Living With Rogues and Druids

by Pam Ripling

WoW. And I was going to talk about Pong. Your parents-grandparents?-will remember: black screen, two white paddles (actually, two little bars that only move up and down), one blip on the screen that was supposed to look like a bouncing ball. Prehistoric man’s first video game.

Instead, let me tell you about Daniel and James.

Daniel is my son. He is also a Druid, who spends several hours weekly immersed in the World of Warcraft, or WoW, the biggest, most successful MMORPG ever. Oh, that’s massive-multiplayer-online-role-playing-game for you noobs out there. And that word massive? An understatement. Get this: there are over 11.5 million druids, priests, mages, warlocks, hunters, shamen, rogues and warriors subscribing to this fantasy franchise universe, landing WoW in the Guinness book!

Role-playing games are certainly not new. Think Final Fantasy (Square Enix, 1987, for Nintendo), an early RPG that holds seven Guinness World Records. What makes WoW different is that it spans all platforms and is played exclusively online, worldwide. “Old time” gamers will remember playing Warcraft: Orcs & Humans way back in 1994; World of Warcraft was announced in 2001 but not released by creator Blizzard Entertainment until November, 2004.

But back to the Druid in the corner bedroom. This character is also a healer, and he is part of the Alliance. (I, of course, immediately conjured up Luke Skywalker, but he said that wasn’t right.) He is part of a “guild” – a collection of players that meet (either in person or online) in real life and form a sort of a team that always play together. They will even talk to each other with headsets while they play. Dan, er, the Druid, can shape shift, too. Some nights, his guild goes on raids, attacking other dungeons and collecting various gear and other cool stuff to help them progress to higher levels (there are 80 in all!) These raids can last for hours, and it might take a typical player a year to reach that 80th level.

Did I mention James? Okay, he’s in the other bedroom. Or, uh, a different guild, that is. He is a Rogue, and he plays for the Hordes. The tough guys. The black hats. He is sometimes a Troll, sometimes a Blood Elf. This is because, of course, Blood Elves can be Paladins but Trolls cannot. (Didja get that? If you didn’t, Wiki has lots more confusing facts and info on WoW.) As these warring brothers actually “play” in different but identical worlds (okay, “servers”), they rarely have to attack each other, which is a big relief to me.

So what's the big deal? Well, for one thing, it's not GAME OVER if you die. You just kind of become a ghost, wander around a graveyard, find your body and get resurrected. And of course, there is no end to WoW: it's a perpetual, ever-changing world of endless possibilities and new challenges.

I’m not there yet, but I suspect when I am done gathering gold coins for Mario and Luigi, I will find myself wandering around Azeroth, trying to avoid the Wrath of the Lich King. Maybe I will be a priest or a shaman. Mage sounds good. What about you? Horde or Alliance?

Pam Ripling is the author of middle-grade mystery, LOCKER SHOCK! Buy it at Quake, Fictionwise or Amazon today! E-book version now available for your Kindle! Visit Pam at www.BeaconStreetBooks.com.

A piece of cake

I don't even think I've finished digested yesterdays food, and just now I had a piece of cake. Regret it? - Yes, to some extent I do. Bad food choices from my side has been continuously repeated during these past few days, since mum came home from Malaysia with all of those kaya piahs and siew pows; it didn't get better when I ate a double lunch yesterday, when I followed sis to Pub Nitton for her lunch. I actually saw it as a oppurtunity to spend some time with my godmother (she's like the manager (?) there), but I ended up having lunch with them all - and the thing was that it wasn't even good that day! -.-

Tomorrow morning, I am going to get up early and do some yoga to clean my system from all of these toxic thoughts of being an unhealthy duck. And for your information - I have no idea where duck came from :P...Oooh and the big thing...HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICKI!!! The best sister ever has finally turned 19! xD

Daily Thoughts 3/31/2009

Edouard Manet, The Reader, 1861, Oil on canvas

Daily Thoughts 3/31/2009

Today, I had to explain part of the ordering process for new books for one of our new librarians. She is ordering for religion, philosophy, and psychology. It was mainly some of the things she needed to do before starting to order. I reminded her that she should spend a half hour a day looking through her sections for ordering to familiarize herself with her part of the collection. She also will be placed on the routing slips for magazines, Kirkus Reviews, Choice, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist. We have a fairly extensive periodical section so she probably will also be reading the Christian Science Monitor, Psychology Today, and a few other magazines for reviews.

I have a sheet which breaks down call numbers by circulation. She went a bit further and started looking up the exact subjects attached to each call number in her section. My basic philosophy is that we should be ordering two types of books, very popular titles, and high quality titles. We seem to have a lot of the middling books which not many people read in our collection.

I am rather fond of the idea of the "core collection" concept. It basically states that in a library or bookstore, most use comes from a small percentage of the books 10-20% of titles. These titles are usually very popular titles or essential titles, classics in their fields. My goal is to increase the presence of a mix of very high quality titles and classics mixed with high circulation items. This is a fairly popular idea. It is a kind of polemic. I don't see it as being exclusive, however. Having a massive collection often obscures what people want to read. Keeping books by Harvard University Press is as important as keeping Stephen King. In my mind, I think it is possible to expand the core material in a library to 20-40% of the library.

The second thing which goes with expanding the core collection is increasing the purchase of more practical material like computer books, career books, how to books, professional and technical books, and financial literacy books which have been missing from so many libraries for so long.

Web Bits

The New York Times now has a graphic novels bestseller list. I went through and ordered most of the graphic novels on the list today. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/introducing-the-new-york-times-graphic-books-best-seller-lists/

Wharf

Well this is my first contribution to the Art for Animals blog.

His name is Wharf and he comes from the Hout Bay based organisation, DARG (Domestic Animal Rescue Group). I don't know very much about Wharf, but from his name would imagine he was found wandering round the docks.

DARG have a policy of never putting a healthy animal down and as a result, there are a few dogs and cats who have been staying at the centre for some time. Wharf is one of them, a sweet faced eldery dog who is looking for a home to retire to. Hopefully my little painting will help him find his 'forever' place in the sun!

Talkin' Bout My Gaming Generation

What does an older lady like myself think of gaming today? I’m so freaking jealous, that’s what I think!

In my middle school yearbook, my best friend Kerry Lannaghan wrote that she hoped I got better at PacMan. Yep, the biggest game of my middle school life, though I preferred Centipede far more. Of course I had to walk half a mile and have a pocket full of quarters before I could play!

This is a timely blog theme for me though. I spent most of the night playing Resident Evil 5 with Dustin, my sixteen year old. First-person shooter games aren’t my forte, I prefer Fable and Spyro, but Resident Evil 5 rocks! My first Resident Evil game, I was surprised when the movie clip became interactive. Yeah, the zombie bikers killed me the first time around.

