Thing 7 - Face to Face Networks and Associations

I actually belong to a library association! I decided to be on the ball and joined one headed by one of my teachers during my second semester. It's already come in handy. I'm pretty sure I've already discussed it here, but I'm too lazy and sore right now to dig up links. I continually try to sell the idea to classmates mostly for the first reason on the CPD23 post's list: opportunities for networking. Mostly I'm trying to get them to join for the benefits, but I'll also admit I'm not precisely sad if they don't join, because I am mercenary in nature and like to get a leg up on potential competition while enjoying social aspects of associations.

CPD23's post gives other good reasons to join associations. Organizations and networks:

• Provide opportunities for training and professional development
• Provide structured professional development and qualifications
• Have formal publications
  

Do check out the CPD23 blog post. Of particular interest to me is Hack Library School, what with their emphasis on schoolin' and students.

Thing 6 - Online Networks

Thing 6, online networks, talks about Facebook and LinkedIn.

I can't say I use Facebook for networking or anything work-related yet. I really only joined to keep touch with a girl from my kung fu class who moved away; then people from high school found me, and then I friended a bunch of friends, and then I started school again and wound up joining a program-related group as well as adding new library program friends, which lead to me shifting from a very infrequent user to someone who pretty much logs in every day. I try to keep it all positive and professional enough that I wouldn't be embarrassed should someone from work want to friend me. (Google+ has an advantage here in that you can make lists, or 'circles' of friends and limit what each group sees. So while you can share a link with Chuck Norris jokes with your buddies, people you work with don't have to see it.)

I mostly save my library talk for this blog, limiting my fascination with pop culture and jokes. So, while I'm posting about a library offering a new program I think is a good idea on this blog, over on Facebook I'm posting things like this:



Community is really, really funny, and I wish my college experience was a little more like it. (And I've considered posting about it here on the basis that they are often in the college library, a tenuous link at best.) Anyway!

LinkedIn looks super useful, too, but I'm not joining it yet. I think I'll wait until I have a little more on my resume, or at least until I've graduated. A profile on LinkedIn would be so measly I doubt it'd be worth it. Of course, I could be wrong - do you have a LinkedIn profile? How's that working out for you?

File Monkey

I started my summer job this Monday; I haven't gotten used to not having all the free time in the world anymore. At the moment I'm an Information Management Consultant, which is a fancy way of saying I move paper around. Literally. I take piles of paper, sort them, and then distribute them in file folders in a file room. All day! The past two days I've been on my feet the entire day, so I'm pretty sore. My back hurts a little, too, and my legs are sore from bending and crouching and kneeling to access the bottom two shelves. Ow! Thank goodness I'm wearing sneakers. I think I might have to shift from casual sneakers to actual running shoes tomorrow, though.

The people I work with are nice. The two women older than me are hilarious and fun and often make me laugh. Most of my co-workers pity me, but everyone has to start somewhere. That somewhere is often a room with no windows and cramped shelving! It turns out I've been receiving a good education; my information management class prepared me really well for this job, and I know a lot of terms that might've confused me otherwise as well as laws and policies regarding confidentiality, the life cycle of information, and why there comes a point when stuff needs to get deleted or chucked. I flick through papers with a little rubber thimble on my index finger and dream of the day Library and Archives Canada goes fully digital.

While the filing work isn't the most interesting, I do get to listen to my iPod and wear jeans, neither of which should be ever be taken for granted.

Library Facebook Pages

From David Lee King, good tips for humanizing your institution's Facebook pages. The key is apparently updates, updates, updates. And pictures.

Harry Potter and the Love of Reading

With the release of the very last Harry Potter movie, kids (and grown-ups) everywhere are feeling some big-time nostalgia for the series. That works out in the library's favour, as a number of libraries have been inspired to do some Harry Potter programming. And why not? Harry Potter was a big thing. It got a lot of kids reading; it got a lot of adults reading, too. I remember riding the express bus in the morning on the way to work with a bunch of executive types in suits and skirts and heels, some of them with their noses in one Harry Potter book or another. It was pretty cool to see.

I was in my late teens when the first Harry Potter book came out; I was never swept into the hype. I haven't seen all the movies. (I liked the last one I saw, Order of the Phoenix, because they did such a great job on the fight in the Ministry.) I'd like to at some point. There are a number of younger kids in my program, some fresh out of high school, and I think about how great it would've been to grow up with the books.

(I imagine there were some downsides, too. Much like when I was a little kid and New Kids on the Block were the best thing since sliced bread, it can be a little rough when you don't like the 'in' thing. Or maybe you hit that age where the 'in' thing is the very last thing you want to do, you iconoclastic rebel youth, you.)

