23 Things Assignment #8

A belated submission - zipped off in fear of the dreaded wiki experience promised for Week 9!

What did this week teach me? It confirmed that, if there's a technical trap possible, I'll succumb to it. The instruction blog shows a lovely 'menu' button on the base of the example - which generated the "Embed" field I needed. Look as I might, I couldn't find its equivalent on any of the broadcasts I examined. Then, "Help" volunteered that the information was below "About the Video" and was visible while viewing the material. I must be proof positive that librarians don't read since I spent (what seemed to me to be considerable) time searching under "Share", Favourites" and "Add to Playlist" buttons before my gaze moved to the right. Eureka.

With only a short delay while I wrestled with my failure to realize that I needed to evoke "Edit Html" in Blogger to embed my material, it was done.

As for the utility, in ways it seems apparent: one can publicize a current attraction (and prepare an archival record simultaneously). Small wonder that arts interests (companies, recording and film studios, artists, etc) are releasing trailers to engender excitement about their work. The excitement is proportional to the quality of the production and editing of the broadcast.

And therein lies my reservation as to its application for library purposes. So many of the local history/travelog, elephant sighting at the Metro Zoo videos and others I considered for embedding were - to use only adjectives beginning with 'p' - poor, puerile, prurient, or downright pathetic. What could possibly inspire an individual to upload minutes-long rear views of an elephant to the global web which reveals primarily their juvenile fascination with bodily function? and do I need to share their tittering? How can I avoid such tripe? As for earnest biking tours of the Scarborough Bluffs, I would have been happier if the contributor had videoed the terrain without providing flaccid commentary. Were the library to promote its programs or services in this way, I would sincerely hope that it would be left to employees with media expertise.

My two examples reflect a case of each. The extract of Kudelka's Four Seasons was professionally filmed and edited within an inch of its existence (in fact, it garnered criticism on YouTube for being run so quickly as to be undanceable - I doubt that to have been the case). I included the other for auld lang's syne. The St-Jean Baptiste Branch Library was one that I supervised for La Bibliotheque de Quebec. It was a concrete legacy of the anglophone community which was adapted for continuous use as a branch library when the parish was no longer able to maintain the property. The cemetery made for a delightful green space in the middle of the 'happening' Faubourg St-Jean-Baptiste (think Queen West) and a haven for bibliophiles. It was heartwarming to revisit - even in this most amateur of recordings.

23 Things Assignment #7

I feel that I've been dragged, kicking and screaming, into a foreign - and unfamiliar - era.



To keep abreast of issues - or to inform myself - it's always required a conscious decision, and act, to open a book/magazine/newspaper or turn on the news. Podcasting has the potential to flag items, given my selection of podcasts, in which I have considerable interest. I'm making efforts to consider the technology as a kind of personal assistant, one familiar with my tastes and inclinations, rather than a techno-monster whose workings I do not fully grasp.



I'll be curious as to whether I will find, or make, the time to tune in to the podcasts I've chosen - particularly if they are generated frequently or are as lengthy as a television program. I cannot see myself parked in front of a computer screen (or an iPod) for thirty minutes at a time.



I was impressed by the range of material available. I selected for professional SDI primarily: Managers Tools caught my interest with its recommendations for conducting negotiations on compensation. Can't wait to make use of that. And, in recognition of TPL's increasing commitment to city-building, I subscribed to Cities of the Future which explores social and technological innovation in municipalities around the globe. For purely personal and selfish interests, I was determined to find access to music other than the oh-so-ubiquitous MTV material from groups of which I've never heard and whose outpourings, try as I might, I rarely appreciate. The Naxos classical music spotlight will keep me abreast of new and vintage recordings issued by one of the leading labels in classical music.



I worked through a personal challenge - modification of my blog to link to my RSS and podcast feeds. I'm hoping that, with all my data available from a single source, I'll be more inclined to tap my 'keeping current' data than I would have had I been obliged to invoke my bloglines account. I'll be keeping track of my inclinations on this point.


Will I ever want to take the step of podcasting myself? I sense that would require a significant boost to my techno-interest (and to a sense that I had something valuable to communicate).

23things Assignment #6

What's not to like with Google.docs?

It provides Microsoft Office functionality - without the need to keep track of my data stick. In future, I'd have access to all my working files - wherever and whenever I needed them - from any computer with internet access, anywhere in the world. No longer would my work off site be held up because I require data from a file I neglected to download from the S-drive before heading for home. And for those who know me (and the several managers who have inherited my office when I've been moved on), the offering of 2048MB of data storage - for eternity!!!!! - is very seductive.

Many of my projects are long-term and entail extensive documentation (prose and numeric). I'd find the capacity to search by label or snippet extremely helpful to track down just what was recorded in a particular document.

Lately, I've been snagged to work on various wordsmithing projects - as part of a task group or committee. To have one single document for comment and edit would be a great timesaver - both for creation and retrieval. Something came up this week which would be an ideal opportunity to test Google.docs collaborative potential in real time: revision of one of the Library's administrative policies.

