A quick update

So it's 5:50am and I have to leave for work in about 15 minutes but I wanted to make the first step at getting back on the blogging bandwagon.

School update:

• The entire program I am in focuses on collaboration and group work. It is quite a mixed bag. It is always a pleasure to work with new and diverse ideas but it is also a challenge in practicing patience.
• I am starting to get nervous at the amount of work I am going to have once I start in the actual Transition to Teaching program. Whoa.

Wedding update:

• Completed tasks include flowers, rehearsal dinner venue, photographer, block of hotel rooms, bridesmaids dresses, flower girl dresses.
• Next task is to decide on our officiant.

Dog update:

• Received this text from J yesterday: "on the bright side, Oscar came in [from outside] looking like he was wearing black socks. except they weren't socks. they were black mud." Awesome.

I'm baaaaaaaaack!

So my amazing fiance (pictured here with me as a fellow zombie hunter for Halloween this year) has started an equally amazing blog and in turn has inspired me to start mine back up (be sure to follow his! It's very entertaining to see what he finds on the interwebs!). I've re-vamped the look and new topics will be forthcoming!

Specific topics include:

• Education (both my own as well as my future career in)
• Wedding planning (that's right, I'm gettin' married!)
• Entirely too ornery (and redonkulously cute) animules
• Good books, music, movies, etc.
• Random observations and thoughts that probably I get more enjoyment out of than any potential readers do but I'll share anyway.

Hopefully I'll get back to regular posting. It's a fantastic way to procrastinate! (which, btw, wedding planning is as well. If you need to avoid something you don't really want to do, plan a wedding. It can easily suck up hours of your day).

Random smatterings of stuff and things

The pattern I created from the logo on the website.

Some recent progress on the design.

Monkey adores Lyra when she's not chasing him.

The next step

I'm going to try my darndest to keep up with this blog because it is a good exercise for me to keep my thoughts in order. So much has happened, which is why I have not posted as frequently as I'd like to be posting.

First off, advocacy update: we will be presenting to the higher-ups some ideas for staffing models in terms of teen services. After gathering a ton of data regarding teens in our county, I am putting together a proposal draft which will then be sent to another committee to be considered.

This is somewhat perfect timing because due to the decreased property tax and local option income taxes, we are in an absolute budget crisis meaning we are now discussing a total re-structuring of our system. It's a massive challenge for us as an organization. There has been lots of talk of challenging the "sacred cows" and figuring out what the core values are for the system. A true challenge.

I have the honor of serving on this committee as requested by the director so I will have a unique insight into how exactly a large library system is funded and managed and how these hard decisions are made.

It's such an interesting era to be a librarian. So many libraries across the country are already at bare bones services and struggle just to keep the doors open to the public. In this day and age of technological innovation, our society changes on a day to day basis and it's hard to keep up and meet the needs of our patrons.

Okay, back to taking care of business.

Best of 2009

Best lessons I have learned:
**If you don't believe in yourself, how do you expect anyone to believe in you?
**Once you're in love, it's hard to not want to be with that person most of the time. And the person I found is no exception. Best man I've ever met who supports me, challenges me, and loves me every second of every day. And not so bad on the eyes either.
**Roller derby is awesome, but I'm a singer at heart.
**Knee injuries suck and continue to suck.
**When you have found something that makes you feel like a rockstar, pour your heart and soul into it, but don’t lose track of life in the meantime.
**People can be so cruel at times, but more often than not it has nothing to do with the person to whom they are inflicting their fury. It has more to do with their own situations. However, that doesn't really make it hurt less.
**I adore my animals, all five of them even though they are exhausting and so terribly irritating. But it makes it all worth it when we all cuddle up.
**There will never be enough time to read all the books I want to.
**While the delicate flower still exists, she is now sleeping under a couple layers of strength. She surfaces every once in a while but this year is proof for me that the old adage really is true: what doesn't break me down, makes me stronger.
**Big sisters make the best friends, confidantes, mentors and all around totally 100% awesome. Especially those with fantastic husbands who make the best brother-in-laws.
**It is scientifically proven that I have the best nieces in the universe. What proof do I have? Just the obvious!
**Having family nearby means everything to me.



