Tech Trek 2.0 and me

They say confession is good for the soul. I'll give it a try. I just started Tech Trek 2.0 last week, being somewhat preoccupied with another, unnamed for the moment, program. I'm happy to say I am now almost caught up and moving along towards my MP3 player. Why am I sharing this? Because it's not too late! That's right, you can still start and make your way through the quests. You may be someone like me. I signed up and just didn't find the time. Or maybe you didn't sign up and think that it's too late to even start. Not so!

Take a deep breath, sit at the computer, when you can, and as they say, just do it! It's not hard--it's even fun. And a prize awaits you.

Are you reading?

Yesterday was the Kickoff of The Charleston County Big Read and what a day it was! Hot, hot, hot, but Anne Caldwell and The Magnolia Singers were wonderful and listening to Lucy Anne Hurston was a treat. We had an surprise visit from David Kipen, Director of Literature for the National Endowment for the Arts. What a trouper! He spoke, helped me carry boxes, and bought and proudly wore one our Big Read t-shirts (which you can buy, too for a measly $15. One of a kind, here.)
Tonight we are showing the film verion of Their Eyes Were Watching God and tomorrow, the Charleston Jazz Initiative is performing. Please come join us in these events. It's an incredible line-up, all free and all worth attended.
So, are you reading the book yet? What page are you on?

Coaching Up

I just read John's Berry's column from the August 28th edition of Libraryjournal.com, Coaching Up. It's a great summation of what it's like to be working with so many bright and younger co-workers. Thanks for what you share with us! (sections of his column were selected by me.)

New young librarians have the toughest time. First, they have to get a job. They keep telling us that there are very few entry-level spots out there, and we keep telling them they are wrong. Those who finally find positions in libraries are frequently greeted by several generations of experienced, entrenched, usually older librarians. These geezers are not generally receptive to new ideas and new approaches to the work they've been doing for so long. I'm one of the older ones, just barely emerging from my technophobia. I owe that understanding to some sympathetic young colleagues. Gently, wearing their kid gloves, they taught me how to use the new stuff. I am grateful....

I have to learn almost everything about these times, and a great deal of it is about our new profession. Communication has fundamentally changed. The current rules of information exchange are difficult for the older generations steeped in the criteria they learned in what they called “library school” to validate or guarantee authority of information. I'm learning about the new ways information is found or created, retrieved, and disseminated. The young are teaching me new ways that ideas get from one brain to another.

They blog, IM, and text by telephone. They are always plugged in to and multitask on various devices, each with dozens of options. Trying to break into this multiplying network, to separate the useful and usable wheat from the marketing chaff is driving me nuts. But with their technological savvy and their easy aptitude for online communication, these younger folks are gently bringing me along.