T8a: How Headfones got her name.

Thing 8 is going to require multiple posts because there are all kinds of new tools I'm supposed to experience and sample. So at Picture Trail I created this lovely slideshow:

I love the filmstrip look in part because it reminds me of elementary school when it was a really big deal to be chosen to turn the filmstrip. The headphones just make me giggle. And with the headphones, it is time to tell the story.

One fall, I was hiking north of Duluth at Gooseberry Falls with my husband, our 6 month old daughter and our friend, Tonya. We had a great time seeing the waterfalls, looking at the rocks and just generally hiking all over. It was late October and it was cold.

As we finished up the hike, we decided to stop into the visitors' center and poke around in the gift shop. My husband was playing with our daughter, Tonya disappeared and I was drawn to the back of the shop where there was an enormous display of children's music. The display was shaped like an old tree, with a pair of headphones hanging off one of the branches. I put them on.

These were no ordinary headphones. These were huge, 70's style headphones that put the blue ones in my slide show to shame. They weighed as much as my daughter. Still, because I wanted to know if the music contained within that tree would be something for my daughter, I endured and pressed the play button.

Hmm, the music was a little muffled, so I turned the volume up. I could hear Tonya in the background, laughing. Laughing so hard it sounded like she was having trouble breathing. “She’s going to get us kicked out of here,” I thought to myself, turning the volume up. “How embarrassing.”

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned. My husband stood there and pantomimed removing the headphones. I gave him a funny look and lifted the headphones from my head.

So. The headphones were apparently broken. The music was blaring through the small store. I had been rocking out to really corny children's music with these gigantic headphones on, turning up the music so I could hear it. In fact, the headphones were acting like giant earplugs.

Really bad, 70's style earplugs.

True story. I’ve always been a little off when it came to technology. When Tonya finally stopped laughing, she asked me why I kept turning it up.

“It was a little muffled,” I had to admit. It was me. I was the embarrassing one.

And a nickname was born.

T7: Email and texting and IM, oh my!

Yeah, that Thing of My Own? Not so much my own. Once I actually read all the way through Thing 7, I found that webinars are a part of it. I am proud to say it was something I did because I wanted too, not because I was cordially required to do so. Maybe that counts for something.

True confession time. I know, another confession. I am a phone phobic. I avoid the phone at virtually all costs. Quirky, but true. Incoming phone calls don't phase me a bit. Outgoing phone calls require pre-planning, script writing, sometimes false starts and plenty of enabling from my spouse. There are a handful of people on my safe list: people I just dial and go. Everyone else...well, there's a process and a detailed set of rules.

I'm a lot of fun to live with.

Email has saved my life. Personally, email has eliminated the need for much of my day to day phone interaction. Professionally, email has greatly reduced the number of patrons who need to be called. Score 1 for technology. And, as an added bonus, there is more time for patron interaction because we aren't tied to the telephone.

Up until recently, I had never used IM. IM-ing my fellow librarians at work doesn't make sense because the 3 computer workstations are practically on top of each other. It's easier to say, "hey, come here," than to try anything else. I have used it at one of my other positions, mostly because my office is off in Never-Never Land. This is not a complaint. Actually, not Never-Never Land. If the main office wing is in the Emerald City, then my office is in Munchkin Land. It's good, and the Yellow Brick Road is a pleasant journey.

Quite frankly, I'm just thrilled to have an office.

Hi, I'm back from the tangent. Anyway, IM-ing is a great way for me to say, "are you there because I need to see you for a minute". Library use. Hmm. System wide, to IM a librarian would be a great service, but for the individual branches I think it would be more difficult. We simply don't have the manpower to give the instant gratification that IM-ing and texting require at our little branch. I think that both these communication tools would also be fantastic for the bigger branches and the two-story branches for internal communication. Finding people can be a big headache, especially when it is virtually impossible to get out from behind your desk. Why follow the yellow brick road when all you have to do is click your heels together?

One of the great things about my branch, and I'm sure lots of branches, is the personal service. I like talking to the patrons, finding out how their families are, getting recipes or book suggestions or eggs. These people are interesting and they are a part of my community.

