All things Winnie

MLS or on the job training?

2006-07-13T15:44:00.000-04:00

I had a nice surprise visit this morning from one of my professors from library school. My library was hosting a regional FOIL roundtable and she was here to attend that meeting. I was happy to know that she remembered me since we haven’t seen each other since I graduated a little over 3 years ago.

She just stopped by my office to say hello. She mentioned that she was happy for me when she read that I had been placed in my position of Assistant Director straight out of library school.

She asked how it was going and if I was using the things I learned in library school or if it was more on-the-job training. What a loaded question!

Of course, the answer is both. I am a huge proponent of the MLS. I think it is so important for librarians to have that formal training to act as the backbone of our professional knowledge. Having that training allows me to see the larger scope of libraries as invaluable institutions in our communities. We are all about lifelong learning, literacy, service, and place. Many people, particularly non-library users, don’t see us that way. They think all we do is check out books and they wonder why I have to have a Master’s degree to do that.

A lot of what I do has been learned on the job. I didn’t learn how to do a public library budget at IU. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t even understand where the public library gets it funds from when I started this job. I didn’t learn how to hire, train and evaluate employees in library school. I didn’t learn how to plan and host a regional library conference which I’m learning on the job right now.

In order to be a successful professional librarian it takes a mix of formal training and the willingness to learn on the job and through continuing education including staying current by reading professional literature and attending conferences and workshops.

So, I proudly display my MLS diploma in my office. And I’m thankful to work for a director who is a great mentor and is a believer in continuing education.

Overall, I’m thankful to God for the journey He’s taken me on to get me to where I am know. Looking back over the past 6 years since I’ve started on my library journey, I see His hand leading every step of the way.

Verses of comfort and encouragement and the desires of my heart

2006-06-27T15:50:00.000-04:00

I've been reading in Psalms recently. There have been a few verses that especially stood out to me this time. I know I have read them many times before, but this time they had special meaning for me.

I generally spend my quiet time reading the Bible and praying before I go to bed at night. So, as I was winding down from the day and trying to focus on the Lord, I read this verse:
Psalm 4:8 - I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
What a wonderful reminder it is to know that the Lord is protecting me at all times - even while I'm sleeping and because of His protection, I can sleep peacefully.

Then, the next night I read this verse:
Psalm 19:14 - May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
That is my prayer and my desire that the things I say and think about - the things that are close to my heart would be pleasing to the Lord. He is my Rock and I am so thankful that He is my Redeemer!

Am I just a little girl?

2006-04-26T20:53:00.000-04:00

I went to a meeting today of librarians from around the state. My library systems supervisor who is in his early 20s went with me. We sat down and a lady sitting in front of us turned around and said "what are you young people doing here?" That comment really offended me. As if someone my age doesn't belong in a leadership position. She was completely clueless that she had said something inappropriate. So, I just nicely explained to her that I very much belonged in the meeting and that I do indeed have a leadership position in my library.

People usually say that I look much younger than my age. They are often surprised to find out how old I am. But, to automatically assume that because I'm younger than most people that I shouldn't have any responsibility is offensive to me. Age does not necessarily mean that a person is capable of doing their job or being a contributing member to the library profession.

We heard a good speaker from OCLC talk about their recent report on the perceptions of libraries. One interesting comment from his talk was that today often convenience trumps quality [information] and it is the job of libraries to make quality convenient. So, after lunch we were sitting waiting for the next speaker and the same woman turns around and asked me if I understood anything of what he had talked about. I paused and said "well, yes I understood everything he talked about." She made some comment about having taken lots of notes because she didn't know about a lot of the things he spoke about. So, I proceeded to explain quite a few things to her that she didn't understand from his speech. Hmm. Maybe the little girl who's too young to be in this meeting knows something after all.

I really don't like the term Generation X and all the connotations that go with it. That's not me and I don't like to classify people based solely on the year they were born. So, often when I read the NextGen articles in Library Journal, I cringe. I've never had the professional experience of being looked down upon because I'm young. I have always had incredible support from my supervisors who have been librarians much longer than I have. My director now has always been encouraging and supportive of my ideas. In a way, I've always thought the NextGen people just like to whine about their terrible jobs with terrible pay and no respect. But, I suppose there really are librarians out there who think that young librarians should be seen and not heard. Boy, I'm glad I don't run across that kind very often.

Truth

2006-04-14T15:01:00.000-04:00

I just got back yesterday afternoon from the ILF Annual Conference. As usual, we find time in the evenings to do some fun stuff. Angela and I went to a movie on Wednesday night. As we were waiting for the show to start, they showed the trailer for the Da Vinci Code movie. I'm sure a lot of people will see it - people who just like Tom Hanks or have heard all the hype. A lot of people probably don't know the heresy of it. I didn't when I first read the Da Vinci Code. You know how they always flash words on the screen. They did that with this one. The last screen was dark. Then you see the words "Seek the truth." I thought "yes, seek the truth!" Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

Librarians dancing on tables?

2006-04-11T09:31:00.000-04:00

Evidently Angela and I shattered the stuffy, bun-wearing librarian stereotype at my library last week. A coworker just stopped by my office to inform me that it is going around the library that we were dancing on the table in the Teen Room on Friday. I had to tell her that it is partially true - we were dancing in the Teen Room - just not on the tables. I'm not sure if people are really saying that we were dancing on the tables, but it obviously is getting around that we were dancing and having fun.

The Friends of the Library generously donated money to purchase 2 DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) dancepads for Angela's teen programs. And, of course we had to test them to be sure they were working properly. We ended up drawing a little bit of a crowd.

Later that afternoon, she sent me a message saying that if I wanted to see something cool I should come up. She had restless teens in the library and had turned it on so they could play. There was this one kid who was incredible. I'm amazed at how quickly their minds can process seeing the arrows and getting their feet in the right place. Needless to say, he put us thirty-something librarians to shame.

