Ontario Association of Library Technicians / Association des Bibliotechniciens de 1Ontario

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From our PresidentStella Clark

I can’t believe how fast the year goes. and it is September again! Insome ways, I feel that we have just left the conference, and yet a lothas happened over this summer. I took a trip out to Alberta in August

to meet siblings that I have not seen since we were young children. Nowwe are all grown. most of us with grandchildren the age we were whenour family was broken up and everyone adopted into other families. Myyounger sister has spent over twenty years searching for everyone,since she became an adult and learned that she had siblings. Now allbut one have been in contact together — almost all of it over this lastyear. It has been an emotional roller coaster for sure, but exciting tomeet again. So this is where my attention has been all summer.

We did manage to have our executive turnover meeting early in thesummer. I have many thanks for Tracy for all the encouragement on mystepping up as president. I am thankful for our current executive — I knowthat I will have all the help and direction I need for this coming year. Thiswill be our first year where the membership year follows the calendaryear. and we are looking forward to this eliminating a lot of problems thathave occurred in the past. We are also anticipating the launch of our newwebsite look - we had a preview in the spring, and Fm sure everyone willbe as excited as we are about it. As always. our biggest focus will be onthe conference — the highlight of our year.

I hope that the chapters will have the participation that we need to makethem successful. We all know it takes more than those who are trying toorganize and run them — we need members to enjoy them! Come out toyour chapter and catch up with friends while you experience what yourexecutive has provided for you. They are not getting paid, remember —

they are working to make our association a great one for you. That.17 includes me — I need to participate in the online bookclub with my ideas —

not just read the books!

“Autumn is a second spring whenevery leaf is a flower.”

* Albert Camus(1913-1960) French writer- born in Algeria

Publication Agreement # 40688591

Volume 30, # 3September 2007

ISSN: 0229-2645

NewsLETTER/NouvELLES ispublished three times per year inFall. Winter and Spring and isavailable with membership in theOntario Association of LibraryTechnicians I Association desBibliotechniciens de l’Ontario. Wewelcome your feedback as well asyour letters, articles and photos. butmust reserve the right to edit forstyle and space.

Abbey MarketP.O. Box 760101500 Upper Middle Road WestOakville. ON L6M 3H5nfooaItabo.on .ca

Editor: Maria Ripleyinfo(oaltaoo.on.ca

IN THIS ISSUE:

Presidents Message .1

Reflections on “Equi-Libra’ .. .3

Presidential Award Winner .. .4

LIT College Program Updates . . .6

OALT/ABO at OLA . . .8

Library Tech becomes Author .. .9

Queen of Tour .14

Oldest Library Technician .16

Day in the Life

Web 2.0 Tools

THANK YOUTHANK YOUTHANK YOU

We couldn’thave done itwithoutyou!

A round of applause for the2007 OALT/ABO

“Equi-Libra” ConferencePlanning Team on a job well

done!

Melissa Hall, Chair, Sheena Bujold, AndreaBurrows, Tracyann Crawford, Brenda Maxwell,Susan Morley, Kate Morrison, Valerie Walton,

and Maggie Weaver.

andOur Generous Sponsors

Algonquin CollegeLibrary and Information Technican Program

Carr McLean Limited

Education Safety Association of Ontario

Firefly Books

OLAStore

Ontario Sports Fish Program, EnvironmentalReporting and Monitoring Branch

Thomson Scientific

Your 2007-2008OALTIABO Executive Has One

Vacancies left to fill!

CHAPTER COORDINATOR+ VACANT (One Year Commitment)

• Advocates on behalf of Chapters andChapter members.

• Responsible for inter Chaptercommunication

• Provides upcoming information aboutChapter events to the InternalCommunications Coordinator.

• Submits Chapter programming andadditional funding requests to theExecutive for approval.

If you are interested in actively participatingin your association contact Stella Clark(President) at sclark(hpl.ca

Need help deciding? Contact any one of theExecutive members to chat about the positionyou are interested in. Remember, you get outof an association what you put into it, is it timefor you to step-up?

Welcome Jennie Clarke to the Executive asInternal Communications Coordinator!

