The power is OUT!

I never know whether I should be amused or worried. Example: Today at my work location the electric power was out. (Somebody hit a street pole down the avenue, electric wires everywhere, police diverting traffic, etc) My staff met me as I got out of my car, informing me of the situation. I'm sure the first thing they wanted to hear was that they could go home, but no...This is basically still a library and people can read - by the windows, under the skylights - And we opened our doors to the public on time as always. Life can go on.

For once, there was NOT a great flood of people into the branch as the doors opened. Of course, having signs on the doors that said - No electricity, No computers and Yes, we're open - might have had a bit to do with it; especially the No Computers part. However, several people came in to check. We'd meet people at the door "Hello, the electricity is out. May I help you find something?" And almost every single person would respond "Are the computers working?" (No, the lack of electricity let all the squirrels out of their cages) That is the part that worries me, or amuses me - take your pick. After we'd explain "No, the computers are not working as they run on electricity and the electricity is out," (let me lead you by the hand through this thought process) then they'd ask with all seriousness "When will the computers be working again?" (When we can round up all the squirrels and get them working again?) Oooh the things I want to say, when properly all I can respons with is "I don't know." They then turn and walk out, some of them angry.

And it's not just the computers being out, people come in looking to use the copy machine, or the computer printer, or the wi-fi, and to ask why is it so warm in here? Again we patiently explain the power is out and that electricity runs that particular item.

Have we just become so used to electricity that we can't conceive of losing it? It was a quiet morning though. Even staff couldn't perform basic morning duties - no computers. We pretty much just sat around like lumps, and/or caught up on our professional reading. We did get our shelves all straightened though, and we checked out books the old fashioned way - by hand, paper and pencil.

Digital books, publishing, etc. Where's it going?

Playing around with my Nook, my chaotic mind begins to bounce around wondering how digital/ebooks are going to effect the future of libraries, books, and publishing. I know I'm not the only one pondering that question, but still... After spending 40+ years working in libraries, I wonder that if I had to make the choice now, would I still become a librarian? And what, actually, is a librarian going to become? and soon. I love books and the printed word. I love the physical presence of books, and I always think more of a person when I see books scattered around their home, and not in an artistic manner.

I don't think physical books will actually go away for a long time, until a way can be found to digitalize the entire works of mankind quickly and cheaply. But in going forward, how much printed matter will drop away? Books are already set up electronically for creating, editing, and publishing. Does anyone actually submit a paper manuscript anymore? So the easiest step, and cheapest, is to skip the ink/paper process and market the book in it's electronic form.

The creation of Apple's IPad, and any soon to be released competitors will bring the price way down. And it's been mentioned at a Teen Services & Social Media meeting (cit to come) that teens today prefer to use their cell phones for anything and everything, which I would suppose would mean ebooks, also. (Just wait until their eyes start to go, and that small print won't be so attractive) I work in an inner city neighborhood, with a low income level, low educational level, etc. and I swear every kid or teen that walks through our doors has a cell phone. So between cheap cell phones and clone IPads, the future of publishing becomes an immediate concern.

When I'm right, I'm right

And ooooh boy, was I right. I looooooove my Nook. Or maybe I just love the whole concept of the ebook. I regularly scan B&N's list of books, looking for a great book for .99 or 1.98. Sometimes if it's something I really want, I'll go as far as 9.99 as I did for Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything; and Beth Erickson's Longing for Dad. I love being able to lay in bed at night, and scan the booklists, knowing I can just tap BUY and it's all mine. Another feature is that I can get free samples. This means that I can get 15 to 20 pages of any book I'm interested in to download to my ebook. How cool is that? And at the end of that sample, B&N generously gives me a BUY button. Oh, those clever people! So now I know I'm going to read Craig Ferguson's biography American on Purpose. And tho, I may not buy it (sorry, Craig) I know I can borrow it from the Library.

And did I mention they were giving away a free set of Alice in Wonderland screensavers? Yep, they were.

My DH put in an 4gb SD card, and now I can store up to 40,000 books just to carry around with me, to read as I want and bookmark as I need to. I can read a dozen or more books at once. I've discovered Fictionwise (well, I always knew it was there) but now I'm exploring it thoroughly, and Project Gutenberg is one of my favorite websites, cause everything's for free. Just download it as epub and we're home free!

My next move is to start looking up Golden Age Sci Fi authors, and see if I can find them in Gutenberg and add them to my Nook. I've decided I really don't care much about the Ipad. Why pay so much for something I would only use for a few things. My Nook fills my need.

Book Nook

I am getting a Nook from Barnes and Noble for my birthday. I haven't been this excited about something in a long time. I had pointed it out to my DH the last time I visited B & N, and he sort of dismissed it. I went back and did some research on the Kindle, and then back to the Nook. I pushed it a bit with him: "I really like this." He knows that I don't usually push hard with technology as often technology dismays me when it doesn't work. I am not a patient person, and glitches in technology drive me nuts. But the Nook has seduced me. Imagine it containing up to 1500 books in it's memory. And with an extra memory card, it can hold up to 40,000! That's about half of what my branch library holds. Don't get me wrong. I love printed books, the feel of the pages, the smell and the weight in my hand. And I love to read in the bath. But being able to carry 1500 titles whereever I go. It's almost gluttonous. I can weed down my personal library and gain some space in my bedroom and basement. And believe me, this is a good idea....a very, very good idea. Of course, the Nook is backordered until Feb 11th, and my birthday is a bit later than that, but the anticipation is definitely growing.

Starting again

I've been thinking about this for some time, and have finally decided to try to keep up on my blog. Not so much for anyone else, but just for myself. Somewhere to spew thoughts and information that doesn't really fit into my work or home life. If by some chance you happen upon this blog, don't expect great insights, or in-depth information. I'm not that good. I'm a simple librarian, who because she's bossy (says my mother) became a branch manager. Hey, it works for me and pays decently. The first part of this blog was actually a System assignment to become familiar with types of technology our customers were using, and so it was styled that way. That project is over and done with, and I got a 1g pen drive out of the deal, with the library logo. And my husband quickly appropriated it. But as I've taken inventory lately, I've realized that my life includes a heck of a lot of technology, good and bad, and just to relieve and perhaps think through some of my own concerns with it, I'm going to keep up on this. We'll see...

Where has the time gone?

Ok, I'm going to get back to this...I promise. Just as soon as I get my act together.

Thing 23 for Learn & Play at CML

I'm finished, but there's still so much left to do. Even though I've met today's deadline, there are videos from participants that I haven't had time to watch - I still want to do that. And I want to go back and further explore some of the sites we've visited and applications we've tried out, several of which I plan to use in my upcoming work. Lots of people have added themselves to Twitter and I want to go back and browse, and I want to take a look at some of the blogs I didn't have a change to catch up on.

This has been an enjoyable program, and I'm glad I made the effort to do it. I will be encouraging any of my staff who haven't finished, to finish it - and maybe provide my own incentive for their completion. Maybe we'll try to have some sort of regular technology information meeting in 2009, or at least a few minutes to touch base on technology at our regular staff meetings. But there definitely should be some sort of Phase II for 2009.