CPD 23: Thing 23

Thing 23 at last!  Who would have guessed it could have arrived so soon?
A six word story for such a long journey? 
Always challenged; Sometimes overwhelmed; Never bored.

While It is always empowering to be finished, that feeling of satisfaction is followed swiftly by a letdown and a challenge.  What to pursue next?  What do with all my "free" time before it evaporates back into the general pool of nameless tasks?  While I signed up for this course bent on knowledge and enlightenment, I do hope that somewhere down the line we receive a generic certificate of completion we can download for continuing education purposes.My tech buddy Pat and I have decided we still want to hold our Tech Thursdays.  It is up to us though to discover new topics, a task that is more overwhelming than challenging.

Aside from specific knowledge, I feel the my most valuable gain has been a feeling of confidence when confronted with new technology--more of a "Yes, I can!" attitiude.  Last week my old home computer finally entered Ghostworld and while transferring files and learning new procedures is not anything I would likely call fun, at least I havn't been afraid to click away at it.  I realize that there are many paths to the same result and likely I will discover at least one of them.

Currently, we are developing a Strategic Plan for our library and the SMART Goals remind me of this, but from an obviously more personal point of view.  I can see close attention to them being vital for job interview success or yearly evaluation planning.

Easier to manipulate is the Personal Development Plan which I can see myself utilizing more readily.  I like to take one step at a time in developing a project and this seems a readily defined way to do it.  Primarily my PDP would include developing a better relationship with technology, starting with my new computer.  Eventually, it would include incorporating  more of the programs we have learned about into my daily life--making some of them as second nature to me as emailing is now.

The Beginning
laura clark

CPD23: Thing 22

Volunteering in general is a good thing.  Theoretically, volunteering at a library when you are unable to land a position could also be a good thing. IF you have the disposable time and income. IF you are guaranteed meaningful projects. With library schools in the States now requiring internships, one would hope a prospective librarian would have already acquired at least some practical experience. If this is not the case, it may be possible to work as a part time clerk or substitute librarian to get an "in."

Personally, I have never had the luxury of delaying employment.  My graduation from library school coincided with the birth of my first child.  If I wanted to work I had to at least make enough to afford day care.  Plus, my degree took a long time to obtain.  At first I worked full time while going to grad school.  After I married and moved, I took as many credits as I could in a nearby college.  Finally, whne my husband returned once more to fight in Vietnam, I moved closer to home base and was able to finish up.  I was proud of the degree that took me so long to get and I felt I should be able to get "full value."
        by laura clark

That much said, with my husband's military career I moved around a lot and did not have the luxury of waiting until a position miraculously opened up. Since I also had teacher qualifications, I substituted at all levels from preschool special ed through high school and  became the substitute librarian.  This also led to a position with City Colleges of Chicago as an adjunct professor teaching writing and library science., not to mention several library positions in school and public libraries.

Not all of these jobs were true career path opportunities, but they led there and I acquired valuable knowledge along the way.  Perhaps someone who is currently working has more pull than someone who does not seem as serious about entering the real world.

CPD 23: Thing 21

My Strengths on the Job: Working with kids and parents, communicating via the printed word, organizing, getting along with different personalities, a deep appreciation of the printed /electronic word, a drive to help/encourage others in their own pursuits.

Leisure Activities: Any sports that do not involve a ball, round or otherwise.  I am tempted to define these pursuits as individualized sports, but really, even in a race you are still running with people.  My main interests are trail running and snowshoe racing.  Free-lance sports writing. Reading. Gardening. Race directing.  Cooking and baking.

I did OK with the initial digital revolution when things progressed at a much slower pace.  Now, however, my skills have been overwhelmed by the explodingly complex landscape.  I need more confidence to both investigate and yes, even reject, some aspects of the new technology.  Which is one of the reasons I signed up for 23 Things.

At work, I achieve a deep satisfaction from helping someone connect with a good book or discover necessary information.  Off duty it comes from surviving a difficult trail challenge, introducing others to my favorite sports, fitting words together.  Simply getting outdoors and enjoying nature works too.

While our library bears little resemblence to the newly popular Forest Kindergarten, I have translated my love of nature into hosting family nature programs.  Quinn, our Reading Therapy Dog, is a weekly visitor and I organize seasonal family nature activites involving a hike, treasure hut and a resulting craft.  We have invited live animals indoors with a Beyond Harry Potter's Hedwig owl program, a seasonal Reindeer in the Library Open House, LLamas in the LLibrary, etc. 
I have worked on a 5K Run for Literacy as a prelude to our Summer Reading Program.
And I enjoy writing On the lighter side, an in-house library chronicle.