Jennie Clark graduated from York in 1992 andfrom Seneca in 1998. Her library workexperience had her working in a Private School,the Toronto Catholic School Board and the YorkRegion School Board. She has since pursued awriting career and has written two poetry books(with two more books in the works) and she hasalso written and published a booklet for schoolage children about the use of the Superhighwaythat was published in the local Markham Paper.Jennie and her family currently lives in Oshawa.

Welcome Jenn! (read Jennies article on p 9)

OALTIABO Conference

May 7 to 10, 2008

St. Lawrence CollegeKingston, Ontario

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Reflections on “Equa-Libra”By: Melissa Hall, 2006 Conference Coordinator

This year’s conference was held in Toronto atthe Lakeshore Campus of Humber College.Even though it was still in the city of Toronto, thecampus is beautiful and historic. Part of thecampus, where we held the AGM as well as thebanquet, used to be a psychiatric hospital.Although a couple of the buildings haven’t beenrestored yet, the ones that have been werereally well done. As well as the buildings, theLakeshore Campus is also on the lakeshore ofLake Ontario and next to a marina. Lots ofpeople took some time to wander down to thewater. The weather was great for the conferenceso outdoor activities were very popular.

The theme this year was important to everyoneas it was dealing with creating a work-lifebalance. As we are working more hours in orderto make a living and to sustain our families, it isimportant to remember to balance everythingwithout stress-filled lives. This was important tome personally because I was finding that as thesingle person at work, they were expecting meto be able to step up and work more hours. Iwas having difficulties saying no as well askeeping up a schedule that included things that Iwanted to do, like going to the gym and hangingout with friends. My work is very important to mebut I knew that if I kept up at the pace I wasgoing, stress leave from work was not farbehind. Since taking some courses at theconference, I have cut my work hours to justwork hours and spend more time on me, Ihaven’t been this happy in a really long time!Some of the courses that people found fun andinteresting were “How Taoist Tai Chi can benefityou”, “Philosopher’s Cafe on work-life balance”and “Promoting your health at work”. As well asfocussing on creating a healthy balancebetween work and life outside of work, therewere sessions that lots of library technicians findhelpful to take back to their work to make thingseasier or to create new things to offer to clients.

As always, there were some tours that tookdelegates off-site. One tour went to the TorontoArchives. Another tour was of the newly

designed Humber College library. All of thetours were very popular as a way to learnoutside of the classroom but still fun!

This year we continued with the technologyadvances from last year with online registration.We worked out some of the glitches from lastyear and offered delegates the ability to registeronline multiple times in order to pay for socialevents separately from the conference sessionsand accommodations. They were still able topay by credit card or cheque and HumberCollege took care of all of the registration for us.Humber College was great to work with on theregistration and the organizing of the sessions,meals and accommodation. Another advancemade this year was to do the planning of theconference almost completely virtually. Since Iam located in Ottawa and the conference wasgoing to be in Toronto, I figured I would have tomake frequent trips but that was not so. Overthe year I only made six trips before theconference. My committee and I met on thetimes I was in town and our meetings were longbut everything got done on those days.Everything else was done via email and I thinkthat it worked very well!

Of course, this conference was not a successbecause of Humber and myself alone. I had agreat committee and really couldn’t have done itwithout them: Susan Morley, TraceyannCrawford, Maggie Weaver, Kate Morrison,Andrea Burrows, Sheena Bujold, BrendaMaxwell, and Valerie Walton. All of their helpand patience with me (and my many questions)was wonderful. Thank you very much to them allfor their help!! I would also like to thank MariaRipley. She took the initiative to look forsponsorship for the conference. She ended upraising about $2000 for the conference and thiswas amazing. I hope that she will continue herhard work with fundraising for the association.

I had a wonderful time planning the conferenceand attending it as well. I hope everyone had agreat time and I look forward to seeing everyoneat next year’s conference in Kingston! •

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Last year, I had the privilege of being presentedwith the OALT/ABO Presidential Award, fromour dear colleague Jill Anderson. It is indeed agreat honour to be recognized by your peers inthis way. So, now it is my turn to present thisaward to another one of our deservingcolleagues.

This year’s recipient has been very activelyinvolved in OALT/ABO both at the local leveland at the Provincial Executive level. She hasbeen President both locally and Provincially andhas worked on numerous conferencecommittees. She is also excellent at coaxingothers to become involved in the association,and helping them to realize their potential.

