heading to Monterey today to attend Internet Librarian. not only do i get to catch up with my friends, but i get to hear about all the awesome ways libraryland is taking advantage of the web to better meet the needs of library uses.
tomorrow is the first ever LibraryCamp at IL and i’m really looking forward to facilitating that with Jenica Rogers.
i’m also giving a talk on cloud computing with Kendra K Levine and Laura Harris.
finally, i am participating in BattleDecks on tuesday night with folks who are wicked fun.
this is gonna rock.
This will be an interactive discussion about people, technology, and libraries. Bring your war stories and your questions and be prepared to share as this is definitely NOT a “sage on the stage” event. (PowerPoints are forbidden!) This unstructured conversation may range from web development to info commons to everything in between, in all types of libraries.
Head over to the wiki to add your name and any topics that you’d like to discuss.
i’m in town for the SLA Centennial Conference. i love the SLA conferences – it’s always wild to meet librarians who work in “non-traditional” gigs. this year i’m on the boards of two divisions – IT and Academic – so i’ll be getting my first glimpse at the inner machinations of things.
there are still spots available for the ETIG library camp this coming May 29, 2009 in Montreal (hosted at my loverly place of work – McGill Unversity).
so come hang out with Jessamyn West, John Fink, Jason Hammond, and a bunch of other really awesome folks for one day.
it’s cheap (40$).
we’re going to talk about fun things.
and there’s a surprise gift for those who attend. (seriously, there is. i’m not just saying that.)
so despite being a librarian, i read very few books. i get most of my information from blogs, magazines, journals, podcasts, and talking to people (some of whom are writing books). some days i think this is a huge failure on my part, and i remember hearing something about multitaskers actually being unable to focus on anything for longer than 5 minutes…
<bad pun> wow, i’d really like some candy right now. </bad pun>
i own Clay Shirky‘s Here Comes Everybody – but i read maybe a few pages at a time, because they are just so dense. (i’m not the only one that feels that way. one of the Media Hacks guys – Mitch Joel maybe – faces the same issue.) and i have a copy of Seth Godin‘s Tribes (bit of a fangirl since seeing him speak at SLA last year) but again… yet to break the spine on the book.
but TED just posted Seth Godin’s most recent chat about tribes, and it rocks as much as i hoped it would. at the end he posts three questions about leading a tribe.
who are you upsetting? if you’re not upsetting anyone, you’re not changing the status quo.
who are you connecting? cuz that’s what a lot of people are in it for.
who are you leading? cuz focusing on the leading is where change comes from.
In order to be really good as a librarian, everything counts towards your work, every play you go see, every concert you hear, every trip you take, everything you read, everything you know. I don’t know of another occupation like that. The more you know, the better you’re going to be. – Allen Smith, PhD
i found this quote via a shared item from my friend Wendy Brown (who took me bowling once at this awesome place in Jamaica Plains), but it’s originally from the Bilingual Librarian blog.
i think this may be a reason i am so happy in this profession – everything matters.
such as present at a workshop where you’re on the slate with seasoned veterans like Stephen Abram and Michael Stephens.
i would say that i am fairly comfortable presenting in front of a group. we do a lot of teaching at my branch, so i have had a lot of practice explaining somewhat complicated things to folks.
i also read up on presenting (slide:ology and presentation zen are two recent faves) and while i don’t consider myself as proficient with powerpoint as Larry Lessig, i certainly don’t force my audience to suffer “death by powerpoint”. or as Dorothea puts it, “i don’t think i’ve ever wasted the audience’s time”.
so though i’m okay speaking to people, and know that my presentations are, for the most part, not-so-bad, being asked to speak at this workshop was still scary.
scary because…
both Stephen and Michael know how to engage an audience.
i wasn’t presenting at some far-off conference to peeps that i will only ever see again at another conference. i was presenting to local librarians and library school students – my colleagues and friends!
i didn’t get to rehearse nearly as much as i had hoped (note to self: your procrastinatory skills are epic. you must fix this).
but scary is good. scary makes you try harder. scary makes you prepare better (plz to disregard my 3rd point above). scary makes you try things. scary pushes you to do something!
and then the next time you do it, it’s less scary. and then the next time, even less scary. and so on, and so on…
so how have you scared yourself lately? (alright alright, use “challenged” if that sounds better in your head.) i am well aware that it is easier to say you are going to do something new than to actually do it.
but i just want to publicly thank a bunch of people without whom my degree would NEVER have been possible.
first, naturellement, to my hubby™ who loved me when i had no idea what i wanted to do with my life (and was doing very little), and who continues to support me now that i think the world is my frickin’ oyster and i am invincible. (i even have a superhero – you should too!)
second, to my bestest ever friend, who will remain an online-enigma, save to say that if Alexander McQueen ever went straight, she would be first in line to marry him. and he’d be one lucky dude to have someone so intelligent and creative at his side. velouria FTW!
third, to my rugby posse. who tonight surprised me not only with sushi and molson export (YAY!), but earrings from the Frank Gehry collection at Tiffany (love me some Frank) to celebrate my graduation. the card read:
with so much love & pride.
congratulations on everything amy.
love cathy, shelly, gij, susy and jess
given the accomplishments (leaving their rugby achievements aside) of these women (anyone need an accountant, social worker, teacher, graphic design firm owner, or philosophy professor? just holler) i can’t believe they have the time to look out for me – but i know they always have my back.
and to my online network of librarians and ed tech folks. [i was thinking of linking each of your blogs to a word in the following paragraph - but i don't have enough words to thank everyone...] you played a significant role in my success in library school. i couldn’t find all the components of the professional network that i wanted to create from the peeps i knew in Montreal/at McGill, and all of you have managed to answer questions, lend support, tell me when i’m doing something stoopid, and share your lives. you are all part of one of my fundamental beliefs, that knowledge requires collaboration.
finally, there are many folks from grad school who made academia WAY more fun – you know who you are, JJaCL. the day-to-day would have been excruciating without you. i am forever in your debt.
