From The Chronicle: Brainstorm

This morning, from The Chronicle of Higher Education blog Brainstorm, an article from Gina Barreca.

"Hello class. Hello former students who are willing to go another round in this ring, and welcome to the new folks—the ones who have no idea what this course will be like.

Let me tell you who’ve never taken a class with me before a little about what to expect. And please understand that while I’m delighted that you're here, I will also understand if you decide that you can’t work within the boundaries I’ve set up.

The points I’m talking about today are non-negotiable. That’s why I mention them up front. On a number of other issues, I can be flexible. Concerning the following, however, you will find me intractable:"

You really need to read more @ On the First Day ...

An Ill-wind is blowing

Are you tired of hearing about H1N1 like me? Are you sick of washing your hands constantly? Do you cringe everytime you hear someone cough near you?

Health and safety issues are real concerns for library administrators and campus personnel and have become even more real as more and more young people fall victim to swine flu symptoms. Student staff are unable to work (and we don't want them here!).

Our campus is trying to respond to all the potential problems by cleaning more thoroughly, installing hand sanitizer dispensers in buildings across campus, putting wipes in campus vehicles and encouraging faculty to be "flexible" with assignments.

I have put out bottles of sanitizer for our patrons to use and we wipe down the computers each night. My staff has sanitizer available to them and I try not to steal my staff's pens and pencils to use. We no longer supply headphones for our computer media; everyone must bring their own.

Kleenex will be out soon. Please, keep the Kleenex, don't ask to "borrow" any! I don't want them back!

Losing Your Right Hand

What does it feel like to lose your right hand? I mean, my right hand at work. My assistant has been on medical leave since May 18 and that doesn't sound like a big deal. Except that I only have two employees besides me and about 5 student assistants.

I have been relearning how to do things I gratefully forgot, like how to add new patrons, how to fix circulation issues, remembering to put equipment in places and deliver films, checking on a multitude of little details that always needs to be checked before a new quarter starts, employee timesheets, reconciling a money drawer, etc. The list goes on.

That's in addition to my own usual duties and projects, like budgets, periodical renewals, collection development, new course management materials, etc. It takes one little situation to make you appreciate when you have a well-oiled machine running. When a part is gone, the whole thing just seems to fall apart. For us, running smoothly and collaboratively has been the key to our success with such a small staff.

Actually, I am proud of myself - no major crises, no major snafus. I have learned that I hate to reconcile a money drawer and deadlines always exist.

But I got to go back to my roots, so to speak, and do some cataloging functions, which I always enjoyed and clean out some clutter.

Luckily, it sounds as though there is daylight showing. My assistant might get to return part-time soon. And that will be a day for celebration. Hallelujah!!!

R U a Spelling B champion?

Last night, I had the privilege of being the pronouncer for our local county spelling bee. I believe we had about 24 students from 4 area county schools, from grades 6,7,8.

I've never done this before, so I was probably as nervous as the contestants. One of the neat things the organizer did was to use words from the novel To Kill a Mockingbird as their practice words. This was because our community will soon be involved in a community reads program (MarionReads) and we will be reading/watching/discussing that book. I so appreciated her including that for us.

As I said, I've never done this before so I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be doing, other than pronouncing. It seems I needed to announce the end of each round and would the students who misspelled in the round please leave the competition area? I also indicated if they pronounced it correctly or not. And at the end, I was to announce the winner. Had I known this ahead, I would have been better prepared for my duties and made sure the students received the appropriate recognition.

The words were interesting and I am grateful I knew most of them! I was asked at times to repeat the pronounciation, to give a definition and/or use it in a sentence.

I was amazed at the words the students spelled and they varied from fairly easy to more complicated with each turn. I used an offical guide that included the pronunciation and the definition and a sentence. Fortunately, we didn't use the 300 words I was given, because I wasn't sure of some of them myself. Being a pronouncer certainly gives you a reality check for your own knowledge!

After 45 minutes and quite a few rounds, a winner was declared; a 7th grade young lady from Ridgedale. The winner and runner-up each got trophies; others received gifts cards and medallions and there was a nice reception afterward. As a bonus, it was recorded to be broadcast on a local TV channel this coming Saturday. If I can find a TV with cable, I'll check and see how bad I look from behind and how well I sounded pronouncing. Our local newspaper photographer was there snapping pictures. I hope he missed me!

I enjoyed this experience and look forward to doing it again, if asked. Now that I know how it sort of progresses, I will be better prepared next time.

I encourage you to get involved with or attend a local spelling bee. You'll gain an appreciation for what you were taught (or maybe regret that you didn't pay better attention in English class when you were learning vocabulary!)

Back in the Saddle

Like Diane, I enjoyed escaping the workplace as much as possible over the holiday. I admit it was very difficult to return on Monday, especially with the weather turning so yucky so quickly the last two days.

Ever feel like you have nothing to say? I've felt that way recently; hence I have not posted for awhile. Maybe the holiday season had me down a little.

Anyway, I resolve to post more often and so today, I noticed that Booklist has published their Editor's Choice for 2008 lists nicely divided into categories: Adult Books, Books for Youth, Adult Books for Young Adults, Media and Reference Sources. So check them out and fill those wintery nights with some cool titles to read. A fuzzy blanket, fuzzy slippers, a warm drink and a good book ... what a combo!!!

I actually got to read the book Dewey over the holiday. What a cat! And kudos to the library and director for recogizing the special qualities of him. He lived for 19 years and embued the public library with a wonderful sense of purpose and community.

Being Early Does Help

Ever have one of those days when your equipment gives out at the wrong time? I did, last night. Being a person who likes to have everything set up and equipment tested, connected and working, I always start early to set up my portable classroom in the library. I use a SMARTboard and a digital projector and laptop on a cart. I had the space set up and was testing the equipment when I heard "Zzzzzzzztttttt" when I turned on the digital projector and no light appeared. I looked for a new bulb, presuming that to be the problem, but could not locate one immediately. A call to my assistant at home finally located it. The instructor came in at the right moment and I determined that we could move the class to my other teaching classroom which doesn't hold as many students. My evening assistant was able to get the computer hooked up while I transferred everything and everyone downstairs.

The good news is that in spite of the delay, I started only about 5 minutes late. The bad news is that it looks like I need a new digital projector and not just a bulb. (This is where it is good to have a great relationship with IT so they will lend me a projector to use for awhile)

This situation is one that I don't relish as an instructor; I like to be prepared and ready to go. Fortunately, I was able to stay relatively calm and not stress too much. "Accept what you cannot change." I tried to remember that. Good thing I had a spare room to use; it would have been a very short class, otherwise. Life throws you lemons all the time; I'm glad I was able to make lemonade this time.

Keeping Cool

I recently received the July/August issue of Consumer's Corner, a newsletter from the Office of the Ohio Consumer's Counsel and in it contained a list of ways to save money on summer cooling bills. While most libraries have no control over the general environment of the library itself and cannot lower thermostat and install energy-saving features, we can pass along to our users ideas and tips to help them save.

10 ways to save money on your summer cooling bills:
1. Get an air-conditioning tune-up
2. Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs
3. Conserve water
4. Use the OCC's Smart Energy House (an interactive tool that breaks down
how much an energy appliance use)
5. Use shading to keep heat out
6. Install a programmable thermostat
7. Take advantage of utility-sponsored programs
8. Add more insulation
9. Open windows, raise thermostat
10. Use ventilation fans sparingly

I wonder if there is a list of ways to conserve energy in libraries? What would you do in your library?