10 posts from December 2006

I see a lot of talk on the library blogs about the new library jobs coming up, and I get really excited. ALA Tech source posted the third part in their series "Desperately Seeking the Adaptive Librarian: On the 2.0 Job Description," in which they talk about some of the new library jobs. One of the people who got one of these exciting new jobs, David Lee King, had this to say:

I blog, play with videoblogging, like to take pictures and post them to Flickr, and like to figure out how all these emerging web services can work in a library setting. That's the type of person they were looking for—someone who understood web 2.0 and who understood what a library could do with those tools.

Does that sound great or what? This is what excites me. My ideal job would not only involve figuring out how to work new web technologies into the library, but helping patrons (customers?) with these new technologies as well. At UNL, we have "Digital Learning Librarians" who help students with multimedia, and, I assume, also help guide the libraries digital initiatives. I want a job like this- one that lets me have some say int he decision making process and still have interaction with people. Interaction is one of the reasons that I gravitated toward library science, so I would love a job that works that in.

I have planned out the courses I intend to take in library school, but there's only so much time. I don't have enough time to take all the tech classes I would like - nor are they all offered. I will supplement what I can't take, hopefully, with courses at UNL (which I can take for free) and by teaching myself what I can. I would like, at the least, to learn javascript and enough java to alter programs. I'd like to learn to use flash better, and more about setting up and maintaining a server. I need to figure out what to focus on - what I can use in a job? This is a little bit of guesswork - what will I need to know in two years when I go looking?

I can only hope that when I graduate in 2 years, that these jobs are still available - that there are more of them, actually - and that I am well positioned enough to land one. I don't worry that these jobs won't exist- but I'm not sure how many will be open for just graduated librarians. 

I have bought some web space at "A Small Orange" and am trying it out. It's a little more expensive than some spaces ($10/month for 1000 MB of space), but so far, it's much, much faster. An entire movable type site rebuild takes less than 30 seconds, instead of 5 minutes, and so far, no errors commenting, posing entries, or making changes.

If the rest of the month goes as well, I think I will be staying.

I went with A Small Orange because they did not require me to sign into a year contract - I don't want to have to spend another year with a bad server because it is a pain to get out. So far, the customer support has been amazingly fast as well.

The test site it up here. take a look. I have a lot of work yet to do. Ugh.

I altered some DIY planner templates and created some of my own to make my new hipster PDA planner. You can download some of the templates below: Color coded templates (feel free to use as you wish, I'll be changing them, I'm sure) I'm also planning on making some games. I know the hipster PDA is supposed to be about time management, but I'm all about wasting time, too. :)

1. Don't write of an entire line of work because of one job. I always said I hated retail. Truth was, I hated the company, or the customers, or my co-workers, or the low pay, or some combination of those. The actual retail work could be enjoyable - helping customers find what they wanted, learning about new products/books, making displays, etc. Think back over your past jobs and try and find at least one thing you like about each.
   
2. The worst job in the world can still teach you something. Years later you may look back and think "sure, that job was bad, but I learned a lot." Try your best not to burn bridges- as much as you fantasize about telling the boss everything that is wrong with his/her style of management, keep it a fantasy. In real life, use the "it's not you, it's me" line and get out as pleasantly as possible.
3. Ask everyone you meet "do you like your job?" If they do, for god's sake, find out why. Maybe you'd like it too.
4. Your past need not determine your future. Because I told everyone for years I was going to be an artist or an art teacher, I was reluctant to change. But it felt right, so I leapt in.
5. Your Bachelors degree need not determine your Master's degree. I didn't realize how many Master's degrees don't require any specific Bachelor's - only that you have a Bachelor's, and that your grades were decent (3.0 or higher, usually). You might also have to take a test (like the GRE or GMAT).

My own rethinking of careers was entirely by accident- when I graduated with my Bachelors in Fine Art, the plan was to get a full time job and save so I could go and get my Master's in Fine Art. I didn't really have a reason to get my Master's - the art world business scene annoys me, and I don't know that I would like teaching (not to mention college level art teaching jobs are nearly impossible to come by), but hey, it was something to do right?

I applied for anything and everything, and landed a job in an academic library. It didn't take me long to realize I really liked working in a library, and the variety of jobs available to a library school graduate was quite large. I took my first library science class in the fall, and quite enjoyed it. I am now enrolled in the University of Missouri-Columbia. Instead of a year off of school, I only took 3 months. It's all happened so fast, and I am thrilled- after years of wondering "what will become of me" I finally have an idea.

