tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7627493418787154022024-03-18T23:36:22.083-04:00Practicing Curiosityan exploration in serendipityTanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-59993556721607349812020-02-07T09:46:00.000-05:002020-02-07T09:46:29.833-05:00I'd rather not be dealing with it either...<html>I am grateful that you agreed to see me again. I know I’m unwell – systemically not well – and I know that not a small part of it falls under your expertise. I’d love to experience some kind of sustained improvement in function and quality of life. This is going to take 10 minutes to read, and requires action on your part, so thank you in advance for your time. <br><br>Here’s the thing: <br><br>I feel like my lifetime of depression and anxiety are being used against me, in an environment that is hugely triggering of anxiety, and the result is that I feel terrified. Terrified to advocate for myself. Terrified to be told it’s all in my head, all because of age, all because I should never have taken prednisone in the first place. Terrified because your esteemed colleagues have gone out of their way to undermine my well-being, making up diagnostic criteria on the fly (like that weakness only counts if a person actually can’t get up from a chair), and making sure that I understand I’m not worth the effort, denying even a 20 year diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Terrified to be misinterpreted, dismissed, mocked. <br><br>To say that my experience of both persistent and recurring pain and dysfunction throughout my body these last 4 years is due, in any significant manner, to my mental and emotional state is to disregard current documentation ie plain film images of cervical-lumbar spine; current observations ie bilateral tmj crepitus/pain etc, bilateral knee crepitus/pain, neck crepitus/pain, fingers swollen/painful nodules/recurrent beau’s lines on hands and feet (there are some on my toes right now, by the way) and the fact that it all came crashing down starting in early 2018 IE within <b>3 MONTHS AFTER STOPPING DMARDS and PREDNISONE LEVELS UNDER 10MG</b>. <br><br>And it is to disregard historical evidence: ie anti-rnp, wrist imaging because of theoretical subluxation causing flex/extension/load-bearing and stretch pain (continuously recurring since then); ankle imaging due to recurrent sharp pain, like bone on bone, and sense of instability (never stopped happening); thoracic spine plain film because of months of upper back/neck pain and dysfunction that has continued to recur/persist; jaw plain film images because of increased idiopathic tmj issues (that kept happening); tmj mri showing “internal derangement” when my jaw was locked on the left for the first time after it always being on the right; AND all the while living an active, healthy, productive life, with depression/anxiety co-existing alongside varying levels of chronic and recurring pain/functional limitations UNTIL late 2015, when I started feeling (increasingly, persistently) unwell, but kept pushing myself because: NO work NO PAY. <br><br>It is to ignore the fact that I DID experience periods of improvement during 2016-2017, just that they were not particularly stable. It is to ignore that my experience is not uncommon, that there are confounders to treatment for inflammatory arthritic conditions, such as FM, hypermobility, gluten sensitivity/celiac disease, myopathy, borrelia, nerve pain/damage…<br><br>It does nothing good for my mental health or anxiety to have these facts tossed by the wayside, the validity of their role in explaining some of my experiences of my body unacknowledged. It feels like I’m being subjected to non-standard or arbitrary criteria, for instance, your expectation that I’ll experience improvement after 3 months (how is this reasonable, since my sleep is still severely disturbed, and IF I ALSO have FM or other factors contributing to my pain and dysfunction? ) or to disregard an historical positive anti-rnp result, or fail to acknowledge the huge gaping holes in the current understanding the role of ANA (ie Pisetzky at the 2019 winter rheum confab). You ask me what I think is going on, and it feels like you’re baiting me, setting me up so you can knock me down, just like your colleagues have done, to deny anything is now or ever has been wrong. I’ve been so undone by their hypocritical and harmful words and actions. <br><br>I wish I could simply trust your intentions. I’m trying. <br><br>It is not helpful to my mental state not to name the things that are present now, ie osteoarthritic changes to multiple joints, Achilles tendonopathy, worst I’ve ever experienced, symptoms beginning in late 2017 and that developed while wearing (new in 2016) custom orthotics designed to address pronation among other things, suggesting some other biomechanical changes have triggered the current problems - I walk with all the grace of Frankenstein’s monster these past years, because of stiffness/pain/fatigue/weakness; plantar fascia –itis or –opathy, which I’ve never experienced before 2016; and then there is the intense pain under my heels from the first step of the day, along with evidence of pedal papules (going back about a decade for those). For the record, I first used custom orthotics around 2004 as per Dr. Stanley Sweet,(Toronto) because of Achilles pain, thickening from over-pronation, but no plantar pain, which now makes ever step brutally painful<br><br>Equally problematic is the apparent refusal to consider 1) the physical abilities required by my former employment, including formal recertification, every 2 years, of physical ability to do the work, which I successfully achieved in 2015; and 2) the fact that I was unable to do any of it by the summer of 2016 because of a combination of pain and functional limitations including physical fatigue, impaired range of motion and loss of strength. When I decided to pursue the aquatics courses in January 2013 that led to me working as a lifeguard and swim instructor that same summer, I outperformed teenagers for strength, speed and endurance. I just got in the pool one night and started swimming. <br><br>I understand about not wanting to deal with the messiness of mental health issues during clinic visits. So I’m hoping all of this helps you understand some of the factors contributing to that messy mental state. Osteoarthritis and disc degeneration – <b>that were already present in my early 30s!</b> - may not fall under your remit, for instance, but ignoring it as though it doesn’t exist or have the potential to contribute to the pain and dysfunction I’m experiencing now is wrong, and harmful. It’s what your colleague have done to me. It feels like gaslighting. If you are concerned about my mental state, please understand saying something like “giving you the benefit of the doubt” is hugely anxiety inducing, as though none of the above exists. <br> <br> I get that it’s a lot to sort out, too much to focus on, overwhelming. I can’t help but constantly be wondering about my reality, and wondering if it being a psychotic break would be preferable to my current quality of life. But then I remember tmj mri reports about internal derangement, and spinal plain films showing disc degeneration and nerve space narrowing and arthroses, and rnp antibodies. <br><br> Here’s what I didn’t mention or clarify on January 30, 2020. Many are either new since early 2018; those that predate are now more pronounced. I knew I was on borrowed time, and I was too afraid to push. I don’t think it matters now: <br><ul><li>About the sense of bruise like pain: there may not be bruises present, but there are often (newly in the past few years) prominent surface veins of varying width that seem to correspond to where I feel discomfort, and are tender to touch, from head to feet and everywhere in between. Or it is a deep pain, such as in behind my knees, extending up into the hamstring region and down to the top of the calf most noticeable when I lie down. <br><li>The skin on the sides and palmar surface of my hands is now creased/roughened/calloused , red, with varying degrees and types of discomfort; the same is true of my feet, particularly the arches/medial heel. The bulk of this occurred in 2018. The exceptions: 5th finger, palmer and lateral roughness/creasing, extending down hand, 2nd finger lateral and palmer roughness/creasing, both pre 2016. The skin stings/burns (like having been slapped hard), or a feeling that it’s being torn. Sometimes lidocaine helps. My nails hurt, like a narrow blunt object is being pressed down on them near cuticle. All my fingers and toes now have longitudinal ridges, but prior to 2018 a few single ridges on 3 fingers and 2 toes. <br><li>My hands and feet, in addition to fingers/toes and wrists/ankles, are sore and puffy, some days are worse than others right from the beginning. It’s in how my wrist splints fit, or how tight my boots feel. My hands and feet get cold out of nowhere and stay cold for hours, in spite of heated blankets. I first experienced this when I was 18 (and intermittently since then), family doctor concerned enough she referred me to a neuro, who was utterly dismissive. <br><li>The extent of the redness (that I itches if I don’t take antihistamine) and that I’m still not sure if it’s considered a “rash”, and most of which emerged or reemerged (improved during 16/17) starting in early 2018: across collarbones/sternum/shoulders/arms /breasts small patches of veiny redness at joints that also hurt (knees, elbows, ankles); across knuckles; forearms when they’re really achy; band of discoloration across my nose and cheeks (also was very prominent when I first fell ill, but I doubt that made it into any medical records at the time), sometimes chin, forehead, under/around my eyes. I’ve been very careful about sun exposure, which definitely makes it more pronounced, as do both cold and heat. I see pictures in medical journal articles or similar that show what I see on my own body, images that correspond to known conditions. It feels like I’m being evaluated against arbitrarily tight criteria. <br><li>The current puffy discoloration around my eyes re-emerged in mid 2018 (was also present when I first started feeling unwell, but improved), the puffiness then got worse around the same time I gained 20lbs over 2 months (late 2018/early 2019). It is worse on my left side. It is not due to the ongoing disturbed sleep for over 4 years. <br><li>Sleep is disturbed – no more than 2 hours continuously - by a combination of 1)pain/discomfort requiring a change in position – eventually my right hip/pelvis/low back is uncomfortable in every position, usually after about 5 hours; 2)temperature dysregulation: elevated temps/low fever/sweats/chills/hot flashes; 3)frequent need to urinate (fewer than 3 times/night is unusual) that is not due to nighttime fluid consumption (which I’ve drastically curtailed in spite of thirst). <br><li>Lying down in bed is actually physically painful, with multiple locations feeling pressure and discomfort: back of heels, back of knees, pelvis, elbows, that recur during the night. <br><li>Regular daily pain along the margin of my ribs from sternum around to the flank, tender to touch, sense of muscles twitching, fullness/pressure sometimes behind false/floating ribs on either side. <br><li>Regular, near daily pain up the side of my head into the temple, mostly left side, occasionally right, sometimes seems to start at the base of my neck near clavicle or just below my ear. My skating helmet (new in 2016) now presses uncomfortably against this area (didn’t used to). Note: “women over 50” is code for menopause, but because of the inherent misogyny of the medical industry, female hormones have been studied only in their relation to reproduction. <br><li>Regular daily pain in and around the eyes, muscle twitches, my eyes now have a tendency to stray laterally (according to optometrist), dryness, left worse than right for all of this, and a whole bunch of visual disturbances that interfere with reading, walking, driving, or simply having my eyes open. <br><li>Regular daily changes in hearing and tinnitus, pain in/around ear drum (with muscle spasms of same), and daily experiences of painful noise. My ears are almost always uncomfortably cold. Oh, and recurrent sores, 2 spots on left ear, one on right. <br><li>Neurological symptoms: muscle twitches causing and entire leg (affecting both sides not at same time), or my torso to spasm involuntarily; tingling that affects only one side of my body, usually left (head/face/shoulder arm, or pelvis/leg), tingling etc in feet (bilateral), and the entirety of symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia, (raised as a possibility by my Toronto doctor, when discussing migraine symptoms, but since maxalt seemed to help nothing further was done). I know this isn’t any of your professional concern, but not making you aware of possible confounders to treatment, or even diagnosis, does me no favours. <br><li> Beighton scale of 5-7 depending on the day (thumb to forearm is the ONLY item that has never applied to me), positive wrist sign, symptoms of bladder prolapse, spontaneous bilateral knee hyperextension while walking/stairs (a regular occurrence in my youth ~age 7), elbows painful resistance to full extension particularly under load as though the joint isn’t tracking properly, right hip painful resistance or “cracking” to abduction/flexion/weight shifting/rolling over in bed, feeling that it isn’t sitting properly; neck flexion that triggers sense of impending blackout (not breath holding) and wishing I could take my head off and put it back on again, shoulders (the right one too, that’s never suffered injury) that crunch and clunk painfully, including rolling over in bed or reaching for objects, 4th and 5th fingers (PIP and DIP) that painfully crack laterally from holding/manipulating objects like frying pan, carrying gallon jug of water. And a history of feeling joint instability accompanied by doctors telling me I’m wrong, complicated in part because of the failure to diagnose Hypermobility Syndrome when I was a child, a diagnosis that would ease the way for doctors to accept my experiences of joint instability as an adult. I don’t know if other EDS criteria apply to me, like mild skin hyperextensibility or “doughiness” , I just know it was inappropriately dismissed from consideration based on one element of one element of the diagnostic criteria. </ul> <br> And before I take the drug, there are other things that didn’t come up, that relate to warnings about Xeljanz. I suppose I should get them checked out before starting the medication – just can’t shake the feeling that I’ll be pawed at and then mocked/dismissed/ignored as happened last time I tried to get something checked out by a GP at a walk in. <br> <ul> <li> Unexplained raised spots on my abdomen that are tender, palpable, occasionally itchy and become more noticeable (along with generalized tingling/itch across abdomen), first noticed early 2017, more problematic since 2018. I don’t consider it a rash, considered mentioning it but it would have required more time, more examination, and I already knew I had been too long. Oh, and ongoing and new GI issues. <br><li> I regularly experience arrhythmia, have done so for well over 2 years. Well, 2 different kinds. The first, more common (near daily) feels like “BEAT beat pause” at a normal rate, and seems to correspond to exertion, and also to lying down. It isn’t uncomfortable, just odd feeling, especially when lying down. The second (less than weekly) feels like an absent beat in an otherwise sluggish/heavy rate, that is accompanied by an unpleasant and uncomfortable hollowing/caving in sensation in my chest, breathing feels like a lot of work and general off feeling. Oh, and tachycardia in the absence of exertion. <br><li> Pretty much every day, more than once, there are periods when breathing just feels like a lot of effort, unrelated to exertion, and corresponding feeling of being short of breath/not getting enough air. I know I’m not “holding” my breath – when it happens the first thing I’m aware of is taking a big breath in. <br><li> Symptoms of recurring kidney stones, intense thirst in spite of regular fluid consumption throughout the day; and in the past 6 weeks routinely darker/more concentrated urine even with water/noncaffinated tea intake of at least 2 liters consumed throughout the day; fluid retention, reduction in daytime urine output with as much volume from 8pm-8am as the opposite, especially if I give in to my thirst/drink more than 2.5l/day; foamy urine multiple times/day, a handful of times really dark (ie strong tea) with increased muscle aches; and there’s that ~20lb weight gain over ~2 months a year ago, that hasn’t budged, around the same time the foamy urine started (late 2018/early 2019). </ul> <br> <br> And this is the role of the GP, to help investigate these other matters – I get that. I tried that. Only to have my words and history misinterpreted, taken out of context, used against me, never told that plain film xrays document physical changes throughout my SYMPTOMATIC spine but instead told I’m a hypochondriac, told enough has been done, along with the outright denial of prior diagnoses. <br><br> If you get to this point, and wish you’d just said no to seeing me again, well, I can’t say I blame you. There’s rather a bit too much going on. I’d rather not be dealing with myself either. <br> <br>You obviously have a very busy practice and I’m not going to get in the way of you trying to help others. <br><br><b> So if you want out, you got it.