A Better Day

I should know this by now, but a decent amount of sleep works wonders. It still wasn't enough by recommended standards, but it helped. I reminded myself that sleep=better functioning (and faster reading)=more progress.

I even went out to lunch with my family. My almost-five-year-old nephew asked for a cheeseburger. However, this means "a hamburger with a slice of unmelted cheese on top", not cheese that has melted onto the burger. Next time we'll make sure to ask for a hamburger with a slice of cheese on the side.

My coworkers who have their graduate degrees are dumbfounded by the number of books I have to read for LIS 2000. Even the recent graduates and current students in other programs can't believe it. I've been thinking about this. Even though I'm frustrated by the recommendation to "not read every word" and the necessity of zooming through reading assignments, I'm beginning to see the merit of being exposed to so many resources early in my program. I'm improving my skimming ability, for one thing. In this regard, I would probably have been better off if I hadn't let so many years pass between undergrad and grad school. Second, I'm sure that I'll draw on all of these materials in other courses and in my professional career. After all, LIS 2000 is a core course, a foundation for what is yet to come.

Now if only ZoomClouds would cooperate so I could scratch another assignment off my LIS 2600 list...

Taking a Quick Break to Complain

We were told to use this blog to vent, so here goes. This has been a rotten week (except for going to ALA).

I'm behind in my reading and have a paper due by the end of the day on Monday. On top of that, I have to participate in an online discussion (Hot Topic) by noon on Sunday. There's a quiz for the technology class on Monday. I have to blog again tomorrow to meet my three per week requirement. Somewhere, I thought I read that two classes in this program would not have assignments due on the same day, but there's no time to try to find that again. Maybe it was wishful thinking.

I'm using vacation days today and Monday for coursework. It's a good thing I'm in charge of staff scheduling at my library. When I've used up all of my comp time, maybe I should consider going from full-time to part-time. A few hours less per week might make a difference. As Head of Circ, though, I don't want to get behind at work!

I'm not able to stay up as late at night as I did in undergrad school, which was a long time ago. I feel like a cold might be trying to catch up with me.

Finally, I took my mother to three different doctors this week and missed work for two of the appointments. I sit in on her appointments with her now, so I don't get much reading done. I had Life Alert installed in her apartment today in case my brother can't get home to stay with her while I'm away for an on-campus visit. Fortunately, she is doing well. I'm very blessed to still have her after a number of medical crises in recent years.

I was disappointed that I could only take her out for dinner tonight on her 76th birthday. I spent the rest of the day on classwork. We usually go out for the day. She didn't mind, of course. I'll make it up to her during the semester break.

I also missed my best friend's birthday party last Saturday because of my library schedule, and, you guessed it, coursework.

I enjoy the content of my classes very much but I'm getting tired of rushing through everything. I am still in awe of my classmates who have children. How do they do it?

Enough of this. Tomorrow will be better (or maybe not).

American Library Association Exhibits

On Monday, I took advantage of a free bus trip (sponsored by my county library system office) to the exhibits at the American Library Association Conference in Washington, D.C. This was my first trip to ALA. There was too much to see in the time allotted, so we scanned the list and made our choices.

I made it a point to visit the booth for my university. As an online student, I hadn't met anyone from the SIS Department. It was a pleasure to meet the associate dean.

I also went to the LibLime booth, because I have an assignment using its Koha Integrated Library System.

Another stop was the Innovative Interfaces Inc. display, where I saw a demonstration of WebPacPro, the online catalog which will soon be used in my library. One of the highlights is the ability for a patron to pay overdue charges through the system.

Google had a great set-up where you could use their features to answer research questions for a prize. Too bad, we were running out of time and had to move on.

At the end of the afternoon, exhausted, we trudged back to the bus with our canvas bags heavy with all our "freebies."

Now I'm looking forward to the ALA mid-winter meeting, which will be held in Philadelphia.

Grazr Widget Assignment

I've created a Grazr widget that includes my blog, my Connotea library, and my del.icio.us library. Please click here to see it.

The URL is http://grazr.com/gzpanel.html?addbar=off&view=3p&theme=sateen_blue&file=http://grazr.com/data/mpoly/export.opml

Google Co-op Assignment

Here is my custom search engine. Since I'm on a task force that will write a case statement to obtain grants for my church, I might as well work on two projects at once. I've already used some of these sites, while some are new discoveries. I also added a search box to my blog (see below).

