Smudged days

I am late and turned round, the lack of bells and the peaks and troughs of the last 2 weeks have left me not sure what day it is, I had a few high points of which one was today. I had the joy of meeting a gentleman by the name of Bob Pegg who came and did a music and story workshop for me, only a few there but everyone of us enjoyed it. We got to ask questions and to handle the different musical instruments, he played everyone of them for us and gave us a history and wove stories around them, truly mesmerizing!

The day was so nice, the beach below us so inviting, but the time with Bob flew by and I can recommend seeing him if you get a chance, my youngest said as we drove home that he was a 'real story teller!' which was a great recommendation from a geeky mine crafter like him. I may also be tempted by an Ocarina for myself! Also I have a new website to drool over and not buy the very pretty expensive things on but to dream :-) with early musical instruments.

The world of Cilip seems to be calm at the moment but I am following a thread in the mentors list about how much training costs when we give our time for free and often pay costs ourselves, but then get asked to pay more. I realise that they have costs and I know that Cilip can't just give for nothing, but with all the changes this is the time to raise the issue. I hope the restructure takes some of the thoughts on board and we have had another survey monkey asking about our thoughts.

In a different vein I am also getting ready for my Holidays, which are still in the air in places, like the last few weeks there are some unmovables, a flight to meet, a dinner booked, and some venues we must get too, as well and plans to make sandwiches and take lunches (even if we need help lifting enough food for four teenagers!) and walks on the moors, the beaches and the lanes of the west country. Other than that we shall see and go with the flow.

The cool lanes and walks near where I grew up and will be staying are calling!

I am also thrilled to see a piece of my writing is up online, I put in a piece about my favourite treasure. It is being run by the Scottish Book Trust, and it is up under my name. The piece is called Alexandra and the details are in the work, I took a couple of weeks to write it as I kept getting too emotional and far to close to it! but it is done, and up, I am so proud! Feel free to go and read, and if you want the date for submission of your own treasure is not until the end of the month! up to 1000 words, and has to be a thing not a place or person or time.

I plan to blog as and when while I am away, so forgive if the next few are less work orientated, and more 'oh look where I have been!'

Post cheer slump

Normality has struck, my laundry still needs doing, the shopping and cleaning, the keeping track of three teenagers, on top of full time hours and getting up to go to work at an early hour. Now I should add the last is a lie, I have never thought it was too early to get up and work here. I have done supermarket shifts that involved being in and being ready for a 7 am opening on a Saturday, I have also worked on an internet desk which had me starting one shift at 6.30 am but only once a week (which was a killer). I know folks out there who may have a 9 am start like me, but who have a commute from hell! mine is a 20 minute drive and if I am late I have to park at the far end of the car park! in theory I could leave home at 8.30 am and be here on time, but I like a bit of time so I leave at 8 from home and get in by 8.30 parked and at my desk! In the holidays I can get in for 9 am, no kids to get ready for, no morning meeting to go to, and no customers banging on the door at 9. But I would like more of a lie in, I am greedy!

I so enjoyed the Umbrella Conference, I have been over the handbook since and have seen two or three things I so wished I had got to, I didn't realise until I got home that one of my lecturers from when I was in uni was speaking, he was always amazing and I am kicking myself I didn't go! I am still processing half of what came at me, I must go back over my notes and try and get some in order, they cover every event I went to and I have a picture of nearly every speaker I saw. One talk was so interesting I didn't take any pictures, sadly wish I had later! A lot of the ideas and focuses was way above my level, the awards were amazing, but aimed at the services not the individuals in places, but they gave me an flavour of what is wanted, how more is to be delivered, and what my bosses are aiming at. So a greater understanding was good.

I also followed the online tweets from the General Meeting at Cilip yesterday, I was interested that most there had felt the motion should be carried, meanwhile the vote went against it due to proxy votes, as a proxy voter I am glad, the idea of it all the changes stopping was wrong, I agree that we must have more clarity esp. for those not based in London, and for a profession who runs on communication we can be bad at sharing info officially, but I think this meeting should make a difference, which for me is enough. I will note that while those who went were pro the motion those who didn't go may have done so to avoid argument and to vote against the motion without any face to face issues, had I been in London I may have gone but then I am not that shy and retiring (stop sniggering those who have met me). Having said that I did feel that Ian Clark had to say in his blog was very relevant as he is one of the people who are out there and not members but who could be and could do good!

