A more positive library story

It is an interesting profession that I've chosen given that technology is constantly changing the way we look for information. I will argue that librarians are/always will be a vital link in navigating those changing waters and helping patrons/customers locate what they need on the Google or the Internets and in electronic databases. We spend quite a bit of time training to do just that. I still say that books are a very valid way to find information, especially in the early stages of research and at the level of students with which I deal. One of my focuses now at the high school is teaching students to use electronic databases to find information and how to appropriately and accurately find information using search engines.

In my graduate classes, we've spent quite a bit of time in the two semesters I've taken discussing Library 2.0. One of the classes I'm taking this semester is about technology in the library. The first discussion topic is "Good vs. Bad Technology." I frequently think about how different my classes and my degree would have been had I originally gone to graduate school for my MLS after graduating from Tech as I had planned. Twelve years ago, the Internet was a wee shadow of what it is now and so much of the technology and information that we use wasn't even being considered. This is definitely a position that is evolving and changing with the times. And I'm enjoying all of it.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/04/future.library.technology/index.html

The future of libraries, with or without books

(CNN) -- The stereotypical library is dying -- and it's taking its shushing ladies, dank smell and endless shelves of books with it.

Libraries are trying to imagine their futures with or without books.

Books are being pushed aside for digital learning centers and gaming areas. "Loud rooms" that promote public discourse and group projects are taking over the bookish quiet. Hipster staffers who blog, chat on Twitter and care little about the Dewey Decimal System are edging out old-school librarians.

And that's just the surface. By some accounts, the library system is undergoing a complete transformation that goes far beyond these image changes.

Authors, publishing houses, librarians and Web sites continue to fight Google's efforts to digitize the world's books and create the world's largest library online. Meanwhile, many real-world libraries are moving forward with the assumption that physical books will play a much-diminished or potentially nonexistent role in their efforts to educate the public.

Some books will still be around, they say, although many of those will be digital. But the goal of the library remains the same: To be a free place where people can access and share information.

"The library building isn't a warehouse for books," said Helene Blowers, digital strategy director at the Columbus [Ohio] Metropolitan Library. "It's a community gathering center."

Think of the change as a Library 2.0 revolution -- a mirror of what's happened on the Web.

Library 2.0

People used to go online for the same information they could get from newspapers. Now they go to Facebook, Digg and Twitter to discuss their lives and the news of the day. Forward-looking librarians are trying to create that same conversational loop in public libraries. The one-way flow of information from book to patron isn't good enough anymore.

Greenwalt, for example, set up a Twitter feed and text-messaging services for his library. He monitors local conversations on online social networks and uses that information as inspiration for group discussions or programs at the real-world library."We can pick up on all of these trends that are going on," said Toby Greenwalt, virtual services coordinator at the Skokie Public Library in suburban Chicago.

Other libraries are trying new things, too.

The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, in North Carolina, has a multimedia space where kids shoot videos and record music. It also runs a blog dedicated to gaming and hosts video game tournaments regularly.

Kelly Czarnecki, a technology education librarian at ImaginOn, a kids' branch of that library, said kids learn by telling their own stories.

"Our motto here is to bring stories to life, so by having the movie and music studio we can really tap into a different angle of what stories are," she said. "They're not just in books. They're something kids can create themselves."

Czarnecki believes that doesn't have to come at the expense of book-based learning.

The Aarhus Public Library in Aarhus, Denmark, takes things a step further.

The library features an "info column," where people share digital news stories; an "info galleria" where patrons explore digital maps layered with factoids; a digital floor that lets people immerse themselves in information; and RFID-tagged book phones that kids point at specific books to hear a story.

"The library has never been just about books," said Rolf Hapel, director of the city's public libraries.

Community Centers

Jason M. Schultz, director of the Samuelson Law, Technology and Public Policy Clinic at the University of California at Berkeley Law School, said libraries always have served two roles in society: They're places where people can get free information; and they're community centers for civic debate.

As books become more available online, that community-center role will become increasingly important for libraries, he said.

"It depends on whether we prioritize it as a funding matter, but I think there always will be a space for that even if all the resources are digital," he said.

Some libraries are trying to gain an edge by focusing on the "deeply local" material -- the stuff that only they have, said Blowers, the librarian in Ohio.

"How do we help add that value to a format like the Internet, which is expansively global?" she said. "So we look at what do we have here that we could help people gain access to by digitizing it."

That material can be used to start community discussions, she said.

Librarians

This shift means the role of the librarian -- and their look -- is also changing.

In a world where information is more social and more online, librarians are becoming debate moderators, givers of technical support and community outreach coordinators.

They're also no longer bound to the physical library, said Greenwalt, of the library in Skokie, Illinois. Librarians must venture into the digital space, where their potential patrons exist, to show them why the physical library is still necessary, he said.

A rise in a young, library-chic subculture on blogs and on Twitter is putting a new face on this changing role, said Linda C. Smith, president of the Association for Library and Information Science Education.

Some wear tattoos, piercings and dress like they belong on the streets of Brooklyn instead of behind bookshelves. They're also trying on new titles. Instead of librarians, they're "information specialists" or "information scientists."

Libraries like the "Urban Media Space," which is set to open in 2014 in Aarhus, Denmark, are taking on new names, too. And all of that experimentation is a good thing, Smith said, because it may help people separate the book-bound past of libraries from the liberated future.

"It's a source of tension in the field because, for some people, trying to re-brand can be perceived as a rejection of the [library] tradition and the values," she said. "But for other people it's a redefinition and an expansion."

Funding woes

In the United States, libraries are largely funded by local governments, many of which have been hit hard by the recession.

That means some libraries may not get to take part in technological advances. It also could mean some of the nation's 16,000 public libraries could be shut down or privatized. Schultz, of the Berkeley Law School, said it would be easy for public officials to point to the growing amount of free information online as further reason to cut public funding for libraries.

Use of U.S. public libraries is up over the past decade, though, and many people in the information and libraries field say they're excited about opportunities the future brings.

"I came into libraries and it wasn't about books," said Peter Norman, a graduate student in library and information science at Simmons College in Boston who says he's most interested in music and technology. "Sure I love to read. I read all the time. I read physical books. But I don't have the strange emotional attachment that some people possess."

