I don’t know if there was a theme to Friday’s posts.

People are certainly writing about interesting topics!

Elissa ponders the differences between blogging and academic writing. This is a lesson some writers of library blogs need to learn too…

Corin tells us about a photography project he’s working on: 52 Laughs - This project has me taking a portrait of people laughing every week for a year. Some great photos, well worth a look!

Michelle considered the issue of work uniforms. I must confess to mixed feelings on these personally. On days where I don’t feel like bothering with my outfit, they’d be good, but on all other days I suspect I’d find them limiting and annoying.

Fiona thinks about swearing and blasphemy. Must admit, I seldom think about the origins of phrases like “geez”…

Kim’s about to go on holidays. (We hope she has a great time, and look forward to hearing all about it!)

Mal wrote about discovery layers. Are libraries really making our collections discoverable?

Hoi writes her responses to the seven meme. I love memes both as writing exercises, and as means to learn more about everyone.

Bronwyn needs to make a tough decision. Go give Bron your opinion!

Bookgrrl writes about support for her library from her local community. Hope the outcome is a good one.

Ghylene’s been unwell, and wonders what people do to entertain themselves while resting in bed. Do you read traditional paper books, or use gadgets? I note that a commenter says he/she prefers to keep their bedroom technology free.

Snail’s started his Sydney Film Festival viewing. I look forward to the reviews!

Sally strengthens the foundations of the Internet. Very cute!

Sophie shares the adventures she’s been having with a 5kg block of chocolate. I am having trouble visualising that much chocolate!

Kate wonders if taking work home is a good idea. Personally, I avoid it where I can.

Purple Specs continues her reminiscences on technology. Are all these techs (mobile phones, ubiquitous computing) really so new? I can’t imagine life without them!

Clare shares a link to a non-library blog which she reads. Great idea – what non-library blog(s) do you read, and why?

Penny signs off on the week. That’s how I felt on Friday night, too!

Jo tells us about teen lockdown at her library. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again – why didn’t my public library have such a thing when I was a teen??

Kate had a day off. And may she have many more, well-deserved breaks.

Alisa knows her limits. Very important indeed, and cannot be underestimated.

Katie tells us about Banjo the dog. I completely relate to how important pets are in our families.

Kris tells us about a show she went to, and thinks about the All Blacks. And I have no comment, as I’m not a sports fan…

Girl with shoes tells about her love for Harry Potter. There seem to be a fair few Harry Potter fans among us…

The New Technologies for Libraries blog informs us that the Supernova Pop Culture Expo is travelling the country at the moment. Who’s going/gone?

Sean thinks about the challenges of settling into a new job. This is always a challenge, and then one day you realise you’re completely settled in…

I must confess to experiencing some difficulty keeping up with all the posts from Friday – already?? you ask – and so if I miss anyone in this summary, please accept my apologies. It’s the usual case of human operator failure, rather than anything else.

The range of topics was definitely impressive. We had posts on professional topics:

• Julia summarised a report on The Value of Libraries for Research and Researchers
• Morgan looked at the case of AFR.com as an example of how not to monetize content
• Mal reviewed an event he attended, Future Smarts: Education for the 21st Century
• Steph wondered why it’s not easier to locate the electronic version of the Australian Federal Government’s Hansard
• Peta shared how she chairs meetings AND writes the minutes at the same time
• Teresa reflected on her library’s contribution to the university campus
• Garrett described new, creative approaches to information literacy

I personally enjoy learning more about all my friends and colleagues by reading their posts on more personal topics. Take, for instance:

• Hoi’s hand drawn image of all the stuff she’s been lugging around in her “old, worn out but well-loved 1990s library bag”
• Polyxena’s musings on recreational reading and the delights of Dorothy L. Sayers
• Katie wrote about Finegan the cat
• Tony posted from Brisbane, where he’s been visting for work
• Fiona reflected on her insomnia, and continued sharing a musical challenge with us
• Sally shared a recipe for okonomiyaki
• Tania pondered her 2011 goals and checked to see how she was going with them
• Kate’s away at Knit Camp
• Corin gave us a lesson on New Zealand politics
• Ghylene on food and chefs
• Sarah posted from the Big Apple

Special mention:

Kris’s post on the Maori new year. I learned something new – had no idea about this celebration.

