I am a Librarian

Children Reading in the Digital Age

2010-09-29T10:06:00.003-04:00

There is an interesting article in the New York Times today about children's reading habits and interest in reading on digital devices along with some perceptions of the internet. The part that bothered me the most is that 39% of age 9 to 17 year olds believed that the information on the internet is "always correct." This is shocking. I'd be interested to see the demographics of that study and how much library time those students get. This is exactly one of the lessons learned in school libraries and shows why they are so important.

The Alchemist

2009-01-14T08:54:00.002-05:00

I just finished reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. This book was about a boy following his personal journey. Throughout the story the boy had to relinquish his possessions and essentially start over learning a new skill to reach his goals. He was taught to pay attention to signs and realize that there may be a greater plan for you than you think to follow your destiny. I have over the last few years read about Shamanism and often about how to pay attention to animals for some of life's lessons. I have begun trying to write some of these lessons as children's books. I have decided on a series of ten and have six already finished. I enjoyed this book. Personal journey stories are among my favorites. I would definitely recommend it to others.

SLA's 23 Things

2009-01-02T12:17:00.002-05:00

A co-worker recently told me about SLA's 23 things. I thought it would be a good exercise to do in preparation for my upcoming workshop. It was created to encourage librarians to use the social software tools that are out there. The first step is creating a blog. Since I have done this many times through different services (Livejournal, MySpace, Xanga, and Blogger.) I did not feel a need to create a new one. However, I did feel a post would be appropriate with some insight on what I like about the services. My overall preference is Blogger. The biggest thing to consider is who is your audience? Why is the blog important to you or to others? Sometimes I feel that I don't need to write a blog so that others will see it and comment. It is something that I need to do as a writer to achieve a certain task. Other times it is important to reach a particular audience to get the information to many people at a time.

Here are a few ways in which I have used blogs.

Professionally, I created blogs for PALINET as a way to help support the needs of the library community for Interlibrary Loan and Cataloging Information. These started out as Blogger and moved to WordPress, due to the branding options available. The blogs are PALINET ILL and PALINET CAT. The updating has now transitioned to other staff, but I still assist them with pertinent information.

I also volunteer with the Springfield Township Library and have worked with the children in the Middle School group to have a blog for information and the events at the library for this age group. There are pizza nights for the group and so they came up with the blog: http://readingbytheslice.blogspot.com

This blog was originally created for my I am a Librarian project. I also created my Xanga blog for the same purpose, but the blogger one was more popular so I stuck with it. It was also very difficult to maintain multiple blogs stating the same information. Then it became important for the blog to be fluid. The momentum of the project is not as it was in 2004-2006 and so the need for a blog on it seemed somewhat silly, so I changed the purpose of the blog to reflect book reviews or important or interesting things that are circling the library community, such as SLA's 23 Things.

Additionally, I didn't want to hold on to all the papers from my daughter's daycare, but I wanted to keep the information so I decided to create a blog for my daughter, Harmony. Her blog is http://butterflysmiling.blogspot.com This is a great way to help keep the Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Friends, etc. informed about the changes in your child.

Blogging can become a phase if you let it. It can be hard to constantly update information but is also rewarding when you can. With Blogger it is easy to include photographs and videos and this aspect is very important to me.

Changes

2007-11-13T18:09:00.000-05:00

Hello. I know it's been quite a while since I have posted to this blog. There have been quite a number of changes in my life since my last post. I moved, got engaged and found out that I'm going to have a baby. The baby is due in January. Dealing with life's changes, may have put a backseat to the continuation of the overall project and to the update of this blog. I just wanted to let everyone know that I have no plans on abandoning I am a Librarian. I hope to continue it as possible and I will continue to update the imalibrarian portion of the web page as I learn of additional libraries or changes to the existing IM services. Thanks for your continued support and interest.

Hipster Haiku

2007-05-07T22:48:00.000-04:00

Hipster Haiku by Siobhan Adcock

Siobhan evokes the spirit of hipsters from all over. Some of her poems had me cracking up and other made me think about life and how things came to be this way. There were also many haikus that revolved around the bar scene, due to her work. I can understand that because I have written some poems at bars too. Many cultural statements are included in this work. Some I would go so far as to say are a bit more punk than hipster, but whatever...

My co-worker Beth gave this book to me. She stated that it made her think of me. It's funny how the haiku thing actually transpired from my twin sister and her co-workers. I think it's a great and simple way to de-stress.

5-7-5.

Want more: http://www.hipsterhaiku.com

A Day in the Life has been published (Note: Chapter 63)

2007-05-01T21:45:00.000-04:00

Some of my writing has been published in a new book...

Shontz, Priscilla K. and Richard A. Murray, editors. A Day in the Life: Career Options in Library and Information Science. Libraries Unlimited, 2007. 464 pages. ISBN 1591583640.

Check out Chapter 63 Member Support Coordinator. This chapter was written before I was promoted to Associate Manager, Support Services at PALINET, but many of the duties are still a part of my job.

Table of contents, excerpts, contributor information, and more at http://www.liscareer.com/dil.htm.

Many people, not just those new to the field of library and information science, are curious about their career options. The editors of LIScareer.com have assembled 95 authors, each of whom describes a "typical" workday or work routine, sharing joys, sorrows, and annoyances in refreshingly candid fashion. In the process, they offer those interested in finding a similar job exposure to useful skills and advice across a wide variety of traditional and nontraditional jobs. In addition to public, academic, school, and special libraries, consortia, associations, LIS programs, vendors, publishing, consulting, and other non-library fields are also covered. This is a perfect guide for library and information science students, prospective information professionals, new librarians-or anyone considering a career change.

Librarians on YouTube

2007-04-17T21:15:00.000-04:00

Tonight I went to the InfoTubey Awards. Information Today hosted the awards for libraries that created videos on YouTube to promote their services. They chose 5 winners from approximately 60 entries.

Here are the winners:

New Jersey State Library:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeQI25n8qPQ&mode=user&search

Seneca Library - Canada:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMVMgDWnoaA

McCracken Library - Kentucky:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjxkQKwkP3M and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu-TijjVs_g

Williams College Library:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwCUtpbUWgk

Arlington Heights Memorial Library:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZcw9Zx4ejA

And since the library from Canada could not afford to send someone to Virginia, here is the Acceptance Speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nntN8J5TSxU

PALINET sponsored the snacks and coffee, which was a fantastic idea by the marketing team.

And since my co-worker Catherine likes the book cart drill teams, I thought I'd feature this one from Pitt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFtjnxm_wiQ

And one that I think it pretty clever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrtYdFV_Eak

What are some of your favorite library videos?

Fairies: An Anthology of Verse and Prose

2007-04-01T15:04:00.000-04:00

In March, I read Fairies: An Anthology of Verse and Prose published by Peony Press. It was a beautifully illustrated book that broke down some fairie lore into segments and presented a sweet collection of poetry. My only criticism is that I would liked to have seen the items chronological within the chapters. I think it would have helped put into perspective how the views of fairies changed throughout time or how they remained the same.

This book reminded me of a woman I met who draws beautiful fairie pictures. I was at a craft festival and deciding on one item that I was going to allow myself to buy within a limited budget. It was between two items and I felt a special connection to her print of a fairie with 4-leaf clovers. (Sometimes four-leaf clovers are said to be protection from fairies.) I often carry around four-leaf clovers and I decided to give one to this women. She stated that she had been searching for a four-leaf clover to put with her original painting. Since I gave her the clover that she was looking for she gave me the print of the picture I wanted. It's good to know that in this day and age you can still make a good barter. :) To see her work check out: http://www.lindabiggs.com/

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

2007-03-01T20:42:00.000-05:00

In February, I spent time reading Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. My co-worker, Catherine, lent it to me some time ago and I finally got around to reading it. Most of us know how that goes.

The story encompasses the student/teacher relationship and focuses on a world view through tales of creation and evolution. In many ways it makes you think outside the box and with a more global view of our time here. I could see how to many this would be a life altering work. I felt as if I had read similar stories before in the mystical student/teacher relationship, mostly in the Native American realm, so it did not resonate with me as much as it did with some of my co-workers. What struck me as interesting was the number of people who commented on the book as I carried it to and from work and in my travels around the city. Some read it for class others for pleasure, each time the comment came accompanied with a smile, that speaks volumes to me. I'd recommend this book.