Jeopardy

2006-03-29T22:08:00.000-05:00

Well, I took the Jeopardy test tonight. I tried to take it last night, but evidently the site doesn't like Firefox. So tonight, I used IE and it worked fine. Wow, that was a really hard test. It was 50 questions long and you only had 15 seconds to read each question and type your answer. There were some where I just drew a complete blank even though I thought I should've known the answer. If you did well enough on the online test, then you get called in to take the test in person. I would be beside myself if I actually get called. I have wanted to be on Jeopardy for so long. I still think that the test questions are much harder than the questions on the show. Ah well, at least now I can say I've taken the test.

Grannies get naked

2006-03-27T10:27:00.000-05:00

I just saw this article on FOXNews titled Grannies Get Naked for a Good Cause. It is so funny to me that this made national news. It has actually been the topic of more than one discussion in my Sunday school class since we have people there who work in Winchester and the church is located in Randolph county. We actually just talked about it yesterday. We were wondering what exactly are they doing with the money raised from the calendars and who has control of it?

Oops

2006-03-17T14:41:00.000-05:00

I really meant to sign on to my library's blog. Well, the big news in New Castle today is that Starbucks is open. Becky and I went for a sneak preview on Wednesday night. They were swamped. On my way back from lunch today, I went by and picked up a latte. They're doing a pretty good job for their first day open.

Family Togetherness

2006-03-15T14:08:00.000-05:00

Family Togetherness
Originally uploaded by Librarygirlie.

Lady, Mom and Emily spent a little together time in the hammock while we were in Tennessee. Maybe the girls got on either side to help keep their grandma in the hammock. This was a photo-op too good to pass up.

Balance (more conference stuff)

2006-03-14T19:42:00.000-05:00

Ooh, I just read another good comment that I wrote down from the conference. Although, I'm not sure who said it.

Anyway, people need to find the right balance between being connected and contemplative; between being on top of the information and unplugging. What a great thought. We all need some down-time.

One thing nice about being at Brent's house is that they hardly ever have the tv on. I often wish I could live my life that way. The tv is on constantly at my house and it sometimes drives me nuts. I usually can't help it since I share the house with other people, but sometimes I long for quiet. Maybe that's one reason why I love summer so much. I can go outside and sit on the porch swing and just read or be alone.

Continuous Partial Attention and more conference thoughts

2006-03-14T19:08:00.000-05:00

One of the concepts that I first heard about at the Internet Librarian Conference this past fall and heard more about at the SirsiDynix Conference last week was continuous partial attention. Basically it's that kids are so used to doing many things at once that they pay partial attention to lots of differnet things at the same time.

So, on Sunday as I was walking from my hotel room to the conference center I thought about getting my iPod out and listening as I walked. It's really not that far - maybe a 5 minute walk at the most. I decided that for that amount of time, I could manage to walk without music. I've noticed other people though who are always plugged in; at every available moment. This made me think about the concept of being unplugged and continuous partial attention. I was also pondering the need for alone time or quiet time. Is this just my personality or is it an age thing? I don't know. Sometimes, it's just nice to be alone with my own thoughts (even in a crowd.)

So, later that day in between sessions I was was listening to my iPod and pondering being unplugged. And I had these thoughts:
Either as I'm getting older or maturing in my faith, I have learned to be careful about the things that I put into my mind. In deciding whether or not to listen to my iPod- I decided to listen to Selah because I thought it would be a good way to redeem the time between sessions. Their music is uplifting and I can use it as a way to renew my mind and reflect on the Lord and praise Him - particularly today when I can't be in church. Music is such a powerful thing - to uplift and encourage and comfort.

Conference Thoughts

2006-03-06T22:42:00.000-05:00

I'm sure I'll have more to post later, but I thought I'd post a few post-conference thoughts.

One of my favorite parts of the Executive Conference is the final wrap-up session. This is where we talk about what we're taking away from the conference. It's a good time to reflect and nail down new ideas and concepts. It seems as if a lot of libraries and administrators are being held hostage by their IT department. There were a few who kept saying things like the IT department won't let me use IM (or whatever the technology might be.) And I thought 'who's the boss, here?' And basically, that's what Stephen Abrams said.

Another concern was how to convince the library board to let them use all these neat things like blogs, wikis, IM, etc. It reminded me of the recent blog workshop I did at my library. It was great! It was a small group of adults who really wanted to learn more about this new technology that they'd been hearing about. How better to convince them of the uses than to show them.

One other thing I have been thinking about is that the Executive Conference should be for more than just library directors and administrators. They have such great, inspiring speakers that I think the "techies" should sit in on some of the sessions too. I keep wondering how to inspire my new Systems Supervisor to love the library. I've been debating with myself about whether or not he should love the library. I mean, I think everyone should love the library, but we don't all have to be librarians. But, I really want him to understand how Systems fits in with the library vision as more than just tech support. These connections with our customers are so important. And, using Web 2.0 applications is going to become critical for us.

I was struck by a comment today by a comment one of the librarians made. He was telling a story about when another library director was asked about her vision for her library. She responded by saying that she wanted her library to be the best in the world. Quite a big vision. But how do you know that your library is the best in the world? The answer for them was when their public loved them. That's what I want our library to be for my community. A library that people love. We have an incredible new building. But, do we have the service to go along with it? I think we have a way to go. I want the people who work at the library to love it too. In turn, their love of the library would spill over to the people we serve. It's all about service. I wish I could make my staff understand that. It's all about service - person-to-person, in the building and virtually.

Gaylord Opryland Hotel

2006-03-05T09:42:00.000-05:00

Gaylord Opryland Hotel
Originally uploaded by Librarygirlie.

I'm here at the SIRSI SuperConference. This is the first morning. I just came back from breakfast. It's not quite as extravagant as the last time. Some things seem to have changed from last year and I'm not quite sure that I like the changes. I plan to blog my thoughts about the day's events later on. I'm really looking forward to hearing the speakers as this is one of my favorite conferences.

I just wish my foot wasn't hurting so much. If it doesn't feel better soon, I may have to go back to the doctor.