"If the library is going to turn into a place without books, I'm going to evolve with that too," he said.

Add this to the list of things that scare me

Librarians and libraries do so much more than provide books for students. We're a safe place for the "weird kids" to come during lunches. We're a tutor for students who didn't quite get it in class (that ones always a little tough in the math department but I do it). We're a support for the teachers in the lesson planning and teaching. We're a meeting place for many groups. Personally, I am a ray of sunshine sent to antagonize students who want to be left alone but who would probably go an entire day without someone talking to them if I didn't do it (see above: weird kids). It's frightening to think that a whole bunch of someones think it will be just fine for 19,000 students to function without a school library and all that it provides.

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6686591.html?nid=3245

California School District Closes All 28 Libraries

By Rocco Staino -- School Library Journal, 8/31/2009

First California’s Folsom Cordova Unified Schools got rid of all its certified media specialists—and now it’s axing its support staff and closing its doors. As of today, all 28 K-12 libraries in California’s will shutter, leaving 19,000 students with limited access to their media centers.

This marks yet another blow to the district’s libraries. Due to severe budget cuts six years ago, five certified librarians were eliminated and the district replaced them with technicians and assistants.

Now, even the support staff is getting the boot.

School library staffers became a bargaining chip in negotiations between the district and the California School Employees Association, the largest union for school employees. As a result, library technicians, assistants, and clerks have joined a total of 59 classified employees whose jobs have been eliminated to help close the district’s $14.7 million budget shortfall.

The district has urged the union to ask employees to take an ongoing three-day furlough in exchange for the restoration of 16 classified positions, some of which include library staff. But union leaders have rebuffed the offer, demanding that all positions be restored.

In the meantime, students will only be allowed access to the library when accompanied by a teacher, and they will not be allowed to check out any materials.

School superintendent Pat Godwin has suggested that teachers take “bucket of books’ to the classroom and circulate them at their discretion.

Officials of the Folsom Cordova Unified School District have not responded to SLJ’s phone calls or emails.

Pink slips were mailed in mid-July, and the library closures came three weeks after the start of the school year because the district was required to give its employees 45-days notice of their termination.

This blow to the library program comes six years after the district reassigned middle and high school librarians and halted subscription databases due to a lack of funds.

The district, located 20 miles east of Sacramento, recently invested $100,000 in Follett’s Destiny Textbook Manager program to help librarians automate textbook circulation, but the future of the program is now in doubt.

Linda Rodriguez, a library tech at Folsom High School for the last 18 years, was surprised that the district chose to reinstate freshmen athletics instead of saving the libraries. "What a nightmare," she told the local Sacramento Bee. “There is no accountability, and things are going to be cannibalized."

Superintendent Godwin has suggested that students use the Internet, the public library, or resources at home to complete their classroom and research assignments.

In the past, when Folsom elementary libraries were closed, the Folsom Public Library saw an increase in use. Katy Curl, director of the Folsom Public Library, is expecting the same to happen this time. “The community has a history of backing school libraries,” she says. “Things are incredibly tough, but I am hopeful that some of the positions will be reinstated within the month.”

Stupid snow day

That's what we had today--a stupid snow day. It snowed all day yesterday--not hard but consistent. It was gathering on yards and cars but the roads were only wet. When I went home yesterday afternoon about 4:30, Tramway as a little slushy but not bad at all. Most everyone had slowed down to about 45 mph (speed limit is 50 mph) except for one overly-cautious driver who was doing 30 mph and the one driver who thought 55 mph was better. That's pretty typical for NM drivers in winter weather--either idiots who apparently haven't gotten the message that just because one drives a 4-wheel drive SUV, it doesn't mean one can stop better or the person who freaks out at the first flake. I'm pretty wimpy when it comes to driving in snow but yesterday, it was just wet. It was collecting on the side street up to my house though.

By the 6:00 news, the district had announced a two-hour delay for today. The snow and colder weather was apparently just what I needed to finally get me out of my bah-humbug mood. When I got home yesterday, I started working on addressing Christmas cards and got almost all of them done. There is just a handful of addresses that I need to get. I also got started on wrapping presents. I had just been putting everything in the guest room, waiting for inspiration or the day before we left for Texas, whichever happened first. Thankfully, inspiration struck and I was able to get everything that needed to be mailed wrapped and boxed and ready to go. We were also able to antagonize the cat a bit with a calendar we bought for my Grandmother that includes bird sounds:

Yep. That will never get old. My comment was in regards to the fact that Jub had just stepped on one of the buttons to make it chirp, not stating the obvious that he was standing on the calendar. He couldn't figure out where the birds were hiding (although he didn't react to the owl hoot). We "played" with the cat for about 10 minutes, until he started biting the speaker.

I set my alarm to sleep in a bit since I knew we'd at least have the delay until 10:00. When I got up about 7:00, I looked outside and told Paul that we probably just had the delay since the roads looked fine. I padded downstairs and turned on the television. I was only paying half-attention to the TV and was definitely surprised to realize that I'd heard correctly--APS had cancelled classes. I shouldn't have been surprised at all given past history of snow days. The first year I lived in ABQ, we had a snow day about this same time of year in which there was no snow left on the ground by 11:00. There have been more snow days that have been similar in the past 10 years. And there have been days when a delay or a snow day would have been perfectly valid and yet we were required to report on time. I don't get it--I have no idea what criteria is used to determine when/why we get a snow day. I've decided to stop even trying to guess what we'll have. So we'll be adding an extra day in May, which won't be much of a day but it is one more day we'll be required to report to work.

Until I have to make up this day in May, it was nice to have today to run errands and get some stuff done so I'll have my Saturday to do whatever and clean the house in preparation for the neighborhood party on Sunday. I had a hair appointment this afternoon at 4:00 and, after I learned of the snow day, had told Paul that I was going to try to move it up. Before I was able to make the call, my hairdresser called to see if I wanted to come in at 1:00. Worked for me. I finished the scarf for my mother-in-law and got a bit more of the wrapping done before lunch. Then, with my fabulous hairdo (it's the same as before but Tammy does it much nicer than I ever can get it to look), I got everything mailed, stopped by Trader Joe's for party food and beverages, went to Sonic for drinks for me and Paul, headed to the mall and Barnes & Nobles to buy my father-in-law's present (the last gift I had to buy) and Sephora for goodies for me, and popped in at the little gift shop I love to get a gift for my secret pal. One of the lovely ladies who works there again complimented Abigail on how well she behaved when I went in there with her, Mom, and Amy after Thanksgiving.

