Disqus - Friends of sallysetsforth

Re: Cheers!

Librarian Idol — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:24:11 -0000

Hi Alison,
I was flown to Canberra for a very special opportunity, and I'll blog more about it once I know the outcome. I'm a little scared of jinxing myself by saying too much, but either way I had an inspiring experience.

- A.

Re: Fairy Penguins...

Librarian Idol — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:03:25 -0000

I must be old. I still occasionally refer to Melbourne Central Station as Museum Station. (Even though, if anything, it should be called Library Station).

Just think, one day there'll be people who look at us strangely when we make mention of "Spencer Street Station"

Re: Cheers!

Librarian Idol — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:17:22 -0000

It was white *and* bubbly!

We need to get our Karaoke on at Happy Yess before the year is through.

Re: On trust, client expectations, and the purpose of the library.

Librarian Idol — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:46:12 -0000

Yes! I visited SLQ and Brisbane City Council Libraries in a trip almost exactly a year ago, and I was mightily impressed. I think all state libraries could learn a lot from SLQ, and all public libraries likewise from BCCL.

Re: Libraries and professional development...

Librarian Idol — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:53:06 -0000

Hey Jonathan - great to hear from you.

Yes, I know you are, and great to hear it! Will I possibly see you at NLS4, or maybe Information Online?

Re: Libraries and professional development...

Librarian Idol — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:08:29 -0000

Oh, certainly, the program is relevant to all librarians. I'd imagine, as a new librarian, that, given the dynamic nature of the information environment, library professionals have needed to keep upgrading and updating their knowledge, adjusting their approach to their work.

Perhaps, in that sense, we could say that "all librarians should be new librarians", since the way we work is ever-evolving.

Re: Libraries and professional development...

Librarian Idol — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 18:57:52 -0000

Oh wow! Well, enough said really. All the best with that. :)

Re: Libraries and professional development...

Librarian Idol — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:33:00 -0000

Hopefully, you'll be hearing about it as it happens - such are the joys of Twitter!

Re: Libraries and professional development...

Librarian Idol — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 01:54:49 -0000

I believe there is already one CoB employee attending, actually...

Re: An Idea that I had...

Librarian Idol — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:30:42 -0000

Yup, I think IM reference is definitely something worth revisiting in the future. NSLA did a pilot last year, but the technology is still too limiting at this stage... hopefully will be pursued again later!

Re: Libraries and professional development...

Librarian Idol — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:32:14 -0000

If it's any consolation, I've had to pay for most of the PD events that I've attended - and travelling from Darwin isn't exactly convenient!

It's so worth it, though. :)

Re: Fairy Penguins...

Librarian Idol — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:06:46 -0000

I was merely a fan who was too impatient to wait until next year. My library couldn't get it, because it wasn't available through their vendor. So, yes, I bought it online. It was naughty of me, I know, but it's such a nice shiny hardcover copy... *grin*

How does one become an Inkys judge? Well, 1. be a teenage reader who loves YA books and interacts regularly on insideadog.com.au (as with the four teenage judges) (b). win the previous year's Gold Inky Award (Simmone Howell), or (iii) be a famous teenage Australian TV soap star, or the next best thing that they could find. Just lucky, I guess. :)

Yup, I'm a '78 virgo. Unlike you, I wasn't yet born when Star Wars hit Australian cinemas.

Re: Filtering Facts...

Librarian Idol — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:45:26 -0000

Well, I'm assuming that, unless we get announcement saying that he ain't showing up any more, he'll be there (despite the irony of him opening a conference called "Information Online".)

I think that sometimes it's overly optimistic to think that our voices alone will have a lasting impact. However, the more people that stir up discussion, the more an issue gets noticed. If enough people speak up and point out the bleeding obvious, then he'll have to concede the flaws in his plan. And ven if we're not successful, as long as there's ongoing discourse, there's still hope for the future.

Yes, I am planning to attend Online. I just need to secure the means first.

Re: Back in Melbourne...

Librarian Idol — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:15:38 -0000

Shit... I got her confused with one of my library patrons... whoopsies... </mortification>

Re: Debate-able...

Librarian Idol — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:15:56 -0000

Ah, but you see, it's not a question of how long you've been working in libraries. It's a question of how relevant your professional train was, compared to the current (and future) industry. Presumably, as a new graduate librarian, your professional education has brought you up to speed with current and emerging information usage trends.

Then again, that in itself could be debateable.