Dark Days

2006-03-01T10:26:00.000-05:00

It's not been a good day today. I didn't sleep well and I don't really feel good, so my day didn't start out right.

So far, I've only dealt with problems at work - people who don't want to pay their fines and bad mothers and stepmothers who very clearly don't like their husband's ex. And now employee problems. The desire to crawl under my desk into the dark is very great right now. I don't think anyone would find me there.

I just read a post from one of the blogs that I like to read about dark days the author is going through. It touched me because these are dark days for me too.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I feel "messed up." I don't know what else to call it. Looking at situations in other people's lives, I realize that I'm not the only one. Life takes its toll. Whether it's through divorce or death or disappointment or some other hardship we're all left with scars.

I love the 23rd Psalm. Even though I feel as if I'm walking through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with me.

Skateboards cont.

2006-02-22T16:25:00.000-05:00

I'm just catching up on my reading and came across a post by Stephen Abrams on his blog about being truly teen patron friendly. I hope I made it clear in my earlier post that we're not trying to discourage teens/skateboarders from coming into the library. As a matter of fact, a new skateboard rack is in planned at our new library. Hopefully, as Stephen says in his post, this will make teens feel comfortable and safe and welcome at the library.

Web 2.0, Library 2.0, Librarian 2.0

2006-02-22T12:19:00.000-05:00

I just attended a SirsiDynix Institute Web Seminar about Web 2.0, Library 2.0, and Librarian 2.0. It was a very interesting panel discussion. And, I ended up with a couple of thoughts.

I'm wearing my library administrator hat when I say this:
There was a discussion of teens on skateboards in the parking lot or in the library. One library wanted to write a policy to deal with this issue. That's very close to home because we have quite a few kids (tweens & teens) who come to the library on their skateboards. The comment from the panel was that in creating this policy, the library is turning these kids away from the library and sending them a message that they are not wanted or welcome at the library. My problem is that unfortunately, some of these kids are not well-behaved. Now, by no means is my library a place where people are shushed and expected to sit quietly with their nose in a book. But, how do we balance being welcoming to all with the very real issue of damage and possible injuries. We've asked the skateboarders to leave their skateboards at the desk while they are in the building and for the most part that's worked out pretty well.

I also wondered if another type of "digital divide" will develop in the library world. I was thinking of the other libraries in my area who are very small. Maybe they only have 1 librarian. And that person might not be very tech-savvy. Are they going to be passed by in the library 2.0 world? Small libraries will say they can't afford to do some of these new social software type things. And I don't think that they are always talking monetarily. Many are time poor and staff poor. I have a lot of interest in learning these new tools, but it is not my main job. I do what I can and try to stay up-to-date, but I also have a great staff to help me accomplish the things we do. I just wonder how this will all affect the small, rural libraries.

Choose Life

2006-02-15T18:51:00.000-05:00

During this past Sunday's sermons, I was reading the surrounding passages to the one used by my pastor in his message. 3 verses in different books jumped out at me with different life applications than what I had ever thought about before.

As I was just scanning the news, I came across an article about Wal-mart being required to provide the morning-after pill in it's pharmacies in Massachusetts. This requirement is already in place in Illinois. How long before it is required in every state? Abortion is so appalling and heinous to me and I don't understand why so many Christians are silent on the matter. Why do we not stand up and say enough is enough? I often wonder how as a country we got to a place where it is accepted and encouraged to kill our most precious, helpless members - our unborn.

I started to think about these things on Sunday when I read this verse in Deuteronomy 30:19b: Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.

Choose life so that your children may live!

Recent Happenings

2006-02-14T10:09:00.000-05:00

Wow. I just realized it has been a really long time since I've posted anything. It's been a whirlwind since Christmas. The library grand opening was yesterday and now I feel as if I can actually breathe again. I'm trying not to think too hard about all the things I fell behind on while focusing on Grand Opening. I also took a much-needed 10 days off from work at the end of January and I still feel as if I'm getting caught up from that.

Brian, Becky and I went to Vegas. We had a good time.

We stayed at New York, NY. I think we each came back with as much money as we went with.

While we were there, we drove down to the Grand Canyon.
It was a pretty long drive, but it was worth it. The beauty of God's creation is breathtaking.

Christmas Holiday

2005-12-27T20:42:00.000-05:00

Looking back now, I realize it was a strange weekend. It started out normal enough. Cleaning the house, getting ready for the crowd of family on Saturday evening. Eating dinner together, opening presents. Everyone gone by 10:00. Maybe that's where it started getting weird. We're usually up until the wee hours.

Maybe it started earlier in the day. I was very testy for most of the day because I had no help in straitening the house. Why am I the only one?!

Went to church Sunday morning. On the way, my aunt popped a nitro pill. Should we go to the hospital instead of church?

Church was mostly good. One strange song was sung. I don't really think it fit with our beliefs. Otherwise, it was a time of praising our Lord Jesus. That was very good.

On the way home, we went to the hospital. Sat in the waiting room for about an hour while they ran tests on my aunt. Mom stayed with her, so the rest of us decided to go on home.

Had a light lunch of chicken salad. Should I go ahead and start dinner or will we be going back to the hospital? Mom called. They're ready to be picked up from the hospital. Released aunt. That was good.

Prepared the evening meal. Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, brocolli casserole, green beans, corn, rolls. Family came back over. That was good.

Played cards. Went to bed. Yes, that was a different Christmas weekend.

Recent happenings

2005-12-20T10:47:00.000-05:00

I've been debating about blogging about something that happened at my library a couple of weeks ago. I'm not exactly anonymous and that's ok. Anyway, I had a Feel Good Librarian moment. I was working on the weekend and happened to go by the reference desk. The person working there asked if I could help her and the patron she was helping find some information. I won't go into all the details, but I've had that patron on my mind quite a bit since then. I keep hoping that I was some help to her in a difficult situation. I hope it worked out ok for her. I keep telling myself that I did all I could for her, but I'm still concerned.