This evening, I finished wrapping all the gifts and Paul and I finished burning the CD's I'm giving to my JLA committee as gifts tomorrow. We still don't now when we're going to Texas and Kansas although we have decided that we'll be driving. And we don't know what we're going to do with the cat while we're gone either. I guess we still have about five days to figure all of that out and heaven knows we don't rush into any decisions.

I think the hardest part is coming up with a catchy title

I think I'm running out of things to write about. Life has pretty much settled into a mundane routine and work has settled down as much as I think it ever will. I've still resigned myself to finding a new job and/or continuing with an MLS. So while I'm working putting those things in motion, I don't have much left to say. I'm finally almost better. I thought I felt fine yesterday and I think my "big" day of laundry, grocery shopping, Target, and an evening hike with Paul was too much because after dinner, I felt crummy again. Today, I think I've pretty much shaken off whatever it was that ailed me because I've felt good all day. :::knock on wood:::

After church today, we had lunch with friends from church who are in our small group/Sunday School class. We were discussing how our SS class has gone from a group of about 15-20 to pretty much just the four of us and why that is. There have been several who have moved away, a couple who have just fallen away, and many others who have stopped coming because they are "too busy." What's frustrating is that we've tried to cater the class to encourage those people to continue to come to class--moving from a book lesson to a video lesson, keeping the class time, etc. There are many couples in our church that are our age--we see them and we've talked to them--and yet, we apparently aren't doing something right to get them to come to more than just the worship service. Knowing Paul's schedule (and that Keith travels pretty much M-F most weeks), we're trying to determine what exactly makes someone "busy." He doesn't do anything else with church because of his schedule but spending two hours a week at church is something that even Paul feels he needs to carve into his schedule. It's a downtime for him to spend with others. We've discussed visiting other churches--the reason we opted to go to St. John's was because it is where Paul grew up and where his parents attend--but I don't know if there are active 25-40 year olds at any church aside from the big churches in town, which don't really appeal to us. Keith and Dana are discussing moving back to the Southeast to be closer to family after Baby #2 makes an appearance in March. I don't know what we'll do then. Pray about it, I guess.

And then on the way home, we saw a lady flossing her teeth while we were at a red light. I'm all about good dental health but that's just weird.

This week is just busy enough. On Monday, I'm taking the afternoon off to help out at the JLA Golf Tournament. I've not worked one in the past because they are held on weekdays. But as I've got two or three personal days, 16 weeks of sick leave and not much dedication to the job, I decided I can afford a little do-gooder time. And my resolve to take ALL my personal time, and maybe use up some of that sick leave, became even stronger when my principal questioned my taking the half-day PERSONAL leave when I handed in the leave slip. I understand the school is under corrective action and absences are being monitored but it's a half-day and it's my personal leave time. I could take that time to run naked down Montgomery or just take a really kick-ass nap if I so desired. She had no right or any reason to question me, especially when I have obviously shown (with my accumulated weeks of leave time) that I'm not one to abuse the system. Whatever. She really got me going when she saw the second slip for another half-day of personal leave the day before an inservice. Not FOR the inservice day itself but the afternoon BEFORE. Yes, I did miss an inservice last year because we were in Jamaica but I discussed it with her as soon as I saw the conflict in August. I've never not shown up for an inservice and I even stayed for the entire painfully useless inservice last week. It is exasperating when I do things as required and I get questioned for it knowing that I could abuse the system like some of my coworkers and nothing would be said to me.

The rest of the week is shaping up with a meeting on Tuesday evening, a much-needed haircut on Wednesday, and our anniversary on Thursday. We may or may not have a Balloon Fiesta kick-off party to attend on Friday and Saturday is the start of the Balloons! I don't know if we'll go this year--after last year's whirlwind visit-o-rama, we don't have any company this year. I'm trying to convince Paul to go next Friday when I've got Fall Break for the Special Shapes launch. It's my favorite day to go. And if I can't find someone to go with me, I might just go by myself. Hmph.

A couple of weeks ago, we heard the tell-tale "thunk!" that indicates a bird had flown into one of our living room windows. It's not an uncommon occurrence. One summer, we had a hummingbird--a green fellow--that hit one of the windows once a week or more. He'd lay in the yard for a bit until he got undazed when he'd fly off. I never figured out which neighbor had the fermented nectar but the cat enjoyed watching the bird. After this particular thunk, Paul looked outside and said that there was a really big bird on our back wall. A really big bird known as a hawk:

Apparently, it has been chasing the bird when the bird flew into our window. The bird was laying in the yard, dazed and confused, and the hawk was watching it. Paul and I stepped outside to see if we could see the bird and the hawk flew over to the house across the street to watch the bird. The hawk gave up after a bit of me standing outside and the bird flew off a little later.

Huh. Maybe I'm not running out of things to say.

In response to yesterday

Yesterday's inservice served as a pretty much pointless day. The morning started off with a speaker who forgot to give us an introduction of what his talk was about and instead started presenting us with information and percentages that are flawed at best and can't accurately be evaluated in regards to student success. Good times. The next speaker gave us the same talk we had at the inservice in August and then we were sent to "technology workshops" where we could better learn to incorporated technology into our classrooms. @@ My post yesterday was somewhere in between speaker #2 and lunch when I was trying to entertain myself while hearing something I'd already heard three times before.

