LibraryTechtonics

I just read the post on Heidi Dolamore’s blog announcing that she was nomination to run as an ALA Councilor-at-Large in the 2006 election was accepted.

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Heidi at annual in Chicago this year, and the somewhat indirect pleasure of working with her as a conference blogger on the PLA Blog. She’s good stuff, just the type of candidate from whom the newer-thinking generation can expect great things and be proud. And she’s from *Canada*.
While I don’t see myself getting involved in ALA anytime soon (I’d sooner lose a limb; although I am contemplating dipping my toe in the lake of MLA), and I wouldn’t wish ALA’s bureaucratic nature on my worst enemy (actually, I might…), I’m all about supporting those stronger and more motivated than I in their efforts to get involved and help make changes for the better. Besides, being a cheerleader for an intrepid rock star is an important role.
So yes, read her blog, keep and eye on her, and consider actually filling out that goddawful-long form to vote for Heidi in the next ALA election.

Steven just called me from the MLA fall conference on 21st Century Literacies to tell me that everyone he was sitting with at the big dinner knew me.

Hee. I am entertained.

And feeling better. Much better. Thank you for your well wishes. I’ll be posting again shortly.

Came back from IL2005 in California, and promptly set about catching up with life. Apparently, this catching up was frowned upon by the cosmos-at-large, and I’ve been punished with a horrible head cold. This, in turn, has caused me to fall horribly behind with everything, including my NaNoWriMo word count. However, I continue to persevere, especially since I seem to be on the mend.

I s’pose working in a public library comes with certain hazards of which I am somehow subliminally aware, but never seem to fully acknowledge unless I’m sick, constant illness being one of them. I’m sure it’s only exacerbated by all of the travel in my professional life. All the same, there’s no reason to stop either. I just need to take really good care of myself.

In the meantime, the blog may be on minor haitus until my head doesn’t hurt anymore. (This is making me ansty, as I have much to write about.) All donations of chicken soup and Airborne are welcome.

NaNoWriMo 2005 started just a few minutes ago. I haven’t started writing yet, but I will most likely write at least a few pages before heading to bed.

Not so long ago, I wrote to the NaNoWriMo folks to get a hold of a participant icon that would work for the library in advertising as a Wrimo-friendly space. Just days ago, while I was at the conference, I received the icon as an attachment. There are now two new, spiffy icons, one that proudly sports “NaNoWriMo-Friendly Library,” the other says “2005 NaNoWriMo Zone.” So, if you’re library wants to encourage Wrimo crazies to use the library as a writers’ space, pop the icon up on your home page, and link to the NaNoWriMo site. Or, you can do what I did for my library, and write up something of your own that links to the official web site.

The icon is up on the Reading Public Library home page, linking to a page containing content from the handouts for the “Write a Novel in One Month” workshop earlier in October. I’ve also reserved meeting room space for write-ins at the library, which I’ve already been talking up the library on the NaNoWriMo forums, but I still need to post the actual date and time information.

While I won’t make it to any opening day festivities tomorrow, I’m hoping that between write-ins at the library and events near Boston, I’ll make a fairly social-yet-supportive experience of it all. And, it sounds like we’ll have some visitors at the library, which will be quite keen.

Is your library doing anything special for NaNoWriMo? Or are you a librarian participating in NaNoWriMo? I’d love to hear about it.