The sun had been shining and my mornings now have a new pattern, I get up and hang out last nights laundry, then I get my watering can and water all my plants, and then I get ready for work and leave. I am very proud of my peas and beans, and my carrots may even become food! The cats are bemused by this routine and I end up being followed to my washing line, they lie around or stalk about while I hang clothes, then they sit and watch it to make sure it isn't dangerous! They also wander round my pots and one loves to see what is happening and has had her head watered twice this week already! The heat in the far north of Scotland is roasting, well for us, but sadly that means flies and midges about, most is stopped by the breeze but in nice sheltered areas (like my garden) the flies don't get blown away, this has seriously limited the sitting doing nothing plans!

I am following a new blog which looks very good called once upon a book case which is a YA review blog, which I so didn't need to find as I buy enough already, but looks very very good! Also am enjoying today's note from the American editor about the disappearing client, something we all need to think about, the view is very business focused but as times change I feel that we need to pick skills up where ever we see them and aspects can always be applied to our own jobs. To note also he states that 'Marketing is not an as-needed project; marketing is an always-needed project.' We need to address this in our own world.

I want to be a Dandelion!

The conference seems so long ago, even when I was there only yesterday, the drive home was long and we didn't get in until after 2 am. I am looking back over the two fun filled days and still have the words winding round my head.

I have been taunting a friend who didn't get to it, (or any recently due to her circumstances and her perception that it was boring) the guests were amazing! Not one speaker made me wander, even the post lunch slump stopped me form taking notes and enjoying it. We heard from the new director of the British Library, who has an amazing pedigree! He had a hand in 'Who do you think you are' when he was at the BBC and just his vision left me breathless, I thought he would not be matched, but by the end we had also heard from Janice Lachance part of Bill Clinton's staff, and Geoff White who is the producer of technology at Channel 4 News. I have never thought about how the changes that we are facing would effect other job sectors, The news world has gone from the sole source of news to competing with the internet and social media. One of the things he said that made me think was that the internet can say what it wants but if he says something wrong he could be fined personally. I know my own viewing of the news has changed, as a child we all stopped at 6 for the news, and again at 9 for any detailed news. if it wasn't in the papers or on the main news we didn't know. My own kids think that's nuts, they get stuff through FB and Twitter, they check websites and the news channel of choice last year in our house was Al Jazeera, I love checking the local news in North Devon for stories my Mum may know and that way we have more to talk about when I ring.

Loved hearing about all the gamification of libraries, and the Lemon tree, as well as the new movie by Ben Lewis called Google and the world brain which I will be hunting out to watch (when I have time) I hadn't thought that my supermarket card could be gamified, but I like the idea of hooking the users in with this.
I got to several Information literacy talks and have some great ideas of how to move my own sessions with the kids forward. watch this space, what works I will talk about, I will even talk about what didn't work!

My Fave picture of the Umbrella I took is one from the opening speeches, when the floor got thrown out to questions, and Biddy sat waving her arms for questions, but the picture looks like she is conducting an invisible band or directing us in a sing along! Roly Keating watching on as Biddy sets the tone for the whole event so well.

The final thought is one that led to my title today, Ben showers spoke about tooling up, I thought I would hear about what tools I need for the future instead I got a wonderful talk about how the future is change and we must embrace as much as we can, that we are valuable and valued we just need to keep up, he drew the talk to a close saying we should be less like mammals and more like dandelions, a mammal has few children and spends long time nurturing them and puts a lot of care and thought in tot hem, and they as many to survive to keep life going as possible, while Dandelions throw many many seeds out, no care , no energy, no worries and they spread and get taken by all. We need to focus on less big things and more on smaller and freer items that float and go further, and need much much less from us.

I think for me the message I got from the Umbrella was one of hope, one of change but adapting, the idea we can do, we may not be traditional or even labeled librarians but we are still us and doing well, There is so much we can do and go, so much difference we can make and so very much to learn still. I will be going over the notes and info from the two days for ages and will take months to get all I need out of it, but it was wonderful. I must make quick mention of the Unbrella people who ran events and ice breakers, who made the whole experience so much easier for everyone. I hope to do a note on them alone another time, when I have my notes sorted!

Floating on Air

I am  a few days late blogging as I am in the Umbrella conference! It is like coming back down a mountain and getting oxygen rich air again, I am so enjoying it. The speakers have been so interesting, and the information covered has been written down in my scrawly notes with extras on the sides, with ideas to try, people to see and things I  must chase up, I will be still getting round to all of this when the school is back in, in August!