This person is also involved in various otherlibrary associations including CLA and SLA.She is an active proponent of library techniciansand often speaks at local functions as well asCLA functions. She is past chair of the LibraryTechnicians Interest Group with CLA andcontinues to remain involved with thisorganization in the promotion of LibraryTechnicians and the value they bring to theinformation profession. One of her colleaguesfrom CLA said that the Library TechniciansInterest Group exists because of her. She’s theone that got it started and has been very vocalat CLA to make sure that it is an inclusiveassociation. She has also been very active inAlberta as well with the Alberta Association ofLibrary Technicians, making presentations attheir conferences.

This year’s recipient has presented numerousworkshops at OALT/ABO conferences on topicsincluding Marketing the OnePerson Library,Web resources for business, and Marketingyour LIT Skills. She even pitches in andpresents workshops on behalf of others whocould not make it. She has also presentedworkshops for the Ontario Library Association,the Canadian Library Association and theAmerican Library Association.Her career has been varied. She has worked asthe business librarian for a large chemicalcompany, was the Canadian representative

for Dialog, started the lntelliSearch fee-based service with a team of three in theToronto Reference Library, and started upand operated an information service for theCity of Toronto Economic DevelopmentDivision, helping small business clients getinto exporting. She is currently self-employed, with clients in the federal andprovincial governments. As her own “oneman band” she tries to promote the value oflibrary skills for agencies that don’t havelibraries. Marketing, time management, andboss management (now in the form ofcustomer relations) are all part of her work,as is focusing on key services and jugglingthe marketing mix.

In her spare time, she is an instructor withthe University of Toronto, Faculty ofInformation Science, Professional LearningCentre and currently with SLA Click Ueducational program.

This person is also an author of theCanadian B2B Research Sourcebook: youressential guide.

I am sure you all know by now that I amspeaking of Maggie Weaver. The awardguidelines state that the candidate must be amember of OALT/ABO, there must be

Continued on page 5

Maggie Weaver Awardedthe 2007 OALTIABO Presidential Award

Presented by: Penni Chalk, 2006 Presidential Award Winner

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Continued from page 4

2007 Presidential Award Winner

evidence that the Association has played asignificant role during the individual’sprofessional career, that they have showndemonstrated leadership in helping othersachieve full participation in the libraryprofession within the Association and/or in theworkplace, outstanding contribution in buildingthe Association either regionally or provinciallyand advanced recognition of the Library andInformation Technician profession throughpublications, seminars or workshops. Maggiehas done all of this and more. Although not aformal member of the Committee for Changeshe was an active supporter of this, andhelped move the new constitution along to aliving active document. She has remainedinvolved and continues to work towards itspromotion.

In the Spring 2006 issue of the CASLISnewsletter Maggie refers to herself as a“Cosmopolitan, nomadic barbarian” a termlifted from Stan Skrzeszewski’s PhilosopherPractitioner 2006 session, which he definesas: “those who are still able to escape fromthe local and particular constrains of the joband trace new paths of work, the hybrids andthe mutants, the “cyberpunks” so that intoday’s world the cosmopolitan entrepreneurmay be considered barbaric by some, nomadicfor sure and no longer dressed in a JamesBond suit from Saville Row, but with piercingsand tattoos from Blue Dragon Tattoo.” Maggieis always open to new ways to put a spin onher chosen profession — trust her to come upwith a new description for marketing hertalents. But, as one of her colleagues isquoted as saying: “I am not sure I want toknow about the piercings .. there is such athing as too much information!”

And, if number one party girl were aqualification, Maggie would win hands down!

Please join me in congratulating Maggie onreceiving this year’s OALT/ABO PresidentialAward •

Past President Tracy MorganPresented with the President’sHonorary Gavel for HoldingOffice During the 2006-2007 Year

2007-2008 President Stelia Clark and 2006-2007President Tracy Morgan.

Presentation was made to Tracy by Stellaat Halton-Peel’s “Shop Talk” event on

October 2nd 2007.

A library is a hospital for the mind. Anonymous I

Tracy Morgan, 2006-2007 OALT/ABO President

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ALGONQUIN COLLEGE

This fall at Algonquin College, we were in theenviable position of opening up a secondsection of first year students to meet thedemands, welcoming 60 new students to theprogram. We also have a number of new parttime faculty teaching with us, furtherenhancing our program. In addition, we areworking on a curriculum review to better equipour students and to meet the requirements ofthe employers in our field. We are watchingwith interest the development of the newMasters of Information Studies at theUniversity of Ottawa, allowing our studentsand graduates to remain in Ottawa should theywish to pursue further education to advancetheir careers.

