warriorlibrarian.com Blog

Today marks the end of an era, with the death of Australian Democrat’s founder Don Chipp.  Unhappy with the limited choice offered by the two major political parties, Chippy stated that another option for voters and their dependents would “keep the b*st*rds honest”.

Although his library borrowing records are not available publically, it’s an even-money bet that he would have ensured that in setting his affairs in order he would have made provision to make sure his loans were returned and any outstanding late fines were schmick.  Vale, Chippy.

Although the glass analogy is usually used to separate the optimists from the realists (sometimes called pessimists, but that’s only by people who live with the pixies), no one seems to be considering what the ‘glass’ actually contains.

If the glass contains some toxic concoction - say hemlock with library paste - and you’re having a really bad day, you might well embrace the half-empty condition as auspicious. You would only have to drink the other 50% to move into another state of being. But then again, if you were having a good day, then the imperitive to consume the remainder would be minimal.

Conversely, if the glass contained full-cream milk and you were lactose-intolerant, then the thought alone of having drunk a half-glass already should render you nearly comatose.

Just a thought. Nothing’s ever simple, is it?

… to teach an old reader new genres. Or if not actually ‘teach’, then at least introduce.
From Shelly Shapiro’s essay “What is Alternate History?” (although I still maintain it should be ‘alternative’, but what would I know?): “… also known as “counterfactual history … an author takes a pivotal turning point in hisotry, spins it on its axis, and examines what path events might have taken as a result …”

Fair enough. As my newest best friend Shelley points out, any historical fiction could be classed as alternate(ive) history, in that the fictional elements never actually occurred.

Enough with the analysis, already. Dissection, discussion, and decision have been the death of many a good read. Roads not taken (ISBN 0-345-42194-9) was well worth the trip to the local public library’s Paperback Spinner, where many of the good reads seem to end up. Don’t know why that is; it’s not my library.

Although, in the interests of information dissemination I should really ask. Goodness knows, I’m sure they’ve come to expect a series of irritating queries from me. But in my own defence, I’d like to state that I know where the photocopier is, how to use the OPAC, and always carry my stationary with me. Now, if only we could train all library users to do that …

There’s nothing quite like going back to The Office after two weeks leave, is there?  The mutual greetings exchanged with colleagues, the sharing of news, the viewing of (other people’s) holiday snaps, the mountain of backlogged work …

Sigh.

So, in the local book store, and a lady asks the clerk if they stock Spanish language books. The clerk says no, so “someone” pipes up with the information that the local library does, and that it’s free!  Sigh.  Advocacy is all very well, but some of us (OK, me) don’t seem to have learned the lessons about appropriate times and places …

Sometimes precious gems can be found in the most unlikely places, and often serendipedously. The current Cosmo website (which may not be available for long on this link) featured an article on high heels vs back pain in its fashion section.

But (together with the feature on Nicole Kidman’s wedding and similarly life-enhancing items) is the news that “big butts are back”. And given our enormous salaries, ” … transforming that casual look into something more professional for the office” can be nicely teamed with the information on a glamour makeover in preparation for progression to Becoming a Professional Model. Not.

A small chunk of yesterday was spent examining the pronunciation of “Eoin” (as in Eoin Colfer, the critically and commercially successful children’s author). An informal survey of a teacher librarian listserv found multiple votes for “Owen” and “Ian”, plus one each for “Wayne” and “Yoan”(to rhyme with Joan). I guess as the group was largely Australian, it was lucky that no-one suggested “Bruce”, which would have really skewed the results.

But possibly the strangest part of the exercise was the accusation that the whole thing was a waste of time. My reply to this was, in part:

“… have you never heard it said that “the journey is the reward”? Actually, since embarking on this quest ‘of no real importance’, I’ve dipped my toes into linguistic profiling, examined the latest ‘trends’ in children’s author websites (Colfer’s is a real beauty!), found out about the upcoming Artemis Fowl movie, and re-established contact with many colleagues where contact had been lost.I figure this wasn’t a bad effort; the achievement of so many non-scheduled outcomes for a relatively small investment of my time and energy. Incidentally, I also emailed on of Colfer’s publishers and asked how Mr Colfer himself prefers his name to be pronounced. So hopefully I will have a definitive answer in due course …”

According to Utah’s Desert News, the Salt Lake City public library system was named 2006 Library of the Year by a ‘national library journal and a research firm’. The  $10,000 prize will go towards sending some staff to a conference.

Which is pretty nice for them (the honor of the title, and the prize money).  But each of the 6 winners of the Goldman Environmental Awards gets $125,000; the Templeton Prize (for “progress towards research or discoveries about spiritual reality) is worth $1.4 million; even the John Lennon Songwriting Contest pays the winner $20,000.

So who else won $10,000? Fantasy Baseball players, the Harris Poll Online Sweepstakes winner, heck - you can even make $10,000 with a recipe!

Surely the 2006 Library of the Year should be graced with more than this token amount? At the barest minimum, it should have been granted sufficient funding to send ALL of its staff somewhere really nice on a holiday for a few weeks, as WELL as paying the WHOLE amount for the conference.

Here’s a typical scenario … the patron/library user/client has enough metal in their face to prompt visions of administering first-aid, or calling the paramedics; they’re dressed like they’ve just been picked up mid-ocean by a passing freighter; they’re grasp of reality seems to be based on a civilization not yet discovered.

Yet you treat them with the same respect (or possibly indifference, depending on your training/mood/proximity of supervisor) as anyone else.

Is this tolerance? Or apathy? Are we becoming increasingly ‘inclusive’ and/or compassionate? I just don’t know. Or maybe it’s more a case of I don’t care ….