Bridge to Somewhere

I heard part of this yesterday while I was in the car. I'm looking forward to listening to the rest today.

Bridge to Somewhere is a radio documentary about the New Deal infrastructure projects. One comment leaped out at me yesterday, which I will paraphrase: America had the New Deal while Hitler came to power in Germany.

Tiers Five and Six

The cuts continue. Say good-bye to field trips.

Maybe we can use google earth to take some virtual field trips. Will this keep us from taking the students to the Charlotte Children's Theatre? I know that the PTA will do what it can but I'm afraid that this will further widen the gap between urban and suburban schools. On a happier note, my older kids get to start school at 9:15 next year!

I really hope we don't get to tier 6. That includes k-2 assistants. I'm not really a media assistant. When all those positions were eliminated last summer I became a "K-2 assistant assigned to the media center." I hope I get to keep my current assignment!

Do they still have libraries?

I ran into my neighbor's ex-husband yesterday afternoon. We were both at Starbucks. He asked me what I was up to these days and I told him that I was in the MLIS program. His reponse was pretended amazement that there are still libraries. He hasn't been in one at all since his student days. Just one more reason why he is now my neighbor's ex-husband.

I was floored. I tweeted a haiku but I think I'll be mulling this over for a couple days. This guy honestly didn't know about internet access at the library. His response to that was "can't they just go to Starbucks?" That would require a laptop and probably a drink purchase. Is the wifi at Starbucks free? So I spent a little more time describing library services and he was just amazed. He has two school-age children and he has never been to Imaginon! What a moron! Thankfully his ex-wife has much bettter sense and she takes the kids to the library all the time. She is the one who introduced us to the "For Boys Only" book club last summer.

It was a strange encounter. I wonder if he'll visit the library now?

Killing Trees

I have tried to do all of my readings online for this class. This morning I broke down and started printing out the articles I need for my final project. Even at 140% magnification my eyes are starting to hurt. :(

Bifocals are definitely in my future but I need some relief this weekend! I wish there was a way that I could at least double-side these copies but I have an older printer. I should check with the public library and see if they have any assistive devices at the main library that would help me. I've never considered myself visually impaired but now I feel like my eyes and my glasses have failed me. I am extremely near-sighted without my glasses but for the first time in my life I find myself taking them off to read.

I think I just killed my printer cartridge so I am back to reading online. This is just crazy!

edited to add that the last article is 41 pages and I am reading it at 190% magnification.

River City

Not the River City of the Music Man, but an educational tool. I wish I had known about this one at the beginning of the school year. I know some science teachers that would love it.

River City Research Project is a MUVE (Multi-User Virtual Environment that teaches science and inquiry skills. I think my kids would like it but they would need to be part of a larger group. I can see it working very well as an after-school enrichment program or with a group of homeschoolers.

The program has been used across the country, including North Carolina. I wonder if any CMS teachers participated? I would love to talk to someone who has actually used this.

my house is too quiet tonight

Brian and the kids are at Blowing Rock. I expect that they are making s'mores at the bonfire even as I type this. Part of me wishes that I was with them, especially after I found out that the Blowing Rock Conference Center now offers wireless internet. This is a retreat center that doesn't have telephones or televisions! This time last year they had ONE computer in the lobby so that guests could check their e-mail. Our boys kept sneaking off to play Runescape until their father threatened to block the site the way he did at church. What is the point in taking a retreat if you don't unplug from technology for a while? I think that was one reason why I opted to stay home this year.

My sister and her family took a vacation at Attean Lake Lodge last summer. The cabins are heated with wood-burning stoves and lit by kerosene. Ice is delivered daily by the staff. There is ONE phone in the lodge for guests to use. She and the kids had a blast. I think my brother-in-law had fun once he got over cell phone withdrawal. If I wanted to get away from it all like that I would probably just go camping. Maid service in a cabin would just make me nervous.

The crazy thing now is that even if you're camping you can still take your iPhone with you. I remember camping near Niagra Falls one year and seeing my husband working on his laptop as he talked to somebody in Charlotte. At last he told them "I have to go. I'm camping and my battery is almost gone." I do look forward to travelling without the intrusion of work crisis. I wonder if I'll miss twitter?

Smartphones make it so easy to Twitter that I might just keep updating.

LH

what's open on my desktop

I'm using google Chrome for my browser. One of many things I like about it is how easy it is to keep multiple windows open. Most mornings I start out with my UNCG e-mail and Blackboard. I also have a work e-mail and a personal one. I know that I could forward them all to a single address, but I like keeping them compartmentalized. If I ever start using my UNCC e-mail then I think I will have to break down and consolidate. My husband just purchased a domain name for our family: hankins-clt.us. I expect we will all end up using this.