After lunch (the highlight of the day), it was two more hours of entertaining myself through pointless sessions and then we reconvened in the library to hear the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction speak to us a on all the great things the district is doing. I went from laughing (the district has now mandated "walk-throughs" by principals in that the principals must visit at least 15 classrooms a week for 5 minutes or what I have always thought WAS THEIR JOB @@) to being utterly depressed. I realized when I became the librarian that it was going to be a struggle to get teachers to use the resources I've worked to select as well as working to convince all concerned that librarians are very necessary. The stories of librarians being cut from school in the age of technology is becoming more and more common and listening to the asst. supt., I realized that APS is leaning more and more towards libraries and librarians being redundant. No, she didn't single me out and say so much but when the entire day is spent on technology and the asst. superintendent comes in and talks about how important it is to put students on computers and teachers are talking about how they are doing research on computers, I realize that my uphill battle is getting much steeper. The analogy I have always used in regards to online research is that you don't give a student a calculator and tell them to do math so why are we giving them a computer and telling them to do research. Yes, it's a valid tool to use but it's not the best one for a student, in my opinion. And for all the teachers telling me how valuable I am, I'm really not feeling it when I'm told repeatedly that they'll just use the computers.

So what to do in this battle? I spent much of the evening moping about the last hour of the day and talking over options with Paul. I've got some ideas on what I'm going to do at school in regards to this topic and better marketing myself. But the best option we could see? I'm going back to school. I love being the librarian but as we all know, I'm not thrilled with my job. I've put off getting my MLS (I have a master's in Secondary Education and teaching endorsements in English and Library Science) mostly out of sheer laziness. I think this has been the impetus I needed to give myself more options that the MLS (or maybe even PhD) will bring. I've also mulled over going in a different direction and pursuing some other area of interest. But on Monday, I'm going to contact UNT and TWU about their online programs and see what I need to do to get started and then decide if that is indeed what I want to do.

Maybe I don't hate inservice days so much after all. (OK, I mean I still despise the actual day but if it spurs me to get on with my life, it's not a completely wasted day.)

Stuff and things and pictures

Paul left on Sunday for Tucson for a conference. Even though I took him to the airport, I'm such a dork that twice now, I have been pleased that Paul was home when I saw his car in the garage. I'll chalk it up to it being summer and apparently having lost my brain. What can I say but I miss the boy. Before our vacation, he thought he wouldn't have to go and was thrilled with the prospect of a week at work without interruptions since everyone else would be gone. He sounded so glum when he called last week to let me know he had to go and he sounded even more glum on the phone last night about being there. It is the first trip he's had to take for work since May but I think part of his resignation is caused by the fact that he is about to start traveling quite a bit again. Never fun for either of us. When he's gone so much for work, he doesn't want to travel for fun. In the meantime, I'm hanging out at home and would like to go some place, preferably with my husband. Because I like him pretty much OK.

In the meantime, I've got a week left of hanging out in the library for Summer School. At least it gives me something to do rather than sit at home pining for my husband. Yesterday, however, I got cranky. I know I'd been warned about my cranky nature but open defiance is just something the rankles me. I told a student (who was a student here a few years ago) to put out his cigarette. Not even two minutes later, I look outside and he's smoking again. And he was not on fire. I was so mad, I started shaking. If he hadn't kept trying to justify it (I didn't relight it, it just wasn't completely out. I was only taking one more drag. Miss, you've known me forever--I can't believe you're doing this), I might have been slightly less mad as I dragged his ass down to the Summer School office. I think the principal only kept him down there until I calmed down, which is fine. I'm not sure what punishment I was expecting since pretty much anything goes around here. I am now determined to remain in the safe confines of the library and not venture out much again lest I encounter more smokers or other ne'er-do-wells.

There are a few things I'd like to get done around the house before school starts back up in August. I've started a few of them since Paul's gone this week. I'll have two weeks between the end of summer school and the regular school year starting but part of that time, I think I'm going to visit grandparents. Paul has a trip that will be over a weekend so I think I'll go to Texas then. That should still leave plenty of time to do the deep cleaning and cleaning out I try to accomplish each summer. Our house is small and the walls start closing in as we accumulate more and more treasures.

Speaking of our trip, while we were abroad (hee!), I ate a couple of sandwiches with rocket on it. Because I'm clever enough to identify what foods I eat, I quickly determined that rocket was the green stuff on my sandwich but I couldn't place the flavor. Not unpleasant in my opinion and similar to something I'd eaten before. I asked a couple of people in England what it was and the only explanation I received was that it was a salad green. Um, thanks? When we got home, I headed to Trader Joe's for groceries and saw, ta-da!, rocket in a sack with the other salad greens. And it's arugula.  That's the flavor I know but couldn't place.  I bought a sack of it to spice up the salads I frequently eat for lunch and also tossed some imported Irish butter into the cart even though I know it was 10 days of Irish butter and beer that caused my vacation weight gain. (And I heart Trader Joe's even more now that I found these treasures.) Given that it's been cooler and rainy here since we got home and I found yummy butter, it's almost like we never left vacation.

And a few more pictures from the trip because I can. Here, we are at the Guinness Storehouse, which again I say wasn't that great and I saw on MSN's Travel Tips that it was one of the 15 Tourist Traps to Avoid. I think we would have avoided it had we known what the tour actually consisted of and that it wasn't an actual brewery tour. We probably would have gone to see the bog people exhibit at the Natural History Museum and the Yeats exhibit at the National Library, both of which are free. (The Changing of the Guards at Buckingham is also on the list but we expected the hordes of tourists there and at least it was free.) At Guinness, there was displays about each of the main ingredients used in making Guinness and water was represented with a big artificial waterfall.

I liked the signs in the UK the best. Even if you can't read it, you can get from the rather life-like figure that this is a tripping hazard.
Just in case you're wondering who that fellow is. . .
Thankfully, these were not part of the "authentic old Ireland experience."
I want a sign outside my library in Gaelic.

I won't win but still

A student just delivered an invitation to the NJHS Induction & Awards Ceremony next week with a note saying I've been nominated for Educator of the Year. In my nine years of teaching here, this is probably the seventh such note I've received. I've never won. I'm the Susan Lucci of my school.

The first couple of years, I eagerly attended the ceremony, putting on something nice and gussying up, thinking I might have a chance to win. Then I would attend but not doing much beyond freshening up my lipstick, having less confidence in the idea that I could win. The last few I've blown off attending in favor of claiming my rightful place on the couch (plus I'd heard prior who won and I didn't agree with the choice the students made--not because of sour grapes but because I didn't think it was a good choice). I'll go to this year's ceremony because I'll need to take pictures for the end-of-year video.

