A Wandering Eyre

I am traveling this week in California, teaching two more classes for Infopeople. For the first time, in a long time, I am traveling sans camera, so I will rely on my pregnancy swiss cheese memory to relate my travels to you. Tuesday, I was in Saratoga, a quaint, little place nestled in the trees and hills with friendly people and great food.

My class was at the Saratoga Public Library, a building renovated in the last 4 years to meet the growing needs of the community. It is bright and welcoming. While I was there, the parking lot was always full and there were many people coming through the doors. The librarians and staff were lovely and made me feel right at home. Joan, Head of Adult Services, even looked up the local Trader Joe’s for me (I had never been to one of these stores and decided, why not?) and printed me out a map. I am sure she had more important reference questions to answer, but I appreciated her help immensely.

I had a small, but very talkative group Tuesday. For the first time, it was also a very homogeneous group: all public librarians from the area. It was a fun group with many good ideas. I love teaching enthusiastic librarians.

This morning, the misty clouds were hanging over the hills, urging me to sit and sip coffee with a book on a warm porch. Alas, Baby Rochester demands no caffeine and I had to pack and depart, leaving no time for reading.

I am in San Jose Airport, typing this, waiting for my flight to LA where I repeat my song and dance on Thursday. I have never been to L.A., so my goal is to find some good, cheap Mexican food and try to spot someone famous.

Update: I am in my hotel in L.A. and I have accomplished one goal for my trip. Cuba Gooding Jr. was standing next to me getting his bags at the airport. If it was not the man himself, it was someone who looks, sounds, and laughs just like him. I smiled at him and he smiled back. He had happy eyes. Hee, Hee! Now, off to the Farmer’s Market to browse the shops.

–Jane, wishes it were sunny in L.A.

This is the round-up post minus the soapbox elements. In this post, I write about the things I liked about my trip and the things that made me feel good about ALA. There were, of course, some not fabulous things about Midwinter, but I am putting those in their very own post. Just for you, readers, because I know how you sometimes like a good bitch.

ALA Midwinter was fun, if very quick, for me this year. I flew in on Saturday and left Monday. Philadelphia was a nice city to visit, even if I left one rainy cold city for the same weather at home.

The best meeting I attended by far was the Jim Rettig Presidential Advisory Board Meeting. It was a good meeting for two reasons:

First, it was very well run and efficient. Second, at no time during the meeting was any idea turned down with a no or dismissed. We instead discussed how to make each idea feasible, even if it meant giving the idea to a group who could handle it better. I left feeling positive about the possibilities for the group’s initiatives and it was the best meeting I attended all conference, including the one that I helped run. It affirmed my belief that there are plenty of people in ALA who want to try new things.

The ALA Publishing Reception was at the Mutter Museum at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. I liked the babies in jars and fetal skeletons displays the best followed closely by the syphilitic skulls. I have not seen so many cool skulls since Physical Anthropology in college. Fabulous. The Terminal Street Market was wonderfully full of delicious food, spices, fruits, vegetables, and handmade items. It was a feast for the eyes and the belly. I had some veggie samosas from Nandi’s Kitchen that were fantabulous.

This is likely be my last ALA until Annual 09 because I plan on staying home from traveling for a year after Baby Rochester arrives. I still have virtual commitments to several committees and that will continue. It made all my meetings with friends bittersweet, knowing I would only see people online for a large amount of time until I start the conference circuit again. It was nice to see old friends and meet some new people, as always.

The Blog Salon was fun, as usual, and was in a wonderfully large room this year. Sadly, there were no shower caps, but I did see a group in Second Life off to one side. I also met the creator of the “March of the Librarians” video, Nick Baker, who is a lovely person.

As I was uploading pictures to Flickr, it dawned on me that I take less pictures when I am not drinking. My set for Midwinter is very small as a consequence of my being in Philadelphia for a shorter period than normal and for the distinct lack of alcohol consumed. I still have a handful to get online.

The wifi, though occasionally spotty (as wifi sometimes is), was usable in most areas of the conference center. Thank you, ALA. It is much appreciated and was noted by this blogger. I hope this is a precedence that only improves.

–Jane, it’s raining in Houston today

My first evening in Rochster, NY included a trip to Wegmans, which lived up to its hype. We ate at the grill counter and I had a delicious pork tenderloin and veggies. What a wonderful end to a day of traveling. The company wasn’t too shabby either.