So my first tab is one of my four web-based e-mail services open (UNCG), Blackboard, the class Ning, my blog, twitter, Imaginon, and the Charlotte Observer. I also get a weekend subscription to the paper so the Friday paper is waiting for me to read it. I think I may be part of the last generation that reads a physical newpaper. As someone said at the conference yesterday, it is easier to get information about events in Iran then about local politics. Why is that? My point to all of this is that my day used to begin with NPR, coffee and the newspaper. I didn't get online until after breakfast at the very earliest. Now my work begins and ends online.

LH

Networking 2.0

I went to the Metrolina Library Association's Fourth Annual Information Literacy Conference today. I was happy to see some familiar faces from UNCG and to connect with other librarians. I expected to see more school media specialists there but I think most are still recovering from last week. I know I am! I wish I could have gone to all the sessions. The sessions I went to were geared towards academic and public librarians but I still got some good ideas that I can probably use at work if I can get them past the filters. I think children in jail have less restricted internet access then public school students. I was amazed to find out how many librarians are using Twitter. It was really good to get out of my school media box and see how the rest of the world lives.

I can't believe this is the last week for this course. My husband and kids are going to Blowing Rock for the weekend but I am staying here to take advantage of the quiet time to work. I need high speed internet. I'm a little sad about missing this retreat. We've been as a family every year since 1995. I hope I've made the right decision. I don't see how I can finish all the reading and my last project without some time away from my other responsibilities. Right now I am skipping a swim meet. I am still glad I made time for this conference. The kids are with their dad and they'll be fine. I'm just a little sad.

LH

more twittering

I joined twitter ten days ago and I've just posted my ninth library haiku. I even have 14 followers. I've picked up some great information from the ALA joblist and YALSA. Microblogging definitely suits me, especially during the summer.

working up a sweat while podcasting

Who knew that pod casting could be so much work? I think part of my problem is that my IT geek husband is also a sound engineer. He runs the sound board at church and digitally records all our services and concerts. I have learned so much from watching him. One trick I had not mastered was using the digital recorder properly. I kept pausing it when I meant to record. The first track I recorded consisted of the words "oh, crap!" I finally recorded my book talk and added some sound. I'm going to test it on my children before I post it. Audacity is a very versatile product. I could spend another day editing if I were so inclined but I'll settle for an imperfect finished product.

I am definitely a kinesthetic and visual learner. I would have never made it through this project if I hadn't first watched my husband do his own editing and then had him walk me through the process. The first time I read the directions online it was as if I were reading a map to a place I'd never been.

LH

Twitter

I've been following #iranelection on Twitter. Seeing twitter used in this way is inspiring. What an amazing way for people to network and share information. The government may be able to shut down the press but they can't shut down the people. I'm afraid that there will be more bloodshed before this is all over.

Besides wikipedia, I found another article on Atropedia that summarizes the situation fairly well.

My own library haiku are trivial by comparision.

LH

Innovation Start with "I"

This is why I love Twitter. I so needed to see this today!

Innovation Start with "I"

View more OpenOffice presentations from hblowers.

Doing more with less

Yesterday was our last work day. We put the media center in order for the summer, shut down the computers, took the printer cartridges out of the printers and hid them. Finally, we locked the door and turned in our keys. Our school is losing 2 assistants, 2 teachers, and our technology associate. We also have two teachers out on medical leave who have not been replaced with long-term subs. Our numbers have also increased from 508 to 583. Right now we are expecting to have 4 4th grade classes with 32 students each. If our enrollment increases enough, we will get another teacher, but for now we are planning on four. There will be five classes for first, second, and third grade but the other grades are only at four. Managing those extra students will be a real challenge.

To add to the chaos, our principal decided to move seven teachers between grade levels. We had a staff meeting on the 11th and the VP handed out letters to those seven teachers. Changing grades isn't as simple as moving your materials to another classroom. We knew that there would have to be some movement because of teachers leaving but not like this. Last night I dreamed that I was in the media center with some of the teachers who have been reassigned. I was complaining about our principal's dictatorial style when she jumped across the circulation desk, put her hands on my throat, and started strangling me! It is definitely time for a break.

I think my position is secure for the present. I have good supporting test data: circulation statistics and reading test scores. Our students checked out over 1,000 books per week all year! That doesn't include the ones that were read in the media center without being checked out. I know that there are ways to track that sort of data but I can barely keep up with shelving and mending as it is.

