I’ve been on leave, busy, or sick for most of June so far, so today was the first day I’ve had the chance to actually read all of the posts for any day, and I’m super impressed!

Beyond the memes, Day 16 brought us videos: sallysetsforth posts a Simon’s Cat video, Connecting Librarian posts “Who You Gonna Call?”, and Walking Upside Down includes some TEDtalks in her musings on creativity.

Among the biblioblogging gems of the day:

• Librarians Matter continues the discussion on ebooks and DRM;
• Creative Circ bounces some thoughts off an article about indignation in organisations;
• a Public Librarian asks about staff satisfaction surveys;
• Edgar on the New Technologies Interest Group’s Blog asks about philanthropically funded libraries in Australia;
• and, very practically, moonflowerdragon provides the html code for hanging indents for APA style reference lists.

Of course librarians must talk fashion: sardonicsmile describes her “trying to keep warm in the library outfit” while haikugirloz writes about runners/sneakers and looking after your feet.

Looking over what happened yesterday, day 15 in the 30 blog posts in 30 days challenge, it looks like there were a few people like me, who were starting to get challenged on the next blog post. But look at what treasures we all came up with!

Apart from my blog news at Connecting Librarian, Bun-toting Librarian entertained us with streams of consciousness, moonflowerdragon got immersed in meanings behind tree graffiti and New Technologies Interest Group’s Blog posted a library joke.

On the meaningful experience spectrum, Miss Sophie Mac went searching for the perfect paragraph and Just girl with shoes looked at personality profiling.

On the sharing library related topic side of things, Sallysetsforth shared an ugly experience with a library user, Walking upside down shared space with the Shanachies, Librarians Matter shared her experience of using WordPress for a library website, virtuallyalibrarian shared her frustration with library ebook services (me too!),  sardonicsmile shared her experience of librarians dating patrons and Creative Circ shared on data and research in librarianship.

The memes also continue in strength, as do the personal discoveries, the crafts, the interesting moments, the achievements and so much more that have helped make the 30 blog posts in 30 days challenge such a success.

Well done to all involved.  Keep up the good work!

With a public holiday across half the country, AFL matches and the early morning and early painful start to the day with the World Cup – there was a distinctly sleeperish feel to many of the days posts. Jenelle and Naomi blogged specifically on being tired with several others, Virtually a Librarian, FromMelbin, Bonito Club,  LiberryDwarf, Options from an OPL, Miss Sophie Mac,   mentioning long weekends, tiredness and similar themes for coming down with meme fever.

Cookering is a recurring and delicious theme across the challenge.  For day 14 I was delighted with Sallysetsforth’s recipe for coconut macaroons which I have tasted and can personally attest to their yumminess.  Bookgrrl’s pumpkin feast is definitely one to write home about with thai pumpkin soup, pumpkin scones and red lentil and pumpkin dahl. Lastly on the foody theme, Walking Upside Down keeps me recipe guessing and salivating with her weekly menu plan.

A special mention, I empathised with Justgirlwithshoes trying to dry laundry in Melbourne’s Winter but also celebrated in the construction of a new clothesline (this is close to my own heart, having just recently installed our own outdoor clothesline).

Nearing the halfway mark, and with the Winter cold now firmly set in , reflecting also seemed to be on the cards. Librarian with different hats reflected specifically on #blogeverydayinJune and on how much she has learnt from other librarians and the value in reflecting on daily life. Connecting Librarian reflected on her own story of wanting to be a librarian since Grade 6, and the continuing importance of librarians in the world today (thanks for the reminder!) Suelibrarian shared a great holiday memory of a four week yacht trip down the coast of Western Australia (divine!) On a more serious note Moonflowerdragon pondered the meanings of literacy, illiteracy, being mindless and the act of tagging with the thoughtful comment ‘Rebellion against social mores or law is not necessarily mindless.’

Ruminations also reflected, sharing librarian learnings over the past ten years – things we should all remember each day.

1. No one’s going to die.
2. All staff are not equal.
3. Be bold.

I especially enjoyed the additional lessons others added:

4. Ask forgiveness not permission
5. Don’t say ‘but’, say ‘and’.
6. Will it matter in 100 years?
7. Would I rather be right or be happy?
8. Take a single step and see where it takes you.
9. Keep walking on the wild side.
10. Challenge the comfort zone.