But I'm not dressing up.

Weekend Recap

The conference was great and I'm really glad I went. I hate the term "network" but I know that's what I was doing--catching up with people I know and like, getting fantastic new ideas to try in my library, and generally walking away from the conference feeling with a good feeling about my job and how I hope to improve it. The keynote speaker for Friday wasn't able to make it because of the American Airlines debacle. Fortunately, he's technologically inclined and was able to do a podcast for the group on the pros and cons of Wikipedia. I would love to have heard him speak as just the podcast was pretty dynamic. It was also nice to know that I've been teaching the use of Wikipedia correctly (as a good site to use as a starting point for information and for the external links but definitely not as the expert site).

During the morning on Friday, I was manning the ASL-SIG booth and flipping through a catalog for a book vendor. I started chatting with the book rep at the booth, explaining that I do use them every year and really like my rep and the company. Another book rep came over and started chatting with us. He lives in Rio Rancho and through the course of conversation, I mentioned the church we attend and my inlaws' names. Come to find out, that rep went to school with my MIL in Louisville and Wamego. Reva was his 4-H leader. He asked about Paul's aunt and uncle. He and my inlaws have been in and out of touch over the years but he gave me his card with his phone number to pass along. Small world.

I got home on Friday evening after a horrible drive home. I managed to drive both to and from Cruces with a headwind and Friday's was especially rotten. One of those ones where you have to hang on the entire time and I held my breath any time I drove over a bridge. Not because I thought I'd go over the edge but all those "gusty winds" signs and the flapping wind socks did nothing to deter that thought. I promise the best thing about the drive was stopping at the Border Patrol check-point outside of Las Cruces and being asked if I was a U.S. citizen. Because I look so foreign. I'm sure it's just a standard question asked of all drivers but really. I wanted to ask if it was a trick question but simply replied "Yes." (Paul said I should have answered "Si") and headed back into the nasty gusty wind. 230 miles and 3/4 of a tank later (I'm not going figure out that gas mileage), I finally made it home.

Happily, all the inside construction was finished on Friday. I spent most of the day yesterday doing all kinds of cleaning--getting all the construction gunk out of every nook and cranny of the house. I could probably call in Merry Maids to get the gunk I missed--I gave up out before cleaning out the inside of cabinets and drawers that probably need to be cleaned. But I LOVE the new countertops and tile. Alan did a fantastic job with the tile work. I wrote him a nice thank you before I left and Paul bought a gift card to a local restaurant to put in it. Alan will be back at some point in time because the stucco still isn't finished. We haven't had rain in two months then we scheduled outdoor work. Oh well--as I said before, that doesn't bother me much because I don't see it. Pictures are forthcoming. It seems that the camera is never on the same floor as I am and as Paul is currently vacuuming the stairs, I don't want to interrupt his work.

Today has been a lazy day for both of us. Finishing up the laundry and that sort of thing. We finally finished and e-filed our taxes. We knew we'd owe money so we weren't in a hurry to get that done any earlier than need be. Paul leaves tomorrow for a week-long conference near L.A. and I've got a few little things going on during the week to keep me busy. A good weekend followed by a hopefully good week.

Conference Day 2

Today was the first full day of the conference and so far, I'm really glad I came. That is, I was after I finally found a parking spot today. I don't have a map of the NMSU campus but I figured there had to be a lot for commuter students (I wasn't going to attempt to find a spot in one of the 10 or so spots universities reserve for visitors). After much driving around and much avoiding of college students who just walk or ride wherever forgetting that I'm in a car, I was able to find some big lot which was convenient to the conference location. If it was the commuter lot, NMSU students don't realize how good they've got it. Tech and UNM both have their lots at the far nether regions of the campus so it's a hike to get to class.

There wasn't anything in the first session of the morning that really grabbed my attention so I spent most of the morning in the exhibit hall talking with book vendors and visiting with librarian friends who had come down. I never have a chance to just visit with these peers when we're back in ABQ--we do our own thing in our own schools, possibly seeing each other at the monthly library inservices but we never get a chance to just visit. The two afternoon sessions I attended have given me quite a few ideas to take back to school. I just hope my coworkers are receptive to collaborating and actually using me as a resource. So far, I haven't had much luck. Maybe with these ideas, I'll be better able to armed to convince them to do this.

I was invited to dinner at La Posta in Old Mesilla tonight by two of my books reps, a married couple that I really enjoy working with. There were two other librarians at dinner as well--one from Rio Rancho and another from Espanola. The one from Espanola had worked in Felt, OK, years ago--before my days of knowing people in Felt but not many people have even heard of that place much less lived there. We had a nice visit and it's always great to be able to visit with peers and bounce ideas around.
Tomorrow starts off with a breakfast meeting and I'm interested in the keynote speaker's talk on Wikipedia after that. After lunch, I have to choose between two sessions both led by other ABQ librarians that I know, like, and respect their work. Then it's back home again to my hopefully completed kitchen and my husband and my cat.

Coming to you live from Las Cruces

I'm currently in Las Cruces for the annual NMLA conference. I drove down this morning and will be here until Friday afternoon. This is the first time I've actually been to Las Cruces. I've driven through once on our way to Houston. So far, my impression of Las Cruces is that it's windy, dusty, and not well marked. Actually, it might be well-marked. I just couldn't see it for all the dust blowing.

When I was telling my student aides yesterday that I wouldn't be at school the rest of the week, one asked me what a bunch of librarians discuss--"I've got books. You've got books. Read books." Not quite but kind of. When I started explaining to them the types of sessions I would be attending, they didn't seem at all interested. This afternoon, I attended a session on repairing and preservation of books and a/v materials. The other sessions I plan on attending cover collaboration with classroom teachers, using graphic novels, lessons using Internet sites--generally stuff I find interesting and important but to a 13-year-old, probably not the niftiest thing going.