I enjoy where my job is taking me and feel lucky to have one where I get to play, learn, explore and create.
I am even getting to the point where I enjoy technology.  As long as it doesn't make me do math.
 by laura clark

CPD23: Thing 20

Library Roots:  I had always liked to read and write stories and figured I would become a teacher, not knowing what else to do with these two preferences.  It wasn't until I reached high school where we actually had a library and a librarian that I realized this could be an actual profession.  Although I had been frequenting our public library for years, for some reason I didn't make the connection there.  And that was most likely due to the welcoming nature of the high school librarian who had an easy way of relating to teens.  Eventually, I did work at our local public library too, but decided I preferred to work with kids.  Again, I have no idea why I never figured out that kids went to the public library as well.  Which is kind of funny since I am now a Children's Librarian at a public library.

Library Routes:  Still focused, I enrolled in graduate school while financing myself through teaching.  Over the years I have worked in both Department of Defense elementary school and high school libraries and even taught some college-level library and writing courses.  I beleive I have the best of both worlds now: working with both children and parents in the public library system.

While many folks on the wiki seem to have discovered librarianship quite by accident, for me it had always been a plan.  What has come about by happenstance are the variety of jobs I have held in this profession.  I have worked in Germany, Kwajalein, Marshall Islands and in the US with kids, college students and parents in school, college and public libraries.  Where else could you get that variety?

My advice I guess would be to stay focused on your ultimate goal but to remain open to where that goal might take you.

laura clark

CPD23: Thing 18, Round 2



With the help of our library computer wizard, we discovered we were not as incompetent as we originally thought.  Above is my map of how to get to our library, complete with tour guide voice over.

I shared this with a librarian who works in our county system and she was thrilled to learn that there is free software out there that does such a good job as she was considering purchasing a package.

CPD23: THING 17 Prezi

I wonder what Dr. Seuss would have done with Thing 17? It took an unexpectedly long time for this particular Thing to come on the scene and it did not disappoint in level of difficulty. In fact, my partner Patty and I switched our Tech Thursdays to Tech Tuesdays to take advantage of our computer lab's late afternoon troubleshooting forum. But like Sally and her brother, we plunged in, experimented, and netted our prey.

Having never ever designed a power point presentation, I could not have proceeded in solo formation. Running with the idea thet a picture is worth a thousand words, we decided to showcase our weekly Parent/Child Workshops since we always find ourselves describling this multifaceted program to prospective parents.

For our inital venture, we did not to convert our images to pdf since they seemed to work fine as long as we stuck with smaller profiles. While it was fun to see what the more experienced prezi makers had come up with, we went with the "keep it simple, stupid" motto. While not polished, we were satisfied with this first attempt:

Parent Child Workshop on Prezi

Following up with random incidents of synchronicity:

The head of our Youth Services section was excited to see what we had done and is considering using Prezi for one of her presentations.

Our public computer lab teacher is giving us a handout she had one of her volunteers compile about navigating Prezi.

So we hope to upgrade for a slideshare worthy production or perhaps tackle something new altogether.

CPD23: THING 18

I am so glad THING 17 has chosen not to appear on the screen as yet! THING 18 took sufficient toll on our energy reserves. While this THING loomed rather threateningly, once my Tech Thursday buddy, Pat, and I got down to business, it proved to be more fun than bluster.

For our screencast, we chose the free screencast-o-matic software, ignored the truly incomprehensible video that comes with the software and stuck with Book Gryphon's advice. We had the brilliant thought that we would attempt something that might actually be of some use to our library, so we developed a map tracing possible driving routes.

I slugged it out for the Northerners and Pat chose the Southern route. After some handgrabber routing practice, we donned our headsets and confidently took the controls. What we got was a nice demonstration of the route minus the sound. Which was probably a good thing. We also learned how actors feel when they giggle their way through a series of hilarious but ultimately, from a production standpoint at least, unsuccessful outtakes. A good time was had by all.

Next week we will make an appointment with our computer lab person to figure out why the sound portion eluded us.

As far as Podcasts, I skimmed some of the instructional notes and decided that would be an entirely different THING for me to attempt after these THINGS are completed. One step at a time!
laura

CPD23: THING 19

1,2,3...14,15,16,19 What is wrong with this sequence? While I consider myself severly math challenged, even I notice the discrepancy. But since Iam already behind in lessons, I thought I would pick and choose, especially since Thing 17 hasn't even introduced itself yet. Truthfully, my learning buddy Patty and I have a good idea for our screen capture but are waitng to discover a block of time we can work together.

So...here goes. I am grateful to this catcup summary for putting the past lessons in a meaningful order. Like most of us, I imagine, I have been checking off assignments with no clue that they meshed together like chapters in a book: social media, personal organization methods, professional development, production skills. A true Lightbulb moment!

I imagine the most useful Thing so far is my new-found ability to blog. After this class is over, I hope to set up an entirely new blog with some of my book reviews and other writings.