The graphics these days far outshine anything I ever played at Dustin’s age. Ever play the original Donkey Kong? I can’t get the theme song out of my head for weeks after I hear it, which is way annoying. Maybe better though, than watching VH1 reality television and playing Left 4 Dead, then falling asleep and dreaming zombies attacked Brett Michael’s Rock of Love Tour Bus!

The difference between my generation and my son’s is amazing. Imagine all the fights over Playstation 3 being waged for a Cabbage Patch doll. Can we say lame? I’m so stoked to see what’s going to be the gaming system of choice for my grandchildren’s generation. Maybe something like the virtual fighting match in the movie, The Island.

What’s your gaming story? Favorite series and system? What games have you beaten and which ones were the hardest?

J.R. Turner is the author of the Extreme Hauntings series. The first book, DFF: Dead Friends Forever is available at Amazon.com, Kindle, Fictionwise, and Echelon Press.com

It's Gaming Week

We've officially declared this gaming week at Teen-Seen! Quake authors this week will post about their experiences with video games, rpg, game systems, etc.

And what better way to kick off gaming week than with a book about the adventures inside the game!

Visit and comment on each stop of this blog tour and be entered into a drawing for a $15.00 Gift Certificate for Quake.

This is where M.K. Scott has been:

March 23--Life as a Publisher launches the Blog Tour for author M.K. Scott. Discover who M.K. Scott is and what Zamora's Ultimate Challenge is all about.

March 25--Candid Canine Michele will be blogging about her writing companion- Java.

March 26--Cynthia's Attic Discover the story behind the story of Zamora's Ultimate Challenge.

March 27--Marta's Meanderings : What exactly is M.K. Scott's "Novel Project" and how does it involve middle school and junior high kids.

And where you can find her in days to come!

March 30--Drey's House : M.K. Scott talks about the differences between writing children's fantasy versus adult mystery

April 2--Booking Mama and Cynthia's Attic How does a multi-genre author balance a big family and writing and TWO blog stops in one day!

April 3--Beth Fish Reads Find out what one Tween thought after reading "Zamora's Ultimate Challenge." A special interview.

April 4--Teen Seen Come on back to give your thoughts on the debut Blog tour for Zamora's Ultimate Challenge and see what goodies you could win.

So, if you've ever wanted to dive into a game like you do a good book, tell us what you think about what makes great rpg's translate into books or movies!

Rochelle
Quake Editor

Daily Thoughts 3/30/2009

Photo Credit : NASA

Daily Thoughts 3/30/2009

I've started reading How The Way We Talk Can Change The Way We Work by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey. This book is a workbook which focuses on a method of changing your goals and dealing specifically in ways to committ to change by acting on complaints.

Today was another day, nothing special today. I was shadowed by one of the new librarians. I decided to go over active listening and knowledge elicitation techniques. Things like scenarios where you have more than one place to find what you are looking for (usually there are at least three places to find a common piece of information). Quid pro quo; having information ready to give a patron like flyers, small facts, bookmarks and similar things to get them to better tell you what they want. I think that quid pro quo (something for something) is actually a Roman strategy where when Roman soldiers would enter a new territory, they would send out a person with bits of information about themselves to give to the locals in exchange for local information.

Also, systematically clarifying a patrons questions, asking for support materials like homework assignments or magazine articles finding alternative search terms for what a person is looking for. This would include definitions, spellings, plural forms of words, alternate spellings of words and names, searching by publisher, mixing and matching pieces of titles, and other strategies.

I called the local YMCA director and the Friends of the Library to get them to agree to be part of the block cleanup and planting for Earth Day. I'll probably call the neighborhood associations tomorrow and visit two churches that are near us. I am supposed to have a bunch of people who want to be part of the event by the end of the week for the mayors office. The Friends of the Library head suggested I might want to get some younger people to help.

I wrote my portion of the monthly report as well as what I plan to do this week. Libraries are big on paper. We have lots of it.

I checked on the shelving in the main library. They ordered a whole new set of metal bookends which was nice to see. The library aides did a nice job of putting the books in order-- edged ( the books being one half inch in from the edge of the bookshelves with all spine labels visible) and having three to five inches free at the end of each shelf of books with a bookend placed.

It is funny how sometimes when you think you have done nothing is when you have done the most sometimes. Things just fall into place.

Safari Books Online sent me a thank you letter through the mail for trying out their online service. I was rather surprised by this. It looks like excellent marketing.

Up the Organization by Robert Townsend

Up The Organization by Robert Townsend (2007 Commemorative Edition).

This is a classic business book by Robert Townsend who was an executive for American Express and turned around the Avis rental car business. He was also a successful consultant and speaker. This book was a New York Times Bestseller when it first came out in 1971.

This book is very much a book focused on how to make organizations flatter, more responsive and more equitable. The author believes in eliminating most executive perks, removing nepotism, and paying 15% of profits into a profit sharing arrangement.

The writing is clear and straightforward. The book is arranged with alphabetical A to Z headings with one to two pages under each heading. Some of the headings I liked were: Big Wheels In Little Companies, P.R. Department, Abolition of, and Stock Options and Democracy.

The author speaks against bureaucracy arguing against complex organizational charts, job descriptions, complex legal agreements, and secretaries. At the same time he makes statements against oversize companies, ineffective boards of directors, and big government.

The writing can be blunt at times. There is a little bit of swearing. He seems to say that it is a managers job to give people who work with them the tools to get the job done in a a very hands on way. This includes creating a comfortable, discrimination free work environment where people want to get the job done.

This is a book worth reading. In this edition, there is an introduction by Warren Bennis, and three other short introductory essays to the book.

Daily Thoughts 3/29/2009

A woman looking at books on shelves in a library.Source: Foster, Ellsworth D. The American Educator (Chicago: Ralph Durham Company, 1921) L is for Library.

Daily Thoughts 3/29/2009

Right now, I am reading Up The Organization by Robert Townsend. I am finding a lot in common with the ideas in this book. It is making me more aware of some of the activities which are going on in my own job. I rather like the ideas about organization charts and job descriptions being counterproductive in many cases. Robert Townsend recommends two books to read in this book, The Human Side of Enterprise by Douglas McGregor and Managing For Results by Peter F. Drucker. I put The Human Side of Enterprise on hold.

Web Bits

I am rather surprised at the number of sites from a variety of different countries that have links to my site. There are blogs from India, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malaysia, Brazil, the United States, and many other places. There are two blogs in Portuguese and one in Indonesian (at least I think this is what it is) that are very interesting looking. I can't read them, but they are still fascinating.