On the way here, I had a layover in Cleveland, OH. As we landed and took off, I was able to get some great views of the Fall foliage. The only trees I have ever seen change are aspens, which are a lovely shade of gold. The trees in Cleveland were all shades of red, gold, and orange. It was the first time I have ever seen real Fall leaves. Amazing and beautiful.

–Jane, appreciates the actual winter weather

Today started a string of travel for me. I am in Denver until Sunday to attend LITA Forum. I will be giving two talks:
David and Goliath take on Social Tools and Learning 2.0 on a Dime.

Monday, I leave Denver for Virginia Beach to talk to the public library there about Web 2.0 and how it can help them engage customers. I created an outline and entitled it Making Your Patrons More Than the Audience. I got an email back from Nancy, who has been working with me for the trip, saying that they refer to their patrons as customers. I gladly changed the wording of my presentation. It is nice that the mentality of patrons as customers is already in place in Virginia Beach.

I have long thought it short sighted of libraries not to admit that we are competing for people’s attention and that makes us like a business. If you follow that logic, our patrons are indeed customers. If we really planned things this way, would we offer different services?

I think that we would move a lot faster and keep up with demand better. In the real world, companies that do not keep up, go bankrupt and fail. In the library world, this does not happen, but you do become obsolete in your community. I think the ability of libraries to survive despite a lack of innovation has hurt our culture. I believe that is beginning to change because we are competing for people’s attention and money, but oh, the change is so very slow.

We need to start thinking like businesses and get over our hang-ups about that.

–Jane, well that post went off on a tangent!

The buffalo at Yellowstone National Park were hilarious. Mr. Rochester and I loved watching them roll in the dirt and boss around their ladies. Who knew that buffalo were so dang grumpy? Hours of fun and enjoyment for everyone.

-Jane, grump, grump

I had such a lovely time in the Black Hills of South Dakota and in the mountains of Wyoming, that I was sad to return to the over one hundred degree heat of Houston. I tried to convince Mr. Rochester that we could both get jobs in a bar in Jackson, WY and just stay. He said we had to come home to get our puppy dog. I guess if anyone asks, I will say, I came home because of the kid. We are doing it because of the kid.

I learned some important life lessons in the mountains. I always do, but with Mr. R in tow, some of the lessons were more amusing then if I had been solo or with my family.

Lesson #1 - WWBD? If your lady friend is giving you problems, wanting to go one way when you already told her that way was forbidden, what should you do? You should think, “What Would Buffalo Do?” Buffalo would grunt at the lady, head butt, and then kick her in the right direction. A bit grumpy, but it works every time.

Lesson #2 - In the mountains, there should be no stress about time. You get out of camp when you get out. Breakfast and dinner are to be savored. Air is to be breathed of deeply. An afternoon shower simply means you are to cover the wood, sit under a tree, drink a drink, and watch it rain.

Lesson #3 - High altitude makes alcohol go straight to your head.

Lesson #4 - (This is for the ladies) Ladies, when your man is chopping wood for the fire or building the fire upon which you will cook dinner, you should always comment about how manly and sexy the man is while completing the above tasks.

Lesson #5 - Even mediocre food tastes awesome cooked over a fire.

Lesson #6 - I do not ever want to drive through Kansas again. I have no idea how people live in that place.

Lesson #7 - Mr. Rochester must acquire at least one speeding ticket per trip. He does not appreciate it when I find the speeding ticket hilarious.

Lesson #8 - The first shower you have after 6 days on a camping trip is like heaven, but the smell of the campfire lingers on your skin. I love that smell.

Lesson #9 - If you go on seldom traveled trails in Yellowstone in search of a beaver pond, you may find a herd of 30 mule deer instead.

Lesson #10 - You can avoid the crowd, and the sun, at Old Faithful by grabbing a beer at the cafeteria and sitting on the shady porch which overlooks the timely eruption.

Lesson #11 - A morning spent in a kayak on Jenny Lake is completed to perfection with a beer in Moose,WY, overlooking the Grand Tetons.

Lesson #12 - The Grand Tetons, named by French trappers, means “large breasts” in French.

To see all of the pictures, check out my flickr set.