I don't usually get that kind of interaction with library patrons since I'm in administration. It was kind of nice. Another reminder of why I love being a librarian so much.

You gotta love IM

2005-11-17T19:50:00.000-05:00

An interesting thing just happened. I'm working late tonight and when I'm logged on to my computer at work, I'm always online for IM. One of my coworkers who is working on her MLS just IM'd me to chat about stuff she was doing for class and other library things. She's in Indy at IUPUI. While we were chatting, another coworker IM'd me. He's upstairs in his office. We were chatting about current library issues. So now, I'm having 2 conversations at the same time. If I were 15 years younger, I'm sure it would be second nature to me. And it struck me that this is what it's all about. Connecting with colleagues and friends -- whenever and wherever. Anyway, I just thought that was cool.

Emily's Wedding

2005-11-14T15:47:00.000-05:00

We just got back from Emily's wedding last night. I think it was the most beautiful wedding I'd ever been to. The singers were fantastic and the ceremony was beautiful. Looking at Todd and Emily looking at each other, you can really see how much they love each other.

On another note, I'm sure the hotel was glad to see us go. Changing rooms 3 times in 2 days is just a little too much.

Technology, Librarians, and Indiana -- How are we doing?

2005-11-04T16:19:00.000-05:00

This was actually an email that I sent out to colleages at my library. But, I think it does a pretty good job of summing up my thoughts from the recent Internet Librarian 2005 Conference I attended.

I think all of you know that I attended a conference last week in Monterey, CA. I came back with some great ideas and thoughts on technology and libraries and how they can complement each other. I was just catching up on my reading of library blogs that I subscribe to and I ran across a posting that made me think about how we’re doing here at NCHCPL. You can find the posting here. It’s by Michael Stephens, a fellow Indiana librarian who also planned and presented at the Public Libraries Track at the conference I just attended (Internet Librarian 2005.)

I suppose I went to the conference with a preconceived stereotype in my mind of the people who would attend this conference. I have to admit that I expected it to be mostly my age and younger. I was wrong and I find that very interesting. There were many “seasoned librarians” as they call themselves who were fluent in technology and eager to learn more. For the most part, those that I came in contact with were very at ease with technology, but there were some who said “I’m older and I can’t learn all this technology and I don’t want to.” And the response from the person on the panel was basically “you’re going to have to because technology is not going away.” That may have seemed harsh, but true.

Now, in general, I think that New Castle and Henry County are behind in the tech wave that’s been coming at us for the past few years. But, I do think that NCHCPL is doing a good job of staying on top. For instance, Google has just announced that they want to provide all of San Francisco with wireless internet access. And that’s a big deal. But guess what? Anyone can come into our building and get free wifi and they have been able to for the past 9 months. As far as I know, we’re the only ones (at least here in town) offering that kind of service. How cool are we? We’ve got 2 blogs going which both have RSS feeds. We have great email bookclubs and newsletters. We have a mobile wireless computer lab with 14 laptops. WOW!

One of the things that I came away from the conference with is that social software is really big. The ideology of the internet is shifting from thinking that the internet is taking people away from social contact to being a tool to connect people and allowing them to share their lives with each other. Do you know about Flickr or blogs or wikipedia or tagging? These are just a few of the things that are becoming really big that I think as librarians we should know about.

I think that this library and we as librarians are uniquely positioned to be leaders in this community. We can be the ones to help our users connect with the information they need in their lives – whether it be in a book or on the computer.

I’m sorry this is so long, but my brain has had a week and a half to ruminate on all the great talks I heard at the conference. I love being a librarian!

Just when I was getting used to being in my 30s

2005-10-13T17:20:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I find it very strange the changes my body goes through as I get older. I'm getting used to being in my 30s, not that I consider myself to be old by any stretch of the imagination. I'm noticing more gray hairs popping up. They seem to be mostly in the same place - right on the top of my head. Last week I was thinking how cool it would be if I just got a streak of gray. That would be neat. But, today I don't know.

This summer I went to a dermatologist who diagnosed me with rosacea. She gave me a prescription and we made an appointment for me to come back in a year for a follow up. She told me that if I don't see improvement though to not wait for a year. I finally got so frustrated with my skin problem this week that I made an appointment to go in to see her. I went yesterday and we talked about some other treatments I could try. So, I came home with a new prescription and the hope that maybe someday I could have nice skin.

I dropped my prescription off at the pharmacy and told them I would be back later. When I went back later, they told they didn't have what I needed in stock and would have it the next day. So, today the pharmacy called. They informed me that my insurance won't pay for my prescription because there is an age limit of 30 years maximum. "What does that mean? That I can't get this prescription because I'm over 30?!" Yes, ma'am, that's correct. I am now officially too old to get medicine! (At least without paying an arm and a leg.)

What is this world coming to?! So, now I had to have a long conversation with the insurance company to find out if this age discrimination could possibly be true. Getting old really stinks.

Furry Friend

2005-09-09T17:00:00.000-04:00

By the way, our furry little friend has a new home at the park.

His Eye is on the Sparrow

2005-09-09T16:57:00.000-04:00

I can't help but notice all the sparrows flittering around outside my office window. The overgrown weeds outside is an inviting place for them to come for a snack. As I was watching them right now, the song, His Eye is on the Sparrow, ran through my mind. I really do like that song. It's a sweet reminder of God's constant protection over me.

I sing because I'm happy
I sing because I'm free
For His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.

Who says libraries aren't exciting?

2005-09-07T11:53:00.000-04:00

I was sitting in my office yesterday when I heard a scratching noise coming from above my head. I looked up toward the overhead vent to see what it could be. I suddenly felt as if I were in a horror movie and some terrible alien was going to come bursting through the ceiling. All I could do was stare up and hope that I would somehow be spared. As suddenly as it began, the scratching stopped. What could it be? A little mouse or perhaps a bird stuck in our ventilation system?

