Adventures in Librarianship

I have a confession to make. Though I realize it may seem strange coming from a librarian, I’ve always been reluctant to recommend favorite books/movies/music/etc. to others. My taste in such things has always been a little odd (or, at least, different enough from that of friends to seem a little odd), and just because I like something, it doesn’t mean that everyone else should like it too. So I tend to keep my likes and dislikes in all things media to myself. (For much the same reason, I’m not a big fan of reviews - I don’t really like other folks telling me what I should like.)

But lately I’ve been rethinking my position on this a little. I keep running across (or rediscovering) a lot of stuff that I really like, and I want to share. So, I’m going to.

I still don’t consider these recommendations, or reviews, it’s just… Stuff I Like (along with a little bit about why). If it turns out to be stuff you like, that’s great. If it spurs you to tell me about related stuff you like, that’s also great (despite what I said about not liking reviews, I’m always curious to hear about what other people like). If the Stuff I Like turns out to be the Stuff You Hate, that’s okay too (though I’m not really interested in arguing the point with you).

And one more quick disclaimer before I get on with the first instance of Stuff I Like. I am a geek. I have degrees in Physics and Computer Science. I’m a fan of science fiction and fantasy literature, television, and film (and what the heck - radio, too). I play video games and spend a lot of time hanging out on the internet. I have… slightly unusual… taste in music. All these things will become evident as I talk about the Stuff I Like, and if this sort of thing isn’t to your taste, well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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Arthur C. Clarke died last week, so it’s oddly appropriate that I start with “2001: A Space Odyssey.” This was about the first piece of adult fiction I think I ever read, and although I was already a sci fi fan, it was also my first real introduction to science fiction literature. And it completely blew me away. I think it was about the most amazing thing I’d ever read at the time¹ .The story contained so many elements I loved: mystery, suspense, an epic scope, a sense of wonder. It has one of the most haunting last lines I’ve ever read² .

And, of course, there’s HAL.

Through many years of computer geekery, I have learned, inanimate objects though they may be, computers, like cars, seem to develop personalities of their own. And of all the robots and computers and cyborgs and artificial intelligences I’ve run across in science fiction, HAL is still the personality by which I judge all the other AIs. There was just something so vivid - both oddly endearing and downright terrifying - about Clarke’s portrayal of this computer, and how in its own reasoned, thoughtful, methodical way, it goes completely ’round the twist.

Here’s the odd thing, though. I’m not a big fan of Clarke’s work in general. “2010″ bored me to tears³ and I don’t think I even made it past chapter 2 of “2061″. “Hammer of God” was good (but I’m extremely fond of disaster stories, so I was predisposed to liking it), and the “Rama” series was okay (but it seemed to me like a pale imitation of “2001″).⁴ But I’m okay with that. It was enough that I liked “2001″.

1. And I want to make it clear that I’m talking about the book here. I love the book. The book is awesome. But dear god, I hate the movie. I do not dispute for one moment that Stanley Kubrick was a genius and was incredibly influential, but I can’t stand his style of storytelling. [↩]
2. Which I can still quote from memory: “For though he was the master of the world, he was not quite sure what to do next. But he would think of something.” [↩]
3. But I loved the movie - it was everything I wish “2001″ (the film) would have been. Go figure. [↩]
4. I have yet to read “Childhood’s End” - Clarke’s other really, really well-known novel. [↩]

Tags: 2001, arthurcclarke, Books, sciencefiction, stuffilike

Happy New Year Everyone!

The following idea for an ongoing Flickr photo project struck me towards the end of last year, and I’ve even managed to get around to acting on it:

I’m not normally one to keep track of what I’m reading - the record keeping kind of bores me. But this year, I thought I’d do something to keep track.

So, I’m going to snap a pic of the of every book I read as I start it (or shortly thereafter). I’m planning to include eBooks and audiobooks, too, as well as any really interesting articles, blog posts, etc. that I come across and have time to snap a picture of.

I might come back and make note of when (or if) I finish the book. Or I might not. The whole point of this is to keep the boring record-keeping to a minimum.

