The Great Hunt

My great scavenger hunt began about an hour ago in my library. Between helping customers and searching for books I still am only halfway through the thing so I am only posting for one page so far. Stay tuned for the second page next week.

1.  John Quincy Adams was born on July 11, 1767 according to the World Book Encyclopedia
2.  The Catskill Mountains are located in the southeast portion of New York according to the World Atlas.
3.  The MVP in 1968 for the NBA was Wilt Chamberlain.  This I found online     @ http://espn.go.com/nba/history/awards/_/year/1968.  (This particular question took a fair amount of time because I exhausted a lot of options.)  My best option was a book that detailed the history of the NBA but of course that book is lost.  Anyhow, I cheated and went online.
4.  France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands border Belgium.  I found this information in The World Book Atlas.
5.  Slovenly means dirty or disorderly.  This was located in Rogets' International Thesaurus.
6.  Two antonyms for cordial are cold and cool.  This info is also located in Rogets' International Thesaurus.
7.  Osmosis is the movement of a solvent through a semipermeable membrane (as of a living cell) into a solution of higher solute concentration that tends to equalize the concentration of solute on the two sides of the membrane.  Look in the Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary and you will find this definition.
8.  An interrogative sentence is a question.  You will find this in Hodges' Harbrace Handbook.
9.  If you would like to order pizza a good place to look for a number is the phone book.
10.As of the year 2000, there are five oceans.  The Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic.  Read all about them in the Harper Collins Student World Atlas


Pam's Point:  Just because you work in a library does not mean you know all the information or even where to find it QUICKLY.

RIP My Little Pomodoro

It is with sadness I must announce that my "little mater" as my fellow classmate Bambi would say...is no longer functioning.  Actually it truly is a "little mater" now as it no longer makes the pomodorian tick.  Is pomodorian a word?  I don't know but I am sad that somewhere deep in the bottom of my luggage or possibly in the hands of a curious little girl my pomodoro lost it's tick.

Now I will never know if this "little mater" was going to be the catalyst that changed my life and allowed me to finally accomplish the million things I state on a daily basis that I simply do not have the time to do.  Is it a sign?  Should I not even try?

No, I think I will sit my little broken pomodoro on the shelf to remind me that there is a better way and that I can actually make better use of the floating particles of time that I don't seem to ever grab.  And the next time I am shopping I will look for a cute little timer to sit beside my pomodoro and tick because it may indeed be the sound that I need to reach out and grab that extra minute I need.  Since I didn't get to actually try my pomodoro before it met it's untimely death, I will let you know how it goes.

Pam's Point:  Don't give up trying to improve just because there are roadblocks along the way. Pick up the pieces and try again.   

A Restaurant Story

My family and I had much to do this evening so we decided to eat dinner at a local restaurant.  We were greeted at the door by a young waiter who was dressed nice and looked professional.  He asked how many would be dining tonight and pointed us to our table.  It wasn't too long before another young waiter came to get our drink order and set out the chips and salsa for us to nibble on.  This was a Mexican Restaurant so the chips and salsa are almost a given.  He wasted no time seeing to it that we had some.  I did appreciate that.  So far so good but in comparison to other restaurants he did not introduce himself personally or introduce himself as our waiter he just asked what we would like to drink.  I suppose one could say preference comes into play here but I kind of like it when the waiters or waitresses introduce themselves.  It makes me feel like they really are there to take care of my needs.

It wasn't a very long wait for our food but we didn't all get served at the same time.  He brought out two orders, and half of mine but not the other two guests in our party.  I had ordered a dish that required tortilla shells and he brought all of my order except the shells so I had to wait for them to arrive.  My food did begin to get cold during that wait.  He then brought the other two orders and then my shells. So I would say that falls short of the best professional service.  I would have felt better if he had told me they were coming as I was sitting there wondering if they actually were.  My family will tell you that I asked them this question several times....(lol)...as if they knew the answer.

Throughout the meal he did keep the drinks refilled and check in to see how we were doing with things. It was a good meal and the service was pretty good other than what I mentioned.  It is certainly not the best service I've ever received but certainly not the worst either.  It is obvious though that folks like to be told if there is going to be a delay and they could improve in that area.

Pam's Point:  It IS important to be professional no matter what job you are performing.  

Help from friends

This post is not on our list...BUT...I need to share this with my friends.  I came back from our week of training so pumped up and ready to go and I believe I managed to share that fact with everyone I came in contact with today.