It was something of a phenomena, which is fun to witness. In any case, people left wondering what to read next will be happy to learn there are lists of read-alikes. From that list, Ender's Game is an interesting choice - different genre, sci-fi, but still 'little boy grows up special, saves the world'. I didn't particularly like Lev Grossman's The Magicians - there was only one character I liked even a little. Closer to the Potter age group, I'd personally recommend Diana Wynne Jones' Fire and Hemlock.

And now I'm feeling nostalgic for the Secret of the Unicorn Queen books and thinking about how much more fun reading can be when it's shared in a community. Man, nobody else read Secret of the Unicorn Queen books when I was little.

What books did you read as a kid? Did you ever read the Secret of the Unicorn Queen series? What was your experience with Harry Potter books like?

Followups: Keith and Orchid, Threatening Library Budget Postcards

Good news!

• Keith Richards did NOT kill an orchid in the New York Public Library. (News story: 'Keith Richards killed my orchid', as posted December 2010)
• A library was not closed and now a little girl doesn't have to follow through on vague threats. (Story from Screwy Decimal, as posted June 2011)

Let's all take a moment to feel good.

MOMENT OVER.

Given In to Google+

I was curious and I gave in. I have a Google+ account. I poked around a little and have very little idea of how to use it. From what I can tell, I can spam at least three different streams with blog posts. Kind of. In any case, I've been reading up on it. Voila: Tips on How to Use Google+ Plus with bonus Chrome extensions for Google+.

Paperbackups

From Geekosystem: Internet Archive To Store Paper Copy Of Every Published Book

Internet Archive, a non-profit organization assembled in the 1990’s to build an internet-based library of digital collections has seemingly flipped positions, announcing an ambitious plan to store paper copies of every book they are able to acquire. With more than 100 million published works out there, Internet Archive wants to save one copy of every book ever published in the world. However, the company realistically hopes to establish long-term storage for approximately one copy of up to 10 million print books.

I find this both hilarious and gratifying. They were apparently inspired when they discovered people destroyed books Internet Archive scanned. Also: bit rot! Flipped bits! Actual terms that can be quoted in papers!

Thing 5 - Reflective Practice

Reflective practice is 'reviewing the experiences we have, learning from them and applying what we have learnt'. It reminds me of field trip reports, which I have mostly bulled my way through as a student. This happened. This happened. I liked this. I learned this. Almost like a fill-in-the-blanks exercise, really.

It also reminds me of maybe a step beyond my note-taking practices. I point form the heck out of things I'm being told and sometimes write myself little questions at the bottom of the page, most of which still make sense days later. Something about formalizing this process makes me roll my eyes a little. I'm not quite sure why. I imagine it's probably handy when attending conferences, something I have still managed not to do.

So, reflecting on CPD23:

1. Blogging: check, have been doing that for years.
2. Other Blogs: found some new ones!
3. Personal Brand: formalized this further with the new CPD23 blog.
4. Current Awareness: already used RSS feeds/readers, trying Twitter again and still not liking it much, haven't done much of anything with PushNote.

One aspect of CPD23 I have appreciated has been the increased traffic to my blog. My old blog never got this many views. It helps that my frequent posting lands me on the CPD23 sidebar fairly often; I get a lot of referrals from that site. I have followers! That's nutty! But will people continue reading when CPD23 is done? I must charm everyone NOW.

The nudge toward commenting has also paid off. I feel a little more like a member of a community, though I have a long way to go. That was something I never felt as a lone blogger. I'm still not managing one comment a day, but it's still much better than never commenting at all.

I think CPD23 covers quite a few things I already do, but prompts me to put more effort into doing them.

So now what? Well, if anyone has recommendations for Twitter feeds to follow, I'm all ears. Eyes. Whatever.

Making Blog Posts People Will Actually Read

Another from Geeks Are Sexy: How to write posts that people will actually read by Sterling Camden. Some pretty basic stuff. In summary:

1. Post about things you care about.
2. Read up on them.
3. Catchy titles are good!
4. Challenge your readers/ask for feedback
5. Be funny.
6. Use examples.
7. Link your sources.
8. Add your own insights.
9. Choose conclusions wisely.
10. Don't go on too long.

I would tentatively add use pictures. Images make things stand out in my RSS feed reader and generally get my attention. I rarely use images. I keep meaning to use more, especially when I read other blogs and see the clever/funny images they've used. It's extra effort is the thing.

One thing I find about adding my own insight to topics is that I don't so much have insight to share yet. I mostly say, 'this is a great idea' and leave 'er there.

10 Reasons Geeks Should Blog

Last one for today, I promise! From Geeks are Sexy, 10 Reasons Why Geeks Should Blog.

