Special Librarians Dominate Dewey by Cataloging for Their Customers Instead of Other Librarians.

One class down!!

Had our final session tonight, had to give final presentations. They divided up the grad students into different rooms and then undergrads critiqued us.

I was freaked basically the whole day about it.

Recorded it last night and listened to it on repeat all day today.

but here it is, as requested.

Title: Creativity and Collection Management in Special Libraries

Thesis: Special Librarians Dominate Dewey by Cataloging for Their Customers Instead of Other Librarians.

Let me start this off by saying, I have nothing against Dewey. I think it’s a great organizational system that has been constantly evolving through time and that’s why we still use it.

However, Dewey is not customer friendly, it’s overwhelming.

You’ve got baby name books shelved in the middle of the geography and history section.

You’ve got mythology lodged between law and political science.

Without the help of a catalog even veteran librarians sometimes have trouble finding items.

But Librarians are innovators man.

We rise above.

We take the improbable and make it possible.

We are all that and a bag of potato chips.

But there’s something to be said even more for special librarians. As a public librarian – well, a Library Service Associate – I enjoy the variety of material and patrons  that I get to work with on a daily basis. But in a special library it’s very different. Each special library has a specific patron base they focus on. They choose their collection based on the needs of that patron base, not based on what other librarians say they should have in their collections.

1.            Special Librarians Focus Their Collection Development on Their Patrons’ Needs

Part of being a special librarian is getting to know the needs of the patron base that they are serving. They must ask themselves what titles they should add, and what titles they should avoid. One of the Special Librarian Competencies that I read about dealt with this subject. It states that a special librarian must have “expert knowledge of the content of information resources, including the ability to critically evaluate and filter them.” They do this by being aware of relevant material to their specific patron base. While many are open to the public, they’re not based on the public’s needs. Lisa Kelly at the Library Commission said it perfectly – “if the public library has it, we don’t,” because they’re a librarian’s library.

At each of the libraries I visited I asked if there were specific criteria an item had to meet before it was added to the collection and the answer was always the same. They focused their collections based on what their patrons would find the most useful, and if an item didn’t fit that category then it wasn’t added.

What was really interesting was that a lot of the librarians that I talked to had someone above them that could veto items in their collection, but they rarely did because they trusted the librarian’s opinion.

Let’s move on to Collection Maintenance.

2.            Special Librarians must constantly maintain their collection to stay relevant to their patron base.

According to its website the Law Library of Congress (2012) has a “collection of over 2.65 million volumes spanning the ages and covering virtually every jurisdiction in the world” (para. 1). Obviously, the special libraries we visited don’t have that kind of space.

Take Tom’s library at the Regional Center. It’s a one room library, filled with both nonfiction, fiction, plus magazines, and internet computers. Tom took over the job from a lady who kept everything. He said he worked with the Library Commission to weed down the collection.

At the Law Library they must have the most recent material because laws are constantly changing and you don’t want to give someone bad information. The problem with that is that updating is expensive. And according to Sandy Plazcek at the Law Library, 95% of their items don’t even check out.

Since expanding is often out of the question, a lot of the libraries have resulted in working in a consortium of sorts. The Law Library used to be able to purchase and keep all of the state statutes, but now divide it up so groups can make sure certain ones are current. The same is true for the State Library. They used to have all of the states’ statutes, but because of spacing issues now they exchange statutes with states if they need them.

But even though their spacing is limited, they still have their eyes out for their customers, by making sure if they don’t have a needed item there, they still have access to it.

Now there is also the option to go digital. This saves space and can broaden your patron base. In his article “The Future Is Boundless” Christopher Harris (2010) says, “Collections won't lose their bookish quality even if print volumes are replaced by ebooks. It's the same information, the same stories that we treasure, only in a new format. Our brains must be made to recognize this new interpretation: library = books, but books = ideas (not containers).”

The majority of the libraries I visited had websites. Some even with their own online resources like the Library Commission’s Books in Series database. Many had technology available in house with internet computers or databases, but none had completely digitized their collections.

So we’ve talked about collection development and maintenance, now we’ll move on to creativity in action. This section shows how much special librarians know their patrons.

3.            Special Librarians Have To Be Creative to Draw Attention to Their Collection

In the article “Issues Facing Academic Law Libraries - New Challenges, New Opportunities” Linda K. Fariss talks about the different challenges of working in an Academic Law Library. According to Fariss (2012), “Law libraries, like all types of libraries, are looking for ways to re-invent themselves” (p. 37). And that’s what libraries have to do these days to get peoples’ attentions. Special librarians, like all librarians, are focused on getting people to use their resources. They’re always coming up with ways to get people interested. But, with limited space and budgets they really have to be creative.

Some examples of creativity that I’ve run across throughout the semester include:

State Library – Secret passageways

-              Not only is the building historic, but it has secret passageways? That house secret books? Who can resist stopping by?

Law Library – Minigolf tournaments

-              The law librarians know that law students can use a break every once in a while, so they host an annual mini golf tournament in the library. An event like this not only provides fun for potential customers, but it’s also a way to show off their collection.