This morning I was informed by our maintenance supervisor that we have a "critter" in the library. It had feasted during the night on our crackers and candy bars in the staff lounge. I can just picture him laying satiated on his back, rubbing his full belly with chocolate smeared on his furry, little mouth.

The maintenance supervisor thought it was a large critter - a rat or a possum or maybe a raccoon. A little searching was done and sure enough, raccoon tracks were found in the building currently being remodeled. I think a raccoon is a little bit better than a rat, but now the hunt is on.

The duvet quest

2005-08-23T15:15:00.000-04:00

Bed
Originally uploaded by Librarygirlie.

Who would have thought that it would be so difficult to find a comforter. I finally chose a duvet and shams, but I needed to get a comforter. I went through 2 before I realized that it might be a good idea to check the duvet dimensions. However, I then had a hard time finding a comforter with those dimensions. I was beginning to think that it was a conspiracy to get me to buy the expensive comforter from the duvet company. My quest has finally ended though. I was able to find a comforter to fit my duvet. Success is sweet.

Is my life just boring?

2005-08-23T12:29:00.000-04:00

I find it very interesting that some people blog about almost everything that happens to them. They have funny, little anecdotes about the things that happened to them to today. Or moving observations about life. And sometimes, they blog about something that no one would be interested in.

So, now I'm wondering if I just live a very boring life. Sometimes interesting things happen to me, but usually, it's just the same ole-same ole. I mean, does anybody really care that yesterday I was finally able to find a comforter that would fit in my duvet? Probably not, but that's what I did yesterday.

Maybe I'm just too busy with the small day-to-day things to see the more meaningful insight in them. Hmmm. I think I'm going to have to work on that.

Sadness and Hope

2005-08-22T17:15:00.000-04:00

I found out on Friday that my friend's sister died. She was 34. She had cancer. The family are unbelievers. It is unspeakably sad.

I've experienced a lot of death and been to many funerals. But, all of them have been, in a way, a celebration. Because they are now in the presence of the Lord. Where I want to be. But, this is so different from anything I've ever experienced. What do you say to a person who doesn't believe? Is there any comfort that can be given?

When a Christian dies, you can say to the family that they are in Heaven. If the family are believers, they can take comfort in knowing that they will someday be with their loved ones again. But, when it's the other way around, it's just a terrible feeling of hopelessness.

And yet, as a believer, I can still have hope. I hope that somehow before she passed away, she accepted Christ. I hope that somehow through this situation, God can draw the rest of the family to Himself. I hope that I can be motivated by this to be a better witness. My hope is in the Lord.

Painting

2005-08-11T10:51:00.000-04:00

Walls
Originally uploaded by Librarygirlie.

Well, there is finally a light at the end of the home improvement tunnel. We actually have paint on the walls now. In this picture, the paint looks much redder than in real life. It's actually a nice brown. I'm posting this a little late because the walls are completely finished now.

We did the ragging on the walls, which at first seemed like a complete disaster. The first mix of paint we tried looked like we had smeared ketchup all over the walls. But, we toned it down and now it looks much better.

Last night, we put the first coat of stain on the floor. It really looks pretty. One more coat tonight and hopefully it will be finished.

I can't wait to sleep in my bed again!

Librarians are cool!

2005-08-01T16:13:00.000-04:00

I had a moment this morning of being really proud of what I do. I was walking through the library and actually almost ran over this teenager coming in to the library carrying his laptop. I went about my business and a little bit later I saw him sitting in one of our new, comfy tablet armchairs hooked up to our wireless network with his laptop. It just made me smile because that was what I worked so hard writing grants for last year -- so that kid could come to my library and use his laptop to get wireless internet access for free. I love being a librarian!

Room Progress Continues

2005-07-28T21:00:00.001-04:00

Room pictures

Well, the room continues to come along. The ceiling is completely up. We have quite a bit of the crown moulding put up too. I finished washing all the walls last night. I really hated that job! Now we're working on stripping the woodwork. If I thought everything that came before was bad, this is really bad. For some reason, I really detest stripping the woodwork. I'm not sure why this is. Maybe because it stinks and it's really detailed work (I'm more of a "big picture" kind of girl) and when you accidently get the stuff on you, it feels like its burning a whole in your skin. But, at least its coming along and all we have left to do are the windows.

2005-07-28T21:00:00.000-04:00

Room project

Progress is being made

2005-07-21T22:16:00.000-04:00

The progress continues on the bedroom renovation. I was too tired to get online last night to post the most recent pictures. So, these are a day late.

We worked on taking the wallpaper off the walls last night. We finished 1 1/2 walls. It is pretty hard work because there are a couple of layers of wallpaper topped with several layers of paint. But, we're continuing to make progress. Just not as quickly as I'd like. But after both Brian and I have already worked a full day at our jobs, we get pretty tired coming home and working for another couple of hours. We actually got almost all the wallpaper off tonight. Brian had started by the time I got home from work. We had just a little bit left and he quit and took a shower while I finished. I was determined to not quit until it was all off. So, I was really pleased with myself when I had scraped off the last little bit. And then I turned around and looked at the door. I forgot that there was a little strip next to the door that we hadn't done. It's a really hard strip because the scrapers are too big to fit between the door and the corner, so I didn't have it in me to fight with it tonight. UGH!

One good thing about doing this manual labor is that I've been sleeping like a rock. I haven't woken up once in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, when the alarm goes off in the morning, I'm still tired. I was completely wiped out today. I didn't know if I was going to make it. I'm really tired now and could go to sleep. The only problem is...I don't have a bed. I'm ready to get this project done just so I won't be displaced anymore.

Walls

wall

The work continues

2005-07-19T21:26:00.000-04:00

The work on my room has continued. We now have all the boards put up so that we can nail the drywall up. I also started pulling down wallpaper tonight as you can see in the picture below. Wow, there's really old wallpaper under there! I'm hoping to at least get the ceiling up before Mom comes home on Thursday. I've taken over her bedroom and if I can't get back into mine before she gets back, I guess I'm out on the street. Not really, but I don't want to spend another night on the couch. I've been informed by tonight's chef (Becky) that my dinner is ready. Gotta go! Hopefully, another progress report tomorrow.