If you are interested in library studies, there is a good chance you're a geek. Or at least if you're a student there's a good chance you're a geek, from what I can tell from my fellow classmates. And by 'geek' I don't necessarily mean video-game playing, t-shirt wearing, socially awkward Star Trek fans - I mean people who get really excited about atypical things, like puzzles or Elvis memorabilia or, say, books. Anyway, guest blogger Chris Garrett provides the following ten reasons, which apply to library bloggers, too:

1. Clout from search engines. Google your name, get your website right up there in the results.
2. Career – "Once you have a good archive of wisdom to share, it can be of great help for your career, for furthering your job opportunities or getting freelance work."
3. Education - Stay up to date with industry changes and news.
4. Opportunities – Getting your name more well-known and your thoughts spread brings a wealth of opportunities, from startup gigs, freelance work, to speaking engagements and book deals.
5. Gadgets – "It is not all business and careers. Many bloggers get sent free gadgets to review. In my case, the freebies tend to be books, but hey… it’s all good!"
6. Attention – If people listen to what you say, people will want you to say more.
7. Communication – Yay interpersonal skills!
8. Networking – Who you know! Maybe you're better online than you are in person, but it still helps.
   
9. Writing – A geek who can write is a more valuable geek.
10. Money

Okay, numbers five and ten are in the realm of fantasy. I like how the author says he mostly 'only' gets books, like that's not great.

That list just has a summary; it's worth reading the full article. Cheers!

Twitter Bots

In light of CPD23 Thing 4's push for tools such as Twitter: ROBOTS.

Are You Following a Bot?

Can one person controlling an identity, or a group of identities, really shape social architecture? Actually, yes. The Web Ecology Project’s analysis of 2009’s post-election protests in Iran revealed that only a handful of people accounted for most of the Twitter activity there. The attempt to steer large social groups toward a particular behavior or cause has long been the province of lobbyists, whose “astroturfing” seeks to camouflage their campaigns as genuine grassroots efforts, and company employees who pose on Internet message boards as unbiased consumers to tout their products. But social bots introduce new scale: they run off a server at practically no cost, and can reach thousands of people. The details that people reveal about their lives, in freely searchable tweets and blogs, offer bots a trove of personal information to work with. “The data coming off social networks allows for more-targeted social ‘hacks’ than ever before,” says Tim Hwang, the director emeritus of the Web Ecology Project. And these hacks use “not just your interests, but your behavior.”

(When I think of robots, I tend to think of awesome ones, like Optimus Prime. In Twitter's case, though, it's more like Wheelie, the Jar-Jar Binks of the old Transformers cartoon*. And isn't it sad when we aren't quite sure if we're talking to a bot?)

What does Jabberwacky have to say about this?

Scarlet: What do you think about libraries?
Jabberwacky: What has that got to do with the name Nicole?
Scarlet: There are probably people named Nicole working in libraries.
Jabberwacky: You aren't very good with these questions.
Scarlet: You aren't very good with these answers.
Jabberwacky: Cleverbot, why are you being so mean to me?
Scarlet: I'm leaving now.
Jabberwacky: Not until I say you can.
Scarlet: Watch me, Wheelie.
Jabberwacky: No. You're not going anywhere, lucas.

...and then I left.

* He was apparently better in the comic.

Libraries as Art Galleries

For studio artists of all kinds, finding opportunities to exhibit their work can sometimes seem like a lifelong quest. The popular and well-trafficked exhibit spaces in local libraries are one way that artists can catch a break and have their worked viewed by the public.

...From an article about an art display over in a Boston library.

I really like this idea. It appeals to me because it aids a sense of community in the library, adds visual appeal, and increases foot traffic. This idea works best in a library that's not essentially a dim concrete bunker, though. It's a little more difficult to search up images of the library I'm more used to on the internet; apparently nobody takes pictures in the bunkers. I think the library's space, its appearance and how jam-packed it is, has a lot to do with the success of programs like this.

Library Science Terms That Sound Dirty

From McSweeney's, Library Science Jargon That Sounds Dirty. I am pleased to report I know what most of these terms refer to, though clearly the second year in my program is necessary because I do not know all of them.

Favourites:

1. Technical service
2. Information package
3. Full entry

I do not know what the flip a Warwick framework is and am actually too lazy to Google it.

I am also sad I didn't keep a record of random strange Library of Congress headings we ran across while searching up answers for our classification class. They were classy. Someone always found something good in those, at least in my immediate area, and we would promptly share with others. Or at least the lovely young woman to my immediate right and the dude behind us.

