nirak.net - Musings of an LIS Student

Back from ALA and feelin’ tired. I don’t know how people (my boss, the Dean of our library) do so much traveling. I’m told you “get used to it” - but I’m not entirely convinced.

Anyway, tiredness aside, it was a great trip. Friday, I got to see D.C. (I’d never been before) in a whirlwind walking tour, see a pow-wow @ the American Museum of the American Indian, and meet a fellow lisstudent (Rhonda). Saturday, I attended a few sessions, met Chris from lisstudents.ning.com and missed a bunch of great sounding evening activities. I need to plan better. Sunday, I attended the Harnessing the Hive session with Meredith Farkas, Matthew Bejune, and Tim Spaulding, creator of Library Thing. library_chic and I twittered about one lady’s declaration that she would not trust anyone’s opinion if she didn’t know their name, and Tim Spalding’s humorous quote (which didn’t really sink in until that evening.) I got a scholarship award from LITA at the awards reception, and headed to the OCLC Blog Salon and then the NMRT dance. The OCLC Blog Salon was a blast, and I met tons of people - (Warning, name dropping ahead) - Walt Crawford, Roy Tennant, David Lee King, Rochelle of Tinfoil+Racoon, Michael Porter (Libraryman), Michelle Boule (sorta) Sara (librarienne), John Blyberg, and I’m sure I’m forgetting someone. The NMRT dance was a blast- I danced for several hours straight. It may be part of why I’m so sore. Monday we got a late start, finished up the exhibits floor, and had a free lunch. Tuesday I woke at 5:30 AM so as to be sure not to miss my plane- the express MARC train only took 25 minutes to get to BWI, so I spent some time there, then 4.5 hours in Detroit waiting for my connecting flight.

All travel went smoothly, in contrast to my boss, who got stuck in DC today thanks to a canceled connecting flight. (It seems lots of people were not so lucky. :()

I’m glad I went. I don’t regret the $400 ish it cost me (thanks so much to Christa for letting me crash in her hotel room) one bit. I think I learn more at the local, smaller conferences, but the big conference allowed me to meet people I never would have otherwise and participate in a larger discussion. I hope to attend next year’s annual in Anaheim…. I better start looking for a roomie.

I hope next year to have a nice internet telephone device with unlimited data plan. I can dream, can’t I?

Pictures are up on Flickr. Uploading and labeling pics took a while. Tomorrow- more recap and, hopefully, videos.

karin :: Jun.27.2007 :: Library :: 1 Comment »

I’ve been light on posting for a couple of weeks- in part because I am getting over some sort of sleeping sickness, and in part because I am planning my trip to ALA Annual.

Tonight I have to pack, but I have made lots of lists, plans, exchanged phone numbers, started Twittering so I can keep in contact during the conference, made maps, and put everything I might possibly want to attend on a calendar. The web has been a big help in all the planning- I used Kayak.com to find dirt cheap airfare, I used lots of web apps to keep track of various notes, and I planned out who I would meet with.

One of the aspects I overplanned this is that I will have so much entertainment with me there’s no way I can watch and read it all. I have 6 hours of video each on my DS and PDA, three books, and various printouts to read. I have lots of games for the DS. I have a sketchbook to draw in, and the PDA for various activities. If past experience is any indication, I will spend most of my traveling time staring out a window despite my efforts to bring entertainment.

I may be bringing more electronics than ever this trip: DS, PDA, Cell Phone, Blue tooth ear thingie for cell phone, MP3 player, and Camera- plus chargers and batteries for it all. I’m NOT bringing my notebook. I still need to pick out what I am going to wear and fit everything in a backpack and carry on- I try not to check luggage.

Oi. I assume that after a while this traveling thing gets easier?

karin :: Jun.20.2007 :: Conferences :: 1 Comment »

I had the joy of trying to explain to someone that I’m going to a librarian conference the other day. The response? “Oh, that will be exciting! shhhhhh!”

In the beginning I didn’t mind the shushing jokes, but they’re starting to bug me a little. But it’s a sign that  we REALLY need to change our public image, starting with our own communities.

karin :: Jun.19.2007 :: Asides :: 1 Comment »

I didn’t do enough research when I bought my plane tickets. I’m flying out of Lincoln because 1) it was cheapest (!) and 2) because Geoff can drop me off and pick me up from the airport, saving me the expense of airport parking in Omaha. So I save about $80 verses the next ticket, which would leave from Omaha but is a direct flight on Midwest Express (a very nice way to travel, I’m told.)

So instead of a direct flight to Reagan international, I’m transferring in Detroit and ending up at Baltimore international, where I’ll have to take a bus and two trains to get to my hotel. So, to break it down:

• Itinerary A: $390 Total travel time from house to hotel: aprox. 3 hours
• Itinerary B: $305 Total travel time from house to hotel: 7.5 hours (if everything goes very well)

I’m not sure I made the right choice. Ah well, live and learn. At least I’ll have time to get some reading done…

EDIT- Twitter user MdLawLib has kindly let me know that there’s an easier way - since I am getting into and leaving DC at commuter times, the MARC train will serve me well and cut my public transport time in half (at least!). It’s only a couple of dollars more, too. Woooo!

The fact that I will be taking the MARC train makes me giggle.

karin :: Jun.18.2007 :: Library :: 2 Comments »

I looked at my feedburner stats this morning and it appears the Google reader feeds have been dropped. Last week, it was bloglines. The bloglines ones got added back, so I assume the Google reader ones will too. I’m guessing this is just a net-burp.

karin :: Jun.18.2007 :: Asides :: No Comments »