Favorite books of 2009:


Not necessarily published this year, just some books I have read this year. It's really embarrassing how few books I've read this year. Of course, the series do count for between 8 and 10 books...but they're graphic novels so they're faster. I guess reading needs to be a priority for next year. Bolded titles are my all-time favorites.


Card, Orson Scott. Ender's games.

Collins, Suzanne. Catching fire.

Kirkman, Robert. The walking dead. (graphic novel series)

Raicht, Mike and Brian Smith. The stuff of legend. (graphic novel series)

Schmidt, Gary D. Trouble.

Shan, Darren. The dark calling. (Demonata series)

Smith, Jeff. Bone. (graphic novel series)

Vaughn, Brian K. Y: the last man. (graphic novel series)



What I am most looking forward to in 2010:


**Participating in the YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults Committee. (i.e. ALA AND Mid-winter conferences for 2 years!!)

**Fixing up the house (painting, furniture, etc.)

**The next/last installment of The hunger games trilogy.

**Running the Indy half-marathon with Nadin, Jim and Roger (and the process of getting there).

**Going to Florida with Jim and his family.

**Going to North Carolina with Jim and my family.

**Increasing teen programming at the library.

**Overall continuation of awesome.

Bear with me here...

Well, folks, this is hard. This is really, really hard. The process I am going through is like nothing I've ever done before and as I alluded to in my previous post, I am coming up against professional challenges I never even really knew existed. I am finding I am so passionate about advocating for teen services that it is both a blessing and a curse. I love to talk to people about it and I love planning for future programs and services. However, I can't help but be upset and discouraged at what the universe sometimes throws this way.

On top of trying to stay positive, I am now finding it hard to keep my thoughts and ideas organized. I want to think "big picture" but I have to also think logistical and reality. And on top of all that, I have a branch to run and maintain. My level of professional stress is higher than I can handle right now.

Don't get me wrong, it still goes to say that I love what I do and I have never cared more deeply about my career. But it doesn't make the day-to-day stuff any easier. Perspective is so important. Motivation and Positivity are both so crucial. How do I maintain a normal and possible pace?

Now onto a completely different topic, I am very excited to see all the best-of-the-year lists that are being published right now. I'm going to work on my own at some point, though it'll be quite short and won't be limited to those published this year. :)

So many new books to read! A few I've spotted on several lists are as follows (note they are mostly kids and teen titles):

**Bray, Libba. Going bovine.
**Choldenko, Gennifer. Al Capone shines my shoes. I read the first book of hers and LOVED it!
**Kelly, Jacqueline. The evolution of Calpurnia Tate.

I see lists everywhere but I especially love the list that School Library Journal publishes and of course YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults of 2009.

Feeling overwhelmed

It's hard not to feel overwhelmed right now. The full scope of this project hit me like a ton of bricks today and my reaction was nothing less than paralyzing fear. We are going up against years and years worth of barriers both in and out of the system.

This picture very accurately describes what I feel like. An angry little bird screaming "listen to meeeee!" (from Daily Squee).
My current mission is to try to stay focused and positive amidst strong resistance and negativity. This is NOT something I have any skill in whatsoever. I tend to suck up emotion like a sponge. I need to find my Pollyanna hat. A very good friend of mine said "you need to become Sassy the performer." She has seen me prepare and give programs and presentations for libraries before and the persona I become is quite different from my everyday Sassy. I think there's a lot to be said for her advice. If I can somehow divorce myself of my own usual reactions and just channel the performance side of myself, I might be able to get through it without becoming negative and defensive.
Sometimes when I'm as stressed as I feel right now, I go to one of my favorite sites and believe it or not, it helps. There's not much more therapeutic than cute animals and funny quips.

A meeting

I decided to request a meeting with the head of the library system to discuss my project of advocating for support for teen services. I know that not only would she be able and more than willing to offer good advice, she would also be able to shed a little light on what obstacles I may encounter on this journey. I haven't the slightest clue of what the Library Board is up against and it will be very helpful to gain her insight on this process.

It's not until January but I'm already looking forward to it!

A long road ahead

I have now heard from 5 separate libraries about how their teen services departments are organized, how much programming they offer and how much (or how little) support they have from their respective administrations.