Let’s see if in the challenges of this short week and long Winter yet to come if we can just have these on repeat in our minds (or on our iPhones – voice memos anyone?)

Sunday can be a day of rest and maybe a time to think about pacing oneself. This is reflected in posts by Sue, Fiona, and even Michelle talking about how it can be difficult to keep up the same profile on Twitter when her job duties have changed. Kate enjoyed a long weekend of no housework (a splendid idea!) and shared a coffee and some tulips with us.

Not everyone was pacing themselves. Kate was sharing a very admirable contract with herself about what she would like to achieve in the next week. Snail managed to pack in four more movies in the Sydney Film Festival, making it ten over three days. Mal wandered the 17th Biennale of Sydney and wished for a parking fairy to make things easier.

People were meeting and greeting. Hoi had a secret library meeting while Jenelle shared a little bit of Australia with some New Yorkers, in the form of some traditional sausage rolls.

Some of us had our brains in gear on the weekend. NewGradLibrarian loved being a librarian yesterday when she showed her Miss 16 the Google Wonder Wheel to help her with her research. Ghylene shared the fruits of her clever brain – a prize-winning piece of speculative fiction. Seasoncreep continues to share a daily haiku.

In a delightfully serendipitous creative exchange, Sally shared Kim’s crochet lessons, while Kim shared Sally’s recipe for meringues.

As we approach the mid-point of this challenge, meme madness has really set in. Saturday’s posts featured responses to a stack of memes that are doing the rounds, including a post from Kathryn who decided a meta meme post was in order.

But we weren’t all a-memeing. Some were busy bartering with crafts, others were pondering why we continue to do stuff the way we always have, and others pondered the potential disconnect between ethics and organisational loyalty.

Two posts yesterday really struck a chord with me. One of these was a post from Ruth, on her learnings from a day of crafty barter and other fun. This eloquent post is full of lots of little gems, like “It can be good to enjoy the process more, and worry less about the outcome”, “I will try new things with friends without feeling the pressure of needing to have an outcome” and (perhaps the most apt for me) “everyone in the world is more patient than me”.

In the second post that stood out for me yesterday (another eloquent insight), Kalgrl reminded us that all people have a right to be treated with dignity and humanity. Go read it. We all need a reminder like this from time to time.

For many a long weekend awaits and 30 posts in 30 days is taking it’s toll. Keeping up with posting yourself plus reading and commenting on blogs is time-consuming albeit fascinating.

So Friday is the day of the meme and photo. There are a number of memes doing the rounds:

• Book meme passed on by @flexnib
• Television meme started by @malbooth
• Traversal meme started by @snailx
• Show us your home screen meme started by @jenelle
• About you meme passed on by @gigglesigh

It is a great way to find out more about fellow bloggers. I know now for example that there are a number of Doctor Who fans amongst the group.

UTS bloggers @malbooth and @misssophiemac continue to challenge librarians/libraries to be more creative. Drawing a link between creativity and innovation. I must say that I agree without innovation we will stagnate and lose relevancy to our users. It can be risky thinking outside of the box and pushing boundaries but the benefits for an organisation are worth the risk. Which ties in nicely with the post by New Technologies Interest Group on the Empowering Change report – a call for open government, social media use and innovation in the public service. It is important that libraries keep an eye on what is happening with Gov2.0.

There was also some prolific blogging from @snailx who is reviewing films from the Sydney Film Fest.  I have already started a list of must see films.

Photo posts included Con with pictures of her chis and Kate shared stories about her dogs Daisy, Memphis and Edie. Our other Kate posted some terrific photos of shoes and craft.

Have a lovely long weekend to all those fortunate enough to have one.

Welcome to the commentary on day nine of the 30 posts in 30 days blogging event. I imagine that nine is an awkward number for this. The bigger milestone is tomorrow. If this were a marathon, day nine is when some people (like me) might start feeling the pain barrier.

