Wonderful programs coming up!

At 7pm, July 29th (that's this Thursday) author Jack Henke will be talking about Oneida Lake history at the Brewerton Library. Mr. Henke is the director of the Oneida Lake Association and author of many books of stories and information about the communities that grew up around the lake.

On August 12th, classical guitarist Peter Fletcher is back by popular demand and will perform at the Cicero Library at 6:30 pm.  Peter Fletcher’s three recordings, The Art of Classical Guitar, A Peter Fletcher Recital and Federico Mompou: Guitar Works (Centaur Records CRC 2588), have received critical acclaim. 

Ruminating on Twitter, LinkedIn and the like

I just revisited my twitter account and my LinkedIn account, in honor of The 23 Things project.  (When, oh when will someone solve the problem of dozens of user logons and passwords?)  These wonderful social networking tools make me wish that I were just starting out - I can see so many ways to use them in building a career.

In the past we counted on professional journals and conferences to learn about best practices and to connect with colleagues from other parts of the country.  Librarians who were lucky enough to work for organizations that supported continuous learning, or who had financial resources of their own could attend conferences, take courses, or go to workshops, but others were more isolated - limited to their own local libraries.  What a difference when you can have a skype conversation with someone like David Lee King, participate easily in webinars and virtual conferences, and ask questions and get ANSWERS from experts and from generous and experienced colleagues you may never meet in person!

Our working lives have been transformed.  Despite the stress of information overload, and the fact that we seem to be connected to work for 16 hours out of 24, the benefits are extraordinary.  Wonder what it will be like in 5 years, or 10 years?

NY Times columnist David Brooks on the importance of books in the home

There is a terrific column in the New York Times today.  We know it's true, but it's nice to have studies backing us up.  Give it a read...

Kids still need books and libraries!