2012 Goals

January 15, 2012

(First off, good job, WordPress, for not reminding me that the domain for this blog expired on December 31st.  Only discovered this now, two weeks after the fact. (Of course, if I was supposed to have something enabled to receive these reminders, someone please tell me.)

It has been almost six months since I wrote a blog post.  There were reasons for that absence – they were a melting pot of work, life, professional obligations, getting used to a new commute (I moved offices at the end of December) and a very nice vacation to see my family in Florida for Christmas. (Everyone in the Northern Hemisphere should spend Christmas in warmer climes at least once in their lives.  It may take some time to get used to, but when you do – boy, is it a lovely thing!) Within this potpourri were several questions about the effectiveness of another library blog, or even another blog at all.  Have blogs passed their prime? Are they really the most effective channel for communication, at least on the individual level?

I still see many wonderful personal blogs out there, both library blogs and otherwise, and their presence makes me reluctant to give up this blog completely.  Thus, I kick off 2012 with the list of annual goals, personal and professional.  Hold me to these, kids.

2012 Goals

Professional

1) Speak/present at, the minimum, one library conference.  I like getting my goals out of the way early, and this is one of them.  I will be presenting next week at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting.  In 2011, I was part of a taskforce with the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) to reform the organization and move communications to a more virtual arena.  I will be presenting out taskforce’s findings on Saturday, 21 December at the RUSA Board Meeting.  This meeting is open to all attendees, and I invite all librarians in my social circle to attend.  I’m hoping that I can squeeze something in for ALA Annual in Anaheim this June, even though most deadlines have passed.  The network of free webinars within ALA is also very deep, and I am also exploring that as a potential presentation avenue.

2) Use social media more effectively in sharing professional information. This means keeping up with both reading and writing blogs, my personal web portfolio, Twitter, Facebook and Google+.  I want to at least publish two blog posts related to library/information science/knowledge management issues a month.  In this, I have to balance my desire to share information and my stance on issues with my job and its position in the industry.  I must be careful not to give the impression that my views are reflective of my company, and if that means keeping my mouth shut on certain issues and concerns, difficult as it is, so be it.

3) Publish at least one article in professional channels (preferably peer reviewed). And here’s another one that I get out of the way early in the year!  In October 2011, Against the Grain approached me to write an article on what it has been like for me to have the MLS and work for a library vendor.  This should be published in their March 2012 issue.

4) Explore all avenues of professional growth, formal and informal. I’m hoping to work with different departments in my company on other projects that will have a distinct effect on the work of my department.  Closer to my actual work, which is now more global in nature, I hope to join the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and begin development and service within that organization.  Networking with other librarians remains a key focus of my professional growth, be it talking with librarians at conferences or chairing new, less formal conference initiatives, such as ALA CraftCon.  CraftCon is ALA’s first ever mini-conference/unconference on DIY and crafts and how you can use them in your library.  It kicks off at ALA Midwinter with one hour each day of demos of different crafts.  I’ll be leading the knitting/crocheting hour on Sunday, 22 January from 3 – 4 PM in the Networking Uncommons, and all are invited to stop by.

5) Build technology competencies to remain competitive. In Fall 2010, I took a wonderful free online class through O’Reilly Media and createLIVE on XML. This year, I will be part of the Code Year initiative through Codecacademy.  I hope that this can lead to fulfilling goal #4.

6) Serve and chair/co-chair at least one American Library Association committee/taskforce/group. My time as chair of the RUSA Structure Taskforce will probably end this year.  Being a chair has helped build leadership skills and my knowledge base of the history of one of ALA’s larger divisions.  I am hoping to stay involved with RUSA, for they are a wonderful organization and have been very generous to me. (The current president took the time to write me a thank you note for my work on the Structure Task Force!  Seeing that note after a long day at work truly made my day and reaffirmed my commitment to membership.)  I’m also co-chair of the New Members’ Roundtable (NMRT) Student and Student Chapter Outreach committee and a member of the NMRT Online Discussion Group.  I hope to continue that work in this year.

7) Get elected to ALA Council. Running again, this time as a nominated candidate.  Wish me luck!

8) Find a cause for advocacy, and make that my personal library cause. Every great librarian I know has one cause or issue that they make their own – e-books, information literacy, library advocacy.  My “cause” will be alternative careers for the MLS, based in part on my own job search experience. I would like to become an advocate for these alternative careers.  In spite of the faults of library schools and LIS education, I do think the degree is worthwhile in part, and that there are good careers out there.  The change in the professional landscape means that students and new professionals are going to have to “think outside the box” when it comes to finding and landing a job.  I want to position myself as someone that can offer sound advice on career planning.

