I’m old (but you already know that)

Last year I saw and bookmarked this tweet: https://twitter.com/i/status/1594528156064821248 As I've moved from residence to residence, my workspace has changed from a desk... to a desk that could hold a desktop computer... to now, when I actually need very little space for my actual work stuff but am thinking about/designing for my notecards, pens and…

Friends that read together

Last week, I got a text from my childhood BFF: This started a great conversation: That book she didn't remember? Hitty: Her First Hundred Years. A friend at work had her copy (also from 1971) and I re-read it immediately. That's one of the best things about being a reader, and being friends with readers.…

As I think about What’s Next

Many years ago, as a Baby Librarian, I realized I was the youngest in the room at many AASL committee meetings. Now, "baby" was in her 30s, so that didn't feel quite right. And I've blogged about many of my issues with AASL (and ALA) before. I'm no longer the youngest, but sadly, many of…

I feel so old

https://twitter.com/adrisheares/status/1557885461154111490?s=11&t=C3_I1GsVaBsvx3wFpJLvYQ Wow. When I started research, my "search engine" was the card catalog, and sometimes (for deep searching) the <i>Reader's Guide</i>. Remember those? Good times. This isn't an attempt to paraphrase Sondheim, but I've been through CompuServe, AOL, AskJeeves, AltaVista, Infoseek (via Netscape Navigator)... and I'm still here. I currently use Duck Duck Go, but…

Determination

Today at graduation I saw something that made me tear up. No, I'm not ashamed to admit it. It was the second time I've seen something like this and, well, excuse me while I find another tissue. In August, one of our students took a hit during a hockey game and was seriously injured. Injured?…

From the archives: Moving up a stage

This isn't quite "leveling up" and it could possibly be thought of as moving down a stage, but it is movement. What am I talking about? In this post, Shelagh discusses these professional stages: Theorist Donald Super offers these 5 stages of self-concept & career development:  Like Shelagh, I'm in the maintenance phase, but moving…

From the archives: Gratitude

Over the years I've seen many posts about gratitude and I'd saved this one from the AISL Blog to remind me to post my own. There was, around the same time, a post on an email list that was formatted differently and I thought I'd mimic that here. So without further ado, here are some…

(from the Archives) As we move towards normal

The end of the year is fast approaching (for some, it's already here) and plans are tentatively being made for what to do/how to change next year's curriculum, meetings, gatherings, etc.. People are changing jobs or retiring, and it feels as though we're inching closer to a post-pandemic "normal" (as I type, however, cases and…

From the archives: Where do we go from here?

(This was planned for the pandemic shutdowns, but it definitely resonates now that we're, as Dr. Fauci says, not in an extreme pandemic phase and are considering the "new normal") What does it mean to have a new normal? The past 20+ years have generally been ones of intense, rapid change. When I went to…

From the archives: Movers, Shakers and Just Plain Folks

It's that time of the year, when people who are leaving the profession are feted and appreciated for what they've contributed to our lives. Some of these inspirations are only known within their school, or their city, some are known by a far wider audience. Soon, the nominations for the I Love My Librarian award…