The conference is being held on the campus of NMSU. I feel old walking across a college campus. I mean, I can remember being 19 years old and walking across campus on my way to class. Until times like this, I forget I'm not 19 anymore. Or even 25. I'm an "ancient" 33 years old. But for the next two days, I'm going to try to look like the coolest old person I can be.

Finally getting around to that resolution from 2006

We had another round of Secret Pals at school that ended with the big breakfast and final gift-giving this morning. Even though I'm in charge of organizing this, I honestly had no idea who had my name. I have another person helping me who assigns my name and even though we keep a master list, I put it away and don't look at it so I can't see who's name is blank. And thankfully, I have the attention span of a gnat so I usually forget who is even participating.

The info sheet contains all the usual questions--favorite color, music, general interests. I received all kinds of neat things from my secret pal during the past month--a Starbucks Chai Latte one afternoon, peanut M&M's and a People magazine during testing, a small bouquet of gerbera daisies, more chocolate. On the bottom is the question "Anything else?" I'd written that I keep thinking I should learn to knit. As soon as I saw my final gift I knew exactly who had been my secret pal. My final gift was nice knitting needles, a skein of yarn, and a note that if I wasn't joking, she'll teach me how to knit and already knows what she's going to assign as my first project. There wasn't time to start today but when we get back to school after Spring Break, I'm going to have my knitting lessons.

I can hardly wait.

And speaking of work, here is a little glimpse into my office. Here are the pictures I have on my desk: This picture of Paul was taken when we were on a cruise in 2004. This was his best attempt to look like a goofy tourist. I think he succeeded.
This picture of a teeny Jub was taken shortly after I got him. He still has blue eyes here--according to the vet, Jub was probably only a month old when I got him. I'm not sure what the thing directly behind him was but for comparison, the pillow is 12" square.
This is a picture from the ones we had taken last October. We gave this print to our siblings and as wallets. I normally dislike profile pictures of me but I liked that Paul's laughing and I like our hands so those trumped my self-consciousness about my nose. and this one made the cut.

Coincidence? Irony? I'm not sure but it's something.

Yesterday, I was complaining about not wanting to be at school and wanting to take a day off and wouldn't it be nice to just not be at work for a day, etc., etc.

This morning, I awoke to a white view out my window and a two-hour delay for school.  Not quite a day off but two extra hours of lazing about the house would suffice.  Because I'd bathed last night, I'd already slept in an extra thirty minutes.  I wandered downstairs around 7:00, happily still in pajamas and slippers to feed the "Paul's Big Boy," this morning's nickname for a cat who was whinging about needing food, and to fix myself a bowl of cereal.

Midway through my bowl of cereal, the announcement was made that school would be cancelled for the day.  Huh.  One would think I'd be happy about that cancellation but I'm actually not too thrilled with it.

Reasons I'm unhappy about today's snow day:

1)  Our school calendar is now one day longer in May.

2)  Paul will probably stay home since I'm staying home so I don't get a day to myself.

3)  There's no reason for a snow day since it is supposed to be 40 degrees today.

4)  Two-hour delays don't have to be made up.  Snow days do.

5)  I think I'm residually cranky from yesterday.

In the meantime, the cat and I are fighting for position in front of the fireplace and I'm debating if I actually should change from my pajamas today.  Perhaps there is a small bonus to not having school today.

Word.

I've never considered myself a terribly "hip" or "cool" person. I'm always had strong leanings to the nerdy side of life and even in high school, when I tried to be "all that," my true colors shone through more often than not. Do you realize how far your cool factor falls when you can't go on a date because you have a piano recital?

As I've gotten older, I have learned to embrace all that I am and just let my Nerd Flag fly. I have never had much desire to rebel against anything. I'm 33. I'm married. I drive one of the safest cars on the road. I have a cat. I'm a LIBRARIAN, for Pete's sake.

Which is why it's terribly amusing when a student told me "Peace out, miss!" on his way out of the library today. My student aides couldn't stop laughing at that because it's not something most people say to the school librarian. My aides honestly guffawed when I mentioned that on Friday, a student told me "Way to keep it real, Mrs. E." when I ordered a cheeseburger in the school lunch line. Um, yeah. I don't even know what that means but the student and I did a little fist bump because he was also getting a cheeseburger.

Keeping it real one. That's what I'm all about.

Oh, hey--I have a blog!

Momentarily forgot about this place in the past 10 days. I still haven't uploaded our pictures from Christmas--don't ask what I've been doing because the answer would be embarrassing since it mostly has involve copious amounts of sitting. I had a bit of a cold the end of last week and as it was still Winter Break, I took full advantage of the sitting time. Even turned it into a bit of lying down time.

School started back on Monday and I must admit that the first week back has gone really smoothly. Hopefully that is a good indication of the semester to come. ::::knock on wood:::: I finally finally got the magnetic strips and contraption to magnetize/demagnetize them for the books so after a YEAR, I'll be able to start using the security system in the library. All in good time. There are 20,000 of these strips. There are about 10,000 books in my library so I've definitely got plenty for the future. Or to surreptitiously stick on students and then get really cranky with them for taking things. Hey, a librarian has to get her kicks in some way.

I took the cat to the vet on Monday to have some blood work done for his dental appointment yesterday. The vet had a hard time finding a vein in either of his front legs and ended up having to draw it from his inner thigh. I jokingly commented that as mean as Jub is, the lack of blood was probably a strong indication that he is, in fact, a vampire. I mean, throw in his constant slinking around during daylight hours, spending as much time as possible under the bed, and I think the proof is pretty much there. I also reminded the vet and vet tech that when I'd had Jub neutered, he woke up fighting mad from the anesthesia.

I took the cat for his dental appointment on, dropping him off before work. When I left him, he was already pretty crabby since we'd had to pick up his food the night before. One thing that can be said for my cat is that Jub loves him some of the food. That boy doesn't miss many meals. I left him yowling at the vet's office after receiving instructions to call back after 1:00 to check on him. I called during my prep period, which conveniently started at 1:15 to learn that everything was fine and I could come claim my cat. Not wanting my poor baby to have to spend one more minute at the vet's office than necessary, and because the vet is not even 5 minutes from work, I ran over to pick him up at that time.