The organisations has been fab with all the venues in easy wander of even me! the building is lovely and I even caught myself daydreaming I could be a student in them! which makes me chortle as I loved being a student but prefer the self driven training much better than formal sit downs.

The over all day yesterday was one of hope, of using what we have to do as much and that wonderful idea I like of adding value, esp in that bracket was Victoria Threadway form the Wirral hospital who does ward rounds with the critical care staff! Thankfully schools are not that time sensitive, but I am thinking how I analyse who uses me and how they use me... we shall see.

I am now about to start day two and am interested to see what more will I see and hear.

I am buzzing with the idea of a library champion and other things and have made so many new contacts or which many I hope will go on to be friends! I shall hope to do more once I get home.

Information Wrangler

The longest day, shortest night has come and gone, I took great pleasure in walking round on the 22nd of June saying that the nights were drawing in! I also took part in an event called Nite Kirk, the librarian side of me so wanted to correct the spellings, which is an all night open night for a local Church (Kirk up here) where you can drop in or spend the night, chat or just sit in silence, with music being played or readings or poetry. I went and read poetry for nearly an hour and a half, which was scary and fun, and very very rewarding. I put details up in my Blipfoto of the day which also include links to the Kirk's newsletter.

I was chatting to a friend and we were talking about how our part of the world is seen by others, how people coming here think we have no culture and no aspirations. The back woods feel of the place isn't a good measure of how intelligent we are or how much we are capable of. This linked into another issue I have encountered this week of not valuing ourselves, that horrid Scottish attitude of downplaying our own skills, I know how easy it is to do, I did it myself in Dundee! I have some friends applying for what can only be described as their dream job! They want to live in a particularly beautiful part of the world, close to family and friends, which sadly isn't here. I don't want them to leave if they get it, I will miss them if they do go, they love being here and love the place and people, but, and its a big but, they want to be there eventually, and if they don't try this now they may never get a chance again! This is linked to two things, one my often noted idea that its better to try and jump and do then to sit and worry about it. Found a quote on FB the other day that said it is' scarier to not do, than anything you do'. The journey is never as frightening as the thought of the journey, applying is so scary, and the world feels like it is in turmoil at the moment, but I do hope they get the job and the changes happen, even if I am left behind (as it were). The other things that came to light was how hard they are finding selling themselves! We know how good we are and what good we do, but when someone asks what do you do, well the shutters come down and the self deprecation pops up. Maybe we should have a friend write our CV's :-) or get a group of mates to fill in our application forms. An advert ion the TV had pairs of women being stopped and asked about their own looks and their companion, without fail they couldn't say which bit was good on themselves but always spoke well of their friend. I will try to do one good thing in my blog for a bit, and sing my own skills, and now I want to hide under my bed.

My good idea and skill for this is my writing, I have had the odd thing published and am putting together two pieces for publication possibly now. First I have written a piece for the Scottish Book Trust's Treasures, It is finished and needs a pic and to be sent! I also have a story in development for the Bloody Scotland Competition, I have written before but never entered! this year I will enter. And finally in the same vein I have signed up for Teachers Write 2013 which is a summer long programme of writing ideas, workshops and events. I will be in and out though out the summer so shouldn't miss too much when I am on holiday at an internet dead spot. I will be typing up my blog ongoing as well and hoping to keep up with everything else in my travels. Yes I know I have made my summer busy again, but I do myself no favours stopping altogether, yes break from work, yes break from various tasks and jobs but I need to keep my mind working, and this may fit the bill.

 My grass is growing and thriving as the sky has been very generous with the rain for the last few days, and the flat roof over part of my bedroom has decided to drip, and the end of my path has a small lake round it, I make the choice between wet feet or climbing next doors fence to get in! Only good point is the very lack of watering I am having to do for my veg plants, but I think some of my peas drowned!

Only a few days to the Umbrella 2013, I hope to blog from Manchester next week, and I will organise my Dundee notes before then so they don't end up mixed up.

Sitting in the eddies.

What a busy week, I have not stopped to turn round, I am late here and the speed with which we are heading to the holidays now feels palatable. I like counting mornings I have to get up so we have 8 more mornings to get up for school! as we finish half way through the last day and today is more than half done, full days left is 6! I know I have time to do some things after Umbrella, I know that these are productive days and I will get lots done in that time, but suddenly the time is short! Feel like those cartoons where the very street furniture told the characters they were late! Had a blast back to my past with a brief Ivor the Engine memory the other day and the noise of the engine is running round in my head whispering to much too do...