For more information, see: http://www.ishmael.org/welcome.cfm

Find Ishmael in a library

March of the Librarians

2007-03-01T06:58:00.000-05:00

Linda Gabel from OCLC sent me a link to a video on YouTube that was taken it Seattle at the American Library Association Mid-Winter conference in Seattle. It's great!

Have a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td922l0NoDQ

Lava Library

2007-02-23T15:13:00.001-05:00

IMG_2328
Originally uploaded by I am a Librarian!.

This is the library at the Lava Community Center in West Philadelphia.

Yes, That's Right!

2007-02-22T14:59:00.001-05:00

Yes, That's Right!
Originally uploaded by I am a Librarian!.

I'm headed off to OCLC again on Sunday, out to good old Dublin, OH. Here's a reminder of what you can see driving around downtown Columbus.

How far would you go to save your library?

2007-02-07T06:43:00.000-05:00

Dr. Eskander the director of Iraq’s National Library and Archive in Baghdad, and his staff go to great lengths just to get to work. They deal with bombings, shootings and even death threats to protect and provide access to the library and archive materials.

How far would you go to save your library?

How would you handle similar situations with your library?

To read more about the happenings at Iraq’s National Library and Archive in Baghdad, see Dr. Eskander's diary, which is hosted by the British Library, at:bl.uk/iraqdiary.html

I think it is amazing to see such dedication from Dr. Eskander and his staff. I can only imagine how hard their daily life must be. I wish them peace.

Something new...

2007-01-29T07:21:00.000-05:00

This year I have decided to start posting about the books I have read and what they make me think about.

I have just read Spooky Pennsylvania: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings and Other Local Lore, retold by S.E. Schlosser, which is a collection of short ghost stories in the Pennsylvania area. It was interesting to see many of the stories from a first person perspective, even though the person was completely different with each story. Some of the stories like "The Miner-Minstrel" were actually feel-good or some may even say happy and not really scary stories, so it gave me the feeling of peace for the afterlife. Other stories made me think of some childhood stories, such as saying "Bloody Mary" in front of the mirror. The portrayal of witches throughout the stories was generally negative, I guess I should expect that from ghost stories, but I am always hopeful that it will change. Maybe it's the negative woman stereotype that I just don't like. It stems back to my college thesis on the image of witches in films of the 1990s. I found many negative stereotypes there also, however, in my readings on the subject of Wicca I was much more hopeful of the idea of the good or white witch. Maybe I am just hopeful that there is more good in the world in general?

To check worldcat.org for your local library listing or to buy through amazon click here: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/71237264&tab=holdings?loc=19003

Honorable Mention

2007-01-02T21:49:00.000-05:00

Hello and Happy New Year!

Check it out, my feature story got honorable mention as one of the top
library and information science (LIS) news stories for 2006. Woo Hoo!

http://features.lisnews.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/15/137213

Library Aide in Nebraska

2006-11-18T18:18:00.000-05:00

This past week I received an e-mail from Alvin White, a library aide in Nebraska and he wanted to talk with me about instant messaging because he read about me online. We arranged a time to talk on the phone and it was just great to read about his library and to see how involved he is with the library and moving it forward in this technological age. One thing that we discussed during the conversation is how libraries can use Flickr. I recommended that he take pictures of their advertisements and post them on Flickr, this will help with promotion and not just be a representation of the library events.

He told me that all the kids in his library are using hi5 and it seems to be bigger than myspace in his area. I told him to get the library a presence on hi5 and meet the users where they are.

Then we got to the instant messaging discussion. Since his library is a little short staffed, additional reference through instant messaging is probably not the best thing right now. It's great to think about for the future. It's really a fantastic way to meet users and help them get information, which is what libraries are all about. To see if you library has instant messaging, please go to www.imalibrarian.com

Library Advertisement in the Airport

2006-10-29T22:43:00.000-05:00

On my way back from the Internet Librarian Conference in Monterey, California my flight from San Jose missed my connection in Las Vegas and I had six hours to wander around the airport. During that time I spotted a library advertisement for the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamalibrarian/283105927/

I was so happy to see this. It is an excellent example of the type of marketing that I think libraries should be doing. It is important for patrons to realize the value of library services and to remember that the libraries and librarians are here to help with the organization and dissemination of information. When I told my boyfriend about this he stated, "It's a step in the right direction."

Kudos to the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District!

Craig's List

2006-10-03T20:16:00.000-04:00

Here's to helping a guy out...

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/mis/215165093.html

Meebo Me

2006-09-04T09:36:00.000-04:00

I have been talking with Rob Coers, a librarian form the Netherlands, online about Meebo. I helped him do some testing on his site http://robcoers.nl/.

In the process I found out the latest Internet Explorer has flash problems or maybe it's just me. Anyway we got it fixed and Meebo is working. I have decided to add it to my site and blog as well. If you see that I am online and want to test it, please say hello.

I told Rob,that I would give him props. I guess I should be aware that slang doesn't always translate well. So, thanks so much Rob for your help and inspiration, great job!

Have a great day!

-Cynthia

Bibliomancy

2006-08-20T01:05:00.000-04:00

When checking my e-mail tonight I saw an RSS feed for the word of the day - bibliomancy. I am a fan of divination methods, but this was a new one to me and oh, how appropriate it is.

Check it out:
http://wordsmith.org/words/bibliomancy.html

On the Train...

2006-07-27T18:34:00.000-04:00

Today when I was on the train I said hello to the guy that I sat next to and complimented his tie. It was a bowtie and very cool. I asked him what he did for a living and he told me that he was an investment banker. He then, in turn, asked what I did I told him I am a Librarian. He said, "You are too young and friendly to be a librarian." Here I go again trying to educate people and help get rid of those stereotypes.

Yahoo & Windows Live Messenger to Chat

2006-07-14T08:23:00.000-04:00

Yahoo and Windows are beta testing software that will combine their instant messaging services.

I honestly don't know how it will change what people have already, especially since there are services that already allow you to be on multiple services at one time seeminglessly, such as Trillian. It may be more beneficial for people who are new to chat and instant messaging. It will be interesting to see the developments though.

For more information, please see the following news stories:

ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ZDM/story?id=2187482

Daily Tech
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3303

Digital Journal
http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/?articleID=4828

Tech News World
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/51753.html

Ideas for I am a Librarian

2006-06-29T13:58:00.000-04:00

I have been approached with the idea of making I am a Librarian into a daybook/planner. Since it diverts from my original concept, I want to see what others think. Please comment and let me know what you think.

Thanks so much!

-Cynthia

Librarians Pave the Way to Rebuild New Orleans...and I was there.

2006-06-25T01:10:00.000-04:00

This weekend the American Library Association is holding their annual conference in New Orleans. It was amazing to me how the locals are in general just happy to see so many people coming through. Those who I have spoken with have talked about how dead the city was, since Katrina, before we came. One of the best things that I encountered was watching Pedro make a cigar. When he finished he looked up at me with such an intense pride in his work. The people here continue to work hard and I hope that this effort by the American Library Association, its members, and business associates shows how important it is for other conferences to follow the belief that New Orleans can be alive again.

See the New York times article from June 23: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/24/us/24convention.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. (Please note a login may be necessary, but it's free.)

It is easy when you are so far away from the place of a disaster to disassociate from it or even condemn it. I have felt pretty good being here. It has been a fun time thus far. I am not fearful and I have not seen evidence of intense mold anywhere, but I have seen too many blue tarps on rooftops, spraypaint on beautiful houses, stray cats, and roaches (outside, not in my hotel, but which you will find in many cities anyway).

I have also seen thriving flowers, plants and trees. I have tasted wonderful food, including many variations of crawfish, and experienced the kindness of the locals. We all know that the Katrina disaster situation was not handled well and I'm not here to play the blame game, I just think that we could be applying more of that energy to getting things fixed and making sure that if another hurricane comes to town that we are ready to handle it.

Many librarians have worked and will be working to make this happen. There were two days that the American Library Association allocated for volunteer opportunities for librarians. I have heard that there were over 900 people who signed up to help. That is just truly amazing and I am so proud to be a part of this profession.

