Movielens

I've just discovered Movielens - it's a bit like Librarything - but for movies.

You can keep track of movies & DVDs you've seen and review them - or at least just rate them using a star rating. After you've added a few movies it will make recommendations or suggestions of based on the movies you've recorded.

When you search for a movie - it even predicts how you would rate it!! It also has links to Imdb & Rotten Tomatoes.

In Beta mode - they're trying out classifying you according to your viewing preferences - I've wound up in the Rhino Group, which supposedly has other people who enjoy the same types of movies.

Still exploring but it looks like fun!

Sculpture by the Sea

On Saturday morning I was lucky enough to see the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. My favourite pieces were those that had a sense of humour in their execution or had a feeling of whimsy. Like the pack of dogs that were made out of bits of dismantled furniture - legs made from tables or bits of junk. Or the floating 8 ball bobbing out in the sea - supposedly a tribute to our pub culture - the artist had originally thought of placing a pool table on the beach. There were about 50 sculptures dotted along the shoreline.

They had mixed reactions fromthe public, with people walking around each installation to examine them fromevery angle.

I'd dropped a bag and a couple of towels on the sand and when I returned to retrieve them, a women told me she'd just snapped them with her camera - "the colours are so beautiful - I thought they were part of the exhibition!"

Loclib Conference

On Friday I attended the afternoon sessions of the Loclib conference. I was really keen to see Jessamyn West and wasn't disappointed.

There were many to whom the whole blogging thing seemed very new and confusing, and couldn't quite see where this would fit into public libraries. A lot of us are still hamstrung by our organisations who are worried about "uncontrolled" information about them being published on the web - but I think that things will change gradually. The Act Public Library Blog is a really good Australian example of how it could work.

Jessamyn spoke about blogging as if it was no big deal and emphasized the social side of the technology.

I was lucky that I knew about some of this stuff from MPPOW - thanks CW!
I also bumped into some non-public librarians who'd crashed the session - it was good to meet Kathryn again, too.


One of the best things about conferences is hearing of new things (well, new to me) which I checked out when I got home.

• I loved Ask Metafilter after I'd checked it out and will subscribe today
• Vox looks so easy - and I'm going to set up a more personal blog there, I think.

So thanks again Jessamyn!

Treasure Hunting

My favorite part of the weekend just gone was kerb crawling the streets of one of the wealthier suburbs with sister and friend, looking for treasure that may have been discarded for the local street verge throwout.

Some may find this practice degrading, or even ghoulish, but I see it as a form of recycling. It's amazing how wasteful our society is and what gets thrown out. Recently I've noticed a plethora of larger televisions, no doubt many are in good working order, but I suspect they've been replaced by a plasma screen model.


We have some rules - we try not to disturb the piles too much - I know people would hate to see their trash scattered in all directions. We've also developed a fine eye for spotting something useful at the back of a rubbish pile.


My past finds have included a beautiful mahjong set complete with racks, and two over-the-top gilt lamps that you can see in this picture. Last weekend I found two small wall shelves in the shape of angels with gold detailing - they suit my current rococco themed phase of decorating.

S won the spotters prize first off - with two authentic boomerangs, and sister was very happy with her haul of garden pots.

Regrettable clothing

I'm going through my old clothing to see what needs throwing out. It's not that I love clothes - I just find it hard to part with them. The first suspect is this one. You need sunglasses to wear it - but it's pure wool - and hand knitted! And warm! Forget that it's shapeless, and if I wore it I'd look like something from Play School. I don't think I've worn it for 15 years, but it's going - today!

Blogging again - on holidays

I'm on holidays for two weeks and decided to start blogging again after a long hiatus.
The book that spurred me on is No One Cares What You Had for Lunch - 100 Ideas for Your Blog. It's a good start for someone like me who suffers from "bloggers block", and provides lots of ideas for subjects to opine on. So lets see where this leads me. (Oh - and I've changed the name, too)

I'm using my holidays to start some good habits again. My projects:

• Get organised - throw out all those unused old clothes
• Start exercising properly again - gym or bike
• Get in touch with old friends, be it coffee or just an email
  
• Choose a shed - a large double garage if possible (a girl's gotta have a shed!)
  
