Connecting Librarian

Tonight was the premiere of a new Australian comedy “The Librarians”. For those unaware of the show,
“The Librarians, is a new six-part comedy series from the ABC, based around the highly-strung head librarian of an outer suburban Melbourne library.“

Before the show had even begun, there had been a lot of publicity, especially in libraries. My public library received promotional literature and the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) has even started “The Librarians Blog“, to keep everyone in touch with launch parties, reviews etc. There is even a Second Life chat happening on Thursday night (1st November at 7.30pm) on ABC Island - the Second Life home of the television network which is screening the show.

To make the show even more accessible, you will be able to get it (as well as a lot more about the show) from The Librarians official website, after 10pm on the night of viewing - which is Wednesday nights at 9.30pm starting tonight the 31st October 2007. (wow, jokes about a librarian comedy and Halloween…. let’s not go there). All times given here are Australian Eastern Daylight Savings time for our overseas visitors.

To get librarians even more interested in tuning in, the show’s creators sent out a short video, reassuring librarians of their respect for the profession. Check out the ALIA thank you at You Tube.

So, as for the show itself? I thought it was highly amusing, even to the point that I laughed out loud a number of times in its half hour length. It was interesting how Frances, the branch librarian, reminded me of someone I have worked with, in mannerisms etc, although not too closely. The situations were amusing in their embarassment. My husband on the other hand thought it was stupid. I won’t spoil the story, instead I will leave it to you to watch if you are interested, but I will be watching again next week.

I would love to hear what you thought of it, if you saw it. Did you see a character portrayed that reminds you of a workmate? Or a situation that you have experienced in your library? Let me know through the comments!

I have been so busy, tired and distracted of recent months, that I have barely been able to keep a straight thought in my head. Things have been changing, unsettled and unsure, nothing special really, just life I guess, but it has meant that my motivation to blog has taken a bit of a back seat of late. Many thanks to those who have stuck with me, I appreciate knowing you are there, checking out what I have to say and hopefully getting something out of it.

Which brings me to the point of this post. I have been thinking about the biblioblogosphere and all the library bloggers out there, sharing experiences, successes and failures, thoughts and processes and more. I started thinking about what these faithful people have done for me, without them even knowing about it and I had to start making a list.

If it hadn’t been for library bloggers I would never have:
- started reading blogs
- started reading the library literature more widely
- started writing book reviews for the library literature
- started reading outside my profession for parallel experiences and new ideas
- started my own blog, to share my own experiences
- discovered the amazing resources and programs available out there
- participated in Learning 2.0 and become a champion for my library’s staff when doing the same
- been invited to participate in a librarian group blog - Libraries Interact, with a great group of motivated librarians from around Australia
- been motivated to apply for and receive the scholarship and conduct the study tour I did in April this year
- pushed for my library to start its own blog
- started using mashups on my library’s website - only just scratching the surface here though so far
- developed increased confidence in myself, my skills and the new skills and inspiration I was receiving from your posts
- asked to participate and then actually write a chapter for a book being published in the UK next year
- gathering new inspiration and ideas to play with and hopefully translate into something my library service can utilise and better serve my patrons
- had the confidence to submit proposals to library conferences in Australia
- had the inspiration to write for the library literature in Australia (still working on that one).
…. and that list is just off the top of my head, without any long consideration.

I have progressed more professionally in the last 3 years, than I had in the previous 19. Even though my job title hasn’t changed much, the work that I do, my love of it and my wider knowledge of the profession has grown exponentially (and there is potential in the job situation, so that may better reflect this development soon too).

And it’s all because library bloggers out there unselfishly decided to take the time to share their thoughts, experiences and more. They took a risk, put themselves out there, not knowing whether anyone would read and I again want to say thanks. I am more in love with my profession, my work and the life-long learning process that I am again engaged in, than I have ever been before. They are an inspiration to me, they give me inspiration to make the changes, small and large, to help make my library service better for our users - as a professional, I could not ask for a better gift from my profession.

So I am freshly motivated. By the posts I am reading, the motivations behind them and the people who create them. It is an honour to be numbered amongst them.

Several weeks ago we had our annual Staff Development Dinner. Its a dinner for all library staff (voluntary) where we come and get together for good food, good company and a special guest speaker, who this year was former fashion designer and amazing lady Sally Browne.

As I have been on holidays and so have been pretty out of the loop re: library related stuff, I thought I would get around to blogging my notes from Sally’s presentation.

She has an amazing story to tell and tells it in an entertaining way, through the use of stories. She spoke of managing change, which she has had a lot of her in her own life and which she has done with an amazingly positive attitude, regardless of circumstances. My notes below are a snapshot of what she spoke on, so it will be a bit choppy, but I hope there is something in it for you too.

She began with the story of the twins - one a pessimist, the other an optimist. Long story short, to test the level of these, the pessimist was sent into a room full of toys, the optimist into a room full of manure. The pessimist was found to be crying over how the batteries would run out and how the toys will break and the optimist was found dancing in the manure - because “with that amount of manure, there has to be a pony in here somewhere!”

We are being given permission to be different.

There is power in having a positive attitude, especially in the face of adversity.

Sally’s fashion business strengthened significantly, when their staff meetings changed to discussing what went right this week and how do they build on it, rather than the witch hunt it used to be.

From a health point of view, when we exercise our emotions beyond a reasonable amount, ie. through stress, our heart rate goes up.

“There are no bad moments, just awakening moments and I have woken up a few times.”

“When things get really bad, as long as you’re breathing, there’s hope.”

There is a fine line between new services and traditional services.

We have a choice - change is difficult. We can be victors or victims.

With change, there will always be complaining, regardless of how well it is managed.

Change is about pushing out of your comfort zone.

When changing, your small still voice tries to take over - you can submit to it or breakthrough. If you breakthrough you can really find out what you are made of.

If we have family, friends, food and freedom, we have everything!

A psychological happiness assessment with 13 questions has 11 questions on belonging. Which is why third world people are generally happier, because although they have no material possessions, they have each other, which many well-to-do westerners don’t.

We have the potential within us to live the lives we want - lack of money and fear of failure can hold us back. How much baggage do we carry that is holding us back. ie. guilt, resentment.

Sally’s advice:
- Not going to get far if we are carrying negative baggage
- Slow down and take time for people
- Exercise your sense of humour
- So easy to criticise, why not build up people by complimenting instead
(warm fuzzies)

That’s just my two cents worth, from a fun and inspiring evening.