In our Continuing Education program, we willbe offering the following courses in January2008:

• LIB1911 Introduction to Libraries• L1B1918 Subject Analysis and Indexing• LIB1 929 Field Work I

LIB1 962 Database Searching I• LIB193O Reference III- Science and

Tech no logy• L1B1932 Basics of Library Management

L1B1939 Field Work II• LIB1941 Library Software

For more information, visit our web site atwwwaIqonguincollece.com

MOHAWK COLLEGE

Fall is here and students have resumedcourses in the library technician program atMohawk College. Our courses are taughtonline, and are intended for people who areworking in libraries but don’t have formallibrary education.

As of a year ago our program is offeredthrough Ontariolearn, which is an umbrellaorganization designed to enable the 22

member community colleges in Ontario toshare their online courses. Thus students cannow register at other colleges in Ontario andtake our courses.

Our winter term will begin on Jan. 11/08, andOALT/ABO members may want to considertaking a course for professional development.Graduates of library technician programs canconsider themselves as meeting theprerequisite course requirements for any ofour courses. Registration for winter termopens on Nov. 19/07, and details will be onour web site -

http://disted mohawkcoIleqeca/librec/Iibrary.htmlunder “next semester” by early November.Some courses that may be of interest toOALT/ABO members are:• INFOLT34O Database Design for

Information WorkersLIBR1 0002 Government Information

• LIBR10003 Cataloguing Electronic andInternet Resources

• LIBRLT335 Multimedia• LIBRLT4O5 Law Libraries and Legal

Research• LIBR10004 Health Libraries and

Resources

Two other courses, part of our 6-courseRecords and Information Managementcertificate, may be of interest as well:a OADMRMIO1 Active Records

Management• GRAPRM1O2 Document Management

Technology

Further inquiries about our program can bedirected to me at any time.

Dolores Harms PennerProgram ManagerLibrary and Information Technician ProgramMohawk CollegeEmail dolores.harmspennercmohawkcolleqe.caPhone 905-575-2309

LIT College Program UpdatesSubmitted by: Algonquin, Mohawk and Seneca Colleges

Continued on page 7

6

Continued from page 6College LIT Programs

• LIW43O — Privacy Laws in Canada isscheduled for this Fall 2007 on November17th, 9- 4pm.LIW45O — Serials and ElectronicResources — focus on cataloguing March15” 9- 4pm

• LIW42O — Media Monitoring a three hourworkshop scheduled for March 29th

Mark your calendars and register to ensureyou have a seat.

Details on what will be covered, where theseworkshops will be held and when, are listedand updated regularly.

New Kid on the BlockTheresa Ziebell, 2008 Conference Coordinator

Although I was studying Spanish and Russian at McMaster University. it was my Russian professor,Walter Smyrniw. who sparked my interest in libraries. He encouraged a number of us to seek ourMasters of Library Science. Unfortunately after graduating with my Bachelor of Arts. I had had enoughof school and wanted to enter the work world.

After working in a number of government positions and also obtaining a Bachelor of Education atWestern University, I kept returning to the idea of working in a library. Luckily in 1979, I took a contractposition with Environment Library and then in 1980, I found myself in a permanent position working inAcquisitions at Statistics Canada Library. A few short months later. I became Head of the Unit.

By 1982, I took advantage of the Care and Nurturing Leave that allowed me to raise my young family.Four years later, I was back at the Library working twelve hours a week as the Library’s AdministrativeAssistant. This position allowed me to balance family and work responsibilities and gave me theconfidence to ask for another Library position working three days a week The Cataloguing Unitoffered me that opportunity.

It didn’t take me long to realize that I needed formal training to truly do the work I was expected to do.Believe me, trying to figure out the Dewey Decimal system on your own is almost impossible.Algonquin College offered the Library Technician Program and I registered as a part-time student.Now everything was falling into place and I was learning. Nine long years later, I graduated in 1999and became a member of OALT!ABO.

In 2004, I slowly became involved with the Ottawa Chapter and agreed to take on the Treasurerposition. Then I took on more responsibility as Treasurer for the 2005 Conference and learned muchmore.

