To chair or not to chair

That was the question at the last Cilip East of England branch committee meeting, held in Bury St. Edmund's last week. It is a double-faceted question, in the sense that:

1. I was asked to chair the meeting as Darren, our Chair, was involved with an event the branch had organised on the same day. Being the Vice-Chair, I couldn't say no, so I feigned a lot of confidence and said "sure, no problem" as if chairing meetings is something I do every day. I studied the agenda and planned the structure of the meeting quite meticulously, and I also looked for some advice online, stumbling on this great link that gave me a lot of good points to think about.

Cam23: the final post but not the final thing...

More than a month after the final party, here I am to explain why I dropped Cam23 and decided I wouldn’t complete it. The programme was great and I was really looking forward to take part; I started with enthusiasm but after 11 things I stopped and never picked it up again. What happened?

How to keep sane in Michaelmas Term

Maria Giovanna In Other Words seemed to have lost words for a long time. Apologies to all my faithful readers: it's been an interesting and challenging Summer, which can be summarised in the famous expression: "life is what happens when you are making other plans". More explanations on this will follow in a post where I explain why I dropped both Cam23 and cpd23; for the time being, I just wanted to break my psychological blogging block and write a little post dedicated to all my colleagues in academic libraries, and especially in Cambridge, where our busiest term (the dreaded "Michaelmas") is just beginning.

I didn't feel like going to work today: Michaelmas is always a terrible time and we all end up in December being awfully stressed out. While sadly chewing my biscuits this morning, I thought about past Michaelmases and came up with a list of what to do to keep sane at this time of the year, or at least try. So here it is, for your pleasure:

CPD23 Thing 10: Why, how, and what next (my life in libraries)

Why

I can’t say, like many others, that I just fell into it. If I look back, it was quite meant to be, and there have been a couple of milestones (i.e. decisions from my part) who have put me where I am now.

Risking to sound like a freak, I will confess that when I was a child, to the – slightly worried – astonishment of my parents, I used to browse the phone book  to see how many people with a certain surname were living in my town; I loved to look at maps; I used to make lists of everything in my possession (books, stamps, coins from foreign Countries, Barbie doll clothes); I loved to investigate the history behind objects – who owned that book, who wrote that postcard, where that piece of furniture came from – not to mention old photographs; restoring my Mum’s dolls; collecting old stuff, keeping it in order, and making it usable again. These are all activities that should have shouted “libraries and information” to any good observer (I definitely wasn’t one).

Cam23 - The Big Catch-Up: Things 9, 10, 11

I’m going to write very quickly on a series of Cam23 topics as I can’t find a way to keep up with everything and I need to squeeze several posts in one. I’m also about to go on holiday so I will resume in September with even more things to catch up on. Time management skills, eh?

Google Docs: I didn’t really know what to say about this until I created my first form last Friday and discovered the magic of the whole thing. I had used GDocs before but only as a way of sharing Word documents (with others or myself, to avoid carrying memory sticks around all the time), and I had found it slow and less useful that a “real” Word doc. But the forms! And the fact that the data are automatically collected in a spreadsheet! Blessed be Google however mischievous they may be. The form I created was aimed at colleagues in other Cambrige libraries. Every year we update our publications and, in the past, we used to send a copy of each to all Cambridge librarians. This approach had two main downfalls: 1) we didn’t ask librarians if they actually wanted our stuff, thus spamming them with literature and not making sure it was well received and happily dealt with 2) the system was based on an address list that changed all the time as librarians were moving jobs and roles: updating the address list used to take a lot of time – and transform the whole thing into a very tedious task. I have now created a form in GDocs and sent an email (plus a tweet) around the mailing lists. Responses so far have been really good and the form has been filled by a dozen librarians. I can’t wait to pull it all together in September and start organising a personalised mailing service! As I didn’t trust GDocs fully, I chose a rather convoluted way of sending the form around but next year I’m going to put the link to the form straight into the main email.

Pushnote and Evernote: nothing to say on them apart that 1) I can’t download them 2) Pushnote seems not to be that useful 3) Evernote sounds more interesting and useful. I will remember their names in case my downloading facilities get an updgrade, or I manage to snatch the admin password and hack my work computer.

Dropbox is an extra-thing and actually one I wanted to try as I do have an account but I have never used it. When I’ll get round to use it, I promise I’ll blog about it.

My opinions on the programme so far: it’s very interesting and the fact that I’m not enjoying it fully is totally my fault. I just got involved in too many things when I had a moment of professional boredom some months ago, and now I feel like a fly bumping into the same window over and over again without finding a way to get out. I thought about dropping one of the two programmes (the other being cpd23) but I know I’ll regret it if I do, so I’ll keep going and you will forgive me if I’m always running late.  See you in September.

