Typical Day

Our household functions (slightly more) smoothly with the help of the Board.

Here's a look at a recent day's postings (some details have been obscured to protect the innocent):

Good Enough for School Work

Well, my portfolio Web site is, I think, complete enough to submit as my final assignment in Web Development. In truth, it still needs a lot of work just to come up to my standards. However, this is school we're talking about, and it's 3:02 in the morning, so I can only carry perfectionism so far.

If you care to take a look, I would appreciate any constructive comments. (Don't use the contact form in the portfolio Web site to send me comments, however, because there's no server scripting behind it, and your info will just go into cyperspace if you actually submit the form.)

Even if you aren't into critiquing, you should at least check out the Memory Map I made. It's pretty clever, if I do say so myself. I don't know if Nieces #1 and 2 are computer users yet, but perhaps their parents could help them look at the Map--it has one particular link they will find interesting. Their father should recognize a few things too.

And now, on to the other class I've neglected for the past 28 hours...

In a Perfect World...

I realized yesterday that in a perfect world, no one's hair would go gray before they turned 50. Or at the very least, permanent haircolor would be just that--permanent!

*Auntie K doesn't say this out of personal experience, of course. She is just sympathizing with a "friend."

Mom's Knitting, part 2

Remember the felted bags Mom finished last week?

Well, when I got home from Houston a few days ago, Mom told me that the green and pink one was supposed to be a Christmas gift for me last year, but it wasn't finished at the time. So, she presented it to me now, and even gave me the choice of which bag I wanted (difficult choice, but I went with the green and pink since that was the original intention).

Pretty cool--Christmas in April!

Own Worst Enemy

I was thinking a few days ago about how librarians often bemoan the lack of respect and recognition we receive outside the library. I mean, we all know how common is the question, "You need a degree do to that?"

Yes, you do. A librarian is a degreed professional with specialized skills and training.

I think, however, that we often contribute to the situation through our own actions. One recent Friday, I encountered a typical question from at least three patrons I worked with at the reference desk. All three were working on papers and having trouble finding appropriate resources. After I worked with each, they all voiced some variation of the question, "How do you do all of this? It's so amazing that you look stuff up and make it look so easy." I, in an effort to put them at ease and encourage them, replied each time in an off-hand way, "Oh, I get a lot of practice."

I get a lot of PRACTICE!? Well, by saying that, I reinforced the image of the librarian as nothing special, just someone who hangs out in the library a lot but who doesn't have any qualification beyond a fondness for books. As if to say, "If you too sat here long enough, you could do what I do."

What I should have said is, "Yes, it can be difficult and overwhelming. But I've been to school to learn how to do all of this. In fact, librarians have masters degrees in library science. And that's why we're here--to help everyone else, just like a doctor or a lawyer helps you answer medical or legal questions."

Often, we really are our own worst enemy.