I spoke on the phone with teen librarians from Washington and Ohio and emailed with librarians from all over. Such inspiring conversations! They are all in very different situations with their own challenges and achievments.

What this is making me realize is just how much work needs to be done. It is such an underserved population across the board but especially so in the system I am in. I look forward to sharing ideas with our administration. We have the capacity to have amazing, innovative programs for teens and I have no doubt we will get there eventually. It's just going to take some time and everyone's favorite: change.

One conversation I have on a frequent basis with other teen services librarians is the frustration we experience when advocating for more support. It can be such a simple change from a logistical standpoint, but such a seemingly insurmountable obstacle since the inherent problem is not logistics, it's overall attitude and resistance to serving teens. It's very challenging not to get overwhelmed, jaded and completely discouraged by some of the comments people make about something we are so passionate about.

But if nothing else, we've got drive to make up for all of that. We won't be shutting up anytime soon.

With a little help from my (librarian) friends

I have now contacted 10 libraries across the country asking them how their teen services departments (if applicable) are organized. I sought these ten libraries out specifically because a) I know they have successful teen services from personal experience or word of mouth, or b) they are grouped in the same category as this library by Hennen's American Public Library Ratings or by Library Journal's Public Library Ratings by size, population, statistics, and many other factors.

These are the libraries I have contacted:

• Baltimore County Public Library (MD)
• Boone County Public Library (KY)
• Campbell County Public Library (KY)
• The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (OH)
• Cuyahoga County Public Library (OH)
• Columbus Metropolitan Library (OH)
• Denver Public Library (CO)
• Hennepin County Public Library (MN)
• King County Public Library (WA)
• Multnomah County Public Library (OR)

I still may add more libraries to the list including Seattle Public Library, Chicago, Salt Lake County and maybe more. But at this point I'm thinking the information I will receive from these libraries will give me enough data to start thinking about how we would like to organize things here.

Step 1 of....?

It has begun. I started the huge process of advocating for more support for teen services at the library. The library I work at is so incredible, I know we could be providing such amazing services for teens in our communities. Already we have several branches that provide high quality programming for teens, why don't we all? Why are there so few teen spaces?

These and many other questions have been occupying my mind on a day-to-day basis both in and outside of work. In no particular order, these are the questions I am currently researching:
How many teens (age 12-18) reside in this county?

• How many are library cardholders?
• How many of our library staff specialize in teen services?
• What is the graduation rate for our county?
• What is the drop-out rate?
• How many organizations serve teens in our county?

Another question that is just as important is how do other libraries our size work with teens? I am contacting around 10 libraries across the country and asking them questions about budget, programming, staffing models, etc. to use for this research.
This is something I am going to propose the Teen Services Committee when we have our next as something that we should potentially work on this year. In addition to the previous questions, the final and probably most important question is, what do we want? What specifically is it we are asking the library to provide? Is it just a matter of money? Is it to create positions? Is it having a strong voice in decision making? These are things we must be considering when embarking on this journey. It's going to be a very, very, very long one.
But I can say this, I have never felt more energized as a librarian and library advocate than I do right now.

A newfound interest

It's a rough time out there for libraries right now. It's rough for everyone and especially all non-profits but since this is my field, I have a particular interest in this. These are a few articles I've been reading recently in the news about other states that are in difficult situations. I'm lucky to be in a system that is not in the same dire straits as these are but we are nevertheless feeling the crunch.

California
A Critical Situation in California
Many Libraries Go Quiet as Local Budget Cuts Deepen
Grads at UCS Bash Tuition Hike


Pennsylvania
Arendtsville Library to Close
Budget Cuts to Affect Local Library Branches


Massachusetts
Cuts in MA Library Aid, Possible Closing of State Library Generate Protests
State budget cuts force end to Bookmobile

So what is my newfound interest you ask? Advocacy. Library advocacy, to be exact. I have discovered I have really enjoyed reading about what it takes to make a library run and how libraries are dealing with the current recession. I don't enjoy reading about libraries in hard times but I enjoy thinking about how it's librarians and other people in the community that often work the hardest to try to explain to the policy makers how important libraries are to our communities.
In particular one area of advocacy that I have a very strong drive for is young adult services. It is a notoriously under-funded and underserved group of library goers and most teen librarians face tough hurdles when asking for program funding, teen spaces in libraries or even teen book collections. It's a challenge but based on what I've seen just during my short time in this field, there's significant change already across the country.
It's up to us to make our voices heard. It's up to us to know what our community needs and wants and it's up to us to find a way to provide that to our communities. Libraries are at a critical point right now. We have record numbers of people in our doors with needs that the library are desperately trying to keep up with. It's not just books and research, or even internet access. It's up to us to continue the change toward the future.