Here they are:

http://luzdeluma.blogspot.com/

http://almocrevedaspetas.blogspot.com/

http://angrianiworld.blogspot.com/

While I was wandering through blog land, I found this link on the Genteel Arsenal who was recently added to my sidebar list of blogs which I read. I think this is quite relevant. It is an article on the state of British libraries. It mirrors what is happening in the United States. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/mar/22/saving-british-libraries

Putting Service Into Library Staff Training A Patron Centered Guide by Joanne M. Bessler

Putting Service Into Library Staff Training A Patron Centered Guide by Joanne M. Lesser is a very short book. It is 72 pages long with an index. The book was written in 1994, but much of what is being said is still relevant.

The reason I read this book was to find out the meaning of the term patron centered library. It starts with finding out what the three main groups which a library serves want, the (FAP) funders, administrators, and patrons. Then turning these wants into ways to serve them.

After finding out wants, the services needed are included in job descriptions, training and staff development, and rules and policies for interacting with patrons. Every level of staff throughout a library is to be made aware of the different services and promote them for the library. It is a philosophy of every staff member serving the patron at some level, very similar to the idea of every person in a company selling the company.

Some of the training suggested is listening and customer service training. I would imagine this might include active listening, knowledge elicitation techniques, patron problem solving, and dealing with complaints.

The next level of the document explains that service is a long term committment and has to be written into the mission statement of the organization as well as given staff rewards and recognition. In the end even things like convenient hours, appropriate material, adequate study space, and friendly staff are part of a service ethic.

There is a strong appeal to this book, Many people go into the library field to help people. It is a helping profession. This book brings together a kind of complete philosophy to bring the patron front and center. It also addreses many problems that are still quite relevant in libraries.

If you’re reading this teen blog, then I’m about to do what’s called preaching to the choir. If you want to save this country, read a book and learn to write well. Reading and writing are what teachers like to call “inter-related” skills. They are also activities that, if you can master them, you can do just about anything else in the world.

Study after study shows the U.S. has fallen behind in the world as far as academics. We’ve also taken some hefty hits in how we’re viewed by other countries if you choose to believe some of the news reports. The way to get all that back is through reading and writing.

When emailing became popular (and later text messaging), some people claimed that because they are “writing based,” these activities would help raise our standards. Sorry, but writing “R u here?” is not literature or even informational beyond a point.

If you want to understand peace, read about Ghandi. If you want to understand the need, yes need, for war and violence sometimes, read Machiavelli. No text message will ever explore love the way Shakespeare does in a single sonnet. No character better personifies hate than Dickens’ Mrs. Haversham. The Diary of Anne Frank shows us more about the horrors of the Holocaust than any history lecture, and Across Five Aprils not only tells us the background of the Civil War, it also takes us into the living room of a family torn apart by it.

Reading and writing may be life skills, but the things you can learn reading a book are life lessons. They will teach us how to treat each other and everyone else in the world. Save America. Read a book.

Yummi in the tummy xD

Unfortunately, I was to caught up in my har mee, kaya piah, and siew pow to post something on Thursday. Also, I was quite eager to catch up with my dearest. Because, being able to talk with my mother one metre away from me, is far much better than talking with her halfway round the world!

Other than that, life is pretty good at the moment besides the fact that we are switching to summer time; that means I will get to sleep one hour less from now on -.- (So if I walk around looking like *pip* in an uncertain amount of time, remember that I'm still Sandra, just that I didn't have time to fix my hair properly or do my weekly facial...). Anyhow, think I am going to crash in the couch soon and read CLEO - my favourite magazine, that my mum was loving enough to remember to buy for me, all the way from Malaysia...Ciao!

Daily Thoughts 3/28/2009

Reading Statue

Daily Thoughts 3/28/2009

I spent some time this morning clearing off my desk, adding some files to my filing cabinet, and transferring numbers into my phone book from notes left on my desk. I have a nice pile of things to do in my inbox now. It is a bit more organized. I have a tendency to do things immediately and not wait until they go in the inbox. I check my mailbox first thing in the morning and then check my email after that.

I have a pile of books to read on the subway, two science fiction books; Shambling Towards Hiroshima by James Morrow and Claws That Catch by John Ringo and Travis S. Taylor; two business books; Up the Organization by Robert Townsend and How The Way We Talk Can Change The Way We Work by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey; and one book on libraries, Putting Service Into Library Staff Training A Patron Centered Guide by Joanne M. Bessler. The last book is supposed to focus on the patron centered library concept.

We have a program called Professor Teaches for self paced instruction for Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Publisher. I am hoping that I can get in a half hour each day to improve my Microsoft Office skills. I started with Word today.

I finished reading the Everything Managing People Book on the train home. It was rather boring. It is not something that I can recommend to read except for its practicality. The writing is rather lackluster and the examples are not that interesting. There are two sections which I found kind of interesting, how to handle layoffs if you are a manager, and how to handle holiday parties. Other than that there was very little to recommend reading this book.

I also watched the ending of Slam Nation which is about the National Poetry Slam of 1996. The producer Paul Devlin has won five emmy awards for his work. There is a website for the movie, http://www.slamnation.com This movie is very enjoyable. Taylor Mali is really interesting to watch. I can understand why people like Marc Smith more than they like Bob Holman. It makes sense to me. I learned a lot about poetry watching this movie. The most interesting aspect to me in the film was how the poets rehearsed and projected emotion. You do not get to see poets emotion on the page.

I have been reading a lot of professional literature recently, not as much fiction. I think I am going to read Up The Organization by Robert Townsend next. I talso think I might pick out a few graphic novels to break up what I am reading and change the focus for a bit. I think people like my science fiction and fiction reviews better.

Web Bits

I took a few minutes to look at http://www.thedailyme.com/ which is supposed to be a personalized news service. I think the site needs a little bit of work. It allows you to set keywords for news articles so you can personalize the service. It is an interesting, but not fully developed idea.

Daily Thoughts 3/27/2009

Love Among The Chickens, P.G. Wodehouse. I just liked the title and cover design. It is quite appealing.

Daily Thoughts 3/27/2009

I am working on the Automatically Yours, a program with Baker and Taylor which allows a library to place standing orders by author for fiction. I have the selection list of authors ready. Hopefully, I will be able to have the process done next week. http://www.btol.com/promo_details.cfm?id=32 I am also going to ask Baker & Taylor if they have a standing order program for award winning titles , Hugo, Nebula, Edgar Award, Pulitzer Prize, Mann Booker Prize, RITA Award (romance) , Bram Stoker Award (horror), Fiction American Library Association Notable Books, Pen Faulkner Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, and a few others.

I placed a small order of fiction books to fill in gaps for books which we missed ordering for popular authors as well. A short list of thirty seven books.

