how to insert a video clip from YouTube to my Blogspot blog. (It's easy, copy the embed link from YouTube, switch to the blog window go to Edit HTML. Paste. Post.) BUT, it means I get to share my favorite Mini-Musical EVER. You WILL need sound! Time for me to go back to Reading on a Dream!!!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Today I bowed to the pressure of all the people who wished I would sign up a Twitter account. I took it upon myself as a way of expanding my Web 2.0 horizons. Now that I have it though, I'm not sure how I went without it. And it isn't Twitter so much that I adore, it is the Twitbin add on. I like to stay very current on news and world events, because I feel it is important to be knowledgeable on as wide a range of subjects as possible.
Anyway, now that I have Twitter, I am imagining all the uses it could have for the library. We could use it to announce library programing, we could use it to announce new books as they come in. There are so many things we could do! I'm very excited about it.
Anyway, now that I have Twitter, I am imagining all the uses it could have for the library. We could use it to announce library programing, we could use it to announce new books as they come in. There are so many things we could do! I'm very excited about it.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Summer Reading
My library system has excellent summer reading programs for all ages. There's a huge program for all of the adults, and a separate smaller secret program for staff. This year, I wanted to read enough to win the ultimate staff prize... and I don't even know what it is. So, I've been reading as much as I can lately, and sadly it is nowhere near enough to keep up with the reading whizzes, but I've read some fantastic books, so I don't see that it matters. Below is a list of the books I've enjoyed this summer.
1. The Wedding Ceremony Planner by Judith Johnson-- as I am in the process of planning my own wedding, I found this book to be extremely helpful as a guide to choosing the words for the ceremony. The book has very strong Christian undertones, but it also gives enough variety that one could plan for any level or type of ceremony. My only complaint was that nearly all of the "ring preludes" refer to the wedding band as a circle... which is obvious, and therefore a bit silly. This is a great book, I bought my own copy and don't regret it a bit, but I was pleased to find that my library has one as well. It is perfect as a wedding reference tool.
2. Offbeat Bride by Ariel Meadow Stallings-- I bought this book after developing a near religious devotion to the author's blog. It is a great book that approaches weddings in a slightly different less doll house way. The book gave some great advice, with real life references. Some of the best advice I have received going into the wedding planning was to remember that while the day is about me and my honey I am greatly outnumbered. With that knowledge and some great ideas, I have been able to pursue my dream wedding.
3. The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare-- I grabbed the book City of Bones off a display one night as we were closing the library. I was in the mood for something a little bit magical, and that's what I got. The first book is the story of a girl named Clary who is not what she seems, and slowly she struggles to realize who and what she is in the grand scheme of things. The books make the universe seem much larger than it is, and the story line is interesting if somewhat predictable. Even though it is not my favorite fantastical book I found myself immediately seeking out City of Ashes and I think I must read any future books on our heroine.
4. The Gemma Doyle Series by Libba Bray-- there is one reason I actually read the first of this series A Great and Terrible Beauty... it was this book trailer on YouTube. I really enjoyed it. In high school I was a sucker for every victorian era romance to hit the shelves. While this was a bit light on the romance, it was very much the kind of story I would have enjoyed as a school girl, in fact I found myself swept away by this book to another time. So much out of touch with my own time was I that I forgot to sleep in order to discover the mystery awaiting on the next page. I still haven't read The Sweet Far Thing, but I genuinely enjoyed a Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels. It's Gossip Girl set in the 1900s with a magical twist.
5. The Secret Hour book 1 of the Midnighters Series by Scott Westerfeld-- I have for a couple of years now been a huge fan of Scott Westerfeld's books for teens. I devoured the Uglies series and followed it with Peeps, and I even read the stand alone novel in the Uglies universe Extras. If he wrote it, I'd read it, no questions asked. So, it was with high expectations that I lifted the novel The Secret Hour and turned the pages. Now, this book did not have the depth or heft of his Ugly books, but it had a creativity all its own. While I would certainly read more of the books in the series I was not as with other books compelled to find more immediately. Indeed, the book while charming held little draw for me.
