Busy as a Bee

As expected, another month or two has passed since my last blog update. I appropriately hang my head in shame.

The last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic at work. A week from last Sunday I almost didn't make it down to a planned trip to the Denver Museum because I had to stop in to the library to help diagnose a network problem. The city IT team had recently switched the all departments over to a new Internet service provider, which ended up playing havoc with any communications from the outside world to us. I ended up spending most of the afternoon at work (with Kate, Tessa, and my buddy Bill just milling about waiting for me) before the City IT guy I was working with said he was giving up for the day. Fortunately, we were able to blaze down the interstate and rendezvous with the rest of the gang at the Museum in time to catch the last showing of the Pirates exhibit (which was stellar cool!) as well as make it to Cinzetti's for a much needed dinner.

I'm still dealing with some of the communication fallout from the ISP switchover. For example, remote access to our subscribed databases don't seem to be working. Also a program used by our interlibrary loan staff is having trouble. I have theories on what's going wrong but I lack the skills or security access to make the changes. It results in a bit of sit around and wait for help on my part.

I did have a few successes. I was able to diagnose a network drop issue that was keeping one of our self-check machines down. A call to a specific network specialist later and it was up and running. I also installed a new color printer for use in the public computer labs. This wasn't as tricky as I was expecting it to be...once the city IT gents installed a couple of new network drops in my computer lab. Now all library patrons can print in color, which has already proven to be very, very popular. This did involve some rearranging of the lab, moving two printers, shifting the position of the copier, and installing a second self-service reservation station.

To top it all off, the library is in a hiring frenzy. I was recently on the interview team for a new cataloging technician that will also work under me in the computer lab a few hours a week. I did some training with the intern working the Childrens & Teen department, who was interested in helping us out in the computer lab. I'm also hiring a new hourly lab monitor position to replace one of my gals whose second job just bumped her up to full-time. Thankfully, she's been good enough to stick around for nights and weekends until I get this new person hired on. I currently have somewhere around ninety applications to filter through over the weekend. All this also means I'm having to revamp the lab rotation schedule to accommodate new availabilities.

I've also been getting pressure to update my section of the library web page, namely the computer lab section. It sounds like I may get tapped to help with the Circulation side as well. And the head of Adult Services/Reference wants my expertise in redesigning our Library 24/7 page. Didn't anyone tell these folks that it's my sister who's the web design expert? :-)

Tack this on to the usual PC maintenance and minor disasters that crop up every other day as well as juggling my scheduled time in the computer lab...and you have before you a severely run ragged library tech.

Still, I can't complain too much. I like being kept busy. I like being challenged. I like that my co-workers consider me an local expert and trust my judgment and ability. I like how I always have something new to work on or try out. It really is a pretty good job that I have.

But that doesn't mean I'm not looking for a nice vacation. :-)

Toughing it Out

Ugh! I've spent this entire week thus far with a darn-near crippling back pain. It was so bad the first part of the week that I couldn't even sleep - I'd doze off for a little while but my back would stiffen and hurt, forcing me to wake up and struggle to shift to a comparatively comfortable position ... before doing it all over again in about 30 minutes.

Fortunately, the pain is slowly going away. I started making myself walk around the library or do my back stretching exercises over the last couple of days. One of my co-workers suggested taking Aleve to help with the pain - which worked great since last night was the first night I was able to sleep most of the way through the night! Today, I'm still a bit stiff and sore, but it's nowhere near the pain I was in earlier this week. Kate even said I'd been moving sort of weird.

Yeah, I was even tempted to call out from work earlier this week since I was so sore it hurt to move certain ways. But I have a ton of work that needs to be done pretty quickly - and more keeps piling up! So instead I decided to cowboy up and push on through - which I'm glad I did, since I'd just be back-logged with tasks by this point if I had stayed home.

The Longmont library is going through a "re-alignment," which means an analysis of our services and workflows to see how we can adjust, shift, change, or otherwise re-work our processes to streamline our day-to-day duties. Naturally, this is call from on high to make us (among other departments) more efficient and effective - especially with current budget concerns. It's a huge project with a lot of details and brainstorming to handle. I know it's consuming a lot of Judith's (our director) time, and there's a lot that other managers are shouldering as well.