For my pictures of New Orleans please check my Flickr site: www.flickr.com/photos/iamalibrarian

ALA Annual

2006-06-21T22:34:00.000-04:00

I'm headed to New Orleans for ALA on Friday. I will be attending many of the OCLC sessions for PALINET and I'll be at the Scholarship Bash for the concert. I'll also be around the exhibit halls on Monday and Tuesday. I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends & colleagues and meeting new people. If you see me, please stop and say hello.

Now introducing IMaLibrarian.com

2006-06-19T06:56:00.000-04:00

Need a quick answer?

Send an instant message to a Librarian. Go to www.IMaLibrarian.com to see if your library is offering this service.

If you are a librarian and your library has not be listed, please send me an e-mail.

For more information view the press release at: http://www.iamalibrarian.com/PressReleaseforIMaLibrarian.html

A Day in the Life

2006-06-13T18:44:00.000-04:00

I have written a chapter on my job at PALINET for a forthcoming book and the editors are looking for a few more librarians. Please see the below message:

If you are (or can recommend) a (1) consultant or a (2) librarian at an international K-12 school who would be interested in writing a brief book chapter describing your job -- in a very short time period -- please contact us to discuss the idea (see http://www.liscareer.com/dil_contents.htm for more information).

Thanks so much!

SLA

2006-06-10T13:57:00.000-04:00

I will be at SLA on Sunday and Monday. Please stop by the PALINET booth #1525 in the Info-Expo Hall at the Balitmore Convention Center to say Hello! I will be there on Sunday from 4-6pm and Monday 10am-2pm.

A Fortune for a Librarian

2006-06-03T21:34:00.000-04:00

Last night I went to "The Bean" a coffee shop on South Street that gives fortune cookies with coffee when you stay there for your coffee.

This is a fortune that I got...

It seems very appropriate for me and I am sure that it rings true for many other librarians as well.

The Sweetest Thing...

2006-05-26T23:04:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you have an encounter with a new person for such a simple reason. Yesterday, on my way home I saw a musician about to board the train. Since my sister works at a recording studio I was curious if he was headed that way. He actually had a gig at the new coffee shop, which is run by the owners of the recording studio.

We had a nice chat on the train about what we do, as well as, music, photos, and books. I had pictures of musicians on my camera so I shared them and some book recommendations that I had written down from my friends and they were ones he read recently. He said he does short reviews of the books he reads in his blog.

He was seemingly very excited about my I am a Librarian project and said that he was going to tell his audience about it. Unfortunately, I already had plans last night or I would have went to his show. I actually saw him in a show a while back at the World Cafe Live, so I knew that he was a talented musician. Some friends came to meet up with me, my sisters, and friends last night after his show and told me that he did, in fact, share the story and ask the audience to go to my website. She described it as the sweetest thing...

I am sad that I missed hearing the story, so I thought that the least I could do was share it also and give him a plug...Check out Matt Duke's webpage http://www.mattdukemusic.net/ or become his friend on myspace
http://www.myspace.com/mattduke. Be on the lookout for his new CD. It is coming out in September.

It's great to meet people who can get excited about my work. It makes me feel pretty good and helps motivate me. I also feel good to be able to share his work with others too.

Update & Book Expo

2006-05-19T23:02:00.000-04:00

Here's a bit of a status update on the I am a Librarian project:

I have continued to go through surveys and I am getting in touch with those who fell through the cracks, so to speak. Well, I'm not perfect. So I apologize to those people...you know who you are or will know soon and I thank them for their continued interest in this project and in many cases quick response time.

I am in the process of putting the pages into the format which I will submit to publishers. I will be going to Book Expo tomorrow in Washington DC to try and meet with some publishers or possibly agents. Thanks to my friends for their support and encouragement!

I am still working on updating the webpages to promote instant messaging in libraries. Once the pages are finished I will work on a press release and continued marketing.

Any questions?

Taking Opportunities

2006-04-10T11:46:00.000-04:00

This weekend I when I was out to lunch with my friends, we were seated next to a table of girls at a birthday party who were probably about in the range of 8-10 years old. The following is a paraphrase of the discussion and situation that occurred.

In the distance my friend hears "You look like a librarian."

So I walk over to the table...

'I heard someone mention something about librarians..."

"We said that when you put your glasses on the end of your nose you look like a librarian." - Girls

"Do I look like a librarian?" - Me

"No." -Girls

"Well, I am a Librarian!" - Me

"What school or library do you work in?" - Girls

"I work in an office building. There is so much more that you can do as a librarian. Not all librarians work in libraries. I am working to educate people on the profession and to help dispel stereotypes of librarians through a book." - Me

"Will we be in your book?" - Girls

"Well, the book has photographs of the librarians, who are people who have their Masters in Library Science. You can look at some pictures on my website- www.iamalibrarian.com." - Me

"You can go to the website and then later get her book and read about it." -Parent

"Librarians often talk about how we can change the image of the profession. If we took more opportunites like this one to talk to people about the profession then we would see more people with an open mind. Thank you for your time. Have fun!" - Me

-Now the girls will probably go and tell their friends about this librarian who came up to their table at the party. It is just a little thing like this that can get people talking about the profession and maybe help open their minds to the profession. I really hope that the girls think it was interesting to learn about.

Does your library have an Instant Messaging service?

2006-03-23T07:25:00.000-05:00

If you are a librarian and your library has the IM service please let me know. I am currently compiling a list of libraries that have an IM service so they can get to your library from www.imalibrarian.com.

Note: Currently I have redirected this address to my www.iamalibrarian.com site. I will probably start with a section of the existing site for IM. If it grows to be too much, I will have them as two separate sites.

I was inspired to do this from a session at CIL 2006. There was a great presentation yesterday by the following presenters that helped spawn this idea:

Aaron Schmidt, Thomas Ford Memorial Library
Amanda Etches-Johnson, Reference Librarian, McMaster University
Michael Stephens, St. Joseph County Public Library

You can IM me on AOL: iamalibrariantoo (I have no plans to be on 24/7, but if you see me feel free to send me a message.)
E:mail cynthia@iamalibrarian.com

Conan...A realistic stereotype???

2006-03-14T09:30:00.000-05:00

While reading over surveys today, I was reminded of the Conan the Librarian Cartoon and that variable image of the librarian.

http://www.eso.org/gen-fac/libraries/images/conan.jpg.

I have only have a few librarians that might fit this image. I think the closest is Chad Eng. Isn't it great that we have this type of diversity in the profession? Chad definitely defies the view of the librarians that I have seen in the surveys and that in most media.

Chad is a great librarian and a really interesting guy. I think that it is wonderful to see that people can stay true to themselves in our profession. How many librarians that you know are in hard rock bands?

Imagination and some reality of OCLC

2006-03-01T19:41:00.000-05:00

Here is my friend Ed's take on my trip to OCLC in Ohio...

Hope Ohio is fun, I would ask what you do out there, but I want my imagination to run wild. I picture you walking up some huge staircase to the castle of the supreme library wizard to gain wisdom from his teachings. There are books everywhere, but in Ohio, the books are magical and instead of reading them, all you have to do is touch them and you gain all of their knowledge. I think I am pretty close on this one. - Ed

I'll let Ed's imagination continue to show the greatness of libraries around the world and acquiring knowledge in whatever form works, but I'll show some pictures of plants and people who joined me at OCLC.

Hanging out at OCLC after the meetings...

Plants at OCLC

Marilyn & Jennifer

Bruce, Michael, Marilyn & Jennifer

Rosario & Michael switching jackets

Cynthia & Michael

Hanging out at OCLC

2006-02-28T22:23:00.000-05:00

Well, Here's the view of dinner at PF Chang's on Monday night with other Regional Service Providers and some OCLC Staff:

Christa & Rob

Raegan, Rosario & Bruce

The group at PF Chang's

Lauren & Karen

Library staffers bowling

2006-02-26T14:35:00.000-05:00

I took some fun pictures when hanging out with some girls who work at libraries in the area.

Kate & Cindy

The Lucky 8 Ball

Vanessa & Nicole

Elissa & Michelle

Kate

The Anguish - Kate missed a Turkey by 1 pin.

Vanessa scored a Turkey

ALA Midwinter

2006-01-19T21:59:00.000-05:00

Hello.

I am headed to ALA MW in a couple of hours. I will be there from Jan.20th -Jan 23rd. You will most likely find me at an OCLC meeting. Please stop me and say hello if you see me.

