Lovely

A commenter sent me a link to a blog, where I found a link for this video, which I just had to share. I'm really starting to appreciate the beauty of all this interconnectedness. You'll understand why if you watch the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QVQSZA9zSk

Blogs, Blogs, Everywhere

So, at the urging of the 23 Things masters I have gone wandering in the blogosphere looking for library blogs of interest. Or failing that, just blogs of interest. I'm sort of a hard sell for blogs. I frequently feel behind on all the various media that I am already trying to keep up with, so anything that gets added to the stack had better deal with a topic that I am passionate about and it had better be entertaining. In a pinch, I'll settle for just entertaining.

Certainly I am passionate about libraries, but I am not passionate about every aspect of libraries, so blogs that focus on medical libraries or services for children just aren't going to hold my interest. My professional passion is readers' advisory, but I can only read so many book reviews before my head explodes, so a blog devoted exclusively to reviewing isn't going to make me a regular reader either.

I already frequent the readers' advisory blog run by Libraries Unlimited (the publishers who bring us the Genreflecting series), which can be found at http://www.readersadvisoronline.com/. This is great one-stop shopping for readers' advisory news. Readers get regular updates on newly released titles, book awards of all kinds, and discussions on a variety of readers' advisory topics. The posts are usually fairly short, and written with enough flair to keep me from getting bored.

While toodling around the Internet today, I discovered a nice little blog called A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy. The blog seems to focus largely on YA lit, so I don't expect to become a regular reader - I'm sorry YA fans, I just don't have time to keep up with adult fiction and the teen stuff too - but I did enjoy the post about the current state of book reviewing and why we need it. If that is a topic that interests you at all, check it out: http://yzocaet.blogspot.com/2008/10/we-dont-need-no-stinking-book-reviews.html. Also, any blog that takes its name from a Buffy the Vampire Slayer quote gets points in my book.

I will mention one last site that isn't exactly a blog, but feels awfully similar. Award-winning author Orson Scott Card (best known for his 1985 novel Ender's Game) writes a regular column for his local newspaper in North Carolina called Uncle Orson Reviews Everything. He then posts that column on his website at http://www.hatrack.com/osc/reviews/everything/index.shtml. The column is true to the title, and he reviews everything from television shows to sock brands to, of course, books. Card isn't afraid to call 'em like he sees 'em, and even when you disagree with him his column/blog makes for entertaining reading.

What We Need - the Movers and Shakers Speak

The October 1, 2008 issue of Library Journal has an article that spoke both to me and for me. LJ spoke with previous Movers and Shakers honorees to find out their take on job satisfaction and the place of innovation in the library workplace. I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with the sentiments expressed. If you want to know what makes this librarian tick, and what she would ask for from her employers if she could, check out the article. http://www.libraryjournal.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA6598080

The 7 1/2 Habits and Me

Participants of the 23 Things program have been asked to blog about which of the 7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners we find easiest and most difficult. If you aren't familiar with these habits you can check them out here: http://www.plcmc.org/public/learning/player.html.

For myself, I find that Habit #4 comes pretty easily: "Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner." With few exceptions (high school gym class comes to mind, as does my ill-fated attempt to learn the oboe), I have always considered myself capable of grasping whatever I chose to learn. Even in the cases that I just mentioned, I would have to admit that my failure to learn had more to do with lack of effort and interest on my part than on ability. Maybe. Have you ever tried to get a decent sound out of an oboe? But I digress.

Habit #1 forms my biggest stumbling block among the 7 1/2. "Begin with the end in mind." Setting a goal and a concise plan to reach that goal isn't something I'm terrible at, but I do have a tendency to jump into a new project or interest head first. While I get points for enthusiasm, this approach often leaves me feeling overwhelmed and follow through can become a problem. Setting reasonable goals and tailoring my activities to meet those goals might give me more satisfying learning experiences, as well as a stronger grip on my sanity. Who knows -- with this approach, I might even be able to handle skills that had previously seemed out of my reach. Now where did I put that oboe?

Introduction

Welcome to the maiden voyage of There and Back Again, A Librarian's Tale. This blog is being created as part of the 23 Things training program designed to introduce library staff to the many interesting features of Libraries 2.0. http://sapllearns-syllabus.blogspot.com/ I will be blogging about my 23 Things journey and whatever else comes to mind. If librarianship, web 2.0, books, or random ramblings interest you, then stick around!