YALSA here I come!

I have been given the honor of participating on the Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults Committee for YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association). Library services for teens is something that is near and dear to my librarian heart and to be involved in this amazing national organization is beyond incredible. Not to mention one of my closest friends is also on the committee! One of the major requirements (besides reading a ton of books...oh how sad for me) is to attend both the American Library Association's annual as well as midwinter conferences. I've been to an ALA conference once before and a PLA (Public Library Association) conference once. It is a mind-boggling experience replete with entertainment, amazing author signings, incredible presentations, networking and all sorts of awesome. My first conference as a committee member will be next June in Washington D.C.!

On another library-related note, I have been diving into lots of graphic novels lately. Especially those written specifically for children. I've always talked up the Bone series by Jeff Smith and I've finally read the first volume. Highly recommended! It's hilarious and has a great story. Such a fun format to read in, I wish I had the talent that these authors and illustrators had. J and I sometimes talk about collaborating on a graphic novel. Or a regular book. Maybe someday. When we're retired probably.

Whoa.

Time flies, right? It's been what, a million years? 2 million? Way too many. Lots of changes, folks, lots of changes.

First off, I'm no longer a roller derby girl. It was such a challenging decision to make but between tearing my MCL and the bill I'm about receive from that as well as having less and less time for my family and friends, I decided this was the best course of action. So now, I'm back to my lifelong love of music. I am in a choir called Encore Vocal Arts and I absolutely adore it. We have a concert this Saturday, tickets are still available! It's going to be held in the beautiful St. Joan of Arc Cathedral in Indianapolis and I'm so ridiculously excited. Here is a description of the what the concert will be like:

"The Whitacre's Lux Aurumque sets such an ethereal tone with its floating tones and pure sound -- I can't wait to hear how it will float and 'ring' in the live space that is St Joan of Arc. In contrast, I get goosebumps every time I perform a great spiritual..and Moses Hogan (the arranger) does a great job communicating that excitement to the audience. These are just two examples of what we'll be performing.

"Saturday night’s concert will be a gift – great acapella music from traditional to contemporary but also stories of hope and light- in the acoustically rich space of St Joan of Arc Cathedral. One gift will be to you as you experience the music, another will be a gift to us- your presence at the concert and another – an opportunity to learn more about United Way of Central Indiana’s 'Winter Assistance Fund' as we again search for ways to uplift the needs of the human spirit in our community."

Join us for what will be a very memorable evening of music!

And then it was August

It's been a long LONG time since I posted on this here blog. My life has been consumed by craziness and chaos. Most of which I have loved, but I have sacrificed a lot in the meantime (including my regular blog updates). So what have you been doing with all your time, Sassy? Well, essentially, here's the breakdown:

I work. It seems like I work a LOT, but it really is just 40 hours a week.
I roller derby. Yes, it's a verb. Cause I say so. The majority of my extracurricular time is spend on 4, no 8 wheels. And I love it. It's hard as hell but so satisfying.
I still have friends and family. Yup, it's true. I try to see them as much as I can.
It's amazing I haven't forgotten how to read with how little time I seem to have to put my nose in a book.
Anyway, that's that. Overall it is all good. What is consuming the majority of my mind right now is overcoming fear for roller derby. I'm at a point where I'm comfortable enough on skates that I can start really working on hitting, blocking and picking up some serious speed, but I have so much fear involved that I need to overcome. It is a half-in-half mixture of a fear of injury and a fear of failure. I will address each:

Fear of injury

Pretty self-explanatory. Specifically, injuries involving my teeth. It's very irrational because I wear all the regulation pads AND of course a mouth guard anytime I'm on the track. If I were to fall nothing will happen to my face, it will be legs, arms, tailbone, etc. But for some reason I can't get those awful images out of my head.