My final piece of advice is: Be open to serendipity.

Even though I am, thankfully, not working retail for Christmas this year, I still feel decidedly scrooge like. Part of this has to do with the fact that Geoff still works retail, so I get to see less of him around the holidays (Merry Christmas). There's also the unavoidable stench of commercialism that pervades the air this time of year.

It's not that I don't like getting or giving presents, but there are very few people I actually feel qualified to get gifts for. Immediate family, good friends, and my husband. I'm really excited about a few of my gifts, I think they'll be appreciated. The rest of the gifts I buy are for people I see maybe once a year- I don't know what they already have, or what they would really like. I usually end up getting a gift certificate, and then think cynically "they'll probably just lose it." The worst part of the whole thing is, I feel powerless to change it. I wish I could just say "hey, I have everything I need, so why don't we just forgo the gifts this year. Buy yourself something nice (or just save the money)." I can't though. I just can't seem to bring it up - it's especially hard when it's not my side of the family.

All I know is, I already have too much crap. The day after Christmas always leaves me looking at my piles of new crap and thinking "where the hell will I put it all?"

I hate going to stores this time of year- for anything. I hate that if I want to buy a light bulb, I'll have to wait in a line 10 deep. I feel sorry for the poor retail employees I see people snapping at, it makes me sad.

I hate that everything has to be done BY CHRISTMAS and if not, it's THE END OF THE WORLD. Never mind that you can probably purchase an item easily a few weeks after Christmas. This attitude is what leads people to get so angry when over shopping: CNN Employee Nearly Mauled By Angry Shoppers Over Wii.

That said, I'm glad my family's Christmas isn't until two weeks AFTER Christmas this year. It really takes the pressure off.

Update: take a look at the first postcard on "Sunday Secrets" today.

I have the week off between Christmas and New Years. You can hate me if you want, but after 6 ish years of working retail at Christmas, I feel entitled to enjoy my break.

So what do I plan to do? Mostly, sleep. and read. and play the DS.

I have a few projects and some cleaning I'd like to do, but that comes AFTER the sleeping, reading, and gaming.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

(I've also promised myself I will post more, so keep an eye out)

I have received a nice "Master of Library and/or Information Science" Scholarship from the Nebraska Library Commission, for which I will be able to re-apply for in a year. If I get the reapplication as well, this means grad school should cost me less than 7 grand, if I don't get any other scholarships. Not too shabby. This means that, unless something changes (knock on wood) I should be able to get out of school with no debt, grad or undergrad.

Not a bad way to start off the week.

I have added a link on the side to my Google Reader shared items. A few recent highlights:

• A (Really) Modest Proposal
• Wrap and carry items with a Furoshiki
• Charlie Brown's Pathetic Christmas Tree
• PSP GPS Hardware Ships, Software to Follow?
• the new privacy: the professional and public online identities
• College Is An Economic Gamble That Doesn't Pay Off

Once again- I love the internet!

Argh. It's been too long and now there's way too much to say. So here's a post to get it all out of the way:

• I am done with school until (I think) January 14th. I also have a week off between Christmas and new years, during which I will probably work on this site and sleep. a lot. I have been feeling seriously sleep deprived lately.
• Comments are still not working correctly. Please try and comment, if you get an error, it probably saved anyway. I'm looking into new servers, Network Solutions is absolutely horrendous. They do a lot of things right, but it seems like every other month they break one of the four sites I host through them by changing something. Of course, even when I have not changed anything, it must be something I did. (A quick search for "Network Solutions sucks tells me I am not alone.)
  
  PS, any suggestions for good web servers are appreciated.
• Also, if anyone subscribes to my feed, I realize it's off (line returns are not recognized) I switched to feed burner, but can't figure out how to fix this. I'm sure I'll figure out some tweak or another.
• My mom's gonna get Geoff and me a Wii for Christmas! if she can find one *crosses fingers*
• Also, my mom got a new UMPC, which is good for me because I got her old PDA. it's way cool, and I can now watch video podcasts on the go. Now if I could only find a decently priced keyboard for it, I would be all set.
• I had lunch with my dad the other day and realized we're a lot more alike than I ever though. Which is weird, but nice.

I thought I had more, but that's it for now.