• See some culture - the Perth International Arts Festival is on again
  

I've already seen some culture - last night I saw Marcus Zusak at the State Library as part of the One Book program of events. Ashamedly, I haven't read the book yet, but after hearing him speak - that's another thing to add to my "to do" list. He was so unassuming, but obviously committed to his work. I liked how he spoke about ensuring that there'd be a small gem on each page, be it a phrase or a character. He used another author's phrase about a cruise ship entering New York Harbour like a mountain in a tuxedo.
Now that's writing!

Librarian Bloggers Survey

My friend CW is putting together a paper on librarian bloggers, so has sent out some questions.
Here's my answers:
Where do you work? Inner suburbs public library
What's your job title? Coordinator Library Services
What are your main responsibilities? I supervise the library assistants, and most things relating to the lending services area. I also coordinate a young writers competition and a young artists competition. These are open to school age children in the metropolitan area. Since last November when I started, I've gradually been taking on more of the events management for writers nights and book launches as well. On the downside, I look after the, rosters.
How long have you been blogging? Not very long - since June last year and I haven't been very diligent, but I hope to keep it up, however intermittent my contributions are.
How did you begin blogging? Well, CW you're to blame for this - your enthusiasm and encouragement made me aware of blogging and its possibilities.
What do you blog about? I started out trying to have library oriented posts, but a lot of what I've posted seems sort of personal...what's going on in my job kind of stuff, what I had for Xmas dinner - I think I'm still in hte experiment stage - but so do a few of us - I'm sure I'll eventually get some kind of style and theme going.
Why do you continue to blog? I'm still getting to grips with the process - I like the idea of a community of library bloggers. I also use bloglines a lot and really enjoy reading other people's blogs - especially yours, of course. I think that I should be contributing something as continually lurking doesn't feel like I'm in the "spirit of blogging".....and of course "putting it out there" is the main thing - I'm so delighted when I get comments that it also encourages me...
Would you agree that blogging has improved your professional practice? Yes - though my change to the public libraian life has had an effect on the nature of this. While at the Big Academic Library, I tended to tap into more technologically oriented postings & blogs, and there was a wealth of information out there to tap into. Now that I'm a public librarian, I find there are less bloggers in the field I'd love to see some other Australian Public Librarians blogging out there. The only one I see regularly REAL PUBLIC LIBRARIAN which is pretty good, but like me she posts intermittently.

Probation over

Well it's now been three months in the new job, and up till now I've technically been on probation. It feels as if the time has flown by, and in other ways I feel as if I've worked there for so much longer. I had the probation interview yesterday, talked some stuff with the boss - she seems happy with how I've been doing, so signed on the dotted line and so now I'm soon to be a permanent employee....yay!! (Feel that little bit more secure now)

I feel as if I've got a handle on 50% of the what I do, however the nature of the job is pretty fragmented, with a lot of smaller duties that I have yet to discover...

Luckily, I'm soon to be going on some short courses to bring me up to speed with the library's automated systems, which I'm looking forward to - I still sometimes feel like the "dumb new kid" in comparison to the others...and any cataloguing speak still sounds like Swahili to me.....so I'm glad that there are many things that I have left to learn.

One Book Events

Last night was the second of our One Book events - a "meet the writer" event. The previous Friday we had storytelling with cellist accompanying - a small intimate group of about 30 people.

Our author talk had an audience of over 100 people. The boss left me to be the MC - my co-workers seem to have a fear of public speaking, but I think my experiences of addressing lecture theatres full of bored students on orientation days, regaling them with the benefits of using the library have stood me in good stead.

However, this event was about the author - she was very warm, unaffected, and entertaining with her anecdotes of her experiences that helped her write the book.

One thing brought home to me was the importance of promotion and how to angle the advertising for our events. We'd hoped for a larger audience for Friday's function. On the poster I'd put "for ages from 12 upwards", which probably made people think that it was aimed at teenagers, which it wasn't. Also, the word "storytelling", really didn't do justice to the reader's rendition of the book, which made the characters come alive, and gave them voices, accents, intonations and insinuations that were defintitely not aimed at a young audience.

Note to self: keep this in mind for next time.

Starting over again

I really am interested in blogging as a personal practice, and I need to jumpstart myself into continuing with this blog. I've turned into a lurker, reading other people's entries, and serendipitously wandering from blog to blog, finding all sorts of gems. I rarely leave a comment, which again reeks of taking and not contributing.