</b> You just need to put it in writing, that you’ve changed your mind and are deciding not to see me because it’s too much to deal with, too messy, that someone else will be better served by that clinic time. <br><br> <b> What you cannot say is that it is because there isn’t evidence , or that there isn’t anything wrong with me, or even that I don’t fall under your remit. </b><br> <br> Put it in writing and send it to me before my next appointment, because getting to Penticton is difficult for me, exhausting and physically fatiguing to come by bus because I’m not able to make the drive myself. There’s no point me making the trip if you’re going to remain inappropriately focused on my mental and emotional state as the primary cause of my physical pain and dysfunction. <br> <br>If you don’t want out, well I need to know that you’ve read and understand these words, that you acknowledge there are confounding factors and accept me for who I am. Maybe you can put that in writing too. </html>Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-81973010440672007942018-01-21T10:23:00.003-05:002018-01-21T10:23:43.282-05:00In Sympathy for Schroedinger's Cat<html><body>When people with schizophrenia experience auditory hallucinations in the form of voices, the part of their brain responsible for processing auditory stimuli is active, as though they are actually hearing other people speaking. Ongoing research into this phenomena shows it also interferes with the hearing and processing of actual human voices, (e .g. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2525988/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2525988/</a>) doubly confounding a person’s ability to interact with the world around them.<p>It is a terrible self-perpetuating symptom, one I’ve seen first-hand in both my own and Dear Hubby’s families. </p>
<blockquote>
If you are lucidly aware of your disease, the knowledge makes you vigilant, questioning your perceptions, seeking clues to confirm what aren’t sure of. It leaves you exhausted and uncertain. </blockquote>
<blockquote>If the disease is dominant, the confusion makes you vigilant, questioning your (and others’) perceptions, seeking clues to confirm what you aren’t sure of. It leaves you exhausted and uncertain.</blockquote>
<p>I learned this interesting fact some years ago from an essay by Sir Robin Murray in a wonderful book called <u>What Scientists Think</u>, an enlightening and accessible collection of writing about a range of topics. These voice hallucinations were likened to basic thoughts that somehow had become externalized. Looking at it this way, in turn, offered an approach for cognitive therapy that showed promise with some patients: over time they learned to re-recognize their thoughts as just that. This is no small feat, teasing apart the confusing confluence of (mis)perceptions of actual things from hallucinations of non-actual things. It would be like rewiring your own brain! </p><p>And still you’d remain vigilant. Because how could you not, living with and in a body that conspires against you physically and mentally, one that is unreliable, unpredictable, and, let’s face it, <b>untrustworthy? </b></p>
<blockquote>It might even make you feel <i>Anxious</i>.</blockquote>
Before you know it, your doctor wants to add a new medication. One that will help your “mood”. <p>Schizophrenia is one of many traitorous, diseases and disorders, keeping company with Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, ALS, Lyme, and indeed most autoimmune inflammatory diseases. </p>
<p>You are Schroedinger's cat, and every day, every <i>moment</i> is like reopening the box, not knowing how able your body will be. Perfect conditions for Anxiety, and it's close cousin Depression, even among the most stouthearted.</p>
<p>Anxiety isn’t new in my life. Quite the opposite: is it structural, foundational, with turns towards depression and a dark affinity for nothingness since grade school. It is so obvious to me now, as I’m sure it is to anyone who knew me then. it was a generalized anxiety, always there in the background, and mostly not interfering. The only thing that saved me was my body, even as puberty kicked in. I remember the self-consciousness that went along with developing breasts when a single digit was still enough to mark my years. Some of my friends were the same, with bra strap lines on our backs. When boys started noticing it was uncomfortable; but I didn't feel anxious about it. </p>
<p>Within a year of getting my first period, (a few months before I turned 11), I was experiencing severe cramps and heavy bleeding and feeling like I had the flu for a few days. It was inconvenient among other things. It caused pain and literal disruption at times (aka nausea) severe enough that I’d miss school. But not anxiety about my body. I was female, I’d be been given “the talk”. This was life.
</p>
Through all this time I was swimming competitively. I was good at it, and I liked both the work and the winning. No surprise, it made me feel good about myself. And, also, it didn’t hurt to swim. <i>Yet</i>. <br />So, I figured out tampons, and occasionally asked for Tylenol, because staying still wasn’t an option. <br />Anxiety? Yes. In talking about it, when I actually needed tampons and tylenol. Otherwise it was just keep going.
<p>Early in life I learned the blessing of physical activity as a balm against many kinds of discomfort. I was an active kid and I’ve had lots of joint injuries, repeatedly in a few cases. I figure in the 6 years spanning 10 to 15 years old, I spent more than a year of my life on crutches just for my left knee. I was such a regular at the physio department up at the hospital during this time that eventually we just didn’t bring the crutches back. I injured myself, rehabbed and got busy again. Athletics, sports, being active - all of it - gave me focus. A physical outlet. A place (the gym, the pool, the field) and persona (skilled, part of something bigger, valued) that made sense to me, when pretty much nothing else did. </p> <p>No anxiety about my body, though. I was young, an athlete, and believed the words of doctors and physiotherapists and coaches who told me I could get better, and that it was worth it. </p>
<p>And it was. I learned, very early in life, the joys of physical activity and exercise, of making my body work hard and try new skills and sports. </p> I realized why, one day while leading aquafit at the Oliver Community Pool, when out of the blue I said: <blockquote><b>Ladies! You owe it to yourself to stay strong and flexible your whole life! You never know when you might need to squat to pee.</b> </blockquote> It got laughs. Because it’s true.
<p>Living that lesson might be the only thing that saves me amidst the may myriad ways my mind and body so effectively betray me these days, enough at times to leave me regretting the weakness of my younger self.</P>
<p>Physical pain is one thing, and familiar, bookending most of my days for decades. I remember my GP doc frowning at me when I commented about it being a rude reminder that I am alive even before I am fully awake. In a weird symmetry, pain would - and still does - drive me from bed in the morning, and by the end of the day lying down again was, and is, the only way to find a few hours of respite. </p>
<p>That hasn’t changed, although the magnitude, and type, and locations, of the pain is vastly amplified. I never used to cry because of it. And it can be confusing, as new pain points and symptoms have emerged since I’ve started treatment or I get a cold, and everything feels worse again. </p>
<p>And a bit crazy making, because I'd report these things to the rheum doc and they seem to just go into a black hole. I’m left wondering if my feeling worse is significant or not, in light of current medical belief that bloodwork and a temperature of 38 are the indicators of infection.</p>
<p>And exhausting, with bouts of heavy fatigue the result of concentrating intensely against the pain to get something, anything, accomplished. But pain is familiar and kinda sorta manageable, if only by screaming into the wind.</p>
<p>Not so much the intermittent sense of motion as I process both extra and absent sounds while wondering if I’m seeing a cloud of midges 6 inches from my face (in December) or am suddenly living inside a disco ball. These auditory, vestibular and visual disturbances range from mildly annoying to distracting to potentially dangerous, since my balance, even my ability to walk in a straight line, is also affected. But not all the time. </p>
<p>I’m often questioning my perceptions. I don’t quite trust myself. I don’t trust my body. I don’t feel like I know it, or even that it belongs to me at times. How else did it take me so long to realize I shouldn’t be able to see my ribs like that? That I’d dropped 50 pounds, bottoming out at 136! over just a few months. Even when I’d deliberately tried to lose weight I’d get to around 160 through diet and exercise, and that was it. That particular conundrum is still officially unresolved, but my money is on methotrexate induced celiac disease or severe intolerance to gluten. I’ve developed a disordered relationship with food, with things I’ve eaten my whole life now triggering bouts of obvious malabsorption while doctors tell me it is IBS. Or ask me if I’m even eating. </p>
<p>Yes. Really. </p>
<p>So there’s a whole extra layer to the anxiety now, and the awareness that, with few exceptions, doctors are bad for my health. I’ve seen too many doctors who have failed me, some miserably, a few with outright lies. They demonstrate remarkable ignorance about their own areas of expertise (e.g. that MTX can cause damage to the small intestine <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2773868/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2773868/</a>I don’t trust them, especially for how they’ve made me not trust myself. </p>
<p>Bless Dr B, though. He was slow to accept that trying to improve my mood in the face of being so unwell was misguided. He really got it when ALL of me felt so obviously better after starting prednisone again. For about 6 weeks I enjoyed a tremendous, and consistent, easing of the inflammation and pain, especially along my spine; then is was less consistent, and less tremendous, but still far better than before starting prednisone. And now I’m tapering, heading right down to zero. I need to, for a number of reasons. And then I’ll likely be back on it before long. </p>
<p>It has been 2 years since I first saw my GP about symptoms that persist to this day, followed by new symptoms, new sites of inflammation and pain, and too often feeling sicker rather than better. Recent test results* make this make sense. </p>
<p>And, more importantly, provide a meaningful place from which to start. <br /><br />Again. </p>
*<i>Turns out I’m positive for 2 tick borne infections, Borellia and Bartonella using a protocol called EliSpot, which tests for an active T cell response, that some clever folks have recently developed specifically for tick borne infections such as Lyme. You can read about it here: <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3972671/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3972671/ </a><br /> I’m also positive for DQ8, a genetic marker related to celiac disease. Once the hot cross buns hit the stores again I’ll do a gluten challenge and see what happens. I’d like to be wrong on this one, but I don’t think I am. </body></html>Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-31658027604868647052017-09-19T13:04:00.000-04:002017-09-19T13:29:47.621-04:00Not exactly what I had in mind<html><font size="3"> I was, perhaps, uncharacteristically optimistic when I named this space. Serendipity is a gift of curiosity.
<br><br>It is easy to embrace the happy accidents, creative joy and adventure that accompany a practice of curiosity. A curiosity rooted in something amazing or unusual, that captures your attention and empowers you. You feel a sense of presence, now-ness, flow. <blockquote>It starts with exclamations of awe, or a sudden gasp, or hush.
<blockquote>It is fueled by passion. <blockquote>You want more.</blockquote> </blockquote></blockquote>
<br> <br><b>Practicing</b> curiosity is an active state, a pursuit. It is what happens when you go beyond wonderment and seek insight. Curiosity is a means, not an end. Curiosity drives the advancement of knowledge by combining purposeful observation with persistent questioning, bringing some order to the chaos.
<br><br> And this is important:there is a lot of chaos! Confusion, fear and uncertainty make it hard to do anything well. Practicing curiosity when it demands attention to things unpleasant, unwelcome and unknown is challenging. This <i>need-full</i>, demanding curiosity comes from real accidents, from events and situations that turn you sideways. You are weighed down by the unfamiliar, the risks of knowing or doing seem too great. You feel disorientation, restlessness, paralysis. It is the kind of curiosity expressed when you think “I can’t imagine having to deal with that!” <blockquote>It starts with shocked silence, or angry, disbelieving outbursts. <blockquote>It is fueled by fear. <blockquote>You want it to end.</blockquote></blockquote></blockquote>
<br><br> When it is choice-full and affirming, the practice of anything feels more like play. Still, practice is about performance. It turns ability into skill that can be exercised reliably and consistently, especially when circumstances are not ideal. Practicing curiosity is no different. It is a tool for making sense of an uncertain and changing world, especially when you’d rather just hide under the blankets.
<br><br> From the awesome to the awful, well-honed curiosity helps you focus on the essential, to see the details, to ask better questions. It is both <i>serendipity</i> AND <i>sense-making</I>. It can help you out of a difficult situation. <i>Or</i> it can get you into one.
Too much information and too little understanding, aka info overload, can terrifying, a recipe for disaster: <center><b>don’t google your symptoms!</b> </center>
<br>
<br> But so is the sudden onset of unremitting pain that doubles you over when you’re awake and has you whimpering when you finally do fall asleep, bouts of nausea and fever and being generally ill, too many trips to the doctor only to be told that all the blood tests are “normal”, and all of this going on for <b>months</b>.
<br><br>So.<br><br>
I started with what I knew about me:
<ul>
<li>a growing list of joints and body parts that were some combination of swollen, stiff, red, tender to touch, or painful in varying ways all the time.
<li>The awareness that many of these pains were familiar and recurrent, beginning over 30 years back, and completely unrelated to injury.
<li>That I was under 10 when first diagnosed and treated regarding chronic pain involving inflamed and damaged cartilage and joint dysfunction
<li>That I’d had 2 separate positive ANA results, at around age 7 and again around 28.
<li>That a referral to a rheum doc the second time,led to a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
<li>That it was very much a diagnosis of exclusion because my bloodwork was otherwise negative and some of my trigger points were atypical.
<li>That endometriosis was NOT the only explanation for abdominal, low back and pelvic discomfort I’ve experienced for most of my life.
