerely apologize.  I promise from this day forward to never clean up again.

 

Merging the Library with the Archives

I have decided to consolidate my two blogs into one.  And after much hemming and hawing, I have decided to move everything here. It was just too hard to maintain two blogs without becoming redundant and I didn’t want to further contribute to the overwhelming Data Smog that exists in the blogosphere.

The decision to switch over to WordPress was a hard one to make. I like many of the functionalities of Blogger, for example I can see my tweets and books without any problems. And if Blogger provided an easy import button, I would have gone with Blogger but they don’t. Another reason I went with WordPress is recognition. I use Curious Child’s Library Wanderings as my “calling card” more often than I use this blog, so….

I’ll leave this site up for a month or so and then it’ll be gone. But, please, join me as I continue my journey at Curious Child’s Library Wanderings.

 

Black Independence Day

Today is Juneteenth. Also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas. The holiday originated in Galveston, Texas but celebrations have spread to 26 states as well as the District of Columbia.

For more information…

 

Welcome Web 2.0 Wednesday

You have to love Michelle! This month she’s back with Web 2.0 Wednesday after guiding all of her readers through the 31 Day Comment Challenge. I am so looking forward to participating in this challenge because I’ve found that I have sort of petered out when it comes to web 2.0 applications. I want to move beyond basic social networking and learn something that can be applicable to my job as a librarian and as a history instructor.

I decided to record a screencast of why I use Twitter. I downloaded screencasting software from Jing and it took it from there. First of all, I had to figure out how to use Jing. Did I mention that I’m not very tech savvy? Good thing I have no fear of the unknown (thank you to my drill sergeant from my former life as a soldier in the US Army).

Ok, so signing up for Jing didn’t work out. Not sure why, but it kept telling me that I’m not connected to the internet. I am connected. Moving on…

Well, I ended up recording a short video of myself on my computer and posting it to YouTube. Both of which are new to me. So I had fun playing around with my camera and trying to find the proper lighting (side note, I found out my house is REALLY dark). And now I have a YouTube account to boot.

Thirty minutes later…

Ummm, how long is it supposed to take for a video to load?

 

Lessons of the Square Watermelon

Japanese grocery stores had a problem. They are much smaller than their US counterparts and, therefore, don’t have room to waste. Watermelons, big and round, wasted a lof to space. Most people would simply tell the grocery stores that watermelons grow round and there is nothing that can be done about it. But some Japanese farmers took a different approach. “If the supermarkets want a space efficient watermelon,” they asked themselves, “How can we provide one?” It wasn’t long before they invented the square watermelon.

The solution to the problem of round watermelons wasn’t nearly as difficult to solve for those who didn’t assume the problem was impossible to begin with and simply asked how it could be fixed. It turns out that all they needed to do was place the watermelons into a square box while they were growing and the watermelons would take on the shape of the box.

This made the grocery stores happy and had the added benefit that it was much easier and cost effective to ship the watermelons. Consumers also loved them because they took less space in their refrigerators which are much smaller than those in the US - which resulted in the growers being able to charge a premium price for them.

What does this have do with anything besides square watermelons? There are a few lessons that you can take away from this story which will help you in all parts of your life.

Here are a few of them:

Don’t assume: The major problem was that most people had always seen round watermelons so they automatically assumed that square watermelons were impossible before even thinking about the question. Things that you have been doing a certain way your entire life have taken on the aura of the round watermelon and you likely don’t even take the time to consider if there is another way to do it. Breaking yourself from assuming this way can greatly improve your overall life as you are constantly looking for new and better ways to do things.

Question habits: The best way to tackle these assumptions is to question your habits. If you can make an effort to question the way you do things on a consistent basis, you will find that you can continually improve the way that you live your life. Forming habits when they have been well thought out is usually a positive thing, but most of us have adopted our habits from various people and places without even thinking about them.

Be creative: When faced with a problem, be creative in looking for a solution. This often requires thinking outside the box. Most people who viewed this question likely thought they were being asked how they could genetically alter water melons to grow square which would be a much more difficult process to accomplish. By looking at the question from an alternative perspective, however, the solution was quite simple. Being creative and looking at things in different ways in all portions of your live will help you find solutions to many problems where others can’t see them.

Look for a better way: The square watermelon question was simply seeking a better and more convenient way to do something. The stores had flagged a problem they were having and asked if a solution was possible. It’s impossible to find a better way if you are never asking the question in the first place . Always ask if there is a better way of doing the things that you do and constantly write down the things you wish you could do (but currently can’t) since these are usually hints about steps you need to change. Get into the habit of asking yourself, “Is there a better way I could be doing this?” and you will find there often is.

Impossibilities often aren’t: If you begin with the notion that something is impossible, then it obviously will be for you. If, on the other hand, you decide to see if something is possible or not, you will find out through trial and error.

Thanks to Alistair Johnston for sharing this terrific lesson in innovation!*

*And thank you to my husband for sending this to me!

 

It’s Time for a Revolution

Normally, I wouldn’t use this blog as a place to post something of a political bent but then I thought Why not?  Librarians have been politically active forever.  Not that I’m a Michael Moore fan or anything, but didn’t he once say “[Librarians] are subversive. You think they’re just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They’re like plotting the revolution, man.”  So that’s what I’m doing.  I’m helping to plot the revolution.

I am demanding that news outlets, pundits and other talking heads start treating Michelle Obama with the same respect with which they treat other political spouses.  Not more, not less, just the same.  What has me ticked off?  Fox News* referring to Michelle Obama as “Obama’s Baby Mama.”  This is disrespectful to her on so many levels:  wife, mother, African American, professional, presidential candidate’s wife, etc. 

First of all, the term “baby mama” is a derogatory term used to describe a woman who has children fathered by a man who is not her husband, boyfriend or current source of encouragement/support.  All of these things are the antithesis of what Mrs. Obama is to Mr. Obama.  Note, that I called them Mrs. and Mr.  It is because they are a married couple who has dedicated themselves to each other and the raising of their two beautiful daughters. 

Secondly, few marriages can withstand the scrutiny to which the Obama marriage has been subjected, especially not the Clinton partnership.  Even at their darkest times, Bill Clinton was never referred to as Hillary Clinton’s “baby daddy.”  And we know what a drama filled marriage they’ve had. 

Last, I’m not the only one calling for better treatment of Michelle Obama, so are Jack and Jill Politics, Michelle Obama Watch, and NiaOnline.  Not that she needs us to defend her, as a woman - especially a black woman - she has been defending herself all of her life, but I’m sure it helps her to know that she has people supporting her (and not in a wanna be ghetto fashion either, but don’t get me started on that).  

 

*In the interest of disclosure, I was a Fox News fan.  I enjoyed the interaction between the anchors but I think this has crossed the line.  This was neither funny nor contributory to the dialogue surrounding Barak Obama and his qualifications for the White House.  Therefore, I am officially turning off Fox News.