I just can’t help myself. This is so adorable.

And this is definitely a real fear.

It’s been a while and things have altered: drastically in some ways and not that much in others.

First of all, i received a job offer to work for the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in Bonn, Germany. I took it.

Not only did this take me on an adventure across the pond in a new country with a language i do not speak, but it also started me off on a different career path. A slight rather large change from Legal Librarianship to Records Management. What then, am i referring to that hasn’t changed in my life apart from continents, careers & languages? How about the fact that completely different places of employment can often emit similar atmospheres.

For example: There are just as many politics; stupid people; smart people; happy people; funny people; grumpy people; great bosses; mediocre bosses and downright awful bosses in one place as there are in another, regardless of geographical location.

Okay, not exactly groundbreaking news, however, it’s surprising how much of a comfort all this is when one finds themselves in a new place all alone.

that’s all for now…more to come.

le sigh

Like all new love, the more i click, the more my heart swoons.

And i constantly wonder how i made it through the day without it before. And why, if anyone knew about this before they didn’t tell me?

This one in particular is adorable…and this one….and this one, cus i’ve felt this way….and this one is apropos….

And the crowning victory? or maybe the nail in the coffin, you decide.

SEE? i can’t stop, i’m in love. le sigh.

On the one hand we have this article, making its rounds in library and facebook circles toting the ‘coolness’ of being a librarian (and as one friend pointed out, the article didn’t even refer to us as ‘information professionals’, so really, how hip are we?)

Then, on the other hand we have this. I would call this proof of the above, but perhaps others would call it fodder?!

I haven’t deciphered whether i fell in love with the country itself, or whether i fell in love with the idea of learning and traveling but not having to write a paper about it.

Slovenia was spectacular. Whether it was visiting a public library, the National Library, a theological library, the University libraries, the National Geographic library, or a vineyard, a castle in a cave, rafting on river Kolpa, or just chilling with an alcoholic beverage and good company, the trip had so much to offer I can’t even document it in its entirety.

All i can say is: if you can do it, DO IT. Sign up next year, follow this website.

Here are some pictures to tease you a bit

Ms. LibrarianInBlack directed me to this which i pass on for those of you who appreciate sleekgeek stuff.

This is an interesting article (by Mathew Ingram (June 16, 2007)) outlining the different sanctions Canadian bloggers may and are facing compared to our US counterparts.

Of particular interest:

University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist says Canadian bloggers need to be aware that by effectively becoming publishers, they are subject to the laws on defamation and libel.

…

Geist says he is also concerned that suits are increasingly being filed not just because of what a blogger says in a post, but because of what is said in comments by visitors to blogs.

While third parties are protected from such suits in the United States by the Communications Decency Act, Canada has no such protection, he says, and that raises “a significant threat of ‘libel chill.’”

Thank you to slaw.ca and Connie Crosby for posting this.

No, this title is not an oxymoron. I am, in fact, off on what i hope will be a fabulous vacation-come-learning-experience.

I am off to beautiful Ljubljana, Slovenia for a 2 week stint of all things library and Europe related. Check out the program here.

Fingers crossed no connection, baggage, security or other issues will arise and that it will be nothing but sun & fun.

Will report back as soon as i can…stay tuned.

Surfing one of my favourite websites for library sayings, i came upon the following rant to be pasted onto a t-shirt or mug:

Ok, sure. We’ve all got our little preconceived notions about who librarians are and what they do. Many people think of Librarians as diminutive civil servants, scuttling about “sssh-ing” people and stamping things.

Well, think again buster. Librarians have degrees. They go to graduate school for Information Science and become masters of data systems and Human-Computer Interaction. Librarians can catalogue anything from an onion to a dog’s ear.

They could catalogue you. Librarians wield unfathomable power. With a flip of the wrist they can hide your dissertation behind piles of old Field & Stream magazines. They can find data for your term paper that you never knew existed. They may even point you toward new and appropriate subject headings.

People become Librarians because they know too much. Their knowledge extends beyond mere categories. They cannot be confined to disciplines. Librarians are all-knowing and all-seeing.

They bring order to chaos. They bring wisdom and culture to the masses. They preserve every aspect of human knowledge. Librarians rule.

—

So here i am reading this, nodding my head in complete acknowledgment of these acclamations.

Until the last 2 paragraphs. What was it that struck me about those? How about their sheer ego-centric-patronizingly-upper-class sounding tone?

There’s just something about the off handed way it remarks that librarians “…preserve every aspect of human knowledge.”

We do what now? Dude, that’s a big responsibility. And we’re not the only ones doing it. I very much believe it is more of a shared societal duty rather than a single profession’s job to preserve every aspect.

And how about that “all-seeing, all-knowing” bit?  A bit presumptuous?

So this is where humour moves quickly into those broad generalizations that librarians have been fighting since the beginning.  Where does the humour and quick wit stop and the sweeping generalizations and ‘i’m better than you’ attitude begin?

Though i am ALL for promoting librarians and the information we provide, i am a bit hesitant in creating an elitist sounding profession that unwittingly puts itself on a pedestal and proclaims loud and clearly “we are awesome, here us roar”.

I am much more of a stealth-ish type myself: one where we go about our business with maybe a cute little hint here or there and let people decide for themselves rather than shoving it in their face.

As i step down from my soap box, anyone else care to share how they feel?  What is the difference between bold proclamation and obnoxious banter?

Perhaps in response to an earlier post, a friend emailed me this interesting article which defends our ol boy at the helm.

I think Linwood, as usual (insert boneheaded burlington wanna be cool guy insult here), is missing the point.

It’s not about Stephen Harper being able to relax and choose what he reads. It’s about educating the ol boy that the Arts matter and that Mr. Martel is using it as a public awareness tool about how little the gov’t contributes to the Arts either monetarily or in any other form of lack lustre support.