I am going to another meeting for Earth Day this afternoon in the mayors office. We have a few things ready. There is a small display put together for books on Earth Day. The local high school special education department is doing a display with us on alternative energy, we plan on doing a cleanup day for around the library and a planting for the side of the library.

I am about half way through reading The Everything Managing People Book by Gary McClain, Ph.D. and Deborah S. Romaine. This is a very plain written, easy to understand book. There are no citations of major companies, just examples of every day things which may happen in day to day management of a company. This book does not promise to turn you into a gung ho super manager.

I watched a little bit of Slam Nation The Sport of Spoken Word filmed by Paul Devlin. This is a documentary about the poets in a national poetry slam in the United States. I rather liked it because it interviewed Bob Holman who is a major figure in contemporary performance poetry and Marc Smith from Chicago who created the concept of the poetry slam. There were some very interesting things that I learned. A lot of performance poetry is about how you use your lips and face to create stage presence and sound for an audience. Taylor Mali in the film was really excellent at doing this. Another poet who I really enjoyed was Saul Williams who is also an actor. He tells you that stage presence is really important in performing.

This is a fairly sexually charged film with some strong language. Both Beau Sia, an asian poet and Jessica Care More, an African American poet express a lot of sexually charged themes in their poems. Beau Sia also showed the pictures he likes to draw which are quite good. Jessica Care Moore won 5 Apollo Amateur Nights with her poetry. The movie so far is very interesting to watch. It is not what I expected. The group poetry pieces that are shown are very different.

This Blog Has Been Hijacked!

My name’s Gus. It’s really Augusta Lee (after my grandfather, Augustus Leander), but if you aren’t looking for a kick in the shins, you better call me Gus.

Nope, I’m not a teenager, yet, but I’m almost there and I’ve been reading Teen-Seen for awhile and feeling a little left out. I’m up to here with Zamora’s Ultimate Challenge. So what if a couple of kids are sucked into a video game? And puh-leeze spare me anymore problems with those annoying Pixie Chicks. If you're Searching for A Starry Night? Not gonna find it here, so go dig somewhere else, Petey.

Like it or not, I’m hijacking this blog for the day. So there.

BFF, Cynthia, and I grew up together on the same sycamore-lined street. We even sat in the same baby carriage (See pic.)

Guess who’s who. Hint: I’m not the one squalling my head off. (I swear I didn’t pinch her!)

We took dancing lessons when we were little, and had to wear these awful tutus. I cringe thinking of our first (and only) recital when we had to dance and pretend to water crepe paper flowers with pink sprinkling cans, but I did learn the value of taking bows!

Still, I would’ve been much happier in jeans and a t-shirt playing baseball in the neighbor’s vacant lot.

We did have a lot of fun, though, especially exploring Cynthia’s awesome attic.

I’ll never forget the rainy summer day we discovered “the trunk.” It looked pretty ordinary when we first opened it. Ya know, dusty, smelly (I’m starting to sneeze just thinking of it!) old clothes. Just your usual old-trunk-in-attic, look. But, looks can be deceiving as we found out the next time we opened the trunk and were sent back in time to 1914!

I’m here to tell you that Cynthia and I have had some strange adventures and met some cool people in our time travels. Ancestors, including our 12-year-old grandmothers, a ghost-kid named Louis, a gypsy named Gabriella and Blackie, a bad-breathed clown, to name a few. But, if I have to pick a favorite (I know, I know. Nobody said I had to...but I am ‘cause this is my blog. Today!) it would have to be Mud Bug, our old Louisiana Cajun guide. He not only saved our lives on a couple of occasions, he has a very unusual talent. Would you believe he can...Hey! I’m not gonna tell you that! Read Curse of the Bayou and find out for yourself!

Read the Cynthia’s Attic series and find out why I’m so *popular.*

Who's your favorite character? Hmmm? Me?

Your new BFF,
Gus

P. S. I will not give up control of this blog until a ka-zillion Curse of the Bayou books have been sold!

Discover the Magic in Cynthia's Attic
Amazon

Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time (Paperback)

Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time (Paperback)by Brian Tracy (Author)

The video of this book very much reflects the feeling of reading this book. The book is compilation of 21 self help techniques to improve your productivity in your career. These techniques seem to be drawn from a variety of different sources.

The key thought in the book, "Eating the Frog" is about ending procrastination and figuring out what are the most important things to do in your job to be productive. Face the most important thing you have to do in the morning and start working on it. This book is not just about working yourself to death. It is about figuring out what to delegate, what to stop doing, and how to make your tasks more manageable by breaking them down into manageable pieces.

The ideas seemed to me to have a lot of common sense. Get enough sleep, eat right, exercise, don't let technology take over your life, write your goals down and then start working on them immediately.

I thought the book seemed a bit busy at times, work constantly and never stop. This is my main contention with the book. Sometimes, it seems to forget the mental process of preparing for things and jump right in.

At the same time, the book helped me a bit on focusing on some of my career goals better. One of the exercises was to write down ten of your most important goals. I now have some idea of how I might better delegate some tasks and identify what the most important things I should be doing are. It also reminded me to clear my desk and focus on one thing at a time.

This is one of the better motivational books that I have read. It is a good book to read if you are having problems with procrastination or prioritizing what you need to do.

Soon no longer an orphan

Mum's flight should have landed now. I can sit here and wait while speculating life, or actually do something. (Even though life speculation is kind of fun and important, I have reasons for not doing it at this moment).

So, this was two weeks as an orphan then. This was how it felt and this was how it went. Yesterday before going to sleep, I thought about is I've actually learned something by not having mum present at all; it was really difficult to come up with something but then it struck me! I've been cooking on my own for the for the first time (since Vicki refused to make my dinner, when I have to hands and genes for making fabulous food -.-) and I must say that I did pretty awesome. Stuvade makaroner (stewed macaroni) and Maggi mee (instant noodles) with an egg in it, seems like pretty easy things to do but I am sooo proud of being able to now make them myself. However, I am not that confident to invite anyone over for a dinner party with Menu á la Sandra yet...

Shit, I should really do something now. Maybe those chemistry equations that will be on the chemistry test on Monday (haven't started to study yet, hehe -.-) or maybe do some workout. Anyway, if I got some time tonight I will be back...Mohahahahahahha!

Daily Thoughts 3/26/2009

Soviet propaganda poster by Elizaveta Kruglikova advocating female literacy. The top section reads: "Woman! Learn to read and write!" The bottom (meant to be said by the daughter): "Oh, mommy! If you were literate, you could help me!" c1923

Daily Thoughts 3/26/2009

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102330373

This story brings out a central problem with books. When I buy a hardcover book, I can give the physical object to whoever I want to give it to. With ebooks, I am the only one who is supposed to be able to use it. There are supposed to be no used ebooks. Digital Rights Management limits use of books. It should also limit price of the material. This is a major reason I prefere hardcopy books because I can use them over and over.