Anyway, this is what I noticed today, in no particular order-

imaginings – if libraries didn’t need to worry about privacy, if a library was given a million dollars to improve circulation, a life where we have the time and means to be an artist

memes – books (and a picture of a bookcase) and dinner and TV and more books

useful professional ideas – not being so introspective and engaging with a broader group of stakeholders, Trove’s new list feature, using spreadsheets for data

personal – pets, donating blood, purchases of books and bags, exhaustion, adjusting to being the mother of a teenager

about blogging – where we draw lines between personal and professional and what goes on the blog, conserving ideas for future posts, how we got into blogging and how blogging has changed us

discussion – Gov 2.0 in action, vodcast followed by a lively debate about the future of libraries in the post-gatekeeper era

observations – Japanese chemist shops, ironic wardrobes, nuance, exhaustion and films

life’s little victories – over white boards

I am not a participant in this. I’m not a prolific blogger, maybe averaging at 12 posts per year. There are frequent moments when I wish I did more, but then I say to myself, less is more.

I must admit to having some initial misgivings about this extended meme. I was worried that it could lead some padding, people blogging just because of the public commitment rather than 
because they really had a post to write. I was worried that the quality to quantity ratio would go through the floor.

But no, I was wrong. Sometimes more is more.

I can sense an enthusiasm and energy in both the posts and the comments which I haven’t noticed for some time in this part of the blogosphere. This energy can feed itself, and keep things going. Maybe a change in routine is better than a holiday.

It reminds me of some of the writing exercises I took in a creative writing class at the Loft in Minneapolis. One of them is to just keep writing, non-stop, for ten minutes. Yes it felt artificial and silly at first, yes some of the writing I did was heinous, but man, but once I dove into it, it really got the creative juices flowing!

 So now there’s a part of me which wishes I was participating in this. There’s a fine line between self-acceptance and self-motivation. For me personally, I worry that if I did this particular challenge, I know I would come to resent it. So I’m going to try my own watered-down wimpy version.

Starting on June 15, 5 posts and 15 comments in 15 days. This way I can share in some of the energy associated with this 30 posts in 30 days challenge, and ramp up my own blogging activity by about 1000%, but still do it in a way that works for me.

I must have spent a good work day today reading blogs – possible because I only worked half a day. I spent a large portion of my desk shift at work patiently going through Kate’s netvibes page. After returning home I resumed the task, and it’s now officially Day 9 of the challenge (at least in my time zone) and I am up to date with all of the blogs participating in this fabulous challenge. For the first time since it began. Chuffed? I think so.

Zaana’s already summarised what’s happened meme-wise over the last few days, but I can see another meme emerging thanks to @KateTT, she’s set apubliclibrarian, ruminations and rien d’important thinking about their Fantasy Dinner Guests – and chefs. I’ve gotta say Ghylene, I think we’re on the same page there. Hamish without Andy but not the other way around – brilliant!

Reading multiple posts from some of the blogs showed me how much we are feeding off each other – crafty posts started on the weekend have continued into the week, with Justgirlwithshoes making me wish I crocheted so I could keep my fingers as stylish as her daughter’s and liberrydwarf adding in her thoughts on the iPad. I was inspired by Bonito Club to blog about pets. Regular posts have begun to emerge as Walking Upside Down shares her weekly dinner menu (I can’t look at it as there are far too many carbs!) On stand-alone posts, I found out that I can give blood when I didn’t think I could thanks to moonflowerdragon and I continue to be moved by FromMelbin sharing memories of his brother with us.

As it’s a weekday I notice a lot more library-related, or professional posts. I love the Librarians Matter post on blogging – definitely a think-post, and to me, a feel-post, as in we’re all still feeling our way through this blogging thing, and the personal/professional divide. Ideas seem to be aligning and professional think-posts arriving on similar issues: today saw Miss Sophie Mac and virtually a librarian discuss things 2.0 – Information Literacy and Libraries, respectively. Both are fascinating posts on two important issues in our profession – how and why we use language, technology and teaching – but don’t take my word for it, read them for yourselves.

I also love how people are opening up on professional issues. ADHD Librarian shared how it’s time for him to get out of the library and into the classroom to meet more with the teachers at his school. Creative Circ shares creative ideas for when the lift is out, and must be commenting 30 times a day! And Feral Librarian Tales shares the success story of beating the interactive white board at its own game.

Week 1 in the #blogeverydayinJune challenge has come to a close.  It’s been an exciting and productive week to say the least! I am most impressed that all participating bloggers remain on the bandwagon to date. It seems @flexnib with her Day 6 meme about reading habits provided some light relief for a third of the blogging enthusiasts, particularly as some enjoyed a WA public holiday.