Regional Center – Wii for recreation

-              Tom got a Wii for recreational purposes and also added more “let’s get it going” material to his collection.

Library Commission – Talking Books

-              The Library Commission knows that there are readers out there who are disabled and can no longer read, so they’ve come up with a solution. Talking Books. They record anything from best sellers to magazines and mail them out for free.

State Penitentiary – Legal Aides

-              Sam’s library is divided into two sections, the legal library and the recreational library. Since most of the prisoners there do a lot of their own legal work Sam hires a few of them to be legal aides and assist the other inmates. This encourages inmates who don’t know the processes to come into the library and get help.

Synthesis:

So, let’s go back to my original thesis: Special librarians dominate Dewey and catalog for their customers instead of other librarians.

Let’s break that down.

Special Libraries Cataloging for Customers:

Special librarians could care less about what other librarians say they should have in their collection. While yes they may take their advice, it’s them that truly know the needs of their patrons. They know them because they have a passion for their job, their collection, and their patron base. Or they would work somewhere else.

Tom has a big self-help section at the Regional Center because that’s what his patrons like to read. While some people are worried about censorship and would be hesitant about including books on suicide at that particular library, Tom knows that his patrons can use it for research. He’s also able to work with the staff there to make sure that the books fit in with each individual’s treatment plans.

While some would be apprehensive about being a prison librarian, Sam loves it. If you were to ask someone on the street what material they thought would be in a prison library you would probably get a blank stare, and then a mentioning of legal documents. But Sam’s library is so much more than that. His material does have to be approved from his bosses, but he still includes items like the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy claiming “prisoners have the right to read bad fiction too.”

Special Libraries Dominating Dewey:

Special Librarians dominate Dewey by coming up with their own organizational systems, especially the smaller ones.

Let’s stick with Tom and Sam’s libraries.

Tom does use a form of Dewey, but he doesn’t divide up the youth and adult, shelving the Harry Potter novels by JK Rowling in the R section of the fiction. Most likely because of limited spacing issues, but also because he knows his patrons will find them there.

My personal favorite example and the basis for this entire presentation shows exactly how special librarians dominate Dewey by cataloging for their customers instead of librarians…Sam at the prison library, knows his inmates won’t read Romance, so he shelves Twilight and other paranormal romances in the Horror section.

Final Thought:

I focused this presentation on the collection management in special libraries, but special libraries are so much more than their collections. All of the librarians that I met this semester have so much passion for their jobs, but another common theme I ran across at every single library I visited was that they focus on the needs of their borrowers. And that’s why there’s something to be said about special librarians. 

aaannd the feedback from the undergrads was good.

apparently i seemed confident and enthusiastic about material.

ohhh, "perfect voice and volume level" i think that's a compliment.

"great volume throughout presentation. understood you clearly."

"looked comfortable"

"good citations they were very supportive."

"very comfortable speaking in front of an audience" HA!

"thought you made very good points. they were all clear and abundantly supported. rock on."

oh, but i'm informal.

i'll take that in spades if i pass.

"strong speaking voice and eye contact backed up points"

"cool gestures" okay?

"passion"

"great use of humor. makes presentation memorable"

wow, this one's handwriting is even more atrocious than mine.

wasn't sure that's possible.

i think it says...."catchy, dewey must go" ummmm "yes know your customer's reads" no, needs, it's "needs" yes looks like "mia" no that's not right, is it nice? yeah, "nice" i think "just" no it's "job speaking as the expert on this topic. you did well including visits and librarians in your presentation"

yikes.

"engaging, conversational tone, lots of energy, talked a bit fast at times"

yeah, i get that a lot.

but if "informal" and "fast" are the worst they got I think I'm good to go.

Pending final posted grades that is. I'll keep you posted.

on to the music:

haven't heard this one in a while

All My Loving - The Beatles
lost count how many clips he pieced together, but it's cool.


all-in-all it was a good day. totally bizarre though as i was only at the work branch for three hours. one of which was a staff meeting, then i was off desk, then i was on desk, and then i was at lunch and off to a meeting before leaving at 3 for class.

after which i met up with the boyfriend since he's leaving tonight. he and his dad are going to seattle for a week and a half.

to pick up a motorcar that he bought.

see how nice of a girlfriend i am that i let him get away with that?

and say nothing?

but i'm sure he would have plenty to say about my weird hobbies.

or obsessions rather.

Women's Murder Club, Charlie's Angels, ancient Egypt, blogging, mis-matching my socks, Silver Lining's Playbook, chocolate, the list goes on.

anyway, the only things i said were to have fun, take pictures, and text me at least once a day.

cause i'm bossy like that.

"i'll be back to kill your spiders..."

intro for the speech i need to memorize for tomorrow:

Thesis: Special Librarians Dominate Dewey by Cataloging for Their Customers Instead of Other Librarians.

