Give us today our daily.. well, you know

Today's post is nothing short of the documentation of history, and you are here to witness it. Today, today I made bread.

Not just any kind of bread. Oh, no, no easy banana nut bread that could weigh down a body bag in the Pacific. No, this is white yeast bread. And not just bread machine bread - cheaters! Only patience could bring these beauties forth.

But why is this a miracle, you ask? Well, because this is probably my tenth attempt. I've been trying to make bread for about three years and have never come out with a successful loaf. 80% never rise; the other 20% rise a little but come out dense and unappetizing (they are GREAT for baked french toast the next day, however).

Lessons Learned:

Control your temperature. I thought that the requirement for warm water meant "water as hot as you can manage without boiling" - which kills the yeast.

Be patient. Very, very patient. When you think it's done rising, wait. Don't poke it, don't look at it, don't even think of it with forethought of menace.

Bread smells awesome.

A Point to Ponder: Overdoing It

This morning I read a blog post by QQ*Librarian, citing survey results from Gerry McKiernan that only 23% of users would probably contact the library through Facebook.

QQ goes on to talk about how we cannot, from a monetary standpoint, be everywhere that our customer is or wants to be. This is true. I, for one, have no staffing budget to require my librarians to offer 24/7 chat (nor pay to be included in such a service, thank you) as an example.

I think there is a greater issue here, however. Have you ever been in a restaurant and your server hovers? I mean really hovers? They visit you at least 7 times and give you 4 new cokes and have already asked twice if you want dessert? And you don't want to leave them a decent tip or go back to that restaurant because they lessened, instead of heightened, your eating experience?

Same with librarians and social technology - we don't always need to be there. There is a difference between putting yourself out there on Facebook because you want to (hey, my name is ***** and I happen to be a librarian) and putting your library on Facebook and putting out books and attaching your Flickr pictures that are linked to your catalog and. Keep it simple. Bombarding the patron is going to tell them one thing: you need them more than they need you. And while that may be true, they certainly don't need to know that.

Reasons Not to Talk to the Bag Guy at Kowalski's

Picture it: St. Paul suburb, 9pm Friday night. 22 degrees F, walking out of the grocery store with the bag guy following me to the car with my meager purchases.

Me: So, how are you tonight?
Bag Guy: I'm great, how are you?
Me: Good, just worked a 12-hr shift.
Bag Guy: Well I used to work 14-hr shifts in construction (at this point, loading 2 grocery bags and 2 boxes of soda into the car)
Me: Oh, I guess this isn't so bad then.
Bag Guy: Nah, this is a piece of cake compared to that (now finished loading bags into car).
Me: Good, ok, well thanks.
Bag Guy: So, who are you voting for for president?
Me: Um, you know, I'm not really sure yet (puts hands in pockets to signal that it's 22 degrees and I want to get in my car).
Bag Guy: Well you know, Hilary Clinton, I'm not going to vote for her. Because - well not because she's a woman because I don't mind women, I like women, but she's just sneaky. She's always being sneaky.
Me: Oh (turns and takes a few steps toward door).
Bag Guy: And you know that guy Osama? No, wait, um, Oba, Ob..
Me: Obama?
Bag Guy: Yeah, him. You know he was raised by Muslims. And he was raised a Muslim, and I don't want know Muslim running the country. Plus, he's invasive. No, um..
Me: Evasive (clear tone of annoyance at this point).
Bag Guy: Yeah, evasive. You know when they ask him a question, he answers with another question.
Me: Yeah, they do that sometimes. Ok, goodbye (jumps in car, nearly taking off own leg in the process).

On Cleaning One's Office

I don't think anyone really cleans because they want to - it's more out of necessity. We cannot find an important paper, the dust mites are affecting your allergies, etc. In this instance, I cleaned because I was moved.

It's not like I went very far - just down the hall. But it required a complete clean-out of my desk, the top of my desk (which had much more stuff on it than I thought), my files, and my bookcase.