However, when I started, I thought that I could use this as a way to comment on issues or happenings, and to organise my thoughts. I like the way that there is a community of bloggers, who comment and commmunicate with each other. So, in the hope of launching myself back into the blogosphere, I'm starting again.....

I had a change of jobs last November - went from academic to public librarianship, which should provide me with lots of fodder for comment. They're two very different environments and both speres have their good and bad points. I've heard that the direction I've taken is usually the opposite to the norm - most librarians would move from public to academic.

So what have I been doing lately?? Well, I've been covering for my boss who's on leave for the last 7 weeks, which means I've had a quick and dirty introduction to the realm of financial management. Luckily she's come back in time to handle the budget! I've learnt a little about our local museum, and had to manage my first book launch.
I've also had to deal with disgruntled members of the public who've been billed for damaging books. Not my favorite part of the job, but it gives an interesting perspective on the different ways that humans act.

So now I'm back to my regular job which seems to be divided into two parts. One is to handle the staffing, associated rosters, timesheets, etc. (erk)

The other is to coordinate a couple of awards (for young writers and artists). I'm currently overseeing the mailouts for these, which involves stuffing 700 large envelopes, and sending them off to schools and libraries. Sounds simple, but last week, I'm sure I gained a few (more) grey hairs in the process. eg the courier who was supposed to pick them up and take them to a central mailing house, dropped them at the local post office, just across the road!!

The great thing about this job is that I seem to have the authority to make more decisions, than I could working in a larger, and hence more bureaucratic organisation. A lot of things seem to be left up to common sense, which I like. On the downside, the technology in the place is antedeluvian.

Xmas Day All Over

It's Christmas morning and I'm listening to Macca - makes me feel a bit of a dag....but gives me a good dose of Australiana, too!

On Friday we rec'd the Xmas Hampers from the employer - I now have enough cake, pudding, mince tarts and shortbread to sink a battleship.

I've bought all the presents that are going to be bought, nothing else I can do now....
I'll pick my mother up and go to my sisters place later on for a "too much seafood" lunch. (prawns, crayfish, smoked salmon) Mum's making her parfaits, and we'll probably end up eating way too much. Boxing day holds the the annual picnic by the river with my brother and his kids....

Wishing everyone a happy Festive Season!

Cheers,
Kit

Love the new job!!

Well today was my first experience of event management (with a lot of direction) at the new Library. An ikebana exhibition..... Lots of beautiful flower arrangements transformed the library and made me appreciate the time, judgement and skill that goes into these creations....

The day started with a visit to "the exchange", a public library ritual that feels a bit like a free buying spree.......................I bumped into my frend S who works at the State Referece Library who invited me to stay at her folks Mandurah beachhouse weekend after next.....(after she told me to get away - she was with friends)

Went for a coffee in Northbridge and B bumped into the guy from the old Caffe Sport coffee bar, and was told that he's about to start up again in te coffee bar business. I have such fond memories of slightly shabby Sunday mornings, reading Sunday papers, drinking such good coffee there!!! (enough to make me feel human again).

The day ended with champagne at the local drinking establishment....how good can this get!!

New Job - Week Two

Well the new job is going pretty well.....everyone is pretty amicable and helpful. Also the staff have quite a different demographic, and the vibe is to "be helpful and friendly" to the clients.

Working for a local council seems pretty cushy too; I think I started at the right time because of all the socializing that will go on. The Xmas party is on this weekend...

We share the office space with the council's sustainablity section - all of whom are interesting and attractive people ....the Sus People have lots of good ideas about eco friendly solutions for housing and life in general. They've built a "sustainable house" which they will sell next year... the next project is to buy a weatherboard house and retrofit it....I wonder if they'll buy mine, then let me buy it back from them when they've done all the work..???

In the meantime, they'll do a free "sustainability audit for me, where they come to my house and make suggestions as to how I can save money on water and energy bills. All very green.....

Yesterday, one of the "clients" came in and started shouting and raving about John Howard (the PM) and Hitler in a very loud voice. The other girl on the desk with me quickly turned her back on him, and feigned interest in the nearest computer screen, muttering "no eye contact, no eye contact". One of the male staff joined us, but the chap seemed pretty happy once he'd been told that he need to be a bit quieter - the headphones with German marching music added to the problem.. After he borrowed some more CDs, and with a couple of quick Nazi salutes and a Ja Wohl, (with a slight twinkle in his eye, I think), he was on his way......I still have a lot to learn about the regulars.......