At the end of November 2007. I will retire from the Federal Government Public Service with 30 yearsof service and can devote more time to the 2008 Conference. I hope many of you can attend. It’s ourfirst time in Kingston. Ontario. So don’t wait, register, it’s going to be great in 2008! •

Theresa Ziebell is a Metadata Specialist with Statistics Canada Libraty.

Seneca College

Are you trying to keep current in yourcataloguing? Want to get a better feel for theprivacy laws in Canada? Do you have otherareas of interest? Check out our SenecaCollege FaIl 2007 and upcoming Winter 2008part-time calendars online at:https://www.senecac.on.ca/parttime/piplibrary technician workshors.html

For more information please contact theProgram Coordinator at 416-491-5050 x2528,

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OALTIABO Partners with OLA and Develops Three Sessionsfor 2008 Super Conference

by Maria Ripley, President-Elect OALTIABO

Thursday, January 30, 2008 - 10:40 a.m.

Library Technician: Movin’ on Up

Cathy MacLean, Manager, Library Services, RoyalOttawa Health Care Group; Kathyrn Suffoletta,Dorchester Public Library Branch Supervisor,Library and Employment Resource Centre,Middlesex County Library; Chris Whittaker,Information Assistant, R. Samuel McLaughlinMental Health and Addiction Information Centre,Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto,

How does a Library Technician see the potentialof moving themselves up and out of the“assistants” box? What sort of career plan shouldthey develop in order to aspire to be a SupervisorManager, etc. What courses or programs shouldthey be acquiring? What skills should they bedeveloping? How would one position themselvesin the eyes of the CEO as being capable andcompetent in such roles? Learn from your peershow they have done it and how you can aspire todo it too.

L to R: Chris Whitttaker; Beth Murray-Bannister

Friday, February 1, 2008 - 2:10 pm.

245 $a: Cataloguing I$b: back to basics

505 $a: Field tags, indicators and punctuation -- Whereto start -- Cataloguing different mediums -- Tools of thetrade -— Online resources -- Rules to use and rules tobreak.

520 $a: Have you catalogued a book since the coursesyou took as part of your LIT diploma? Are you nowthinking of returning to the world of field tags, indicatorsand punctuation? Would you know where to start if youwere asked to catalogue a picture book, a video orloose-leaf materials? Join three accomplishedcataloguers from three different types of libraries asthey share their experiences on what tools to use, whatresources to access, what cataloguing software isavailable and what “rules” are actually rules and what‘rules’ can be broken.

700 $a: Beth Murray-Bannister, Itinerant LibraryTechnician, Information Technology Services (LibraryServices), Waterloo Region DSB; 700 $a: JamesWagner, Technical Services Coordinator, LincolnPublic Library; 700 $a: Brenda Maxwell, LibraryAssistant, York University Law Library.

Saturday, February 2, 2008 - 10:40 a.m.

The Benefits of Sign Language for ChildrenLaura Berg, My Smart Hands.

Learn about the benefits of using ASL with hearingchildren. Discover how introducing simple signs foreveryday words can assist babies, preschoolers andschool age children in their communication andlearning skills. View a video of a signing baby and learnthe ASL signs for a few songs. You do not need tohave any prior knowledge of Sign Language in order toeasily and successfully incorporate it in to yourprogram.

Ontario Library Association

2008 Super ConferenceJanuary 30 to February 2, 2008

ExhibitlTrade ShowJanuary 31 & February 1, 2007

Metro Toronto Convention Centre255 Front Street West

Toronto, Ontariohttp://www.accessola.com

OALT/ABO members can register forOLA’s Super Conference at members

rates!! L to R: Brenda Maxwell, James Wagner, Laura Berg

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New Experience Withinthe SystemBy Stella Clark, OALTIABO President

Library TechnicianBecomes an AuthorBy Jennie Clarke

This summer I was able to take a temporaryposition within the Hamilton Public Library in acompletely different area for me.

For the past almost twenty years I have beendoing children’s services at my branch inStoney Creek, but a temporary part-time wasopened in our Special Collections Department,and I was able to take it. This is our local historyand genealogical research department, amongother neat things, and I enjoyed it tremendously.Nothing is allowed to be signed out, and thereare as many things on microfilm as paper. Thereference work was so interesting, and I learneda lot about how to research families throughcemetery aids, and obituaries from oldnewspapers.