(Side note - I continue to be impressed with Judith and the other department heads. I applaud their non-department-centric attitudes - they see no issues with different staff working and circulating between departments. There's no "Reference staff don't work the Childrens Desk" or "That staff member works Circulation; they can't handle the other Desks." It's so very much a "We're all Library staff; we all help each other out." It's an work philosophy I don't see often so I'm glad we have it here.)

I've also got a number of modifications and updates to make to the computer lab. I have hardware issues, mostly shortages - like a lack of headphones and CD-RW drives. There's also the summer schedule to re-work - though I recently finished that. I just got tagged as a 'local expert' on Library 2.0 and online social media by a city committee, and I was asked for my ideas on how to incorporate such tech into the library. Plus, I needed to finish (or mostly finish) reading the documentation for new Envisionware self-service software products that we're going to be installing soon - all in time for a meeting with city IT folk to discuss server options.

And, of course, all this is in addition to the usual day-after-day troubleshooting that crops up all the time. :-)

So - compared to the amount of work that needs to be done - what's a little back pain? A minor annoyance to be ignored.

'Sides, it makes me took tough and dedicated and nets me plenty of sympathy. ;-)

Thanks as always for reading. Hope you're having a great day!

Activities and Visits

So last Saturday was the grand opening of the Council Tree Library branch that I've been going on about. It was (predictably) a madhouse! Kate insisted on stopping by in the morning to help get some last minute details worked out. (I think it was something to do with newspapers.) And we both ended up helping out for the first hour and a half. I shelved some media before the opening and made up some signage. Kate did a little bit of everything near as I could tell. :-)

We heard recently that the library had over 3,000 visitors that day with over 9,000 items checked out! Wow! In particular, the shelves of DVDs were ransacked - there were reportedly less than a dozen left on the shelves!

Here's a shot of the opening ceremony, where Mayor Hutchinson says a few words before the official opening:



A picture of the crowds moving in:



A shot from the stairwell looking down. You can see Kate and Erin making their way up:



And just because I think it's terribly funny - this was the current hold shelf at the time of opening. All those empty shelves past that small group of books should be filled before too long:



The library provided entertainment in the form of a group of Native American drummers that played and sang for the first hour:



Nearby, Kim and Crystal had a station set up specifically for new library cards:



When I was FINALLY able to drag Kate away from helping out with the opening craziness, we stepped out for lunch at the nearby Five Guys Burgers. Unfortunately, they were really swamped due to spillover from the library's opening. Instead, we walked over to McAlister's Deli, which was truly excellent! I didn't have room to try everything that sounded tasty - so I guess that means I'll need to make another stop sometime! :-)

After lunch, we drove down to Denver to meet up with Kate's siblings - Aileen, Glynnis, and Dan were visiting Colorado for a few days and Emily decided that it might be fun to meet in Golden and visit the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave.

There was still snow on the foothills as we drove up to Golden, which was really pretty:





We started here...



...and drove up a twisty-turny road up to the top of Lookout Mountain, where we met up with Kate's siblings. We visited the museum first and it was actually pretty cool. Buffalo Bill sounded like quite the showman - though I suspect he rather had trouble focusing on one thing at a time, flitting about from job to job and idea to idea. But he led an interesting and eventful life - for better or for worse - and it was a really neat look into the man's life.

I think what I liked best was that Buffalo Bill was one of the first businessmen to really give women and Native Americans a fair chance. He never seemed to appreciate demeaning either group and advocated more even treatment and greater understanding of them. Very, very awesome in my book.







A view of Denver from the top of the mountain:



Following the museum, we took a walk around Golden a bit, mostly focusing on a charming bridge and walkway - but also having a look at some of the shops and art around town:









Afterwards, we headed into Idaho Springs for dinner at the local Beaujo's. It looked like a bunch of folk had just come down from ski trips in the mountains so the place was packed, but we were patient and had quite a yummy dinner. (Kate and I SOOO love Beaujo's!) :-)

Kate and I headed back home after that.