Fear of failure

This is what makes me really worried at times. What if I can't actually do this sport? What if I am so terrible that I never make the roster? No, nothing terrible would happen. My life would not be over. But I have found a sport that I love so much and I want to excel in so bad, so what if I can't? There I said it. Sort of out loud. Kind of.

For me, so much of this experience is mental. I have to re-learn how I approach challenges. I have to train my muscles to do things they have never done before. I have to conquer fears I've had for so many years. It's not easy. In fact, it's hard. But I can say that I have come a LONG way from when I started. I could barely make it all the way around the track when I started. Now I feel comfortable with sprinting, swizzle skating (although I need to work on speed doing this) and falling. However, here are my personal goals:

180 stops (#1 goal)

Skating backwards

Plow stops

Hitting

Blocking

We start assessments for the WFTDA (Women's flat Track Derby Association) minimum skills this month. It will be fantastic for me to know what I need to work on. My #1 goal is to be considered for the roster for our October bouts. Keep your fingers crossed!

A long time coming

Well it's been a long long time since I've posted here. For good reason I should add, but nevertheless an update is long overdue. Here are the main categories:

• Work

Work is work. Work is hard. It's a fascinating time to be a librarian. We're in a place in our country when not only is it tremendously hard to find a job, it's just as hard to keep it. We have had countless numbers of patrons needing resume help, job search help, general computer skills help, as well as filing for unemployment. There have been lots of articles about the state of public libraries and we are no exception. It's a jungle out there! We're just trying to do the best we can and trying to help people as best as we can.

• Animals

My animals are animals. They're crazy and cantankerous as always. I feel like overall Lyra is doing really quite well. I'm starting to work more with training (also long overdue) so I can try to stop her from chasing after the Monkey. He's not a fan. Sammy and Monkey are still trying to get into anything edible or slightly edible. Luckily with all the locking containers I now use it's pretty challenging for them. I'm sure they're doing their best to grow thumbs while I type this.

• Life out of work

It has been amazing being in the same city as Brainy Girl, Mooville and the girlies. Since I've joined a new sport (see below) I don't get as much time as I'd like to see them but I try to see them as much as possible. They are so much fun to have around and I can't wait to go roller skating with the girlies in their new neighborhood!
Another wonderful addition is who I now have in my life. I won't go into too many details but suffice it to say he has made me tremendously happy and as much as it pains me to say this, I'm starting to grow an interest in cooking. I tried to resist but it's hard when some of the food we cook is just so darn good!

• Roller derby!

This is by far the most time consuming of my new activities. I am completely enamored with the sport and I love every part of it! It's very physically challenging as anyone could imagine but so rewarding when I learn new skills and get to know my kick-ass teammates! I won't be bout-ready for some time. I have no idea when I'll actually start competing. My goal is to be in a bout this season but if it doesn't happen that's okay. I'll be plenty ready by next season! I've got all my gear, my name/number and doing the best I can on the rink!
Speaking of which, we do have our first home bout coming up. Email me at ridesassyride@gmail.com if you want tickets! It's $10 in advance/$12 at the door. We usually sell out so be sure to get your tickets early!
Saturday, April 18, 7pm (doors open at 6). Kids 10 and under are free. Ellenberger Rink, 5301 E. St. Clair
That's all I've got for now. I'll try to keep more up to date. I'm also going to do my best to post some pics from YumYum very soon!!

A very sad day

I wish Indiana was closer to Minnesota because of this. My heart breaks for my family going through a hard time. I can't imagine what Jon's family is going through. My love to you all.

A random memory

As I'm sitting here weeding old children's non-fiction from the library, I came across a book called "Can You See the Wind?" and I'm reminded of a question I once asked my dad during one of our walks.

Me: Daddy, why does it wind? [meaning, why does the wind blow]

DB: Hmmm...maybe because the trees want it to.

I'm not sure why this moment sticks out but I figured I'd share it with the blogosphere.

More soon...

Good Idea Bad Idea

Good idea: taking pain reliever to get rid of a headache.

Bad idea: taking more than the recommended dose.

Worse idea: eating raisins hoping it will get rid of the nausea.

If only I hadn't run out of coffee. Today is a day I would absolutely go for an IV drip of caffeine if it existed.

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