<li>That my body produces scar tissue inappropriately.
</ul>
<br><br> Somewhere amidst words like rib/flank pain, inflammation, arthritis, connective tissue, autoimmune and positive anti nucleic antibody, combined with a little bit of my old friend serendipitity, a result caught my eye. I think it was a lupus related health message board. <br><br>
Yes, <i>I know</I>, not much to be learned from such places; really the worst place to go if you are unsure or scared regarding your health and don't know how to make sense of your experiences let alone make sense of what you are reading. Thankfully that last bit isn't really a problem for me, and something in the snippet I saw seemed promising. <blockquote><i>Imagine doing a puzzle and you’re given only a simple description of the picture. You have all the pieces for that puzzle, but there are pieces for other, similar pictures mixed up with them. You can put some pieces together, but you don’t know where they go relative to other pieces, because there is more than one place they could go. And then, you find a piece that joins this group to that group in a way that lets you finally see how picture comes together.</i> </blockquote>That’s what I found when I clicked that link. The one puzzle piece that helped bring the picture together, in the form of a new word. <br> <center><b>Enthesitis</b></center> <br>The <i>–itis</I> suffix means inflamed, so enthesitis is inflammation of the entheses. Turns out, In my case, inflammation in lots of entheses in lots of joints, from head to toe.
<br><br> Spell check will not recognize it. Or entheses, which it wants to change to enthuses; or the singular enthesis, for which it has no suggestions. In anatomy, etheses are insertions (which in written text are marked out by those things called parentheses) into bone, where ligaments (spanning joints, attaching to bone at each end) and tendons (attaching muscle to bone) transitioning from flexible collagen based fibres to a calcium based ossified structure. That sentence has <b>3</b> entheses.
<br><br> Every joint in the human body has a multiple entheses for the ligaments. Tendons attach muscles to bones near joints, and also along the bones as well. Ethesitis pain can happen anywhere in the body.
<br><br> All of this was back in February 2016. I hadn't been able to work since early January 2016.I’d been sick since before Christmas 2015. My TM joints started acting up in October 2015 and my pants had felt heavy on my hips through the fall. All the smoke in the summer of 2015 made me feel unwell and took a toll. It was still a month before I’d see the rheum doc. That visit, in March 2016, confirmed what I already knew: I had arthritis. Turns out it is just one of many –itises I have, and in fact have been living with for most of my life.
<br><br> I’m still trying to put together the entire picture. And it feels like I'm the one responsible for it. For all the time I've spent in doctors offices and the medications, I'm still so unwell, flared up and in pain, there's probably still something missing in the diagnosis. So I try not to spend too much time on questions such as this:
<blockquote><i>What if I’d been referred to a rheumatologist in my youth with that first ANA, and was having ongoing upper back, neck and shoulder issues, instead of (or as well as) a sports medicine orthopedic <b>surgeon</b>? </i> </blockquote>
Because truly, there are too many other matters to ponder. Some have actual definitive answers. Some <i>feel</i> like they should, but do not. Most demand ongoing nuanced consideration as my health and circumstances change.<ul>
<li>What do I do now?
<li>Is this how Schroedinger’s cat feels?
<li>What does it feel like to have anxiety about your body?
<li>Just how many –itises are there?
<li>How did thinness become so dangerously equated with health?
<li>Does pain signify damage?
<li>Why "The Princess and the Pea" is a really sad story.
<li>Where did the art of medicine go?
<li>How do you rest your torso and be doing anything but sleeping?
<li>Can methotrexate and other DMARDS cause malabsorption problems including celiac disease?
<li>Is there a relationship between wearing 2-3 inch high heels in front of your patients and being devoid of empathy?
<li>How long do you take a medication without real improvement before it should be considered a failed therapy?
<li>How concerned should I be about the ebb and flow of all these pains and dysfunctions?
<li>At what point do you give up on your doctor?
<li>What are the dangers of diagnosis?
<li>What supports are there and how do I access them?
</ul>
<br>As I’m able, I’m going write about these and other things. The conditional in that last sentence is a big one, because nothing about using a computer is comfortable for very long these days. I started this in June and it is now September. Part of that is me being fussy, but mostly not. Every activity is a balancing act of what I’d like to do and for how long, what I’m capable in the moment, how much discomfort it causes and how satisfying it is. And that’s enough for now. </html>Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comOliver, BC, Canada49.1823264 -119.5504280000000149.1408134 -119.63110900000001 49.2238394 -119.46974700000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-71679877081552248282012-06-17T10:19:00.000-04:002012-06-17T10:19:21.947-04:00Information FiltersFor the past few years I've had a rather specific cognitive bias: filtering out anything that reminds me of what I no longer have. This year I've learned that not only is ignorance not bliss, it is unachievable for a curious mind.<br />
Two years ago I managed to be completely numb to Fathers Day: when Dad died suddenly in September 2009, in the midst of what was already a very tough year, numb seemed both natural and necessary. Fathers Day didn't exist because I no longer had my Dad to celebrate. <br />
Last year, in turn, I felt painfully bombarded with Father's Day messages. The 3 weeks of flyers and messages, some of them really over the top, brought both resentment and regret. And it lingered well beyond mid-June, a malaise with no cure.<br />
The resentment is, of course, a function of regret: not spending the time I had; not telling him how much he meant to me. <br />
Whether we like it or not, our societal constructs entail some very clearly defined roles based on gender and age. Being a Father demands a mix of hard-headed responsibility, soft-hearted kindness and a persona that is both authoritative and welcoming. <br />
My Dad did not always achieve that ideal, and (like of all us) sometimes fell short of the mark. What I know for certain is that he wanted to be a good Father; and he kept aiming for that. <br />
This year I can celebrate Fathers Day. <br />
The numbness is gone. <br />
More importantly, so is the resentment. It faded away in light of the abiding confidence that comes of knowing I was deeply loved and valued by my Dad. <br />
The regret? That lingers faintly, and may never go away. <br />
That is, perhaps, a good thing: regret has (e)motive power in the here and now to help us avoid more of it in the future. <br />
Regret tells me that I cannot change my past; and besides, there would never be enough time or words to give a loved one everything in our hearts. <br />
Regret also tells me that for the loved ones with me now, I can and should use all the time and words I have, every day. <br />
So I am ditching my filter, rejecting my cognitive bias and embracing again what is no longer lost.<br />
Happy Fathers Day.<br />
<br />Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-771177470727058942012-05-02T18:45:00.000-04:002012-05-02T18:47:53.007-04:00This is not about . . . or why it's never just semanticsOne of the most useful things to come out of my time at UofA School of Library and Information Studies is rooted in one of those most Library-ish of concepts: cataloguing. An essential (if not the primary) point of cataloguing is findability of the content, that is, what is actually included/mentioned/covered in the material being catalogued. <br />
The precision of the catalogue record speaks to what <em>is</em>. The record <em>never</em> tells you what <em>isn't</em> covered. Not only would the every record be infinite, but it would be impossible to find anything specific. Without firm rules and precise language, well, you have the Internet. <br />
<br />
Searching online can be joyous or frustrating, depending on context and constraints. Even the most expert, the most intuitive searcher can be stymied by simple words and simple biases. <br />
I am neither of the above, although I have had moments of each.<br />
<br />
Like the hermit crab, Dear Hubby and I will soon be moving into a new Home, one more suited to our plans. We'll be acquiring a used motorhome and hitting the road this summer, westward bound. <br />
<br />
The broader term for motorhome is recreational vehicle, or RV. This concept includes everything from tent trailers to campers to van conversions to standard motorhomes (20-30 ft) to what are called "park model" RVs which are no different that what you see in a residential trailer park, at 40+ft long. You aren't hooking up and moving on to a new campground with a park model. It, along with many 5th wheel and other similar style RVs are plunked down somewhere and often <em>never</em> moved again. <br />
<br />
When I think "vehicle" I think motored, powered, moving under it's own steam as it were. I don't think of a trailer as a vehicle. A trailer is just a platform on wheels- OK, a really fancy platform in some cases, but still. It's <em>not</em> a vehicle. <br />
But, it is. <br />
<br />
The result of my bias, combined with such simple (and therefore broad) words means that I ended up looking at dealer sites that absolutely did not have anything at all remotely what I was looking for. I found lots of dealers with lots of trailers, campers, tent trailers, 5th wheels and park models. Not so many with motorhomes. <br />
The good news is that all the extra stuff I found was <em>after</em> I had already identified a few companies based on the intuition and expertise I do have. I wanted to be sure I didn't miss other options, other firms, so I tweaked the search and looked at results that were remotely promising. I now know more about the RV world than I needed to. No big: an informed decision is the result. <br />
Catchphrases, verbal shorthand, stereotypes: the kernel of truth only goes so far. What we think of as synonyms are sometimes hierarchical; the broader term sometimes implies a direction quite at odds with the more specific term; our simple cognitive bias via our context acts as blinkers. Sometimes it isn't always obvious when the words are the same but the meaning is different.<br />
<br />
It's like the saying, "Love your librarian." The public thinks: love "every one who works in a library is" my librarian. But really it means: love "only the fraction who have a specific degree, although lord knows why it needs to be a Masters, can be called " my librarian. <br />
<br />
It's never just semantics.Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-40999749783458002402012-04-28T13:31:00.000-04:002012-04-28T13:31:24.281-04:00This is what Partnering looks likeA little piece of paradise. <br />
That's how I have referred to the "bright and cheerful" East York bungalow that Dear Hubby and I have called Home since 2003. <br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzaPGNh9wtJI96I46_kCV10fVPJnid4TnyOfxrBSb06G7feuk0WHm3DoX4-_NAcr6Zznyqmmdoh2FenS_arN1Fy5tWlBFjmrCr7zIf1M6LP9hQzBxDAnR3Zg59WuXxFDDNpl4M5mcnNmXU/s1600/IMG_1245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzaPGNh9wtJI96I46_kCV10fVPJnid4TnyOfxrBSb06G7feuk0WHm3DoX4-_NAcr6Zznyqmmdoh2FenS_arN1Fy5tWlBFjmrCr7zIf1M6LP9hQzBxDAnR3Zg59WuXxFDDNpl4M5mcnNmXU/s320/IMG_1245.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
Home. <br />
<br />
It's a powerful word, one that evokes a deep instinctual sense that merges person with place.
<br />
<br />
When it came time for us to sell our Home the question was not "do we get a realtor" but "who do we use". As a long time Airmiles collector Century21 was always an option, until Dear Hubby came Home one day and said a friend from the old days was a realtor, and we should contact her.
<br />
<br />
That's how I met Helga Teitsson of <a href="http://www.helgashomes.com/" target="_blank">Helga's Homes</a>. <br />
<br />
Real estate is a competitive business, and like many industries that have historically relied on information asymmetries, the Internet has changed the landscape for ever. <br />
In some cases this means huge billboards and other forms of large scale advertising, followed by flyers in the mail box. <br />
But ask yourself: how does that help you, the client, sell or buy <em>your</em> home?<br />
<br />Helga Teitsson takes a different approach. Strange to say, but she knows it's not about her. She knows it's about the Home, whether buying or selling. Helga brings her years of expertise and market knowledge into every relationship. And when it comes to selling, she literally invests in the process of making sure your Home hits the market at its best. She becomes your partner. <br />
How? <br />
<ul>
<li>Within 24 hours Helga dropped off 30 boxes to help us get started with the decluttering. </li>
<li>She arranged for Hendrik Glastra CSP of <a href="http://www.hgstagingandredesign.com/" target="_blank">HG Staging and reDesign</a> to come in, give advice on furniture placement etc; he provided all the extras such as throws, pillows and lamps. </li>
<li>She also had Alex Morias of <a href="http://www.videolistings.ca/" target="_blank">Video Listings</a> come in to do the photos and video that made our Home come alive online.</li>
<li>Jeff Clarke CET of <a href="http://www.bakerstreet-hi.ca/" target="_blank">Baker Street Home Inspection Services</a> did a pre-listing inspection thanks to Helga. </li>
</ul>
Our house sold in late March, in 5 days, over asking, almost 2 months after I first met Helga. At that first meeting she made it clear that getting our Home sold was as important to her as it was to us. She marshaled her own resources, brought in her trusted partners, and guided us through a tumultuous process smiling and laughing. <br />
<br />
So, if you're looking for a Home in Toronto, contact Helga Teitsson of Helga's Homes. You'll be really glad you did.Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-62580401214718231722012-04-03T11:47:00.000-04:002012-04-03T11:47:36.496-04:00Claim CheckDo you play solitaire? I love it. I'm not sure who taught me to play it's most basic form, but I'm sure it was either Mom or Gran, and it was early on in life. Of course solitaire is far from a single game, with significant differences in structure and play. Over the years I have learned many different versions of solitaire, and admittedly I've forgotten the details of some of them . . . <br /><br />
My favourite hard copy version requires no playing surface at all: it can be played completely in hand. I learned it from a dorm mate and fellow food server while at Canadian Bible College (her name is buried somewhere in the folds of my brain, but I could describe her, and for some reason am sure I recall *her* room mate's name . . . ah the vagaries of memory). <br />
So no surprise really one of the first things I downloaded on to my iPad back in 2010 was a version of solitaire called Real Solitaire Free by Edgerift Inc. Free to me means ads in the app - no problem as far as I'm concerned (although I trip the ad bar with my hand occasionally). <br /><br />
The <strong>only</strong> ad I almost ever see is for the ad-free version of Real Solitaire because most of the time I am not connected to wifi.<br /><br />
Here's how Edgerift Inc markets their Real Solitaire for iPad game: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<strong>It's the most realistic solitaire game for iPad, ad free</strong></blockquote>
The crux of their marketing message, their key claim, is "most realistic".<br />
<br />
If you play solitaire, even if it is only ever in the digital realm, you must be aware of the need to <br />
<ol>
<li><strong>deal out the game </strong><strong> </strong></li>
<li><strong>gather the cards and shuffle at the end of the game</strong></li>
</ol>
Knowing these 2 essential aspects of solitaire, it begs the question: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<strong>is "most realistic" really a claim you want to make?</strong> </blockquote>
Because really, a realistic digital game of solitaire would be much more labour intensive, and that would kind of defeat the purpose of the digital platform in the first place. <br />
<br />Of course, it could be that the folks at Edgerift Inc just don't seem to consider the hard copy analog version of the game as real solitaire; what then is the real in "realistic"?<br />
<br />Advertising and marketing are not the same, but are very closely related; twins, but not identical maybe. Together they craft a message and find a way to get it out to possible customers/patrons/members/donors effectively and accurately. They make claims for their product/service/organization which they hope will resonate and lead to the desired actions/outcomes. <br />
<br />
Great sounding claims don't always make sense. Maybe it's time for a claim check.Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-61890198924176554352012-02-23T11:52:00.000-05:002012-02-23T11:52:37.509-05:00Living the Political LifeIt is very important to remember that politicians are NOT a unique species; they are in fact a rather excellent representation of the species. We turn up our noses at both big P and little p politics, yet doing so is really a denial of our very humanity. <br />
That some people choose to live more public lives-by running for civic office, <a href="http://librarianbyday.net/2012/01/31/the-first-rule-of-ala-executive-board-is-you-dont-talk-about-executive-board/" target="_blank">association positions</a>, corporate boards of directors, union management -regardless of motivation, provides each of us the opportunity every day to learn something more about ourselves and our societies.<br />
Politics, political activity, politicians: these are defining characteristics of human civilization even when it is presented to us in the form of <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/worldview/head-butts-and-flying-fists-break-out-at-britains-house-of-commons/article2347251/" target="_blank">head butts and decision making under the influence.</a> <br />
So, remember the words of Vaclav Havel:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If the hope of the world lies in human consciousness, then it is obvious
that intellectuals cannot avoid forever assuming their share of
responsibility for the world and hiding their distaste for politics
beneath an alleged need for independence - Speech to Congress, Washington DC
Feb 1990</blockquote>
The events across the pond reminded me of an email I wrote way back in 2008 in response to <a href="http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=8ff3a3e1-4062-4a5b-9566-9e772b08a98b&k=17762&p=1" target="_blank">a piece by Lawrence Solomon</a> in which he decried the lack of bi-partisanship back here. I've included excerpts of my email to him below. <br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Feb 24 2008 </i><br />
<i>Dear Mr. Solomon</i><br />
<i>Your recent article, Common Ground, struck a chord
with me. Such matters have been on my mind recently as well.