I was excited to discover Google Doc, hoping that just maybe my husband and I could stay better attuned to each other's schedules, but he decided he would rather live spontaneously. We did both join LinkedIn, however, and hopefully will share some business acquaintances.

One aspect I have enjoyed is the ability to explore others' blogs. This adds a depth and a practical aspect to the experience. And I am excited to experiment with Thing 17 and the"picture is worth a thousand words" concept.

But by far the most useful Thing isn't really a Thing at all, but more abstract. Especially for someone born into the era of rotary phones and manual typewriters. It is the assurance that comes from at least being able to recognize some of the terms other bandy about so casually and confidence to give it a go.

CPD23: THING 16

While some of the publications mentioned pertain more to those living on the other side of the pond, the idea of advocacy is universal. I heard on the news the other day that in America lobbyists are the most influential members of the US government. They are not elected, but rather paid to advocate for certain interests. This, of course, is the difference. It is their full-time job, while advocacy for us is tacked onto an already too-full day.

Although I am a freelancer, outside of a few informal newsletters, I have made a semi-conscious decision not to write for library publications. At times I am tempted, but there are only so many hours in a day and for me at least, it is important to have a break. So I write about my fitness passions: trail running and snowshoe racing. At the tag line of my articles, I include my library email and it always amazes me how many folks contact me through this hint. When relevant, I quote from authors who coincidently "are available in our local public library." Once a year I do a sports roundup of books and DVDs of interest to runners. Best yet, is when I run or organize or volunteer at a local race and I hear kids shout, "There's the Library Lady!" I believe this makes me more approachable and ultimately,of greater local value than walking the straight and narrow.

laura clark

CPD23: Thing 15

Over the years I have attended NYLA (NY State Library Association) and PLA (Public Library Assoc) conferences as well as smaller, systems-wide gatherings. I have also spent one full day at the ALA (American Library Association) expo. From the latter experience, I know that I unequivocably do better at smaller events for the same reason I have narrowed my shopping preferences to thrft shops, Target and JC Pennys--I like the style, I know what size fits (not always a given in our supersized world where, although the same weight, I am no magically a size 6 and no longer a 10). Either it's there or it's not and no point fretting over multiple choices.

At NYLA and at smaller systems events I have give brief talks on our summertime Book Buddy program and on various craft ideas. Some time I would also like to take a barnyard approach and discuss our Animals in the Library programs. Besides the fairly common reading dogs, we have llamas, we have webcammed our hatching chicks, we host an elaborate reindeer/author program and have even made room for the occasionaly Iditrod musher and seeing eye pony. Animals are an international magnet that guarantees a farmyard full of folks who otherwise might not even consider a library visit.

My husband and I organize road, trail and snowshoe races. One year I did organize a 5K for NYLA and it was a bit of a flop as far as attendance went--but next spring my director and I are thinking of producing the Read/Run 5k--a successful event that was dropped by the Literacy Volunteers due to cutbacks. We would gear it around our popular Summer Reading Program, with the goal of getting every kid walking or running in the Summer Reading Library Tshirt. Sounds like a good idea anyway, now that it is far enough in the future that I don't have to worry about it yet!
laura clark

CPD 23: THING 14

WOW! I wish I had had one of these reference management systems when I was going to grad school. But in my time, the Selectric typewriter, which would erase mistakes and even recall a few lines of text,was as far as we went. Imagine what I could have done with the countless hours I spent agonizing over bibliographic form! But then too, less was expected because access to resources was more limited.

When I experimented with Zotero, I was reminded of a virtual file cabinet system, all ready to rearrange. Then I ruefully thought of my free lance paper filesin my home office, where all my writing is tucked neatly into folders, but with no cross referencing. Should I reconvert everything or just have a before and after system?

Mendeley sounded like extreme overkill for my situation plus I really don't need to or want to share extensively with others. It's not like I am doing scientific research. And speaking of research, is so much sharing dangerous? How much do you really want others to know about your work with the carrot of the Nobel Prize hanging above your computer?

Moving right along...I liked the idea that with CiteULike you could upload your pdfs and access them from any computer. I have sometimes emailed myself in-process documents so I will be able to open them on a different computer. THat works fine, but only if you remember to email the pdfs!

As a Children's Librarian, I really wouldn't have need for any of these tools in the course of my workday, but they would definitely be helpful if I were writing an extensive article for publication.
laura

CPD23 THING 13

Thing 13 definitely was anything but unlucky for me. I had a rush document to complete and my colleague at work who is also enrolled in CPD23 is home sick. She had just set up her Google.Doc account so I killed two birds with one stone (not her--this assignment and the work job) by google.docing her my ms word draft. YES!!! I found google.doc incredibly easy to use and anticipate similar work applications.