If anybody else wants to play along, leave a comment - if there are enough others, I’ll start a group for this.

I’m sure there are plenty of other hassle-free ways to keep track of such things, but from my perspective, nothing’s easier than just snapping a picture. I don’t know if I’ll actually manage to keep this up for the whole year, but I think it’ll be fun to try. And, as I said, if anybody else wants to play along, drop me a comment, either here or at Flickr - if enough people show interest (and I’ll likely consider one other person “enough people”), I’ll start a group.

If nothing else, it might be amusing to have photographic evidence of just how weird my taste in reading material is.

Tags: Books, Reading, What I'm Reading

I’m a bit late to the party in commenting on Internet Librarian this year. Chalk it up to the head cold I brought home with me. I once again had a great time, and although this time around it wasn’t quite the same eye-opening, world-rocking experience last year’s was, Internet Librarian is still some of the most fun I have as a librarian.

And interestingly enough, my comment from my last post, that “to be perfectly honest, I think I could ignore the sessions… …and still have a great conference experience if it meant I could hang out with the other conference attendees,” turned out to be somewhat prophetic.

That’s not to say there weren’t good sessions - it was very nearly worth the price of the conference just to hear Joe Janes’ keynote. But unlike last year, where I was completely floored by the number of really great presentations, the presentations this year varied a lot more in quality. There were excellent presentations, but there were also a couple of real turkeys, and overall it just seemed like fewer presenters brought their A game than last year.¹

However, I do not for one minute consider my time in Monterey wasted. But the most useful bits of the conference this year for me turned out to be conversations that occurred in between sessions, at the various receptions, and over meals. I got to hang out with many of my online buddies, including several people I haven’t seen in person since Internet Librarian last year. I ran into a friend and former classmate in the airport and we got to catch up on life over a great seafood dinner. I got to meet a whole bunch more people. And in the midst of all that, I got to be party to some really great conversations ranging from the current state of library literature to Mac geekery to change and innovation in libraries (or the lack thereof).

I also got to hear what I think was the beginnings of a lot of the talk that’s been going around since Internet Librarian about virtual conferences, and even though this may amount to nothing more than a bit of “me too-ism”, I want to contribute my two cents.

My experience at Internet Librarian this year has convinced me that Jason Griffey (who’s written 3 times on this subject recently, posts to be found here, here, and here), Meredith Farkas, Michelle Boule, and the other folks² who have weighed in on the idea of virtual conferences (particularly in the case of ALA conferences) are absolutely dead on in saying that the traditional conference format is due for a change. I think some serious thought needs to be given to exactly which of the traditional conference activities are still best handled in person and which ones are really better moved to the virtual realm. And here’s my take on where some lines should be drawn.

First, the virtual:

Formal business meetings and committee meetings really need to go virtual - by taking away the requirement that people are forced to all be in the same place at the same time in order to participate, it should mean that a lot more people will be capable of participating.³

Any program/talk/presentation/whatever you want to call it where the primary intent of the presenter is to “talk at” the audience can probably go virtual. One thing that really came home for me at Internet Librarian this year, is that I don’t have a lot of patience left for traveling to sit through presentations that amount to canned speeches where the presenter is saying little more than “look at my cool thing, isn’t it cool,” and has no real interest in engaging the audience. That’s not to say that purely informational presentations are a complete waste of time - they frequently contain genuinely useful information - but I don’t have to be physically present at the presentation to get what I need out of them.

I’m sure there are other things that are more suited to the virtual realm, but for me, those are the two biggies. These are also the two primary reasons why the big, huge ALA conferences generally fail to inspire much interest from me. I don’t want to spend a great deal of time, money, and effort to travel to a distant city in order to do the sort of work that could just as easily be done online. And, I have to say that in ALA’s conferences attempts to be all things to all people, it seems like the balance it tipped more towards the sort of purely informational presentations that I don’t feel a need to be physically present for. It’s not that I’m unwilling to participate, or that I’m uninterested in the content, or even that I’m unwilling to pay to get access to the content. But I just don’t get a high enough return on my investment (of time and the energy it takes to travel as much money) to make it seem worthwhile to go.