The down side? The necessity to import all my material to Google.docs - and to establish the new 'handles' of potential collaborators. Groupwise IDs are readily trackable. I've not yet stumbled on a comparable list of addresses for mail.google.com. And I'll be d****d if I'll try to maintain calendars on two different systems!

And a question for the 23things moderator. Google.docs offers a download of software which would automatically alert me to material new to my inbox. I've always understood that TPL's IT frowned on importing material to TPL PCs. Would IT allow for the installation of non-corporate software - because it offers tantalizing potential!

Assignment #5

Another week... largely blog-less.

Technology's snares and pitfalls continue to haunt me. I managed to register for a del.icio.us account in a disarmingly short space of time. It was, however, the end of the day so I logged out. Today, there seemed to be no way to access my account before responding to a putative confirmation of my email which, the program assured me, had been sent to my email address. Nothing on the sort in my in box. So no way to proceed with the assignment until I recalled my earlier problems with Blogger. There, like Alexander the Great faced with the Gordian knot, the only solution was to rend the darn thing - deleting the account and beginning over.

Then, another snag in installing the buttons. Right-clicking on the 'my delicious' link above the video gave a range of choices which bore no resemblance to that appearing on the video. Fortunately, before pointed toe hit screen, I saw an additional 'my delicious link' just below the toolbar. Mission accomplished.

Now, to quote my nieces and nephews, del.icio.us is 'da bomb! Since I'm often working from locations other than my TRL office, to have access to my list of favourites will be a real boon. I posted a number of the sites I commonly need to consult: provincial and federallegislation, toolkits of the Pay Equity Commission as well as some of those 'I knew I once tracked them down but how did I do it then?' websites I've found invaluable.

Of course, there was the opportunity to post sites of personal interest: Project Gutenberg, other bibliophilic sites as well as those related to food (always a priority) and art.

I can sense that there could be competition in being the first to add a site to the network [as was the case for the Clan Mackenzie in the Americas site]. It was intriguing as well to track others who had posted the site and to review their favourites. It recalls the furtive pleasure I take in scanning the bookshelves of new friends to seek out affinities or points of disaccord.

Just to close out on my paranoic rant at receiving an anonymous comment to my blog. It came from another TPL employee who had not signed on to her Google account when inspiration took her. Fortunately, I had already come to the same conclusion when, in the same circumstances, I commented on the fourth assignment of another 23things student.

And because my 23things mindset requires that I close with a lolcat, here is one which resonates with my mood at the end of this busy week.

Assignment #4 - this for a 'fun', 'short' week?

On a positive note, I've lurked through a number of generators ... and may never repeat the experience.

My blues name I like - "Howlin'" Bill Beech [and I'm hitting ebay to snap up his oeuvre] but not as much as that produced on the Vampire Name Generator: The Duke of Scandanavia, or the Hermes of the Underworld. [Since he was having a bad week, I showed a colleague his Blues Name. It came up as "Desolate" Lemon Jones. If something unfortunate transpires on the weekend, I'll have a troubled conscience].

The complaint letter generator didn't give me enough capacity to participate in the venom (but the range of polysyllabic adjectives may provide grist for the mill]. The techno-gods were working in my favour since the Soduko generator was down. My addiction is virulent enough without gaining an additional source for my fix.

I abandoned the Ideas Generator quickly when the conjunction of elements gave me "changeable torture apparatus". It made me think of the work assignments I have to complete over the weekend

Of Web 2.0 generators, I tried several. I liked the results of the Logo Generator. I may try to use it as a blogger header (if I can remember where I saved it... sigh.) My spirits rose when I discovered the Web 2.0 Bullshit Generator. I now know where to go for soundbites like "engage rss-capable ecologies" or "integrate user-contributed folksonomies" before I get trapped into inevitable future technical discussions.

As for the major assignment, I did find the potential for modifying digital photos fascinating.

I recreated my own image in the styles of Hockney (almost a success)

and Warhol (much less so).

The badge would have been useful at last weekend's dinner-with-the-family, including 11 high energy, high decibel great-nieces (and one sole great-nephew).



However, the latest arrival - Ruby Beverly McKenzie will be baptized in Orono in late November and I fear I'm hosting the reception. The badge may come in handy then.

Finally, let me share tidings of a great shock. I discovered today comments made in response to an earlier posting from 'anonymous'. The comments were helpful and I will follow them up but their very presence has shaken me. Am I more exposed to the greater net than I thought I was in following this in-house training program? Is 'anonymous' a helpful fellow student or a samaritan on the wider world web? This time help; the next time harm?

But, enough of doom and gloom. This is an opportunity for me to indulge my new passion for lolcats. Good weekend all!

23 Things - Assignment #3

So much for good intentions - a healthy block of time has elapsed since my last posting. And, thanks for asking, I'm still batting a thousand in terms of techno-hurdles. I had no sooner completed my registration in bloglines than the system was taken down yesterday - spiking my plans to blog-blather.