Lutie’s ‘novel’ (sorry bad pun) way of spending her Friday night.

Elissa writes about her happiness now she has a library membership and access to the info she used to have as a uni student…

And to round it all off, New Grad Librarian says that:

In a large academic library with 160+ staff one has to do something about the information overload and I have found that getting up to speed has come much faster by adopting a ‘nod and smile’ approach and not worrying too much about the details in the first instance. I find that absorbing the culture and the big picture of a new environment (whether it’s a new job, or a new soccer club the kids are involved with) is the quickest way through the confusion of those first few weeks and months.

A great way to learn in a new environment, in my opinion! I’m pondering how to encourage some of my colleagues to foster and be comfortable with this sort of “nodding and smiling” attittude when considering new approaches to how we do things in libraries. We often get hung up on wanting all the information and all the answers upfront and are unwilling to contribute and participate until we feel comfortable. The only problem with that is, we can get left way behind while others create the answers and draw up the maps, and we won’t have had any say in the process…

Great brain food here.

Keep blogging, all!

Time sure flies when you’re having fun!

It’s going to be June soon, and this morning one of the topics of conversation on Twitter was Blog Everyday of June. A group of us did this last year, and it must have made a positive impression on people, since many have opted to do it again this year.

So far, these library people have put their hands up to play:

@redevilib

@librarianhoi

@stephmcg

@bonitoclub

@greengecko29

@newgradlib

@snailx

@gigglesigh

@MissSophieMac

@michellemclean

@rachellwray

@acrystelle

@fionawb

@KatieTT

@sallysetsforth

@haikugirlOz

@IMBASEorg

@AletheaRaspa

@katejf

@kalgrl

@pinkfairaedust

@jaygee35

@akkadisa

@jobeaz

@stitchsarah

@malbooth

@mt77

@corinh

@aliasyd

@CeridwynatUni

@emerald_j

@polyxena

@jenelle

Oh, and me of course – @flexnib

I’ll have to share the links to the actual blogs soon.

The tag for this is #blogeverydayofjune

It’s a very simple exercise – you attempt to blog everyday for the month of June.

If you’d like to join us please do – leave a comment here with the details of your blog.

I don’t think there’ve been many posts from the Thali recently.

It might be worth reminding readers of the Thali’s existence – basically this is our name for the group of library folk which administers this blog. We’ve been working together as a team since we started this blog way back in 2006. There haven’t really been that many changes to the Thali’s line-up in all this time. People have been more or less active, or left briefly (and then come back), but its membership has mostly been the same. (Speaking for myself personally, I have really enjoyed working with the Thali – I’ve learned a lot and it’s always been fun when we’ve had the occasional opportunities to meet up. Meeting up is usually challenging as we are quite a geographically dispersed bunch, with people spread all over Australia, and one of the Thali is currently stranded in Europe due to the Eyjafjallajökull eruption!)

It’s therefore with some sadness that we farewell one of the Thali, Techxplorer. Techxplorer is leaving because his professional interests have changed – we understand, but we’ll miss him very much, and not least because he was our site admin. Thank you Techxplorer for your extensive contribution to lint. I still hope (and I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn if I speak on behalf of the entire Thali) that we will get to meet in person sometime – so we can thank you in person! We wish you well and continued success in all your future projects.

Michelle is going to be taking over as site admin (thanks Michelle), and I’m sure things will continue to run as smoothly as they always have. However, we also think that at this point we would like to send a shout out to those of you out there in Australian Libraryland who might be interested in joining us as a member of the Thali.