Preservation of Sacred Buildings and Their Histories

The URL is:

http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=007054411542131865525:jpnom8qjpve

Preservation

On Tuesday, I had a great experience that is related to my coursework. I attended my first training session in the New Dollars/New Partners for Your Sacred Place program. As a member of the Session (administrative board) of my church, I had recommended that we apply for acceptance into this training, which might lead to a much-needed grant for repairing our building.

The trainers spent half of the day discussing how to research your church's history and how to preserve its significant documents. The second portion involved methods of placing a dollar value on the programs your church offers to the community. In other words, if the church closes due to a financial crisis, what is the significance of the loss to the surrounding area? The "numbers" provide a church with concrete information to present to people, like local legislators, who might be in a position to help. In the fall, I'll attend a training module on fundraising. I know that the material will help me in my church work as well as in my goal of working in the administration of public libraries.

The trainers gave us a lot of "homework." I know what I'll be doing on my break between semesters!

Scopus/Bloglines Assignment

Click here to see my public Bloglines subscriptions, including the LIS2600 folder of my Scopus search results.

The URL is http://www.bloglines.com/public/mpolymenakos . (I added the URL here on July 2. While going over my notes, I thought this might be necessary. The rest of this post was created on June 22.)

My Scopus search included 48 items; however, only 20 seem to have been included in my LIS2600 folder. I am able to view all of them by selecting that option; they just aren't in the posted list. I'm not sure why, although the Scopus help information states that an RSS feed can not be created for all searches. Does that pertain to individual items within a search?

Both Sides of the Issue

Some of the ideas we shared in our second formal asynchronous discussion question (about the changing roles of librarians) for Understanding Information are covered in this article.


33 Reasons Why Libraries and Librarians Are Still Extremely Important - Technology - RedOrbit

Bill Gates' Harvard Commencement Speech

My pastor's daughter graduated from Harvard this month. He told me that this speech was very inspiring.

I'm having a hard time believing that she's already out of college. I hired her as a page (shelver) in my library when she was a high school sophomore.


Microsoft’s Bill Gates: Harvard commencement speech transcript - Network World

One Step Forward, One Step Back...

In yesterday's post, I referred to an article in my local newspaper. Were you wondering why I didn't use Scribefire? I'm sure you were. Rushing to make my third required post by the stroke of midnight on Saturday, I forgot how to use it!

In the interest of using my blog to keep track of my progress, here is proof that all was not lost. In a calmer moment today, it all came back to me.

Library is given a $2 million donation Inquirer 06/16/2007

Role Models

The Philadelphia Inquirer included an interesting article today about the announcement of a large donation to the restoration project of the Free Library of Philadelphia. On hand for the event was Phillies infielder Jimmy Rollins,who admitted that he "hasn't been to the library in a few years, unless you count Barnes & Noble as a library." However, he did offer helpful comments on the gun violence in the city and how libraries can be "after-school safe havens for teens."

Even if Mr. Rollins hasn't been a regular library user, his influence can have a big impact on young people. He has the right idea.

Mission Accomplished

Happiness is finishing your first assignment for Introduction to Information Technologies. We each had to incorporate references from Connotea and EndNoteWeb into a folder. I decided on copyright law as my topic. I knew virtually nothing about it until I began my assignments for my two classes, so I thought that would be a good choice.

Well, it's one of many things about which I know nothing. I have to admit that the syllabus for LIS 2600 was frightening when I first looked at it. Now, bit by bit, I know I'll get through it. I only wish that I didn't have to go through everything so quickly. How is it that some of my classmates are working ahead?

I want to go back and actually read the articles that I found. At least I now have a good set of sources, and they will help me to answer the Understanding Information class discussion question for the week of July 9.

Maybe I should treat myself to an extra hour of sleep tonight!

Open Access

Last night, I finished my first 1500 word book review comparing and contrasting three books for my Understanding Information class. It's time to begin reading the four books for the next review. The time is going by so quickly.

I had tried to read The Access Principle (by John Willinsky) online as recommended. No way. It was too hard on my eyes, and I kept losing my place. I need to play around with the features and see if I can get used to this. I quickly ordered a copy through Baker & Taylor at work (for $31.46 - There's only a 10% discount for university presses). I did use the online version for one thing; it was great for finding certain terms when I wanted to refer to them while writing.

