we don't need no stinkin' titles

Being struck with the winter doldrums make blogging difficult, I think. It's not that one doesn't have ideas. Those are always floating around in the ether, even popping in at the most inopportune moments. But the actual sitting down and typing ... who wants to do that when there are new episodes of Project Runway to watch and yellowed paperback mysteries you found for fifty cents when back in Ohio (I miss you, Half-Price Books!) to read?

Nevertheless, the Internet trucks on and for those of you who are as equally at loss for entertainment on a quiet Sunday afternoon - it's either do this or the dishes and I'm not quite up for the dishpan hands yet - I offer a few random things from it which have lately caught my eye. Maybe later I'll actually find the wherewithal to compose some of those floaters.

* Mental Floss wants to know what your favorite sandwich is and so do I. Lately I have been obsessed with good old p.b. n' j. but for my daily lunch I tend to go with turkey and swiss more often than not. Neither are particularly inspired so maybe you can share something a little more creative?

* I'm a big fan of Largehearted Boy, for oh so many reasons and find consistent enjoyment in the Book Notes series, where authors offer soundtracks to accompany their books. This week Sara Zarr - who I have been meaning to read forever - offers one up for her new novel Sweethearts. And it includes an Over the Rhine song and I used to be really into them. As such, I've finally put in a request for Story of a Girl and will look forward to Sweethearts.

* Fuse #8 doesn't exactly need my link, but I can't resist one to her review of the new Enola Holmes just because of the opening. I feel exactly the same way and am totally anticipating this one. I used to get the ARC hook-up with these. I don't anymore so it's a good thing it's coming out this week (although when it will show up on our library shelves is another issue entirely).

* On the social networking front, I'm somewhat intrigued by Listography. So far I haven't joined, although I keep eying it and wouldn't be surprised if I soon succumbed. Because lists are very satisfying to make.

* What You Can Learn by Looking at the Bloggie Nominees: People like food. And gossip. And Dooce. Food I'm more than okay with but I've never been able to get into Dooce, despite acres of people I know holding her exploits near and dear. And a year or so ago I made this deliberate effort to not pay attention to celebrity gossip. Which I hesitate to tell people, because I fear it comes off high and mighty, but it isn't if I explain that I made the decision because before that I paid way too much attention the celebrity gossip. In any case, I'm intrigued enough by some of the smaller/more personal nominees to throw 'em on the bloglines and see if they stick.

revolution, library style, now

So, reading all the different articles about Library 2.0, with the idea that I would be crafting some sort of response to it here, totally made me feel like I was back in grad school. And because I was always good at being a student, that made me oh so happy. I suspect this means I should consider another degree. Or, more realistically perhaps, try to get into that library management class the next time it comes around.

Reading all that also made my head swim a little. There's so many opinions out there, about what 2.0 means, if it's necessary, if it's really all that different from what libraries have always done, whether it should be embraced or scorned. I suspect that most people fall, like me, somewhere in that shady grey middle. I do feel that, philosophically at least, Library 2.0 isn't really revolutionary. Libraries, and especially public libraries, have always espoused equality and the centrality of the user and have adapted and evolved to fit the needs of their communities. I've never really seen us as gatekeepers or viewed library service as a one-way process. Maybe it's just me though. Or at least related to when I came of age and the life philosophies I bring to the table.

And if Library 2.0 isn't a revolution, per se, I do think that I'm okay with deeming it an evolution of practices. Which means it's more than just a collection of tools that some may be tempted to reduce it to. The question to ask is how do you incorporate the technologies that characterize our time in order to offer the best library services to your users? And to do that, you have to first and foremost know who your users are and then take a look at the questions that naturally follow: what are their needs, which of those needs should the library be filling and how is the best way to go about that and the like.

In doing that, it's entirely possible that you'll realize that they don't need library blogs or rss feeds. This article was a good anecdotal representation of that. Another: when I told a friend of mine that I was participating in this project, she commented something along the lines of "Argh! I'm so tired of hearing about Library 2.0!" I was a little taken aback, but she went on to explain that her system had just unveiled a new website, full of widgets and wonders. Turns out the only ones who noticed were other libraries, who oohed and ahhed and maybe even included their url on a presentation slide. But from the community she works in? Deafening silence.

Which makes me wonder, just how do you measure the success of these things. Is there a rubric? Everyone knows that a bureaucracy loves a statistic, so which ones to use? Hits? Comments? Links? Subscriptions? And what's the magic number? How few makes for "wasting time/money/effort"? And if people keep not coming, do you keep throwing it out there? I don't have any answers. Thoughts and opinions, yes, but answers no. But then, I don't think anyone else really does either. The Annoyed Librarian can pooh-pooh it all they want (and really, what doesn't the Annoyed Librarian pooh-pooh?), but I don't think perpetual beta is a bad thing.

Of course, implicit in that is the idea of change. And there's so many places to go with that one. But if I got into it now, we'd be here all night and nobody wants that.

feed me (wait, has someone already used that one?)

Dear Bloglines,

Okay. I admit it. You've won me over. Sort of. I know I was skeptical at first. In fact, that first time we met? I didn't even bother bookmarking you. Yes, plenty of people I know told me you were great. And you did seem to have your good points. Overall though? Totally underwhelmed. I mean, it's really not that hard to visit a few links on a regular basis. Do I really need to see what people are saying the very moment that they say it? Will I totally be left out of the dinner table conversations if I wait a few hours? I don't think so.

And yet. I gave you another chance because I had to. You were assigned. Sorry if that hurts your ego, but it's true. Further fire for the angst: I didn't even remember that we'd met before. Your memory though, or at least your database, is better than mine and my e-mail was already on file. So I took you for another spin. And I decided I'd try you out a bit more before offering up commentary. In that time, I came to see why people seem so very keen on you. You have your charms.

I honestly don't know if those charms are strong enough to keep me around forever. Meaning, I don't want to get married or anything. There are so many ways in which you aren't perfect. Aesthetically, I find you lacking. Your search function seems finicky. You're a bit slow sometimes. I do think that there's much to be said for seeing and reading things in the context that they are presented.

You are, however, fun to play with and I'd be lying if I said I haven't logged onto you a whole lot this last week. I like that you aren't dependent on my computer. You won't freak out and lose all my bookmarks every time Firefox installs updates. You save me seconds at a time when you keep me from checking on links that will disappoint me with no new content.

It's not quite love and there is a very good chance that what we have might die when the novelty wears off. So let's enjoy it while we can, okay?

xo Jenn