Would you like to join us? Membership would involve discussion via email and occasional tasks around the administering of lint (such as responding to emails or adding blogs to the Australian Library Blogs list). There are also opportunities for involvement in different projects from time to time, such as implementing and testing new web-based tools. Projects are limited only by imagination, skill (but we can learn as needed), and time (we’re all volunteers and have busy day jobs). If you’re interested please email us or leave a comment here.

In news just to hand, the lawsuit filed by Thomson Reuters (EndNote) against Zotero has been dismissed.

I have three thoughts on this:

1. Thank goodness
2. How many libraries actively promote Zotero for their users?
3. I got this news via Twitter – it’s becoming a really good source for news.

Western Australia’s ALIAWest has joined the blogosphere with Biblia. Billed as “A virtual conversation for librarians in Western Australia”, it hopes to make Biblia (a newsletter , once upon a time – see the newsletter’s archives) “more accessible to today’s generation of library workers”.

I look forward to hearing more about ALIAWest events and WA library events in general (hopefully I’ll be participating, too!).

Oh, and this has got me wondering – how does your local ALIA group communicate with you?

I think this is my third Blog Day – time flies when you’re having fun!

Five blogs that I find interesting? My picks (I’m going to cheat a bit and call them new, even if they’re only new to me):

Ockham’s Razor, subtitled musings of the lazyst environmentalyst. Written by Clare, “a librarian doing research”, this blog is mainly about environmental issues and what we can do to reduce our impact on the planet.

How to Save the World, written by Dave Pollard. I don’t really know how to describe this blog. I suppose you could say that Dave writes about all sorts of issues to do with the future of our world. Sometimes I find myself not able to read it because I find the ideas so confronting and challenging. Always a lot to learn from this blog. Morgan first brought this blog to my attention – thanks Morgan!

Treasure Trove of Useless Information by Damien Wang, a librarian with the National Library Board of Singapore. Those Singaporeans are doing lots of interesting things!

Matilda. Perry Middlemiss writes this blog, which is all about Australian literature.

Problogger by Darren Rowse. This is definitely not a new blog, but it’s an interesting one if you want to learn more about blogging, ways to improve your blog, and ways to make money by blogging. (Not that I’ve ever considered being a pro blogger, myself. I like my day job too much )

Happy Blog Day! What are your favourite blogs, and why?

BlogDay2007

Paul Genoni is a senior lecturer in library and information studies at Curtin University of Technology. He has been working as an academic since 1993, and was previously Law Librarian at the University of Western Australia. Paul has published widely in diverse areas including reference, collection management and mentoring. He has a PhD in Australian literature, a field in which he also continues to research and publish. His most recent book is the co-edited ‘Thea Astley’s Fictional Worlds‘ (2006).

What is your earliest memory of a library?

I spent my childhood in Tambellup, a small town on the western edge of the Western Australian wheatbelt. I remember being taken to the ‘library’ on a few occasions, although almost certainly not on library business. The library was a single room attached to the town hall or shire offices, where I was left to sit and wait while my parents conducted their shire business. It was very likely open only a few hours a week, and staffed by somebody from the shire or perhaps a farmer’s wife doing her bit as a volunteer. But small and unimposing as it was, it made an impression. The atmospherics of the room—dark, quiet and waiting—was unlike anything else I had experienced outside of the local Catholic Church. This was clearly a room with a serious intent, even if the nature of its purpose escaped the comprehension of a bored child.

Is there someone you have worked with you’d like to acknowledge? Who, Why?

Many of my longest standing and best friends have been met through the library workplace. Libraries attract some extremely fine people and it would be gratifying to mention any number of them here. But I don’t suppose that is the point of the question!

In terms of impact on my working life it is hard to go beyond the first group I worked with in the reference section of the Reid Library at the University of Western Australia in the early 1980s. Mary Alexander and Audrey Black were the senior reference staff, and in addition to providing excellent training in the practicalities of reference work they were also the best role models—professional, organised and hard working—that a naïve and brash beginner could hope for. I also remember with great fondness and gratitude the other staff working reference shifts at that time. Helen Wallace, Chris Stephens and Anne Evans were only a couple of years my senior, but they seemed decades ahead in terms of the skill and experience they shared so willingly.

