ASSOCIATES (2009, November, v. 16, no. 2)
Column
My View from the Back Room
Carol Borzyskowski
Library Associate II
Winona Public Library
carolb@selco.info
The times they are a’ changing.
Kevin asked the question, “What is your favorite Library 2.0 tool?” I suppose there are some snappy zippy answers coming in, right? My honest response is that I don’t use any that I can think of. Sad, isn’t it? I took several classes, checked out tons of options and haven’t been able to incorporate anything into my daily review. I joined Twitter only to have “friendly” unknown women follow my tweets (which are non-existent), and we have a Library Face Book page. That does get some usage, and I have my own Facebook pages, but I can’t see the point. I don’t want to take quizzes, send little gifts or test my intelligence. Hardly anyone just writes a note. The pictures are nice, but it is becoming something one HAS to do, and then I fade away.
We have a WiKi at work, but it rarely gets fired up. I tried to set one up for the Fine Arts Commission and it languished and died. The city web site doesn’t allow many new gadgets but I have managed to make a few work for us. The only 2.0 app that I use occasionally and enjoy is Flickr. I think that is great and I like making badges and picture shows and have actually posted those on the web site. But it all comes down to time, and that I don’t have to spare.
I am concerned that I am being technologically passed by. I am plodding along on the pedestrian path while everyone else seems to wiz by in a vehicle designed by George Jetson. Hey, am I waving or drowning?
Just today as I was forced to inventory some phone books and exchanged them with even older ones on the shelves I suggested that all the phone numbers were already online and maybe we could promote that to the patrons. No. Maybe someday, but not now. Okay, okay!
But there have been some changes and I want to talk about those for a bit. I have been moved out of my hobbit hole and windowless corner by the staff bathroom to upstairs in the old staff bathroom. It does have a window though! Imagine one shooting arrows out a fortress, it looks like that, but I can see a tree branch and tell if it is raining. I am no longer pulling, packing and unpacking the ILLs. Yup! After all my years of saying, I can do something else, please? I have been re-assigned and re-located.
Due to the recent budget cuts we ended up very short staffed and are in the midst of a major overhaul in work loads and job descriptions. The library Director’s position was cut, along with the library secretary. Then to make things even more exciting one of our librarians quit. So instead of hiring a librarian, they added 3 part time entry positions. However they won’t be on board until the middle of December (maybe) and then they have to be trained.
I will still be doing the paperwork and handling the OCLC and MNLink ILLs & their accompanying paperwork, along with the ILL reports. I am going to be cataloging and processing serials instead of the ILLs. I am also going to be in charge of training the Circ desk staff (the 3 new people coming on board). Now that is a project I have wanted to tackle for quite a while. But now that I have been moved to the farthest location possible from the Circ Desk, I am wondering how that is going to work out. I envision an awful lot of to-ing and fro-ing in my future.
I am going to hope that once we can get our jobs sorted out, the staff trained, and a work flow arranged I might have time to add a few of the nifty newer 2.0 options. However I won’t be doing the web page anymore as that has been reassigned, or at least most of it. They saved a sliver for me to nibble on. Check in again next time and I will let you know where I am and what my job is then! Maybe I will post it on my Facebook page.
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