The Librain

Well, I have struggled all week to get a new site together. I am trying this out for a month to see if I like it. Let me know what you think. The structure is developing – the bones, if you like. But there is not much “meat” on the bones as yet.

If I decide that this is the way to go, then I will spend more time on it:

The site is at: http://library-online.org.uk/

I have chosen a hosted WordPress site and used a theme that I like a lot. The theme colour goes well with the school logo and colours. Also I can add widgets with lots of lovely Web2.0 stuff.

The idea is to have something that looks professional, can take links and resources to help students and staff and can be editing very quickly and easily from any computer.

I also want a bit of a Wow Factor!

Does this work?

Well, you can’t keep a good woman down for very long. I have been having fun again this evening with some new ideas for my next job. After playing around with this blog for a while and searching around the web, I have finally decided what I am going to try first.

New website for a new library!

I have looked at and read about lots of CMSs, including Drupal and Joomla! But I don’t think that my technical skills are really up to learning these at the moment. So, as I am reasonably comfortable with WordPress, I sorted myself out a new blog. Then I read some more, posted on some more forums and nings and decided to try a hosted Wordpress blog instead. I only set it up today and there are a few teething problems already. But, I will give it a go and post again when I have some news…

Non-blogging with a blog!

… it is fun finding themes and other stuff to put on the blog. I am trying to find ideas as to how to use it both for news and in a non-blog way. There are a lot of ideas out there…

…let’s see if it works!

This is how I felt this morning…

… a calm and happy Librain

Well, The Librain is a lot slimmer and younger than her creator! The little dragon is her daemon.

This is how I feel now…

… a really ANGRY Librain

So that is all I am worth to teachers after so many years – zilch!

• Why did I stay up late at night, working to finish things for them for the next day?
• Why did I let them book in at the last minute?
• Why did I try to learn cutting edge stuff to help them?
• Why did I write teaching materials and get them ready for observed lessons, when I had other things I needed to do?
• Why do I feel so unappreciated?

I did it for the kids…

… and for the kids I will do it again…

Well, I have not posted here for a long time because so much has been happening professionally and personally. Totally out of the blue really, the perfect (I hope) job opportunity came up that I could not ignore. I had thought that I would stay at my present post until the Grim Reaper came for me!

I set up this blog to enable me to track the developments of the LRC as we moved into the Web 2.0 and School Library 2.0 era. So, I now need to think how I am going to use the blog in my new role.

So – what am I going to be doing? From September, I will be The Librarian (love the title!) in a school where the Library (love the name!) needs refurbishment. Because I will be working on my own, I will be going back to basics again. The refurb will take place in the summer of 2009, so I have a whole year to help the school plan. In the meantime, I will have to do the following (not necessarily in this order):

• Assess the current state of the Library to get the base-line.
• Learn an unfamiliar LMS.
• Stock-take and weed the current stock.
• Clean, cover, label and re-catalogue the stock that is staying.
• Put in place basic library management procedures.
• Get out and meet the staff and pupils.
• Get the staff and pupils excited about the prospect of a new Library.
• Put in monitoring and evaluation systems.

… and so on.

So, will my current interests in the development of technologies go on hold for the time being?

I don’t think so. Because the stock appears to be unable to meet the needs of staff and pupils, I can see that I will be using ICT in, hopefully, innovative ways to give the school a library service that they have not had before.

I need to make an impact, to show the school community just what a Librarian can offer.

Warch this space…