I also got to put a book order together yesterday. We had some more lost book money. It is never enough to replace all of the lost A/R books but it was a start. I had $254.50 to spend but had to make allowance for the state sales tax. The school system gets the tax back at the end of the year but WE never see it again. $237 = sixteen books. My boss is donating another 13 books which will cost $205 plus tax. If we could get the sales tax back that would be two more books. I told her that she was crazy to make a donation right now, but she wanted to get a few new titles for next year.

LH

School's out for the Summer?

As of June 12th, my husband I will both be out of work. He has a great severance package and we have insurance until this December but I am still anxious about my own job. The repeated budget cuts and updates have been like Chinese water torture. I still don't know about my own position :(

Mending Miss Spider, losing staff

I cleared out the book hospital today. I had to glue four loose spines. They are drying overnight and will be ready in the morning. I had another dozen or so that had torn pages or hinges to mend. The oldest title was Miss Spider's Wedding. It was purchased in 1997 for $15.00 and has been checked out 78 times since then. It would cost over $18 to replace and the funds are simply not available right now. All things considered it is in remarkably good shape for such a vintage book. i mended small tears in ten of the pages. One larger tear had been previously mended with packing tape. BTSB books do hold up well. I think the trick is to keep up with the page mending. Our media specialist has donated about $60 to purchase mending supplies - mostly various tapes. With that we can repair at least a hundred books. It isn't ideal, but it was what we have to work with right now.

We are still holding our breath about next year's staffing. Our technology associate was laid off today :( She's been at the school since it first opened, starting as a TA and then moving into the technology position a few years ago. At first she was still getting TA pay. Two years ago she asked for a pay increase since she was writing lessons and teaching classes. Our principal offered her a yearly contract. This year it was not renewed. This has happened in other schools and the media specialist has been asked to cover technology as well. I will say this much. I will NOT teach either media or technology classes unless they pay me as a first-year teacher. If my boss wants to quit teaching classes and just do collection development and technology support, that is on her. It is hard to stick to your professional standards when your job may be on the line. I think we owe it to our students.

I am a media assistant. I help the media specialist with whatever ongoing projects she has. Mostly I run the circulation desk, shelve books, mend books, and assist students and staff. I have subbed for her in the past, but always got paid as a substitute. I wonder what my future here will be?

LH

What happened to Vermont's internet?

My mother called me last night. When she tried to check her e-mail, their DSL was down. My father called their ISP and got a message that all dial-up and DSL service was down. My geek husband thinks it has something to do with a bandwidth dispute. If I can find a story about it, I wil post. My 69 year old mother misses her internet.

LH

Library Haiku - booknurse is tweeting

I still am not sure about this one - I may have to break down and start texting to take full advantage of this one:

1st library haiku

Shelves are in order

Cleaning, mending, weeding books

Books sleep for summer.

LH

still waiting for the axe to drop :(

We were supposed to meet with HR last Friday. We were given 24 hours notice for that meeting and told that we would be losing classroom positions. The next day the mandatory meeting was cancelled with 20 minutes notice because the HR representative was unavoidably detained. This particular employee is the one who called me on my cell phone last July when the media assistants were cut. She offered me a part-time classroom assistant job in another school. I turned her down. My principal traded out a K-2 assistant spot to keep me in the media center. Nobody is quite sure what will happen now. None of the teachers have contracts for next year. I want to know what my future holds so I can more forward.

LH

cleaning and mending books

n a happier note, I am getting a chance to put the picture book section back in order. I was supposed to proctor make-up Extend 2 Tests, but the materials haven't arrived. We pulled about 100 picture books from the fiction section and re-catalogued them as picture books. While I was moving the books around I cleaned them with bleach wipes. I wish we had time to weed. Usually this gets combined with inventory but we didn't get to that this year.

Instead I have picked up every single picture book and cleaned most of them. It is good to really know what is in the collection. I'm going to need to order more supplies - we are almost out of label protectors. I'm also fixing torn pages as I go. I could happily spend another week at this task but I'll settle for the next two days. I hope by then they'll announce the decisions about our positions for next year. We were supposed to have "the meeting" last Friday afternoon but it was cancelled at the last minute and has yet to be rescheduled. I am thankful that I have something to keep my hands busy and happy to keep our books in circulation a little longer.

LH

fun times

Yesterday we lost power at work for about a minute. Usually the emergency lights come on and the UPS kicks in so we can save whatever we're working on and then shut down our computers. This time we were completely in the dark and the UPS failed. We've had some other power issues this year as well as thermal emergncies in the server room. Since our school doesn't have money for paper or toner cartridges right now, I wonder whether there is anything in the budget for new equipment. It must be nice to work at a school where the PTA just writes a check when you need something.

LH