Cooperation – or, in political terms, bi-partisanship – is sorely
lacking in Canadian politics and has been for some time. The decimation
of the Progressive Conservatives after Mulroney certainly helped
reinforce the idea of the Liberals as the natural ruling party and
saviour of all Canadians . . . and the need to work together as
Parliament disappeared from Canadian politics for over a decade. The
foundation of true bi-partisanship, respect, is largely absent, and the
behaviour of our (not always so) Honourable Members is akin to that of,
well, pre-schoolers. </i><br />
<i>But think back to kindergarten, Mr. Solomon,
when we all learned to play nicely together in the sandbox and to share
our toys. Cooperation, patience, sharing and respect are learned
behaviours, so important that an entirely new grade, kindergarten, was
created. </i><br />
<i>That aside, the adversarial turn runs deeper than just
within federal politics. I think it is more insidious at the
inter-governmental level because it strikes a blow against the
cooperative federalism envisaged in our Constitution. </i><br />
<i>. . .</i><br />
<i>I loved my first year poli sci course
for what it taught me about our Constitution, and the specific sections
that had the most relevance in our daily lives, such as sections 91-93.
Professor McCullough made clear how important the division of powers is
in support of the Constitution’s goal of providing for Peace, Order
and Good Government. This division was never meant hierarchically;
rather it was meant to serve the diverse needs of governing a large
country efficiently. </i><br />
<i> . . . </i><br />
<i>Most Canadians would be surprised to learn
the federal government is not in primacy over the provinces; they would
be surprised to learn that municipalities are non existent in the
constitution, and their ability to thrive is due largely to the whims of
their provincial governments, not federal; that the federal government
cannot just decide to spend money to support our welfare state which is
the responsibility of the provinces.</i><br />
<i> . . . </i><br />
<i>The political and economic reality of Canada
forms a black hole of knowledge for Canadians, including those running
the country. </i><br />
<i>. . . </i><br />
<i>We learned how to play nicely once before . . . maybe a refresher course is needed. Is there a day care on the Hill?</i><br />
<br />
The thing is, we ALL live political lives already. We each can live more effective political lives by assuming responsibility for at least our small part. <br />
If you'd like to brush up on your Canadian political knowledge I highly recommend <a href="http://books.google.ca/books/about/City_politics_Canada.html?id=hnYuA5zZs8UC&redir_esc=y" target="_blank">City Politics Canada</a> by James Lightbody and <a href="http://c2cjournal.ca/2009/06/the-canadian-founding-john-locke-and-parliament/" target="_blank">The Canadian Founding</a> by Janet Ajzenstat.Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-69280743159051316202012-01-28T17:40:00.002-05:002012-01-28T17:50:59.469-05:00Random Thoughts on Roles and ResponsibilitiesIt's good that <a href="http://plglondon.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/the-canadian-library-associations-failure-to-advocate-for-librarians-and-libraries/" target="_blank">this discussion</a> is happening. I've got a few points to add. I am a proud member of the CLA and I make NO claim to speak for the Canadian Library Association. <br />
<ol>
<li>Work place based collectives advocate for their members, no one else, and certainly not for any "profession". The use of language resonating with professionalism is a tool used for achieving bargaining goals. </li>
<li>In any Library there is a wide
range of skills, training, degrees and responsibilities represented by
the collective, not just those who have chosen an
MLS. </li>
<li>What is good for the Library and what is good for the people represented by the collective are not the same thing, and can in fact be quite incompatible. A dollar spent on wages and benefits is not spent on the materials and content: you know the stuff that people actually go to a Library to use </li>
<li>Libraries do not exist to employ Librarians </li>
<li>Libraries are for the <b>Members </b>(a term us Library users <i>prefer to be called</i>, according to David Lankes in his Atlas), in that service <b>community </b></li>
<li>Members using a Library are concerned about service and product, not with the specific education of the person involved in providing that service or product</li>
<li>The current educational path that <i>within the Library community</i> leads to one becoming a "Librarian" is a very recent construct in the grand history of Libraries and the Librarians that serve in them. </li>
<li><b>Librarians were originally born of passion for the written word, an understanding of it's power, a desire to serve the conjoined needs of content and it's users, and a willingness to learn via apprenticeship and immersion in the arts of Librarianship </b> </li>
<li>The role of a voluntary association is by nature very different than that of the work place based collective, regardless of the industry. Getting involved in the details of any one workplace isn't the point. </li>
<li>In the case of the Canadian Library Association, advocating for Libraries and those who work in them cannot include taking a position on one side of the bargaining table, <i>if only</i> because of the simple fact that the CLA has active and passionate members on both sides of that table. </li>
<li>Advocating for Libraries is really about advocating for the user members of our Libraries, not for any one system or way of doing things or history of who does them in our Libraries </li>
<li>The specifics of any Library workplace may be of concern to the CLA, or <b>to any other voluntary Library Association</b>, in so far as any number of activites negatively affect the user members served by that workplace</li>
<li>Given points 3-6 and 9-10 above, it is simply wrong to suggest that the CLA has not upheld it's Code of Ethics by failing to engage in workplace collective bargaining politics </li>
<li>A fuller investigation of the CLA's advocacy activities demonstrates significant success across many areas that touch the lives of every day Canadians, whether they are Library members or not. </li>
<li>The good news is that the CLA's successes benefit Libraries and ALL those who work in them in myriad ways, even those who are disdainful and sometimes quite hateful towards it. </li>
<li>Seeking some new kind of professional body for librarians is a purely Provincial responsibility. Such a badge will do nothing to enhance the abilities or skills of someone interested in serving in a Library, but it might make the chance of finding a job more difficult when it leads higher staff costs. </li>
<li>Choosing to engage constructively with others through a voluntary association on projects that take time and create long term benefits is more fruitful than complaining about what is lacking now</li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-86967073026878237232011-12-29T09:18:00.000-05:002011-12-29T09:18:16.896-05:00Milestone, not MillstoneI have been given some lovely, funny, moving and treasured birthday cards over the years. As much as I am definitely not a pack rat, my sentimental streak is wide and deep, and so I have a few small boxes stuffed with mementos.<br />
With so many changes this year, and with more and bigger changes still to come, well, let's just say that as a cynic bordering on pessimist, I humbly say "my cup runneth over" with the goodness and grace of the people in my life.<br />
Anyway, back to cards. I have to share this one:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Some people turn 40 and start asking<br />
"Where am I? How did I get here? And by the way, how do I get back?"<br />
But not you.<br />
You've got your bearings, and you're right where you should be-<br />
at 40 and at your best, right smack dab between<br />
experience and possibility,<br />
and pefectly possitioned<br />
for a great new decade of you. </blockquote>
I'm good with that. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Thanks to D D A and J (and Hallmark)</span><br />
<br />Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-57342634571262488172011-12-05T10:02:00.001-05:002011-12-05T11:06:38.081-05:00About the Papier Mache ProjectWhen The Star started appearing on my door step as part of an
unsolicited trial I was conflicted about what to do with all the paper.
I decided to experiment with papier mache, (this <a href="http://practicingcuriosity.blogspot.com/p/papier-mache.html" target="_blank">page </a>shows all the works) something I had not done
since I was a kid, and knew held great creative possibilities. The one
site I found most useful for learning the basics again was <a href="http://www.papiermache.co.uk/" target="_blank">http://www.papiermache.co.uk/</a>. It also gave me inspiration for what else can be done with this amazing and accessible medium. <br />
You need some space to make a mess for a few days, some kind of plastic (old shower curtains are awesome for crafts!) for a work surface, and some paper. Don't used newspaper to protect your table unless you want to papier mache your table top while you are at it (you <i>could </i>do this, of course, finished with a good coat of lacquer!)<br />
I used sunshine and a small heating fan in the bathroom to assist with drying times. The faster things dry the greater chance of warping, of course.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQlsaD3_ZyrcU1oiP3ObnB7Tcyg9q76XfIY1aGN4PyJFk_TLRYf4rbgnF-fi1dVfqHiQDuVLV7tYqOqaAMkyuMd4IFZuJRA0wL1U_BrzFY9amXADZ4V8d4o-wGPLqjJ594p8HvoHyM6sV/s1600/IMG00002-20111004-2044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQlsaD3_ZyrcU1oiP3ObnB7Tcyg9q76XfIY1aGN4PyJFk_TLRYf4rbgnF-fi1dVfqHiQDuVLV7tYqOqaAMkyuMd4IFZuJRA0wL1U_BrzFY9amXADZ4V8d4o-wGPLqjJ594p8HvoHyM6sV/s320/IMG00002-20111004-2044.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the snowmen, pre painting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I
used paper from the September 2011 daily delivery of The Star,
including much of the non-glossy inserts.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqtv7XvmH3GQkpOk7zX7HRZ9tsaQ1jir5xD1JTaqKFDBRaMezA7U3Ff1gjFkMMp-nO1Tmd6DiL8iOYbMCtxG8Po-8B-5ws4hN5t_sxcm7mjZbi8o7TNA5MXvG0pD-ntieMu-w69Hpg-u4/s1600/IMG00461-20110919-1443.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqtv7XvmH3GQkpOk7zX7HRZ9tsaQ1jir5xD1JTaqKFDBRaMezA7U3Ff1gjFkMMp-nO1Tmd6DiL8iOYbMCtxG8Po-8B-5ws4hN5t_sxcm7mjZbi8o7TNA5MXvG0pD-ntieMu-w69Hpg-u4/s200/IMG00461-20110919-1443.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">here you see the unfinished versions of all the bowls</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
To make the glue I used about
1kg of flour in total, 1/2c per batch with 5 cups water. Here's what I did: bring 4c to a boil, add in the remaining 1c which has the 1/2c flour mixed into it. Turn down heat to med and let simmer while you keep stirring, about 4 min. To test when done: dip spoon in and lift out. run your finger down the back of the spoon. the mark should stay, with very little bleeding at the edge. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbl6mPHbmLWDRw67xPV9qBpkvNg5RKo70RHBxXxMVxfKzgqkNaGceWnczVzNwbVvOtgllcxe-gK6rI5fP8Mn_gQGIGz4SjnLydU-1U1nz8oFGkBDIXMFpb0XeYtebbyrIPOKc9ADjE1NR/s1600/IMG00449-20110911-1312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinbl6mPHbmLWDRw67xPV9qBpkvNg5RKo70RHBxXxMVxfKzgqkNaGceWnczVzNwbVvOtgllcxe-gK6rI5fP8Mn_gQGIGz4SjnLydU-1U1nz8oFGkBDIXMFpb0XeYtebbyrIPOKc9ADjE1NR/s200/IMG00449-20110911-1312.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
The glue thickens as it cools, but can be easily thinned out with more water as needed.<br />
It would take
me until Tuesday to catch up from Saturday; that day alone required more
than 2 batches of glue. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1A37hcwDzmateuvJ1DwujIfY7r1ZY2nhN7IWavjbokGi64kIBKF_yDL5u-FztJZhQpP-ADKewqOVFpUqf00dzaydhkCWHRmKXUa93uAKifJhpQXg4gkSmfrn8BuFlAMCcDi3zVRW4VKsJ/s1600/IMG00450-20110911-1312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1A37hcwDzmateuvJ1DwujIfY7r1ZY2nhN7IWavjbokGi64kIBKF_yDL5u-FztJZhQpP-ADKewqOVFpUqf00dzaydhkCWHRmKXUa93uAKifJhpQXg4gkSmfrn8BuFlAMCcDi3zVRW4VKsJ/s200/IMG00450-20110911-1312.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I used about 1ltr of acrylic
paint/gesso/mediums, and all items noted as food safe are finished with
shellac, (the excretion of the female lac bug, which is native to India
and Thailand. Honest. see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellac" target="_blank">here</a>)
and has been used by the confectionery industry for years to create
shine. You've eaten this stuff, so it's okay on the bowls etc!