Let me start this off by saying, I have nothing against Dewey. I think it’s a great organizational system that has been constantly evolving through time and that’s why we still use it. However, Dewey is not customer friendly, it’s overwhelming. You’ve got baby name books shelved in the middle of the geography and history section. You’ve got mythology lodged between law and political science.

Can someone please explain to me why those items have been put together?!

Without the help of a catalog even veteran librarians sometimes have trouble finding items.

But Librarians are innovators man.

We rise above.

We take the improbable and make it possible.

We are all that and a bag of potato chips.

But there’s something to be said for special librarians. As a public librarian – well, a Library Service Associate – I enjoy the variety of material and patron base that I get to work with on a daily basis. But in a special library it’s very different. Each special library has a specific patron base they focus on. They choose their collection based on the needs of that patron base, not based on what other librarians say they should have in their collections.

have been finalizing speech all night. finished the powerpoint, now it's just about memorization. the most of which will probably take place tomorrow. i'm gonna record it and then listen to it over and over throughout the day. that's how i learned the zombies vs. unicorns speech here: Impromptu speech writing

you'll get the rest of this one tomorrow. 

Quote of the day: 

I have spiders, I think. 

Anyway, the exterminator came to the apartment, but I kept calling him the "terminator" to which Info-man replied in a Schwarzenegger accent, "I'll be back to kill your spiders..." 

yes, i know, short post, but like i mentioned, huge day tomorrow and gotta record my speech. 

i did was Splash. glad Katherine made it through to another day. i've really been surprised by nicole eggert, but i'm still rooting for drake and rory. and have since the beginning, so stoked they're the top two. and then i added katherine on my root for list cause of last week's dive. and i like brandi because she was an alternate and came in an dominated. 

i know, i know, it's an awful show. seriously awful, but it's a good relaxing show that takes me to a zen place. 

moving on to music:

soooo much spanish this year!

last year it was julio and he was the first in the series, now it's everywhere!

Como la Flor - Mary Miranda


worth watching purely for shakira's reaction at 1:12.
"that's the real spicy dip!"
literally the only song i remember from Selena.


Good Girl - Amber Carrington


my team is full.
blake's ticked.

Dreams - Jacqui Sandell


it's like Juliet Simms-light. but she's good. and it's a good song.



out!

"I reckon that you'll want to join Team Shakira. I'd be much obliged if you picked me."

Today has kicked ass!

And sucked all at the same time.

Mostly because my boyfriend is having a monster crapsuck day.

And I would rather be spending my night with him, but he's busy fixing everything.

But ranting on here just makes things worse headspace-wise so I'm going to focus on the good.

Woke up this morning and showed up at work pre-9:05AM.

Good.

We work 9:05-6:05 don't look at me like that.

It was food day at work.

Good.

Reference Queen brought homemade fudge and lemon bars, awesomeness.

Spent an hour in the morning checking in in the backroom.

Good.

Need my zen place. 

Finally got our new library business cards in, hot off the press and out on the desks.

Good.

Been asking about those for months. Mostly because people have been asking ME about them for months.

Mom stopped by the library to pick up books for her bookclub. She brought candy, ever increasing her reputation as best library Mom ever.

Good.

Added my stash to the library's food day collective. 

Got lunch from the usual joint, soup, chips and Mt. Dew.

Good.

They know my order by heart so I've started switching up the chips. 

Watched half an episode from season four of Total Wipeout (the UK version) during lunch.

Good.

Will watch second half during tomorrow's lunch like usual.

Met one of my volunteer's supervisors who had to do a site visit and interview myself and Superwoman in the process. Was nervous but she was cool. She asked me for my qualifications and was impressed by my answer.

Good.

This whole Master's thing actually stops people in their tracks. That was my favorite part of meeting the boyfriend's family on his dad's birthday. His aunts literally paused their inquisition. But hey! That does not mean I'm going back for a Doctorate, no matter what Superwoman says. 

Got off early to go to Special Libraries class at the Library Commission where I got to jam with David, Jennifer and some other cool library mates.

Good.

Got to tour their recording studio - they do their own audio books, it's sweet. 

Stopped for a Southwest grilled chicken salad from McDonald's on the way home.

Good.

I love drive-thrus. 

Got two thank you cards in the mail, both for birthdays, one with cash.

Good.

Woohoo, more fun from Mom. 

Watched part two of the Voice's Blind Auditions. More amusing banter between coaches.

Good.

I'm loving Shakira's added personality, but Adam has the strongest team so far. 

Posted my final thesis statement for Special Libraries Class: "Special Librarians Dominate Dewey by Cataloging for Their Customers Instead of Other Librarians." Presentation in the works, I'm thinking of direct quoting from this post here: Rockin' Reference with the Shelver's Curse

Good.

Thanks Girlscout for the inspiration. Weight off my mind seriously. Statement was due tomorrow but the presentation isn't until the 11th. I have a bunch of ideas, I'm trying to through them together while I still have the inspiration. I'll give you a practice speech before I give it to them on the 11th, how's that?