CPD23 Thing 8 and 9: Google calendar and Evernote

I’m running scarily late, so I will indulge in some self-plagiarism (again). I have already talked about my use of Google calendar in a post written for Cam23 some weeks ago. Re-reading it, I don’t find much to add, apart that I have added some external calendars to it and this works really well. Also, that post had a link to the presentation of the first Mac computer by Steve Jobs and, if you have never seen it, it’s really worth it. Expecially to anyone wanting to enhance their presentation skills.

Evernote: it sounds like a really, really useful tool, although the restriction on Word documents makes me feel a bit wary. I have tried to download it at work and I almost thought I had managed to get around internal IT security, when I realised this message had been on my screen for quite some time and realised also that that “1 second remaining” was destined to last for a long, long time.

I have no excuses for not dowloading it at home now that our IT provision has been upgraded with a shiny new tablet, but my husband is using it all the time to read one of his sci-fi books (why oh why are they all available to download?) so I’m a bit stuck. I know, this is a really bad excuse, but don’t worry: I want that elephant icon on my computer and I’ll have it one day!

 

CPD23 Thing 7: Real life networks

I wasn’t feeling much inspired for this one, but Helen’s post and, above all, the comments to it woke me up. Totally agreeing with what Jo, Bethan and LJ Hutchins have said in the comments, and bearing in mind that I know everyone is different and at different stages of their career / life, this is what wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t signed up for CILIP membership - and it's not an exaustive list. I wouldn't have...

CPD23 Thing 6: Online networks

Online networking: there are two sides of my personality clashing here. As a child of the Eighties, when all this stuff didn’t exist and we communicated in person, by letter (oh yes!) and by phone, I’m still a bit wary of all of it. Moreover, my husband and most of my Italian friends are social networking haters or strong sceptics. As and adult of the 21st century, however, I have embraced social networking as I think that, if this is the way to communicate, let it be it. It’s like using a different language: I wouldn’t be speaking Italian to English speakers, expecting them to understand me and reply in Italian; if everyone was just looking at Twitter feeds, I wouldn’t be sending emails to them, expecting them to reply by email. Thankfully, variety is the rule here; I love the idea of having more than one tool to communicate, and being able to choose the appropriate one according to the person I’m trying to communicate with. Also, I don’t think that secluding yourself in a disdainful ivory tower, declaring that new developments and technology are not for you and will never win you over, is a great favour you do to yourself. We would still be riding horses and litting candles if we hadn’t embraced technology and change.

CPD23 Week 5: Reflections

Not really knowing what to invent for this post, I started reflecting (!) on the meaning of the word reflection. You know, I love Latin, and every chance to talk about it doesn’t go amiss. The word is composed by re-, indicating repetition, and –flectere, which means “to bend”. Basically, reflection is the process of bending something over and over again in order for it to become flexible enough to take a different shape. It is an essential skill to apply to our actions and thoughts: taking them, twisting them in order to see where they might bring us, and then follow through.

Reflections on the Bohjini Lake, Slovenia

Cam23 Things 7-8: doodling, googling and extra-thinging

Thankfully this week is about tools I already know or use, so I will write only a few observations on them, leaving proper reflections for the cpd23 post (which I totally overlooked, thinking the reflection week would be a free week…I was slightly wrong!). 

Doodle: oh the wonder when I saw it being used for the first time! I haven’t had the chance to use it myself yet but I’m very keen. I will also do some pioneering work and try to introduce it in my office, where finding a convenient time for everyone to meet is a real challenge sometimes.
Google Calendar: I have been using it for some months now and I must admit I have almost abandoned completely my paper diary, which is a truly fundamental evolutional switch. As a child of the ’80s, who had her first computer in 1990 – we were among the first to have one; it was the Mac Steve Jobs had launched a few years earlier (if you haven't seen it already, watch this video. Seriously) – I always thought I would trust paper forever. I still have my little diary and I will keep it somehow alive for the rest of 2011, but I see that Google Calendar is quickly replacing it. It’s easy to use and I like the fact that I can create as many different calendars as I need, colour-code them, and switch them on and off. I have one for work and one for my extra-work life, and I love switching the work one off when I finish my day in the office. Also, seeing that big chunk between 6pm and 9pm gives me the impression that I’ve got a lot of time in front of me after finishing work. I know this is not very scientific but it’s the feature I probably like most at the moment.
Regarding using it for work, this would require an extremely long post, and probably written under a fake name!!! I loved reading the post on how libraries use it and I will keep it all in mind for when the chance for a change will arise.

Thank you also for the link to the http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/libraries/calendar.html, I have now added Librarians in Training and the Brown Bag Lunches to my calendar. This counts as my extra thing!