Invisible and Mistakenly Visible Books

Two links today:

1. The Invisible Library, books that exist only in fiction. Apparently there are websites listing these books that inevitably get abandoned (the sites, not the imaginary non-existent books, though really quite a lot of the web is abandoned sites). One such site's curator is interested in expanding to titles of fake books, namely the ones found on awesome secret door bookshelves that for some reason require fake books instead of real ones, which I think is sort of a waste of shelf space, but whatever. The article's author, Laura Miller, asks which imaginary book you would choose from the Invisible Library should you be allowed one checkout. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy would be pretty great, true, but I'll admit to being curious about Carax's The Shadow of the Wind.
2. George R. R. Martin's A Dance of Dragons was leaked early. 180 copies are floating out there somewhere, so beware of spoilers. The series has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity due to the miniseries featuring Sean Bean. If you could choose a book or series of books to be made into a television series or movie, which one would you choose?

Thing 4 - Current Awareness

Thing 4 for the 23 Things for Professional Development program is Current Awareness. It focuses on RSS Feeds, Twitter, and Pushnote.

RSS Feeds
At least I already have RSS feeds (mostly) covered. I use Google Reader to manage feeds from various sites I'm following. My Miss Scarlet Gmail address just follows CPD23 and library blogs and it's pretty handy. It's not so handy with sites that update very frequently (like LISNews), which tend to overwhelm the feed. You lose a little something without being able to see a blog's design, but the counter to this is having something very plain to read which doesn't advertise 'hey, look what I'm looking at right now!'

Here are the sites I'm currently tracking in Google Reader with the Miss Scarlet account:

• A Librarian learns about Web 2.0!
• All Comprehension is Temporary
• Boolean Berry: Adventures in Librarianship
• I Can Read Big Words Now: A Newly Qualified Librarian's CPD23 Blog
• Librarian in a Nutshell
• London library girl
• Notes from the Basement
• Nouveau Librarian
• Odd Librarian Out
• ook librarian
• Rachel's Smaller CPD23 Adventure
• Reflections and ponderings: a librarian's perspective
• Rhythm & Knowledge
• Sarah Said Library
• The Hobbit Hole
• Trails and Trials of a Trainee Librarian
• Wee Librarian
• Younggeekylibrarian's Blog

Some of you have not been posting!

Twitter
Oh, Twitter. I've tried to have Twitter accounts before - a personal one I made just to get into the Library of Congress without intention to actually post anything (I wound up replying to tweets from a friend about a wedding I couldn't attend, for which I appreciated the live updates even if I couldn't quite figure out why said friend was messing with his phone the whole time), and an account for the older version of this blog, Lagomorph Watson (don't worry, all the old posts are imported here, don't bother to go looking). I tried to use the latter to follow a site or two, but again, post quantity was crazy.

I am admittedly at a loss with regards to how to use Twitter in relation to this site. I suppose I could tweet new posts, which would be redundant if anyone was using feeds but useful if they were not. Do I tweet anything else? Is this where I can share things that aren't library-related? Doesn't quite seem so. In any case, I made a new one: lib_scarlet.

Having a personal brand that includes a colour scheme is useful here. While picking a template for my shiny new Twitter feed, I just had to look at ones with red. That narrows down selection!

Pushnote
I decided to link my Pushnote to my Twitter Account. Hopefully, by marrying these two services I'm not sure about, I'll get more use out of them, kind of like Voltron except without any awesome cartoon battles. I'm not linking to Facebook, which I am still keeping separate.

Now let's see how fast my inbox fills up and how long I actually keep Twitter and Pushnote.

Tales from the Library

Essentially a bookmark - Tales from the Library, a site dedicated to your wacky library stories. Your wacky anonymous library stories, even. There isn't so much there, so please contribute! I know some of you out there must have things to share. Things I need to know.

Milkshake & Fries

Do You Like Books? Do You Like Giraffes?

Do you like books? Do you like giraffes? Do you like giraffes with books? Do you like t-shirts on sale?

Sadly, I do not need any more clever t-shirts or I'd be all over this. All over it, up and down.

LGBT Pride and Libraries

From Boolean Berry, one of the CPD23 bloggers - LGBT pride and libraries:

Libraries were my refuge from the world when I wasn’t sure I even wanted to be in it, let alone my place. The books were microscopes and telescopes that let me look inwards as well as out. The walls and stacks felt safe, the staff accepting. All that mattered was that we cared about what was inside the library, what it meant and what it stood for. But as I said, I was lucky. Plenty of kids aren’t: libraries aren’t just a refuge from the world for them, they’re a refuge from abuse. They’re not just somewhere for them to expand their reading, they’re the only somewhere they can access LGBT resources without being found out by people who would try to correct them or harm them. They’re somewhere where anyone should be able to freely educate themselves about the struggles people have overcome and still face, where places and times like The Stonewall Inn in 1969 can live on perpetually on a bookshelf or at an e-resource. So please, tell me that libraries are decrepit, archaic and not fit for purpose when even now there are scores of people, lost and disenfranchised, who need them just as much as they always have, even if they don’t know it yet.

Go read the full blog post, it's wonderful. This is what I've tried to say a few times, only phrased about a million times better. Also, Happy Canada Day!