twitter tweeter

i’ve got a new (potential) addiction. It’s Twitter! Why on earth I feel the need to tell the world when I am feeding my dog I have absolutely no idea. but it’s amazingly fun. and interesting. Give it a shot, you’ll see. btw, my twitter name is n0rbert – let me (and millions of other folks) know what’s up with you like RIGHT NOW! Now I can RSS your every move…

super cool sopac

John Blyberg has developed a wonderful integration of social networking features into the aadl.org OPAC. I haven’t had a chance to play with it yet, but I am really excited about it. As I have recently taken a job which will require me to completely overhaul and rebuild the libraries’ web site, I have been reading a considerable amount of Blyberg. His insight, experience and willingness to share with the community is tremendously helpful.

I’m currently still getting my bearings – learning the system, meeting folks, and just generally trying to get a sense of my surroundings. However, I am looking forward to learning PHP & MySQL, Linux Administration and all sorts of other new technologies in the service of building a new web site for WCLS. Note: I’m not sure if folks around here call the library WCLS, but I’m thinking that I like it best. I am a librarian after all – the more acronymns the better, right?

how the west was…

I live in a town called Sparks. When you enter Nevada, there is a picture of what Vicky says is a miner, but I prefer to view as a cowboy (I do acknowledge that she is probably right. He is holding a pick axe, I just prefer my delusion). I work in Reno as an internet librarian (well, I will as of Monday I will). All of this leads me to believe that I am a cowboy librarian. I just needs me some spurs, holsters, and servers and I’ll be good to go. Oh and for those who may be wondering – I haven’t been to a casino yet, but I have been to Target three times in three days which feels pretty reckless and edgy to me.

I got an apartment that is all my own — the first time in my long, long life of living independently where I actually get to be completely independent. It’s really big. Either that or I just don’t have very much stuff. I think it’s a little of both. I ordered a couch, it will come tomorrow. Charles will be happy – he has repeatedly expressed his discontent at his seating option (yes, option. I have one chair, okay?).

I’ve been on ‘vacation’ for about three weeks now and I’m starting to get nervous that I have lost all of my librarian knowledge and skills… that can’t be true, can it? I’ve been hitting the blogosphere today to try to catch up. Some of the things I’ve been reading so far include discussions of the Maplewood Library chaos, the MetaFilter discussion of the WSJ article about the Fairfax County Library’s weeding policy, and a great post by Lori Ayre from TechEssence called “Library Delivery 2.0: Delivering Library Materials in the Age of NetFlix,”. I found this last post to be wonderfully appropriate this morning (although it was originally posted over a month ago) as I just signed up for NetFlix last night (yes, I’m probably the last person on earth to have done this) all the while marveling at its business model and its site design – wondering just how this could be incorporated into libraries.

Overall I feeling a bit better about things, but I’m still nervous to start my new job and my new life here in the biggest little city in the world. Although, given the fact that I get to begin my career in the job that I imagined for myself sometime down the road and that my apartment seems altogether comfortable, albeit slightly empty, I’m not doing too badly for myself, I suppose. I’m not sure how it’s all going to work out, but I’m looking forward to finding out. Wish me luck…oh, and if anyone finds themselves passing through the Sierra Nevadas, give me a call. I’d love to have a friend over to the new pad.