The meme has provided some interesting librarian type revelations – drinking tea seems to be the favourite drink whilst reading with some very specific tea requirements – Lady Grey or green tea on Angels have the Phonebox, Madura loos in a pot for Strawberries of Integrity, Daintree white no sugar for moonflowerdragon and the very specific strong English Breakfast tea with a drop of milk and no sugar for our meme originator ruminations. Coffee made a fleeting appearance but in its generic coffee form, no grande double skinny mocha latte with a half sugar to be found!

I was quite surprised to learn that perhaps I am the only librarian who regularly defaces books by marking them and making notes in them (and dare I add I have done this to a number of library books in my time – slap!).  I am grateful to Virtually a Librarian for joining in me as a confessed ‘dog earer’. With more respectable librarians it seems whilst bookmarks are preferred its more likely a receipt of some kind will be used.

I must admit I have never considered the idea of being irritated by a book enough to throw it – although my mother did raise me with an immense respect for books (I cut my doll’s hair and drew all over them but I never once defaced a book – well in my childhood anyway!) But two of our meme participants admitted to it – LiberryDwarf threw Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper and whilst Feral Librarian Tales admitted to the ‘crime’ declined to share the victim. It seems this may be a once in a lifetime event – so the rest of us are yet to discover this author of irritation in our lives.

Unsurprisingly most are happy to read anywhere – although from a Public librarian, FromMelbin & Bun-toting librarian the comforts of bed are preferred, other favourites revolved around arm chairs, sunshine and being able to have the time to read the day away with leisure.

Last but not least I was most intrigued by how people organise their book collections at home – as we all know often the librarian at work is far from the librarian at home! (read self confession). Angels have the phonebox organises her books by room – cookbooks in the kitchen, craft books in her studio. By genre and/or by author seemed most popular shared by batgirl, Feral Librarian Tales and Strawberries of Integrity. Virtually a Librarian‘s seems the most complicated system – but I do like that she has sections for borrowed books and books to be read despite that she is soon to be rid of them all! Moondragonflower is the only who admitted to using any form of Dewey at home – and even mentioned boxes ‘uncatalogued’ (imagining an OPAC built into the end of her bookshelf).  I resonated most with FromMelbin‘s book organisation – the better books being in the better bookshelf and the crappy books in boxes. I actually have two book cases – one for the ‘best books’ mostly my books and ordered, believe it or not, by colour (its very pretty!). The other book case has all the other ‘good books’ – those we like, some yet to be read and consists mostly of my partner’s books (you can tell who ordered the shelves!), lastly we have a half a shed full of archived books (stored properly for longevity) which is mostly all of our sentimental (read childhood) books which we love and can’t part with but is not practical or useful at present.

So we learned a lot from our challengers about their book, reading and home librarian habits and it seems that through reflecting on the meme I may just have completed it also!

For those who may still like to play along here are the questions:
Do you snack while reading?
What is your favourite drink while reading?
Do you tend to mark your books while you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?
How do you keep your place? Bookmark? Dog ear? Laying the book open flat?
Fiction, non-fiction or both?
Do you tend to read to the end of a chapter or can you stop anywhere?
Are you the type of person to throw a book across the room or on the floor if the author irritates you?
If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?
What are you currently reading?
What is the last book you bought?
Do you have a favourite time/place to read?
Do you prefer series books or stand-alones?
Is there a specific book or author you find yourself recommending over and over?
How do you organise your books (by genre, title, author’s last name, etc.)?

One of our 30 posts in 30 days blogs, the National Library of Australia’s New Technologies Interest Group’s blog has a neat little post about ebooks today A book by any other name .

In the post, it mentioned being able to download ebooks from public libraries. It made me wonder how many Australian public libraries are offering this so far? Not *audiobooks*, but ebooks. And is everyone using Overdrive or is anyone using something else?

I already knew about

• Gold Coast Libraries
• Brisbane/Yarra Plenty libraries joint effort
• ACT public library

A quick sweep of my Twitter network revealed:

• Ashfield, Burwood, Canada Bay, Marrickville, Strathfield
• Melbourne Library Service ( I could only find a link to the downloadable audio books)
• Randwick
• Sutherland (I could only find a link to the downloadable audio books)
• Penrith (I could only find a link to the downloadable audio books)

Additions after original post:

• Logan Library
• Ipswich Library and Information Service

Come to think of it, are any school libraries offering this service to their school communities? If not, what are the barriers? Would love to hear about this – and any other public libraries…surely there must be more?