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-42XYifDJ6hsJHakYn855e86N_4CIu2ipCf9a61qjTFF-i5zDxf75Oo4bTLrCaSi2hUoBWKgv1DGupSYytIqT9raqajd_38138OpOQ65vHGjcceldwyBYtOhFa5PKbrKMhPGEAPsMsnVv/s1600/IMG00453-20110911-1313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-42XYifDJ6hsJHakYn855e86N_4CIu2ipCf9a61qjTFF-i5zDxf75Oo4bTLrCaSi2hUoBWKgv1DGupSYytIqT9raqajd_38138OpOQ65vHGjcceldwyBYtOhFa5PKbrKMhPGEAPsMsnVv/s200/IMG00453-20110911-1313.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Each piece involved hours of work, not including time for drying. I
used a combination of techniques to build up the shapes, with stainless
steel bowls and other household objects acting as forms. <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsFadGXoCfCP3TKSCfAsdMMuBbKA3dcwwqK6Lx6HhJTDy8RsSZov0sqvQ7_ATLFZNx3hoU47pStfeQeNkZf6eN1zZE1pkmtMoN1_CbzkuVYe7DxO-1Mn2NVzE3UGxaNd37Kv4O0lRNQfT/s1600/IMG00459-20110919-1442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsFadGXoCfCP3TKSCfAsdMMuBbKA3dcwwqK6Lx6HhJTDy8RsSZov0sqvQ7_ATLFZNx3hoU47pStfeQeNkZf6eN1zZE1pkmtMoN1_CbzkuVYe7DxO-1Mn2NVzE3UGxaNd37Kv4O0lRNQfT/s320/IMG00459-20110919-1442.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">you can see the trees in the background, some of the papier mached bags, some coffee tins used as forms and all sizes of paper ready to be used. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The plastic
bags shielding the paper from the rain were used to ensure easy release,
since the glue won't stick to it. Some of the shapes were formed around other paper (the trees and pumpkins), while others are paper all the way through, such as the snowmen and penguins. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_o5KW8vu3MwPGUl9GyT3AegGGu8b7V0T9EuuvO0CyM4NcjdIBFzcc9CMBNri220mcTkZeN12fq9XLFYURPtpg18w7LtVr2Bf8omWY2Uc0L9SLiuaF-geLQeJWHdSHqO-nSCd2-dLQIEnn/s1600/IMG00460-20110919-1442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_o5KW8vu3MwPGUl9GyT3AegGGu8b7V0T9EuuvO0CyM4NcjdIBFzcc9CMBNri220mcTkZeN12fq9XLFYURPtpg18w7LtVr2Bf8omWY2Uc0L9SLiuaF-geLQeJWHdSHqO-nSCd2-dLQIEnn/s200/IMG00460-20110919-1442.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
It has taken me as long to paint the items as it did to create them.<br />
Out
of just over 100 pieces, about 15 didn't work out for various reasons
and have been recycled already. All the items I made when I tried making paper clay got caught in a rain storm while I was away from home. They were out on the front porch drying at the time. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEishPXL-95QYyViR48TgHho3yqbpYE7MYFcQZqYhgtv4wSOUdiDx4xwbPcSIOjHGfS83cG7u7T1B9L_UKhXrsbKGc-8TCK4s_VVvznEGObhltPDz3fCTs1K6shxeI2nR3cUDRgNpsberMD_/s1600/IMG00445-20110911-1310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEishPXL-95QYyViR48TgHho3yqbpYE7MYFcQZqYhgtv4wSOUdiDx4xwbPcSIOjHGfS83cG7u7T1B9L_UKhXrsbKGc-8TCK4s_VVvznEGObhltPDz3fCTs1K6shxeI2nR3cUDRgNpsberMD_/s200/IMG00445-20110911-1310.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgDYLf8svQ0lVwNbt2qaKPWC04-rzFm20C_sGB-BkWyvZnCIK4xOk_He72AM9O7d5DlKomixN_-4u8yy-v7MXSouE0DVqrAJQ6fnYswdo05j0rUgVElo9rG7twclMmcAZOk6cJLl5inZhh/s1600/IMG00444-20110911-1310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgDYLf8svQ0lVwNbt2qaKPWC04-rzFm20C_sGB-BkWyvZnCIK4xOk_He72AM9O7d5DlKomixN_-4u8yy-v7MXSouE0DVqrAJQ6fnYswdo05j0rUgVElo9rG7twclMmcAZOk6cJLl5inZhh/s200/IMG00444-20110911-1310.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
There are still many items that haven't
any paint on them at all yet. The bowl to the left was one of the first things I made and is still just newspaper. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFBMv3oiFua-Z-HlnDEf-TC4OmBfP4tzWDSN8E6lmdmB2yLMePIVETLwBJlEoXHsj9qpgTmKB_hEH36WgbhdfQ91BtqgkBttmXCt0rsrJ3Js0y3kuK7uYFH6N5vdcULYhhFxQdvHISkJH/s1600/IMG00024-20111018-1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFBMv3oiFua-Z-HlnDEf-TC4OmBfP4tzWDSN8E6lmdmB2yLMePIVETLwBJlEoXHsj9qpgTmKB_hEH36WgbhdfQ91BtqgkBttmXCt0rsrJ3Js0y3kuK7uYFH6N5vdcULYhhFxQdvHISkJH/s200/IMG00024-20111018-1920.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'off kilter red' uses an lcbo bag which I papier mached to make it rigid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
As the pieces piled up I had to decide what to do with them. I decided to give them away as an incentive to donate to the Santa Claus Fund, since all the pieces are made of The Star and all.<br />
I was interviewed by Vit Wagner at The Star about my papier mache
project after I emailed them about it. I didn't want to get in trouble
for "soliciting" on their behalf, which is why I've made it clear from
the start to donate directly to <a href="http://www.thestar.com/santaclausfund" target="_blank">the fund</a>, and pick a piece free. <br />
<br />
Here is a link to the article and video: <a href="http://www.thestar.com/santaclausfund/article/1087355--video-one-woman-s-crafty-approach-to-philanthropy" target="_blank">crafty approach to philanthropy</a><br />
<br />
These items are remarkably strong, even before the acrylic paint is applied. As few as 6 layers of paper is rigid enough to remain horizontal as a 16x16 square, just holding it at the edge.<br />
I'd like to use this kind of technique on a wall, maybe with maps or blue prints . . .I'll keep you posted on what ever comes next!Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-83847833924543851762011-11-30T13:17:00.000-05:002011-11-30T13:17:47.821-05:00What Were You Expecting?I readily confess a love of words. Words are marvelous playthings, with the power to move and shape the world around you, even if they don't actually "<a href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/books-dont-take-you-anywhere,827/">take you anywhere</a>." I grew up playing a rather cooperative form of Scrabble with a garrulous assortment of relatives which provided fertile ground for speaking poly-syllablicly (an making up words!) an early age. <br />
Some times words come together in a particular way that perfectly
captures an idea and resonates through time. The world of tropes, idioms,
cliches, memes, proverbs, metaphors and such works as an underlying
architecture for our thoughts, words and actions. I happily employ
such turns of phrase on a regular basis, because they are such useful
building blocks for a bigger idea.<br />
<br />
Take for instance, Murphy's Law: anything that can go wrong, will. This form (if X is possible, and if X is bad, X will happen) along with myriad new memes yields many humorous extensions and variations. Like most adages, there is a significant, universal truth embedded in this simple phrase: with a perfect state being just one of (any whole number greater than 1) possible outcomes, the likelihood of it occurring, let alone occurring every time, is far from certain. <br />
<br />
I'm particularly fond of this one:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Necessity is the Mother of Invention </div>
<br />
It is first credited to Plato in The Republic (a useful read today for anyone thinking about alternative forms of governance!), and by the <a href="http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/necessity-is-the-mother-of-invention.html" target="_blank">1600s </a>it was a well known English phrase. As with Murphy, this particular form (X is the Mother of Y) is ripe for modification and play.<br />
For instance:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Expectation is the Mother of Disappointment</div>
<br />
Consider a recent <a href="http://www.moneyville.ca/blog/post/1079787--teens-think-they-ll-earn-90-000-a-year-by-age-30" target="_blank">CIBC poll</a> of Canadian high school graduates on financial literacy. It found that the majority of respondents figure they'll be making $90,000 a year by age 30 (so, in about 10-12 years). Never mind that $90,000 a year in Canada puts you in the top 10% of earners; even accounting for inflation 10 years out I bet that income would still be in the top 20%.<br />
Add in an overwhelming belief in their ability to pay off student loans in 5 years as they enter a bloated workforce with a fancy piece of paper and no hard <a href="http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/57435--the-skills-for-our-success" target="_blank">essential skills</a>, well . . . Let's just say that our current economic woes are not going to be resolved any time soon.<br />
<br />
Even Santa understands this. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/28/us/santas-taught-new-lessons-amid-economic-slump.html" target="_blank">This</a> NY Times article on the 2011 class of
the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus school shows how seriously these Santas are in gently and
sincerely managing the expectations of the kids who sit on their laps. They support the mystery and wonder of Christmas finely balanced with
the constraints of reality. I don't doubt many a parent has left one of these dedicated Santas relieved and grateful, with a happy child whose holiday dream might just be more manageable. <br />
<br />
Which brings me back to Plato. He is, of course, right about Necessity. It is a driver of innovation, change, ingenuity. It is expansive and opportunistic, and favours those who want see beyond what's here, now. And it is most successful when it is tempered by the expectation of what is possible, what is probable, and what must wait for another time.Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-26670799930448438892011-11-29T15:11:00.001-05:002011-11-29T16:48:06.979-05:00Satisficing on ServiceThere has been much ado in Libraryland with regards to ebooks recently. Over the 10 or so years that OverDrive has been working with Libraries to provide ebook content, it is only in the past few years that we've seen significant movement in this area. Portable ereaders only started to come of age in 09, many developed by the retailers themselves. This created the necessary momentum for further ebook development, and was a first step in changing the relationship between publishers, readers, retailers and Libraries. As Libraries started to lend readers as well as provide access to content, it seemed the universe was unfolding as it should. More recently, the landscape has shifted yet again, with <a href="http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/community/academiclibraries/892118-265/amazon_and_overdrive_roll_out.html.csp" target="_blank">Amazon</a> deciding to get into the lending through Libraries game, and <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2396845,00.asp" target="_blank">Penguin</a> deciding to get out of it as a result.<br />
<br />
As I've been following the comments (see <a href="https://agnosticmaybe.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/all-carrot-no-stick/" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://www.librarian.net/stax/3725/the-kindle-lending-experience-from-a-patrons-perspective-a-wolf-in-books-clothing/" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/2011/10/wegotscrewed.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://www.attemptingelegance.com/?p=1439" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://freerangelibrarian.com/2011/11/19/ebookpbookmebook/" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://blog.libraryjournal.com/annoyedlibrarian/2011/10/19/amazon-suckers-libraries/" target="_blank">here</a>) and pondering all of this. I am starting to think that when it comes to lending popular fiction as ebooks, Libraries are fighting an un-winnable battle.<br />
<br />
There are a few quite diverse reasons leading me in this direction:<br />
<ol>
<li>Economic: higher costs to Libraries with no ownership as compared with same title in print is a tough sell with tight budgets</li>
<li>Economic: ereaders themselves are still not ubiquitous in the general population. I imagine those that have them were prepared to acquire content independent of Libraries. </li>
<li>Functional: using an ereader while soaking in the tub can be problematic</li>
<li> Behavioural: people do not generally feel the need to keep the popular fiction they might purchase - used book stores are a testament to this. <br />This means that for both the publisher and the reader-consumer, the ebook licensing model, if priced right, makes sense. It means that from the publisher perspective, Libraries just may not be part of the fiction ebook landscape. </li>
</ol>
Facilitating access to content is something Libraries do very well, regardless of format. They always have. But it is always a balance. For instance, my reading interests fall outside of the Toronto Public Library's scope a number of times every year or I can't take the materials out. I'd be quite happy to forgo the money spent on fiction ebooks to so there could be a lending copy of some of the 250 books on Librarianship that are reference only.<br />
<br />
I'm no Luddite, but I am, I guess, a skeptic of high tech. I am much enamoured of how it makes many things easier, including the simple act of recording one's words. But the idea of lining up for hours or even over night in order to get the next new device strikes me as, well, ludicrous. It reminds me of distracting a toddler with shiny keys while you continue putting groceries in the cart.<br />
<br />
The term satisficing was coined in 1956 by Herbert Simon, a polisci/econ/psych/sociologist. It is about figuring out what is adequate verses optimal. It is about understanding constraints, variables, relationships and desired outcomes. I think it is a useful concept for Libraries and all of us in Libraryland to keep in mind as the ebook landscape is continually re-formed. <br />
<br />Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-68294427627050534532011-11-28T11:46:00.000-05:002011-11-28T21:54:47.148-05:00Curiosity and Craft<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Yup, I like to make stuff.* It's a very experimental process for me - a chance to explore, to exercise my curiosity physically. The combination of question and creation has led to a lifetime of learning in all sorts of interesting ways. <br />
When it comes to many types of art and craft, access to materials along
with uncertainty about how to use them are equally large barriers. The
first has always been and still is primarily a question of cost; the
second would often be bridged with knowledge passed along via family and community. For the most part neither factor was an issue in my youth. Both my parents created and crafted, shared knowledge and did their best to provide opportunities for my sister and I. <br />
<br />
I've learned from my experiences with curiosity and craft.<br />
<br />
I remember what I guess you could call my first experiment. We still lived in Kelowna, up the hill above the highway, so I was no older than 4.<br />
I took a small paper bag and filled it with water in the bathroom. With surprise I walked out to the kitchen and announced to my dad that paper bags held water! just as the paper gave way and water splashed all over the floor.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Sometimes it isn't clear what the outcome will be. That's okay.</b></div>
<br />
I learned to sew before it was a subject in school because my mother sewed. Mom has an amazing eye for pattern and colour, and has made amazing things over the years from every day clothes to holiday outfits for us kids to amazing curtains and slipcovers for a sofa. She'd turn every day plain into something unique, crafted with care. Long before I was sitting at the machine myself I remember going to the fabric store with her to pick patterns and fabrics; then I watched, and some times helped, as my Mom wrangled the pattern and fabric and pins and thread into some thing new for me. I remember her frustration when I crouched down to experiment with the foot pedal, making the machine go unexpectedly faster . . .<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Sometimes its best to go slow on purpose.</b><br />
</div>
The first time I made a pair of shorts for myself I used the same pattern than my mom had used many times before. I followed along, but somewhere along the line I decided that the pockets should be lower. Mom tried to convince me otherwise, but I proceeded with my plan. When I was done the shorts fit just fine, hemmed evenly, and with functioning pockets. Of course, I had to do a side bend to get my hand down to near my knee to get something out of them. I never tried that particular experiment again. I've made enough things now that I know what I can tweak and how I can tweak it. <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Sometimes curiosity gets ahead of the craft. </b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Process has to be honoured before it can be challenged.</b></div>