But that doesn’t mean I think the physical conference is dead. I will still gladly pay good money and travel to:

See any program/talk/presentation/whatever you want to call it where the primary intent of the presenter is to inspire the audience.⁴ Because, let’s face it, the best way to get people charged up about something still seems to be to do it in person. I read a number of blog posts rehashing that Joe Janes keynote I mentioned earlier, and though they were all pretty good at capturing the basic content of that talk, not a one of them was an adequate substitute for sitting in the audience and hearing the talk live. And even if most of “informational” side of conference presentations go virtual, I will always be willing to pay good money to go see the most inspiring folks do what they do best.

See any program/talk/presentation/whatever where the primary intent is to start a conversation amongst the people in the room. Be it a formal round-table discussion, or an informal get-together over dinner. Even if there are folks there who’d really just prefer to sit and listen⁵ I’ve found that a conversation between several people almost always proves to be more interesting and informative than if it had just been one person talking.

Socialize. Because despite the fact that I can hang out virtually with all my online buddies, it’s still not the same as actually getting to hang out with them in person. I’m sure I’m not the only person to notice that no matter how good our virtual lines of communication get there is still something incredibly compelling about getting together with people in real life.

It comes down to this: I have a limited amount of time and money to spend traveling to conferences, and as a result, I’m choosy about what I consider going to. I can’t go to everything (no one can). But if I had the opportunity to virtually attend conferences without incurring all the expense of attending the physical conference, I’d probably attend more conferences. And the group that figures out the best mix of virtual and physical content (and better yet, that figures out a way to make money off of both) is going to win. Huge. They’ll definitely have my support.

1. Inevitable, perhaps - last year, it seemed like everybody brought their A game. [↩]
2. whose posts I have, unfortunately, failed to bookmark and am too lazy to look up for linkage here [↩]
3. This doesn’t mean they *will* participate, but it does take away one excuse to not participate. [↩]
4. And inspiration can take so many forms: you can inspire action, you can inspire thought, you can inspire debate…. [↩]
5. A preference that I’ll admit to being guilty of myself fairly often, depending on the situation. [↩]

I’m off to another library conference this morning. Internet Librarian this time, in beautiful Monterey CA. My planned sked’s up online, if any of you are going and want to try and find me to say hi. This is my second trip to Internet Librarian and I’ve been looking forward to going back pretty much from the moment I got home last year.

Having gotten back from LITA Annual not too long ago (it was also a great conference - if you want info on the talks, go check out the LITA blog), I’m reminded of the very best thing about attending conferences: the people. Sure there are some great sessions to attend and I’ve always come home having learned bunches. And sure, you (hopefully) get to hang out in a cool city (Denver and Monterey both qualify as neat places to hang out). But to be perfectly honest, I think I could ignore the sessions and spend all my time indoors and still have a great conference experience if it meant I could hang out with the other conference attendees. I’m pretty sure that others have mentioned this already, but I tend to learn just as much in conversations between sessions and over meals (or over drinks in a local pub) as I do in the sessions.

LITA Annual also gave me the opportunity to re-connect with some folks. I ran into a friend and former library school classmate who I hadn’t talked to in close to two years (and Maggie, if you’re reading this, it was great to see you). I also got an e-mail from another friend and former classmate who saw my last blog post letting me know that she’ll be at Internet Librarian and we’re planning to meet up. Now, I know that Libraryland is a relatively small world, but still, how cool is that?

Tags: conferences, IL2007

After spending most of the summer trapped in the Tucson heat¹ I’m on the road for quite a bit of the month of October.

I’m in Denver right now, waiting for the beginning of the LITA National Forum, and since I don’t see anything of major interest on the schedule until about 3 this afternoon, I’m contemplating running off to spend a few hours at one of my favorite Denver hangouts². Or I may take advantage of the fact that I’ve got a quiet hotel room and an internet connection and get those photos from my late May trip to Estes Park sorted and posted to Flickr³. I’d like to get those up, because I’m heading back to Estes Park immediately after Forum (may actually skip the closing keynote so I can get outta town before the madness that is Sunday professional sports can descend upon downtown Denver), and I’m not sure I want any more of a backlog of Rocky Mountain National Park photos than I already have.