Things I have Learned:

1. I didn't really need a 5-shelf bookcase. A 3-shelf case is quite cozy, and now I'm not really tempted to buy more (note for my house).

2. I have way, way, WAY too many notepads from library conferences. Perhaps I will go through them over the next year or so, but right now they take up half of my first desk drawer.

3. Speaking of desk drawers, the little insert that is supposed to be for pens and change really only gets in my way. The pennies (why do I have pennies?) always end up in the drawer and I keep pens on the desk. Goodbye, annoying desk insert.

4. I still have a new toothbrush and toothpaste in my desk. I feel guilty that I haven't felt a need to use it.

5. I had a bike chain & lock in my desk. Not the old-fashioned chain, but one of those tensile-strength chains wrapped in plastic. This description does not explain why that chain is in my desk.

6. I'm a big fan of office free-sales. Last year before I moved, I was able to give away 12 packets of ketchup. I no longer have ketchup in my desk because I don't eat at McDonalds (and why am I not losing weight?).

I can take a picture of the space but it's pretty boring. I keep my desk (at work only) clean out of habit. It's just that - stuff accumulates.

On Hybrid Librarianship

A discussion with a team member and related discussions on Second Life have brought me to this topic today. The discussion in Second Life focused on teachers treating librarians as second-class citizens, and subsequently whether or not a librarian is considered a teacher. The team discussion focused on the role of the teacher-librarian or librarian-teacher and how to prioritize the elements of the role.

I believe that the successful librarian is a teacher - regardless of whether or not that librarian works in a public, academic, corporate, or special library. To be a librarian, our job is not simply to point a patron to a resource, but to help them understand how to locate that resource on their own, and then use it to solve problems, answer questions, meet a goal (even if that goal is simply to read that book), and so on. Consider a geography teacher: that person's job is not just to point to the globe and say "here you go", but to teach a student how to use it to discover, interpret, and communicate information and ideas.

The means by which we teach may be different, but the means exist all the same. We use multimedia, discussion, and sometimes even lecture to convey meaning. We plan, and prepare, and use best practices to discover better ways (although not necessarily newer, easier, or cheaper) to convey meaning. We assess understanding of that meaning, as well, because without understanding the library and its tools would be unused.

A librarian is only second-class when that librarian allows himself/herself to be treated and disrespected as such or act or perform in such a way that indicates that you are not at the same level. Your work ethic, your customer service skills, and your desire to improve your understanding of the resources of the craft and how best to communicate those resource to your customer (patron, student) are indicators of your success as an instructor. Planning, preparation, assessment.

Of course, there are elements of our role that are not instruction, although they are related. Part of our world is prioritizing duties, which largely falls to the needs of the day and the greater commitment of the institution. If you are in tune with your mission, and your surrounding team is in tune with your mission, then even a hectic day may fall into place with ease because you order your roles according to the needs of your patron (student). At the end of the day, your ability to balance the philosophy of instruction and service within your role as librarian is what defines you as Hybrid.

-E

Librarian: Executive Executive Summary

There is a reason that I put so little stock in general interest publications. Too often, the research for an article is, at best, a shellacking.

Perhaps some of the other library bloggers reviewed this article earlier last month, but I only saw it for the first time today (thank you, Dennis). The article to which I am referring is the US News and World Report Best Careers article about Librarians.

Before I clarify fiction from reality, I want to make clear that I absolutely love my job and I love the library profession. That being said, I think that it's important that librarians entering this profession be offered a different perspective on some portions of this document:

Forget about that image of librarian as a mousy bookworm. What exactly is wrong with this image? And what image takes its place? According to the author, "high-tech information sleuths". Perfect, we aren't mousy, we're geeky. I guess geeky is en vogue.

