Slide Show of Parent's Breakfast

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Parent's Breakfast at Freshman Orientation

was a huge success yesterday. We saw over and over again in the undergraduate research project that students went to their *parents* for help with their papers -everything for picking a topic to writing drafts. A light bulb went off for us - we needed to talk to the parents not just the students. Duh.

Pretty much all the subject librarians came and talked with parents over breakfast. We had a very simple theme "every class has a librarian", but really the conversations ranged wildly. We talked to parents about: balancing sports with academics, finding food late at night, file storage space, advisors, taking courses outside of the major, faculty writing of books, and yes (!) parental involvement with school work.

This year was even better than last. We had some orientation staff posted at the doors so the parents didn't get lost between the library entrance and the room where we served breakfast. We also stole (back) an idea from Auburn and did a short, though formal, welcome speech with explanation of what the breakfast was all about. Susan was terrific and it seemed to give some needed definition to the event.

We already have an idea to make next year's breakfast bigger and better - tower tours at sunrise! It's going to be fabulous.

My Favorite Day of the Year

I love freshman move in day. Everyone is so excited and happy and optimistic. It's a day when anything seems possible.

Looking Forward to This Week

I don't usually wake up on Sunday morning *looking forward* to the work week, but this week is different. The freshman are coming! The freshman are coming! Tuesday is move-in day. I can't wait. Wednesday is breakfast with the parents. That was super fun last year, I'm hoping it will be even better this year.

365 Library Days Project

I love the 365 Library Days Project on flickr. Libraryman (aka Michael Porter) invited libraries to post 365 photographs, or one picture a day, of their library to this flickr group. It so much fun to look at the pictures. I thought between tons of reading (blogs, listservs, actual articles) and attending conferences, I was "in the loop". But I always get new ideas when I look at these photos. Maybe there is something about looking at a picture instead of listening to a talk? Or do the pictures illustrate the real, day to day activities of the library that we don't think are worth of writing up in an article to talking about in a presentation? I have seen pictures of really clever signage, screen savers, and programming ideas. I guess the reason I look at them several times a week is because there is so much enthusiasm. How can you look at all those Harry Potter celebrations and not smile? How can you look at all the summer reading programs and not be happy that you're a librarian?

Shall we bet?

I keep a list of bets on my bulletin board. I bet X will happen in 12 months; Susan bets X will happen in 30 days. I'm always the pessimistic one. However, I'm pleased to note that I have an excellent track record and am more often correct!

So Diane and I had a very interesting conversation the other day. She thinks that we'll cancel bibliographic databases in a big way within the next two years.

I wish we would. I think we could. I think we need to. I bet it will take 10 years.

I'll add it to my bet list!

One Hundred Librarians to Lunch

I'm a sucker for these kinds of quotes. This is from the Fashion and Style section of the New York Times in an interview with Brooke Astor.

"For her 100th birthday luncheon, when she was asked whom she wanted as guests, she replied without hesitation: “One hundred librarians.”"

Cool Off @ Carlson

We had our annual social event for library staff this week, "Cool Off @ Carlson". We rented a snow cone machine and made our own snow cones. It was very fun! Pictures are posted on flickr. The blog "checking out and checking in" saw them and expanded on the idea of having a cool off event for patrons. Better idea! We'll have to try that next year.

Dimensional Barriers?

I describe some of our users as crazy.
Kenn says they are "working across dimensional barriers".
Isn't that a much nicer way to describe it?!

Article in the Chronicle

It's finally out - the article about the undergraduate research project is in today's (online) Chronicle of Higher Education. Yeah. He (Scott Carlson) did a nice job of bringing together a project that spanned two years. Our observations seem obvious to me now -I wonder if others will be surprised or if we're behind the curve? We'll see what the response is.

Thank god for fall semester

I often wonder if library vendors or publishers would ever release new products if it wasn't for the relentless calendar of midwinter and annual meetings. I feel the same way about Fall Semester. Suddenly I have kicked into high gear. Stuff HAS to get done, and no fooling around. I must get new pictures hung on the wall. I must get new signage installed. There must be a new display in the case. I must get photos taken for my Read Posters. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Count down to freshman move in day - 20 days!

August is slow in the library....

I can remember when I first became a librarian, I had a fit about student workers wearing baseball caps at the desk. And now here is one my students knitting at the desk and I don't even blink an eye. I have definitely mellowed and it's probably a good thing!