Room progress

Ceiling progress

The ceiling project has started.

2005-07-16T19:09:00.000-04:00

Work has finally begun on my ceiling. Brian and I spent this afternoon tearing down the old ceiling. It was a really hard, dirty job. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of us before we took our showers, but we were completely black. We both said we've never been that dirty before in our lives!

The next step will be to actually put the new drywall up. I'm sure that will be a really hard job too. Hopefully, not as dirty as today's job though.

More follow ups to come!

My room with no ceiling

Ceiling

More room without a ceiling

Freedom to Read and the Intelligence to Interpret

2005-07-01T17:16:00.000-04:00

I just got back from the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago. Overall, I thought the conference was ok. I really didn't have any "aha" moments though. But, of course, Chicago is a fun place.

One event I went to though got me thinking about reading and Christians. It was at the Scholastic breakfast. The speaker was discussing a recent report about the decline of literary reading. I read the report when it first came out. But, I really began to think about how many people don't read during this breakfast. It's not that people can't read, they just don't (although illiteracy is a huge problem.) Being a reader myself, I can't imagine why people don't want to read. But, I also realize that I'm careful about what I read. In general, I don't read books that go against my beliefs. And I wonder if that doesn't limit my mind. Maybe it would be good for me to read books that are in conflict with my faith in order to strengthen my faith and exercise my mind. Because I would have to think to decide if something I'm reading doesn't line up with my values. Some books can be just as mind-numbing as television. It doesn't take any mental effort to understand what you're reading.

One quote from the breakfast really stuck with me. Several young people were interviewed about how the library had impacted their lives. One of them said that they weren't very good at reading, but since the library made him read, he realizes that the more you read, the better you get at it. How true! This made me think of my Sunday School class. When we read Scripture, we take turns reading aloud. Sometimes its shocking how unable people are to read a few verses out loud.

I like to read aloud. And, I think I'm pretty good at it. I think people should read to each other more. It's kind of an intimate thing to be read to. Or to read to someone. I think words have more power when they are spoken than just me hearing them in my own mind. It draws you close to each other -- the reader and the listener. Sometimes when I'm doing my devotions, I read the Bible out loud to myself. Even though I'm the reader and the listener, the power of the spoken Word is still there.

Try it. Read to your family, read to your friends, read to yourself.

Tigerlilly

2005-06-09T15:23:00.000-04:00

Tigerlilly
Originally uploaded by Librarygirlie.

This morning I went for my walk. I've fallen off the wagon lately as it has been hard for me to wake up.

When I came back home just before 7 am, I was getting a drink of water and looking out the kitchen window. I noticed some plants that were budding that I had not seen (or noticed) before. By the time I came back downstairs after my shower and getting dressed at 7:40 am, the bud had bloomed.

Amazing. How beautiful this world is that God created!

Digital Camera

2005-05-26T18:03:00.000-04:00

I'm having a really good time taking pictures with my new digital camera. I've also been trying out Flickr and it's really pretty neat. I've posted a new set - Hawaii pictures.

Adventures in Fitness

2005-05-19T17:10:00.000-04:00

So far, so good.

When I was in my late teens and early 20s, people told me that all the food I ate would catch up to me. I figured out that somewhere between 31 and 32, it found out where I live.

I've been a little blue lately and was seriously thinking about just not caring and getting really fat. But, then I decided that if I did that, I'd have to buy all new clothes. And as much as I like getting new clothes, I don't want it to be because I need a bigger size.

So, I decided that I'd start a running program. I've heard that running is the fastest way to lose weight. I started on Monday and I'm doing pretty good so far.

I thought that I would probably be too tired to run after work, so I decided that I would try to get up early in the morning and go before I go to work. I usually don't like to get up, so I wasn't sure how it would go. I'm doing pretty good though.

It's an eight week program (hopefully, I'll keep it up). If I can lose 1 lb per week, I'll be at a weight that I'm really happy with.

Since I got my new digi, I've been taking it with me in the mornings and taking pictures of interesting things while I'm walking/jogging. You can see my Flickr walk set by clicking on the picture at the left.

My Favorite Things

2005-05-10T17:01:00.000-04:00

I woke up this morning and was able to enjoy a few moments of one of my favorite things. I was laying in bed covered only by a sheet. I didn't have to have a pile of blankets 12 inches thick to be warm. It was a perfect moment. Not too hot, not too cold. Ahhhh, what a wonderful time of year.

Mother's Day Banquet Update

2005-05-09T17:13:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything.

Last Thursday the ladies at church had our annual Mother-Daughter Banquet. It was actually pretty fun this year for a change. (I have to admit that for the past couple of years, the theme has been pretty dumb. For instance, the mother-daughter sleepover at the church. I boycotted that one, by the way.)

Anyway, we had a mother-daughter look alike contest. I still think we were ripped off. We didn't win and I know that Mom, Becky and I looked the most alike since we were wearing masks made from a picture of Mom. If I can get ahold of the picture, I'll post it. It's so funny! I happen to think that people in my family have the best sense of humor. We are absolutely hilarious. Although, sometimes I think that we think we are funnier than other people think we are. But, I suppose that's half the fun! I feel sorry for people who are only children. They don't have any idea what they are missing in life. I also feel sorry for people who don't have a sense of humor. How boring life must be for them.

Then, we had a makeup demonstration. Becky was the makeup consultant showing the ladies how to apply their makeup flawlessly. However, I was hidden under her cape and I was the one applying makeup to her. So, it was pretty funny because she was covered in eyeshadow and lipstick by the time I was finished. The really funny part was that about half way through, one of the older ladies in the audience said "I think there's somebody else under there." Gee, do you think so?!