6. Blood Noir by Laurel K. Hamilton-- Laurel K. Hamilton was once to me so brilliant that I thought of her as J. K. Rowling for adults. I still read anything she writes, and I owe her many debts of gratitude for opening my mind to comic books by bringing Anita to the colored pages, for developing the kind of series that made me want to read great quantities all at once again... and I still enjoy her books, but they have defintely lost something of the quality... the mystery that made me turn pages is all but gone.
7. Marie Therese, Child of Terror by Susan Nagel-- It's so rare that I find myself drawn to a particular work of non fiction, but this book caught me. I knew nothing of the daughter of Marie Antoinette, and found as I read that I had discovered a hero. She was just a girl when her parents were beheaded and she was left in a tower alone her brother held apart until his death. She was a clever very brave young lady, and she grew into a strong woman. This was a great princess story.
8. The Arrival by Shaun Tan-- I was so pleased when this book finally fell into my hands. I had read much praise about it, but I was still completely inspired by the wordless illustrations. I felt like the immigrant wondering what words might mean, and feeling sorry for the distance between the father and his family. This book is a masterpiece.
9. The Mouse Guard by David Peterson-- this graphic novel caught my eye after appearing in a Sunday edition of Unshelved, but not until it crossed my desk at the library did I really have the ability to appreciate it fully. Cool story, beautiful illustrations.
1. The Wedding Ceremony Planner by Judith Johnson-- as I am in the process of planning my own wedding, I found this book to be extremely helpful as a guide to choosing the words for the ceremony. The book has very strong Christian undertones, but it also gives enough variety that one could plan for any level or type of ceremony. My only complaint was that nearly all of the "ring preludes" refer to the wedding band as a circle... which is obvious, and therefore a bit silly. This is a great book, I bought my own copy and don't regret it a bit, but I was pleased to find that my library has one as well. It is perfect as a wedding reference tool.
2. Offbeat Bride by Ariel Meadow Stallings-- I bought this book after developing a near religious devotion to the author's blog. It is a great book that approaches weddings in a slightly different less doll house way. The book gave some great advice, with real life references. Some of the best advice I have received going into the wedding planning was to remember that while the day is about me and my honey I am greatly outnumbered. With that knowledge and some great ideas, I have been able to pursue my dream wedding.
3. The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare-- I grabbed the book City of Bones off a display one night as we were closing the library. I was in the mood for something a little bit magical, and that's what I got. The first book is the story of a girl named Clary who is not what she seems, and slowly she struggles to realize who and what she is in the grand scheme of things. The books make the universe seem much larger than it is, and the story line is interesting if somewhat predictable. Even though it is not my favorite fantastical book I found myself immediately seeking out City of Ashes and I think I must read any future books on our heroine.
4. The Gemma Doyle Series by Libba Bray-- there is one reason I actually read the first of this series A Great and Terrible Beauty... it was this book trailer on YouTube. I really enjoyed it. In high school I was a sucker for every victorian era romance to hit the shelves. While this was a bit light on the romance, it was very much the kind of story I would have enjoyed as a school girl, in fact I found myself swept away by this book to another time. So much out of touch with my own time was I that I forgot to sleep in order to discover the mystery awaiting on the next page. I still haven't read The Sweet Far Thing, but I genuinely enjoyed a Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels. It's Gossip Girl set in the 1900s with a magical twist.
5. The Secret Hour book 1 of the Midnighters Series by Scott Westerfeld-- I have for a couple of years now been a huge fan of Scott Westerfeld's books for teens. I devoured the Uglies series and followed it with Peeps, and I even read the stand alone novel in the Uglies universe Extras. If he wrote it, I'd read it, no questions asked. So, it was with high expectations that I lifted the novel The Secret Hour and turned the pages. Now, this book did not have the depth or heft of his Ugly books, but it had a creativity all its own. While I would certainly read more of the books in the series I was not as with other books compelled to find more immediately. Indeed, the book while charming held little draw for me.