Day in the Life

2005-12-06T19:24:00.000-05:00

Hello.

I would like to apologize for the long delay in my posts to this blog. For the last couple months, I have been working on writing a chapter of a book called A Day in the Life. It highlights various positions that one can have with their Masters in Library Science. My focus is on my job as the Member Support Coordinator at PALINET. As far at it stands now, A Day in the Life is set to be published in the Fall of 2006 by Libraries Unlimited.

I am hoping that publication in this book for my writing will help me to find a publisher for the I am a Librarian book.

I have taken over 100 pictures of librarians and will be in San Antonio, TX for ALA Midwinter Jan. 20- 23, 2006. I am not sure of all my plans at this point, but I will keep you posted.

Have a great day!

Extreme Makeover Category

2005-10-22T09:58:00.000-04:00

This is some old news, but just in case you have not seen it. Extreme Makeover has a category specifically for cancer survivor or librarian.
http://abc.go.com/primetime/extrememakeover/casting.html

I have met many beautiful or handsome librarians along the way. I believe that everyone is beautiful in their own way and I try to find that beauty. I do not think that beauty is only shown on the surface level. When you truly feel beautiful others will see that in you too.

"Dowdy, like a librarian"

2005-09-05T21:51:00.000-04:00

My mom told me about a comment that was made on the Today show where the representative from In Style Magazine referenced not wanting to look "dowdy like a librarian". So I wrote the following e-mail to the editor of In Style magazine and hopefully we will see some positive changes for our image:

Hello.

It was recently brought to my attention that Amy E. Goodman, from In Style, made a comment on the Today show about looking “dowdy like a librarian.” A reference to the clip can be seen online here: http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?f=05%2f64&i=640d4bcb-8c35-4930-82fc-3af32987de9d.

Librarians have been trying to move away from the image of the 1950s and into the 21st Century. When comments are made that throw us back to a past stereotypical image by fashion gurus, it makes it hard for us to make that transition. I have been working on a project over the past year and a half to show the diversity in the profession of librarianship (www.iamalibrarian.com). There are many male librarians in the profession as well these days. It would be great if the fashion industry would help us librarians to move into the new image of the librarian, which we are already portraying.

Thanks!

-Cynthia

Cynthia Wilson
www.cynthiawilson.net
www.iamalibrarian.com

I'm so lucky...

2005-07-31T18:52:00.000-04:00

I was looking through my pictures of librarians who I have met since I started this project and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to meet such wonderful people. I recognize that this does not include only those who I have met in person, but also those who I have corresponded with via e-mail. So I just wanted to say, "Thanks!" to everyone.

Have a great day!

-Cynthia

The full story...Warning Long Post

2005-07-22T20:01:00.000-04:00

If you have been reading along, the following may contain some repetition. If this is your first view, I hope you enjoy my trip stories. :)

July 1, 2005

The sweetest gift was given to me from my friend and co-worker Catherine Rohland on Friday. She gave me a ring with a picture of Judy Garland from the Wizard of Oz, so I will remember that "There's No Place Like Home." It is truly very special to me.

Towards the end of my workday a big thunderstorm rolled through Philadelphia. I finished some tasks and then finally left the office about 6:15. As I walked out the door and to the corner, I saw the most amazing thing...a full rainbow over Philadelphia. It was so beautiful. I wish I had my camera. Contrary to popular belief I do not carry one of my cameras everywhere I go.

My evening then started off right with a Cracker Barrel dinner with my sisters Patti and Chris. Cracker Barrel gets known for being home style while your on the road. I know I will probably stop at some along the way as I go, but it was nice to have dinner with some of my family. Then we picked up a couple things for the trip and headed home. I needed a chill night before all the forthcoming activity.

July 2nd

Live 8 - Yeah!

I love to go to concerts. I love it even more when they are free and benefit a good cause. It seems like more could have been done to benefit this cause from the attendees, but it was not a concert to try and get money from people directly. There was a petition that could be signed by sending a text message or logging on to an aol site. I sent a text message. The official Live 8 tables should have had more smaller shirts. I know they lost sales by underestimating the popularity of the sizes. I would have bought a shirt if I didn't think I would be swimming in it.

Anyway, it was a great experience to be at Live 8. Many people I spoke with expressed fears, but in my experience it was pretty calm. Carrie K., a friend and co-worker at PALINET, texted me early in the morning and we decided to try to meet up. Yep...how were we going to try and find each other among 1 million people?...Well, we did. :) Carrie, Mark and Chris got a pretty decent spot on the lawn area in view of the art museum and a screen. It was virtually impossible to get to the stage. My sister Chris attended the show with us and we had a blast hanging out. Chris and I headed back a little early and we ran into my friend Bob from the Well Fed Artists Gallery and also my friend Chris Boyd from high school. It was great to see them both.

The train station was packed and made it difficult for us to try and get back home so I could get my car and go to New Hope for dinner with Chris K. and Kevin. Ok, yes there are a lot of people named Chris around me. If you follow there have been 4 today. So Chris and I grabbed Starbucks and then tried to catch the bus...with my attitude in tact, we walked into the middle of the street and I knocked on the bus door to let us in. Luckily, the driver did. I know, it's risky, but, well, it worked. I eventually made it to dinner and had a great time with Chris and Kevin. Since Kevin is a professor, I decided to ask him about his take on Institutional Repositories and it seems like faculty and libraries may have to come to a compromise to fulfill both needs. Above all, I think that mutual education will help both libraries and faculty if they decide to take on the project of an institutional or digital repository. Ok, now back to our regularly scheduled program...The stars were so beautiful walking around New Hope. I also saw a buck on my way home and that always makes me smile too.

July 3rd

NY rocked. I got there very early. I was on the subway by 9am and I had a subway car all to myself. I have never experienced that in NY before. It was kinda odd and a bit eerie. I met a couple of librarians in Brooklyn. I had not spent much time there, but it was very nice. I just love NY in general. In total I met 4 librarians and took their picture. Then I got a manicure and I met the most interesting person. She worked with clinical trials for biomed stuff and was working on her creative side by marketing her homemade pesto to whole foods. While she was talking about her work she warned me against the risk of Hep C when getting tattoos. That was a calling that I shouldn't get another one. This woman had a good friend who was a librarian in Boston and was just such a positive influence to the people in the spa. It seems that everyone knows a librarian somewhere. Finally I walked around shopping and had dinner with my friends Thea and Bill at an Indian restaurant. :) On the way home I stopped at my parents to say hello/goodbye before my trip and my sisters surprised me with a care package for the road. They are so sweet. :)

July 4th

Today was crazy running around taking pictures and getting ready to leave. I took pictures of Elton John receiving an award and of his brief moment at the street sign dedication at 13th and Spruce for Elton Way. Then I when home got the pictures developed, packed, got ready for the ball, went to the paper to drop of the pictures and then went to the ball and the concert. I met some other cool photographers and broadcasters there. It was nice.

Philadelphia has the best fireworks...I have been to other places and really we have the best...just when you think it's over there's more and more and more. The concerts were great. Bryan Adams, Rufus Wainwright, Patti LaBelle and Elton John. I wish I was closer to the stage for the last 2. Unfortunately, press was not allowed to go up too close. I hope I got enough good stuff for the paper.

July 5th

Traffic in DC/VA is pretty tough....in the future allow extra time.

NC is so beautiful...if you ever get a chance, explore Asheville and the Blue Ridge Mountains. I even went through a large thunderstorm and I still love it.

Just tipped into SC in the evening hours and stayed with one of my best friends (Meghan) from high school. It was so nice to see her. I am sad that it is so short though... We spent some time going over old times and feelings until we got too tired.

July 6th

As I wake up in SC, I find out from Meghan that my storm is coming through too. What a weird coincidence!!! My name will be retired now. How wonderful!!

I made it all the way to Sarasota and took pictures of 4 librarians. One at Clemson in SC, two in Atlanta, GA and one in FL. I feel good about that achievement. It was a long drive, as everyday is, but it was getting tight with timing. I even made it up towards the Tampa Bay to stay in the evening. Everyone was so wonderful. It was great to meet so many nice people. One thing I noticed was that people driving around in Atlanta like to state comments out the window. One group of guys even liked the fact that I was a photographer and they were trying to tell me they had some famous artist in their car...whatever...I am not going to fall for that, just let me take my picture of the capital building.