So in keeping with my excitement and recharged batteries and taking to heart the advice to start attending my county commission meetings I did just that tonight.  Now, there was a tiny reason in the back of my mind all this time saying you need to go but I always talked myself out of it because I knew it would not be pretty.  Boy, was I right!!!!!

To say this meeting has sucked all the excitement from my soul would be an understatement.  Words cannot describe the experience I just returned from.  I believe you would not find this type of behavior in a zoo.  Without going into great details to give an example I will say this.  One commissioner will not even address the county executive.  She relays her messages to him through the chairperson and the county executive is sitting at the same table she is.  Really, this is professional?  It's no wonder I am the lowest paid director in the whole United States and possibly the world.  How sad.  This meeting has really taken the wind out of my sails.  Is this just my county or is this all across the nation?  I really want to know.

Pam's Point:  Even though I am very disappointed at what I witnessed I will press on.  Going to rethink some things?  Definitely.

Let's Sum It Up!

What a week!

I will use my earlier words once again....."Wonderful people, wonderful information, wonderful time.  Our first week of PLMI has been a whole bunch of a whole bunch.  We have crammed a LOT of information into one week. 

We are energized, excited, and eager to go back into the world and shine.  After all, we have learned we are supposed to toot our own horns.  So here goes....I can do this.  Actually, I realized I have been doing this.  Pretty darn good it seems.  For not having any library experience I jumped right in a bad situation two years ago and began repairing an outdated, poorly run, not welcoming stagnant library. 

In the two years I have been there I have been working full steam ahead to make it the happening place in town.  Our most important offering is a smile.  If people are happy inside the library then they will feel comfortable and are more likely to really let you assist them with their needs.  

This philosophy is proving true as we nearly doubled patronage during the first year.  People were so excited with the change that they could not wait to share their excitement at the fresh new library. I have fed off of that excitement and pushed forward.

But it has not been easy.  Many bumps and some roadblocks have stopped me in my tracks for a period.  So far I have managed to break them down and keep going but lately I must admit my steamrolling abilities have been puttering.  After all, I am the lowest paid library director in the whole state and now it seems the whole nation.  How's that for inspiration???  I choose to think it just shows how much I love my job and enjoy helping people better themselves. Now I sure could use a raise and truthfully if I didn't have a supportive family I would not be able to do this.  So there may come a day when the monetary values will have to come first.  Hopefully when that day comes my replacement will be appreciative of my efforts and will keep charging forward.  

So as I reflect back on my first two years along with what I've learned this week at PLMI, I find that I am on the right track but there are still many things to do.  I was happy to hear that most of those "plans" lurking in the back of my mind to accomplish are exactly what I need to be doing.  Now I have some new ones from this week to add to that list as well.  Some are immediate fixes, others are going to take time.  That brings me to my biggest problem.  You guessed it.  Time.

One goal that I have is to have an assistant who works WITH me at least two days a week.  Oh how this would help me and my customers.  If I have my stuff together then I will be able to help my customers have their stuff together.  It's my dream to be able to offer and teach classes on computers, resumes, etc.  Having an assistant will aid greatly in this desire.  To have time to complete my reports at work and have my assistant work the desk would be life-changing. Let's all stop right here and say a prayer that I can get an assistant.  :)  

I must add that I really enjoyed the various personality and other various exercises we completed this week.  The vision and mission questions we filled out were wonderful!  Having just written those statements a month ago for the first time without having any guidance at all I could see a clear change in the way I now write them.  It is more meaningful to me as I calmly chose words that had deep meaning to me.  This will only serve me well as my vision is now very personal to me.  

So to sum it up.....I will leave you with my personal vision I placed on my crest.  A picture of my crest is posted below with the words Assess, Activate, and Achieve.  I have been doing this all my life as I am just that type of person.  Being a Scorpio I am a natural at this but now I have a way to describe it.  I had just never taken the time to sit down and meditate and think of the words to describe it.  So yeah.....you can bet I will now have this motto all over the place. It also ties in wonderfully with my library vision.  We desire to motivate the under-served in the community to allow them to become whole.  Wholeness is our goal.  When they become whole they will then be able to adapt my motto and our community will be filled with people who assess, activate, and achieve!!  

Can't wait to come back to PLMI next year and cannot wait to keep in touch with my awesome new friends!!!  Let's do this!!!!

Pam's Point:  Press on.  Assess your situation, Activate your plan, and Achieve your goal.  Press on!!

My Crest

Snapshot of Day 4.

Wonderful people, wonderful information, wonderful time.  Our first week of PLMI has been a whole bunch of a whole bunch.  We have crammed a LOT of information into one week.  Must admit I can't take much longer in that one room and my mind is starting to kick in to overload but I am already looking forward to next year.  The new friends I have made are such a plus and I plan to stay personally in touch with as many of them as possible.  I believe most of us have bonded.