Sometimes, I think it is nice to talk to a real person. When I do actually use the phone, I'm the girl frantically pushing the zero, hoping for the operator.

A Thing of My Own

Look at me, being all technologically savvy: I just finished my very first webinar. Ninety minutes of "People Watching with A Purpose." To be truthful, it wasn't quite what I expected content-wise, but informative and enjoyable just the same. I loved how the panel was very concerned with "fostering" things. As librarians, we have a responsibility to foster relationships, leadership, engagement and a host of other "-ships" and "-ments".

What did I learn? Good to summarize because I have to fill out a TR3 when I get to work today...not even sure what that is, but every day is an adventure...

I have close to two dozen websites to look at, a list of c-words to put into context in my community, permission to partner with patrons, a few ideas to bring to my manager and the Friends group and a notebook filled with weird doodles and crazy notes that will only make sense to me.

A different experience, this webinar, one that I may revisit. After all, it isn't every day I can attend a major training event in my pajamas.

An Aside.

To recap, I have completed Things 1-6 and am puttering through Thing 7. Let's look at the math on this.

So far, I have had to open 6 new accounts on various web sites: Blogger, Gmail, Flickr, Big Huge Labs, Yahoo and AIM. I've registered 1 blog. I've downloaded an IM program. I've uploaded photos, images and links. If side loading were possible, I probably would have done that by now too.

I still have 17 1/2 Things to do.

Is anyone else feeling overwhelmed with passwords, privacy policies and postings?

Good-bye Avatar

Taking a cue from fellow 23 Things on a Stick-er Minnemom, I removed my Avatar. I'm much happier with her face off my blog.

Thanks, Minnemon, for the inspiration!

And the verdict...

How do I truly feel about Flickr and the affiliate sites?




Do I see the merits? "Yes," she said with hesitation.


I have to refer back to this post. I don't make my own promotional material, at least for the most part. Some smaller, in house jobs may be prettied up with these tools and I get that. I do. I see where it could be addicting and yes, I'll probably refer to these tools from time to time.

What I see as being more helpful is that I now have a general knowledge of Flickr and others so that when patrons come in and try to use the tools, I don't have to stare politely and wonder what language they are speaking. There's hope for me yet, in that respect.

The trading card thing still boggles my mind, although based on the prompts (love my blogging prompts) I was able to brainstorm a list of possible uses. Author facts, SLP information, character collections...I get the idea now, at least better than I did yesterday. And, as per 23 things' request, I made my own at Big Huge Labs.



I told my husband that it was a first in a series of "Rescued Strays" and since most trading card series are at least 10, it would be best if we visited the shelter today.

He wasn't impressed.

Mix-ups, mash-ups and screw-ups.

Also known as Thing 5.

I've been playing with Fickr's mash-up affiliates for days. I did the clock, I made several puzzles, I did a color search, I tried the caption-er...been there, done that. While interesting, I didn't find anything that I thought would be a remarkable addition to this blog adventure. I do, however, understand the importance of tangible proof, and so I offer this:

There. I spelled with random photos.

I'm struggling with this Flickr thing. Maybe I'm not thinking far enough outside the box. The kind blogging prompts suggests that these applications would be excellent for promotions and posters. While I agree with the notion, the system I work for generates all our publicity in house and as a branch assistant, I am not involved in the creative process. I send in the dates, title and other pertinent information and the fabulous people at our headquarters produce high quality, promotional materials. (Am I sucking up? Maybe just a little.)

I respect this process because it guarantees the system control and continuity over their image.

It is also suggested that we could make librarian trading cards and I'll admit that I laughed out loud at this one. I can't imagine being on a trading card, convincing the rest of the staff to do it or actually trading the cards. It would make for an interesting challenge, considering our system stretches out for 32 branches. Could I collect them all?

I'm trying to be open minded about this whole Flickr process, but I'm struggling. Is it me? Am I that inept when it comes to all Things photo? We'll see in the stunning conclusion to the Flickr Trio of Things: Thing 6.

Stay tuned.