We had a really good speaker for the evening. It was Kim Musgrave, wife of the evangelist who's been at our church for revival several times. She has a beautiful voice and she writes songs. I'm blown away by the gift of songwriting that God has given her. What a wonderful talent! I love her songs because they tell stories. They're always about something that happened in her life, something real. And then she makes the connection between what has happened and what God is trying to say through her. I'm always just amazed.

Dreams

2005-04-27T10:31:00.000-04:00

I have been having the most bizarre dreams lately. Usually, I can figure out why I had a particular dream. For instance, last week I got an email from a guy I went to high school with. It was a joke email and I really didn't think it was that funny. Now, I haven't seen or talked to this guy for about a year (he's in library school now and I ran into him at a conference in Indy last year.) So a couple of days ago I had a dream that he was sitting next to me laughing his head off and I was really annoyed and kept telling him to shut up - which he wouldn't do. I completely understand why I dreamed that. It makes sense.

But last night, I had the weirdest dream ever and I can't figure it out. In my dream, Becky and I had been traveling somewhere and we were dropped off at either Sulphur Springs or Lynn (I don't know which it was.) And we were trying to find a taxi to take us home. There were tons of people everywhere in their own cars taxiing people around. So, we finally found someone who would drive us home for $1. Then my face swelled up really huge. Not only was it swollen, but it turned into buttons on a keyboard. I had letters and numbers all over my face. I could be typing this on my face. Then, I woke up. I still felt like my face was swollen. I had to get up and look in the mirror to be sure that it wasn't. I half expected to see the human alphabet in the mirror.

I think I'm losing my mind!

Thoughts on weddings, wives and marriage in general

2005-04-26T17:18:00.000-04:00

I just started reading The Meaning of Wife by Anne Kingston. I'm still within the first 50 pages and I haven't decided what the author's stance is on being a wife. Sometimes I think she's for it and yet other times I think she's a feminist who abhors the idea of submitting to another person, particularly a man.

The section I was reading last night got me thinking. It was saying that women only want to be a bride and not a wife. She was discussing the trend in the last 20 years or so of weddings taking over people's lives and just becoming huge spectacles. She has a point. I would say that many couples now spend more for their wedding than their parents spent on their first home. The author says that women want to be a bride to fulfill their childhood fairytale dreams of the perfect wedding. That we all want to be a princess for a day.

So, I've been thinking about how I view the idea of being a wife and how "society" views wives and how other women I've talked to who are wives feel about it. I'm not sure if I have the fairytale stuck in my mind that someday my prince will come and sweep me off my feet and we'll live happily ever after. Of course, that would be wonderful, but is that a possibility in real life. I've often asked myself in the past few years why I have this unquenchable desire to be married and have children if its not in God's plan for my life. And if it is in His plan, why hasn't it happened yet? Is Mr. Right out there? And why aren't we together yet?

Maybe I'm naive, but I do think that "happily ever after" is a real possibility. At least, I sure do hope so!

Homesick

2005-04-21T13:08:00.000-04:00

I've been homesick for heaven for the past couple of days. I was just listening to Selah sing If we never meet again this side of heaven by Albert E. Brumley. The words are beautiful. Praise God that we'll be together again, if not here on earth, then in heaven!

Soon we'll come to the end of life's journey
And perhaps we'll never meet anymore
'Til we gather in heaven's bright city
Far away on that beautiful shore

If we never meet again this side of heaven
As we struggle through this world and its strife
There's another meeting place somewhere in heaven
By the beautiful river of life

Where the charming roses bloom forever
And where separation come no more
If we never meet again this side of heaven
I will meet you on that beautiful shore

Oh so often we are parted with sorrow
And action often quietens our pain
But we never shall sorrow in heaven
God be with you till we meet again

Meeting, eating habits, and other musings.

2005-04-21T10:41:00.000-04:00

I was in Indianapolis yesterday for the INCOLSA Board annual meeting. I have been appointed to be our library's board representative. For the most part, it was what I expected of a board meeting. Secretary's report, treasurer's report, approving next year's budget, etc.

The report on the Digital Summit, however, had me bored to tears. Normally, I really enjoy hearing about technology and new things going on, but I really have no interest whatsoever in digitization. So, I was thinking about some things that I would blog about while the speaking was droning on (think Charlie Brown's teacher). But, of course I didn't write them down, and now I can't remember it all. Oh well.

I made an intersting self-observation yesterday. I realized sitting at lunch at the meeting yesterday that I have this habit of eating all of one food before I start eating the other foods on my plate. I ate all of my salad first, then I ate all of my mixed vegetables, then all the potatoes, then I ate the lasagna. So, I wondered if I always do this, or just sometimes. I came to the conclusion that when I'm eating with people I know and comfortable with, I eat a little bit of this, and then a little bit of that. And when I'm in a group where I don't really know anyone, I eat all of one thing before I start on another thing. Weird, huh?

I got really fired up the other day. I went to the drycleaners to pick some things up and drop some other things off and the workers were smoking. I saw red and asked to speak to a manager. I told him that I didn't pay them to make my clothes smell like smoke. Basically, all he said was we'll try better. I was so mad when I left that I was shaking. Needless to say, I'm never going there again!

A funny thing happened at the reference desk...

2005-04-14T15:18:00.000-04:00

I was just getting ready to leave work Tuesday evening when I was asked to come assist at the reference desk. We have a fairly new part-time employee working there and she was having trouble finding some information for a library patron.

Since the tax deadline is looming on Friday, the lady was looking for a tax form. When I asked her which one she was looking for, she replied "it's the purple and white one." Me: "Do you know the number of the tax form?" Her: "I don't know, it's the purple and white one." Around and around we went in this same manner for quite a while. I suppose I'm a bad reference librarian because I never could find the purple and white tax form.

Then, by the time I got back to my office, it was almost 6:00 and my coworkers who I share an office with had left and locked me out of the office. Which of course had my purse and car keys in it. I was told that they had just left and maybe I could catch them. So, I went running out of there like a maniac and caught them in the parking lot. Phew! When I came back in a man was standing there looking at books and he complimented me on how fast I could run in high heels.

