I did a concise talk on The Social Library, looking at the social nature of information and the library itself, as well as some of the tools and technologies available to stay in touch with library users. Amanda Goodman was kind enough to make her notes available online (PDF), so if you want to skip straight to the links I talked about, check her notes out!

Then I had the pleasure of listening to Charlie Bennett and Ameet Doshi present Library on the Radio, a presentation all about their radio show Lost in the Stacks that plays every Friday on WREK from noon to 1pm.  What I loved about their presentation was that they emphasized connecting to the folks around you to make amazing things happen.  If you aren’t already listening to Lost in the Stacks, check it out!  It’s badass!

All in all, it was an amazing pleasure to be a part of the Wednesday Webinar series.  Big thanks to Buffy, Sarah, and Pat for making it happen.  And thanks to everyone for showing up, and I hope you walked away with some new information!

I’m settling nicely into Atlanta, and enjoying all the exciting work in my new job as the Web Services Librarian at GSU.  We’re hard at work on a new website, so keep your eyes open for the groovy new features we’ll be rolling out in the next few weeks.

In the mean time, here are some speaking gigs I’ve got lined up for this month:

• Wednesday Webinars – The Social Library (Wednesday, July 21, 2010, 10:00am).  This is a free webinar series offered by the Georgia Public Library Service, so feel free to sign up.  I’ll be talking about some of the latest trends in social computing and how you can leverage those trends in libraries.
• Atlanta Emerging Librarians – Say What You Mean: Professional Communication Skills for Librarians (Saturday, July 24th, 2010, 3:00-5:00pm, Dunwoody Library, Dunwoody, GA). I’ll be doing an overview of interpersonal communication skills as they apply to librarians, including: basic communication skills, direct vs. indirect communication, conflict management, and professional relationship maintenance.

I’m really looking forward to doing both presentations, and to taking part in the post-talk dialogue with librarians (always my favorite part!).  So sign up, show up, and let’s have a conversation!

I’ll still be sad to leave Valdosta, though, since this is my home town & Odum Library is where I “grew up” as a librarian (if I can even call myself a grownup!).

The future looks both adventurous and challenging for libraries, and I’m eagerly anticipating the next chapter in our story together! Wish me luck!!!

Unfortunately, it looks like ProQuest will not be changing this indexing error
because no content is actually missing. Here is the response from the ProQuest
Content Department:
==
This is a known issue. The method used to load some of the older content resulted in
some records loading to duplicate page collections. The manufacturing system does
not allow for documents to be moved from one collection to another. It would involve
a manual process of deleting and re-creating the records. Since no content is
missing no resources were ever allocated to clean up these issues.
==?

So basically, ProQuest is telling me that even though the data is completely useless since it is unfindable, that this isn’t a problem, because at least it’s there.

This makes me angry on a variety of levels.  Let’s go down the list, shall we?

1. My user’s problem with locating content that they are paying for with their tuition isn’t important in the eyes of ProQuest.  After all, they’ve already got their money, so what should they care?
2. Information quality control is of little to no concern for ProQuest.  They need to allocate their resources elsewhere.
3. I should never bother reporting problems to ProQuest ever again, since they obviously don’t care about end users being able to use their products.

I’m sure I’ll hear from ProQuest on this one issue (hello power of social media!), and I’m sure they’ll resolve it in short order.  But that still won’t solve the larger problem of quality control or addressing errors in the system.

Working with technology, there have been plenty of times where I’ve had to manually update records and web pages.  It’s dull, tedious work, yes.  But I do it — as do all of us who work in information control.  We do it because we know that somewhere down the line, someone is going to need this stuff.  And the moment that an error is brought to our attention, we work on fixing it, because as information professionals we provide the best information resources possible.  Because that’s our job.

The rest of my trip will be spent visiting with my sister, to see her all beautifully preggers before she delivers my new niece in late May!

I’m very proud to be a part of this series, as it aims to provide librarians with a ground-up approach to a variety of topics.  It brings together big names in the library technology field (which I’m positively blushing to see my name included alongside!), and provides material both for beginning library workers all the way through experienced practitioners:

So order a copy for your library (or yourself!), listen to the companion podcasts and add your notes to the companion wiki!  I’m looking forward to interacting with readers on the wiki and right here on my blog!  So go check it out!

The life-changing experience.

I gave a bunch of money to Haiti back in January, and I’ve been sort of quiet since then.  If I could have raised money and awareness for Partners in Health while staying out of the spotlight, I would have, but hey–folks like a “personal interest” story, and I figured any discomfort I felt in front of cameras was nothing compared to what the earthquake victims were suffering.  I may be good at giving a presentation in front of a crowd, but being blind-sided by “thank you”s in restrooms and restaurants makes me feel weird.  But I overcame the squidgy feelings to encourage folks to keep spreading the word about PIH and the people of Haiti, no matter where I was.  Because that’s what you do when the message is important.