<br />
My first exposure to water colours was self-directed. I would sit on my bedroom floor with the kit I received for Christmas one year. . There might have been some kind of booklet along with the paper, paints and portable easel/portfolio; I'd like to think I'd have looked through it if it existed. The short story is that I didn't take to water colour painting at first. I wasn't keen on, well, the watery-ness of it all. I wanted the vibrancy of colour I saw right from the tube, not the thinned out hint of colour when used "as directed". Colour bleeding into the wrong places and endless drying time? There is so much of leaving space empty just so it would be white. Ugh! (You can imagine my the depth of my envy at the acrylic painting set my sis received that same Christmas.)<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Sometimes it's what's not there that matters. Sometimes it's what you leave out.</b></div>
<br />
My Dad was happiest when working with his hands. He worked on projects like the <a href="http://www.bchydro.com/community/recreation_areas/revelstoke_dam_visitor_centre.html" target="_blank">Revelstoke Dam</a>, the <a href="http://www.railwaymuseum.com/" target="_blank">Railway Museum</a> (including a mock up of a rail car - engine, maybe?) and the Gift Shoppe out at <a href="http://www.ourbc.com/travel_bc/bc_cities/bc_rockies/craigellachie.htm" target="_blank">Craigellachie</a>, at least one house in town, a <a href="http://www.canadianmountainholidays.com/heli-skiing/lodges/bugaboos" target="_blank">heli-skiing lodge</a> in the Bugaboos. . . But my first experience with my dad's ingenuity was when he made beds for my sister and I. There were decorative knobs on each post, and to paint them my dad attached the threaded metal that would go into post to his drill and dipped the knob into the paint and out again. Using some kind of shield for spatter, he turned the drill on for just a few seconds. This avoided any blobby drips as it dried by eliminating excess paint. One thing is for sure: he took pride in his work, in his ability to figure things out, in being part of something that will last. He shared this enthusiasm in many ways over the years. What I remember most are trips up to the Dam construction site with ice cream cones in hand, to watch the overhead cable crane deposit concrete or other materials, or better yet see the huge earth movers up close. He'd point to where he'd been working, explain what was going on . . . <b> </b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Sometimes just sharing your passion is enough to create big change. </b></div>
<br />
I figure that living things are either growing or dying. There is no stasis, no steady state. For humans, growth comes in the form of learning, exploring, creating, sharing. So, ask yourself these 2 questions:<b> </b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>What do I want to learn?</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>What can I share with others?</b></div>
<br />
Just think of what we can achieve!<br />
<br />
*And indulgence, if you will: I've created a Picasa web album of various and sundry creations (although one is certainly not my doing, but it seems fitting to the theme, and took some doing to snap). It can be found <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/116114736963362620591/Creation?authuser=0&feat=directlink" target="_blank">here</a>, and as a slide show in the side bar to the right of this blog. It will continue to grow with current, future and older projects. I'm motivated by the memory of the tremendous number of works my Gran did over the years - constantly sketching and painting - which we didn't know of until we cleaned out her house in 2010. All the family and friends who came to celebrate her life were able to leave with some memento from my Gran's own hand. It's not that she didn't share what she'd created - she did. A few wonderful pieces she framed and hung on her walls. Having lived a life of making do, moving constantly until age 13, as the middle child of what, 17 kids? she was clever and crafty with crochet, gardening, sewing and cooking as well; practical stuff, for others. The sketching and painting? I think Gran pursued that for herself, it was just a part of her.<br />
<br />
The pursuit of craft, the exploration and work it requires is it's own reward. <br />
<br />
<br />Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-48438751356326015822011-11-20T12:05:00.001-05:002011-11-20T13:37:58.692-05:00Finding the Future<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTxYoZK0_u8LFxMHqdcYhT2czLJ3TyZbLl23zqB8uoNZI-jLFh8zFAfSynImGp3-KX0fzf4RUNOKSOqTat2pDMmIK32rQ3R3u8iHRP1aHnh2XXLUfsAMbs8bNTW75ea21YnFuxEBGkBmN/s1600/early+morning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidTxYoZK0_u8LFxMHqdcYhT2czLJ3TyZbLl23zqB8uoNZI-jLFh8zFAfSynImGp3-KX0fzf4RUNOKSOqTat2pDMmIK32rQ3R3u8iHRP1aHnh2XXLUfsAMbs8bNTW75ea21YnFuxEBGkBmN/s400/early+morning.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hwy 48 east early morning</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yesterday I came across <a href="http://www.cjr.org/second_read/how_the_past_saw_the_present.php?page=all" target="_blank">this</a> great article from the Columbia Journalism Review titled "How the Past Saw the Future", thanks to <a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/home/" target="_blank">http://www.stumbleupon.com/home/</a>. (if you've never checked this great free site click on the link now! it will open in a new window, you can finish reading here and then start stumbling your way to great sites you'd never find otherwise!!)<br />
<br />
<br />
The author, Megan Garber, engages the reader in an insightful reflection on the practice of Journalism and the role that Journalists play in our communities. Her thoughtful articulation reminds me again why Journalism has always exerted such force on me. <br />
It also reminds me of just how much Journalism and Librarianship share in terms of values, perceived and actual roles in society, asking questions, providing context for answers and supporting informed decision making. The work of neither is unbiased, but that doesn't inhibit balance and objectivity in the result. <br />
<br />
To demonstrate, let me quote Garber:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Writing about journalism has always meant, to some extent, writing about
the future of journalism. Reporters are, constitutionally, restless. We
want to know what’s coming next, particularly when it affects us and
our ability to do good work. And that has been true, of course, even
prior to our present moment. </blockquote>
We c<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">an ins</span>ert Librarianship, and the rest of her statement rings equally true. This is not the case with every profession, soft or hard, especially the sense of restlessness, of <b>constant </b>(not merely continuing) education and engagement in the whys and wherefores of the work. Mike Ridley's tweet on November 18 on the future of academic librarianship drives home this essential characteristic<span style="font-size: small;"> of Librarianship</span><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-weight: normal;">If the real gap in academic librarianship is "curiosity" then we do have some very serious work to do</span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b> </b><i>(@mridley 12:26 pm Friday Nov 18 2011</i></span></span></span></span><i>)</i></blockquote>
(as an aside, I've been wondering why there is not more happening at Libraries in terms of gathering and disseminating local news. Media concentration aside, the fact is that geographically disparate areas will have different needs and abilities to satisfice. I can see some keen synergies and value creation . . . Then again, even local Libraries are really so "local" any more, and their larger structures may hinder such explorations. The efficiencies gained by consolidating some aspects of a system are built on the backs of less autonomy and flexibility elsewhere)<br />
<br />
Thanks to Garber, I have been re-introduced to Neil Postman (I went through a semantics and language reading phase in the mid 90s). She quotes him from an 1996 CJR article asking the question<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
What is the problem to which the profession of journalism is the solution?</blockquote>
Again, the parallel with Librarianship is clear: How do we collectively answer this question? And perhaps more importantly, how do we embody that answer in our individual behaviours? <br />
<br />
(another aside, I wanted to know the origin of the Postman quote. The best I can tell is that it was from an interview with a K. Fulton and published in CJR back in 1996. This is the reference given in Mark Pearson's 1999 Doctoral Dissertation at Bond University in Australia, called "<a href="http://epublications.bond.edu.au/hss_pubs/218/" target="_blank">The New 'Multi-Journalism: Journalists and educators perceptions of the influences of the Internet upon journalism and its implications for journalism education</a>" And you'll never believe it, but he talks about this New Multi-Journalism the same way Lankes talks about <a href="http://www.newlibrarianship.org/wordpress/?page_id=2" target="_blank">New Librarianship</a>, which I'm currently "reading") <br />
<br />
It is vital that we ask questions about what we do, and why. We need desperately to move beyond the curse of knowledge about ourselves. We need to start with an acceptance that<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Libraries don't exist to employ Librarians.<br />
Library education and the formalization of "the degree" are recent constructs and probably have less impact on improved access to content than economic growth and new technologies.<br />
To our Members, any one who works in a Library is a Librarian</blockquote>
The questions we need to ask are not about us, or about the boxes in which we work. When we start asking the questions that put our Members first then we'll start finding the answers we need.Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-18846422372157669732011-11-15T18:49:00.000-05:002011-11-15T18:50:13.320-05:00Fabricating a Fascinating FutureThe recent announcement of a <a href="http://fab.cba.mit.edu/about/faq/">Fab Lab</a> at <a href="http://fayettevillefreelibrary.org/">Fayetteville Free Library</a> has created a lot of buzz - and justifiably so! It is a huge investment of multiple resources, and from what I can see on the MIT list, will be the only one run by a Library. I really like how the folks at FFL talk about their Fab Lab as an enhancement of existing collections and services. <br />
I agree.<br />
There are huge opportunities to extend the creative potential of Libraries in new and dynamic ways using a wide range of technologies.<br />
When I first saw a 3-D printer on Daily Planet or some such show I was impressed - it's a pretty cool technology, without a doubt. Mind you, it wasn't fast, involved large, expensive pieces of equipment, and was expensive to use as well. But the things you could make with just a few taps on a keyboard! <br />
<br />
After the initial ooooohhh factor wore off I found myself thinking of The Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut, and Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine.<br />
<br />
And then I found myself thinking: how is this different than what is already done in wood and metal shops around the world, and for years at that? You want to reproduce the original 19th century trim and wrought iron for your heritage building? No problem, we'll just program the profile into the computer and run the raw material through the ________ (lathe, router, break, plasma torch . . .) <br />
Mind you, fabrication shops with such modern automated systems tend towards the industrial scale, or fill a niche that allows for a premium price. <br />
<br />
Yet for many people who make their livelihood with the crafts and trades, the tool kit is much more basic and hands-on. Myriad physical things that make up daily life - clothing, furniture, buildings - come to us via centuries old techniques combined with modern day materials and tools. <br />
<br />
So imagine this<br />
<br />
<i>Jane logs on to her Library account and looks for books on figure drawing. She loves to "doodle" as her nephew says - he keeps asking her to draw him, and now the notion of trying something like that is stuck in her head! </i><br />
<i>She finds some materials that look useful, and places holds on a few of them. </i><br />
<i>The Library catalogue notifies Jane that the library has additional holdings relating to this book:</i><br />
1) drawing pencils<br />
2) charcoal sticks<br />
3) pastels <br />
4) samples of paper<br />
5) poseable figurines for humans and other animals <br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>Realizing that purloined hotel pens and stubby eraserless pencils may not be the best tools, Jane requests pencils, charcoal and a human figurine. She'll practice on what ever paper she can find for now. </i><br />
<i>Finally, Jane sees this in the catalogue: </i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Expertise Library: portrait artist</blockquote>
<i>A note on the site explains that <b>The Expertise Library</b> is a collection of people who have skills, knowledge and
experience covering a range of trades, crafts and other areas of
expertise, all of whom want to help others learn that same thing. The lending conditions for each human book vary, and may permit consultation on specific issues. </i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
<i>Jane sees an open time slot in the following week and considers for a moment. She'd heard about this Expertise Library from a friend who needed to
make a theatre costume for her son. The daunting task was demystified when her friend was able to <b>check out a sewing machine
and a seamstress human book</b>. It turned out so well other parents asked for help! </i><br />
<br />
<i>With a few clicks Jane has booked her human book visit with a local portrait artist. The confirmation screen encourages Jane to bring along materials, works (in progress or finished) for discussion/assistance.</i><br />
<i>Just a Jane logs off she receives an email with a calendar reminder for next week, and notice of when she can pick up her holds. She can already picture the smile on her nephew's face when she hands him his portrait! </i><br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<br />
<br />Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-63502329518319712942011-11-08T12:00:00.002-05:002011-11-08T12:00:43.846-05:00Pretensions? or PretentiousThat's it. I'm claiming, and proclaiming, my artistic pretensions. The drive to create, fueled by imagination and curiosity, has always been a part of my life, although I have not always shown it the honour it deserves. Some how it just didn't fit me when I was younger: I swam and ran and jumped and read and wrote and tested all very well. It all came easily, working at doing it better was fun, and had real results in the real world. All the artistic stuff - singing and performance or visual arts - I enjoyed doing them, but rarely in public, rarely showed to anyone. In hindsight I can see it was fear: the subjectivity of success was terrifying to me. <br />
Nonetheless I have been creating since a young age. I still have and use a portable easel kit that is well over 30 years old. The easel was part of a water colour set. I used it to do this painting in 1982. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTDn9XxfiRIev3bl8PbYJ0MFueKzBCnosx5pCFQsy8Q-R_UmlPvq6f106LxSiJi-l78LD_-mdjcV1gj5T8CHIzU0PsxU9ZaMxFz98aM3wvxWT74Q3jEc0UDHmFcOpP5KAkPt87N5cJ24Eh/s1600/eagle+82.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTDn9XxfiRIev3bl8PbYJ0MFueKzBCnosx5pCFQsy8Q-R_UmlPvq6f106LxSiJi-l78LD_-mdjcV1gj5T8CHIzU0PsxU9ZaMxFz98aM3wvxWT74Q3jEc0UDHmFcOpP5KAkPt87N5cJ24Eh/s320/eagle+82.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
I gave it to my Grandpa Iverson for Christmas that year ("love Tanya xoxoxo"). He was special, and I trusted him. It was one of the few times I willingly shared something I created, right up to the past 8 years or so. <br />