On the mention of Ivor, I love how the first job after getting the engine heated was to make the tea, very much part of life in the early 70's and very much outdated now sadly. By the time I get my first coffee of the day I have done half an hour of work online, emails sorted and programs started, the lights are on and the library ready for me to just open the door. Even this occasionally leaves me late for the morning meeting we hold in school. Been on a nostalgia kick recently, sadly I am too honest to really wallow in the past. Yes I know its not what it used to be! I think back on long hot summers, but also on long wet ones, I love the memory of the sweets but wouldn't thank you for most of them now! yuck e numbers galore. I loved being small, playing and not having the weight of the world on my shoulders, but I also remember the worry, about money, life in general, things that as a child I saw but only later realised meant so much. The past is what makes us but it isn't a place we should try to get back to.

The whole thing has been brought back by to me by the discussion about the name change for Cilip, why, how and who? I remember the change from Library Association and I didn't like it, I loved being part of the Library Association and some of my disaffection over time has been due to not feeling as if I was a Cilip person. This is the same bit of me that doesn't like change any way and doesn't want a hard life! (yeh don't we all, sadly your life begins at your comfort zones end as I was reminded the other day) But for all my love of library association I don't think it is relevant now! Our world is Information, transfer, supply, creation, filtering. But we are just one source of many now, we need to work out what we are in the modern society. Our name is a banner to wave, a tag or even a hashtag to our lives. We need to believe in it, to support it and to use it. I have no quick and easy answers, I know what ever is chosen will need me to find myself in it! I am now an active partner in my life, I will make that adaption. I remember being a pre-teen and life happened elsewhere, my sleepy little village had nothing to my young eyes and most of my older school fellows moved out/away and nothing happened, it was boring. Life did happen but you need to be part of it not a watcher. I am paddling in the eddies of the life that is rushing past me and I am ready to push into the flow and get washed where ever it takes me.

"River Under A Bridge" 

Image courtesy of xedos4 /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I know it could be a calm ride or a bumpy one but until I go I will always fear it. The biggest fear is of the unknown, Changing our name is challenging and the whys and hows are still in discussion. Latest info from Cilip about the meeting is here. But we need to reassess who and what we are, we need to be relevant and current, or like our old stock we will be weeded!

I planned to also mention the new build as it is happening up here and the plans look so good but I shall talk more about them later, for now the link to them is here.

Cruel and unusual punishment

The sun is shining, and the sky is blue. I am in work at a desk set well back from the windows, with distant patches of blue to torment my day. The school buzzes round me as timetables get polished and classes fine their levels. One poor teacher had to borrow a chair as she had one more child than her room had chairs! The last of the changes are being settled with only tomorrow to get it perfect before the first years come for a visit on Wednesday and Thursday. While this is a very very busy time for teachers, as librarian I am doing my housekeeping for the school year end. The new classes won't be in yet as the teaching plan need to be started, the old one is gone so I have no timetabled classes until I get a new one made which I am waiting until august as we are due a staffing change and any thing I plan now will be wrong.

Quick question thrown at me about a room number, where is room 60! I have been here nearly 14 years, but I also have a map form nearly 10 years ago that just has classroom numbers on it, and voila room found, teacher happy, internet unneeded! :-).

At the moment there are a whole load of discussions going on about the re-branding being done in CILIP, This has brought out the likes of Tom Roper who has called a general meeting, and Ned Potter in favour for and against the current situation, I think we need what is happening, but the transparency for some aspects has been missing. The cost is scary, and the result if we fail even scarier. But the most interesting article I read was by a non member of CILIP, By Ian Clark which is looking from a step away, so to speak. I am interested in the out comes, and hope that all this debate will make us stronger. It is also bringing things to the surface that need addressing, and hopefully can be addressed. The CILIP side is here, so you can go and see what all the fuss is about, if you haven't already.

Some shots of the Dundee trip;

Post dinner talk watched with half empty glasses.

Venue looking fab in the morning sunshine.  

All in all a wonderful trip, I have plans of what I want to do with all the info and I will be typing up as I go and posting here from the different speakers.

From the high octane conference to the monthly paper work! as the title says a cruel and most unusual punishment but one I take on willingly and with a smile. My faith in Libraries and my own choice and place renewed for a while, and with plans for the Umbrella 2013 in July, they wont be stopping any time soon.