As soon as I announced the fundraiser, the immediate reaction from friends and family, beside disbelief, was worry.  “Wait, wait, wait.  That wasn’t *all* your savings, was it?” Or even worse (but adorable), when the earthquake happened in Chile, my niece Tori expressed her worry to her mom, afraid that I’d give away *all* of my money and have nothing left.  After my sister reassured her that other nice people would help take care of the folks in Chile, Tori felt better.  But sure enough, right after singing me her adorable rendition of Happy Birthday over the phone, she quickly asked, “DO YOU HAVE ANY MONEY LEFT, UNCLE CLIFF?”

Yes, sweetheart, I still have money.  I also now have hope, faith, and joy at the generosity of my fellow human beings.

The nagging question…

After it was all over, and things quieted back down for me (if not for the people in Haiti), I thought about the experience I had.  I figured out why people were so concerned when I told them my plan.  I realized that the money I donated represented something to people.  For those that worried for me, my money represented Security.  What happened to my Security?  Years of toil and hard work, gone to someone else.  That’s money that I can’t use to buy a car, a house, or a TV.  It’s money that I can’t spend on emergency medical bills, funeral expenses, or bail.  If things get bad, I don’t have that money to fall back on.

I have plenty of security.  People are my security.  My body and brain won’t last forever, but the love of my friends and family will.  So if I get in an accident, get sick, or any number of other things, I know that I’ll be well taken care of, no matter what happens.  Can I say that same thing for the people of Haiti?  No.  They have nothing.  And when I mean they have nothing, I’m not saying “they don’t have TV and drive-through burgers,” I mean, they have nothing.  I’ve seen pictures of children with nothing but the clothes on their backs.  Parents gone.  Family sick or dead.  In desperate need of food, shelter, and medicine.  That, my friends, is a lack of Security.

So yeah, I don’t regret my donation one bit.  Since I live rather cheaply and save most of my paycheck, I should be able to put all $10,000 back in the bank in a little over two years.  Two years for me, but a lifetime to families who would have died otherwise.

The take-home message:

We should all think about our security in the larger picture.

In the news and in friends’ lives, I’ve seen bank after bank, company after company fail due to corruption.  I’ve seen folks’ money–built up over years of hard labor–evaporate overnight.  I may have all the savings and retirement plans and tax-sheltered this-and-thats that I can get, but I still don’t put my trust in them, or in the system.  I put my trust and energy into loving and serving the people around me.  I know that they would sooner die than forsake my trust; I can’t say that about my bank.

Firland Foundation will match 1:1 up to $25,000 in total donations made to PIH through Feb 28th.

The Firland Foundation (www.firland.org) has been working with Partners in Health over last few years, funding TB-related needs in their Haitian clinics. We are providing a match of up to $25,000 in unrestricted funds for PIH. Please help meet the tremendous and urgent need in Haiti by clicking on the link to donate directly to PIH.

The Firland Foundation provides meaningful employment for people with disabilities in a sheltered workshop producing high quality machined parts. Income from the workshop keeps it self-sustaining, and provides the resources for grant making. We fund grants directed toward research studies, clinical projects, educational programs, and advocacy efforts intended to improve the management and control of tuberculosis and other chronic respiratory diseases.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you missed the chance for the matching campaign, can still give to Partners in Health.

If you want to choose another charity, GiveWell, the independent charity evaluation organization has set up a page to evaluate Haiti earthquake relief charities.

If you don’t have any money to give, you can always give your time and skills!  Just go to VolunteerMatch to find an organization that can use your time and skills!

Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity, words of encouragement, and inspirational response in this time of need!!!!!

I spent a hefty chunk of my savings on presents this last Christmas, and I don’t regret a minute of it. I was planning on building my savings back up this year, but I think the folks in Haiti (and other poverty-stricken areas in the world) can use that money a lot more.

So do it! Give a dollar, twenty, or a hundred. For the next month and a half, I’ll give whatever you do. Click the link and give.

UPDATE (1/16/10 12:06pm): The generosity that I’ve seen is astounding.  People have donated in lieu of going out for dinner.  Folks who have been jobless for months have scraped together a donation.  Friends who have already given have found a way to give again.  I mean, for goodness sake, my Mom handed me her grocery money!

So, yeah, I’ve pretty much spent the last few days crying off and on, both in mourning for what the people of Haiti have faced and yet to face, but also in rapture and celebration of the generosity that you’ve all shown.  I didn’t expect that we would raise this much, this fast.  But when you trust your heart, amazing things happen, as you all have shown me.

Please continue to spread the word.

Thank you, all.  So very, very much.