Personal – Health

1) Make and keep all medical appointments in 2012. Self explanatory.

2) Rest when ill or out of the office – don’t worry so much about work! American working culture puts guilt on the worker that actually takes a sick or vacation day – you’re not a team player if you’re not wedded to your job 24/7/365.  When I am home sick or on vacation, I have to put myself first.  The office will go on without you.

3) Find new avenues for exercise. I don’t have the time to run as much as I did when I was working part-time and unemployed, which means I need to supplement weekend runs (which will start again when the weather gets warmer) with something else. I tried yoga late in 2011 but injuries forced me to put it off for the last month of the year. I will go back to doing yoga in 2012, but look at other forms of exercise.

Personal – Knitting

1) Learn at least one new knitting skill. Done – I can now knit socks from the toe up and use Judy’s Magic Cast-On!  I would like to learn Magic Loop (knitting with one large circular needle) and knitting socks with two circular needles – because I have a bad habit of losing my DPN’s on the bus. :)

2) Learn to spin. The roving and spindle I bought last year from Highland Handmades is on top of my yarn stash bin, teasing me. I tried once with some roving I ordered from Amazon (note: Never. Do. That. Again!) and I need to try again.

3) Knit from Stash. I started this at the end of 2011, and it opened my eyes to the great stuff I have in those bins and baskets!

4) Buy less yarn. This follows from #3.  I was going to try to go an entire year without purchasing any yarn, which lasted all of two weeks.  (Malabrigo, you vile temptress!)  Assuming I have time to find a yarn shop in Dallas at ALA Midwinter, there will be some vacation yarn, but I hope to make that my only other yarn purchase until ALA Annual in Anaheim.

Personal – Other Hobbies

1) Build a kickass steampunk outfit. I fell in love with steampunk culture when Frank and I went to the 2011 Steampunk World’s Fair.  We’re going again this year, and I want an awesome outfit to show off.

2) Build a kickass Renaissance Faire outfit. Frank and I started this in 2011, and I want to make an even more great one for the 2012 faires we want to attend (New York, Tuxedo Park, Maryland, Pennsylvania).

3) Take up other crafts. I would like to learn how to sew, and there have been some other great projects (jewelry making, paper crafts) on various craft blogs.

4) Continue exploring cooking, with a focus on vegetarian meals. This one helps hen you have a boyfriend that loves to cook.  We have fun playing chef-sous chef together, like we did on New Year’s Eve.  Our salad, tortellini and garlic bread was delicious, and we both discovered the joy of parsnips as a salad ingredient.  The focus on vegetarian cooking is for both health and cost reasons (meat is expensive, yo!), and I love what I have found thus far, particularly with potatoes and soups.

Personal – Intellectual

1) Stay informed on politics. This is an election year, and I need to do this in order to make an effective, nonpartisan decision.  (And offer advice to my sister when she calls to ask who she should vote for!) I watch Meet the Press every Sunday morning (“If it’s Sunday…”) and I need to make time to watch all presidential debates this year.

2) Stay informed on local, national and international news. I cancelled my New York Times subscription out of cost and no time to read it.  I hope that keeping up with news via my iPad and TV will help fill that gap.

3) Make time to read. I have a longer commute, which means I should have more time to work on the 600+ books hiding in all sorts of places in the house.  Genres of interest for this year include fantasy and steampunk.

4) Learn to Code. I listed this one in my professional goals, but my desire to learn to code is a personal goal.  With the help of Code Year and Codecacademy, I want to make this happen.

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Posted by librariankate7578

The Obligatory “Please Don’t Hate Me for Where I am Spending the Holidays” Post

November 23, 2010

In case you don’t follow me on Facebook or Twitter, here’s where I am spending the Thanksgiving holiday this year (click for full size):

It’s a little bit bizarre wearing short sleeves whilst getting ready to baste a turkey*, but it’s a short form of bizarre.  Meaning, you get used to it and revel in it very quickly! :)

Visited two yarn shops (admittedly, one was the local Hobby Lobby but hey, we don’t have them in New Jersey!), went to Steinbrenner Field, took my XML and Applications class from the comfort of the screened in lanai, and in general, lived la vida Florida.  (Which is really just a lot of relaxing.)

Nursing quite a nasty injury as I slipped and fell the day before I left en route to a manicure/pedicure appointment, banging up my left knee and bruising my big toe.  Ever try to limp through the airport?  I don’t recommend it.  I am better now; toe pain is gone though I have a bruise, and my badly damaged knee is healing. (How bad was it?  The woman working on my pedicure screamed when she saw it.  SCREAMED.)

