I recently listened to the book Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and thoroughly enjoyed it!! I tried to read this book about a year ago and didn't get past the first chapter. I knew it was a good book (reviews/awards), but I just couldn't get into it. Two weeks ago I decided to visit my parents and what better way to enjoy a road trip alone than to have someone read me a story? I listened to it all the way there (4 hours) and back. The reader, Kristoffer Tabori, was amazing! I can still hear his voice ringing in my ears! I enjoy reading historical fiction, so I think that is what really turned me on about the story. I originally thought this would be the story of Cal, just his life. When I realized that he was starting with his grandparent's story in the early 1900s, I was hooked!!! I recommend this story to all of my friends now! It was very impressive.
Oh, yeah, so I'm not an Oprah Fan. But, she has an amazing person picking books for her!! Oh, if only I could have that job....
j.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
RSS
I'm not sure about the ease and convenience of this. Setting things up wasn't as easy as I think most Internet things should be; but it could be that I'm just not used to it. As for having many websites at the tip of you finger, I'm not so concerned. I guess its for those who really surf the web for the latest in everything. I'm not really a surfer. I'm maybe just more of a browser. If I think of something I want to know about, I look it up. Not the best way to keep up with the latest in everything, I'm sure. This exercise did remind me of the NPR news website. I don't listen to the radio much anymore, so NPR just sort-a slipped my mind. (I have to be careful here, as a librarian, saying that I forgot about something as vital to the left-minded as NPR.)
Anyway, I don't see that this RSS will be something that I will keep up with. I'll do what I can, but only time will tell if it will slip my mind as well!
This is the link to my bloglines page:
http://www.bloglines.com/public/janajns
j.
Anyway, I don't see that this RSS will be something that I will keep up with. I'll do what I can, but only time will tell if it will slip my mind as well!
This is the link to my bloglines page:
http://www.bloglines.com/public/janajns
j.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Instant Messaging
I have been using instant messaging for a couple of years now. Before I started working at CCPL, I worked for a publishing company that was located in a large warehouse. They set us up with IM so that we could save time (and make more $$ for them) by not walking all over the building for simple questions. All we had to do was IM whoever we needed to talk to. It was convenient to say the least.
In the laid back world of the public library I have not found much use for IM. Now that I am working at a branch, all I have to do is take a couple of steps over to the next cube, or just yell out some one's name. I like the personal touch of actually speaking to a person, as opposed to being even more trapped at a computer. With my friends, outside of the library world, I have found that IM is rather enjoyable. Most of us have Gmail which offers IM service. So, if I see that someone is online, I'll drop a little note, just for fun.
A touching story about IM: A year ago my boyfriend, Kris, went to China for a month. Neither of us could afford the phone calls, so I didn't speak to him the whole time he was there. I simply had to wait (not very patiently) for him to find an Internet provider so he could send me an email about his adventures. One afternoon about three weeks into his trip, I was checking for an email from him and saw that the green light beside his name was on (this is how you know a person is online with Gmail). I clicked on his name and hopefully sent a message asking if he was actually there. A few seconds later I received a response. This was the closest I could get to talking to him, and let me tell you I was ecstatic! He was half a world away and we had a free conversation, just like he was across town.
So, that is my experience with IM. I love it. It is convenient, useful and fun.
Until next time...
j.
In the laid back world of the public library I have not found much use for IM. Now that I am working at a branch, all I have to do is take a couple of steps over to the next cube, or just yell out some one's name. I like the personal touch of actually speaking to a person, as opposed to being even more trapped at a computer. With my friends, outside of the library world, I have found that IM is rather enjoyable. Most of us have Gmail which offers IM service. So, if I see that someone is online, I'll drop a little note, just for fun.
A touching story about IM: A year ago my boyfriend, Kris, went to China for a month. Neither of us could afford the phone calls, so I didn't speak to him the whole time he was there. I simply had to wait (not very patiently) for him to find an Internet provider so he could send me an email about his adventures. One afternoon about three weeks into his trip, I was checking for an email from him and saw that the green light beside his name was on (this is how you know a person is online with Gmail). I clicked on his name and hopefully sent a message asking if he was actually there. A few seconds later I received a response. This was the closest I could get to talking to him, and let me tell you I was ecstatic! He was half a world away and we had a free conversation, just like he was across town.
So, that is my experience with IM. I love it. It is convenient, useful and fun.
Until next time...
j.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Quest #2: 7 1/2 Habits of Successful Lifelong Learners
I think the easiest of the 7 1/2 Habits of Successful Lifelong Learners (7.5HSLL) for me is number two: accept responsibility for your own learning. I get bored very easily. In order to avoid this boredom, I find new things to explore. I am always looking for new things to do at the library by reading journals and being a member of several professional mailing lists. Recently, after a bout of boredom, I decided that it is time for me to re-learn Spanish. I think this will keep me occupied for quite a while!
The hardest of the 7.5HSLLs is number seven: Teach and Mentor others. Like the stereotypical librarian, I am shy and introverted. I have to make a special effort to share things with others. Once that effort is made, I have to make an even more special effort to maintain my patience while explaining things to others. I think this is the most important of the 7.5HSLLs that I have been and will continue (with renewed effort) to work on.
I believe that lifelong learning is a must in order to keep up with the world. My main goal in life is to never fall behind in developments in Libraries and in mainstream culture. One of the major issues in libraries today is that the institution has not adjusted to mainstream culture and is therefore losing its clientele. I consider it my job to make sure that libraries do not become an endangered and eventually extinct entity.
The hardest of the 7.5HSLLs is number seven: Teach and Mentor others. Like the stereotypical librarian, I am shy and introverted. I have to make a special effort to share things with others. Once that effort is made, I have to make an even more special effort to maintain my patience while explaining things to others. I think this is the most important of the 7.5HSLLs that I have been and will continue (with renewed effort) to work on.
I believe that lifelong learning is a must in order to keep up with the world. My main goal in life is to never fall behind in developments in Libraries and in mainstream culture. One of the major issues in libraries today is that the institution has not adjusted to mainstream culture and is therefore losing its clientele. I consider it my job to make sure that libraries do not become an endangered and eventually extinct entity.
Monday, August 13, 2007
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