Checked grades while on Blackboard and found this comment on my most recent assignment. Remember the professor that hates me? And the assignment FROM HELL? "Spot on perfect on #8a. I know you were frustrated on #5 and 6 by not being able to ask questions of the patron, but I have to tell you...you did great!! I really appreciated that you included a response for each question with your impressions. Well done. Your research methods in the deep web were very good. You worked hard on this assignment, and your grade reflects that effort."

Good.

A+ Holy crap. I have no words. Like literally, was stunned. And then of course started to overanalyze everything because she hates me so now I'm thinking she says I worked hard on this one, so does that mean she thinks I don't work hard on the others, etc. etc. But maybe she doesn't hate me and it's all in my head. Wouldn't be the first time. 

The boyfriend just texted that he loved me before going into work for the night.

Good.

And on that note, my day is complete. 

So, on to the music.

More Voice Blind Auditions, here are a few of my favorites from tonight.

Folsom Prison Blues - Midas Whale


"i hate it when they can speak spanish, damnit!"

Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys - Tawnya Reynolds


"I ride horses." "She's not even from this country!" "I play the harmonica... and I got something you guys don't have... it's is an English to Country dictionary... I reckon that you'll want to join Team Shakira. I'd be much obliged if you picked me."

One of Us - Sarah Simmons


"pick BLAKE!!" love the voice crack.

Legitimate pre-midnight post, holy crap tag in use.

your whisper so clear, the world disappears...

Have you ever had one of those days that you hear something so unexpected that it just completely and totally throws off your entire day?

It didn't help that it was in the middle of the night.

And then I woke up thinking I dreamed it, cause it's one of those way-out-there-never-see-it-coming kind of things.

And then I checked my phone and realized it wasn't a dream.

So then today was just all wonky.

Plus I woke up early to dig out my car, ended up spinning sideways out of the parking space and drove right out, apparently parking diagonal actually works.

Even when it wasn't on purpose.

So I didn't get as much sleep as I should have which made said day even more wonky.

It was just...unexpected.

I have no other words.

But you know, it's a good thing.

My problem is that I'm protective right, to a fault really.

Sketch doesn't even tell me about her boyfriends, let alone introduce us.

Anyway, I'm just protective and I want the best for her, but I'm staying out of it.

Cause she's grown and all that.

And she's happy.

Giddy really.

So we'll see where this goes.

Anyway, aside from all that wonky stuff, I finished Lie To Me.

What the crap?! Seriously.

Clearly they were expecting to do another season because there was no end to that ending.

And at the same time, no real cliffhanger either.

Just a general, unsolved-ness.

If that makes sense.

But with how crappy that last season was there was no way it was getting renewed.

Which didn't help my wonky day.

So now I'm watching Red in search of some sense of normalcy.

Since I fell asleep watching it every night for like a month.

Or two.

Okay it was three.

But anyway, am in need of some normal routine stuff, and since I could think of no other solutions and I had a craving to watch it ever since I saw the preview for the sequel...tada!

What else from today?

Sent our webmaster the Reader's Theater videos and photos. He's gonna upload them to the website, huzzah!

I'm really proud of how they turned out. Especially the pigeon one.

Long story.

But they were great and we shall do it again next year.

And Teen Tech Week is coming along. I had to go out and buy the freakin' candy in the snow yesterday and made it in time for delivery this morning.

That was another huzzah moment.

So my job, for now, is done. End of the week they'll send all the forms back and then Cabin Fever will draw the winner for the iTunes card and we'll be good until next year.

When someone else can take charge and come up with something better.

Even though the "teen experience" crew said it was great.

Ummmm....did some homework. Wrote up the overview of that interview, now gotta wait for other classmates to write up theirs so we can do a discussion board.

Oh yeah, speaking of class, totally crashed one today.

In Special Libraries you know, and today they stopped by the work branch to visit one of our in-house special libraries. It was amusing, they all walked in and went, you work here? It was amusing.

So I crashed their class for my 15 minute break.

Asked my question and ran.

Professor found it humorous.

Actually encouraged my crashing of class.

So does that take away the "crash" when the professor is okay with it?

Cause I feel like the whole point of crashing something is to show up unannounced in like an unapproved manner.

You know, cause like people crash weddings they're not invited to. But I was in fact, invited, so perhaps crashed isn't the best word.

Even though, during my introduction, the professor said I was crashing class.

So she not only approved of said crashing, but she also called it crashing so then I think that re-confirms that it was a crash afterall.

Cause she said it.

I'm going around in circles and none of that made sense whatsoever so skip it please.

I told you my day was wonky, this was my thought process ALL DAY.

"Open the pig!"

Sorry, Red.

"Poop to that" has become a common phrase between myself and Oldest Sister.

Okay so that's wonkyness, the class crashing, more wonkyness, Lie to Me, teen tech week, oh I made spaghetti for supper and then did the homework and now I'm watching Red. Oh and then the car thing this morning and yep, think that's all.

So now I'm gonna go back to watching Red, almost an hour in already and quoting the whole thing while it plays in the background.

