Wednesday, August 30, 2006

A bit of a panic

I got back from my holidays and had a bit of a panic over the number of things I'd not yet done to prepare for the new academic year. There are the routine things like updating leaflets, checking that we have books people have requested etc, and I think I'm on top of those now. Just about. But there are other things that are more work but are also more fun, like trying to keep up to date with new developments in the wider information world. The wider information world is a seething mass of new developments, of course, Google alone would be enough to keep tabs on, which makes it quite a challenge.

Friday, August 04, 2006

A librarian by any other name...

At various times in the librarianship world the issue is raised of whether to call ourselves something different. It's all to do with the thorny issue of the 'public image' of librarians which, to be quite honest, is not good.

I hadn't come across the word 'infornography' until recently. Perhaps we could start calling ourselves infornographers?

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Reading about Library 2.0

I try, when I can, to fit some professional reading into my working day. (I'm a librarian for goodness sake why should I, of all people, feel guilty about being seen reading - as if it isn't 'real work'!?)

Something I've noticed lately is that I'm finding more of interest in online and open access journals than I am in the print journals we subscribe to, and occasionally I come across an article that is even worth blogging about, like this one from Webology on that complex mix of things that is often referred to as 'Library 2.0'.

It suggests that one of the greatest challenges for libraries, (and I'd imagine it's the same for all organisations) is that of giving up control over the virtual environment and being open to involvement from, and participation by, the whole community.

What would happen if we let students add tags to our catalogue records, chat online, contribute to wiki's, take part in podcasts? Would it be anarchy and chaos? Or might it be fun?

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Bookshops, budgets and Basingstoke.

Sometimes, as a special treat, we get let loose in a bookshop with a budget to spend. That's what I was doing yesterday, in Blackwells in Oxford. Actually being able to pick up and handle real books as a way of selecting stock is good once in a while, although using bibliographic databases and reviews is probably a more sensible way to do it most of the time.

Luckily, for the sake of my personal budget, my time was fully occupied in the Business section and I didn't have time to get distracted by areas of more personal interest!

On the way home I got an unexpected evening excursion to Reading and Basingstoke. Whenever I travel by rail, wherever I am going, I always seem to end up in Basingstoke.