A number of reviewers commented on the fact that Willinksy's book on open access costs over $30.00. That didn't bother me as much as finding out that my access was denied to some of the reviews! However, Willinsky is very fair in his assessment of the current state of affairs. He lists the "ten flavors of open access" in the appendix to the book. He reminds us that open access does not necessarily mean "free access."

Double Fold

Reading Double Fold, by Nicholson Baker, has led me to reflect on the many changes I've seen while working in a large suburban public library. When I had my first job there as a page (30 years ago!), I was frequently called to the circ desk to get magazines out of storage for patrons - either from a room on the same level, or from the attic of the adjacent building (an historic home).

I soon became a helper for the desk assistant who was in charge of periodicals. A few times a year, it was my job to move magazines from the Adult Library into storage. The shelves were very crowded, and my supervisor always told me to "save everything." (Baker would have been pleased.)

By mid-week, there were piles and piles of magazines and newspapers that patrons had requested - waiting for me to reshelve them.

As the years went by, we saved less and less (although we still have National Geographic back to 1917 in the attic - not the best place imaginable). Now we use only two or three bookcases in the first-floor storage area for magazines - just enough to temporarily de-clutter the display area in the library. At the beginning of next year, the custodian will put most of those magazines in the recycling bin.

Oh, I almost forgot. Bound volumes of The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature (back to 1929) reside in the attic, too. When I point them out to our new student pages on the "tour", they look puzzled - then amazed when I tell them how they were used.

Once in a long while, a patron wants to see a volume or two!

Just for Fun (Revised)

This is just to demonstrate that I finally tried Scribefire as a way to post to my blog.



Bill Gates: The Early Years | Photo Essays | TIME

Just for Fun

OK, this won't count as my third blog entry this week, but you could say it's related to LIS 2600. Check out these photos that will be in the new issue of Time.

Firefox Fixed (Or, My Brother to the Rescue)

On June 1, I wrote about my inability to access the university's digital library while using Firefox as my browser. My wonderful brother logged in to my computer remotely and discovered that although I had the latest Java update installed, Firefox did not like the fact that old versions were still lurking. Once he removed them, all was well. The Host Checker stopped its never-ending "check" and finally got down to business. What a relief when I finally saw that I was getting access! (For some reason, the old Java versions did not cause a problem in Explorer.)

Thank goodness for a brother who works in IT all day and still has the patience to help me with my computer!

It's time to get up and stretch. I've been sitting in front of this computer for almost four hours.

Settling in?

Recent days have been much more difficult for me than the first two weeks of class. Apparently, this would be the opposite of the norm, according to our professors. Today I had a chance to speak with two people about this - a teacher and a coworker.

My junior high U.S. History teacher tutors in my library. I told him that being in grad school is like having two full-time jobs. I'm spending many hours on coursework after working in my library for eight hours, and I feel like I'll never get ahead. He advised that it takes about a month for the new routine to take hold. Then he reminded me that I've always been a good student and that everything will be fine; it might be a little harder since I haven't been in school for a long time.

I've also been speaking with one of our reference librarians about all the required reading, the recommendation against reading every word, and the "completion not perfection" mantra. I don't like the idea of skimming; I want to absorb everything. Well, now I'm trying to look for main points in certain types of assignments. My friend said that she thinks the professors are teaching us how to handle the huge amounts of information we'll handle in our professional careers on a daily basis. She pointed out that this is especially important for me, since my goal is to work in leadership roles in public libraries after graduation.

Back to the books....

The Internet as an Interactive Medium

This excerpt of Al Gore's new book, The Assault on Reason, includes passages that are directly related to our coursework about information and how it is distributed. Gore contrasts television, which "dominates the flow of information" with the Internet and its potential "to revitalize the role played by the people in our constitutional framework" and to connect "individuals to one another and to a universe of knowledge." I've reserved the book at my library.

Frustrations with Firefox

Only one frustration, actually. For some reason, I can not access the university's online library using Firefox. I get to the Host Check screen, and it looks like data is being transferred, but it never finishes. The Help Desk staff told me that I won't be able to use Firefox to get into the library - something about an recent upgrade preventing its use.

I've learned through the Discussion Board that you can't use a Mac for this purpose, but that's not the problem.

The Secure VPN Service instructions state that Firefox 2.0 with Sun JRE 1.5 is compatible. What is Sun JRE 1.5? Is it an automatic component of the latest edition of Firefox? I'll have to find out. Could that be the missing link?

I was moving along O.K. until now. I know we've been told that things won't always work smoothly and that frustration will be a part of online studies. Stay tuned.