Did I mention it was practically every night for three months?

Almost as bad as the Mummy or Returns except not quite to those extremes.

Which goes to show why my mother so is tired of those movies.

"This again?!"

Alright, on to the music and then I'm out.

Before midnight, holy Frank Moses man.

Maroon 5's greatest hits, take 7

How


wish i could see this one live. another one of my top 5, and totally underrated.

Get Back in My Life


love this one, great dance mix.

Runaway


interesting that this one has a video and the others don't. isn't exactly their most popular. not that i don't love it. cause if i didn't i wouldn't post it.

"Listen Plastic-Man."

alright, off to bed. pre-midnight post. holy crap tag in use.

cause i don't believe in you anymore, anymore.

It's not often I wake up in the morning and think, "I wonder if this is appropriate prison-wear."

Today was rather fun. Got to tell people I had to go to jail after work.

The patrons did double-takes whilst my coworkers knew it was for class.

The morning flew by. Counted money, checked in magazines, shelved said magazines, updated TAB website, sent some emails, finalized stuff for Teen Tech Week - press release sent out through the mayor's office, woohoo! Went to lunch, checked in the holds and I was done.

Off to prison to see my friends.

Library friends that is.

Going through security wasn't all that bad.

They took our ID's we got stamped with invisible ink - how do you know when those run out of ink? - and then had to walk through a metal detector before getting patted down in the women's restroom.

Been to the women's prison twice - once in high school and once in college, don't look at me like that they were both for a class - and it was the same routine.

Had to ditch my rings, watch, and keys after leaving my cell, ipod and leather jacket in the car.

Felt incapacitated.

Twitchy even.

Kept reaching for my watch and phone.

The tour was fun, very unique locale.

But it was mostly fun because of the people.

I enjoy my library friends, they're quite funny.

As was the tour guide.

We asked about collections and if there were censorship issues.

He said they don't order the Anarchist's Cookbook but they do own the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy.

We laughed, to which he responded, "hey, inmates have the right to read bad fiction too!"

The library itself is basically divided down the middle. One part is the legal library with typewriters, law books and Lexis Nexis databases. The other part is the recreational part filled with the fiction and nonfiction.

Best part?

I mean, aside from 50SoG, his organizational system.

Guess what Twilight is classified as!?!

Horror. 

Not kidding. It is shelved in the horror section.

The entire Twilight series along with anything by V.C. Andrews and the rest of them paranormal romance writers.

It's all horror.

Because apparently, in prison, if you label something as "romance" it doesn't circulate.

However, since it's paranormal it can be classified as horror.

Which I think is awesome. 

But that's just us being goofy.

After the tour the grads went for coffee with the prof to discuss our final project.

Only the grads have to do them whilst the undergrads get to watch and evaluate us.

No pressure.

Anyway, there was a grate on the floor that Jennifer was standing on.

Me: Every girl needs a Marilyn moment. 
Amy: Yeah, but when it happens to you it's not sexy. 

I like our crew.

You can always tell the grads from the undergrads cause we sit in the back.

And we're snarkier.

I feel bad for half my crew though cause they're taking comps next week.

Thankfully I still have a few more months before that fresh hell rains down upon me.

Think about writing a thesis.

Now times that by four.

And write them in a week.

That's comps.

Anyway, so now I'm home. After stopping at Arby's for supper cause fast food roast beef sounded good.

Carter is already decked out next to me taking up half the couch and it's only 11:30.

Either I stay up too late or he goes to bed too early.

Or maybe a combination of the both.

Doesn't really matter, the second I post this and put the laptop down he'll wake up just to sleep on my stomach.

It would be adorable if it wasn't doing serious damage to my back.

Fat cat.

On to the music.

Let's see, Maroon 5's greatest hits, take three.

We're on to their second album now so that leads us to.......

Makes Me Wonder



Little Of Your Time


Wake Up Call


is that the dude from law and order?





Okay, it's official. I hate season three of Lie to Me.

Everyone's all mad at each other and the storylines suck.

No wonder it got cancelled.

Let there be Lightman.

Yeah, I'm gonna miss her. Oh lookie there, I've got a bite.

It's cause he's in love with his brother's wife!!

Sorry, watching Scandal.

Which I haven't done since first season.

Basically I turned on the TV to see what I had recorded and it was right at the start of Scandal.

And I love Darby Stanchfield (Deep-fried Twinkie, Shannon Gibbs) and Bellamy Young (Special Agent Stone, Ellen Darling, Hotch's girlfriend) she's the one that I guess her hair color when I see her name in the opening credits and she shares my birthday so I stuck around. It's still pretty good.

Haha, caught them kissing outside, called it!

Another call? This whole storm of the century, Q or whatever being total crap, told you it was hype. They called off school this morning with absolutely no snow on the ground. We were supposed to get like 10-12 inches, we got like 4. Barely.

We closed early, 4:30, but I got off at 4 anyway so it didn't really matter to me. We were supposed to have class at the hospital library but because of the weather we did a virtual class instead.