My daughter is a full time free lance writer, while I limit myself to a few publications. Frewuently, we share our work and next time I will try the google.doc approach.

I did talk to another librarian here who uses google.doc to connect with other members for the community-wide Saratoga Reads! Program. She mentioned that they have switched to Dopbox since some members had difficulty receiving google.docs. Since we are not allowed to personally install new features on work computers, I guess I will wait and monitor my success rate.
Til 14 strikes!
laura

CPD23: THING 12 Social Networking

Social Networking is not my strong point. Or rather, I take it on my own terms, mostly relying on email contacts. Lack of time is one factor, but also to me email seems more like heading into a specialized store instead of a seven layer department store.

I imagine a big appeal of social networking is in its sychronicity, the idea that you can discover long-lost friends or discover similar interests with people from all over the country. Because I do some free lance writing on the side, I also experience this synchronicity through email in the course of my writing assignments--something that I may not otherwise experience if I did not have this outlet.

As part of this course, a few weeks ago I joined Linked In. In an effort to actually use it I went back today--a few weeks after joining--and scanned the list of folks knocking on my door. I added some local librarians and a few magazine editor contacts and will see what happens. I am actually looking forward to a more focused approach to supplement random emails.

However, along with local folks on the list who I do not really know, there was my daughter's old college roommate. They had never kept in touch
So how did she find me? I'm guessing she didn't and LinkedIn somehow did which is even scarier. She and my daughter had a falling out and my daughter isn't even on LinkedIN. Makes me want to rethink.

Advantages to social networking rather than person-to-person contact? Obviously it is more informal and if things don't go anywhwere it is no big deal. And more spontaneous, with the possibility of meeting folks from all over the world. Also more directed--rather than wasting time on chitchat you can get right to the point and post your concern.

So far with CPD23 I have enjoyed reading all the various posts but have not contacted anyone directly. Perhaps LinkedIN will change things. What I do intend to do as a result of this class is create another blog to post some of my writings with the goal of perhaps publishing someday. I figure I could advertise the blog on the author notes at the bottom of my magazine articles--now all I need is the time!

I believe social networking does foster a wider sense of community based on interests rather than location. Plus you can have specific friends who are interested in the same things you are. I still don't understand, though, how folks have time for all their friends!

CPD23: THING 11

My weak spot is technology. When I graduated from library school, filmstrips and hand-cranked purple inked mimeo machines were all the rage. Twenty years later, our island (Kwajalein, Marshall Islands) had one public access science lab computer that folks could use to email relatives on the mainland. I did not get any consistent hands-on computer experience (I am not counting PacMan) until moved to NY.

It is amazing to me how much technology has exploded since then. Leaving me somewhat behind. Hence, this course. While I have enough to do without constantly monitoring twitter, facebook, wordpress, etc. I still need to know how this stuff works. Or at least download images from my camera.

So I have asked my unofficial mentor, Pat Raftery, to become my official mentor. We both work together Thursday nights and for the past few months have held "Tech Thursday" sessions for my benefit. We are taking this course together and reserve that time to work on our projects.
laura

CPD23: THING 10

I currently am a Children's Librarian at Saratoga Springs Public Library in upstate New York. As a child, I had always been attracted towards the teaching profession, in a large part because it was familiar to me. This was way back when it was the rare elementary school that had a library. When I achieved high school status, I was excited to discover the library and immediately attached myself to the librarian. Partly in self-defense, I imagine, she helped me secure an after school job as a shelver in our local public library.

I was impressed to learn of all the schooling and interning British librarians in-training undergo. Here, all I needed was and undergrad degree and then an MLS. We were just turned loose, to sink or swim with no practical training in how to actually run a library. Rather scary.

Fortunately, the only position available on the military base in Heidelberg, Germany where my husband was stationed was that of school library clerk, where the librarian became my mentor. I shudder to think what would have happened to me without her!

I have held a range of positions, from elementary school librarian in Heidelberg and Weisbaden, to adjunct teacher of Library Science for City Colleges of Chicago, to public librarian in the Marshall Islands.

I am NOT looking forward to moving around anymore and since Saratoga is a large library with plenty of resources, there really is no need. I consider myself fortunate to have found a job I love.

CPD23: Thing 9 Evernote

We did get Evernote installed on two of our library's computers and Patty and I spent our Tech Thursday experimenting. The website itself walked us through the basic steps, but we found that any deviation was by no means intuitive.

I spent a frustrationg half hour attempting to download a desktop picture until Patty unleashed the right click button. We had both assumed that the picture would automatically appear. Same with Patty's camera. She took a cell phone picture of me, sent it to her special evernote email and it took a long while for us to track down where it actually landed. Something a computer geek would just "know."