Although this article does not say it, many bestselling books are readily available as pirated copies on bittorrent. This is a wonderful article by Paulo Coelho, a brazilian author who collected all the books he wrote that were pirated and put them on a single site to promote his writing. http://torrentfreak.com/alchemist-author-pirates-own-books-080124/ This is a very clear example of how giving away the free copy online drives the sales of the hardcopy in print.

Today, I am thinking about another new librarian who came in to shadow me at the reference desk. I have two shadows now. It is an unusual feeling. Most people only have one. I think I may have to work on my people, delegating, and planning skills. It is a learning experience.

I also took a walk up the hill to my local library. I looked around for a bit and picked up a book, The Everything Managing People Book by Gary McClain, Ph.D. and Deborah S. Romaine. This is a series title much like the Complete Idiots series, the For Dummies series, or the Missing Manual series. The place was very busy. They had a petition at the checkout desk to support your local library and keep our funding. I signed it. I also looked at a few books for a meeting ordering adult fiction for the collection tomorrow.

Today is the day I do my taxes. I think I have everything I need. I will be taking them to the same person I take them to every year. I hope I get some money back this year.

Eat Healthy or Eat Junk, You Decide

With obesity on the rise, eating healthy has become one of our nation's buzzwords. The problem is that many of us don't really know what that means. Do you?

Those thing that you don't usually pay attention to growing up - calories, fat, carbs - do matter.

The book, "Eat This, Not That," is an eye-opener on what some of us eat without even knowing it.

Yeah, unfortunately, the old thing about consuming less calories and exercising more, really does make sense. That cheesy burger looks good, but if you aren't active, it does catch up with you. Guess what girls? That gut hanging over your jeans or that stomach bulge in that tight shirt really isn't attractive. The same goes for guys.

Here's a short quiz on food choices. Can you make the right choice? Read more about some of your favorite restaurants and foods here.

What's better:
A Bagel with cream cheese or a cheese omelet?
B Fish sandwich or chicken sandwich?
C Fruit smoothie or shake?
D Dried fruit or fresh fruit?

Answers:
(Learn more about the foods and see a list of the top 14 non-healthy health foods)

A Surprise! That take-out bagel can have at least 700 calories and tons of fat! The omelet is a little over half the calories.

B Lean protein wins. That fish can make up nearly a third of your day's calories.

C Get the fruit smoothie but use whole fruit and plain yogurt instead of ice cream unless that's all you want to eat for most of the day.

D The problem is the sugar put in a lot of packaged foods. Fresh fruit is healthy and has no added preservatives or sugars.

Where's Ms. Scott?

Today the blog book tour for Zamora's Ultimate Challenge continues at Candid Canine! Author Michele Scott will visit with host Christine V about Java - Michele's dog!

This is great because dogs of all kinds are near and dear to my heart! Java's a Rhodesian Ridgeback (a sighthound) We've had retired greyhounds (also sighthounds) for 18 years and as a family we have successfully assisted nearly 20 foster dogs on their way from the race track to happy homes. The dogs are just one component of my domestic zoo, but they keep me happy and make the best reading, writing, and walking buddies.

I know I'll love Java as much as I loved Zamora's Ultimate Challenge. The book tells the action packed story of two brothers who love video games, but now they have to get inside one to rescue their sister! Packed with fantastic challenges and incredible dangers, the boys must conquer their fears (and some deadly beasts) before their sister is lost forever.

Oh! Michele just launched a contest! Buy Zamora's Ultimate Challenge, write a review, and you could win a trip for two to San Diego! How cool is that!?!

So follow me over to Candid Canine for a healthy dose of dogs, plus all the inside info on the amazingly talented Michele Scott and her new release, Zamora's Ultimate Challenge!

Happy touring!
Regan Black

Learn more about Regan and her books at her website or at Quake.

Daily Thoughts 3/25/2009

Camille Monet at Work, Claude Monet, 1875

Daily Thoughts 3/25/2009

I started reading Eat That Frog. It is already turning out to be a fantastic book. It is a distillation of many key points on how to not procrastinate, prioritize and get things done quickly. I think it may be the best book I have ever read on this subject. I put the book down during the day, misplacing it.

I also had a very interesting conversation about the Iphone with a patron at the library. He has had an Iphone for quite a bit. He tells me that the main advantage to having an Iphone is that there are so many applications that people can have on it. I told him about the free Stanza ebook reader and he downloaded it. He also took a look at the mobile reader platform for Google Books which was also interesting. I am still trying to convince myself to buy an Iphone. It is disruptive technology. At least I keep telling myself that.

When I got home, I thought about it for a while and realized that the book was available online through http://www.safaribooksonline.com/Corporate/Index/ . They have a free trial for 10 books for 10 days. So, right now, I am trying out the Safari Ebook library. The first book I am reading is Eat That Frog. It is an online subscription service to technical books.

I am also working on putting together a display for Earth Day which is on April 22, 2009. I will include some books on the environment, alternative energy, gardening, and recycling. I think it will be a first step in setting up things for the city.

On Friday, I will be working on ordering new fiction. I am going to try and fill in the gaps on buying books by the most popular authors by circulation. I am going to look at the last four years for each author and whether or not we have the books.

Tomorrow is tax day which is a challenge. I think I have all my paperwork ready.

Emma

This is Emma. She was my friend and companion for 8 years before she went to doggy heaven 6 years ago. She had bone cancer and when she broke her leg, there was nothing the vet could do for her. I miss her still and get a little teary eyed when I look at her inquiring expression.

She discovered squeaky toys late in life and this little pink one was HERS. It seemed to be the only one that wasn't destroyed, maybe because it was a little bit spiky.

This painting of Emma is also my warm-up for Sheila's Art for Animals blog. I need to take photos and get down to painting the unwanted dogs that people throw away. Watch this space!

Daily Thoughts 3/24/2009

Leo Tolstoi on a Soviet stamp from 1978.

Daily Thoughts 3/24/2009

Today has been another quiet day to take care of the small details around the building. File some law looseleafs, check the shelves for out of order books, order some law books on tenants rights, put the current events display in order, discard a few old desktop publishing manuals and other miscellaneous tasks. Sometimes, the small things have big results. I asked to have the printer setup changed for the law computer and have training software put in place for microsoft office on two of the computers in the technical service area.

I finished reading The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey. The book was extremely idealistic to the point of being fantastic. The numbers which were given did not seem real. The goals seemed to be made up to appeal to peoples wish fulfillment. It was an enjoyable fantasy for business men and women. The kind of thing that is perfect for perking up and motivating your salesforce. You would give this to the same person who loved Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World. Not my kind of book, but perfect for those who need motivation to sell or manage in the competitive world of business. It is not something which I will review in full.