Dude, Webmeeting is awesome. All like 50 of us went to this Webmeeting site where they gave us a phone number. We called it and it was like a massive conference call with all of us students plus our 2 instructors plus our host. So all the audio was on the phone, none from the computer. There was a powerpoint and a chat window, it was sweet. I wish we had these in my other online classes.

I already did all my homework for that class until March, I've done the majority of Diversity homework - did the interview, wrote up the transcript and overview, now all that's left is discussion of others overviews to tie together themes and analysis. And the next Internet Reference assignment isn't due 'til the 2nd.

And see, I have tomorrow off, and I always have the best of intentions, I'm gonna clean my apartment, I'm going to write, I'm going to finish my homework, etc. But it never happens.

So here's my plan.

I plan to sleep in and watch movies all day - I have like 10 checked out so I need to fly through them. Cause I ain't driving on the crappy roads and I have sustenance so I don't need to go anywhere.

But it's a strategic plan.

Cause I always break my plans - I plan to clean, write, do homework all the time and never do it so if I plan to do none of those things maybe one of them will happen.

Does that make sense in some twisted sort of way?

I'll keep you posted.

What I am doing tonight and tomorrow no matter what is laundry, cause otherwise I'm screwed for work this weekend. That's easy enough and I can sleep through it so it's gold.

What else from today? Work was good. Super short 9-4 day but it was pretty busy even through there was snow.

Thank God for my Trainee. She always saves me from the creepers. One in particular. Wordie was there when he came in today, I told him he wasn't allowed to leave me alone until Trainee came back to the desk.

Apparently I'm too nice.

Whoa, Jimmy Kimmel on in the background, check out this kid.

Mad skills.

Here's his challenge to Jimmy. 

He totally dominated that competition, I bet that'll be posted tomorrow on Kimmel's website, you should check it out. 

And that's all I got for today. Just glad I don't have to go in tomorrow cause getting out of my parking lot after any snow at all is awful.

So, now I'm going to turn on Storage Wars - which was my original intention - and crash and burn, but first here's some music and part two from last night's fiction.

I'm Gonna Miss Her - Brad Paisley

classic, one of my favorites growing up. his actual wife in the video. love 0:30-0:32

On to the fiction

Life of a Teenage Writer: Part Two

The flashbulbs were blinding, he could barely see passed the first row of reporters but there had to be at least fifty of them staring at him with cameras, microphones, and handheld recorders in hand. Charlie pushed him toward the podium. His throat was suddenly very dry.

“Hey everybody,” his voice was shaky. “Thanks for coming out to see me; it’s great to be here.” He forgot the rest of his speech and froze. He looked back at Charlie in a panic.

Charlie stepped forward, “If you have any questions we will take them now.”

About thirty hands shot up. A.J. pointed toward a blonde man with a microphone.

“Mr. Smith, it’s great to see you. I’m Mark Brown from The Journal,” he said in a rush. “I was wondering if you could tell us a little about your writing process.”

“My writing process?” A.J.’s voice cracked. He scanned the crowd looking for Kate. She was in the back… and she was doing the Macarena. A.J. tried to keep a straight face and turned red. “I usually lock myself in my room after school for a few hours and try to get at least 500 words on the page. Sometimes they fit together and sometimes they don’t. If I get stuck I go for a run or do my homework. I usually come back to it before I go to bed.”

Next, he pointed to a blonde woman who was slowly edging her way toward the stage. “A.J., can I call you A.J.?” she asked, smiling sweetly. A.J. nodded. “I’m Sarah Chase Cameron from The Times; it’s great to finally meet you. Our readers want to know where you get your inspiration. How do you come up with those gruesome details?” Sarah thrust her handheld recorder in his direction.

A.J. smiled and thought called it, okay a quarter for sincerity.

“I’ve been really interested in crime and its prevention from an early age. I’ve done a lot of reading about it and some of the images have just stuck with me I guess.” He pointed to another reporter, but Sarah spoke up again.

“Do you think that your interest in crime came about after the murder of your parents?” A.J. froze. He looked at Kate but she had stopped dancing and was staring open-mouthed at the reporter, as was the rest of the crowd. They began to murmur to each other.

“I… Um…” Sarah’s eyebrows raised and she smiled victoriously.

Charlie stepped forward and cleared his throat. The audience went silent, anxiously waiting for an explanation. “It was horrible what happened to A.J.’s parents. I’m sure that it has an effect on everything he does.” A.J. slowly stepped backward, trying to imagine he was anywhere else. Even with his imagination it wasn’t working. Sarah’s smile only grew. “That’ll be all for the question and answer segment,” Charlie announced as an effort for damage control. “We’ll meet you at the entrance for some pictures and autographs in a few minutes.” A.J. sprinted offstage. Charlie watched as Kate made her way toward the backstage area, then he zoomed in on Sarah Chase Cameron. She smiled at him slyly and winked.

