My library has had a wonderful summer student working with us this year.  One project she took on was to create a “library tour video” for us.  Prior to this summer she had not worked in a library, but she just “gets it”. So, we let her decide on the content, direct us, and produce the video. She did a wonderful job!  Yes, we are not all great in front of the camera, but I think we did ok … and we certainly tried hard.

As the Yukon Energy, Mines and Resources Library is hidden away on the third floor of a government building in Whitehorse, we are hoping that this video helps potential clients feel more comfortable about coming to the library.  EMR Library tour page can be found here, with the video and a brief photographic tour.  The icing on the cake is that a local band, Soir de Semaine (thanks again!!), permitted us to use one of their songs in the video!

Days four and five of the Library day in the life event

Thursday:

• lots of miscellaneous paperwork (from HR to Finance …)
• Attended the 2nd keynote at Handheld Librarian Online Conf (“Mobility and singularity: people, communication, information, information objects and information services in motion” Tom Peters). It was a very interesting session. I especially found the discussion of the future of travel and the new values we attribute to “local” very interesting.  Two of my co-workers attended the whole conf and found it very useful and interesting. It is wonderful to be able to access such sessions from the Yukon!
• short lunch (didn’t go home today!)
• Ref desk
• worked on more HR paperwork

Friday (not in chronological order this time)

• Ref desk
• Benefit of having a WONDERFUL summer student … she has video experience and lots of enthusiasm so we were filming a “library tour” video all day. Ran into problems with our first take as the video camera’s file format just wouldn’t “compute” with our software, so we re-shot the whole thing on a different camera, which did the trick. Editing will be done on Monday!
• looked for creative commons music to use in video

Day three in the “Library day in the life” event

Today was a “slow motion” day, due to the extreme heat here in the Yukon (33C today!) and that I was feeling a bit mentally drained after yesterday’s retreat.  That said, work was still accomplished today:

• worked on notes to organize and finalize ideas and decisions from yesterday’s retreat … only one section left to write!
• was contacted by potential library partner (another government library), which lead to some discussion in my library about how to proceed
• proceeded by attempting to schedule a meeting within the next week with partner
• miscellaneous “paperwork” … it feels like paperwork is never done
• followed up on some journal subscription issues
• and, yes, walked to work, back home for lunch, back to work, then back home at the end of the day
• at home I watered my very dry garden (California poppies and wild strawberries are doing very well in this heat!), watched birds in my backyard (mostly of finches but some robins and chickadees too  … who were drinking from and bathing in the fountain), and generally relaxed.

Day two of event:

7:45 to 8:20am: re-read retreat agenda, and skim over related notes

8:20: walk to retreat venue

8:30 to 8:40am : wonder where the coffee is, call caterer … they forgot to deliver it but will deliver it right away

8:40 to 11:15 am:

• begin attacking agenda,
• coffee arrives!
• make good headway with first items, I work with great people and the ideas they come up with are ingenious

11:15 to 11:30 am : caffeine and fruit break

11:30 to 1:00 pm:

• Director/boss arrives for this section to provide input into the more strategically challenging topics
• Lots of thinking and brainstorming,
• make productive headway into determining direction and “next steps” for projects

1:00 to 2:ish pm: Lunch at Sanchez on the patio in the sun

2:ish to 4:30 pm:

• Decide to forgo afternoon break and keep momentum going through the rest of the agenda
• more brainstorming
• The 3 new staff members (out of 6 staff) make awesome contributions to discussion … they have both fresh eyes and new ideas; while the “more seasoned” staff members bring lots of experience and organizational knowledge to the table …  this combo enables well-rounded discussion … passion tempered with experience and practical “get it done” mentality enhanced by lots of enthusiasm
• Uh oh, left a very detailed technical discussion to the end … not the best time for this discussion … but we meet the challenge head on and identify and prioritize both technical and strategic “next steps” for our next digitization project
• Finally, round out the day by re-visiting all agenda items, and come to consensus re: top 2 priority projects for the coming year.
• DONE!

5:00 to ??? pm:

• mentally exhausted, but also invigorated … stepping away from the library for a day for annual retreat is a great way to determine priorities and figure out how to move projects forward
• home to enjoy the +30C sunny evening (which will last until approx 11pm … living north of 60 is great!)
• employed grazing method for dinner (too hot to cook!) …lots of tomatoes, cheese, celery, cucumber, …. and ice cream to finish!

As part of the Library Day in the Life event ….:

8:30 to 11:00 am:

• worked on the ref desk,
• tried to explain collection development to a records person,
• helped clients find books they wanted,
• got the wonderful question by telephone: “I am looking for a blue book about mining, but I don’t know the title or author”… Hmm, about 1/4 of the library I work in is mining focused … how to proceed …  turns out it was a former co-worker trying to frustrate me (and it worked, ha ha)

11:00 to 12:15:

• reviewed agenda for annual library retreat (tomorrow),
• spoke with my boss (Director of Corporate Services) about the portions of the retreat he would be attending and participating in

12:15 to 1:15 pm:

• walked home, ate lunch, walked back to work

1:15 to 4:45′ish pm:

• assembled my notes for the retreat tomorrow
• debated which call # would be best for an item with colleagues
• dug out a network cable for netbook
• final research re: CISTI Source changing to Discover (CISTI) for retreat
• final research re: draft charter for my library to provide other Yukon Gov libraries with access to ILS and librarians
• basically, all the final stuff to get ready for our one-day big-picture brainstorming session tomorrow, otherwise known as a retreat.

