#blogjune Post 8 - #anz23mthings Thing 5 Photos + Maps

I feel like the kid who hasn't done their homework.

I honestly have not had a chance to discover much for the #anz23mthings thing 5 this week.  My lack of "good" smartphone means I have to rely on my work tablet to carry out my investigation and play of each "thing."  And apart from having little time to walk around my area during the week, the thought of taking photos with my (larger than a phone) tablet didn't appeal.

So I'm cheating a little and using others blog posts to reflect on thing 5.

@stephmcg shared here knowledge of Historypin and what she found when she played around with it.  Like her, I did a search on my shire, and found little content.  I agree that it would be dependent on institutions or keen individuals to populate an area of a map.  I'm thinking that this would be a really good partnership between my library service and our local historical society.  However, since my library service has little in the way of staffing resources, and the local historical society is volunteers that have limited technological skills - it would still take a bit of work to get the project off the ground. 

I have been invited to a meeting talking about heritage buildings in our shire this coming week, and I think I may raise Historypin as a possible project for recording our heritage and making it accessible.  It will be a start to just put it out there.

@stokesrenee discusses copyright and privacy which are really relevant topics when it comes to putting your photos up on social media. 

I really don't think too hard about people knowing where I am at a given time - well I suppose those that say burglars prowl social media sites waiting to know you are out of your home so they can pounce, might be on to something - but I also think it is fun to share where you are, especially if you are visiting an interesting place (although you will note in my previous post, I really don't do Foursquare anymore - possibly because I rarely visit interesting places).

The copyright issue is probably more of a concern because I'm sure our historical society would like to maintain some ownership over the images (although many of the images aren't owned by them but the photographer who took them).

So while I didn't play around with Historypin, I did read and think about how it can be used.

I'll keep you posted on the possible library partnership with the historical society.

#blogjune Post 7 - The Block - Library Style

I have been struck by lightning!!  Well ok, I've just had a brilliant idea - which probably means someone has already thought of this.

I wish there was a reality TV show where a group of professional library interior designers come to your library and give it a makeover!!!

And why am I wishing this??  Well, I have some branch libraries that need a revamp and I have a fear of moving things.  This may have been a result of growing up in a house that had furniture changes almost daily - no offence, Mum but I think we may have had at least 2-3 different beds in our bedrooms each year.  And the room would be re-arranged just as many times, if not more.

I hate moving furniture!!

So what better idea then to have someone come in and do it for me!!

I could do an audition tape crying about the state of my library branches and how I don't know where to start.  I have limited funding and staffing resources.

Cue, "The Block" style team but they are made up of library interior designers, or just librarians who have a flair for knowing how to re-arrange furniture to give the library branch a lift!

It can all be filmed to add to the drama - oh no, what to do when moving the shelves and they fall apart??  What about that huge rat that came out from behind the bookcase that hasn't been moved for the last 20 years??  But alas, all is almost lost when they move shelves around, only to find that particular collection won't fit??

Ok, I need to work on my drama, comedy act - but you get the picture!!

Anyone out there who has a flair for looking at a library and knowing how to vamp it up - how 'bout a holiday on the Mid-North Coast of NSW?!?!  I may not be able to pay you, but having a "holiday" here is worth it!!

#blogjune Post 6 - My Dewey Section

I know I'm cheating again but I thought this was an interesting and fun thing to do. 

Thanks to ALIA Weekly,, @FiFYI, and @Stephmcg for the idea and link.

So here are my Dewey Decimal areas according to You as the Dewey Decimal System:

Sharon's Dewey Decimal Section:
835 German speeches
Sharon = 981854 = 981+854 = 1835

Class:
800 Literature

Contains:
Literature, criticism, analysis of classic writing and mythology.

What it says about you:
You're a global, worldly person who wants to make a big impact with your actions. You have a lot to tell people and you're good at making unique observations about everyday experiences. You can notice and remember details that other people think aren't important.

Sharon's Dewey Decimal Section:
107 Education, research & related topics
Sharon's birthday: 1/30/1977 = 130+1977 = 2107

Class:
100 Philosophy & Psychology

Contains:
Books on metaphysics, logic, ethics and philosophy.

What it says about you:
You're a careful thinker, but your life can be complicated and hard for others to understand at times. You try to explain things and strive to express yourself.

Sharon's Dewey Decimal Section:
004 Data processing & computer science

Class:
000 Computer Science, Information & General Works

Contains:
Encyclopedias, magazines, journals and books with quotations.

