I think I'll cut myself some slack since I've been sick for the last few days, but what about the last few weeks?
My boss has recently implemented a chart where we track all events, meetings, exam invigilation, etc. We have to include the date, what it is, attendance if it is an event, length and who attended. She can then print this out for the library board so they have a clearer idea what we are doing and how much time it takes to do.
Of course it's not perfect. It can't take into account the discussions in passing, that can solve a problem or provide a Eureka! moment. With 4 part time staff we each take the lead in different areas and for different events/projects, but the rest are there to help them get it done.
What does that have to do with the last few weeks? If it weren't for that chart I may have forgotten there were summer reading program wrap-ups, space planning meetings, newsletter preparation, exams and more. Add to that, just getting through the day in a busy tourist town and it's no wonder I finally got sick. (It didn't help that both my sons brought some bug home from work too)
So I'm sitting at home trying to get some paperwork done for work. The job may be part time but occasionally the paperwork is full time. And as we all know, paperwork waits for no man.
Now where is that cough syrup...
Garden
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Wondering
It sounded like a simple question.
@barbaramcveigh thanked me for retweeting something of hers then asked "Has it been a busy summer in your library?" I responded with yes and how there were lots of families in town for sports camps and that the following week would be the local rodeo, which would bring in more people.
I think about that now and realize how differently our library operates from most others. With a community of about 4000 year round residents, 1500 temporary workers (3 months to a year) and a visitor count of almost 2 MILLION people each year, our plans always include a tourist component.
As we work on space planning for the library expansion I realize each and every space will have to have multiple uses depending on the time of day, time of year and individual needs. Noisy/quiet, young/old, individual/group needs all have to be met. Resident/temporary worker/tourist are also needs that have to be met.
Going through this process has been good for me. It has made me look at things with the "what else could this be used for" question in the for front of my mind. We do so many things right now that I don't want to muck that up...
@barbaramcveigh thanked me for retweeting something of hers then asked "Has it been a busy summer in your library?" I responded with yes and how there were lots of families in town for sports camps and that the following week would be the local rodeo, which would bring in more people.
I think about that now and realize how differently our library operates from most others. With a community of about 4000 year round residents, 1500 temporary workers (3 months to a year) and a visitor count of almost 2 MILLION people each year, our plans always include a tourist component.
As we work on space planning for the library expansion I realize each and every space will have to have multiple uses depending on the time of day, time of year and individual needs. Noisy/quiet, young/old, individual/group needs all have to be met. Resident/temporary worker/tourist are also needs that have to be met.
Going through this process has been good for me. It has made me look at things with the "what else could this be used for" question in the for front of my mind. We do so many things right now that I don't want to muck that up...
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Sunday
I think I could get used to this.
Both sons are at work and hubby is laying down before he goes to work. All of the pets are napping too.
I am listening to my podcasts, catching up on my RSS feeds and doing a bunch of little things that I want to.
With no one in school this year and everyone working i'm going to have more periods like this. Woohoo!
Yep, I could get used to this :-)
Both sons are at work and hubby is laying down before he goes to work. All of the pets are napping too.
I am listening to my podcasts, catching up on my RSS feeds and doing a bunch of little things that I want to.
With no one in school this year and everyone working i'm going to have more periods like this. Woohoo!
Yep, I could get used to this :-)
Thursday, August 4, 2011
New Literacy?
I was browsing through Twitter this morning and followed the link on Tamara Van Horne's (@tamaravh) tweet to an article discussing whether gaming is teaching kids a new literacy. As a gamer and the mom of 2 gamers I've never had the negative view of video gaming that many others have. The article by Dakshana Bascaramurty on the Globe and Mail blog is a great introduction to this topic for the average parent. For me however, it highlights something that I have yet to see addressed.
Society has changed, we are more urban, more technologically connected than ever before. People in general are outside less, and interacting with nature less. Most times when kids are outside they're being shuttled to and from different locations/activities. They do NOT have the freedom that their parents/grandparents had, to roam their neighbourhoods, to explore their environments in an interest-lead way (to borrow some current eduspeak), to get dirty and to have fun.
Modern gaming, whether online, on computers, consoles or handhelds, allow people that freedom. People have a NEED to explore, get dirty and have fun. Modern life makes it next to impossible to do these things in the way of previous generations. This is just a new way to do it. So to me modern gaming isn't teaching kids a new literacy, it's just giving them a different way to learn, from that used by previous generations.
Society has changed, we are more urban, more technologically connected than ever before. People in general are outside less, and interacting with nature less. Most times when kids are outside they're being shuttled to and from different locations/activities. They do NOT have the freedom that their parents/grandparents had, to roam their neighbourhoods, to explore their environments in an interest-lead way (to borrow some current eduspeak), to get dirty and to have fun.
Modern gaming, whether online, on computers, consoles or handhelds, allow people that freedom. People have a NEED to explore, get dirty and have fun. Modern life makes it next to impossible to do these things in the way of previous generations. This is just a new way to do it. So to me modern gaming isn't teaching kids a new literacy, it's just giving them a different way to learn, from that used by previous generations.
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