“What the hell just happened?” asked Kate. “How did they find out about your parents?” A.J. just paced and shook his head. Charlie approached him and put his hands on his shoulders.

“You did great kid! Let’s get you some water and go take some pictures.”

“What? No? How do they know about Mom and Dad?” he yelled.

“You know reporters,” he tried to blow it off. “It’s their job to dig up the dirty details of anyone worth interest. She probably has a source somewhere in the police department. Your parents’ case is still open.”

Kate handed A.J. a bottle of water and guided him to a chair. He sat and downed the whole bottle in one big gulp.

“I’m going to go see what they have set up for us in the entrance,” said Charlie making his way toward the stairs. “You’ve got three minutes buddy.”

A.J. sat in silence. Kate stood there staring where Charlie had exited. “You don’t think it was him do you?”

“Huh?” asked A.J. looking up at Kate.

“Charlie? You think it was him who let the story about your parents slip to the reporter?”

“Charlie wouldn’t do that. He’s a good guy.” A.J. felt the need to defend him even though he knew it was probably true. Charlie would do anything for a quick buck and more personal interest meant more book sales.

“I have a bad feeling about all this,” Kate said.

A.J. stood up and threw the bottle away in the trash, a mix of courage and exhaustion taking over. “Let’s go get this over with.”



legitimate pre-midnight post. holy crap tag in use.

And if you get lost come on home to Green River.

Today flew by really quickly, but that's probably because I was only scheduled 9-2.

We had class this afternoon. In Special Libraries we're visiting all these special libraries but we have to go when they're open so I'm burning quite a bit of vacation time in the process.

But it's fine cause otherwise I never use it.

Though I may be forced to tomorrow.

I'm making a deal, if it's super bad weather and my car is drifted in I'm not going.

It's not about the fact that I can drive on the snow, it's about the fact that the idiots I'm surrounded by can't. And the last time I had to drive to work in the snow it took an hour just to drive 10 miles AND I about got smoked three times by three different cars, so I'm hesitant to go anywhere with these crazy drivers.

Where was I?

Oh right, today.

Today's tour was awesome. We got to see Tom's inner sanctum. He comes in all the time but I knew nothing about his library so it was super cool. Might do a practicum there if he's up for it, cause I found it super interesting. He works at the Regional Center meaning it's in the mental health care facility but their library has both fiction and nonfiction. What he doesn't have he gets through us or the Commission.

I just liked his attitude and what he had to say, and I already knew he was a nice guy so if he's up for it and the Library Goddess okay's it I would totally be in for that in the fall.

Otherwise I have no idea where else to do it. College town maybe, learn the BISAC system.

But pretty sure I'd go nuts jumping from that to Dewey on a daily basis.

Anyway, so the tour was awesome. Afterwards I did nothing but homework for like hours, finally quitting around 10 cause I'm just exhausted. I need to start getting more sleep which is why this post is going to be short - well, this part at least - cause it's already passed midnight.

Tomorrow was going to be the other tour, but as mentioned yesterday, the Library Goddess is in physical pain cause we can't meet and has put me in charge of arranging some sort of group meetup for a virtual session cause there's a limited amount of logins that can happen at once to this specific website we have to go to - but that's also tomorrow afternoon so even if I couldn't make it to work in the morning I'd still have to dig out my car in the afternoon, which would be fine as there would hopefully be ice on the roads by then.

For those of you not local, it's supposed to be the storm of the century for us here, expecting like 10-12 inches. I'm hoping it's all hype.

Even if it isn't you know we're still gonna be open. Our bosses are stubborn like that and much like the Library Goddess, pull out the post office motto on occasion as well.

So, I should sleep, cause I'm in for a long day tomorrow.

Here's the music, afterwards you get the fiction and then I'm gonna crash.

Song that was stuck in my head all day for absolutely no reason whatsoever:

Green River - CCR


i have no explanation as for why i was singing this all day. it might be due to the fact i heard Fortunate Son last night, but that's all i can think of.


Okay, so yesterday I finished Family History, well my Dad's side anyway, so Part One, perhaps I can talk the Cool Aunt into giving me some info on Mom's side this weekend.

So now I'm gonna break it up and give you some fiction.

Story behind this one: Basically I took Fiction Writing in college and this was one of the stories I submitted to be reviewed by the class. You may get multiple of these, depending on how I'm feeling at the time.

See, I think they're crap, but I've been told otherwise, so I'll let you be the judge.

And I never like ever share this stuff, seriously ever unless I'm forced to in a class, so this is huge for me. Even Sketch would tell you it's like pulling teeth, so enjoy them while they last.


Life of a Teenage Writer - Part One

“I want to be a writer,” A.J. said to the guidance counselor. Silence ensued. He hated these kind of meetings. The awkward silence was always the worst. “All freshmen must meet with the guidance counselor to talk about their bright futures” said the flyer taped to his locker. He tapped his foot on the white tiled floors. Say something, he thought. When she didn’t he started playing with the bottom of his red cotton t-shirt, then wiped some imaginary dirt off his worn out jeans.