As I was paying, the vet tech heard the receptionist asking about Jub's carrier and stepped out from one of the exam rooms to let me know that I'd have to come back to get Jub. It seems he woke up fighting mad again. Not just fighting mad but hissing, yowling, growling and lunging mad and the vet tech didn't want to even try to pick him up. I quickly determined which kennel he was in--it was the only one covered by a towel. It was an unsuccessful attempt to calm him down. I managed to get him in the carrier only by shoving the carrier completely into the kennel and scooping him up that way. It took both the vet tech and me to get the carrier closed. I forgot to ask the vet, who was happy to see that we'd managed to get him in the carrier, about his teeth and which one was pulled or anything. Honestly, all three of us were laughing so at the cat and his antics that we forgot much of anything. Jub yowled and hissed the entire way back to school. I left the cat in his carrier in my office, where he'd hiss any time I walked by. I took him into the office after school to show off the beast and apparently all the cooing and fawning by my coworkers helped to calm him down. He voiced his displeasure with me a bit on the way home but by the time we made it to the friendly confines of our house, he was mostly done with the mad routine. Now he's to the ignoring stage. Give him a day or two and he'll come around to snuggling.
Jub, in happier days:

And here he is needing a belly rub. Or just teasing that he might be sweet enough to let you do that. If I'd tried to pet him at this point, he would attack my hand. He's not a very nice cat.

Now and some stuff from Then

The Now:
It is book fair week at my fair school. Everyone's reaction when I say that is always "Oh, I love the book fair!" Yep. I used to as well--you know, until I started running the book fair. It's not bad, just a very high-energy week for me. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are scheduled with all the language arts classes so it's super busy. This morning was Doughnut Day so I was there at 7:30 with 4 dozen doughnuts and my husband to hand them out. I'm all about recruiting those close to you to help out. Paul didn't think it was too bad as the children were well-behaved since he was the Doughnut Guy. We'd debated if 4 dozen would be enough. I think we could have given away another dozen easily. The doughnuts were "free with a fair purchase" or a quarter each. Paul was concerned that we wouldn't break even and thought we should charge 50 cents--I didn't care so much about breaking so much as generating a little interest in the book fair this morning. I picked a quarter because the cheapest thing we have at the fair is a pencil for 35 cents. The doughnuts definitely a hit and something I'll keep in mind to do during the next fair. (Speaking of recruiting family members, my FIL helped man the register during lunches on Monday and my MIL was there today. And if my own family was closer, they would have been called into service as well.) Tomorrow will most likely be a bit slow as no classes are scheduled and there isn't the urgency to buy stuff that comes with Friday. Friday is always busy with walk-ins and the two lunches are crazy. But then it's over and I can shelve all the library books that have been returned and ignored.

The Then:
For the December Junior League meeting, we were asked to submit our old prom pictures. The president is going to use them during to create a funny a little presentation on "What Not to Wear" for holiday parties. It took a while but I managed to dig them up.

My junior prom in 1992. I'd had to screw up all my nerve to ask Bob to be my date to the prom. I was in Lubbock for the UIL Regional Academic contests and he went to play Putt-Putt with all of us from Texline. Everyone, including the sponsor, knew I was trying to gather enough courage to ask him to go with me as I'd blathered on about it for the entire trip to Lubbock. I'm not sure why I was so nervous since we were kinda sorta dating at the time and he wouldn't be surprised by my asking. But he was a sophomore in college and I didn't know if he'd want to come back for a prom. He did and we had a fabulous time. Definitely my favorite prom of the four I attended (yes, four. And I was actually asked to go to a 5th. I made a very good prom date.)

Most people are shocked when I say 1) the place I consider my hometown, Texline, has 450 people (yes, I realize your graduating class was bigger than that) and 2) there were 14 people in my graduating class. Here's the proof. That is everyone in the Texline High School Class of 1993. One of my coworkers asked which one was my boyfriend. I can honestly say none of them although I did kiss one of them quite a bit. We won't go into that further because my mother and sisters will read this.

My senior prom in 1993. Like my dress. Didn't like my date. I'm still not sure why I didn't ask Bob to escort me again (oh yeah--that whole drama queen thing). My h.s. best friend (she's the one in the black and white dress in the front row in the class picture) and I still bemoan the fact that we didn't just go together because we probably would have had a lot more fun in the end as she wasn't terribly fond of her date at the time, either (that would be the blonde boy on the right in the front row in the above picture). I don't think half my class was talking to each other by this time and it was just a very teenage-dramatic evening and not nearly as much fun as it should have been for a senior prom.

And I had to throw in this one of Amy and David because I love both the size of Amy's hair and the size of her ruffles on her dress. (The dress was very cute in a 1992 kind of way.)

Day 29: The End is Near

The Book Fair was delivered yesterday morning. Let the good times begin. I enjoy doing the book fair--it's just a really high-energy week for me. I started setting it up today for a Sneak Peek we're having tomorrow. It's mostly for parents and teachers but I imagine a few students will sneak in as well. I don't mind--the students who visit the library typically aren't the troublemakers. Even when the troublemakers stop by, they behave or they are politely asked to get the heck out which they always do with an "Ah, Miss. We were just playing." I honestly have very little discipline issues in the library. That's a definite perk to being the librarian.

Each of the language arts classes will visit the book fair as a class on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. I've got parent volunteers coming in to help throughout the week to help during lunches and student volunteers who help out during the class periods making certain nothing walks out and keeping things neat and tidy. The student volunteers get a lanyard to wear during their shift--it's as if that little plastic nametag with "Volunteer" gives them some type of power rush. It's amusing to see how serious some of the students are about catching possible shoplifters. But throughout the past 5 years that I've run the fair, we have caught a couple of students trying to take something. But as much fun as it is, I'll definitely be glad when next Friday rolls around and I get to pack it all back up. I'll be even happier on Monday when it's picked up and everything is back to normal.

It was downright cold outside today--I think I saw the high was right around 40, which isn't really that cold except it was a wet cold. It was overcast and the sky was spitting most of the day. Thankfully my heater was fixed yesterday around noon. The repairmen said it just hadn't been turned on but I know (and the custodian conferred) that it was on earlier. Someone probably got on the roof and turned it off--we've had random mischief like that before. I'm just glad it was an easy fix and that my little library is toasty warm now.