As for my air travel, I was on the lookout for backscatter machines in Newark Airport, but did not see them in use.  I flew (pun completely intentional)  through the x-ray machine – because I, ahem, follow the rules and do my homework.**  I know from my last trip to Tampa that TPA has them; as I am flying back on Black Friday it will be interesting to see what goes down on my return flight in the checkpoint.

Those with interests in higher education might find this story from our major local metropolitan paper very interesting – seems you can cheat on a college course and keep your state funded scholarship!

If you’re interested in classical music, I recommend the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) Beethoven’s Nine Symphonies in Nine Days from CBC Radio 2***.  It’s a nice peek inside the context for the Symphonies and a good in-depth musical analysis of what makes them so great. (I’m up to the Pastoral Symphony, aka the Sixth Symphony, as I write this.) It inspires me to dig out the CDs I have of all nine symphonies (got them at a book fair as part of a classical masters CD set at a rock-bottom price a few years ago) and listen from start to end once more.

And with that, a Happy Thanksgiving to my American readership.

 

* Admittedly, Mom is basting the turkey, but you get the idea.

** I was in the “casual traveler” lane (reference – see the bottom of the page) and based on the amount of time that x-ray machine was going off, I don’t think too many of my fellow travelers at EWR Checkpoint C-1 fit the profile of “somewhat familiar with TSA procedures.”

*** Sorry about the iTunes link; it was the best one I was able to get.

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Libraries on the Unemployment Line

August 9, 2010

As a condition of my unemployment benefits with the State of New Jersey,** I was required to attend Reemployment Services Orientation at my county One Stop Career Center. While I have the attitude of “well, maybe I will learn something new” when these classes that leave me less than enthused come round (this attitude got me through many a required computer training class in previous jobs), I wasn’t looking forward to this.

Of course, I didn’t leave with any new ideas or skills; I joked on Facebook and Twitter later that the entire experience may have left me a few brain cells short. It wasn’t until later that I realized the goldmine – these career centers are fertile ground for partnerships with public libraries.

Here’s a few thoughts that come to mind after my experiences today that would extend the viability of these one stop career centers:

  • Resume/Job Search Assistance: According to the handout we received in the session, only two of the five counselors that provide such assistance are full time. In a state where the unemployment rate is 9.6 percent (source), this bodes for overworked employees who may not be able to bring the time and attention needed for job seekers. (This is something I discovered first hand when I called the Career Center for information on the classes – no one seemed to pick up the phone, even during staffed hours!) Additionally, the Career Center also serves as a portal for in-depth unemployment questions and consultations. Bring librarians in to fill in gaps when career services counselors cannot, such as networking and marketing yourself with social media, or in times of high demand (for example, if a large employer in the area makes cuts). This takes pressure off of the career center being one stop at the risk of neglecting more pressing concerns.
  • Website and Computer Skills: The websites on the handout were less than impressive – some looked like spam sites, they tended towards the hourly part-time positions, and others were not even accurately listed. (LinkedIn was listed as www.linked-in.com.) Tech-savvy librarians can offer wider breadth and depth of job search sites (where was Monster and Career Builder in all this?), brush job seekers up on computer skills, and open doors to other electronic resources, like RSS feeds and social media. (And don’t forget proper representation of oneself on the Internet!)
  • Different Levels of Education/Work Experience: Our class had a wide variety of education and experience amongst the unemployed – from people who barely finished high school to those with multiple degrees, active job searchers in the market for several months to those just confronting unemployment for the first time. Covering this variety is difficult, and I felt talked down to more than once. (Someone in the class suggested USAJobs.com as a resource, and she was pooh-poohed by the instructor.) Why not offer re-employment classes for different levels of education and experience – with assistance from librarians? It’s repetitive from the first bullet, but worth repeating: Use the career center counselors for the most basic of job seeking needs, and librarians for those who want to take their search to the next level.

My entire experience at the One Stop Career Center felt more like an empty 2 AM infomercial than any sort of job resource. It was only intended to be basic information, but at times felt too basic. Working with local libraries, be they county or municipal libraries, might take the services to the next level.

Public librarians in cyberspace, any ideas?  Thoughts? Programs your library is doing?

** For those unaware, I had a temp job as an office/secretarial assistant at a consulting firm not far from my home while I finished grad school. The job let me go in June of this year due to lack of work, and I filed for unemployment benefits – for the first time ever in my life – shortly thereafter.

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Posted by librariankate7578

Teaching Logarithms to Illiterates

April 1, 2010

I don’t often speak of heroes or inspirational people here, but the world lost a good man this week when Jaime Escalante, the Los Angeles math teacher who inspired the film “Stand and Deliver” passed away from cancer at 79 years of age.

