Getting Organized--Another Chance!

I know...I know..who wants to think of the new term when we are in the throes of finishing this one? But...over the winter break is a good time to let your stress seep out and renew your body and spirit! I am using the break to clear my head and organize my life in different ways now that graduate school is over (next Friday!) I have become a devotee of David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done (GTD). His methods of organization are designed to clear the stuff that keeps you awake at night, out of your head and into a "system." I have been working on perfecting my system but I still mess up now and again. More tweaking is in order!

Check him out on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-lvJAXZNmE and his website is found here: http://www.davidco.com/

Lest you think his ideas are just for corporate geeks, think again. He can teach you to develop a system that can be designed to aesthetically appeal to you and you alone. It can be the thing you need to get it all together. It need not cost you money to buy an expensive planner, etc. There are people who devise all types of hacks to make their own systems. They are called DIYers (Do It Yourselfers) and their forums are found at: http://www.diyplanner.com/

Take some time to kick back over the break and think of ways to make life less stressful by getting organized. After all, the time you save is your own!

The FINAL stretch!

We are waiting for the final barrage of students to frantically throw together those last minute assignments. I saw poster boards yesterday all ready to go for a presentation, some heads together working on group projects. We are open until midnight over the next two weeks so come and get 'er done! Our staff awaits your bidding!

On Wednesday at 11 AM to 1:30 PM we are feeding our student workers in Room 114 to say "Thanks!" We appreciate their dedication to Pierce Library.

Oh, and 13 more days until Graduate School is over----not that I am counting or anything! Best of luck to all of us as we wind down the days until Winter Holiday!

Something's A-foot! Oh, it's me!

Last Wednesday's surgery on my left foot to correct a hammertoe and bunion went well. At least from what I could see in my twilight sleep! I heard the saws but figured it was happening to someone else, somewhere else. Amazing what drugs can do to make these procedures so do-able. Anyway, I overestimated my ability to bear pain and the prescription that I had did not cut it. Miserable night. I got better stuff the next day and all was well. I have had two nights of better sleep. Goofed today, though. I created a foolproof way to take a shower AND keep my foot dry. I don't know what happened except it did. I got out of the shower with a bag of water around my foot. Yikers! I quickly dried it off with a hair dryer but the boot is still dampish. I hope I do not get foot rot, or some such dreadful condition. I just have to get through until Monday's checkup. I want to go back to work!!!!!!!!!!!

One more month of Grad School!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While this may be exhilarating to be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Dr. Kusack reminded me once that the light could be a train coming at you! I can't afford to let down until December 7th so I am working every available free moment. Projects are still being assembled, readings still coming at me, and so much more to cram into my head. It IS exciting to look over the last two years while I create my portfolio to see all the work that has been finished and the topics that I have learned about. It is amazing that that much work has been amassed and it gives me a clear picture of my strengths of content and areas I would like to continue to grow in. I am so fortunate to have had so much support from colleagues, friends, and family to succeed these last two years in my studies. More accolades later. I owe so much to my profs and classmates at Southern Connecticut State.

Campus Re-Organization

Beyond the crazy!

Last full month of graduate school coming up...working like a demon on final projects. My research stats are finished and graphs made. Just the writing remains...JUST! I have learned one thing...writing a literature review is a bear. There is not much published in my interest area (small academic libraries and digital projects) so I had to think hard to make much sense of what was there. Now, I am concentrating on getting all the periods and captions and italics in the correct places in APA format to produce a publishable research paper. Yikes.

My Acquisitions class is going well. Love the material and the chance to ruminate about the philosophy of collection and deselection, policies for development...all manner of practical processes to be learned for the real world of being a librarian.

All this, though, against the backdrop of what is happening at our university this coming week-- layoffs. We will get called in on Monday or Tuesday if our position is eliminated. Then, if you don't get a call, you may still be bumped by someone who has. The entire restructuring plan will be announced to the public on Wednesday- Halloween. Maybe we can all come to work dressed as the Grim Reaper to add a bit of levity to all the craziness!

So, if stress were a surplus item, it would be ON SALE at my house!

Another paper turned in!

Ever get so frazzled that you just stand in the middle of the room and disappear into thoughts that are unfocused and off-topic? I guess that is what is called hitting the wall. Luckily, a friend rescued me and made me go to a movie just to change the pace. I had been working on a serials paper for so long that I was no longer making sense. So, last night we went to see Michael Clayton at the local theatre. Just the ticket (so to speak) that I needed to come home and finish writing the sucker! It is not my best assignment but as Theresa says "A good project is a finished project." I learned a lot in the research about the status of serials acquisition (it is controlled chaos with lots of competing models) and so the assignment fulfilled its purpose. I am much better prepared to choose a subscription agent and to work my way through the morass of subscriptions and the balance of print to electronic formats.