It is interesting to me that so many librarians are fearful of and/or avoiding the x.0 world.   I also find it very odd.  Librarians have historically been early adopters of technology … though I am now seeing that it is truly only some librarians who fit this bill.  So many won’t explore or try out new tools – tools that would be very useful to them in their professional and/or home lives — and sometimes are fun to use!

I have been thinking about this because I am simply baffled by the negativity with which some librarians are approaching the wide variety of new and practical tools that are now freely available to us.  The irony is that some of the very same people who I find are now using all the excuses they can imagine to avoid new technologies are the very same librarians were the first to embrace the possibilities that past new technologies provided! Librarians imagined then created online catalogues (OPACs) before the days of commercially available catalogue databases.  From variable-length data fields (in MARC records) to sharing of bibliographic data online, librarians were using the internet and e-mail extensively and efficiently even before the days when the average techno-savvy person could access online bulletin boards … before the days of gopher and Lynx!

What does this mean? I guess it is a reminder to me that while many librarians are early adopters of new tools, not all librarians are.  And, just because historically particular librarians may have been early adopters of some technologies doesn’t mean they objectively analyze new technologies … perhaps they were just early adopters of a particular technology.  And, this isn’t limited to the more experienced librarians, there seem to be many librarians of all stripes who avoid new technologies.  No judgement here, just an observation.

As for me, I have always been an early adopter … though I don’t adopt technologies just because they are new.  I had my first cell phone (a bag phone, powered via 12V cigarette lighter plug in my car) in the early 1990’s (kinda funny as I haven’t owned a cell phone for over 10 years now), I began using the internet in 1990 while studying for my undergrad (when a forward-thinking English prof , C. Stuart Hunter, insisted that his students complete short quizzes online at the University of Guelph), and I am always thinking about how I can use new tools (both in my work as a librarian and at home).  I don’t believe new technologies are good simply because they are new … they must meet some need (efficiency, entertainment, communication, …) or be useful tools, I don’t jump on all bandwagons.

After 52,858 days (over 140 years!), long overdue book is returned to the Washington and Lee University’s Leyburn Library (previously known as Washington College)… what an amazing story!  See the Washington Post for more information.  I know I don’t always return my library books on time, but this has me beat by many many YEARS!

Yukon Government launches walking dead action plan.

According the Yukon News website, “The Yukon will be “undead ready” by 2012, according to a new $6-million Walking Dead Action Plan announced last week by the Yukon government. “This plan provides key opportunities for Yukoners to remain safe from the threat of re-animated corpses,” said Health and Social Services Minister Glenn Hart in an official release this week. The centrepiece of the plan is a $2.3-million package to promote “zombie-proof” housing in Whitehorse communities.Home builders will receive subsidies of up to 50 per cent for the installation of acid sprinkler systems, fortified window shutters and roof-mounted flamethrowers.”

My favourite part of this is the roof-mounted flamethrowers” …  who knew that it was so dangerous to live in Yukon?

I can’t believe it.  NRC Research Press has announced that after 8 years of providing free access to NRC Research Press journal titles (such as Canadian Journal of Forest Research and Canadian Geotechnical Journal), this free electronic access will cease soon, likely in 2011.  I find this very discouraging.  When I spoke with NRC Press representatives approximately 8 years ago (when they first launched the free online versions of their journals), they assured me the plan was to provide this free access forever.  When I spoke with them a few years later, they said they hoped they would be able to continue to provide free access … at this point I became worried.  Now, a few years later, my fears have been realized.  No more free access to these valuable journals for Canadians.

As a librarian I find this disturbing on many fronts, the two main fronts being:

• First, patrons in my library will find their access to vital information is reduced when this change in access is implemented
• Second, as Open Access journals are growing internationally, it is sad that these vital Canadian research journals are moving in the opposite direction.

One of the many things I love about working in a library is that I never know what wonderful information will fall into my hands … and today the prize goes to“31 Ft. Goat Tower keeps animals fit, happy” from Farm Show Magazine.  As the library I work in provides information services related to natural resources … including agriculture … we subscribe to a number of agriculture journals.  Farm Show Magazine is, for me, the most interesting of the agriculture journals as it features amazing and innovative “made it myself” inventions … and the goat tower is one of the most interesting “made it myself” creations I have seen to date.  Having spent some time around goats (a friend had goats as pets), I am sure that goats must love this tower.  Goats seem to enjoy both exploring and venturing upwards …

I love my job and the fascinating tidbits of information I come across each day!