Cam23 Things 5 and 6: Screenshots and -casting

I'm late again, still talking about screenshots and screencasting, but hopefully with a new tool to share with you, as I haven't found it mentioned in any of your posts. I've never been a great fan of the Print Screen button, and for some reason Microsoft Paint has never been my favourite image-manipulation option; if I have understood it correctly, LightShot is available only for Firefox and Chrome, which I haven't got, so what am I going to do? I'm going to share with you the amazing power of the Windows 7 Snipping Tool, plus Microsoft Office Picture Manager. Excited? Wait and see...

Self-plagiarism (CPD23 Thing4)

So it appears that cpd23 Thing4 corresponds more or less to Cam23 Things 3-4: what a shame! ;-) Will have to resort to self-plagiarism and link back to my post below. Apart from going to the Take That concert, I’m running a bit late because I’ve been quite busy with setting up some little projects before our brains switch off and, following our users, desert the library for the Summer. This is because I just CAN’T sit at my desk and enjoy a quieter time – I have to find things to do and yes, you are right, I can be an absolute pain for my colleagues what with projects, developments, changes, improvements, etc. etc. Well I guess I’m paid to do something in the Summer too, otherwise I would stay at home and take care of my garden (or something like that).

Just one more thing to say that I can’t try Pushnote because I don’t have all those alternative browsers at work. Of our two home laptops, one is almost ten years old and already suffering from overload (when we tried to download IE8 it all failed and left us with the message “your browser is obsolete – install IE8 again”), the other is the Sacred Computer My Husband Uses for Work, which I can’t use much: apparently, every time I touch it I revert to the clumsier IT person in the world. On the contrary, when I use my laptop, I’m an IT geek. Neither is completely true, but my husband seems to think so. Mysteries of the human psychology!
So enough for this week, sorry Pushnote but I might give you a try when you too will have been swallowed by Microsoft (or at least made a sort of agreement with them!).

Cam23 Week2 – Sorry I’m late

Dear oh dear, what a hectic week last week! At the Careers Service Library we were busy catching the last finalists before they left for good, and when they did leave, we were literally invaded by not-so-new and potentially-new employers who all wanted to visit the library and browse our resources [I'm not complaining, just making excuses for being so late!].

CPD23 Thing 3: Branding myself

Part I – My brand
  
I let a couple of days pass since Thing 3 went up on the cpd23 blog and, in the meantime, I had a look at what other people were saying about their personal brand. The thing that struck me most was the exercise mentioned by Tina in Tina’s Library Related Stuff: define your brand in six words. Come on – I told myself - six words, it can’t be difficult! Well, I have been thinking about it for three days now, and haven’t come up with ANYTHING, so I will be using this post (and your patience) for a bit of self-brainstorming.

Cam23 Extra #1: Improving

Hello again Cambridge!

I will be with you from Wednesday onwards, but I'm publishing a quick post just to say that on Saturday I spent some time improving my blog with the excuse of the extra thing number 1.

And also Cam23 Thing 2: Blogs and social media

I have talked about my relationship with blogging in the CPD23 first post; and I have partially covered social media in Cam23 Thing 1 (see the paragraph about my scattered brain!). I’ll just add that I tend to use Facebook for personal reasons, and Twitter for professional reasons. I’m working my way around LinkedIn. I am a huge fan of Flickr, first because I love photography, and second because it allowed me to set up a beautiful image library for my department (password-protected too – I’d love to show it to you). Twitter was difficult at the beginning – it takes time to adapt to that kind of communication.

Cam23 Thing 1: iGoogle

Hello Cambridge! Here I am with my first post for Cam23.

In a bit of a hurry, I have created my first iGoogle page. Why on earth nobody told me about it before? ;-) I was franctically jumping between GoogleDocs, Reader, Gmail, Calendar, etc. etc., without knowing I could have them all in one place.

CPD23 Thing 2: More blogging

As promised, today at lunchtime I went blog-hunting to find other CPD23-ers and see what they had been up to for Thing 1. I based my search on the conversation on twitter (#cpd23) and visited almost all those who sent a proud tweep about their first post yesterday. I also took a quick look at the Participants list and the tags on Delicious, to pick some interesting titles. Like I do with books, I choose bloggers on the basis of catchy titles – well done to Conan The Librarian Strikes Back who had me looking at that blog even if there was no CPD23 post on there yet.

CPD23 Thing 1: Blogging

Finally, the day has arrived: here we are with some 23-things related posts. I will try to keep the CPD23 and Cam23 separated and blog on different days, ideally CPD23 on Monday and Tuesday, Cam23 in the rest of the week. Sounds feasible, doesn’t it? ;-)

So, why am I taking part in the course? Well, being a member of the organising team, I suppose I couldn’t keep my place behind the scenes, and just watch all you people having fun with our programme. Besides, to overcome a sense of being stuck that was starting to haunt me, I have been thinking a lot about my career in the past few months, so this seems to be the perfect chance to gather my thoughts together and transform them in some form of action.