July 7th

I got up at 5am EST so I could meet Robyn, my friend who I have not seen in about 10 years, at Denny's for coffee before she went to work and I started the day's journey. It was so great to see her, but unfortunate that it was so short also. I met a librarian near Tampa and booked it to Tuscaloosa, AL and got there just before sunset, which was nice. It was a great drive through FL today. The sky was perfect and the area I went through reminded me of the New Orleans area. Today is the earliest that I have gotten to my final destination. I think the extra hour helped that though. The family I am staying with has been so nice to let me stay and to use their internet access. I tried to go to a local coffee shop, but had no luck with the Internet. I am spoiled in the Philly area. I mean, there are free internet spots around the city there and it is hard to get some down south. It is easy to make the assumption that everyone has easy internet access cause I do at home, but that is just not the case. I have another early rise for a picture at 8 and I'm off to Dallas tomorrow. I really like driving. I hope that doesn't change after this trip.

July 8th

Well, I got to Mississippi and it has started to rain. The librarian who I had scheduled to take pictures of is stuck in evacuation traffic, so I killed time. It looks like it's going to be a late night. Luckily, the next shoot is not until tomorrow morning. Oh, and they have a Starbucks in the library here, so that rocks.

This morning I took pictures of three librarians in AL, so I am doing pretty good for the day.

The librarian's assistant hooked me up with some sushi and cookies. Yum. It was very sweet of her. Who would have thought that they would have sushi in at a University in Mississippi. It was a long drive to Texas, but I made it.

July 9th

Well, I am not in the heart of Texas, but I am in Texas. I stayed just outside of Dallas. I took a picture of a librarian in the morning and trucked it to NM. It was the longest drive yesterday with a couple of traffic jams along the way. One major one was due to a multi-car accident. Since I couldn't see what was going on I decided to blow bubbles that Kristin had given me and to take some pictures. It got some people around me smiling and waving. Thanks, Kristin!

I drove on a diagonal through TX. The traffic was so bad on the highway I decided to take a business route and take OK out of my trip. I didn't want to get to NM and go right to bed, like I did in TX. OK is beautiful and I have taken that route before, so I think I made the right move. It was strange driving along a business route. Without mile markers you forget that the goals that the highways help you to achieve. It was getting frustrating not knowing constantly how far I have to go or that I have gone. I was much better once I got on 40.

I saw a beautiful New Mexico sunset and then went into Albuquerque to find dinner. I drove around for a while trying to find parking and then finally got a decent spot. I walked a couple blocks and saw a sign that said Tiki Bar...I think it was Bob's. It looked like fun and so I walked over there, but unfortunately they had stopped serving food. So I told the doorman about my travels and when he was trying to think of places that I should try to get food, he suggested that I go to the Library. Yes, that's right, I went to the Library in Albuquerque. It was pretty much a restaurant that turns into a club and, yes, they have books too. I thought it was very interesting that people were carded, frisked and had to pay a fee to get into the Library in the evening. There were a lot of security guards so at least one would feel safe at the library. :) I was lucky to be able to get some of the guys to pose for me. Check out the photos in the slide show www.iamalibrarian.com for their picture. The waitresses wear school girl type outfits and apparently they dance on the tables or bar throughout the evening. It was quite an experience going to the Library. :) A couple of people suggested that I go to Frontier to eat and it was an interesting diner type place, except that you had to pick up your food when your number showed up. The food was good. They had nice spicy salsa, as you would expect in NM.

July 10th

The drive through NM, AZ and CA was actually quite good. I expected that I might be a little sleepy, but I did well. I stopped in New Mexico to get a piece of turquoise jewelry. I got a Navajo bracelet, it is very simple, yet detailed. I got to CA in time for dinner with Michael (www.libraryman.com). He actually made dinner for me, which was quite nice and unexpected. I was all ready to keep going and this forced me to calm down a bit. Plans for tomorrow were a bit up in the air, since the reality of heading to northern CA and making it back down is pretty slim due to the traffic in CA.

July 11th

Well, the traffic in CA is pretty crazy and so it was decided that it would be better not to venture out too much and just to take a chill day and hang in San Bernardino County. I took pictures of two librarians here today. And it was good for me to have a rest from the long days of driving.

Michael and I hung out and got Sushi and went to Starbucks and then finding a Cultural Center closed and me with a coffee stained shirt, I suggested that we go to the mall. Maybe I just wanted an excuse to go shopping, who knows, that sounds like me. And maybe it was because I recalled Paula telling me that I should check out the malls along my trip. Anyway, so I got some new shirts and then decided to get my ears pierced again for the 9th time. Michael was nice to put up with my guilty pleasures here in CA. We had fun taking pictures around and you can see some of the pictures in the slide shows on www.iamalibrarian.com.

July 12th

I got up early, got some coffee, and gas for the car and headed for the highway. I stopped for lunch in Vegas. One of the guys at the stop kept telling me to smile and they didn't even have postcards in the shop, how strange. I made it to Utah. I got an oil change in this state. I wound up near Arches National Park. I saw an awesome sunset and achieved a goal set in 1999 of talking with a Mormon. I went to Cove Fort and talked with Elder May. He was a nice guy. He told me how a stain of the wood was made and I asked him if he saw the Red Violin. I was surprised that he said that he had. That is one of my favorite movies. Apparently he likes to watch movies and is a musician, so it was a good fit for him. It was also good to hear about some of the history of beliefs of a different religion and how the Fort was build and used. This was also the first encounter that I had with Raven in the West. The only other time I saw them was at the Tower of London about 10 years ago.

July 13th

I had some horrible sleep cause I was so nervous about missing the sunrise at Arches. I was happy that it was only $10 to enter. I was expecting it to be $20, due to prior National Park trips. I was so happy that I saw Ravens along the way. I was hoping to get a picture of that sort on this trip. :)

Then I headed for CO. One librarian who I met made me a fabulous salad for lunch. It was so sweet of her to think of me. Then I headed towards Boulder for another picture. So two today was pretty good.

I achieved another goal set in 1999 today...I saw a sunset in CO. I think that it is important to make small and sometimes silly goals. I even went to a "Point of Interest" to see the sunset. I climbed a tower about 6 or 7 flights with the last two bits being a very small ladder. From this tower you could see 6 states on a good day. There were many antiques in the rooms to the top of the tower, some of them were quite unique. Unfortunately many of the books had water damage or subsequently mold. There were some interesting things like stuffed freak animals, for example a calf with two heads. Being there alone with all that stuff walking around with a flashlight could have sounded like a horror movie, but the gentleman was very nice and non-threatening. I like to think that I am a pretty good judge of character and if I had felt completely uncomfortable I would have left. My friend Bob said it would make a good comic, so I will share the pictures with him and hopefully see something come of the story.

Well, I made it to Kansas. I was not as far along the state as I would have liked to be, but everything happens for a reason.

July 14th

Early on I realized that I was two hours east of where I wanted to be. But I made it to Topeka by lunch and then headed over to Kansas City, MO for some librarian pictures. I was amazed at how busy the library in Topeka was. It was wonderful to see. It was also nice to go to the Memorial where there was a nice skyline of the city. Ray gave it as a great suggestion. He posted about the meeting and my project on his blog. You can read the post at http://raybarker.blogspot.com/2005/07/i-am-librarianalmost.html

I was happy that some friends and family called me along the way today. It was nice to chat for a while with some people from home.

I made my way into Champaign, IL late at night and the family I stayed with was very nice to ok my late arrival. I had called earlier and stated that I would stay at a hotel, but they gave me the ok to come late.

