CAL 2010 Pt. 2

The Anythink libraries do a lot of things differently, other than dumping Dewey. One of the things I liked a lot was that they combined JF books with JF audiobooks. I think this would help our circs for audiobooks because parents often want the book and the audiobook at the same time and if they were next to each other on the shelves it would be that much easier for them to find. In general, I love how dumping Dewey allows you to put materials pretty much wherever you want. Whenever I go to a new library or bookstore I check out their music area. At the Anythink libraries, the music books, magazines, dvds and cds are all in the same spot! Brilliant! And, of course, this is true for other subjects, as well. As a patron, I would love this. I love the concept that they are trying to make their libraries more like community centers than research facilities.

One keynote speaker suggested that libraries are becoming more like kitchens and less like grocery stores. A place to use things, to do things, rather than just a place to get things. That came from the keynote address from George Needham and Joan Frye Williams. www.georgeandjoan.com. They had a lot of good things to say. For example, they suggest that libraries should be more concerned with transformation than information. Helping to transform people's lives rather than just provide them with info. Also, that we are here to share materials, not to guard them. They pointed out that we often presume guilt of patrons and that we need to focus on relationships rather than transactions. Another point they made was that we must learn to help patrons on their terms. We have to think about the civilian point-of-view.

Well, I did pick up more than that at CAL but that is all that I have coherent notes on, so I'll leave it at that.

CAL 2010 Pt. 1

Going to CAL for the first time was a great experience for me. I learned a lot and got inspired a lot.

One of the best parts about driving to Loveland was that Donna, Sharlene, Randalee and I got to stop at two of the Anythink branches. These libraries are AMAZING! We were all blown away! We were given a tour and we were grinning the entire time. The non-Dewey system is impressive but there a lot of other things about Anythink that are great, too. These are brand-new libraries with beautiful architecture and design. The spaces are so inviting! It was hard to leave. I highly recommend that any and all library employees go visit if they can. I have some photos that I'd love to share, as soon as I figure out how to upload them to this blog and/or the wiki. http://www.anythinklibraries.org/

Quite a few of us attended the workshop put on by Anythink on Thursday morning. We got a lot of great ideas to use for the Fruita branch and perhaps the whole district, in the future. I really hope we do end up going all Dewey-free. It makes a lot of sense to me.

Since I am always on the info desk, I think I'll write these posts about CAL in parts, because I don't really have the time to write about it all in one sitting. So this ends Pt. 1.

Sept. Task - LibGuide

It's good to know about this. I doubt I'll ever have an opportunity to suggest it to a patron, while working in the children's center, but you never know. I got an 83.3333333 % on the quiz. I couldn't find the League of Women Voters info.

August - Critical Past and Food Safety

Almost everything that came up on Critical Past that happened on October 11th had something to do with war. Kind of a bummer. Although there was one video of a man taking a watch out of his pocket and looking at it. Why is this of historical significance? It's not even of hysterical significance (that was Davey B.). Most of the footage on this site has to do with WWII. I realize that this is important for us to remember but, geez, can we see some more non-war footage, please?

As for the minimum cooking temperature of pork. It is perfectly fine to eat pork raw. Preferably soaked in egg yoke that has been sitting out for a day or two. Either that or if you're a wimp you can cook it so that it reaches at least 160 degrees. Either way. Oh, and also, one of these methods will make you die.

Blindness

I'm almost finished reading Blindness by Jose Saramago. It's one of the best books I've ever read. I was turned onto this book by seeing the movie (which I didn't know was based on a book until I saw the credits). The movie was pretty disappointing but the idea was fascinating so I thought the book might be better. So, yeah, it is. Have any of you read this? If so, what did you think? It's translated from Portuguese, so I wonder what the original is like. The writing style is singular to say the least. Wonderfully unique and poetic while still always sticking to the story at hand. If you haven't read it, you should.

CAL!

Gail just informed me that she'll be sending me to The Colorado Association of Libraries Conference 2010, in October. I got really excited until she explained that it's nothing like Spring Break Miami. I guess there'll be, like, programs about library stuff, 'n' things. But, seriously folks, I am looking forward to going to CAL. They've got some programs scheduled that I think will be very interesting and hopefully enlightening. I'm wondering who else is going?

This job is weird sometimes

Gail made me wear a colander on my head today. She also tried to make me sing but I do have standards. It was one of the strangest programs ever. I'm pretty sure there are about 50 kids who now think that The War of The Worlds was real and that Mars is fiction.

Another thing that is weird - the word "weird". I always second-guess myself as to how to spell it. Both "weird" and "wierd" look weird to me. Go 'head and marinate on that.

Feb Task: Learn-A-Test

I took the grammar practice test and it was helpful to refresh my memory on a few grammatical rules. I can't really imagine how I would ever use this at the library, but it's good to know about.

June - Newseum's Front Pages

I'm going to be very honest here. Even if it doesn't paint me in a flattering light. I don't pay any attention to the news at all. I don't read newspapers or watch television. I do keep up on music and movies and books, but that's about it. So, personally, I have no use for this Website. And I can't really see how I would ever use this at work, either. Maybe that's because I'm in Children's. I'm not sure. I wish I could post something more positive. C'est la blog.

July: New OPAC

I have to admit that change is not always easy for me. In the training meeting it seemed like the new OPAC was going to be great. But using it is a little frustrating for me. I think that's mostly just because it's different from what I've become accustomed to. It does bother me that when searching for cds, the artist's name doesn't always come up in the general search. Once you are looking at the specific record you can see the artist's name, though. Nancy T. assured me that this is not a Marmot error but an omission on the part of whoever created the record. Shame! I kid. Other than that, I am sure I will soon feel like I can't live without the new OPAC!

Hello. St. Mary's Baby is Trevor from Youth Services.

This is a reference to being a GJ native. They used to deliver babies at Community Hospital, too, but not any more. I wonder why. Could it be that the babies born there just weren't as awesome as the St. Mary's Babies? Perhaps.

I have never blogged before and am generally not very computer savvy. I am hoping that participating in Webolution will help with that. I use iTunes, and Facebook daily but not much else (other than what we all use at work), so I've got me some learnin' to do.