Today we went shopping!! Along with two other librarians we went into town and browsed and selected stock from Boffins and then visited some of the comic book stores, also Fantastic Planet in central Perth. The range of graphic novels and Sci Fi is amazing - quite expensive, too.

The only downside is that I'm responsible for doing the rosters. nuff said. Also, my boss will be going on leave after Xmas and I'll be standing in for her for six weeks, so I have to try and get a handle on my own new job and hers as well....what's the worst that can happen?

My new replacement Ipod Shuffle has arrived, too - life is good!

Day one at the new job

Well yesterday was my first day - it felt very fragmented what with meeting so many people whose names I don't remember....and then being left to my own devices to read the employee manual - errggghhhh!

However, my first impressions of the job are good - the emphasis in the public library seems to be on reading and literacy, rather than the academic library's emphasis on information. I've been told that the library's readers are quite discerning and that a lot can be learned by the borrowing and request patterns. Booker Prize finalists are popular, as is anything mentioned on Radio National.

I've already seen so many books that I want to read, and will probably never get around to..... Still, my choices today were Mirror Mirror: A History of the Human Love Affair with Reflection and Succulents: Propagation. Think I'll have to start using Library Thing to keep track....

Still the good news is that we'll each get a Xmas Hamper from the Council!!

Evening wildlife

Last Friday I went to Karakamia Sanctuary in the hills - it's a privately owned wildlife sanctuary that was set up in the hope that it might save some of our species from extinction. It's such a great idea - they are doing great things there and it's a shame that the government doesn't take this progressive approach in regard to conserving our wildlife.

They take nocturnal spotlighting tours through - I saw woylies , Southern Brown Bandicoot (Quenda), Brushtail Possums and Western Brush Wallabies. The Woylies are everywhere...so cute, and so unafraid - no wonder that they are so easily picked off by foxes and cats.

In the reception hut, they had a very graphic display of a feral cat eating a poor little Woylie. It makes me a tad ashamed about owning a cat......












For more info see: http://www.australianwildlife.org/karakamia.asp

Card from the Kalgirls

Card from the Kalgirls
Originally uploaded by sputty.

I just had two days at the remote site where I used to work. The girls there gave me this card

Daphne

Daphne - my Mum's strange cat loves to eat plants......

Got a new job!!

It's a great feeling - when you think you've got it but don't want to get your hopes up by thinking too much about it..
However, last Friday I got a call from my new boss-to-be, and she asked me if I'd like to come and work with them.....I was smiling all weekend. I now have only about two weeks left at the current job.

And then I thought - my current job must have been getting me down quite a lot...don't get me wrong - it's a great job - academic librarians do a lot of interesting stuff. And I've learnt a lot since I've been back at the mother ship after a spending 4 years at our "Red Dwarf" library on the edge of the desert. (We used to call ourselves "the ferals"...)

However, I think to be happy, you should feel valued by the people that you provide the service for - and I'm not getting that. My peers - the other Librarians here, see their own jobs as important, and I'm quite in awe of the total knowledge bank of our group - but somehow their enthusiasm hasn't rubbed off on me.

So now - it's onward and sideways - a new direction for me and hopefully new challenges.

Procrastination will always catch up with you

You know that feeling when you've been neglecting your studies, work's getting on top of you and then you bump into the lecturer getting lunch....Caught between a rock and a hard place - it's rude not to acknowledge him - but if he recognises you he'll remember that you haven't been coming to class, haven't been posting on the unit's bulletin board, and haven’t submitted the assignment.And all he wants to do is get some lunch in peace……………….

Well that happened yesterday....I sent him an email (crawling, beggin, etc) and now I'm starting a regime of reading two articles per night.

I'll have to put a cloth over the TV, like a budgie......

I'm not sure if I'm very busy - or just very disorganised....
I think these posts are going to turn into a "what I did on my weekend"....

A foodie weekend!
Went to dinner at my siste's place Saturday - prawns and gremolata with baked vegetables - yum!
She'd made a baked orange and date custard for dessert, which was extremely yumalicious, too!! So the creme caramels I'd picked up from Barretts bakery she didn't want, and I took them home for a treat for myself on Sunday......I think I've discovered another addiction!

I finally attacked my weed infested front garden so that I can plant the honey gem grivillea and geraldton wax plants that I bought with my birthday garden voucher. I hate onion weed!!!