<br />
I also have a sewing box from the same time, and have been making clothes and other items since around age 8. My own sewing machine has graced many a table since 1993. I made my own wedding dress with it. The funny thing is, since such items are useful and functional, rather than "artistic" I've never had qualms about claiming them as my own creations. This in spite of making my own patterns and designs . . . <br />
Ah such is the human psyche. <br />
Which is why I am claiming my artistic pretensions, not my artistic talent. I claim inspiration, imagination and the need to create. That's enough for me. <br />
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<br />Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-56524033347906924072011-11-05T22:00:00.000-04:002011-11-05T22:00:56.524-04:00Thinking about an occupationThis is a letter I sent to Macleans Magazine after reading Andrew Coyne's opinion piece <a href="http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/10/24/a-phony-class-war/">A phony class war</a> which I read on October 25, 2011, the same day I sent this letter. I have no idea if they've published it - I don't subscribe to the magazine and I don't think they put their letters online . . .<br />
<br /><br />
<span id="goog_1901282789"></span><span id="goog_1901282790"></span>I cannot quibble with Mr. Coyne as to the content of this piece, although the title rings a bit false. The situation in Canada is indeed very different from what is going on in the U.S.A, where fraud and illegal activities on the part of banks etc (mortgages, securitizations, improper disclosures . . .) will take years to resolve and leave many home- and securities-owners with a cloud of uncertainty over their heads. This is not the case here.<br />
He has, however, missed an important nuance to this widespread discontent. When people are losing their jobs because of "cut-backs" while executives enjoy ever larger compensation packages something is off. When managers are told to pretend inflation doesn't exist and to keep operational budgets "flat" for years on end, almost any organization ends up teetering like an upside-down pyramid. It is a failure to invest in people - and not in terms of salary, but the information, tools and environment in which they work - rather than the product, and profit, they produce. By ignoring the human in their human capital many companies are in fact hollowing out their own employees.<br />
<br />
The dissatisfaction cuts across many lines: political, socio-economic, ethnic, employment status as well as nature of employment. It is rooted in the experiences of the suit-wearers and the work-a-day folk alike that tells them logarithmic compensation growth for the mucky mucks in the face of ever constrained budgets seems, well, hypocritical.
I am one of the lucky ones: mostly satisfied, enjoying simple pleasures of love, home, friends and family. I give no thought to those who have more - so what? I give thought, action and dollars towards those who have less. I greatly value the goods and services that come with paying my taxes, believe there are ways to do things better with what we have, and have a preference for keeping as much of my own money as possible.<br />
<br />
With all this, I just <b>cannot believe</b> anyone is worth tens of millions of dollars a year for what they do, be it in professional sports, acting in a film or running a company. The idea that one person delivers that much "value" is nothing more than a cult. And when you see the disparity in a graphic like the one here: <a href="http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Distribution.png">http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Distribution.png</a>, well . . . .<br />
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<br />Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-33719893693789979372011-09-08T11:56:00.001-04:002011-09-08T11:57:36.580-04:00When reading something makes you think, what do you do?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: large;">Look out: another outbreak of sticky note syndrome. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiHNGbkfdJmPCMs-XMHgHrEoUWV2ghunx8Ow9FlVfXGumH4BCc8roQGzGY6q9HYdmRnfvs94mFTcZooWf1xg1bNwS5ria9lbdlOXbMS4ehB3Drc_9trsXHUumjLJeOBOV-GiBOaH6vZ3N/s1600/first+idea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiHNGbkfdJmPCMs-XMHgHrEoUWV2ghunx8Ow9FlVfXGumH4BCc8roQGzGY6q9HYdmRnfvs94mFTcZooWf1xg1bNwS5ria9lbdlOXbMS4ehB3Drc_9trsXHUumjLJeOBOV-GiBOaH6vZ3N/s320/first+idea.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
I admit to happily scribbling in books I own (The Information by Gleick is well marked!) but will never do so in a Library book - it just isn't right.<br />
<br />
As much as I would love to own most of the books that make me think, I am quite sure that the cost of the books will far out weigh that of the sticky notes (especially since the latter is a frequent give away compared to the former!)<br />
<br />
Mind you, I also have assorted notebooks full of titles and authors and page references. And for the past few years I have occasionally transmitted such bookish thoughts into 0s and 1s (such as <a href="http://practicingcuriosity.blogspot.com/p/where-to-ideas-come-from-where-do-they.html">here</a>).<br />
<br />
In the process of cataloguing the books I own via LibraryThing I found myself immersed in memories associated with every item. While I cannot claim to have read every book in its entirety, I am deeply familiar with the vast majority. They all proclaim their salience as vessels of learning, and reminders of what is known.<br />
<br />
When we find ourselves in a formal learning environment the natural output of the interaction between substance and sponge is in the form of research papers, writing up experimental results and other assignments. Most people don't live their lives in such environments, but that doesn't mean the learning process stops, right? The idea of life long learning has a long tradition, whether it is on the basics (think <a href="http://www.frontiercollege.ca/">Frontier College</a>) or beyond. <br />
<br />
<br />
I've come to think of learning as an expression of what it means to be alive. There are so many things to learn, so many ways to learn them. And the power of sharing what is learned has never been greater. <br />
<br />
September is Life Long Literacy Month, and today is International Literacy Day. Check out <a href="http://abclifeliteracy.ca/">ABC Life Literacy Canada</a> for more information on these initiatives.Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-39675577123390050162011-08-28T17:33:00.000-04:002011-08-28T17:34:51.423-04:00Sense-Making and SymbolismWe've all experienced the ease of understanding that comes when we're engaged, as much as the difficulty of learning something we don't find meaningful. The notion that we are more invested in learning what interests us surely comes as no surprise.<br />
<br />
And it just might be built into our DNA. <br />
<br />
On one of my recent browsings at S. Walter Stewart I found <a href="http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/128/7/1737.full">The First Idea how symbols, language and intelligence evolved from our primate ancestors to modern humans</a>, by Stanley I. Greenspan and Stuart G. Shanker. It is a powerful read, presenting a new theory of language acquisition and learning that is intertwined with a novel perspective on the evolution of human cognitive capacity. <br />
<br />
The crux of their argument is that language and learning is rooted in our human capacity to be emotionally affected by the world around us. <br />
<br />
The authors reject as unsatisfactory the Big Bang theory of language acquisition (e.g. Chomsky and Pinker), which implicates sudden genetic mutations during the Pleistocene as primary forces in the development of language. One such mutation created a change in human anatomy: the descent of the larynx, permitting the kind of vocalizations we now call speech. The Big Bang theory ties this ability to speak to the notion of language skills, reducing the acquisition of language to a set of innate heuristics set free from their physical constraints.<br />
<br />
<br />
Greenspan and Shanker, on the other hand, present a compelling argument that our linguistic abilities have little to do with the noises we make, both now and in our evolutionary past. The authors draw on research with infants and children across a wide spectrum of developmental ability, as well as work with non-human primates, to show that our ability to employ symbols and provide meaningful signals to others is grounded in an emotive response to our environment which can be expressed in many ways, not just speech.<br />
<br />
In other words, we developed language skills so we could communicate about what matters.<br />
<br />
Knowing the importance of an emotional investment in learning means that culture and behaviour matter more than ever, especially in the presence of developmental disabilities. This is perhaps the most significant aspect of the authors' research: positive outcomes for children and families living with Autism and other developmental disorders.<br />
<br />
All this certainly seems to reinforce the importance of being passionate in what we do, reflecting the wisdom of the cliche "follow your heart" <br />
<br />
You can read more about Shanker's work at York University's <a href="http://www.mehri.ca/">Milton and Ethel Harris Research Initiative</a>. <br />
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Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-62686101841620369242011-08-15T12:20:00.001-04:002011-08-15T12:24:26.592-04:00Lessons from Literature Part 2I have always been an avid mystery fan. Of the few books I actually purchased for myself as a child, Agatha Christie mysteries easily made up half (the other half being works by C.S. Lewis). <br />
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Poirot and Ms Marple fascinated me in their seemingly quirky ability to ferret out the many truths of a situation - the story is never just about "who done it" - though of course they each had a method, coupled with discipline and discernment.<br />
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Method, discipline and discernment.<br />
In many ways these words also describe the research process. No surprise, really. The art of detection, be it in a fictional character or the real world, is a process of research, figuring out what is possible within the context of any given problem. To quote Holmes himself:<br />
<blockquote><b>How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, <i>however improbable</i>, must be the truth?</b></blockquote><br />
Just a perusal of the Wikipedia page of <a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes">Sherlock Holmes quotes</a> demonstrates this recurring theme across many stories. <br />
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I personally find this mystery/puzzle motif a powerful motivation for learning, and I've used it for years when sharing my knowledge of business research tools and techniques (presentation at CLA 2010 <a href="http://www.cla.ca/conference/2010/documents/presentations/D24-making.pdf">here</a>). By imagining the process through this lens I think it demystifies unfamiliar content by placing it in a familiar framework that combines 1) fun and games on the one hand, and 2) existing skill sets on the other. <br />
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So much of research and reference is figuring it out as we go - Librarians don't know all the answers, but we have a method, coupled with discipline and discernment, to know how to look for the answers. It is about the unique relationship between what is known and what is needed, and creating that improbable bridge that links them. Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-72741314591011466662011-08-06T15:22:00.000-04:002011-08-15T12:21:58.749-04:00Are you being served?Recent events in Toronto have significantly raised the profile of Public Libraries in Canada. Alexandra Yarrow has a <a href="http://ottawapubliclibrarian.blogspot.com/2011/08/are-you-sick-of-these-questions-i-am.html">great summation of and rebuttal to </a>much of the press over the past few weeks at her blog Only connect. CBC Radio's interviews with <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/ontariotoday/2011/07/27/thursday-what-has-your-library-done-for-you-lately/">Moe Hosseini-Ara, with Markham Public Library</a>, and <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2011/08/02/whither-the-library/">Ken Roberts with Hamilton Public </a>on The Current provide powerful messages about the power of the Library to change lives. And just today <a href="http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2011/08/06/libraries-are-eccentric-changing-and-vital-public-spaces/">Brian Hutchinson</a> at the National Post weighed in, declaring Public Libraries eclectic and vital.<br />
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Indeed, they are, and in ways that can be quantified and enumerated and used to bolster support.<br />
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This was <a href="http://kenhaycock.com/kens-blog.html">Ken Haycock's</a> very essential point in his 2 blog posts on July 25th regarding the brouhaha. Advocacy that appears self-serving will do more harm than good. Instead, craft advocacy messages that<br />
<ul><li>show an ability to connect with patrons; </li>
<li>are based on data that documents unique value; </li>
<li>result from relationships with decision makers; </li>
<li>reflect an understanding of priorities; </li>
<li>offers solutions, not problems. </li>
</ul>Librarianship is about service. The thing about service is that it is never about the one doing the serving. I would even argue that the best service is the one that is invisible - what you need is there, when you need it, because some one else is anticipating your needs so well. <br />
It is this kind of service that turns a dining experience - regardless of the food - from merely good to sublime.<br />
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Back here in Toronto Councillors themselves have already foregone a salary increase and cut office budgets. While many will call this purely symbolic, the fact is real dollars are involved, dollars that hopefully will be used in some front line service activity.<br />
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I'm not sure any library of any kind can ever achieve that seamless perfect service. Inevitably the choice of one resource denies the possibility of another. I have purchased many books simply because my Library doesn't have them, or has only a single non-lending copy. I have read yet many more books I did not even know existed because of all the materials my Library did acquire, and it was just there on the shelf waiting for me.<br />
And I think this is where we find the beauty, power and value of Public Libraries - with so much to learn in such a big world, the Public Library brings it down to scale. <br />