July 15th

This morning I got up and had some MorningStar (Soy based) Sausage and tea with the family. I eat that for breakfast at home on the weekends, so it was very nice. I generally have coffee, but tea was a good change of pace. I then walked the kids to daycare with their father. It was very nice to just walk around for a bit. And the kids were just so cute. :) I took pictures of the father who is a librarian and currently in Med school. I love the combo. Shortly after taking pictures I headed towards Michigan and then to Ohio. The traffic in Michigan was very bad due to construction. They even had expression signs as mile markers for the amount of construction left. Sad at seven happy at 1 mile left. So, this was supposed to be an easy driving day but it actually lasted pretty long. I got a little lost in Ohio. This was the first time that I was steered off course by Mapquest. They were exceelent for the majority of the trip. Apparently the road they tried to take me on was a very small road and not easy to find, so I don't lay blame. When I finally arrived at Sandy's house, I was greeted by her and then her daughter and her friend who made a sign for me "Welcome Cynthia." It was so sweet. She then put me right into relaxation mode and gave me dinner and a drink. As well as a piece of birthday cake that her daughter had made for her friend. I was entertained by the girls theatrical shows and as a thunderstorm rolled in I entertained the ladies with some tarot card readings. It was good practice for me, since I was to read at a party the next day. It wound up being a pretty late night. I got to bed about 2am, but it was fun. :)

July 16th

Since last night was a long night, I decided just to trek on home. Going through southern OH and WV into PA, helped save some money on turnpike tolls. It also saved time. I did not plan as well as I would have liked with the folks in OH. Luckily they are not that far away and I can make another trip. I made it through the thunderstorms home and then went to two parties at my friends' houses. They are very close to my apt, so I did not have to travel much. In fact, I could walk to one of them. Well, I could have walked to the second, but it would have taken me about 30 minutes. I did some card readings at the first party and I feel like I was able to help people, so it was worth it. I was pretty tired by the second party, but it was nice to see many friends after the long trip with much alone time.

I hope that you have enjoyed the story of my trip. Thanks for sharing in the experience with me.

Have a great day!

Pictures

2005-07-19T07:58:00.000-04:00

There are some pictures from my cross country trip on my website: www.iamalibrarian.com. They are travel pictures, not ones that I have in mind for the book. There are also pictures by Michael Porter (www.libraryman.com) from the day I spent in CA.

Please check them out.

Have a great day!

Home...

2005-07-16T18:36:00.000-04:00

I made it home through the thunderstorms in PA. :)

I will post more detail later...I have to go to a party. :)

Have a great day!

In the fields

2005-07-14T07:15:00.000-04:00

Well, I made it to Kansas. I am not as far along the state as I would have liked to be, but everything happens for a reason.

I went to Arches yesterday morning and took some pictures at sunrise. Then I headed for CO. One librarian who I met made me a fabulous salad for lunch. It was so sweet of her to think of me. Then I headed towards Boulder for another picture. So two today was pretty good.

I achieved another goal set in 1999 today...I saw a sunset in CO. I think that it is important to make small and sometimes silly goals. I even went to a "Point of Interest" to see the sunset. I climbed a tower. From this tower you could see 6 states on a good day. There were many antiques in the rooms to the top of the tower, some of them were quite unique. Unfortunately many of the books had water damage or subsequently mold.

I'm heading east this morning and should be in IL tonight.

Have a great day!

Utah

2005-07-13T00:42:00.000-04:00

I made it to Utah. I got an oil change in this state. I am near Arches National Park. I saw an awesome sunset and achieved a goal set in 1999 of talking with a Mormon. I am looking forward to achieving another one tomorrow. :)

Sorry so choppy. I have only 1 minute left of access.

Have a great day!

Traffic in CA

2005-07-11T23:08:00.000-04:00

Well, the traffic in CA is pretty crazy and so it was decided that it would be better not to venture out too much and just to take a chill day and hang in San Bernardino County. I took pictures of two librarians here today. And it was good for me to have a rest from the long days of driving.

Michael and I hung out and got Sushi and went to Starbucks and then finding a Cultural Center closed and me with a coffee stained shirt, I suggested that we go to the mall. Maybe I just wanted an excuse to go shopping, who knows, that sounds like me. And maybe it was because I recalled Paula telling me that I should check out the malls along my trip. Anyway, so I got some new shirts and then decided to get my ears pierced again for the 9th time. Michael was nice to put up with my guilty pleasures here in CA. We had fun taking pictures around and I will post some of them once I get home.

Off to Utah tomorrow....

Have a great day!

CA dreaming...

2005-07-11T01:19:00.000-04:00

The drive through NM, AZ and CA was actually quite good. I expected that I might be a little sleepy, but I did well. I got to CA in time for dinner with Michael (www.libraryman.com). He actually made dinner for me, which was quite nice and unexpected. Plans for tomorrow are still a bit up in the air, since the reality of heading to northern CA and making it back down is pretty slim due to the traffic in CA. It is late and time to get some sleep...more later.

Beautiful NM

2005-07-10T07:52:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I drove on a diagonal through TX. The traffic was so bad on the highway I decided to take a business route and take OK out of my trip. I didn't want to get to NM and go right to bed, like I did in TX. OK is beautiful and I have taken that route before, so I think I made the right move. It was strange driving along a business route. Without mile markers you forget that the goals that the highways help you to achieve. It was getting frustrating not knowing constantly how far I have to go or that I have gone. I was much better once I got on 40.

Last night I saw a beautiful New Mexico sunset and then went into Albuquerque to find dinner. I drove around for a while trying to find parking and then finally got a decent spot. I walked a couple blocks and saw a sign that said Tiki Bar...I think it was Bob's. It looked like fun and so I walked over there, but unfortunately they had stopped serving food. So I told the doorman about my travels and when he was trying to think of places that I should try to get food, he suggested that I go to the Library. Yes, that's right, I went to the Library in Albuquerque. It was pretty much a restaurant that turns into a club and, yes, they have books too. I thought it was very interesting that people were carded, frisked and had to pay a fee to get into the Library in the evening. There were a lot of security guards so at least one would feel safe at the library. :) I was lucky to be able to get some of the guys to pose for me. I will put the picture up when I get a chance. The waitresses wear school girl type outfits and apparently they dance on the tables or bar throughout the evening. It was quite an experience going to the Library. :)

The stars are bright....

2005-07-09T07:27:00.000-04:00

Well, I am not in the heart of Texas, but I am in Texas. I stayed just outside of Dallas. I will be taking a picture of a librarian this morning and trucking it to NM. It was the longest drive yesterday with a couple of traffic jams along the way. One major one was due to a multi-car accident. Since I couldn't see what was going on I decided to blow bubbles that Kristin had given me and to take some pictures. It got some people around me smiling. Thanks, Kristin!

Along the trip I have seen some pretty interesting town names such as:

Bat Cave
Fair Play
Quitman
Flowers
Start

The first person to name the states with each of the places listed will get a souvenir from my trip...

Have a great day!

Made it to MS...

2005-07-08T16:40:00.000-04:00

Well, I am in Mississippi and it has started to rain. The librarian who I had scheduled to take pictures of is stuck in evacuation traffic, so I'm killing time. It looks like it's going to be a late night. Luckily, the next shoot is not until tomorrow morning. Oh, and they have a Starbucks in the library here, so that rocks.

This morning I took pictures of three librarians in AL, so I am doing pretty good for the day.

Have a great one!

Missing the storms...

2005-07-08T00:47:00.000-04:00

July 6th

I made it all the way to Sarasota and took pictures of 4 librarians. One at Clemson in SC, two in Atlanta, GA and one in FL. I feel good about that achievement. It was a long drive, as everyday is, but it was getting tight with timing. I even made it up towards the Tampa Bay to stay in the evening.

July 7th

I got up at 5am EST so I could meet Robyn, my friend who I have not seen in about 10 years, at Denny's for coffee before she went to work and I started the day's journey. It was so great to see her. I met a librarian near Tampa and booked it to Tuscaloosa, AL and got there just before sunset, which was nice. It was a great drive through FL today. The sky was perfect and the area I went through reminded me of the New Orleans area. Today is the earliest that I have gotten to my final destination. I think the extra hour helped that though. The family I am staying with has been so nice to let me stay here and to use their internet access. I tried to go to a local coffee shop, but had no luck with the Internet. I am spoiled in the Philly area. I mean, there are free internet spots around the city there and it is hard to get some down south. It is easy to make the assumption that everyone has easy internet access cause I do at home, but that is just not the case. I have another early rise for a picture at 8 and I'm off to Dallas tomorrow. I really like driving. I hope that doesn't change after this trip.

I promise I'll fill in more detail when I have the time, but if there are specific things you want to know, ask me questions.... Thanks!

Have a great day!

Tropical Storm Cindy moves through the South....

2005-07-06T10:38:00.000-04:00

As I wake up in SC, I find out from Meghan that my storm is coming through too. What a weird coincidence!!! My name will be retired now. How wonderful!!

Here's the short version of the last couple days...