To quote my friend Carli, he was proof that if you get “teachers you care and kids who want to learn, the system can work.”  The man was not without controversy.  He pushed for tougher educational standards, offended colleagues and parents alike with his strong, militant style, opposed bilingual education in California – and of course, we all know about his famous 1982 AP Calculus class whose exam scores were challenged by ETS.  Yet the man produced, led and inspired, and he will be remembered as one who lived to change the world and change the system.  Teaching logarithms to illiterates?  He not only taught the logarithms, he made his students love them.

I leave you with the funniest line from Stand and Deliver. Cal-cool-us indeed. Rest in peace, good man.  You inspired a generation.

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And Now For Something Completely Different

March 25, 2010

Lest you think I have a one track mind tending towards matters of library and information science, there is other stuff going on in my life..

– Classwork means that my hobbies often get pushed off to the side, so my knitting has taken its normal semester siesta, though not as much this time around as life seems to be less demanding. I managed to finish a scarf (a checkerboard/basketweave pattern) for my aunt and start something (Lion Brand’s Dusty Night Scarf) for myself.  The Diamond Lace Shawl I started last year for myself came out of a very long hibernation – and when I took it out this weekend to work on while watching the House debate health care reform – and now my mom wants one in pink.

– Something else that gets pushed off to the side for schoolwork is pleasure reading.  The lighter than expected workload this semester (and a less demanding job with less hours) has given me time to indulge, and I have been revisiting childhood classics.  I am working my way through the Anne of Green Gables series (somewhere on Anne of Avonlea right now), and re-read The Diary of Anne Frank, being just as moved, if not more, than when I first read it at 12 years old.  I’m going to pick up the autobiography of Kay Redfield Jamison I started a few months ago, and added a healthy dose of Cory Doctorow to the to-do list (starting with Little Brother) this week.

– Now that the Northeast thawed, I started running again. Since I finished Couch to 5K last summer, I’m moving on to the next step, Gateway to 8K.  Did my first two days of Week 1 (4 7 minute runs with 1 minute walking breaks in between) and while the first one left me ragged, yesterday’s was much better.  The plan is to finish the ten week program and also run in the mornings when it’s cooler.

– TV guilty pleasure: RuPaul’s Drag Race. Discovered it when I was home cleaning during the last big Northeast rainstorm.  High-larious.  Have to watch more when I have time, but tonight’s TV is March Madness, and I’ll be rooting for my Washington Huskies in the Sweet 16!

– Speaking of TV, I no longer own a Tivo. It broke about two weeks ago, and despite a (lame) attempt by the customer service rep to keep me as a customer by impressing me with his knowledge of library science, I cancelled the account.  On the upside, I’m saving $200 or so a year now.

– My music collection exploded in the first quarter of 2010, thanks to friends and eMusic. (If you don’t know what eMusic is, it’s a great supplement/alternative to iTunes.)  I’m totally loving the Dixie Bee-Liners, the new Joanna Newsom album, Laura Veirs, and Broken Bells.  Also picked up a great free SXSW sampler from NPR.  Listening to KEXP way too much, but when is that a bad thing? :)

– Now that one of my 2010 goals has been crossed off the list (learning to cook), the next goal is tech in nature – learning XML, Perl, PHP, MySQL, and other programming languages.  Hopefully this will make me more marketable in the job search. I have a book out from the library and I hope to start this weekend.

– Speaking of that, my job applications read like a road map.  I’ve applied to jobs in Washington, California (2), Oregon, Indiana (2), Missouri, Colorado, and Pennsylvania.  Other places I’m looking include Canada, Vermont, more in California, DC, Texas, and Boston.  It’s all academic, though I am considering government documents work and my love of all things King County and Washington State is leading me to applying with the King County Library System.

And with all that, the life of a soon-to-be librarian/knitter/book lover/runner/tech geek/music lover/amateur cook continues….

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On the Sports Thing

February 7, 2010

I’m a sports fan (baseball and the Olympics mainly, with some passing interest in others), but not as much as I used to be, thanks to an ex boyfriend who was so obsessed with hockey that I was convinced he loved it more than he loved me.  (That was a stark lesson in “all things in moderation.” )

That being said, yes, I am going to watch the Super Bowl and yes, I am going to root for a team – the Saints.  I admit it’s not really because of their athletic achievements – it’s more of rooting for New Orleans.  Even five years on, the town needs something to bring a smile to its face.

So Go Saints.