I am going to start reading Eat That Frog tomorrow.

Reading with Teens

As the electronic era has taken hold of today's society, people have begun to read less and focus instead on other activities, such as playing videogames or watching television. Yet, reading still employs a great sense of wonder and amazement as the reader engages in a new adventure each and every time he or she enters the world of the author's story.

There are many options available, not only to discover new and exciting books to read, but to discuss the story with other individuals and gain new perspectives on a story that had seemed to only have one angle to it before. A book club can offer new opportunities to find a new favorite book or to even learn new facts or opinions concerning a book that you thought you knew everything about. You can check out your local library to see if they have a book club that would be good for you to join and discuss the chosen book.

Reading can open many new doors, so why not go and pick up a book to read today!

Alyssa Montgomery
Author of Where Are You? and Mr. Mysterious

It said "SWOOOSH"!

My mother is coming home in 3 days xD. I've missed her a lot - but for goodness sake, HAS THERE ALMOST BEEN TWO WEEKS?! I have no more comments for tonight. -.-

Daily Thoughts 3/23/2009

Heyman Dullaert. A trompe l'oeil with plumes in an ink bottle, a letter, a seal stamp, a delft pot and a bottle, arranged upon a wooden shelf. Oil on Panel

Daily Thoughts 3/23/2009

Today was a day for two major projects. The first was picking out the shelving for our slat walls. We are getting a mix of clear acrylic displays and wire mesh displays. I was being very conservative in the amount of display shelving we are going to get initially. We have a little more than 250 books which we have to display now. I am guessing this will increase to 300 books to display fairly soon. I spent time looking through the Demco and Gaylord catalog for furniture.

I also talked about my time on last weeks meeting for Earth Day, April 22, 2009 at City Hall. We were thinking of things which we could do with the cities request. There is the local neighborhood association, the Friends of the the Library, and the Library Foundation which might be able to help a little bit.

Two books came in for me to read today Eat That Frog, 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done In Less Time by Brian Tracy and The Innovators Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen. I also placed another item on hold, Putting service into library staff training : a patron-centered guide by Bessler, Joanne M. I have never really understood the real meaning of the words "patron centerd library," it seems to be a nebulous buzzword like "core collection" or "lean manufacturing" which can mean a lot of different things to different people.

ZZZzzzzzzzzzzz

Have you ever watched the first few weeks of a new season of American Idol? You know, when the wackos and people who couldn't carry a tune if they had a wheelbarrow full of violins all come out of wherever it is they are hiding and go on to bludgeon our eardrums.

Yeah, that show.

Anyway, as a semi-addicted watcher of the show - well,more like husband of addicted - it amazes and horrifies me when someone stands in front of judges and a camera representing a few million more, and then the whole country learns that the someone doesn't have it.

And what's 'it' you ask?

A tape recorder?

Well, yeah, that too. But the 'it' I was referring to was the talent for singing. The ability to have his or her lungs push air up the trachea, and through pursed lips in a manner that pleases other people rather than causing them to clap their hands to their ears in pain.

And half the time this same person, after basically assaulting our auditory senses, doesn't get that they sound like a cat with its tail caught under a rocking chair leg. They think they sound good.

And I, for one, believe them when they are shocked that America can't believe they are the next coming of Wham ... no, not Wham ... Fleetwood Mac ... no, not them, either ... um Dave Matthews. Yeah, we'll go with the DMB.

The reason I give them the benefit of the doubt is because for a long time I truly, sincerely, honestly thought I could carry a tune. What changed my mind? Well, my singing voice put three people in the hospital, caused the entire population of South American llamas to stampede and my own ears to go on a hunger strike for a week.

Not really. I listened to myself on a tape recorder.

I can't tell you how horrified I was when I first heard myself snore, er, sing. Well, the snore-tape was shocking, too.

But, more than shock, I was dismayed. For music is important to me, and I would like nothing more than to be able to participate.

It's a talent I don't have. I blogged about this last week on my blog, www.fangplace.blogspot.com because my wife and daughters do have the talent for singing. i don't.

Fortunately, I have other talents, talents that others might think are pretty cool.

But I think this is true for every human out there. I think each and every one of us has a lot of talent. Maybe the talent is something subtle like being able to balance a coin on the tip of a finger. Or maybe you don't know what your talent is because it hasn't had an opportunity to surface yet.

What if you were a poor child somewhere who would never know you'd be a concert pianist if only someone put a piano in front of you?

Talent is like a dog. It doesn't care what you look like, and once you have one, it's yours forever. But talent has to meet opportunity, and if you don't think you have any talent, I believe it just hasn't been discovered.

And it's getting late and I have a talent for something. I can fall asleep within five minutes.

Watch...

ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz



Norm Cowie
www.fangface.homestead.com

Zamora's Ultimate Challenge Blog Tour

Visit and comment on each stop of this blog tour and be entered into a drawing for a $15.00 Gift Certificate for Quake.

March 23--Life as a Publisher launches the Blog Tour for author M.K. Scott. Discover who M.K. Scott is and what Zamora's Ultimate Challenge is all about.

March 25--Candid Canine Michele will be blogging about her writing companion- Java.

March 26--Cynthia's Attic DIscover the story behind the story of Zamora's Ultimate Challenge.

March 27--Marta's Meanderings : What exactly is M.K. Scott's "Novel Project" and how does it involve middle school and junior high kids.

March 30--Drey's House : M.K. Scott talks about the differences between writing children's fantasy versus adult mystery

April 2--Booking Mama How does a multi-genre author balance a big family and writing

April 3--Beth Fish Reads Find out what one Tween thought after reading "Zamora's Ultimate Challenge." A special interview.

April 4--Teen Seen Hop on over to give your thoughts on the debut Blog tour for Zamora's Ultimate Challenge and see what goodies you could win.

Holy Cow, the Holy Spirit smacked me today.

This article was revealed to me by the Holy Spirit today after a friend put me on the path to it with just a few comments. I thank the Lord that I was listening. As I read it, the feeling was akin to being hit in the gut.

It is time to remember who is calling me, stand up and act with power, humility and authority all wrapped in to one single package of simple service and action. We must trust in the Lord, maintaining our perspective, seeing the opportunities laid out before us, and then acting with our "full armor" on.

"The opposite of faith isn't doubt, IT IS FEAR." said Scott

========================

Vulnerability of Victory (commentary on 1 Kings 19)
Following excerpted from article above by By: J. Hampton Keathley, III , Th.M.

.... Examples like Elijah in 1 Kings 19 stand as warnings or danger signals, not as excuses for failure. In the lessons that follow, we will look at the failures of Elijah and how the Lord lifted him up, put him back on his feet, and back into ministry.