Every spring we hatch chicks in the Children's section and this year we got high tech with a webcam. Parents and kids soon became addicted and were losing sleep. We even went international with visitors from England--perhaps some were other CPD students. With the seamless way Evernote can integrate notes, photos and webcams and link onto facebook and twitter, we are hoping to put it to use next spring to enhance our chick viewing.

The sync capabilities are truly amazing--the hare's answer to the tortoise's little scraps of paper. Now I can see how Evernote can afford to offer limited free access. Limited will soon become just that--too restrictive for what you are tempted to do.
laura

CPD23: THING 8, Google Calendar

I had no idea Google had an online calendar and was thrilled to discover this neat organizational tool. I set mine with just one event to start which was a good thing as the learning curve, for me at any rate, was by no means intuitive. Although I saved my date, it took 6 tries and my co-worker's help to figure out that to get the item to appear on the calendar I had to click my name. So when I sent my calendar to her she received 6 copies of the same item! Good thing we like each other.

I am looking forward to using this calendar to replace the little scraps of paper I stuff in my pocket. Which works out failry well except when I am wearing an outfit with no pockets. This happens a lot with summer sundresses.

I am also looking forward to emailing my calendar to my husband so he will know what is going on. I know this is optimistic of me, but I'm willing to give it a go!
laura

CPD23: THING 7 Professional Organizations

You can aleady tell what side of the pond I am from by the way I spell organizations!

As soon as I returned Stateside from my stint as a public librarian in the Marshall Islands, I joined ALA, hoping to enhance my job search potential. Bear in mind that this was in 1993 when internet was in its infancy and folks still had card catalog (note spelling) withdrawal. Luckily, I found a job in my new hometown and so never needed the credentials. But I retained my membership. I tend to get overwhelmed by Largeness, so I have mostly stuck with PLA, a branch of ALA, which is more specific to my needs. I have been fortunate enough to have benefitted from several PLA conferences, enhancing my outlook on what is possible.

Locally, I have joined the Youth Services Group of the New York State Library Association and have enjoyed meeting some of the same folks at various events. Even more locally, I participate in workshops offered by Southern Adirondack Association and have even give brief presentations at some. I tend to favor those with a practical, hands-on flavor. Lately, however, I have become interested in ebook publishing and am trying to learn all I can, realizing, of course, that whatever knowledge I glean will soon be out of date. Emailing my techie colleagues has certainly helped!

Ok--Who can resist the extra credit carrot? I investigated SLA, which seems to be the British equivalent of our American School Library Association. Looking at the various book awards I was surprised at how few of the titles I recognized. And we speak the same language! When I got to the book about "maths," however, I got it. In America we would say "math."

Mostly, though, I related to Jo Alcock's blog. I am definitely and introvert who has taught college level courses and could never figure out exactly how I could do it when I am a total wallflower at social occasions. Now I know!

CPD23: THING 6

As a disgruntled member of Facebook, I have been looking for a new social networking site. Originally, I joined Facebook since our running club was looking for a quick message center, but soon got overwhelmed by the random friends knocking on my screen. Plus, there are the security issues. When my screen became compromised and I was asked to select a new password, I decided it was time to jump ship. However, I learned that you never truly avoid the sharks, since I am still on the roll call and occasionally get notifications. Live and learn, I guess.

Happily ever after, our club has since joined wordpress where there is more control and a limited, content managed audience.

As a result of Thing 6, I investigated LinkedIN only to be surprised that I was already a member! I had forgotten that I had joined in 2009. But this time around I actually posted a picture and additional information. I am trying to decide now how much more info I wish to post. I have naturally joined the CPD group and am investigating others. I like to take Things gradually...As for security, my husband is a financial adviser and that is the only networking site his company allows him to join in a business capacity. So I feel as if I have turned the key and locked the door.

So I guess I have checked out of the BBQ and entered the office. So much for summer vacation!

As for the other suggestions, I was intrigued by Librarians as Teachers since we all are teachers in one capacity or another, but I am not sure I will join. At this point it seems to be way beyond the preschool/elementary developmental stage that I deal with. And, truthfully, I felt that I would rather stick with ALA than CILIP since ALA is on my side of the pond and I have enough here to deal with.

Now all I have to do is this time around remember I am a LinkedIn member and get with the program!

CDP23: Thing 5 Reflection

Reflection is like a diary, but more focused. More detailed and less random than those little slips of paper that clutter your desk or your nightstand. More structured like my running log where I write date, distance, place, owls seen, tree frogs counted, or on a down day, aches and pains. Although I should argue that any time outdoors comprises a good day.

Too often I attend a conference, get all fired up, and upon returning immediately get sucked back down into the vortex of routine and business. That is why I like this CDP23 series so much. Even when it is not an official reflection time, that process is still built in as we blog about each lesson.