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Thought for the Day

January 19, 2010

Today I start my final semester of library school, appropriately enough with a class taught by one of the first professors I had at Pratt (John Berry).  My friend Mechelle, who started her last semester of law school last week, posted this on her Facebook page and it is such an eloquent expression of how I feel today (just change “law” to “library” and you get the idea):

“Today was the first day of my last days of law school. They tell you when you begin law school that current relationships will change, you will meet people that will be in your life from here on out and you will never see things the same way you did as before coming to law school. As I drove home tonight I thought about my journey and what a beautifully sobering experience it has been.”

Graduation is May 17, 2010.  118 days to go…..

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Change, It is Good

December 31, 2009

I don’t like to make New Year’s resolutions, but I do like to set “goals” for the coming year.

Goals for 2010

1) Graduate with my MLS.  Well, barring any last minute unforeseen circumstances that force me not to finish this semester, this is definitely going to happen.

2) Blog more. Yes, I say this every year (or every time I blog, rather).  In 2010 I want to make a conscious effort of it and document my life – personal and professional, especially as I finish up my MLS and move into the next step, whatever that may be (job, doctorate degree, master’s degree).  I’m hoping that by registering a domain name (and paying for it) I will have the incentive to write and get my money’s worth.

3) Learn programming languages. I won’t have time to take another class at Pratt before graduation, but I think it will be important to learn XML and build on the basic CSS I learned in my school’s basic Information Technologies class.  I have a strong suspicion it will make me more desirable to employers and open up my job pool even more.

4) Learn to cook. I’ve been putting it off long enough. I need to do it.  Woman cannot live on takeout and frozen meals alone, and in the long term, my health will benefit.

5) Visit the West Coast more. Until this year, I thought of myself as solely a Northeast girl.  Then I went to Seattle and caught the Left Coast bug.  Loved it out there. LOVED it.  I would like to see Portland and Northern California sometime this year, perhaps Denver and Austin too.  Who knows? I might even be living there this time next year. :)

6) Launch the podcast (maybe). I talked about it in June, thought it would be done in the summer, then wasn’t, then forgot about it (thanks to school), then thought about it again when I did a project for a class on podcasting.  I’m still working out content and format (maybe even video?) and  heaven only knows if I will have listeners outside of my immediate family but I would like to try and maybe make this a reality in the coming year.

7) Be happier with myself and my life choices. Yep, another one from the 2009 (and 2008, and 2007, and 2006…) lists.  It’s never easy, but important – Kate Comes First.

So here’s to a new decade.  It’s gonna be a big one.

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Part Time Living = Free Time!

November 17, 2009

Since I’m now working only part time until I graduate (those of you that follow me on Facebook or Twitter might know that when my law firm relocated further west in New Jersey, I chose not to go with them), I have more time for personal leisure and pursuits, such as knitting, blogging and finally uploading photos of various 2009 adventures.

Thus, enjoy.

American Society for Information Science and Technology Annual Meeting – Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, 11/8 – 11/11/09

Nasser Sharify Lecture – Pratt Institute, New York, 9/25/09

York College of PA New York City Metro Area Alumni Fall Happy Hour – McFadden’s, New York City, 9/24/09

Labor Day in New York City – New York, 9/7/09

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It’s Been a While. I Know.

September 18, 2009

Pratt Orientation 2009, start of fall semester, classwork, real work (meaning law firm work), internship/job interviews, first plane ride in 13 years, Seattle, new part time job as research assistant – and now you understand why this blog fell by the wayside.

Truthfully I considered discontinuing it (does anyone read blogs anymore? are we in an era of pure information overload?) but I don’t find any sort of true writing outlet on Facebook or Twitter.  I should learn to manage my time better so I can devote time to making this one fabulous librarian/knitter/NJ girl blog.

(By the way, yes I still knit.  The project steam has calmed down somewhat thanks to school and everything else but I want to finish a few hibernating projects before the end of the year. I’m not doing holiday knitting like I did last year so this should be a manageable goal.)

Meanwhile, here are some pictures from my long weekend in Seattle.

Kate Takes Seattle – 9-10-09 to 9-14-09

I had a glorious time in this city.  I was blessed with good weather, so I have been told by several natives and others who have visited that I need to “experience” the rainy season. (My counterargument is I already did – Summer 2009 in New Jersey.) Sun or rain, I truly enjoyed this city and the West Coast – cosmopolitan and laid back, progressive, intelligent, charming, and fun.

Never thought I would fall in love with  in a city that wasn’t the New York I adored since I left college.

But I did.  And the plans are in place to make it my home in a year’s time.

Finally, I leave you with this thought from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Twitter Feed: “A nation stays alive when its culture stays alive.”

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