The all important ingredient is focus and an attitude of trust in the Lord. The following is one of the best illustrations I know of the importance of keeping a focused and right attitude:

The colorful, nineteenth-century showman and gifted violinist Nicolo Paganini was standing before a packed house, playing through a difficult piece of music. A full orchestra surrounded him with magnificent support. Suddenly one string on his violin snapped and hung gloriously down from his instrument. Beads of perspiration popped out on his forehead. He frowned but continued to play, improvising beautifully.

To the conductor’s surprise, a second string broke. And shortly thereafter, a third. Now there were three limp strings dangling from Paganini’s violin as the master performer completed the difficult composition on the one remaining string. The audience jumped to its feet and in good Italian fashion, filled the hall with shouts and screams, “Bravo! Bravo!” As the applause died down, the violinist asked the people to sit back down. Even though they knew there was no way they could expect an encore, they quietly sank back into their seats.

He held the violin high for everyone to see. He nodded at the conductor to begin the encore and then he turned back to the crowd, and with a twinkle in his eye, he smiled and shouted, “Paganini . . . and one string!” After that he placed the single-stringed Stradivarius beneath his chin and played the final piece on one string as the audience (and the conductor) shook their heads in silent amazement. “Paganini . . . and one string!”²⁷ (And, I might add, an attitude of fortitude.)

Swindoll goes on to say:

This may shock you, but I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-do-day basis is my choice of attitude . . . Attitude is that “single string” that keeps me going or cripples my progress . . . When my attitudes are right, there’s no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.

Yet, we must admit that we spend more of our time concentrating and fretting over the strings that snap, dangle, and pop--the things that can’t be changed--than we do giving attention to the one that remains, our choice of attitude.

For the Christian, however, we are not talking about just a positive attitude. We are talking about an attitude that comes from a heart focused on God and that trusts in Him.

Daily Thoughts 3/22/2009

Charles Dickens in 1868. From The Leisure Hour 1904.

Daily Thoughts 3/22/2009

I am looking at the 52 books, 52 weeks program where you give people book logs at the beginning of the year and they write down what they read each week. The goal is to get people to read 52 books in 52 weeks. It is a circulation booster and a challenge for people. This is a website with an example for a library with book reviews. Ideallly this starts at the beginning of the year. http://52books.wordpress.com/

I put two books on hold, The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen and Up The Organization by Robert Townsend. Up The Organization is considered a classic in business writing. It has been in print for over thirty years. Right now, I am reading The Speed of Trust The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen M.R. Covey with Rebecca R. Merrill. I was looking Joe Wikert's Publishing 2020 blog and there was a book recommendation, Eat that frog! : 21 great ways to stop procrastinating and get more done in less time / by Brian Tracy. We have two copies at our library; I think it will be something I will add to my reading pile.

I took some time to add https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/dashboard the Google Webmasters Tool to my blog. This allowed me to look at thousands of inbound and outbound links. Great Books Audio has been sending me a lot of people. http://www.greatbooksaudio.com . Even though I have stopped subscribing to Technorati, I am still getting a lot of traffic from that site. Blogcatalog is giving me lots of traffic as well.

Sometimes when you are looking through long lists of links, you find unusual things. Yahoo has a new search service called http://glue.yahoo.com It looks a combination of a clustering search engine and a topical page. I find this kind of interesting. Apparently, my blog is appearing in their beta product repeatedly.

I am also adding Tobias Buckell to my writers section because I have appeared several times in his page as well as Biblios Book Reviews for blogs that I read.

Words In Your Face A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz

Words In Your Face A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz

This book chronicles the history of a literary movement and performance scene. Slamming started in Chicago, Illinois and then spread all over the country. One of the most prominent scenes is in Manhttan, New York. There is not a whole lot of poetry in this book. There are a few poems from immediately after the 9/11 World Trade Center terror attack. This book focuses on the people, performance spaces, politics, and competition around slams.

Most chapters in this book have in depth interviews. These are complex, informal, and take quite a bit of time to read and think about. Paul Beatty, Beau Sia, Maggie Estep, Stacyanne Chin, Felice Bell, and many other prominent poets are interviewed. In addition, the interviews illustrate the connection between rap and hip hop and poetry slams. Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz interviews Bill Adler a journalist and prominent producer of hip hop records.

Words In Your Face is divided into four sections, the pre-wave, the first wave (1990-1996), the second wave (1996-2001), and the third wave (2001-2007). It also occurs in three primary settings, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, NYC-Urbana, and the Bowery Poetry Club all in Manhattan, New York. I have not been to any of these spaces. I might go some time. All of the spaces are quite famous; the most famous being the Nuyorican Poets Cafe which has become a major tourist destination.

Slam poetry is performance poetry read and judged in front of a live audience. Cristina Aptowicz brings out the performance aspect of the poetry. Many of the black and white photographs throughout the book are of poets performing or of announcements of poetry events. She also mentions television shows like Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam and United States of Poetry. There are films listed as well; Slam, Slam Nation, and Poetry In Motion. I enjoyed watching Poetry In Motion.

In the back of the book, there is a year by year list of New York City Poetry Slam Teams from 1990-2007 which were sent to compete at the National Poetry Slam. This book is poetry as a competitive art. There is quite a bit about politics in the scene. The most famous rivalry between Bob Holman and Miguel Pinero is talked about extensively.

This book took me a couple of weeks to read because of the density of the writing. It has a very informal, conversational tone. Every page is packed with information or personal statements by poets. The people in the book are a very diverse multicultural crowd.

This book would have been better if it had an index. There are a lot of different people mentioned and it is often hard to find the specific mentions without an index. I hope there is one put in for the next printing. I found the book to be unique and not at all like most books written about poetry. It is published in 2008 by Soft Skull Press. Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz is the founder of NYC-Urbana and was on the 2001 NYC-Urbana National Poetry slam team. Her website is http://www.aptowicz.com

One of the best watercolourists whose work I follow slavishly, has deemed me good enough to receive this award. Mineke Reinders is an incredible artist and I am honoured that she included me in her award list. The award was designed by Kim Ratigan who is an extremely talented animal and wildlife artist. Visit her blog for a look-see.

Now, I need to pass this award on.

Just because you love to create fabulous works of art -

Marian Fortunati - who always makes me laugh
Carol Hadfield - because I know how much she loves to paint
Di McNaughton - who loves life and art and is so generous with herself
Sanjeev Joshi - whose watercolours I love and because he also loves cricket
Jean Lursson - a fabulous watercolourist with links to SA
Sheila Tajima - who gets so many awards I thought I'd just slip this one in
Cathy Gatland - simply because you need to check out her blog

There are so many people out there who I'd like to pass this on to, just because your blogs are so wonderful to read and are also so inspirational. All you really need to do is go to my blog list of friends to know who I think deserve this award.