I am a somewhat reluctant techie, having been trained when overhead projectors and microfilm were all the rage. While I have embraced email, much of the rest, for me, is rather like a graphic novel. My eyes dart hither and yon and never seem to settle. Too much input as on Twitter and not enough content.Perhaps if I quit my day job and my after job job I would have time to deal with all this. I certainly admire folks who do and can seem to handle all this information. I am jealous, but only partially tempted.

What I really enjoy, and this may be obvious by now,is blogging and I can see that becoming a part of my life. And I am grateful. I am currently toying around with setting up a personal blog with some of my writings. Folks say "You should write a book." And I think, "Yeah, but who would want to read it?" Perhaps that would be a good way to find out! Now all I need is a catchy blog name--one that will flag down all those trail and snowshoe runners...
laura clark

CPD 23 THING 4: Current Awareness, Twitter, RSS, Pushnote

TWITTER: I found the Twitter account very easy to set up, although an instructive exercise to say something in just a few characters. I immediately became friends with another librarian who works in our system administration so that should be helpful. I was also delighted to discover ebooknoir as I am fascinated with that technology.

RSS: I already have an RSS account, but will definitely find it useful to add the entire CDP23 feed. It is amazing how many different takes there are on the same technology.

PUSHNOTE: After reading some of these feeds, I realized that I was not alone in never having heard of pushnote. Unfortunately, here at work we are not permitted to add such enhancements to our computer without special clearance, so I have decided to pass. And really, that is OK for now at least as it seems it is not all that popular. And as THING itself has suggested, such technologies are meant to be a tool and not to overwhelm. Currently, we are in our busiest time of year as all the kids are out of school and I have all I can do to keep up.

laura

CDP 23: THING 3

While I realize that branding has migrated from the Western plains to Eastern corporate America and across the Pond, I have not decided whether I want to join the wagon train. My blog is obviously of the canned, pick-and-choose variety, but I rather like it that way, with a tasteful sprinkling of birds winging off toward unseen horizons. After thinking it over, however, I did decide some concessions were in order. Not intending to sound gruesome, I realize that when I read obituaries I tend to focus on those with accompanying pictures. Hence, my picture along with the Librarian tag.

My mouse almost pounced on some of my other interests : freelancing, sports, nature but I decided against it. After dutifully googling my name as Thing 3 suggested, I decided there was more than enough of my sports personna out there anyway and not enough of a library presence. My rationale for seemingly one-sideness is that it is nice to take a break and concentrate on something entirely different. Perhaps I need to rethink that a bit.

laura clark

CPD23: THING 2

It was fun to ramble around the maze of tags. The first I investigated was freelance, thinking perhaps it might turn out to be me. Clearly, I was not thinking--how boring to talk to yourself! But it turned out to be Beth who sounded eerily like my cousin Kate. I roamed around a bit and offered advice and friendship but I think perhaps I was successful only with Beth. The others required your account and then verification, whcih I did, but when I checked back a few minutes later my comment was not posted. But perhaps there is an approval lag where the authors judge whether or not I pass muster?

I also followed the extra credit link to random blogs and was amazed a how much was out there and how many folks had found the time to communicate so heavily. Maybe when I retire!
laura

CDP23: THING 1

Dr. Seuss' "Cat in the Hat" does it backwards, introducing Thing 2 and then Thing 1, but I guess librarians prefer the normal order of progression. My blog, however, is leftover from Polly Farrington's CDLC 10 Things learning experience so maybe that does qualify as a Thing 2.

I am a Children's Librarian at Saratoga Springs Public Library in Saratoga Springs, NY--a small town that expands in the summer to host a premier flat track venue. I also enjoy running and snowshoe racing and writing about my experiences in a number of publications including Adirondack Sports & Fitness and UltraRunning Magazine and the online Snowshoe Magazine.

I am old school, graduating from a pre-computer library program when filmstrips and overhead projectors were the media of choice and self-correcting electric typewriters were hot off the shelves. So what I really want to do is feel comfortable with at least some of the overwhelming media choices besides my fall-back email account. I am not sure what I am searching for, but at the very least I would like to be able to speak the language and comprehend the necessity of it all. Ideally, I would like to become more familar with publishing media available to new authors.

What I absolutely hated the mostin our Thing 10 series was RSS feeds. It is beyond my comprehension how folks could have that many hours in the day to devote to media bombardment. There is somethig to be said for concentrarion and focus. Oh well, in case you were taking bets--I am 64 years old. But I do churn out 50 milers, which is more than some folks can safely drive in a day, as well as marathon library Gingerbread workshops. So I teetering at the top of the hill but by no means over it.

laura clark

THING #10: Future Trends

Already, there is a widespread trend toward basic online research and utilization of library subscription databases from home. I imagine new technologies like netbooks, etc. will go the way of the original transistor radio and casio wristwatch--becoming super affordable and ever-present. But there still will be a need for guidance and selection and this is where the librarian will enter the picture.