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Even down to a single shelf: <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvWZpqH00xT1S14u6t-ZL5yam-tiDzJMZH9_ruq8t9XkHrw7lH82w7THHdMuFrfuEuUqNdcDq9ZQkgVwDp97gYETcLO2mymBNOcdRuR6sJ4DRqiDp5y50K1_TJjf9ZGUwSlN2MhNJRgCW/s1600/IMG00204-20110505-1815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUvWZpqH00xT1S14u6t-ZL5yam-tiDzJMZH9_ruq8t9XkHrw7lH82w7THHdMuFrfuEuUqNdcDq9ZQkgVwDp97gYETcLO2mymBNOcdRuR6sJ4DRqiDp5y50K1_TJjf9ZGUwSlN2MhNJRgCW/s320/IMG00204-20110505-1815.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">what do you want to learn? you'll find it @ your library!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table>This was taken earlier this summer at S. Walter Stewart. Titles include <u>Project Orion</u> (nuclear explosions 629.4753 DYS), <u>Professional Microsoft Robotics</u> (robotics 629.89 JOH) <u>The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live it</u> (home economics - rural 630 SEY) and <u>Apples to Oysters</u> (cooking, Canadian (630.971 WEB). Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-16150441154314434402011-08-05T19:43:00.000-04:002011-08-05T19:43:54.645-04:00Books: antique technology for a new age<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">A blog post on Information Today recently posed the question: <a href="http://kaser.infotodayblog.com/2011/06/25/is-the-future-of-books-and-libraries-intertwined/">is the future of books and libraries intertwined?</a> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The question frustrates me in the same way that the never ending pursuit of some word other than Librarian frustrates me: it is a false problem, scattering our focus away from what I think are more useful ponderings. Surely the question is rhetorical (“no, they are not!”), and therefore of limited use in discussing what the next incarnation of Libraries might look like. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">If we were to consider the relationship between publishing and Libraries, well, that would be a much more fruitful discussion. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It provides us a broader, and I believe more appropriate field of inquiry. As much as the book came before publishing, the advent of publishing (via printing technology) changed the role of the book forever. It was no longer a rare item of great value representing human artistry and skill, but rather the artifact of a mechanical process that enabled the broader transmission of ideas. Libraries are about what's between the covers; Librarianship is about getting at the knowledge, whether it is found in a printed book or otherwise. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I took a course on publishing during my MLIS studies at U of A. It simply made sense to me that I should understand an industry and process that is so fundamental to the work of Librarianship. I grew into Librarianship just as Google was getting started. Web search had been around already for a number of years, and of course electronic databases had been a mainstay of Librarianship for decades. We considered the antecedents to the publishing environment in the late 90s, pondered the future. I doubt anyone in that course could have accurately foretold the extent to which electronic access to content would take hold: Google barely existed; the thought of Google Books within a decade would have seemed audacious. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Despite the News Corp and McGraw-Hills of the world, publishing generally is not a high margin industry. Navigating the fickle and changeable marketplace of ideas has always been difficult. It has its quirks, as do most industries. For instance, the handling of remainders: unsold titles sent back to publishers from retailers, ensuring the publisher faces the responsibility for a misjudging demand. </div><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">And As Andrew Pettegree notes a number of times in his fabulous tome <a href="http://yalepress.yale.edu/book.asp?isbn=9780300110098">The Book in the Renaissance</a>, it has always been this way. The publishing industry, not just of books but of pamphlets, legal notices, and newspaper broadsheets, all of it emerged very directly from Gutenberg's revolutionary invention in the mid 15<sup>th</sup> century. Publishing, after all is the process of deciding what to print, and how many; and then investing considerable cash outlay against unpredictable future earnings. Presses were expensive to set up; recouping this investment by printing saleable materials was essential. Gutenberg was the first of many printers to learn the hard way, facing financial ruin because of publishing decisions gone awry. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtWOXDpwrRMnD1zNYg9aN0_aNwj_37tKJfmlpaU_ocN6axKUFZ5Nby6RuyENOFkL5xIaSpI8f32UcmXTIk28RKL9J-unmxhhaqfH-rs9tE7qoUB4Y899BjhPcqoooAB3IEvBRn6OCq3Q2/s1600/IMG00391-20110805-1344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Pettegree's Book is a delight to read. I am life long bibliophile, and still prefer paper to a screen. To the extent that I discovered this book while snaking through the stacks at my local <a href="http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?R=LIB017">TPL </a>branch in search of serendipity, it is entirely possible I would not have read it otherwise. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxuH6_Q0iThdZ-T8s_aOu1raRdek6csezqWcXyTmQ8NOKwpbLpKudFUHjLzIrylrMMC34B2m-J10CnHy7JvD15eKTnfzAglJFydTfFDPNNnWpjuvrhAsUTsncRsuqFkTA_j3y9an4CZQj/s1600/IMG00391-20110805-1344.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxuH6_Q0iThdZ-T8s_aOu1raRdek6csezqWcXyTmQ8NOKwpbLpKudFUHjLzIrylrMMC34B2m-J10CnHy7JvD15eKTnfzAglJFydTfFDPNNnWpjuvrhAsUTsncRsuqFkTA_j3y9an4CZQj/s320/IMG00391-20110805-1344.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">what to do when a book gets stickynoteitis? or is it sticky note plague? </td></tr>
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Having said that, <u>The Book in the Renaissance</u> sheds light on the publishing environment today. The early printing industry faced many hurdles, not least of which was availability of paper. The absence of linen or other appropriate rags for paper production in Northern Europe slowed the spread of printing establishments, as importing it was prohibitively expensive. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It equally gave me tremendous appreciation for the realities of publishing today. As publishing and the trade in ideas developed, it did so based on which ideas sold the best. Despite the humanism of the day, the spread of the printed word was driven purely by economics. The best selling titles, then as now, were not of an intellectual bent. Printing succeeded at centers of trade, not university towns. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">And with good reason, as there was certainly money to be made. As early as 1466 the value of stock of a Paris book merchant was equivalent to the annual income of a leading nobleman of France. Keep in mind, however, these books were unsold. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Many more printers and publishers failed than succeeded in the first 400 years of our relationship with the book; there was similarly halting success in the emergence of formal or institutional Libraries. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Ultimately the humanist ideals were achieved via the market place anyway. If looking for causality in history, here's one that seems quite clear to me:</div><blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Following the development of the movable type printing press, printing indulgences became a significant source of steady income for printers; indulgences were easier to print therefore it was easier for the Church to use them to raise funds; it was abused enough to provoke the ire of one Martin Luther who in turn used the same technology, but in the vernacular, driving a wave of literacy and increased demand for reading materials in addition to tremendous religious upheaval and a wave of exploration and discovery. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div></blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Hmmm . . . accessible materials and a captivating idea drove the early spread of literacy. Interesting. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Every industry has it's cost drivers, some primary element without which the industry does not function. Beyond basic start up costs, for printing and publishing the main driver was the cost for the paper itself; experienced workers would also factor in, with compensation for content developers being a mere blip in the overall scheme. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Only very recently have content developers become a more significant cost driver, resulting from a combination of international copyright, and growing demand for materials of all kinds, educational or otherwise. Now, of course, content is king. Creators of content command significant sums of money to share their thoughts with the rest of the world, be it via a best selling novel, investigative journalism, research and advice from consultancies, or a blog. Just as the cost drivers have shifted, so have the conditions around codifying and sharing knowledge: </div><blockquote><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">the physical barriers to production represented by an older information technology ie a book are replaced by technological barriers to access in the newer information technology. </div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxuH6_Q0iThdZ-T8s_aOu1raRdek6csezqWcXyTmQ8NOKwpbLpKudFUHjLzIrylrMMC34B2m-J10CnHy7JvD15eKTnfzAglJFydTfFDPNNnWpjuvrhAsUTsncRsuqFkTA_j3y9an4CZQj/s1600/IMG00391-20110805-1344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Clearly the printed word is still with us, still instrumental in facilitating the sharing of human knowledge and experience. The legacy of the book, of print and publishing will live on: not every idea survives. Just as always, content has to be findable, has to be accessible, has to captivate and drive us forward. Just as always we will need some kind of technology to enable access. For millions of people around the world, including me, this will happen at and through our Libraries. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
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</div>Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-88187449646448657612011-06-28T16:16:00.002-04:002011-06-28T20:03:06.756-04:00Oh no, another L wordAttending <a href="http://www.tedxlibrarians.com/">TEDxLibrariansTO</a> last Saturday was an inspiring experience on a topic near and dear to my heart: Librarians as Thought Leaders. While I'd never really put it that way, I figured I knew what was meant. I eagerly anticipated the day, having only dim notions of what to expect. <br />
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I loved the format: brief, fascinating talks touching topics that leave you wanting more from each one, rather than feeling overwhelmed by it all.<br />
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Shelley Archibald and Fiacre O'Duinn were consummate hosts, ensuring good food, good conversation and a wonderful opportunity to meet interesting people. All told, a great day. <br />
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It brought to mind another inspiring experience regarding leadership and Librarianship: The Northern Exposure to Leadership Institute. I was successfully nominated by CASLIS for the 2007 Institute. After I came home I took some time to reflect on and write about this great opportunity: <br />
<blockquote>I really didn’t expect attending the Northern Exposure to Leadership Institute to be a humbling experience. Invigorating, yes. Inspiring even. Maybe just a little bit cheesy. Yet as I sat on the floor on our last day at Emerald Lodge and looked around the room I found myself feeling rather, well, small. For those who know me personally, that is a truly unusual feeling for me. <br />
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So there we sat in a circle on the floor. Every other time we had been in this room it was full of chairs and tables and food and flipcharts and bags and books and oh so much more. Now it was just us: participants, facilitators, mentors, organizers. I realized as I sat on the floor that I was looking at leaders, everywhere I turned! I had not learned how to be a leader at NEL; no, I had learned to recognize leadership in all its diversity. Wow.</blockquote>NEL is a focus on the essence of librarianship. It is about what we do and how we do it. It is about recognizing our ability to facilitate change through facilitating access to the right information at the right time.<br />
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This was my daily bread when working as a Librarian in the corporate sector, where every day in some way large or small, the work I did had an positive impact on the work of others. In serving the information needs of my colleagues I helped make change happen. <br />
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In fact, one of the books that came my way during my NEL experience explicitly addressed the idea of <b><i>servant</i></b> leadership. Facilitating the work of others in a way that they don't have to think about how or where, and just do their own "what", that is a form of leadership. But please do not confuse servant leadership with notions of servility: leaders are sure of their presence, they know how to claim, own and share their contributions. <br />
Librarians struggle with notions of leadership and leader. This was expressed at NEL as well as at TEDxLibrarians, where talk turned at times to who are leaders in Librarianship (or Libraryland, a la <a href="http://informingthoughts.com/">Amy Buckland</a>). Along with it came that same expression of discomfort with the idea that a Librarian would aspire to be a LEADER, and that many of our current leaders work outside of Libraries (consultants, vendors etc).<br />
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Which brings to mind another similarity.<br />
Librarians tend to conflate our whatness with our whereness. Talk about Librarianship easily, but erroneously, slips into talk about Libraries and hierarchies and infrastructure . . . and no one really notices. This was the case at TEDxLibrariansTO as much as it was at NEL.<br />
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What I wrote back in 2007 was <br />
<blockquote>It is almost as though the institution in which many librarians work becomes the entirety of the profession. Thinking about librarianship becomes a reflection on the boxes in which we work, rather than on the work we do. <br />
Special librarians do not have the luxury, or is it the burden? of an institutional filter when thinking about librarianship. No, we in fact must reference and consider factors outside our workplaces and so are forced into bigger picture thinking.</blockquote>I do think that special Librarians have an inherently different view on Librarianship. The focus has always been on what, how and who, rather than where; but ultimately, a focus on service.<br />
Considering that the <a href="http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/AssnProfile/History/index.cfm">Special Libraries Association</a> is now over 100 years old, there is evidence not just for the long term proliferation of Librarians throughout the non-Traditional realm, but of also of a long term overt recognition that to practice Librarianship in these environments requires a strong network and a keen interest in engaging with and learning from a highly diverse range of professional colleagues. Associations are always the result of the collective work of the members, giving of money, time and expertise in service to their colleagues, in order that their colleagues can serve in their respective workplaces. Such voluntary associations don't survive without satisfying some essential need, one people are willing to pay to have filled.<br />
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I made a low tech story board video for the TEDxLibrariansTO video challenge which was a lot of fun, (not sure if it is on the youtube channel? forgot to mention my own name in the video, see, so . . . anyway it is <a href="http://practicingcuriosity.blogspot.com/2011/06/are-librarians-thought-leaders.html">here</a>, and sorry in advance for any nausea you may feel!)<br />
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In it, near the very end, I state that Librarians have the power and wisdom to lead from the unknown to the known. I think that is true in any area of human enquiry. It is with human insight and intervention that our collective knowledge is made accessible for human use. And this is as true today as it has been for over 4 thousand years.<br />
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Librarians are Leaders. It rolls off the tongue so easily, alliteration and all, and we can get familiar with 2 great L words at once. Let's say it together now. . .Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-762749341878715402.post-25063174244184526182011-06-24T16:06:00.000-04:002011-06-24T16:06:37.355-04:00Are Librarians Thought Leaders?my reply to the TEDxLibrarianTO video challenge.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/xQ4GVltUo-Y?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Tanya Robyn Stockandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17608332349537715755noreply@blogger.com