Today's random picture is from the record snow we had over New Year's. Paul and I took a walk to start the year off right. I don't know what he was doing. Surveying the scene, I guess. I never know what goes through his head.

Day 27: Three Days Left

I can do this. Just four more posts and then I can stare at the computer and not post if I decide I don't have anything to write about. Like today.

I was going to write something spectacular--I was thinking of doing another list of 33 more fascinating/fun/interesting things about me. But I've taken a rotten headache and could only come up with two.

1. I drive a Subaru Forester. I have no idea why I thought that would be a good car because I'd never ridden in a Subaru and only knew two people who owned them when we bought the car almost four years ago. I totally {heart} my car. It's not fancy or flashy or anything but it's the perfect "Carrie car." I talked it up so much, one of my coworkers decided to test drive one and he and his wife also bought a Forester.

2. I really, really dislike when people misuse the word "y'all" in speech or writing. Oh, and I really, really, really dislike when they misspell it. I think that's more theEnglish teacher in me rather than the Texan I am. It's a contraction of you all, people. It's just like is not becomes isn't and the appostrophe replaces the omitted letter.

Eh. Here's a random picture for today. Amy was a freshman and I was a sophomore at Tech and we'd gone to Lewisville to visit Donna one weekend during bluebonnet season. We had to stop to take a picture:

I still didn't have heat today--it hovered in the 50's in the library all day. The sun was shining today so it did warm up a hair--from 50 to almost 58. I had classes scheduled (they didn't stick around long) and students coming from classes to use the computers for work so I couldn't escape much. I love the coworkers who come in, recognize that it's cold, see me in my coat and gloves and then ask why I don't turn up the heater. I couldn't think of anything clever to quip back so mostly I just stared at them.

I did go to Target during the lunch break to warm up. I figured I could sit in the office or go shopping. Shopping won. My principal called maintanence again to tell them that this is unacceptable. Obviously that didn't light any fires under them. Hopefully it will be fixed tomorrow. The book fair is being delivered tomorrow and I'd hoped to set it up on Thursday for a sneak peek on Friday. I guess I can do that with no heat--it will just be a chilly sneak peek.

Here are two links that were shared with me today:

Greenpeace is naming to a pack of humpback whales. You can guess which one we voted for (it also happens to be the one in the lead).

Another teacher shared this one with me. Paul doesn't like to play word games or trivia games with me because I spend too much time doing stuff like this. But at least my newfound useless knowledge was gained for the good of the world.

Day 19: Work

Here I was worried about having nothing to write about today. I was mentally going through a list of recipes I could possibly post.

Then, middle school happened. Two things that happened today at work that are fairly indicative of what I deal with daily. Good times, I promise.

I had to run to the post office and stop by an ATM today so I took the 15 minutes between the lunch periods to do so. I returned to school after the 2nd lunch had started and walked into the foyer to find about a dozen children waiting, all but two of these being funky smelling boys. F-U-N-K-Y, funky. And the two funky-smelling boys leaning against the door didn't seem to grasp the idea that they had to move in order for me to actually open the door. They eventually grasped the concept of moving and we proceeded into the library in an orderly manner.

As everyone walked in, another funky-smelling boy announced, "I need some personal space because I have got to pass some gas."

Holy cow.

I sent him away, sprayed the foyer with Lysol, and continued along with my B-lunch groupies.

Then came 5th period when one of the snottier 6th grade girls commented on my new hair color, "I don't know why they're called redheads. It's more like orange heads."

In with the good, out with the bad, don't speak or what comes out will likely cause you to lose your license.

It's a very good thing we're only in school two days this week.

Day 16: Not Much

So, I really don't have much to write about today. It was a good day-- classes in the library who all behaved nicely, lunch with a coworker who behaved nicely (ha!), met with the trainer this afternoon.

We've started Secret Pals at work. I have the master list of who has who, although another coworker helped me draw names so I don't know who my Secret Pal is. I could figure it out easily and on one hand, I'm tempted but the other hand, it's more fun when it's a secret. I tucked the list away in a stack of other papers on my desk to resist looking at it.

That's pretty much it. Here's a recent picture of Paul playing Guitar Hero III on the Wii. It's utterly addictive to play. He's giving me his best "guitar face" in this picture. Because, as discussed earlier, he can't just have a picture taken.

Tomorrow (hopefully): My annual Christmas wish list

Into the groove

Back to work after a quick trip to Lubbock for a rather unexciting, lopsided football game (thankfully in Tech's favor), the arrival of the first of our Balloon Fiesta visitors, and Monday off. I'm finding it hard to get back into the flow of work. Perhaps because I'm anticipating another day off on Friday when my sister and her family come into town. Perhaps because I know it is a slow week in the library with few classes scheduled. Maybe I'm just having a hard time getting started on this chilly morning.

We've had a nice visit with our friends so far. Their oldest daughter, Kelly, is 3 and, as is usual for the littler visitors in our house, obsessed with getting the cat to like her. Yesterday, while she was supposed to be napping, I heard little feet pattering upstairs and our bedroom door shut. Upon inspection, I found Kelly, dressed in her Cinderella dress and holding her pink fairy wand, laying in our floor, trying to convince Jubjub that she was nice and could pet him. No deal, kiddo. We don't get to pet him often, even when dressed in our princess finest (which Paul looks fabulous in, by the way).

Chris and Karen are leaving on Wednesday morning, leaving just enough time to change sheets and wash towels before our next guests arrive that afternoon. Paul's cousin Doug, his wife, and 2-year-old daughter are stopping at our house on their way to Ruidoso. We've never had them visit so it should be interesting. Not that we don't like them; it's just difficult when you don't know what kind of houseguests people are. High maintenance who require lots of our attention and energy? Easy-going enough for us to point in the general direction of the kitchen and let them fend for themselves? Some place in between? At least they have cats so hopefully Bethany won't even notice Jub slinking around the joint.

In the mean time, things are picking up a bit with library patrons and I really should use this time to get some book-ordering related work done. Enough dilly-dallying on a feels-like-Monday Tuesday morning.