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!

Click here to view the embedded video.

I got to speak on gaming and libraries, something that I had not spoken on before.  Although we do gaming at MPOW as part of our marketing and outreach services, I had never delved into the topic.  Once I got started, I learned a lot and started making some connections between different ideas.  For example, I will occasionally play with social norms, doing such things as breaking the boundary between public and private space, speaking in non-gendered terms, etc. (you know, just for fun!).  These and other ideas are explored in my presentation:

Some of the resources that I talked about that weren’t linked in the presentation include Jason Griffey’s work on ARGs, and various TED videos, including Susan Blackmore on temes and Kevin Kelly.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Greenbriar was super-swanky, I had some great fancy meals, and I got to meet some cool vendors (yes, I did say that) in the “secret” Congressional bunker where the office space is.  Thanks to everyone for showing me such a great time, and I hope to visit again soon!

After that I presented Crafting the User-Centered Library. I recorded myself in the session and have created a slidecast:

After my session, I had a great lunch with friends and spent the afternoon watching the Pecha Kucha session. As always, the conference was a blast, and seeing some of the leading thinkers in LibraryLand was a true delight. Thanks again everyone for a great conference, and I hope to see you all again soon!

If you didn’t go, you missed Jason & Rachel‘s presentation on podcasting for instruction.  Wow.  I didn’t think that it would be possible for me to ever want to do podcasting, but they actually got me excited about it.  Sweet! (and congrats, Jason, on the MLIS and commemorative tattoo!)

Things I learned about librarianship:

• Librarians are the same everywhere. We all face the same problems, and all have our own quirks. And we generally like meeting other librarians.
• US libraries/librarians and ALA are pretty much like a clique on a very large playground. They ignore (and are pretty much ignored) by the rest of the kids on the playground, who are all hanging out with each other. The only ones losing out are the US; no one is looking to us for inspiration. It is I who have been inspired.
• A master’s degree isn’t necessary to be a librarian.  Librarianship is a skill that is learned through practice, regardless of the degree in your hands.

Things I learned about Jamaica/the Carribbean:

• Everything starts about 15-20 minutes late…”Jamaica time.”  I felt right at home.
• Walk on the left.  Since people drive on the left, they walk on the left.  If you walk on the right, you stop traffic.  I finally got this down by the end of the week.
• Lots of camera, few laptops.  I realized very quickly that I was among librarians when there were more people recording the cultural events with their cameras than there were folks just watching; after all, we’re in the business of preserving history & culture!  Hey folks who took pictures, share them on the ACURIL2008 Flickr group!
• People are cold and unfriendly at first, but they’re quick to warm up once they realize you’re not a self-inflated tourist or American jerk.
• It’s “yeah, man” not “yeah, mon”
• It’s “persons” not “people”
• Don’t believe everything you read.  The poverty, crime, etc. won’t eclipse the amazing people you’ll meet.  Positive news stories don’t sell papers.

Things I learned about traveling:

• It’ll take some time to adjust to the accent.  Be prepared to ask people to repeat themselves.
• You don’t *really* need all that stuff that you pack.
• Doing travel laundry is ok for manmade fabrics, but it’ll make cotton stiff.
• Time your meals and showers–there’s always a rush on both at certain times.
• Check the iron before you iron your clothes.  Rust can be quite a surprise on a new white shirt.

Things I learned about myself:

• A vacation alone isn’t really a vacation.  Experiences are meant to be shared.
• My idea of a great holiday is sitting around watching cartoons and napping (i.e. letting my brain rest).  Not sitting in the sun.  There’s no need to feel guilty for not wanting to hang out on the beach.
• I value the people in my life, and really do miss those I love, no matter how independent I believe myself to be.

Folks who speak at library conferences talk to each other about how much they are compensated and how well they are treated. The word spreads somewhat informally through conversations, blogs, IMs and emails (whether conference organizers realize it or not). And yes, there are inequities in compensation and treatment. Hopefully this wiki will help bring some of those to light.

So if you’ve spoken at a conference, feel free to tell how you were compensated, how you were treated, and whether you’d do it all over again!

EDIT:  The wiki is now *officially* anonymous.  A shared username and password has been created and posted to the wiki homepage, preventing your IP address from displaying.