Today consisted of several different exercises during which I did learn a few things.  While I did learn information about leadership, management and all the points in between I also learned some things about myself.

Yesterday during my training evaluation we were trying to pinpoint areas where I had weaknesses.  I stated that maybe I needed to be tougher or work on communicating while leading a team.  Today during the exercises I realized (and it didn't take very long for me to see) that I am actually very good at setting up a team and directing.  Now if my husband would have heard me say that I needed work in this area I am quite sure he would have laughed and said, "Oh honey, the last thing you probably need help in is guiding a team." Well, he actually would have stated that I have no problem giving directions.  wink wink

As I said though, I realized that it is my natural instinct to help guide people and that I have been doing just that for most of my life without even thinking about it.  Not only in a leadership situation but in life in general. From kindergarten on I have always been the one that people turn to for guidance and help if they need it. While I may think I lack self confidence, it is more likely the case that people see me as very confident and in truth I am very confident but sometimes have the urge to doubt myself.  I find that when I am in control and have a clear defined goal I am the most confident.  Geez, maybe someone could do a case study on me regarding my self assurance issues.

But to get back to today's exercises I also surprised myself in one of them.  We were told before lunch that when we returned we would have to do an exercise with a ball and cups and no hands would be involved. There were a couple of other stipulations as well.  The biggest thing I noticed among the group was that immediately people began to worry about it and wanted to start planning immediately.  Several people spent their whole lunch planning strategy.  Normally this would be me.  I would be researching, plotting, planning everything possible and then re-checking and checking again to see if I had missed a detail. This time though, I was was feeling tired and on overload with my brain and I just decided to not worry about it and enjoy my lunch and since it was not a life and death event it would be fine if I failed.  Wow, even typing this is strange because I have NEVER said it would be fine to fail.  I must have been worse off than I thought!!!!  I even expressed this sentiment to my team and they all felt the same way.  We did not stress.

Looking back I believe that actually helped us.  For once we did not over think the problem and get all worked up.  We literally jotted out a plan of action right before we went outside to perform it.  It became our turn and off we went.  In fact, it was even easier that we had anticipated in our plan and we executed it beautifully even with a small snafu.  What a great example of teamwork.  We didn't stress, we put together a quick plan and went with it.  That is rare for me and I learned today that maybe I don't have to over prepare for everything I do and just maybe I can learn to free up some extra time by not doing that.  This is good.  I'll let you know if it happens.

Pam's Point:  If you will just stop and take time to notice how you ACTUALLY  function in life you might be surprised at what you find.

Snapshot of Day 3.

Today's morning presentation both surprised and touched me in the fact that I did not expect to cry during class.  The week is supposed to be intensive but not supposed to bring tears, right?  So what happened?

Dr. Kathy Self came to speak to us about leadership.  Dr. Self was soft and inviting so we tended to hang on to every word she said.  She even managed to keep our attention while raindrops were dropping through the ceiling. 

One of the exercises Dr. Self had us try was to close our eyes and clear our minds to meditate.  After we had freed our minds we were to think of a very happy and memorable event from our library.  Immediately my mind focused on a scared little autistic girl who was five years old. 

Several months after becoming library director I threw an open house/fall fun day at the library.  Many different activities were planned like stories, games, crafts, a live band, food, and fun in general.  Lots of folks showed up including a state senator.  So things were pretty loud and crazy. 

Little Riley shows up with her parents and is immediately scared to death and overwhelmed with all the noise and people.  She begins to cry.  Her parents almost decide to leave but choose to stay for a moment or two.  By this time crafting supplies were spread out over 3 or 4 tables and people were just helping themselves.  I was busy showing the Senator around and various other important people and lost track of time.  With all the craziness, I just didn't have time to notice everything.  As the afternoon was winding down I happened to make eye contact with little Riley as she was sitting at a craft table by herself just crafting away.  Our eyes met and she smiled the biggest most beautiful smile at me.  I began to tear up.  Her mother later told me that Riley had been so scared and upset that she begged to go home but then sat down at the craft table and had remained there for nearly 2 hours without moving.  Her mother stated that she never does that and it meant so much to them that we had provided that outlet for little Riley to have some fun.  By this time both her mother and myself were overcome with tears. 

That evening I kept pondering the fact that as I had been planning the event I had become so tired and stressed that I had questioned why I was even holding such an event.  That little girl's smile.....well.....it made it worth every second of work and stress. 