6. Blood Noir by Laurel K. Hamilton-- Laurel K. Hamilton was once to me so brilliant that I thought of her as J. K. Rowling for adults. I still read anything she writes, and I owe her many debts of gratitude for opening my mind to comic books by bringing Anita to the colored pages, for developing the kind of series that made me want to read great quantities all at once again... and I still enjoy her books, but they have defintely lost something of the quality... the mystery that made me turn pages is all but gone.
7. Marie Therese, Child of Terror by Susan Nagel-- It's so rare that I find myself drawn to a particular work of non fiction, but this book caught me. I knew nothing of the daughter of Marie Antoinette, and found as I read that I had discovered a hero. She was just a girl when her parents were beheaded and she was left in a tower alone her brother held apart until his death. She was a clever very brave young lady, and she grew into a strong woman. This was a great princess story.
8. The Arrival by Shaun Tan-- I was so pleased when this book finally fell into my hands. I had read much praise about it, but I was still completely inspired by the wordless illustrations. I felt like the immigrant wondering what words might mean, and feeling sorry for the distance between the father and his family. This book is a masterpiece.
9. The Mouse Guard by David Peterson-- this graphic novel caught my eye after appearing in a Sunday edition of Unshelved, but not until it crossed my desk at the library did I really have the ability to appreciate it fully. Cool story, beautiful illustrations.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Let's Talk About: Open Source
So, I promised I would come back around to shed light on the beauty of open source. The day for Open Source came sooner than expected. Today, I had a patron come to me with a problem for which open source was the best solution.
The Situation:
A young lady needed to create a web site as part of her course work for school. The problem was that she didn't have the finances to access the wonderful (and expensive) technology usually utilized by the professionals. She went to her library (one not a part of my system), and when her library could not help her, they called me. I don't believe they were looking for me specifically, but by fate or sheer luck they got me- Library Lady.
Reaction:
I assessed the situation. I asked open ended questions so that I could get an initial overview of the content needed. I slowly narrowed my field of questions until I could confirm that I was in fact thinking of what my patron required. Unfortunately, my library does not allow patrons to check out computer programs, and I don't know of any in my area that do.
The Solution:
Recently I've been using open source alternatives. I've tried out Open Office as a portable application on a thumb drive. (We can't download things to the staff computers without going through hoops.) I discovered that Office Draw is a lot like Publisher- and I am very familiar with Publisher, and I could do the same things. My boss discovered that the alternative to Microsoft Word offers an option to alter a document to a pdf in one click. So, I knew that these alternatives were generally as good as if not better than the name brands offered at the store. I took the patron's email address, and sent her a link to not one, but FIVE alternative programs for her to consider. After some research, we discovered that Kompozer was one of the most highly rated alternatives to Dreamweaver for creating websites. She was so relieved.
All of this is to say that Open Source is our friend. Hopefully libraries will continue to bring Open Source to the public in new ways.
The Situation:
A young lady needed to create a web site as part of her course work for school. The problem was that she didn't have the finances to access the wonderful (and expensive) technology usually utilized by the professionals. She went to her library (one not a part of my system), and when her library could not help her, they called me. I don't believe they were looking for me specifically, but by fate or sheer luck they got me- Library Lady.
Reaction:
I assessed the situation. I asked open ended questions so that I could get an initial overview of the content needed. I slowly narrowed my field of questions until I could confirm that I was in fact thinking of what my patron required. Unfortunately, my library does not allow patrons to check out computer programs, and I don't know of any in my area that do.
The Solution:
Recently I've been using open source alternatives. I've tried out Open Office as a portable application on a thumb drive. (We can't download things to the staff computers without going through hoops.) I discovered that Office Draw is a lot like Publisher- and I am very familiar with Publisher, and I could do the same things. My boss discovered that the alternative to Microsoft Word offers an option to alter a document to a pdf in one click. So, I knew that these alternatives were generally as good as if not better than the name brands offered at the store. I took the patron's email address, and sent her a link to not one, but FIVE alternative programs for her to consider. After some research, we discovered that Kompozer was one of the most highly rated alternatives to Dreamweaver for creating websites. She was so relieved.