July 3rd
NY rocked. I met 4 librarians and got a manicure and had dinner with my friends Thea and Bill. :)

July 4th

Philadelphia has the best fireworks...I have been to other places and really we have the best...just when you think it's over there's more and more and more. The concerts were great. Bryan Adams, Rufus Wainwright, Patti LaBelle and Elton John. I wish I was closer to the stage for the last 2. Unfortunately, press was not allowed to go up too close. I hope I got enough good stuff for the paper.

July 5th

Traffic in DC/VA is pretty tough....in the future allow extra time.

NC is so beautiful...if you ever get a chance, explore Asheville and the Blue Ridge Mountains. I even went through a large thunderstorm and I still love it.

Just tipped into SC in the evening hours and stayed with one of my best friends from high
school. It was so nice to see her. I am sad that it is so short though...

I'm off to meet a librarian in SC now...more later. Hopefully I won't run into my tropical storm over the next two days. It looks like there is a chance that we just might miss each other.

Have a great day! :)

The beginning...

2005-07-03T23:52:00.000-04:00

July 1, 2005

The sweetest gift was given to me from my friend and co-worker Catherine Rohland on Friday. She gave me a ring with a picture of Judy Garland from the Wizard of Oz, so I will remember that "There's No Place Like Home." It is truly very special to me.

Towards the end of my workday on Friday a big thunderstorm rolled through Philadelphia. I finished some tasks and then finally left the office about 6:15. As I walked out the door and to the corner, I saw the most amazing thing...a full rainbow over Philadelphia. It was so beautiful. I wish I had my camera. Contrary to popular belief I do not carry one of my cameras everywhere I go.

My evening then started off right with a Cracker Barrel dinner with my sisters Patti and Chris. Cracker Barrel gets known for being home style while your on the road. I know I will probably stop at some along the way as I go, but it was nice to have dinner with some of my family. Then we picked up a couple things for the trip and headed home. I needed a chill night before all the forthcoming activity.

July 2nd

Live 8 - Yeah!

I love to go to concerts. I love it even more when they are free and benefit a good cause. It seems like more could have been done to benefit this cause from the attendees, but it was not a concert to try and get money from people directly. There was a petition that could be signed by sending a text message or logging on to an aol site. I sent a text message. The official Live 8 tables should have had more smaller shirts. I know they lost sales by underestimating the popularity of the sizes. I would have bought a shirt if I didn't think I would be swimming in it.

Anyway, it was a great experience to be at Live 8. Many people I spoke with expressed fears, but in my experience it was pretty calm. Carrie K., a friend and co-worker at PALINET, texted me early in the morning and we decided to try to meet up. Yep...how were we going to try and find each other among 1 million people?...Well, we did. :) Carrie, Mark and Chris got a pretty decent spot on the lawn area in view of the art museum and a screen. It was virtually impossible to get to the stage. My sister Chris attended the show with us and we had a blast hanging out. Chris and I headed back a little early and we ran into my friend Bob from the Well Fed Artists Gallery and also my friend Chris Boyd from high school. It was great to see them both.

The train station was packed and made it difficult for us to try and get back home so I could get my car and go to New Hope for dinner with Chris K. and Kevin. Ok, yes there are a lot of people named Chris around me. If you follow there have been 4 today. So Chris and I grabbed Starbucks and then tried to catch the bus...with my attitude in tact, we walked into the middle of the street and I knocked on the bus door to let us in. Luckily, the driver did. I know, it's risky, but, well, it worked. I eventually made it to dinner and had a great time with Chris and Kevin. Since Kevin is a professor, I decided to ask him about his take on Institutional Repositories and it seems like faculty and libraries may have to come to a compromise to fulfill both needs. Above all, I think that mutual education will help both libraries and faculty if they decide to take on the project of an institutional or digital repository. Ok, now back to our regularly scheduled program...The stars were so beautiful walking around New Hope. I also saw a buck on my way home and that always makes me smile too.

The awaited travel schedule

2005-06-19T14:21:00.000-04:00

I finally got together the potential travel plans. Please note, these may change.

Yes, it is crazy and I am driving about 10-12 hours everyday, but it is just how I have to do it.

I know that the Pacific Northwest is not included in this trip and it makes me quite sad, cause I love that area, but I would have to spend too much time driving though states where I don't have any librarians who completed surveys. If I can afford it, I will try to make it out there again before the book is completed. I know that I have some librarians from that area who I took pictures of last summer. Also I am hoping that I will be meeting up with some people from MN, WI area at ALA. I know that as one person it is hard to try and do it all. I am trying my best to include as many people as possible while considering all my limitations.

July 2 – PA – Live 8
July 3 – PA, NJ, NY (I drive to Trenton, NJ and then take the train to NYC)
July 4 – PA
July 5 – PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, NC, SC (near Greenville)
July 6 – SC, GA, FL (near Sarasota)
July 7 – FL, AL (near Birmingham)
July 8 – AL, MS, LA, TX (near Dallas)
July 9 – TX, OK, NM (near Albuquerque)
July 10 – NM, AZ, CA (near Los Angeles)
July 11 – CA (traveling towards Sacramento, San Fran then back to LA)
July 12 – CA, NV, UT (Green River or as far east as I can go)
July 13 – UT, CO, (possibly a short stop into WY), KS (Russell or as far east as I can go)
July 14 – KS, MO, IL (near Springfield)
July 15 – IL, IN, MI, OH (near Columbus)
July 16 – OH, PA (Home)

Please feel free to post comments.

Interview for School Library Journal's Blog

2005-06-09T22:22:00.000-04:00

I was interviewed this week for the School Library Journal's Blog.

To read the interview please go to: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/620000062.html

Please post comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!

-Cynthia

Travel Time

2005-06-08T02:35:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I was able to spend a little time at SLA in Toronto. I made the SARC (Student and Academic Relations Committee) meeting on Sunday and took a Stress Management workshop on Saturday. I also got to meet some other librarians along the way and progress little by little towards the completion of the book.

In my time at Toronto, I experienced something quite different for me. I went to eat at Big Daddy's with Hal and Monica Kirkwood from Purdue. The restaurant was chosen based on the recommendation of the front desk of the hotel. I asked the woman for her favorite restaurant in town. She asked, "What do you like to eat?" I said "No, what is Your favorite restaurant? I will go there." I am quite thankful it was not a steakhouse cause that would be weird since I don't eat red meat...Chicken and fish are ok though. So, the hostess and wait staff at Big Daddy's were excellent. I sure made a scene when the crawfish I ordered came as whole fish. I never had to get the tail meat out of the crawfish myself. I have been quite spoiled. So I had to work for my dinner and of course make a mess. It was fun though. Hal took a picture with one of my crawfish friends who gave his life for me and I will post it when I receive it from him. I even spoke with the manager, who was also quite nice. I love being able to sit outside for a meal on a nice day.

The following day I had lunch with Chad Eng. It was also a good experience, but more tame than the previous night. That is quite funny for me to say considering that Chad is in 3 hard rock/heavy metal bands. We ate at East Side Marios. My spinach and artichoke dip was excellent.

I am currently reviewing where I need to travel to and who still need to get their picture taken. I am doing this by relying on the surveys that have been completed. Deadline is past due and I will only accept a survey if I have already taken your picture.

I will be in Chicago for ALA Friday June 24 - Monday June 27. And then traveling across country July 2 - July 16. I will probably be home for the 4th though...it looks like I may be attending a special event.

As plans unfold, I will post my schedule.

Survey Deadline Extended to May 25

2005-05-16T22:04:00.000-04:00

Last week was a crazy week. I was lucky to be able to transfer my entire files, project and e-mail just before my hard drive died. I first got the message on Monday evening...it was nice of my computer to tell me it was dying. I felt like it was a message from beyond. "Back-up your hard drive now." This really made me see that everything happens for a reason. If I had not taken an online class while I was in WA last summer, I would have not gotten a laptop and just learned how to network my computers instead of burning many CDs. Thanks to my brother Greg for helping me network and teaching me to file share between computers, to Jay at PALINET for helping me to explore more of what I needed to back-up and to Jim at Microsoft Support for saving all of my messages and address book in Outlook. On Wednesday, after my computer's death I walked around my neighborhood and found a four-leaf clover. I will admit that I find them often, but this one made me believe how truly lucky I am.