Now, I have to re-write my research paper's literature review so that it resembles work from a human being instead of the random typings of a primate!

Idea Mapping

Everyone has moments (and mine are occurring more often these days!) when decisions have to be made, or I want to pause and gather thoughts, or work out all the elements of a project. There is a process called idea mapping, or mind mapping. I won't go into the history of the process but I can tell you that I would not be as successful in grad school without it. It is a process of brainstorming that gets all the ideas out and then helps you put them in a semblance of order leading to ACTION and COMPLETION of a task. Two worthy goals!

Here is a link to some explanation of it and some links to software to help. I am not advocating a commercial product because mind-mapping can be done with just pencil and paper but along with the ads come some great ideas on how to apply this process to your life. Pretty soon you will be so organized that you will know why and how you are coming and going!

Tony Buzan, the guru
Idea Mapping
Free Mind
Nova Mind
Inspiration-30 day free trial!
MindManager

Pocket Agenda for Free

Have a planner but too big to carry around? Wanna be more mobile?

In my never-ending quest to get organized, I have hit on a system that works for me, Getting Things Done by David Allen. More about that later. In the process, I have met lots of fellow geeksters who are mad to figure out how to get through the day without missing something. One of them told me about this website: http://repocketmod.com/

It is a way to construct a mobile agenda, shopping list, formula list, to do list, etc. You put in eight mini-pages, by dragging in an order that makes sense to you, and print them out. Using the folding instructions, it makes a little book to slip in your pocket or purse. It is very cool! No more lugging around your big planner but yet it keeps your appointments, lists, to do list very close to you!

You can even download the PC software and customize it to fit your needs.

Conversion Experience!

No, no, no----not a religious experience---a file conversion experience. Zamzar is a web utility that allows you to upload a file to their server in one format and get it emailed to you in another---for FREE!!!!!!!! So, what is the big deal about that? Ever get a pdf form to fill out but you can't write on it? Zamzar! Converted so that you can and then email it to the agency, prospective employer, or whoever as a Word document! No more faxing those pesky pdfs that can't be edited! YES!

Here's the BEST part- it will convert WordPerfect to Word! That will save much heartache in the ERC this school year. Many students come in with WordPerfect files and we can't convert them. Now, we can. This will be wonderful!

The link is: http://www.zamzar.com/

Getting it Together!

Ah! The smell of carpet glue, the pssst of the coffee cart's milk frother, the students rushing about looking for Loso or Inlow....it is that time of year! I can't wait to see all the new student library assistants on Saturday for our training day. It is new start....a time to initiate lasting friendships and kick up some fun at work! We are soooooooooooo dedicated to exceptional customer service. I will be hammering that home constantly!

Ryan and David came in for coffee cart training and they are doing well. Kathleen comes in for training on the Observer Project and the archive work tomorrow. It begins!

Another life FIRST-frothing milk!

Yesterday, under the tutelage of Shauntay, I frothed my first milk to make lattes at our coffee cart, Magna Cum Latte. It was so cool! (or should I say 160 degrees!) The students practiced yesterday and did a magnificent job. Pierce Library is putting great effort into this project to make the library more like a living room for students and faculty to relax, research. and study. There will be promotions and coffee cards to track purchases toward a free coffee. Keep watching this space for hours and days. Tentative opening is September 10th at 7:30 AM or as soon as the cart warms up, until 11AM. See you there!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unpacked!

The clothes are not what I would call hung up yet but at least everything is out of the suitcases. This included the excellent cans of Skyline Chili that will try to get us through the winter until another trip to Ohio brings more. For those of you not enlightened about Skyline Chili, you do not know what you are missing! A four-way can make your day!

In the library we are on skeleton crew as the staff finishes up summer vacations. We are kept busy by people visiting La Grande and wanting info about their deceased relatives. Since parking is free, they pile in here looking for newspaper articles, obituaries, and items donated in the past.

We continue to try to work on special projects in the spare moments. The Photo Archive project has halted since the personnel on that project are now holding down the service desks. The scanners are being put on other projects until the flow begins again from the photo archive personnel. The Observer Project is stopped as we lost our data-entry and indexing personnel. So, things are not moving as fast as I wanted them to. Working reference has slowed down my progress on the OH-GR Project. That time of year when Peter is paying Paul!

I continue to study Spanish, work on my summer grant proposal for Dr. Liu at SCSU, and play my heart out with The Summit Ridge Band in the evenings. Life is good!

We need YOU! Hiring at Pierce Library!