Also, as more folks are working at home online there will be a need to meet in person (besides webinars, etc) just because at some point folks do need a certain amount of contact. Our meeting rooms now are almost always full and I see that trend continuing and with more technology available in each room.

Still, for the youngest and their parents, I imagine much will remain the same. Kids need to socialize, learn how to sit still in storytime and parents need to interact with other parents. And in the summer, the library performs that same function for elementary school kids and their parents. Teens, too, despite their reliance on technology, need to get together in a central setting.

THING 9: eBooks

OPTION 2:
I tried downloading an ebook onto our library's IPad. No problem except it took a surprisingly long time. I also felt guilty since I had no intention of actually reading the book. As there is no way of "returning" it early, I essentially kept someone else from reading it. So I tried to select a book I deemed uninteresting--but who knows how others would feel!

OPTION 3:
I investigated many of the sites Polly included. Personally, I don't own a hand-held device, but I am excited by the possibilities. Non-fiction could be enhanced with sound clips, at-you-fingertip references, etc. making reading more of a multi-media experience. I am not quite sure about the choose-your-own-adventure mode. While it would be great to follow the story from different characters' points of view, as in Poisonwood Bible, I am not sure if I would enjoy having my book enhanced wikipedia-fashion by whoever happened to download before me on Overdrive.

Professionally, it would be great if eBooks would solve the out of print dilemma and allow for more frequently updated texts. It widens the playing field for those who need large type books.

I am attending next Thursday's NYLA session on eBooks so I might have more to say after that.

laura

Thing 8: Video Commentary

For this exercise we borrowed a SALS loaner video camera. Jen Ferriss handily used this as a field trip opportunity and hiked it over to us, pouring rain and all. Once we replaced the batteries, it took off immediately as you can see if you view the video--I was obviously taken by surprise as I hustled over to the staging area. Obviously amaateurish, but not bad for a first attempt.

The difficulty came with the downloading. It took three of us and Jen O. saved the day by clicking random buttons until something worked. That would be the only reason I would hesitate to procede further--just have no idea how to download. Is there a step-by-step protocol written down anywhere?

Embedding was simple and I did it all by myself!

I can see how youtube would work well for our Summer Reading Events--or even just capturing an idea of all the traffic we get here during a normal summer day.

laura

Thing#8 Video

THING #7: Productivity & Collaboration Tools

Thing #7 is the most useful yet!  I pretty much explored all the tools.

I was tempted by Evernote and Zotero but needed to download more current versions of Firefox and we are not authorized to do so on our work computers.  I did explore as much as I could though and decided it would probably be more work to implement for the usage I would get out of it.

I was delighted to discover the PDF converter.  Several times this year I have needed to convert from MS Word to a PDF and now I know how to do so!  The process was extremely simple.

On my home computer I purchased BackBlaze.  While I do have an external hardrive, it is cumbersome to use and of course you have to remember to use it!  This is so simple and at roughly $4 per month is definitely worth it.  Especially since I have an elderly computer.  I was delighted to discover that the service makes it possible to resurrected previously deleted versions of a document.

I flirted with joining delicious but decided to do so would be the internet equivalent to accumulating piles of paperwork clutter.  But I will access it to locate popular sites on a particular subject I am researching.

As for the calendars and reminder lists, I am content with my little slips of paper. I figure if I can’t get through to do list items in a week, it’s never going to happen anyway.  There is something very satisfying about crumpling a piece of paper!

I was intrigued by Goo.gl with its promise convert long URLs to short ones—until I tried it and discovered that the shortened versions were perhaps even less user-friendly as far as ease of memorization is concerned.

THING 6: Online Meetings

I was stretched for discretionary time this week since I am having dental surgery tomorrow (groan) so I chose to view an Archived Webinar.  I chose Booklist and selected Defending the Right to Read: Celebrating Banned Book Week, partially since I have always been interested in that topic and also because Judy Blume was on of the speakers.  It featured a panel of 5 varied experts--publisher, author, librarian, etc and it was interesting to get the varied points of view. Judy Blume pointed out that as an author you can't get truly into your characters if you are worried that their every thought will be censored.  She is so famous, of course, that the publishers leave the decisions up to her.

I was rather disappointed that I coulcn't attend anactual time meeting, but this one ran over, leaving no time for questions anyway, so even realtimers had my same experience.  I wonder if that happens a lot?  Experience seemed the same as attending a big library conference except you could clean off your desk while listening.  Not at all like an actual monthly meeting which is mostly interchange.