“That’s nice,” Mrs. Bailey finally replied, exhaling as she took off her glasses and wiped them on her shirt. Mrs. Bailey was a wide woman, horizontally and vertically. She hid her physical insecurities behind a large wooden desk which was organized to the max. Nothing was out of place. Even the pencils were evenly sharpened. A.J. looked around the room, the silence getting to him. Pamphlets and flyers covered the yellow walls of the counselor’s office in an organized pattern. “I can’t stop crying” said one; “My mother had a sex change” said another.

“Do you have any backup plans?” the older woman asked politely, putting her glasses back on and pushing her loose strands of white hair behind her ears.

A.J. wasn’t surprised at her lack of faith. He discovered a while ago that “I want to be a writer” roughly translates to “I want to live in my parents’ basement ordering chocolate by the case and drowning myself in booze.”

“No,” he replied simply.

“How would you get started?” she asked simply.

“That’s a good question.”

**Three Years Later**

“Smile kid, it’s your first book launch party!” said Charlie, A.J.’s tall, dark and frustrating agent. Charlie was dressed in a black suit, his dark hair parted to the side and his smile showed off his perfect white teeth.

A.J. flinched at Charlie’s tone. He could hear the reporters setting up equipment in the auditorium and talking amongst themselves. He ran his fingers through his dark brown hair and attempted to tie his tie.

“Stop it Charlie, you’re only making things worse,” said Kate, the ever-faithful best friend, stepping between the two of them and grabbing A.J.’s tie to re-do it. A.J. started fidgeting with his pants instead. She smacked his hands, “They look fine. You’re sweating through your shirt. Here, put on the jacket.” She picked up the black jacket from the chair and thrust it in his direction.

“I look like a penguin!” he replied, sliding in his arms in anyway. “Why do we have to do this? We didn’t do a big party for the first book and it sold fine.”

Charlie turned and looked A.J. in the eyes. “That’s because you were a no-named kid. Now there are hundreds of reporters out there waiting to get the scoop on your new sequel. You’re only sixteen and you’re already a best-selling author! Everyone wants to know what happens next to Detective Matt Harper and the rest of his geek squad. People came hundreds of miles just to see you tonight.” Charlie went out to the podium to make sure everything was set up.

“You’re not helping,” yelled Kate, pulling a comb out of her purse and running it through A.J.’s hair. She returned the comb to her purse and pulled out breath spray, chapstick, and a mirror.

“Have anything stronger in there?” he asked hopefully. Kate glared. “I’m joking… I’m so nervous.” He put on the chapstick, sprayed the breath spray and stared at himself in the mirror, his hands shaking.

“You’re going to do great,” Kate smiled and took the mirror. “Just… imagine them all naked.”

“Ew,” A.J. gagged, “the person in charge is a 40-year-old overweight bald man.”

“Okay, then imagine them all… doing the Macarena,” she amended. A.J. laughed.

“Thanks Kate. What would I do without you?” he asked looking in her eyes. Kate blushed.

“Probably end up stranded in a desert somewhere. Alright, spin. I gotta give you the once-over.” A.J. spun around quickly. “You look very handsome Azariah James.”

“Hey, don’t be full-naming me, Kath-.”

“No!” she cut him off, “There will be none of that! Truce?” Kate stuck out her hand.

“Truce,” A.J. replied shaking it. “You look very nice, by the way,” he added, still holding her hand and trying to be smooth. Kate could feel the heat radiating off her face. She looked down at her short black dress and tall high heels. They stayed hand-in-hand for a while until Charlie returned.

“Okay, so here’s what is going to happen.”

They dropped hands immediately. A.J. stepped back and ran his fingers through his hair while Kate suddenly found something in her purse fascinating.

“You go out to the podium and give the speech that we practiced. You smile for pictures, answer some questions, shake some hands, sign some autographs, and then you’re done,” Charlie said, adjusting his bow tie. “They’ll ask you about your writing routines and your inspiration. The mundane life of a writer is apparently fascinating to reporters.”

“I’m so tired of everyone asking me where I get my inspiration. Can’t they think of anything more original?” said A.J. running his hands through his hair again. Kate grabbed them and straightened it again.

“I will make you a deal,” said Charlie. “Every time you have to answer that question I will give you a quarter.”

“Score! I’ll be a billionaire by the time I’m thirty.”

“If you answer it without contempt.”

“Ah, well, millionaire then maybe.”

Charlie was the kind of man who would bribe his way into heaven if it was possible. He was always out for a quick buck but he was smart about it. If A.J. put on a smiling face for the cameras tonight and came off as charming then all the other editors would fall at his feet. If that meant getting rid of some of his spare change then so be it.

“Deal?” Charlie asked, sticking out his hand.

“Deal,” A.J. responded, stepping forward as he shook Charlie’s hand.

“You ready?”

A.J. took a deep breath. “Let the madness begin.” He gave Kate a high five and followed Charlie toward the stage. He could still faintly hear Kate sing, “Heeyyy Macarena!” and smiled.