Well as dawn breaks on the "half time" ceremony more than three quarters of our staff have made it to the half way mark.
KD has done a wonderful job in re-branding the 23 things project and staff have worked well to motivate and encourage each other this far.
Tomorrow's party is an opportunity for the group to celebrate their success in the first three months and to commit towards making it through the project, with an improved awareness of social networking technologies. Plus like any good party there will be food & prizes!
Below is a link to the webolution blog as well as a link to my personal blog.
Staff can take any angle they want on working through the stages.
http://hblwebolution.wordpress.com/
Mine is totally random, for me playing around on the blog is a break from "work" although it is still technically work, it is also fun!
http://www.library-jo.blogspot.com/
I read the activity and then add something using the new trick or technology but my posts are about whatever I want, some staff comment on the activity and how they worked through it, some do a mix of both.
We are free to work through the stages at our own speed and with our own flavour.
Maybe that is why it has been so successful.
I have two followers, yippee. Better crack down on loading info then!
Also better put on smarter PJs if blogging for strangers!!
Author opens children's space at library
10:00pm Sunday 7th December 2008
BESTselling children’s author Melvin Burgess met teenagers at the Central Library to open a special reading area for young bookworms.
HeadSpace is an initiative developed and run in partnership with young people and The Reading Agency, an independent charity which encourages people to read more.
Melvin, whose most famous books include Billy Elliot, Junk and Doing It, launched HeadSpace at noon on Saturday, before giving a talk about his inspiration and life as a best selling author.
Greeting his audience he said: “It’s nice to be in Swindon as I have never been here before, living in Reading I used to think all these places were the same but it’s good to be here and at the new library.”
About 30 youngsters attended the event adding to the 60,000 people who have already visited the £10m building since it opened in October. The award-winning building now proudly features a HeadSpace hub, where youngsters aged 11 to 19 can read, relax, surf the internet and use the eight computers to do their homework.
They can now also order drinks from the library’s volunteer book waiters – an idea generated by young library users.
ttp://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/search/3957324.Author_opens_children_s_space_at_library/
What a special day!
Saw Pexta at KD & Shanksie's party this arvo. Everyone else has been making really random guesses on my blog but Pexta proved herself a real detective today with a guess that I am doing "A library work exchange in New Zealand" I'm really impressed and will have to get her a little prize as the closest guesser...I'm sure I can find something fishy that she'd appreciate.
Only a few more sleeps to go. I'm hanging out to tell everyone and have come up with a sneaky plan to get people excited in the lead up.
Currently our staff are undertaking the webolution, an "in house" adaption of the State Library's 23 things Web 2.0 training. We are all blogging and supporting each other through our 9 activity program.
I have decided with 5 more sleeps to go that I will post clues on my blog. The clues are obscure enough not to give it away but will get them close enough to feel satisfied when the announcement comes.
We talked about "shameless self promotion" in our recent FISH workshop, I hope that everyone will get on board and the positive energy will be shared. I really hope that news of the scholarship gets our staff talking about our service and what we do/have compared to other library services, obviously it is exciting for me personally but how it impacts on my colleagues is equally important to me.
I think the award will raise the profile of Hobsons Bay, which will hopefully bring enough fun our way for everyone to share!!
Well, the fact that I am the WINNER of the Margery C Ramsay Scholarship is finally starting to sink in. I am a bit scared! I will need to have my picture taken and talk to strangers and promote not only my work but myself. Yep scary!!
But in for a penny in for a pound...I have decided to create a blog.
A big commitment as I am only new to blogging but I think that in this time of advanced technology it is the right thing to do. People will be able to follow my research, look at my pictures and comments, link to articles and books that I have read and most importantly post comments, questions and share ideas.
The blog is not posh or formal (that just isn't me!) but it will combine a mix of my research as well as my thoughts and feelings about my progress and what I have been up to.
I apologize now in advance if I visit your library and say there were parts of it I didn't like....feel free to come and visit me and make constructive comments about my library service (there are parts of it I don't like too).
Know that I have a great love and respect for libraries. I visit them when on holiday (much to the disappointment of my non-library partner)
I will warn you now that I am not a quiet Librarian (too right my colleagues say!) I have no issue with food, drink or mobile phones in libraries, if you have signs saying "no food" I will probably comment on them! Nor am I a member of the library Police and generally feel that these days customers can police each other with regard to what is acceptable in a library.
I hope that all comments will be received as they are intended: purely my interpretation of what I see, hear and feel and definitely not a hex on any library service.
I hope you enjoy my blog....and feel free to comment!! Jo
After a late arrival last night (v.early morning), I enjoyed a lazy sleep in. Surfacing about 11am I registered (quicker than ALIA, just a booklet and a name tag) then went for a wander down the street. Auckland is obviously not a hub for weekend trading as it was very calm and quiet but a few places were open, I managed to pick up a few early Christmas Prezzies which is a bonus. It was nice just mooching and recognising the places I went with Tom last time I was here.
It was while we were in NZ that I logged onto the Hobsons Bay Website from Devonport Library and found out that they were advertising the role which eventually became mine. If I had not recommended the library to Tom as an internet access point I may never have started working for Hobsons Bay Libraries...SPOOKY.
Have just left the welcome drinks with my haul of free stuff. Spoke to Chelsea from Bolinda who says there are a few places testing audio downloads in December. All being well she will contact us in the New Year to see what we want/can afford to trial.
Arrived at the airport bang on time, although last in the check-in queue. Major dramas with a Chinese tour group in front of me, visas in different name to passports and only one in the group spoke English so the staff and group were all pretty stressed. Stood in the queue for an hour and only checked in at 7pm for a 7.30 flight!
Tom waited with me and was amazingly uptight (for him) I remained uncharacteristically cool and calm, saying if they bumped me off the flight I would just go home. I don’t know what came over me?! Sailed through customs no dramas and the plane headed off with only a slight delay. Unfortunately the delay at Melbourne plus some bad weather in transit meant we arrived approx 30mins late, by the time I got to the hotel it was about 3am Auckland time. Made a cuppa, watch a bit of telly and nodded off. Still unsure why I could not get my blackberry to message Tom!
I am booking to go to the LIANZA Conference in Auckland. Tom is at a loss as to why I would want to go to NZ at such short notice and work over the Cup Weekend but I explained that with the Scholarship it is all part of the deal. He is still coming to terms with why I would want more work on my plate but it'll be fine. I am really excited about going but a bit nervous as I will know absolutely no one. http://www.lianza.org.nz/events/conference2008/
I've got my official letter so they can't change their minds now!
I told Miss Pam, I just couldn't hold it in. We decided that I should definitely message Suzi G while she was away, I waited until Monday as it was her birthday and I thought it would be an exciting surprise.
After firstly guessing that my exciting surprise was a new job or baby she was really excited too..........keeping this quiet is going to be hard
I'm really excited, just got a call from the State Library to say that I'd WON.
I'm not allowed to tell anybody "in libraries" until after the official presentation. How I am going to keep this quiet I don't know. I am SO excited, not just about what it means for me but that it will hopefully generate some excitement here at work.
I can't believe Suzi G's encouragement (nagging) to actually submit the report actually paid of, I'm dying to call her but she is on hols so I will have to hold it.