This is the first LITA Forum I’ve been to, and I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t been to a lot of conferences, but I’ve been to enough to know I like the smaller ones (the big ALA conferences are just too big for my taste). It looks like an interesting mix of programming this year⁴, and I’m looking forward to seeing the friends I only seem to get to see at conferences, and to meeting some new folks.

And after I get back to Tucson after LITA and my side trip to the mountains, I think I only have two weeks before I’m off to Monterey for Internet Librarian. Last year, Internet Librarian was a blast, so I’m glad to be heading back again this year. So October is promising to be hectic, but in a good way.

1. And since we had an unusually humid summer this year, also The Sticky. UGH! [↩]
2. But which one? The Botanic Gardens? The Natural History Museum? The Tattered Cover? [↩]
3. Mom’s have been up for months, after all. [↩]
4. Which I will not be blogging - that takes more energy than I’m interested in devoting. Maybe I’ll do some sort of photo essay in Flickr instead. [↩]

Tags: conferences, lita07, lita2007, Travel

What can I say? I needed a break. After spending two years writing constantly for school my muse¹ decided to go on summer vacation. Or take a sabbatical. Or something.

But now even the Car Talk puzzler is back from summer vacation, and I’m starting to feel slightly guilty about not having posted anything for… yikes - over 4 months. I’ve had some ideas marinating during that time, so it’s time to start posting again.

Vacation’s over, and you can once again expect my usual level of inanity on libraries, technology, and anything else that comes to mind to be appearing here soon.

1. Such as it is. [↩]

It’s been an eventful - wow, almost two weeks - for me, and I have a bit of catching up to do. First on the catch-up list: my trip to Kansas, which went quite well.

I went to Kansas (along with my folks) so that I could set up high-speed internet access for my Grandmother (hi Grammy). Now, since my grandmother lives in a tiny town in NW Kansas (Bird City, population approx 450) getting high speed internet might seem like an impossible feat, but the local cable company is doing a surprisingly decent job of making high speed access available in my Grandmother’s part of rural Kansas - it was just a matter of finding a time to get the family geek (aka, me) out to Bird City to set everything up.

And to my great pleasure, setup was a breeze. Somebody from the cable co. came and set up the outside antenna that was needed (it’s some kind of wireless system that I’ve never really seen or heard of before) and I added a network card to my Grandmother’s computer (she’s not a net newbie - she’s had dial-up internet for several years - go Grammy!), set up a wireless network for family to use with laptops, and… everything worked. Yay!

Now, I’m not saying that the digital divide is a thing of the past (I’ve got friends and classmates who hail from the Navajo reservation, which is still very much unwired - I know how far we still have to go in some areas). But I do think the fact that my Grandmother now has megabit internet service in her home in rural Kansas is a sign that we’re moving in the right direction.

Next up, my trip to the Bird City public library.

Here I am once again writing a first blog post. Thanks to a bit of not-quite-perfect thinking, I’ve managed to outgrow my original blog name, so I get to do a bit of a refresh. (A refresh that goes beyond just the blog, there are some other accounts involved as well - like Flickr, more on that shortly.)

Welcome to the folks who are following me over here from “Adventures in Library School” and welcome to anyone who just happened to randomly wander this way.

I’m still in the process of moving in and getting settled, but I will very shortly be off on my first Adventure in Librarianship - I’m headed to the wilds of northwestern Kansas (tornado season in Kansas is always a little wild) in a couple of hours to help set my grandmother up with high-speed internet access.

Just doing my part to help bridge the digital divide.

I’m also going to take a tour of my Mom’s hometown library so pics and bloggage of that adventure should be coming fairly soon (assuming that everything goes well with the high-speed internet setup).

Now I gotta go finish packing.