We are hiring for Fall 2007 as I write this! We have openings in most positions in the service areas of ERC/Circulation, shelving, shelf reading, and Government Documents. Our interview process is painless and quick-just about thirty minutes of your time. We do telephone interviews, too, so don't let the fact that you are in New York on vacation slow you down.

We are an excellent employment choice for work-study students. Your class schedule and other commitments are planned around when we work out a work schedule. We are very flexible to arrive at a schedule that supports you and your academic life.

Call 541.962.3780 for an application and interview time. Or write to sporter@eou.edu and an application will be sent to you via email. Join the Pierce family!

Back in the saddle-again! Summer School at SCSU

After three short weeks of rest, I am back in school again. This time working on a Field Project for Dr. Yan Liu. I am writing a grant proposal for a digital library (topic undisclosed to avoid tempting an industrial spy!) I am finding it hard to stay focused with our school year winding down here and all the grad parties, recitals, potlucks, departmental hooplah. It is hard to serve all masters with equal energy! Thank Goodness I set a timeline and am using that as I would any course syllabus. To adhere to my own deadlines is discipline indeed!

DRAT! Opening documents from EOU email

Some students are telling me that they try to open Word documents from their email and in the ERC the computers default to WordPad when the document opens. WordPad does not reflect their spacing and format.

To avoid that, right click on the document in email and "save as target" to the Desktop. Open up Microsoft Word and then under the File menu, open the document on the Desktop that you saved and ta da! your formatting should be intact--just like you left it before you sent it through the campus email system.

Coffee Break Spanish...excelente!

I know, I know...multitasking is really not being efficient, so says the research but...I am not filling my head with the non-harmonic music that is piped in full-blast into the gym each morning! I found Coffee Break Spanish to be just my cup of latte. It is a fifteen-minute or so program that I download on my iPod (I subscribe so it is easy to get this free and automatically downloaded through iTunes every week.) It is conversational Spanish and the hosts of the show are Scottish. It is a different twist- cutting through the Scottish accent to get to the Spanish- but it is like getting two cultures at once! Profesor Mark teaches the Spain-ish dialect in the instruction but he often points out sounds that are different in Mexican or Latin American Spanish. I am so enchanted by the show that I am now a bonus member that allows me to download pdf forms of the lessons, flashcards, and bonus broadcasts that often have relaxation elements that are very effective in lowering your anxiety while learning vocabulary.

Encantada Coffee Break Spanish. Este es la URL link: http://www.radiolingua.com/cbs/home.html

Whole Lot of Powerpoint Goin' On!

I look up often to see what is going on out there and if I don't see FaceBook or MySpace, I often see some Powerpoint presentations being constructed. There were so many yesterday, I thought I was teaching a clinic on the product. I also learned a thing of two and if I am wrong, someone please tell me more elegant ways to produce the same results. In particular, when a creator wants to use chemical symbols that require a subscript as in H20 (I can't do that properly in this dinky word processor), you have to highlight the letter that needs to be "sub-scripted" and change it in the Font menu under EDIT. It is a bit tedious if you have a group of them to do. Anyone know a better way?

New York Times Select Free!!!!!!!

To students and anyone with the .edu suffix on their email account., the New York Times Select is now free!!!!! Can't beat that price!

Go to
nytimes.com/university, input your .edu email address and follow the
directions from there.

A subscription to TimesSelect includes:

* OP-ED COLUMNISTS Enjoy exclusive online access.
* NEWS COLUMNISTS Explore the perspectives of select columnists
from Business, New York/Region, Sports and The International Herald
Tribune.
* THE ARCHIVE Explore The Times archive back to 1851. Access up to
100 articles per month.

Get in the know---for free!

One space or two after a period? Get hip!

It is time to drag yourself into the modern era! There is only one space after a period in modern typesetting (word processing.) In the old typewriter days, the characters were placed on the page with mono-spacing. That is why you had to use two spaces to make the sentence look as though it was ended. Now, though, characters are placed on the page by the computer using proportional spacing and the period carries it own extra space to signal the end of a sentence.

Don't believe me....just check out these sources:

http://webword.com/reports/period.html
http://wsu.edu/~brians/errors/spaces.html
http://www.mla.org/style/style_faq/style_faq3 Modern Language Association (MLA)
http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/011803.htm
http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=112 a short film
http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/typespacing/a/onetwospaces.htm

And the hangers-on:
http://roselli.org/adrian/articles/2spaces.asp

if you just can't break the habit, go ahead and do your ol' thing and then FIND/REPLACE the two spaces for one space throughout the document. Fix all those holes that make your document look like Irish lace!