So today as I pondered why I love my job even though I am overworked and underpaid I became inspired by little Riley all over again and those tears that rolled down my cheeks during that exercise today just served to remind of that. 

Pam's Point:  It's good to take some time to just close your eyes and relax and remember why you do what you do.  Most times you will get more out of it that you give.  

Snapshot of Day 2.

Critiques, exercises, information and challenges can describe today.  One of the most important things a person must do in life is continually stretch the mind.  Now this "stretching" may not come easy.  Often one does not want to hear about or be challenged in an area where some improvement could or should be made.  There is a difference.  A person may be fully aware of their weaknesses or failures and simply refuse to do anything to remedy them.  With this attitude one does not grow in life.  Imagine if everyone conducted life in this manner.

Two words come to mind.....boring and sad.  The giant society cookie would eventually crumble into little crumbs on the floor.  Yes, this may be a bit extreme but one gets the general idea.  Change and overcoming failures only serve to make one grow stronger.  So what does one do?  How does one come to this decision?  Reflection. 

To properly reflect one must look inside to find and eventually accept the truth.  Most people are aware of their own faults and failures but making the choice to accept the challenge to change them is the hard part.  Also learning to accept criticism from others when they recognize the same faults is very tough.  No one wants to hear the "bad" stuff.  But to truly change and do the tough stretching it is very necessary. 

Today our presentations and exercises were designed to make each of us look in the mirror and focus on that reflection.  Some did not like what they saw.  Others may have heard the words but only took a quick look.  Time will tell who did what.

Personally I found several areas in my professional brand and several areas in my library's brand I will focus on improving.  No big changes are needed as I am on the right track but I did learn some things that will help to smooth the road a bit along the way. 

I will continue to improve my personal brand.  This is something I have always naturally done but now I have a word for it and a better understanding of how to further draw attention to it.  My focus will be keener now.  As for the library and it's brand, well, it is still a work in progress.  My first two years have been very geared toward making it the happening place in town.  It was not previously a friendly place to visit and that has changed.  Depending on the data (and taking into consideration that it was not being reported honestly before) then library patronage nearly doubled the first year.  People are excited about coming and the brand is growing stronger each day.  But as always there is more work to be done and this class is going to become a big catalyst in this.  You cannot put a price on good solid information like we learned today.  I plan to take this knowledge and put it into action immediately. 

What will day three bring?  I don't know but I'm quite sure there will be more reflecting and growing to be done.  Stay tuned. 

Pam's Point:  Sometimes we have to strip down naked and go stand in front of that mirror and gaze straight into our soul......we usually already know what we need to change....we just need to decide to do it.  

I am.........

I am a smart, energetic professional woman who strives to be a valuable asset to my community by helping and empowering others.

Snapshot of Day 1.

It was fun meeting everyone and swapping library tales.  I'm now more convinced than ever that I need to write my book on small town library happenings. 

We had some good presentations and learned a few things.  Also learned that we will all gain 20 pounds if we keep eating like we are at every meal.  The food is very good.

One important note I took was to purchase a book called "Rules for Aging" by Roger Rosenblatt.  Don't want to get much older before I read this one.  :) 

Also heard a new definition I plan to adapt and use......library----living room of the community.  That's good stuff right there. 

Closed the day out with an evening movie on the history of libraries in our state.  We plan to do it all over again tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Pam's Point:  Keep your mind open and ready to fill with new information and challenges.  

Carol

Meet Carol.  Carol hails from Murfreesboro, Tennessee but has been fortunate to have lived in many different corners of the world.  Having been in the Missionary field for twenty years along with her husband, she has called the following countries home:  Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, and Egypt.  In other words, Carol has some traveling and moving experience! 

Being married to an Egyptian/American man has helped Carol learn to speak Arabic which certainly must of come in handy when she was working with local school libraries while living in the Middle East. 

These library skills she picked up overseas benefited Carol when it came time to come back to America to live with her husband and two teenage boys.  She decided it was time to find a job and someone suggested the library so she went for it.  Time has passed and it's now been 2 1/2 years since Carol became the Branch Librarian at the main branch of the Linebaugh Public Library System.  At present, she is responsible for managing 30 employees. 

Spare time is hard to find but when she does have some she enjoys writing and has written three fiction books and one nonfiction book with her husband.  Her pen name is Um Daoud. 

Carol is a very interesting woman and it became more interesting when we discovered that she used to work with my daughter at the library.  :)

Pam's Point:  It really is a small world.  You never know when and where you will meet someone who has a connection to you.