All of this is to say that Open Source is our friend. Hopefully libraries will continue to bring Open Source to the public in new ways.
Monday, July 7, 2008
My New Tricks
Recently there have been changes in Libraryland. Luckilly I'm super-spry! I adapt so fast you don't even see it. It's one of my superhuman abilities!
In the past couple of weeks, we have begun to receive our books and instead of having them arrive pre-cataloged we are doing it ourselves. In some ways it hurt us at first. The extra work load and shorter staffing meant that we had a bit of a learning curve. However, I've completely embraced this as my own special project.
Each day we get these giant red bins full of books. I get to open the box it's like opening a treasure chest and discovering new jewels every day. It's very exciting. There's a ten step process involved in adding each and every book to the system. We assign ICPL's, and print out call numbers for items. It's mostly data entry, but it has been a blessing, because it helps me stay more in tune to the items brought into my branch, and I learned a few new computer tricks. Pretty nifty.
I've also been playing around with open source technology, but that is news for another day!
In the past couple of weeks, we have begun to receive our books and instead of having them arrive pre-cataloged we are doing it ourselves. In some ways it hurt us at first. The extra work load and shorter staffing meant that we had a bit of a learning curve. However, I've completely embraced this as my own special project.
Each day we get these giant red bins full of books. I get to open the box it's like opening a treasure chest and discovering new jewels every day. It's very exciting. There's a ten step process involved in adding each and every book to the system. We assign ICPL's, and print out call numbers for items. It's mostly data entry, but it has been a blessing, because it helps me stay more in tune to the items brought into my branch, and I learned a few new computer tricks. Pretty nifty.
I've also been playing around with open source technology, but that is news for another day!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Little Miss Motivated.
This is my first big post on my shiny new blog, so I'll take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Katie, and predictably, I work at a library. I don't have my library degree yet, but I'm chugging along down the track to success! Officially, I am a library peon- you know, the low lady on the totem pole. However, I don't let that stop me when it comes to making a difference in my community!
Right now, one of my big projects is trying to bring modern technology into my library to help the deaf and hearing impaired. The best way to do this is to introduce the video relay system service. It's a very personal project for me, and I am super motivated to see it pull through!
Some of my previous noteworthy projects have included the creation of an online meeting room database, complete with training manuals and a technology based "how to" course. This project was very successful, and we were able to transition from using reams of paper to relying on the more environmentally friendly method of recording reservations on the computer. The database was given the go ahead and eventually launched in several of our branch libraries. It served to introduce new concepts to some of the older staff, and saved money to boot. Can't beat that, or can you?
In addition to those things, I am working on several committees. I am on the ECC- the employee elected committee that works to resolve staff concerns and presents to the city manager. I am on the EOC- the emergency operations committee which serves as a community contact in the event of a natural disaster. The last committee (for now) is the training committee we are trying to find innovative ways to expand the professional development of our library staff members without breaking the bank. I find each of them challenging and rewarding.
So, that's me, little miss motivated.
~Katie
Right now, one of my big projects is trying to bring modern technology into my library to help the deaf and hearing impaired. The best way to do this is to introduce the video relay system service. It's a very personal project for me, and I am super motivated to see it pull through!
Some of my previous noteworthy projects have included the creation of an online meeting room database, complete with training manuals and a technology based "how to" course. This project was very successful, and we were able to transition from using reams of paper to relying on the more environmentally friendly method of recording reservations on the computer. The database was given the go ahead and eventually launched in several of our branch libraries. It served to introduce new concepts to some of the older staff, and saved money to boot. Can't beat that, or can you?
In addition to those things, I am working on several committees. I am on the ECC- the employee elected committee that works to resolve staff concerns and presents to the city manager. I am on the EOC- the emergency operations committee which serves as a community contact in the event of a natural disaster. The last committee (for now) is the training committee we are trying to find innovative ways to expand the professional development of our library staff members without breaking the bank. I find each of them challenging and rewarding.
So, that's me, little miss motivated.
~Katie
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