I have been interested in Stoney Creek historyfor a long time, but this was a chance to look atthe history of Hamilton, especially through themany pictures on file. My “shelf reading” was abox of family letters from the 1800’s for aprominent Hamilton family. Our collection ofrare books is also housed in this department, soI got to wander through and touch some ofthose! That is heaven for me!

I took this position to have part-time hours forthe summer to relieve some of the personalpressure I have been under this year, and tostart figuring out how I can get the retirementprocess going (which is still too many yearsaway!), but I found it a refreshing change ofpace from the typical public library work as well.It is nice that such a large system as oursallows flexibility of movement so that we can trydifferent jobs. I found the six weeks went tooquickly, and that I was just getting my feet wet,but it was really nice to have the opportunity toexperience it, •

Stella Clark is the Librarian Assistant at theStoney Creek Branch of the Hamilton PublicLibrary as well as your QALT/ABO President for200 7-2008.

What drives a person to work in a library? Is it alove for books or working with the public?Perhaps it is the fact that one can be closeenough to the greatest of philosophers, poets,mathematicians or scientists of all time.Working in a library means serving thecommunity at large with the greatest role toplay: providing knowledge. Jennie Clarke (neeSacco) or Poe as her closest friends call her,began working in the library field as a LibraryAssistant back in 1994. She credits several highschool English teachers, writer David Hayesand her college English professor for assistingher in her decision to make her career choice inlibraries: Jennie will kid that her reason for alibrary career is the writers themselves and herneed to be surrounded by their spirits.

Part of her primary education was in Italy whereshe was surrounded by a very religious set ofgrandparents who shared many biblical storieswith her. When she returned to Canada shesought out the same stories but written byothers, including John Milton. Throughout highschool her involvement with theatre saw manyachievements and awards for her stagemanaging skills. She pursued theatre arts until1988 when she entered Humber College for theschool of journalism. After several months intothe program Jennie was approached by herEnglish professor. He suggested she did notbelong in this program as her writing was muchmore than journalism and led her path touniversity and to the study of creative writing.Jennie was educated at York University whereshe earned an Honours Degree in EnglishStudies and went on to earn her HonoursDiploma from Seneca College in LibraryTechniques. In 1998 she took on her firstposition as a Library Technician in a TorontoHigh School where her zeal for literature andlearning carried forth.

Her passion and ambition have always beenwriting short stories and poetry. When teacherstested her grammar skills, she complained she

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Continued from page 9

Library Technician Becomes an Author

was writer not a speller. Jennies first poemwas published in a local newspaper and otherpublications, including her photography. In2001, Jennie published her first book ofpoetry entitled: Muse: a collection ofpoems, a journey that thanks to the Internethas seen her book sell over 5000 copies inthe first year worldwide. From Denmark toNew Zealand, Israel and the UK, Muse nowsits amongst many influences such asWilliam Blake, Charles Bukowski and EzraPound. Because of the Internet as well,Jennie is a web designer and book promoterfor local writers in Toronto. An avid readerand learner, Jennie welcomes allopportunities to strengthen her Library skillsand keep up to date with the latest in manytypes of literature. She feels the mostprecious gift one can give to another personis a book. This is primarily why her careerfocus has been with children and youngadults. She has the best of two worlds:libraries and the art of writing.

Just recently Jennie published her secondbook entitled: Sanctified Memories: it is thesecond journey of Jennie’s Muse. Jenniebrings it all together again with a rich style ofgutting imaginary, vigour, and powerfullyflowing poems. What remains sanctified tothe reader are the landscapes of lingeringemotions and magical realism of Jennie’svisions and memories of time and sentiment.Old Photographs invents a new filmstrip tothe dark sides of all our shadows. FromBrothers in Arms to Aidan Glen where herchildren represent the heroes in her life.Alpina and Smeared Dress, describes thepains of rape and searching for solace fromviolence. The essence of being human allflow within the pages of SanctifiedMemories. Liberation of fear and acceptanceof who we are and what our purpose is in thislife is what the reader will find. Theacceptance of death and the afterlife areseen through Shut Lid and The Saddest Film.Buddha said, “The way is not in the sky. Theway is in the heart”. This is an attitude thatJennie lives by. Finding strength and wisdomin righteous people, goodness and keepingspirits alive feed her muse. Sanctified

Memories comes alive through the core ofJennie’s spirit.