What it says about you:
You are very informative and up to date. You're working on living in the here and now, not the past. You go through a lot of changes. When you make a decision you can be very sure of yourself, maybe even stubborn, but your friends appreciate your honesty and resolve.

Hmm, yes I suppose I have elements of these things that make me, me!  What do those that know me think??

Such a librarian thing to do!!

#blogjune Post 5 - Running

Today, somewhere in the world it is National Running Day.  Well actually I think it is National Running Day in the USA.  Regardless, today somewhere in the world people are celebrating National Running Day.

Now what does that have to do with me?  Well, I hate running.  Well, ok, I like running when I have finished running.  While I'm running I hate it!

And it has been a while since I've been running.

Back in 2001 (I think) I couldn't really afford gym membership, and since in my past life I was an aerobic instructor, I decided I'd up my walking to running.  I had been doing a bit of running on the treadmill at the gym but that is nothing compared to running outside.

I was living in Clayfield, Qld at the time.  So I would run in the hills of Ascot and Hamilton.  Yes I would run up the bl**dy big hill to Bartley's Hill reserve.  And then back down Crosby Rd then on to Sandgate Rd and back to Junction Rd where I lived in Clayfield.  I also did an easier run at times along Kedron Brook.

When I moved to Goodna, Qld I would then do a smaller run around the streets there.  But there were always a few dogs on the loose that would worry me, and once I fell pregnant, well the running stopped.

Now here I am doing bootcamp 3 mornings a week with ladies that are training for the Gold Coast marathon in July.  They are going to run 42km or something.  And since bootcamp sometimes requires a bit of running, I've caught the small bug.

It started one weekend a few weeks ago when I was doing my regular Saturday afternoon hour long walk.  My walk also consists of running up 2 sets of stairs 15 times.  I had just completed the stair run and thought, hell I'll just keep running.

I set myself small hurdles - I'll just run to that corner.  I'll just run to the end of this path.  I'll just run to the end of this road.  You get the idea.  Well, I kept running and I worked out that I had run about 5km without stopping.

So now instead of my weekend hour long walks - I do an hour long run.  And I only run 5km and walk the couple km home to warm down - well actually I just can't yet run that extra.  But today, I dobbed myself in at bootcamp when I mentioned that Monday is a public holiday.  Sometimes we do an extra bootcamp to make up for it.  Well our bootcamp leader said there will no extra because the ladies training for the marathon are doing a big run - 35km - on Saturday and may need the rest.  Then she added that they may do an 8km run on the Monday instead.  So I piped up and said maybe I'll join them.

I may not get through the 8km but I will give it a go - unless it's really cold and bed is better - but then I think about how good I feel after the run and that I won't have to exercise the rest of the day and I can laze around... hmm maybe the run will be good!!

There is a PS to this - I only do exercise so I can maintain my chocolate habit!!

Happy National Running Day!!


http://www.godoreen.com/category/running/

#blogjune post 5 - What is "local" when it comes to authors?

Since yesterday's post was so late, I feel like I'm doing 2 posts in one day.  However, I know if I leave posting till this evening it probably won't get done as I have a lot of other work that I need to complete and it should really take priority.

Yesterday I mentioned that I was at Library HQ for a team leaders meeting.  As usual we had many things to discuss but I thought I'd post about one of those things - local authors.

Ok, it was more about do local author's titles belong in a local studies collection?  Or should they only belong in a local studies collection if they are about the area or about someone in the area that the library is located in?

We often get asked if we have books by local authors and unless you know who they are, it is quite difficult to find them.  I can imagine this gets more difficult in larger city libraries.

The other question is, what determines a "local" author?  How long should they live in the area before they are determined "local"?  Are they only "local" if they were born in the area or what if they were born in the area but then moved away before they started writing?

So you can imagine how interesting and confusing this discussion became.

I'm not sure if we answered all the questions we had but we did decide that Local Studies collection should only have titles that contain content about the particular area no matter who wrote it, and that authors that live or have lived in the area (maybe a bit more discussion to be had) can be marked with a "local author" sticker.

What does your library do?

#blogjune Post 3 - My History of Blogging

Ok so I am cheating a bit today and I'm a bit late with my post. I'm late with my post because I had bootcamp this morning at 6am-7am.  I then had to shower, eat breakfast and be out the door by 7.45am to drive to Grafton (1 hour and half away) for a team leaders meeting at library HQ. I'm cheating because I haven't got any other better idea for a post and I think it is actually an interesting activity to participate in anyway.  Thanks to @FiFyi and Multifarious Librarian for this "meme"

How long have you been blogging?