–Jane, back in the saddle

I have always loved the mountains in that visceral way that some places seep into your soul. The mountains make me feel like no other place I have ever imagined or seen. I have not been in the mountains for a handful of years and every year they pull on me. This year, I am finally able to return.

The puppy is with his grandma, who will feed him things he never gets at home and spoil him rotten. Mr. Rochester has packed all of our camping things into action packers, the tent has been checked for holes and cleaned out, the sleeping bags are ready, the food is waiting, there is ice for the coolers, and liquor packed (because this is vacation, you see). Tomorrow, at approximately 2 am (yes, as in, the morning), Mr. Rochester and I are climbing into our SUV and driving to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. Though I am taking my laptop so that I can write, I will not be online. Ever. Miss me a little or not as you choose. I will take lots of pictures, come back with stories about how we narrowly escaped being eaten by bears, and how Mr. R had to drag me down every trail in the parks.

–Jane, is taking graphic novels and articles for a lit review as reading material

I am messing around with the Twitter plugin for WP, so those of you that got a slew of twits via RSS, pardons! I will have my twits coming here in some fashion, digest or individually for the conference.

Tomorrow morning, I leave for the Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium in Chicago. I am making a detour to Milwaukee to visit family. It should be fun. Do not worry; there will be pictures.

I am taking along three books (The Brazen Careerist, Fool Moon, and Datacloud), a computer full of downloaded feeds (thanks to Google Gears), a couple writing assignments, and a desire for Guitar Hero. If you are going to the Symposium, come say howdy. I may be entrusted with a voice recorder for official purposes, so you can hear your voice online if you let me interview you.

-Jane, ready to go

I arrived at Reagan Airport to a dreary Sunday. The cab ride through the business multiplex to the hotel was a bit disheartening. I think Monterey spoiled me.

A group of us went to dinner at a slightly snooty place for Italian food. The food was great, the service was ok, and the company was fabulous. We landed at the Hyatt Bar, which has good service if you are sitting AT the bar and terrible service if you are not. The bartender virtually ignored the people who walked up for drinks. The drinks were strong though so at least there was that.

Regardless, there was a large group of us who started out our week at CIL in proper fashion. We all behaved well and went our separate ways around 11. We decided we should all get good sleep at least one night.

I am sitting in my third talk this morning and they have all been great. Posts will be coming soon on my notes for each. It is again dreary outside.

I ran into Alan Gray, Darien Library, in the hall. They had some flooding yesterday so I would like to send my good thoughts their way. I hope all is well. I love you guys. (in my best Cartman voice)

The Twitter feed for the conference seems to be taking off and is amusing to boot. If you are not here and trying to avoid work, definitely check it out.
–Jane, happy to be here

There is nothing like another city and a change of scenery to give you a feeling of relaxation and contentment. Of course, this could mostly stem from one not being at one’s place of work.

San Antonio is a city I love to visit. At the moment, I am sitting at Schilo’s, pronounced like Shee-low, digesting pancakes and drinking coffee. Yesterday afternoon, on the Riverwalk, Dorothea, Ranger, and I ran into Michael, Jenny, and Kathryn. Dorothea had never met any of that particular trio and I was sure the Earth would swallow us as they all shook hands and grinned. The lightening bolts never arrived and we eventually continued on to Mad Dog’s British Pub for a celebratory drink. I had Guinness; it was wonderful.

I asked at the beginning of my talk if anyone was blogging it and one brave soul said yes. I think I have now “arrived.” She even said nice stuff and something very interesting to me when I talked to her during one of the breaks. She said, “I catalog, I am not a Cataloger.” She went on to talk about the fact that no matter how you organize information, it is still a library. A library is a library. How simple and how true. I never really considered it quite that way. Her name escapes me now, why did I not write it down!? I hope she forgives my memory lapse.

Last night, we ended up at the Menger Bar, which apparently is very famous for having been a recruiting place for TDR when he was in search of Rough Riders. The Cosmos were good and, after a couple of those, I was feeling fine.

I have the drive home to look forward to and I will post this when I am safe back in my home with my big, slobbery dog at my feet. Michael Stephens really knows how to charm me; he complimented me on my beautiful puppy. His boys are pretty handsome as well.

–Jane, now to get ready for CIL!