Library Thing--Thing 11

Library Thing is pretty cool.  I don't really feel the need to catalog my personal library, so just threw in a few titles I've mentioned here to fulfill the assignment.  Click here: www.librarything.com/catalog/CaitlinMc to see them.  It was easy to find what I was looking for and easy to add the items to my collection.  Two flaws I noted though, were: (1) that there was no obvious 'return to results list,' option which is handy when entering multiple titles by the same author, and (2) it didn't alert me when I added the same title twice by accident.  Overall though, I'd say it's user friendly and a handy way to connect with likeminded readers, probably especially for people with more off-the-beaten-path selections in their collections.  I had already joined goodreads.com awhile back, which is similar in terms of social networking about books.

The "groups" and "talk" tabs on Library Thing are good and well-organized, especially "librarians who Library Thing."  I immediately saw discussions of topics related to my work that would interest me there, and found the responses came from all over the world.  It seems like a good networking tool, and a free peek into other librarians' experiences from places as far flung as New Zealand.

Image Generator--Thing 10

This image about accurately sums up how I felt about the image generator step of 23 Things: frustrated and annoyed and clutching my pencil in defense of old technology. The image generators I tried seemed like diverting toys, but not of any particular use, plus many did not work as advertised. So, that, in a nutshell is thing 10.

Texting & Twitter

I think that texting is the modern technology about which I feel most out of the loop. Truthfully, I'm just not a chatter, so don't feel much need to text. The "older people" (ie: my age or older) I know who text usually start as a way to communicate with their teenagers. Since my son is only 9, I haven't felt that need yet. Maybe when he starts middle school?

Twitter, of course, seems like texting writ large, with people needing to broadcast what they're doing moment to moment. This too is something I can't imagine needing to do myself or wanting to read others do, but who knows? The Washington Post's John Kelly had a good column about just this on Thursday:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/02/AR2009090203664.html

Okay, now that I'm feeling a bit like Andy Rooney, I think I'll sign off. Enough blogging for one day!

Flickr Maps

Okay, this one was hard to figure out, and I'm still not sure that it's going to show up right, but here goes. A flickr map of my favorite place, with photo inset:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mclarabee/map?&fLat=51.4705&fLon=-9.7263&zl=5&order_by=recent

Twibrarian circa 1973

Future Librarian
Originally uploaded by poiuy99

I'm exploring Flickr today, and decided to upload this photo of myself just for a laugh. From what I've read so far, I can't really see a use for Flickr in my work, but MCPL does have its library photos on their website using Flickr. Here's a link to the ones of my library:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/montgomerycountypubliclibrariesmd/sets/72157601281293387/

Perhaps after exploring some more I will see a library-related use for Flickr!

7 1/2 Habits

I guess that of the "7 1/2 Habits of Lifelong Learners" the hardest for me would be 2 (accept responsibility) and 5 (create learning toolbox), since I often have trouble with the follow-through required to reach a goal. Nonetheless, I do "have confidence in myself as a competent, effective learner" (#4), so I guess I usually get there somehow!

The habit that struck me most in this tutorial though, was 7 1/2: "Play!" That habit is part of how I came to call my blog "twibrarian" and how, at 40 years old--well out of its target demographic of teens and tweens--I found myself swept up in the Twilight phenomenon this winter. Out of what I told myself was purely professional interest in a publishing tsunami, and after recommendations from a few unlikely suspects, I picked up Twilight in February. Ever since then I have been on a roller coaster ride of enjoying fiction like I hadn't in years! In the past five months I've read and loved not only all the Twilight books, but the entire Diana Gabaldon Outlander series (6 volumes and many thousands of pages--new one coming out next month, yippee!), and most recently, Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series.

Stephenie Meyer, Diana Gabaldon, and Charlaine Harris are unlikely to be nominated for National Book Awards (Gabaldon possibly?), but their books sure are a pleasure to read. Like John Irving and Barbara Kingsolver, two of my favorite authors in my twenties, these authors know how to tell a great story, and that is something I'd forgotten how much I loved. While I wouldn't want to banish more literary fiction from my life forever, reading these books has put me back in touch with why I love reading. I'd wager that it's why so many of us who always had our "nose(s) buried in a book" as children became librarians to begin with: jumping right into someone else's gripping story is just plain fun. Even grown-ups want to play!

So, although I've been sheepish at times about how captivated I became by Twilight and its successors, I'm outing myself here. I may not be reading things that would impress the editors of The New Yorker, but I can tell you that my television is gathering dust and that I practically feel like the kid who stayed up all night with a flashlight under the covers again. I'm not getting much sleep, and my sink is often full of dishes, but I sure am enjoying myself. That, I think, is a good thing. So, let's hear it for play!

First Post

This is it. Off to the races now!