Librarians may also go on shopping sprees, deciding which books and online resources to buy. I'm not sure what planet this writer is on, but I've never gone on a spending spree. At most, I carefully select the resources for our school, adhering to a collection development policy. I answer to our students and my managers. Most librarians don't have the privileges of a manager - at most, a librarian selects books for purchase and provides input about databases. Budgets are always strict, and few if any librarians are able to buy what they always want or believe their population needs.

Median Pay National: $51,400. More pay data by metropolitan area (Data provided by PayScale.com) Whaaaaaat? This may be the average pay of a director with 5+ years experience, but in most markets a librarian will start closer to $30-$40k.

"...special librarianship is the field's fastest-growing job market. Unlike public and university jobs, which require night and weekend hours, these jobs are mostly 9 to 5." I'm not a special librarian, so I am not sure I should speak to this. But, let's be honest here, very few jobs are 9 to 5. Do you want to be the kind of person who is super-glued to the clock? And do you think that this kind of person is going to be up for the promotion in 2 or 3 years, or ever?

This world through rosy-colored glasses is not doing anyone justice. Do your homework, talk to others in the profession, and work hard.

The Caucus

While I believe that my understanding of "how government works" is better than most, I didn't understand the caucus until this morning. In fact, I likened it much to the typical state primary system.

MSNBC provides a very good article on the caucus. You can find similar tutorials (some more in depth than others) at How Stuff Works, and Rock the Vote.

I will admit that I disagree with How Stuff Work's description of the caucus system as "convoluted", especially when considering the Democratic caucus. I think that it best defines civics in action. For those of you who don't know how it works,here's the basic shakedown: You meet with the other members of you party at your designated place - a local school, for example. You discuss the issues and hear about the candidates, and then you are asked to make your stand. You must, quite literally, choose a side and stay there. If you and the others who chose the same candidate make up at least 15% of the room, then you stay. If you don't, then you must choose another candidate. Once the groups represent at least 15% of the total, then further discussion and debate ensues. A final vote is cast for the candidate that the district selects.

Labor intensive? Absolutely - but why shouldn't it be? This isn't Sunday's dinner we are discussing - it's the President! How better to select the leader of your nation than to argue your views with your peers in a controlled, safe environment?

Too often we encounter individuals in this world who are indecisive and cannot support their own opinions and values. I would love to meet with and work with more folks who have valid opinions and ideas and aren't afraid to share them with others. Isn't that what research is, after all - communicating a thought or theory and supporting it with valid, authoritative research?

UPDATE: I've added links to Rock the Vote to both my Facebook and MySpace profiles. Visit today to register to vote in your state - and then spread the word!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to my faithful few. If you aren't reading this blog on 1/1/08, that's ok; I wish you a happy year in whatever year you are reading this post.

Father time has swept away another year. Is it just me, or did it go by absolutely fast? Work-wise, my team and I have torn through an incredible amount of projects. I've danced with joy and cried with anger and disappointment. Personally, I've experienced a mix of most excellent and far-less-than excellent memories. I've made friends and renewed relationships (I'm so glad you are back in my life). And, it's all gone by in a blink of an eye.

I'm weird about resolutions. I've made so many before that have lacked depth and gumption. I think that some of them have resulted in me fatter and less involved, sadly (we are our own worst enemies, after all). I also think resolutions are incredibly personal. it's different from a goal, which should absolutely be announced and committed to openly so that you have a community incentive to complete that commitment.

So maybe instead of resolutions I can post some commitments.... some goals for which I'll be publicly responsible:

Post to this blog more. Not just personal items (of which this is, primarily), but also tidbits relevant to the library profession and to the study and love of information in general.

Keep my Web 2.0 up to date. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone uses something like MySpace and then lets it go to the dogs. And, of course, I'm totally one of those people. (Although, as of today, my MySpace is updated.

Be a better instructor and manager. I need to make calls and keep up with appointments and post to my classes on time. I stink at it and that's hardly an excuse.

Relax more when I'm not working. And, stop working so that I can relax.

How about you? What are your resolutions or commitments?