To those I've linked to, in turn you can link to the person who gave you the award, pass it on to 7 other bloggers whose work inspires you, and list 7 things you love. Or not.

The 7 things I love? Oh ok.

1. The changing of the seasons

2. All animals including cats, rats and bats, but most especially, dogs and horses!

3. Watching a good rugby game especially when our side wins!

4. Staying in the countryside.

5. Reading a well written book - current favourite is The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith - check it out.

6. Quiet me time.

Ok, that's only 6, but I guess the 7th one would definitely be sitting in my little back room, painting!

Melon-Peach was born

I forgot to tell you about the egg-baby, Melon-Peach Abdullahizad (surname from the father if you are wondering) that my freind and I made during the biology lab earlier this week. Just by flipping a coin several times, we received almost all the characteristics of an egg-Angelina-Jolie. Brown wavy hair, square-like jaw, dark blue eyes, long eyelashes, a thick and big mouth...So, besides the bushy eyebrows, freckles, dimples and hairy ears - a TOTAL COPY! =)

See the similarities?

Social Software In Libraries Building Collaboration, Communication, and Community Online by Meredith G. Farkas

Social Software In Libraries Building Collaboration, Communication, and Community Online by Meredith G. Farkas

This book is on using social software in libraries. It covers all the major different types of software; blogs, RSS, Wikis, online communities, social networking, social bookmarking, synchronious online referece (instant messaging and VOIP -- voice over internet protocol), mobile technology, podcasting, screencasting and vodcasting, and gaming.

Every chapter contains numerous examples of how these technologies are used in libraries. At the end of the book, there is a list of all the websites listed in the book organized by chapter. There are many of them and all of them seem to have been thoroughly vetted.

The language in this book is easily understandable and the majority of the tools being described are free or very low cost. Some of them inlude; blogspot, wordpress, meebo, flickr, facebook, and Second Life. There are many computer screen captures printed throughout the text. These usually display a specific website. I found this to be visually satisfying. In addition, there are single page librarian guest spots describing how they use a specific piece of technology in their library.

The most useful website which I found in the book was http://www.librarysuccess.org a best practices wiki. I really had not looked at many wikis before this. I intend to read through it thoroughly.

The book covers most of the basic technologies. Some of the technology seems to be a little advanced for me. I am not sure that we are ready to set up a full scale online community for our library, create a wiki, or do extensive screencasting yet.

The book was written in 2007 so it seems to be fairly up to date. It did not include Twitter in the social networking tools, and did not include music games like Guitar Hero in the gaming section.

At the back of the book, there is an extensive bibliography and index. The last chapters are on choosing the right social software for your library and keeping up with the changing world of social software. The author, Meredith G. Farkas has a companion website, http://sociallibraries.com for the book.

Daily Thoughts 3/21/2009 , Changes in Libraries, Web Bits

G K Chesterton

Daily Thoughts 3/21/2009

ACRL 2009 Strategic Thinking Guide For Academic Librarians In The New Economy

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/issues/future/acrlguide09.pdf

ACRL says we have a choice of "reinvention or extinction." I think this is fundamentally correct. With limited resources libraries will have to modernize and introduce new technology in their working environment. Because of costs, this technology will most likely be open access technology where the cost of the computer programs are free. This is the most economical technology.

Things like blogs and instant messaging reference will become much more prevalent in libraries. There is little cost to create these things except for staff training. Libraries will be forced to cooperate with other agencies to create programs and services that cost little money.

A refocus on the original mission on the library as a center of self-education will become much more likely. The original Carnegie libraries were created for the purpose of building an educated workforce. Once again, there will be a shift to libraries focusing on job books, educational books, financial management, and self improvement. This will become even more prevalent with rising unemployment.

As more technology is introduced there will be a shift from answering peoples questions in reference to explaining to people how to use the different formats of material and general media literacy. This will include teaching a person how to select quality information and make sense of different devices. Books, computers, ereaders, and other things are all devices. The content will always be what is most important.

The library will cease being solely focused on books. Formats have already proliferated into books, periodicals, playaway audiobooks, dvds, scores, internet access, wireless internet access, databases, ebooks, music cds, large print books, and other formats. This is only going to get more complex with the advent of mobile devices like the Iphone, Kindle, and Sony Reader. The library will be one of the few places where all these devices are available in a single place.

Web Bits

http://www.thetechstatic.com/ (library computer book reviews)

http://www.librarygrants.blogspot.com/ library grants blog

Today I am Superwoman

Some days are just unbelievable. After 5 phone calls, 4 text messages, a fight that got solved after I cleared my inner demons (hahaha...), a lot of history writing, a workout I can proudly say that I managed to actually do a lot of stuff on a study day --- and the day is not over yet!!! :P

Perspective CARITAS

The world around us is swirling. I turn on the news and listen to a radio and it appears that things are spinning out of control. This onslaught of energy can very easily create a lens of frenetic reactionary thinking.

This week I was privileged to participate in CARITAS (Churches Around Richmond Involved To Assure Shelter) and after spending the night with them Monday night followed by dinner each following evening, I was blessed with a fresh perspective. Most of these folks are headed out to jobs and live with uncertaintly every day. They have made a series of poor decisions which in aggregate pushed them past the tipping point into a crisis condition requiring help. I was proud to be able to help them and I have made some new friends in Sarah, Fontella, Margee, Tracy, and Jamie. It is doubtful, that I will see them again in the future after tonight, but they have left an indelible mark on my perspective.

Each of us needs to maintain perspective in our families, jobs and lives overall. Our success is dependant on our judgement and consistency of our decisions. It is the hundreds of small ones that matter, rather than the occasional "famous" ones. We all make mistakes and should be accepting of others' mistakes up to a point.

I often use the term that I am extremely nice right up to the point where I am not. I think that applies for us in life and in our jobs. We need to seek the friendly perspective but we must ultimately be accountable for our results and sometimes be "not so nice" to ourselves. We are paid to get the job done either as performers or managers and we are empowered to make a difference if we choose to do so. We must throw of the victim mentality and embrace the problem solving approach. one task, one hour, one day at a time...

Trust me, "problems are like laundry," to quote a new friend..." there will always be more of it/them."

We must recognize narrow thinking, and an onslaught of negative messaging and guard against it. We must seek a proactive enabling perspective in our methods, principles and this will ultimately translate into results. If we take the time to care about our colleagues it does make a difference. Caring is about actions though, not just talking or thought.

What have you done lately as a random act of kindness? When did you cut someone some slack just because it felt right? Are you maintaining perspective in your approach to your staff, your family, your friends?

There is no right answer to this sort of thought process, and it is healthy to maintain that perspective even as you read.