We might try to set up a meeting next week....if next week's Thing isn't too time-consuming...hint, hint.

laura

Thing 5: Reflecting Pools

YES!  We got a Snow Day, a Time Out, a Free Homework Pass!
Do we spend it or squander it?  But what's a snow day but to sleep in and do stuff you never would do otherwise?
So for this week, I plan to check out the library's loaner IPad to be closely followed by Kindle.  Need something to use to check email on the run and mabe write stuff.  I never would have considered it before this course...maybe I'll hit the 21st century yet!
The biggest Seuss thing I've gained has been more confidence, due in part to the byte-sized lessons.  Now, if I never have to revisit Thing 2, I will be all set.
Improve?  Not sure--seems to work OK--better if you ditch the Go Green aspect and print out the weekly lesson so you  aren't scattering your concentration between multiple screens.   laura

Thing #4: Online Communities

I joined LinkedIn and Goodreads.  Linked in is going rather slowly.  I have maybe four friends, only one of whom has posted anything.  But he is a scientist and I have no idea what he is saying anyway. But that's only fair since I am not a great correspondent, being still married to email.  I learned that email is passe but it still works for me--especially since you can contact folks who aren't necessarily your friends.  The way I see it--why not have one communicator where you can contact everybody rather than having to split your personality among various groups?

I can see the value if you are interested in a particular topic.  Hence,
my Goodreads membership.  Since I write book reviews, mostly on sports books, I was excited about the possibilities.  I discovered 2 groups focused on running and endurance sports.  Both had three or four members, neither of whom have posted anything.  Guess they would rather be out running!  On the other hand, I have met a college prof through email and my work with the Adirondack. Marathon with whom I exchange suggestions.

How can libraries use online communities to connect with customers?  I guess if you were having a preschool music program, etc you could connect with various groups who might be interested.  I can really see how an online book discussion group would be fun, especially if it were in real time. 

laura

Thing 3: Photo Sharing

This lesson was so perfect it was scary.  I had just returned to pasture from the Bull Run Run 50 Miler in VA and was sorely missing the other members of my herd.  So I decided to upload pictures of our Let's Get MOOving Cow Team to share with the Finger Lakes and Connecticut cows. I learned how to download from my camera to the computer, resize and rename.  Yeah, I know, I should have been MOOving on all this technology stuff a long time ago, but cows, bovines that they are, feel compelled to ruminate before putting hoof to keyboard. And then, I directed those with farmers kind enough to provide pasture internet access to my new flickr account.

I know this sounds pitiful to the rest of you but it is a giant leap for me.

Our library does have photos on our website, but one of the best things we have done in the Childrne's Room is to purchase a Staples picture frame and upload slidshoe photos of our programs.  Taking a cue from dentists' offices, we have placed this on the reference desk to extend the tolerance time of folks waitng for help and most especially to entertain young kids while their Moms are consulting a librarian.

lauraclark33's photostream

lauraclark33's photostream on Flickr.

Thing 2: RSS

Well, I finally did it using google reader.   Most of my problems were mechanical- the computer I was working on wasn't displaying the entire screen.  But I have 4 feeds and figure I will leave it at that.  As they say in ultrarunning, the journey is 10% physical and 90% mental.  I've got the physical done, but darned if I can get past the mental. 
There is already too much stuff demanding my attention anyway, so why would I want more thrown at me?  I figure if I really need info I can always google.  Also, many of the sites I use personnally don't have feeds anyway.

On a similar note, I liberated myself from Facebook.  Yes!  I have enough friends.  Our club is switching to wordpress with our own personal site which I like much better.

I did explore the blog search tools and enjoyed browsing the google blog search.  Especially since it was on library time!  I can see myself spending more time at the Top 25 Librarian Blogs.  Basically, the idea of searching for blogs on a particular topic was an eye-opener for me and I can see myself using these tools.  I guess the ultimate difference is the fact that I can choose the information when I need it rather than being bombarded.

laura

Thing 1: Blogging

Hi!  All 150 of you, personally and individually, although I'm not sure I have time to answer 150 posts!
Basically, I have purposefully stayed away from blogging because I like my email.  I am a Facebook member, but only because I was coerced and I rarely check it.  So don't get your hopes up.  Nevertheless, since this is on work time, there is always a chance.

I am a children's librarian at Saratoga Springs Public Library because I am in denial about growing up and leap at any excuse to play.  In my theoretical spare time I snowshoe race and trail run and am a freelance sports writer.  My husband aand I always seem to be directing a race or recovering from directing a race.  I probably need to move somewhere and start over with a clean slate devoid of commitments.  Oh well.

I am taking part in this program because computers and I have an uneasy relationship at best.  Plus, I need something else to do.

What have I learned?  Well, I have gotten this far ALL By MYSELF.  Meaning I didn't have to run to the front of the room and grab someone off the desk to help me.  That in itself is a major accomplishment.

I felt right at home when I saw the header "Thing 1" Thank you Dr. Seuss!

laura