CPD23: will you?

Back in January, I had a nice talk to myself and decided to stick to the following rule for the first half of 2011: don't turn myself down and don’t prevent me from doing things. This is mainly why I now find myself running like a hamster in a wheel to keep everthing going...but feeling more alive than ever. When I was asked to be part of the CPD23 organising team, I said "yes" without even knowing what a 23 Things programme was.

Personal post #1: Call me (by my) names

I stated under the blog name that this is a place where I’ll write about “libraries, careers, life in a foreign country and other things”: the reason being that, although I am an information and library workaholic, this isn’t everything that there is to say about me...and somehow it doesn’t sound right to give you only that side of my life. If you are very focussed librarians and really, really don’t want to know anything else about me, you are welcome to stick to the professional posts – I will clearly mark the personal ones, and I promise I will take no offence.

This first personal post is all about a very basic fact: my real, full, first name is Maria Giovanna.

A first name composed by Maria + something else is quite common in Italy so apparently there’s not much originality in this choice, but the combination of Maria and Giovanna is indeed quite rare and I have met only two people with the same name in my life so far. Maria is basically Mary – I know, you are clever and you already got that. Giovanna (to pronounce Jovanna) corresponds to Joanne or Jane.

The problems with this name didn’t start when I moved to the UK. It was a difficult name in Italy too. It’s long. It’s complicated. And the fact that my surname is also composed by two parts (De and Simone) doesn’t really help.

But the problem really escalated in the UK. Nobody seems to get it right – everybody assumes that Giovanna is a middle name and therefore ignores it completely. I don’t mind being called with nicknames or shortened versions of my name, but what really annoys me is people ASSUMING that my name is just Maria. It particularly drives me mad when I sign an email with my full first name and I receive a reply saying “Dear Maria”. Argh. So, request number one: check other people’s signatures. Make sure you address them the way they want to be addressed.

I do understand that remembering and pronouncing my name is difficult for an English speaker; and as I said, I don’t mind nicknames, so here’s a list of the names I have been given by my friends or family during my life.

• Mari (to pronounce: maree)
• Marigio’ (mareejo’, with an accent on the last “o”)
• Mary Jo (you know how to say this one!)
• Giovanna (jovanna)
• Gio’ (= jo)
• MG (pronounced the English way-phew!)

Feel free to choose the one you prefer. I’d say MG is by far the best for an English speaker and I might adopt it as a real name one day (J.Lo, brace yourself!). So, request number two: ask for the owner’s permission before shortening a name. If the name is long, the owner will be more than happy for it to be shortened – and will love to hear new ideas about it too!

Now you will be wondering: why not "Maria"? And why don’t you just shorten it yourself, and maybe even use your husband’s surname (Colli), which is shorter and easier? Well, "just Maria” feels somehow reductive. Moreover, both my grannies were called Maria, and this makes me feel a bit awkward. I must admit that for quick exchanges (booking the hairdresser; signing for deliveries; etc.) I do use “Maria Colli”. However, for some reason that would require a psychologist’s help to be detected and fully explored, I can’t dump my full first name. It’s long, complicated, terribly Italian, and I didn’t like it when I was younger; but the older I get, the more attached to it I feel. So,  request number three: call me (by my) names, and don’t get offended if I correct you.

Thank you!

*This post is dedicated to Niamh and Katie, who encouraged me to fight for my name; to my husband, who has never shortened it; to the colleagues who make an effort to use it (some of them do!); and to my Mum, who chose it and thus started the whole story.

Queen: stop this nonsense!*

Having been "caught" taking loads of notes at Annie Mauger’s talk at the UL yesterday evening, here I am, with my thoughts and observations. First of all, I must thank Annie Johnson for writing a very well structured blog post, that gives a perfect summary of the concepts touched by the CILIP CEO in her talk: if you don’t know what I’m talking about, please read that post first and then come back.

Under a cataloguing spell

Walking over to the UL this morning, heading for a course on AACR2, I met one of my colleagues who kindly asked me where I was going, and then was brave enough to even ask what the course was about. I mumbled the words "catagoguing" "librarian" "tech stuff", and thus scared her off. I met her again when I came back and she asked how the course was. Well, there was no way of lying: it was great. So, with a big smile on my face, I told her that I liked it a lot, and probably put her off for good (!).

The first post

Hello folks
I'm aware that I'm talking to myself right now, but I have to give it a go nevertheless. I have been playing with Blogger for some hours and I'm pretty confident I'll manage to make it look like I want it to look...at some point soon.
It's a brave new world out here and I'm quite daunted, so I'm summoning my journalist skills (I used to be a newspaper journalist in one of my previous lives) and plunging into the blogging world.
Wish me good luck!