I have managed to subscribe to the Library Journal RSS feed and three others:

1. The Shifted Librarian http://theshiftedlibrarian.com with the intention (bit of a lietmotif here) to at least lurk around the edges of technologically supported library innovation - but then, to ease my soul

2. Dictionary.com Word of the Day http://dictionary.com/Wordoftheday based on a true love of language and a firm belief that a healthy mind spawns from a health vocabulary (given my colleagues, I think I'll find many uses for today's choice - redoutable - in describing them), and

3. Simply recipes. Recipes only http://www.elise.com/recipes - largely because I could not help but fall under the spell of a website defining itself as a source of healthy foods which nevertheless in three days has highlighted sauerkraut with bacon and a Chicken/bacon roulade.

I'll admit to a certain disappointment. I was expecting the feeds to pop up on the screen as new material was added - or that, like the SDI of my library school days, I'd receive Groupwise e-mail with the latest package. Since there is a need to invoke the feed reader, I'll probably be able to restrain myself from non-compulsive minute-to-minute checking of my feeds. Of course, I selected feeds which I felt would not be changing hourly. If others subscribe to personal finance feeds, I'd like to know how they'd be able to control the urge to peek for an updated feed.

On the discipline front, I've even shied clear away from seeking out new lolcat sites - until today when I convinced myself that posting an image was good refresher training.



The photo suggests the beauty (and evil soul) of a late, lamented companion.

23 Things Assignment #2

What is it with me and technology? Again, I found myself smack up against a wall of error messages, requiring more time than I would have liked strolling through error messages and FAQs - without ever finding anything remotely connected to my trouble. I am obviously not techno-intuitive. However, sheer persistence and the sense that I would not allow the machine to conquer man, I've managed to drag the following imagery to the blog - and like others exceeded the assignment quota because, after having sweated through the uploading, I wanted to make it worth my while.

Despite being a sixth-generation Canadian, my family has always manifested an interest in our heritage - quaffing single malt scotch on Robbie Burns Day may have been an incentive. Lots of fascinating historical lore available on the website, Clan Mackenzie in the Americas. I've always taken the family motto, "I shine, not burn", as a commitment that effort is to be coupled with scrupulously ethical/honourable behaviour.



My father's family mortgaged the farm, literally, to send my father to medical school at the University of Toronto, the first in the family to go beyond an elementary school education. He interned in Oshawa, where his early assignment included teaching chemistry to the nursing students. He failed only one student but ended up providing remedial instruction - and eventually marrying her. To repay his father for his increased debtload, he took up a practice in the village of Orono, a police village which, during my childhood, had a population lesser than that in the cemetery. This year, the village celebrated the 175th anniversary of its creation. The name was suggested by a wanderer who attended the meetings considering creation of the village, who spoke (obviously eloquently) of the resemblance of the landscape to that surrounding his own home town of Orono, Maine. (Don't be concerned that you are blind. The Regional Municipality of Clarington absorbed Orono, Newcastle, Bowmanville, Tyrone, Kirby, Solina, etc. It was a simmering cauldron of old animosities and rivalries - only failing to tumble into bloodshed of a Yugoslavia thanks to the ingrained WASP traditions of restraint and cutting politeness of the majority of its residents.



Although I intend to move back to Orono when I retire, as a teenager I couldn't wait to shed the dust of the village from my heels. First to Toronto for university and employment with the Toronto Public Library, with a jog west as Chief Librarian for the Town of Caledon, before hopping to points east for work with libraries of two ministries of the Government of Quebec.

Quebec City's public library is the only one in Quebec operating under a board, largely because - while others have been created as departments of municipal government, in the capital, the library was administered by a separate body, L'Institut canadien de Quebec. L'Institut was created in 1828 and, until I was hired in 1988, had been staffed uniquely by francophones (and catholics, ca va sans dire). While I was in Quebec, there was a major expansion of the system with construction of a 30K square-foot Central Library as the cornerstone of the Quartier Saint-Roch. The Chief Librarian was in hospital while I was going through the interview process and, he maintained thereafter, that the recruitment of an anglophone of Presbyterian stock prolonged his hospital stay by an additional month.

My third photo is of one of the ten neighbourhood libraries that I supervised, installed - just outside the walls of the Latin Quarter - in a former Anglican Church, St. Matthew's. It maintained a working bell-tower which drew bellringers from Boston every year on the American Memorial Day weekend to ring a peal [see Dorothy Sayers for background]. In ringing a peal, as many as twelve bellringers 'pull' a single bell in succession, eventually after several hours exhausting all the permutations of sequence in the order of their ringing. It was tough enough mastering the vocabulary and the concepts in English. Imagine having to explain this English eccentricity to the French-language media. There were advantages to being the token anglophone in Quebec City. I was 'exotic' and was called upon to serve as tour guide when the City - and therefore the Library - received distinguished visitors [the Chief Librarian's wife was a senior official in the ministere des Affaires intergouvernementales]: Rostropovich, Veronica Tennant and Frank Augustyn, the Governor-General and Brooke Shields!



Finally, this exposure to new technology has introduced me to new fads: lolcats - the viewing of which I sense could become quite addictive! I am quite taken with the argot - and the underlying humour. This one combines three of my favourite things in life (and no, I'm not referring to the blanket).