What do you wish they’d teach in library school?

I am not familiar with the precise detail of what is taught in library schools, other than of course Curtin University where I teach. I am certainly aware, however, that for all schools a number of important issues are dealt with only briefly as curricula adapt to a profession and workplace that are increasingly complex and multifaceted. Personally I find a constant challenge in deciding what should be omitted in order to include new and emerging content.

In an ideal world, however, I believe that students would be exposed to more about the following three areas (all of which I hasten to add have some presence in the Curtin curriculum!)

Firstly, the book trade. Many librarians only learn about the trade once they are ‘on the job’. The relationship with the trade is, however, critically important and becoming more so as librarians are increasingly called upon to negotiate the terms under which content is acquired. I believe that students would benefit by learning about the trade thoroughly and systematically. Hopefully more knowledge might result in greater trust and enhanced cooperation.

Secondly, the process of research and publication. Good information work requires an understanding of the full information lifecycle. Many librarians work in situations where they would benefit greatly from a deeper understanding of the way in which researchers gather, store and manage their information. It is also an important professional skill to be able to read and assess research literature, and to find in it the ‘evidence’ that is important to either our own or other professions. And perhaps greater familiarity with research and publishing would encourage more librarians to become active participants in the process.

Thirdly, library history. The ‘library’ as we know it, and the profession of librarianship, have extraordinarily long and rich back-stories. This history should not only be a matter of casual interest for those who work in libraries, but an important part of understanding the role and function of the modern library service. In my view, an increased knowledge of library history will go a long way to instilling a sense of professionalism in new graduates.

Which library has impressed you the most and why?

There is no quick answer to this question. ‘Impressive’ is such a loaded term! I am sure, however, that I share with many librarians a fascination for the institutions and buildings that constitute the world’s ‘great’ libraries. Certainly I know that many librarians use their travels to visit some of these libraries, which are justifiably renowned not only for the brilliance of their collections but the monumental and often spectacular buildings that house them. A number that I have been fortunate enough to visit, and that stand out for quite different reasons, include the chained library at Hereford Cathedral; the Biblioteca Laurentina in Florence; the Boston Public Library; and the Bodleian. In Australia the reading room at the State Library of Victoria and the Mitchell Library are both favourites—stunning spaces made all the more compelling by knowing the importance of their collections. And as this list is growing I will also add the Library at Stourhead House in Wiltshire. I have no idea of the importance of the Stourhead collection but I remember it as the most beautiful domestic library I could imagine—classical proportions, books for furniture and views of one of England’s great garden.

Just as impressive, however, are those far more modest libraries that are encountered completely unexpectedly, and which serve as potent reminders of the ambitions, values and traditions on which the great libraries are built. It could be the smallest French village where you come across a stone cottage bearing the sign ‘Bibliothèque’ proudly above the entry; or an otherwise nondescript doorway in a frantically busy Rome street, out of which tumble people young and old, bearing books and wearing smiles, and your eye catches the single word ‘Biblioteca’ chalked on the door; or the unpretentious red brick and sandstone public library (formerly the Mechanics Institute) that stands at the heart of so many Australian country towns.

What do you wish you could change about the library world?

What I would love to see more of is a greater engagement with our professional association, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). And by ‘engagement’ I largely mean membership, and active membership at that! I have a view that being a qualified and practicing professional comes with certain obligations, one of which is to support the interests of that profession by being a member of its representative body.

Over the years I have heard many reasons why people aren’t members, but I have found none of them to be convincing. It goes without saying that even the staunchest of ALIA members will from time-to-time disagree with decisions made by the Association or some aspect of its activities. It also goes without saying that if you wish to influence these decisions and activities then it is easier to do this from within. But being a member isn’t about the Association per se, but rather about how you view yourself in relation to the wider interests and values that are invoked when you call yourself a ‘librarian’.

