On my holidays I.....

On the first day of my holidays, I attended two library conferences, participated in a presentation, cleaned my house and sewed a quilt top.  In my trackies.  From the comfort of my lounge.  And loved every minute of it!  How and why I can hear you asking.....

Over the last few weeks, I have been co creating/co editing a conference paper that Gill Hallam was to present at LIANZA 09, in Christchurch.  The paper was on the use of eportfolios as a tool for professional development within the library industry.  My partner in crime Rebecca and I finished editing the paper last week, and Gill presented the paper on Monday lunchtime.  Our paper can also be viewed using the following tiny URL:  http://tiny.cc/ALIAeportfolio .

I had hoped to be able to attend the QPLA conference in Townsville this week, and asked for holidays accordingly. The conference themes of technology, challenge and change appealed to me, and I would have loved another chance to hear Michael Stephens's talk. Unfortunately, I didn't have quite enough $$$, and I didn't win the free conference package, thus not being able to attend.  So, I decided to spend my hols at home, catching up on some things around the house.

Sunday evening, I changed the settings on my Tweetdeck, and added two hashtags to the deck - #QPLA09 and LIANZA09.  I was then able to follow in real time - via twitter - the conversations and presentations from people actually attending the conference, and from other twerps (twitterers) who were participating virtually as well.

This worked out really well for me, and I was able to follow all the conversations surrounding both conferences, as well as ask questions, receive responses, and answer comments about the eportfolio presentation, all via twitter.

At one stage I was sewing and watching the conversation flow at the same time!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22229268@N05/4010002499/

I am so grateful that there are technological tools that allows me to participate in conversations that are happening all over the globe.  I am also grateful that I know about them, and can use them to enrich both my professional and personal life.

Good News

I am currently sitting in my local cafe Star gardentown, opposite my work.  I am having morning tea and enjoying using their wifi for the cost of a cup of coffee. My car is in getting serviced, and I had an hour or so before work to fill in.  I am using the time to catch up on emails, RSS feeds and blogging.

I can't believe that I have not blogged about this as yet, but I have a Librarian's job!! Whoo Hooo!!  I am now the Young People's Librarian at the Toowoomba City Library.  It is only two days/week, for a three month contract, but it is my first job!  And so far I love it.  I have worked some reference counters, ordered some books, went through the mending pile to see what can be mended, discarded or reordered, weeded some books, played hopscotch with some kids and begged our council IT guy for help as I stuffed up trying to add an image to our council's webpage.  In my defense, I had a bad head cold, forgot to resize the image and it was my first go.....

Our school holiday library programs were awesome once again, with great feedback from children, teenagers and parents alike.  I created another Animoto of our program, and I know its long, but it was really hard to cull such great photos of the kids enjoying themselves!



So, there you go. A quick catch up on what's been happening in my life lately.

Mashups @ SLQ's Licence to test Drive

View Toowoomba Regional Libraries in a larger map

A mashup is a web application that uses content from more than one source to create a single new service displayed in a single window. - SLQ

Yeah, I have created a mashup of all the libraries that are now part of the Toowoomba Regional Council.  Why on earth would you want to do that I hear you ask.  Week 2 of the SLQ's Licence to test Drive Part B is Mashups, and this week my mission was to create a google maps mashup.  So there you go, done!


I really enjoyed going back and looking at mashups again, and in particular enjoyed viewing Paul Hagan's Flicker and google street view mashup.  It is definitely worth taking the time to follow this link and look at the incredible historical photos of New York and compare them to now.


Just a few weeks ago a fellow twitterer (I call them twerps!) created a mashup of twitter users and the Local Government Network 09 Conference.  Whilst not attending IRL, I followed the conference online using the #LGN09 hashtag, and decided to add my name to the list.  A very cool thing to do, and you can read more about how and why he did it here.

Book Launch @Toowoomba City Library

Local author Deb Pachilke and illustrator Mick Grace, launched their book 'Eric the Echidna Has Lost His Spikes' at the Toowoomba City Library a few weeks ago.

"Eric the Echidna" is a children's book about an Echidna who gets caught in a storm and loses his spikes. Go on a journey with Eric and meet some of his friends who helped him find them.  Beautifully illustrated pencil drawings recreate the Australian bush and animals.

To find out more about the book, its author and illustrator, you can read their blog Eric the Echidna or contact Deb at  harbedinc@internode.on.net


The following animoto is their story:

Licence to Test Drive - Part B

The State Library of Queensland has released Part B of Licence to Test Drive, its online program that encourages library staff to actively participate in learning about new and emerging technologies and the impact that they can have on libraries.

Part B Week 1 is online applications and tools. Zoho writer and Google docs are two of the web based applications looked at this week.  As a member of ALIA's New Generation Advisory Committee, we use Google docs to share agendas and documents, allowing us to edit and collaborate from our various locations around Australia.  I like being able to have access to these shared documents, and being able to access them whenever and wherever I want.   I used Zoho writer a few years ago, and wasn't overly impressed, but went back and looked at the site again and played around.  It has a very 'Google' feel about it now, and seems much more user friendly.

Google Apps Overview

View more presentations from Sharon Elin.

 I love Slideshare!  I love being able to read and participate by commenting on others' presentations.  I have, over the years, followed many links to Slideshare presentations that have been shared. I have learnt heaps and felt I was able to be part of conference presentation, even if I was in a different country or city.

Am signing off quickly as there is an approaching dust storm coming my way. The first shot is from my back deck looking south west.  And the second photo was taken by @oldm8 and is of our Town Hall in Toowoomba just two hours after my photo was taken.

Six word memoirs

Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak from SMITHmag on Vimeo.

I followed a link by @heyjudeonline on twitter the other day, and discovered the most amazing site and concept.  Six word memoirs challenges you to write your life story in just six words.  I have been utterly delighted, amazed, shocked and saddened by the incredible range of memoirs that I have read.  I am still working on a perfect six word memoir, and will share it when I get it just right (that may be never!)

Teenage son may drive me crazy - self explanatory
Love is a mandarin on pillow  - about my poodle

Can you write your memoir in just six words?

Book Week 2009

I cannot believe how much time has passed since I've last blogged - the time seems to be flying by this year.  Since I last blogged, I have spent 10 days filling in as a librarian in Oakey, one of the libraries that helps make up the Toowoomba regional libraries.  This was the first time I was able to use my qualifications, and I loved every moment of it!  Working in a smaller library was a great experience, and I was able to learn heaps and put into practice much of what I had previously learnt at library school.

I returned to my own library and got back into the swing of being a library assistant again, and preparing for book week. The  CBCA theme this year was Book Safari, and our YP team created a jungle themed adventure using books, stories, songs and rhymes. I also made another animoto. The YP team entertained nearly 1400 kids from the local area, and a great time was had by all.


We are now in last minute preparations for the Sept/Oct school holiday programs, having chosen Superheroes as our theme.  Some of the staff have expressed interest in our Batgirl screen print Tshirts, and have decided to bring in their own to screen print! Will post pictures as they come to life :-))

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read.