That being said...I will extend the deadline to May 25, 2005. I had hoped to send another reminder last week, but it was quite difficult with computer problems. If you have not filled out a survey, please get it to me as soon as possible.

I have just made arrangments for SLA. I will be in Toronto on June 4th and 5th only.

Thanks so much!

-Cynthia

This weekend

2005-05-03T00:38:00.000-04:00

I took a picture of Kristin Pedemonti this weekend. She was great! She does professional storytelling and events. She even gave me a wild woman pack. It was very sweet. Coincidentally, it had a calendar quote from the day I started this project. "The color VIOLET is said to energize the brain. The color of royalty, violet stimulates self-confidence and joy." I think it is funny that I chose the color violet for the text on my site, especially cause it was on St. Patrick's Day. I think that this project has brought me a lot of confidence and joy, even just in the process of it. I can't wait to see how I feel once it is completed.

Florida Exhibit & Online Gallery

2005-04-28T16:05:00.000-04:00

The "I am a Librarian" photograph exhibit, which was supposed to be a week exhibit, has now been extended. It will close at the end of the semester. For more information about the University of West Florida, Fort Walton Beach campus library and their hours, please visit: http://library.uwf.edu/FWB/index.shtml

Lois Gilmer stated, "The display has certainly been noticed and has generated very favorable comments."

I am so happy to hear of the success of this exhibit. :)

-Cynthia

Update

2005-04-25T04:23:00.000-04:00

Over the last week and a half I have taken three more librarian photos and updated my website. Thanks to Christine, Linda, and Noelle for your time and energy!!!

You can now view some of the pictures of librarians in the gallery section of my website www.iamalibrarian.com These pictures are the ones that were included in the exhibit at the University of West Florida, Fort Walton Beach Campus Library for National Library Week. Thanks so much to Lois Gilmer for arranging the exhibit! It was a great experience.

I sent a mailing out on Thursday evening and I now have 185 completed. The deadline is still May 15, 2005 for the surveys. If you have not already done so, please get them in as soon as possible. Thanks!

I hope to be able to arrange a cross-country trip this summer to take many pictures of the librarians who have completed the survey.

My next photo shoot is scheduled for Sat.

Thanks for your continued interest!

-Cynthia

National Library Week Exhibit - FL

2005-04-12T02:10:00.000-04:00

My pictures are now up for National Library Week at the University of West Florida Fort Walton Beach campus library. The exhibit includes the following Librarians: Nadine M. Flores, Tiffeni Fonino, Jenna Freedman, Ayanna Gaines, Christine Godin, Diane Goldstein, Desiree Goodwin, Mary Hammer, Randy Hertzler, Francis Howard, Theo Jones-Quartey, Molly Knapp, Joey Nicholson, Michael J. McGrorty, Anne Pemberton, Rebecca Raszewski, Virginia Sanchez, Lisa Shiota, Michael Stephens, and Jason Strauss. For the press release please click here.

The trip to Florida was quite an adventure. I met many interesting people along the way. My flight to Pensacola on Friday night was cancelled at boarding time due to plane maintenance and so I had to spend the night in North Carolina. It was a bit unfortunate that I did not get to explore further that night. Many people were quite angry. I tried to keep a good outlook on it though. I got a free hotel room and $10 for dinner courtesy of US Air for the inconvenience. One woman put it in a nice way, she said, "I would rather have problems on the ground than in the air." I tried to keep telling people that everything happens for a reason...the trick is to find it. For me, I think it was saving a little money and helping a guy get something to eat. He was on both my flights to FL, but he was way behind me in the special services line. When I finished eating at the hotel the waitor told me of some leftovers that they had from the buffet dinner earlier in case I was still hungry...since I just had a salad. I was not very hungry, but when this guy came in and the kitchen was no longer serving food I was able to tell him what the waitor told me and then he got something to eat.

I had decided to ship the frames in advance and take the pictures with me. Red stickers stating Fragile Handle with Care apparently do not matter with the Postal System. 5 frames arrived in FL with shattered glass. I don't mean just cracked. I mean absolutely shattered. So I had to buy more frames once I got there. I hung the exhibit and after I hung the last picture I realized it was a bit too high. I have some perfectionist tendencies and when I went to fix it I dropped the frames and shattered more glass. Luckily, I bought and extra frame and was able to easily switch it.

I did not make it to the Jazz festival, since the flight was delayed everything was pushed back a little. But I did get to take some pictures on the beach and of the sunset from McGuire's restaurant in Destin. I think they should have called the town Destiny. A highway called Miracle Strip leads to/through it. It was interesting for me to see the aftermath of hurricane Ivan. The after effects of the hurricane and the effects on the people are still very much alive. There was much damage to the area and there was a lot of rebuilding still going on. It was sad to see and even worse to realize that when things that do not effect you leave the news it becomes like it never happened...because it didn't happen to you.

If you have any questions about the trip just let me know.

-Cynthia

Fragile...Handle with Care

2005-04-04T22:57:00.000-04:00

I took another picture of a librarian, Barbara from UPenn last Thursday, so I am still moving a little bit at a time. And I still have a picture of a turtle at my desk. Slowly, but steadily, I progress.

I am also preparing for my exhibit in Fort Walton Beach (near Pensacola) FL. I have decided on 21 pictures. 14 women and 7 men. I wanted a proportion to what I have taken thus far. I mailed the frames to the University today and it was very hard to let control leave my hands. Lois, the library director, will see how I decided to put a lot of fragile, handle with care stickers on the frames. This is the first time I will have to fly for a photo exhibit. I have driven or taken the train for my others.

However, I decided that I couldn't let it all go, so I am taking the pictures with me. I got all the mats and frames and picked up the enlargements so I am in good shape for the exhibit. Hopefully, this will ensure the adversion of any disaster. I am a little nervous, but that is only natural I suppose. I am also excited for the upcoming adventure.

So far along...

2005-03-25T22:38:00.000-05:00

I was just going through my pictures of the librarians and realized that I have two females for every male picture - exactly. I have taken pictures of 46 women and 23 men thus far.

I booked my flight to Pensacola for the photo exhibit at the University of West Florida and I found out that there is a jazz festival in town. :) If all goes well then there might be a couple hours of an actual vacation for me.

Continuing

2005-03-21T22:10:00.000-05:00

This weekend I took a picture of Jackie Knuckle from Chestnut Hill Hospital Library. She was so sweet. It is really a great joy for me to be able to meet such wonderful people as I am doing this project.

Also this week I have closed the list of participants. As soon as I can I will have a total, but it may take a while.

If you have contacted me already please remember to get your surveys to me by May 15th, 2005. If you have responded before March 17, 2005 and have lost the survey, please let me know and I will resend. Thanks so much!

-Cynthia

Exciting News!

2005-03-14T23:44:00.000-05:00

I will be showing 20-25 of the librarian pictures at the University of West Florida library for National Libraries Week April 10-16, 2005. Pensacola, here I come.

The next librarian photo is set up for Sunday March 20, 2005. I'm progressing one librarian at a time. Slowly but surely, like the turtle at my desk.

Talk at Drexel University

2005-03-08T00:12:00.000-05:00

Tonight I gave a talk at Drexel University about PALINET, some OCLC services, my life as a librarian and my I am a Librarian project. I can't believe that I actually talked for an hour and then took questions for about 20 minutes. It was good, but I know that I said "um" way too many times. Well, no one is perfect. For my first long talk I guess it went pretty well. One of the students actually wrote me an e-mail already. :)

In front of the audience...

2005-03-02T21:37:00.000-05:00

Today, I was prompted to discuss my project at the OCLC Service Meeting in Dublin, OH. I was asked to get up in front of other Regional Service Providers and OCLC staff and tell everyone about it. It was a little intimidating, but cool, nonetheless. Marketing is always good. If I had not sat next to Bruce Crocco of OCLC at dinner the previous night I would not have had this opportunity. Thanks, Bruce! And also thanks to PALINET (www.palinet.org) for sending me to OCLC.

On another note, Michael Porter took my picture today to post to his blog. www.libraryman.com/blog Here's the picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/libraryman/5768106/
Michael, Thanks for the additional publicity.

Project Blogs

2005-03-01T00:13:00.000-05:00

I decided to start project blogs for I am a Librarian, while doing some blog research. Please visit www.iamalibrarian.com for more information. The deadline to participate ends soon.