So, the moral of the story is that I may not be able to find purple tax forms, but I sure can sprint in high heels.

Do people read blogs?

2005-04-12T10:35:00.000-04:00

I just read an article about a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll that says most Americans don't know what a blog is. I suppose that's true. I've just recently been turned on to blogs. But, I think its probably going to catch on.

I went to a workshop on reinventing libraries last week. It was really good. Great facilitators. And I got to hear a my new favorite tech person talk about the future of technology in libraries. And actually, after hearing him talk about 3 weeks ago, I came home and started this blog. But anyway, the workshop last week got me thinking about how technology is used in my library. I think technology is great and I like to have all the newest gadgets personally. I'm finding out that other libraries are really using some new technology in really interesting ways to reach their users. I get so excited because I really want to try some of this stuff in my library. Hence, my new library blog. Another thing that I'm trying is IM a Librarian. So, we'll see how that goes. But I started thinking that in New Castle people aren't really tech savy. We have a lot of blue collar workers and not many jobs that require people to be familiar with new technology. It's frustrating to me because I feel like the library is driving technology in my community and not the other way around. So, I don't know if this is good or bad. Somebody has to lead the way. It might as well be the library.

Funnies

2005-04-11T11:47:00.000-04:00

My friend Amanda sent me some funny emails this weekend. I thought I'd share a few. People in my office think I'm crazy because out of the blue I start laughing. Although, its kind of scary because they're getting to know my various noises pretty well. My boss can now tell the difference between my "I'm tired" sigh and my "this darn thing is not working" sigh and my "these people are morons" sigh. Maybe if I click my heels together three times and say over and over "there's no place like my own office, there's no place like my own office", it will really come true.

Anyway, here's the funnies:

Important life questions

Why do we press harder on the remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak?
Why do banks charge an "insufficient funds" charge when they know there's not enough?
Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?
How do those dead bugs get into the enclosed light fixtures?

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends, if they're okay, then it's you.

Today's thoughts

2005-04-09T12:04:00.000-04:00

It's been about a week since I've posted to my blog. It's been a busy week. I've been to 2 workshops and one training session. I feel as if I haven't spent much time in my office this week.

It is such a beautiful day today. It's warm, the sun is shining, the trees are beginning to bud. Another long winter has finally passed, and the promise of summer is on the wind. I love summer. The time when I can wear fewer clothes and no shoes. I can hardly wait!

I think I'll go out now and enjoy the day.

I'm hungry!

2005-04-04T10:42:00.000-04:00

So, I'm sitting here at work drinking REALLY bad coffee and thinking about food. Sometimes, I can't function at work because all I can think about is food. I meant to bring a banana from home, but I forgot. I decided that I'd better visit the snack cart. They just restocked it last week, so I thought I'd have a pretty good chance of getting my favorite, peanut butter on cheese crackers. When I arrived at the snack cart, I thought "Yes! There's plenty of crackers." Upon closer examination, I realized they are cheese on cheese. YUK! Life is so unfair.

The Counter

2005-04-01T16:23:00.000-05:00

So, I put a counter on my blog just because I thought it would be fun to see how many people have been visiting me. I really didn't expect anyone to because I've really only told 1 person where to find my blog. Now, I know that counters on webpages are not really reliable. I mean, come on, I just went to my own blog and clicked refresh and I added a count. But still, its a lot higher than what I would think that it would be. Who are these people that are looking at my blog?!

Or, Emily, is it you just hitting refresh over and over and over?

Quote for the day

2005-03-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

I ran across this quote in a management newsletter I'm reading.

Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence. --Author unknown

Books good enough to read over and over

2005-03-31T09:49:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about a conversation I had recently about reading books more than once. A friend of mine thought I was absolutely crazy for reading a book over. I don't think I'm crazy at all (or at least not for that reason.) So, I was discussing this with a coworker last week and she's like me - if a book is really good, we'll read it again. And we started to talk about which books we've read more than once. I'm thinking about using this idea for May's Staff Picks Newsletter at my library.

So here's my list of some books I've read at least twice:

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Day After Tomorrow by Allan Folsom
Lost Horizon by James Hilton

I'm sure there's more. I just can't think of them right now.

Thoughts for today

2005-03-29T18:10:00.000-05:00

I never knew that being a librarian could be so personally controversial to me. I have certain very strong personal beliefs. About right and wrong. About my own responsibilities as a Christian.

My Sunday School class has been doing a study called "That the World May Know". It's really good and talks about how God placed Israel at the crossroads of the world so that they could be an influence for Him on the world. The application for me is how am I to be an influence at my crossroad where He has placed me?

So, while I'm a Christian and believe that pornography is morally wrong, I'm a librarian who believes that people should be able to have unfiltered internet access. Not so they can access porn, but so they can have freedom to live without others telling them what is right. Even though I happen to believe that what I think is right and pornography shouldn't even exist.

It's sometimes very hard to get these issues to come into line with my personal beliefs. I suppose its an issue of having to live in the world, but not be of the world. John 15:19

Frustration

2005-03-25T23:00:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting here at the computer getting extremely frustrated. I thought that maybe since I've decided to be one of the "Blog People" (see Michael Gorman's LJ article) that I should have high speed internet. I'm beginning to think that it just isn't meant to be. None of the DSL providers seem to have access for my area (or at least my phone number) and cable is highway robbery. At least for now, the super-slow dialup seems to be working alright.

2005-03-25T19:58:00.000-05:00

Maybe I'll just go back to the Hawaiian paradise and forget it all.

My first time

2005-03-25T17:40:00.000-05:00

Ahhhh, my first time. Blogging, that is. So, I'm completely new to blogging, and I'm not sure what this blog will be about yet. I think I'll just go with it and see what happens. It might be work related, it might be personal, it might just be my own soapbox.

As with all things, practice makes perfect. So, stay tuned and we'll see if I get better at this blogging thing.