If I were in the negative camp, I might be inclined to argue that what makes a librarian isn't their education, but their experience. However, where does that leave the librarianship qualification? Is that university degree really that necessary and successful in preparing graduates for entering the library professional workforce, or is it more about having an extremely basic grounding, and all the "real" librarian skills are learnt on the job?

Re: Debate-able...

Librarian Idol — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:45:27 -0000

Interesting, except that (a) I have never ever heard of an employer considering ALIA CPD as a deciding factor in recruitment, and (b) ALIA CPD may be about participation and involvement in the industry, but it isn't assessed, nor is it marked off against any core competancy criteria. I mean, just because I attend ALIA meetings, run Web 2.0 workshops, and sit on conference organisation committees, it still doesn't mean that I'm a more competant information professional than somebody who does *none* of those things.

Personally, I think a lot of professionals learn on a needs basis, and that can vary a lot from workplace to workplace, depending on how demanding their clients, and how innovative the library is in its approach is in marketing and delivering services. For example, if it were a poorly-funded library in a lesser socio-economic region, then a librarian could meet expectations completely adequately, purely through book loans, without ever needing to update their professional knowledge. And it could be argued that that knowledge is all that one needs to become a librarian - any further upskilling is considered to be additional to the core professional knowledge, and only mandatory for more specialised roles.

Re: Debate-able...

Librarian Idol — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 02:31:40 -0000

Ah... I believe the search engine was launched back in 1998 (they celebrated their tenth birthday recently), so that's what we'll be going with (and I'm on the affirmative team - we get to set the definition. :) )

Re: "Yes!" moments of the last week...

Librarian Idol — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:04:01 -0000

Oh, absolutely. I enjoyed Donna's paper, and although it possibly didn't strike me as much as others because it was one of the fundamental things that I learnt at NLS2006, it was certainly full of the evident truths of recognising one's transferable skills, which is so, SO important to be able to do.

I really loved the Orang Utans. They are magnificent beings.

Re: "Yes!" moments of the last week...

Librarian Idol — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:06:54 -0000

It's always a pleasant surprise meeting people like you and Alyson, who are tucked away in Special Libraries, and wondering why you haven't run away yet!

It makes me wonder if I'm missing out by shunning the corporate world...

Re: Filling the void...

Librarian Idol — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:43:28 -0000

Wow... as enticing as either of those options sound, they're not viable ones at this point in time. (Although I hear that there are cool library things happening in Yeppoon... that's not far from Gladstone is it? Well, compared with, say, Melbourne...)

Re: Filling the void...

Librarian Idol — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:56:20 -0000

For me, it's always been about the people and culture, rather than the location. In the past, the two have been inseparable, but I've liked to think that I can move into a more mobile lifestyle, and that I can maintain my relationships with colleagues and loved ones through online communication.

And this has had varying levels of success and failure.

Co-incidentally, one of the central themes of my novel has been about learning to live with indecision. We grow up being taught to always have a plan for our lives, and to know where we're going to be in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years. But the reality is that living with a constant resolution for one's life/career path often leads to frustration and disappointment.

The other thing is that I'm becoming more conscious of my age (ha! I hear you scoff!), but it'd be nice to do some of those semi-domestic things like get a house and a cat, and maybe find somebody to share them with. To do those things, I need to find a place that I can call home first.

But hey, as I said, doors are constantly opening and closing in front of me, on a daily basis. It's just a matter of deciding whether I want to step through one of them.

Re: Filling the void...

Librarian Idol — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 01:45:45 -0000

Two hours?! They look so close together on the map...

Brisbane looks like the place to be in 2010... there's the CBCA conference as well as the IFLA conference... (how far is Gladstone from the 'Bane?)

Re: 2008: the year that was...

Librarian Idol — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:43:31 -0000

Yup... yet again, I scoff at the anti-Twitter naysayers!

Didn't really get any direct feedback, being in a studio, but Megan laughed, and said that complaints from Humpty Doo residents can be redirected to myself.

Re: Designing the Digital Experience: Table of Contents

Librarian Idol — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:47:27 -0000

My copy arrived in the mail yesterday... a belated xmas gift to myself!

I'm enjoying it already - it's so accessible to a wide range of readers (I can sometimes get lost on technobabble.) Love the blog too - don't know why I haven't been following it sooner.

Re: Best DVD Commentary Tracks

Librarian Idol — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:13:19 -0000

From Dusk Til Dawn - with Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez. One of my favorites...

I also really love the commentary track for "Muppets from Space", which basically has muppets talking vaguely-related crap and cracking jokes for the entirety of the film.