I first started blogging in 2005.  I used a blog to keep track of the research for my Dunn and Wilson Scholarship - you can read about it here.

I then went into hiatus and didn't start blogging again until 2011 when I participated in #blog12daysxmas.

Why did you start blogging? How many times a week do you post an entry?

So as I mentioned above, I started blogging to keep track of research.  But I went back to blogging to force myself to reflect and share my reflections.

My blogging regularity varies unless I'm participating in things like #blogjune or #blog12daysxmas.  Last year I went all out and also made my own #blogDecember.

This year I hope to continue #blogjune and post everyday in June.  I am also participating in #ANZ23mthings which I hope to post at the end of each week about, and of course, will do #blog12daysxmas.

I also try to do a couple of blog posts after I attend events/conferences/seminars.

How many different blogs do you read on a regular basis?

Gosh, I haven't really counted the blogs I follow on my reader - The Old Reader which I'm using now as Google Reader decided to close down.

I would guess there may be 20 regular blogs I follow and read.

Do you comment on other people’s blogs?

If I'm very interested in a topic or have an opinion I'd like to share, then yes I comment.  However, I seem to be commenting more on author's blogs I follow in order to win a copy of their books!!

Do you keep track of how many visitors you have?

I admit, I do look at the stats every now and then just to see if any of my posts have generated interest.  I can tell when I have posted about passionate or controversial topics by the amount of readership I get.  I also note that since posting posts to Twitter and Facebook, my audience has gone up a little.

Did you ever regret a post that you wrote?

I haven't ever regretted a post.  But I have felt nervous and worried about some posts.  Especially if they are borderline personal - but then I did do a post about that too.  I think for #blogjune I may venture more into the personal side because some of the topics that have been floating around in my head are more personal then professional - I wonder if this will affect readership!?!

Do you think your readers have a true sense of who you are based on your blog?

Hmm, this is a good question.  I'm not sure.  A lot of people who do read my blog, knew me before I blogged - but it would be an interesting exercise and I do hope to meet more of my virtual network in real life.

Do you blog under your real name?

Close to it.  SharonU is pretty close.

Are there topics that you would never blog about?

Politics, politics and politics.  Oh and probably some personal choices that people are emotionally caught up in.  I'd like to think I could test the waters but I think some people may be surprised and a bit shocked.

What is the theme/topic of your blog?

I think it changes a bit here and there.  Mostly it's about library things but sometimes, it goes into personal interests.

Do you have more than one blog? If so, why?

I have enough trouble regularly writing on one blog let alone two!!

What have you found to be the benefits of blogging?

Reflection, discussion starters and development of a good network of fellow professionals.  I also feel less isolated.

So, why do you continue to blog?

Because I enjoy sharing and am starting to enjoy reflecting.  I also don't mind "hearing" myself "talk"!!

#blogjune Post 2 - ANZ 23 Mobile Things: Thing 4: Maps and Checking In

I have to admit that I really haven't jumped into Thing 4 with great enthusiasm.  I'm like that with most things, I'll dip my toe in and if it doesn't interest me or provide me with a useful tool, then I'll move on.

Now with Maps and Checking In, I have played around with Foursquare, but honestly, living where I live there are really not heaps of places to check in as such. 

I added our libraries to Foursquare, but really, do people want to know that I checked in to my library every week day?  And then I checked in at our local beach and then at Woolworths??  I mean, I honestly don't go to many places so it lost it's appeal.  Even when I was in the city - either Brisbane or Sydney - I forgot to check in because it really didn't excite me!

However, I do know that some libraries have successfully used it as a tool for promotion and competition.  But looking at my community and how they use phones, and I would make a rough guess at saying perhaps 40% have smart phones/mobile devices, the rest have regular mobile phones or lap tops or nothing.  So offering some sort of program where users could check in, probably wouldn't be that popular.

I have used the Google Maps app to look for directions, but find Navigator or the navigation tool on my phone much more useful - like a GPS on my phone.  Although, due to a delay in response time while driving through Tamworth, it did get me lost looking for South Tamworth Library!!

Now I still don't know a lot about Geocaching but I have heard our Council IT staff member talking about doing some geocaching around our town.  I must have a longer conversation with him, but find I get lost in the jargon he uses.

So as you can see, I'm not really enthused by maps and checking in, but I think I will expect that some things on the 23 Mobile Things program will excite me and others won't.  But really it's all about learning about what is out there for mobile devices and having a bit of a play around.

Now off to read other #blogjune participants posts!