On Monday, Kate's siblings came up to join us in Fort Collins. I had to work but apparently they entertained themselves by playing Soul Caliber 3 on our Playstation 2. Kate made a big meal of fajitas and lentil tacos - and even Betsy was able to come over and join us for dinner. We sat around and kibbitzed 'til late then finished off the night with rousing games of Last Word and TV Scene It!

Today (Tuesday), Dan and I played a little Halo 2 while waiting for Aileen, Glynnis, and Emily. We then all went over to Hunan's for lunch then popped over to the Council Tree library to show it off. I'm pleased to say that the siblings-in-law were quite impressed with the hip chic of the new library.

Here you can see all the siblings "ascending into tranquility" - as the adverts say:



After a brief tour of the library by myself and Kate, all of us settled in to do what you're supposed to do in the library: READ! :-)




Hm. That may not be the best picture I've taken of Emily. No one tell her this is up here, okay? ;-)

I had to head off to work my night shift shortly after this. So leaving Glynnis, Aileen, and Emily to wander the three shoe stores near the library and Kate and Dan to prep dinner and play vidgames at home, I headed down to Longmont.

By the time I got back, Glynnis was still reading:



And there was a Walrus ice cream cake (chocolate cake and bing cherry flavor with vanilla frosting and chocolate waffle cone crust) waiting. It was a celebration of all the siblings' birthdays! Oh, and the cake was delish!



It was great hanging out with the siblings-in-law. I'm more than a little bummed that I have to work again tomorrow and thus won't get to see them off. Oh, well, I guess I'll still see 'em all come July for the O'Connell family reunion in California. Looking forward to that!

It's far too late but I had to finish this blog post. How's that for dedication, huh? :-)

As always, thanks for reading and I hope you're having a great day! (Or night!)

Council Tree Library

I got my second sneak-peek at the new branch library in Fort Collins, dubbed the Council Tree branch, yesterday when Kate arranged for me to volunteer to help out with some of the final preparations.

Originally, I was assuming that I'd get to un-box new books and put them onto the shelves, but the current crew out there is just too darn efficient ... and most of that work was already done. But I was still able to help do some searching for missing materials following their recent inventory. But for the most part I was just glad to have an early chance to see the layout. :-)

This is a picture of the outside. It's actually two buildings, with the library on the right side of the picture.



And here's a shot from a little closer up.



This is the main entrance to the library, along with a picture of the symbol-shaped bike racks and a few shots of the entrance stairwell and the decorations therein.







Here are a couple of early interior pictures while the place was still under construction. That's Kate there in the longcoat.




And now some pictures of the current look:








Pretty cool, huh? The whole library is just packed with shiny new books fresh from the distributor. Council Tree is stocked with the latest releases and most popular titles - materials that are expected to move quickly. I have to say - it was almost tortuous to walk around the library, see all these beautiful books, and not be able to check any of them out! Only a couple more weeks, I keep telling myself. :-)

Now, some specifics...

This is the office that Kate will be sharing with Chris, the supervisor for circulation at Council Tree.



This is the sitting area located in the adult nonfiction section. Yes, that's a real fireplace. Kate says it should get right toasty in this area when that thing starts up.



These are the decorations hanging from the ceiling along the main walkway of the library. My first thought was "cheese?" (And I wasn't the only one.) But apparently that offended the designers, who claimed these were supposed to represent peaceful clouds. Then why are they yellow, ask I? :-)



The future public computer section for the Children's Area.



One of the study rooms near the Adult Nonfiction section.



And a few of the crazy chairs and tables in the library. Very trendy, eh?






And, a shot of the view out the back windows, showing the shopping area that will hopefully be filled in short order.



This library is looking very 'hip' and 'trendy.' It's certainly not your grandpa's library. It's very bright and very modern with colorful decor and very non-traditional furniture and shelving. If you're looking for a library with tall shelves filled with dusty old tomes ... then don't go to this library. If you want new and flash ... then you're in the right place. :-)

I personally think it's a cool looking library, and it's going to be very popular with the citizens on the southeast side of Fort Collins.

As always, thanks for stopping in to read. I hope you're having a great day!