Calling all West Australian library folk, and anyone else who’ll be in Perth that day:

LIBRARY 2.0 ON THE LOOSE: AN UNOFFICIAL UNCONFERENCE

Feel passionate or curious about new library approaches, want to share it with a group of like minded librarians? Come to participate in discussion and presentations about new definitions of content, new definitions of library collections and new ways that we can get out of our buildings to serve our customers where they are.

DATE: Friday 3 August

TIME: 9:30am – 5pm

WHERE: State Library of Western Australia, Great Southern Room 4th Floor

AFTERWARD: 6pm – late , Annalakshmi on the Swan, 1st Floor – Western Pavilion, Barracks Square (Between Jetty No. 4 & No. 5), Perth

An unconference works on the principle that whoever turns up is the right person and whatever you discuss is the right thing. People prepare topics, but sessions are decided on the day. Everyone is expected to participate by either presenting, joining in the discussion or doing another job.

TO GET INVOLVED:

1. Go to the registration site.

2. Then, go to the “What is happening on the day” page of the wiki and edit it to suggest a topic for discussion, volunteer to give a presentation or do a job.

The event is FREE, but you MUST REGISTER. Tea. coffee, bikkies and a pizza lunch are all provided. You will need to pay for dinner. This unconference is supported by the State Library of Western Australia, Murdoch University Library, Curtin University Library and ALIA West, but is facilitated by an independent group of volunteers.

For more details, visit the UnconfWALib web page, or contact Kathryn Greenhill on [email protected], or Hoi Ng on [email protected] or Sue Cook on [email protected] or Con Wiebrands on [email protected]. (remove the anti-spam device before clicking send)

This should be a great event – if you work in a library you are most welcome to come along!

I was debating with myself and the Thali whether or not to post something about the Ning Library 2.0 network here. If you’ve been reading library blogs this past week you won’t have missed it – it seems like everyone’s at least aware of this exciting new space, if not actively exploring it. Still, because it’s become so popular I thought it might be worth mentioning here. (If you already know about Library 2.0, do share your page details with us!)

If you haven’t already taken a look at it, do – basically, the Library 2.0 network is a web-based social networking space “for librarians and others interested in Library 2.0.” The network is the brainchild of Bill Drew, who blogs as Baby Boomer Librarian. When you join you create a page which allows you to share information about yourself, your Web 2.0/Library 2.0 interests, and most importantly allows you to participate in any discussions you might be interested in, via the Library 2.0 forum. You can also blog there, chat, and share photos or videos.

The network is hosted by Ning. The people behind Ning (one of whom is Marc Andreessen, one of the developers of Netscape – thanks Snail for the pointer) say that

“Ning is a platform for creating your own social networks. Our passion is putting new social networks in the hands of anyone with a good idea. With Ning, your social network can be anything and anyone you want it to be.

“You choose a combination of features (videos, blogs, photos, forums, etc.) from an ever growing list of options, you choose how it looks, you decide if it is public or private, you add your brand if you have one, and you enable the people on your network to create their own custom personal profile pages all in one great social network.”

If you’ve been watching (or participating on) social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook, you may be wondering why you’d want to join yet another site. Well, the beauty of the Library 2.0 network on Ning is that it has been created by a librarian for library folks. So, where the users on MySpace or Facebook are from all walks of life, on Library 2.0 everyone is either a librarian (or involved with libraries in some way – there are library volunteers and IT people there, which adds to the flavour of the space, I think) or interested in Web 2.0 and libraries. There are currently over 500 members! And, if you find your particular interests are not fully met by this forum, well, you can create your very own space – in terms of library-related spaces on Ning, I know of a network dedicated to librarian bloggers, as well as national or language-based networks for librarians: one for Portuguese speakers, and another for Chinese speakers.

Many of the Thali have been exploring the Library 2.0 network this week: check out techxplorer’s page, Snail’s, tango’s, Kathryn’s, Peta’s, and mine (CW). Our friends Tom Goodfellow, Johnny Chis, Kit, Maeve Everest, and Dee are there too (have I missed any Australians out?).