At present she is working as chief poet andeditor of Alchemy of pain: a book of poetryand prose by international writers, fronted byher, to be published January 2008, as well asher first collection of short stories: Jackets ofHouse Arrest.

By day you will find Jennie working in a library,processing, cataloguing and maintaining acollection that all can enjoy. Her belief inlibraries and the importance of thesemarvelous institutes gives her the energy andpower to keep the love of literature and herown writing alive. Having worked in schoollibraries within the private, Catholic and publicboards in Ontario, she is presently regroupingand working through her next two books. Shehas fronted many book talks and poetryworkshops which is something she loves todo. Change is essential for this writer. You willnever find her in one place for too long. Part ofher life and her philosophy is constantmovement. Like a monkey swinging frombranch to branch, Jennie feels that as a writerand a person change is what makes a personfully human.

Her latest book is available atwww.amazon.com or via her website atwww.poeta-muse.com. Muse: a collection ofpoems is available by special order only insecond edition print for the time being. Shecan be found for a bibliographic reference viathe National Library of Canada. Anyonewishing her to conduct a workshop on poetrycan contact her at poetamusehotmail.com.For now, we will find Jennie in her writing roomat home surrounded by her 1930 UnderwoodTypewriter, her collection of the masters ofliterature, her colourful candles and her laptopor as she suggests, her third hand, •

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Ottawa Student Members Sponsored by the Ottawa Chapter’s“Jean Desislets Memorial Fund” to Attend the OALTIABO

2007 Conference in Toronto.

Sharon’s Story:Imagine my surprise when Ann Censner of theOttawa Chapter contacted me out of the blue inApril offering me a sponsorship to attend EqulLibra in Toronto! When I joined OALT/ABO inFebruary, I looked at the conference link on thewebsite and could only dream about having thetime, money and employer support to attend. Allof those obstacles were swept away by thegenerous support I received from the JeanDesislets Memorial Fund.

I’m a Library Technician student in the DistanceEducation program at Mohawk College, andalthough I’ve been working in libraries forfourteen years, this is my first formal librarytraining. My current job as a Library Technicianat Lester B. Pearson Catholic High School inOttawa required me to complete my diploma,and I have been working away at it part-time forseveral years. Mohawk instructors always stressthe value of joining professional associations, soI took the advice and joined OALT/ABO and theOttawa Chapter. Little did I know how quickly Iwould get involved!

My employer graciously gave me special leavefor the conference and I was off to Toronto.From the Welcome Reception right through tothe Farewell Barbecue, I can honestly say Ienjoyed every minute. Each workshop I

attended was relevant, interesting andinformative. The highlights for me were my firstand last workshops, Grassroots Advocacy byWendy Newman and the Author Presentationby Antanas Sileika. Sandwiched in-betweenwere a variety of sessions that furthered myunderstanding of what it’s like to be a “real”Library Technician.

What an amazing group of people! I felt verywelcomed into the OALT/ABO family andcame home excited about being part of theassociation. I’ve already followed up on thequestion “What can you do for yourassociation?” by talking to my LibraryTechnician colleagues at the Ottawa-CarletonCatholic School Board about coming to thenext Ottawa Chapter meeting, and attendingnext year’s conference.

I’m so thankful for the opportunity to have hadsuch a positive learning experience, not tomention a great social time (who knew LibraryTechs could party like that?!). It means a lot tome to meet others in the profession, talk aboutcommon issues and concerns, develop skillsand abilities, share stories and have somelaughs. I would like to extend my sincerethanks to the members of the Ottawa Chapterfor your financial support as well as yourfriendly welcome. See you all soon! •

lmaginez ma surprise quand Ann Censner, deIa section d’Ottawa de l’OALT/ABO, s’est miseen contact avec moi soudainement, en avrildernier, pour m’offrir de participer a Iaconference “Equi-Libra”, a Toronto, aux fraisde l’Association, Quand je m’étais inscrite al’Association, en février 2007, j’avais regardéles renseignements concernant Ia conference,sur le site web de l’OALT/ABO, et je nepouvais que réver d’avoir le temps, I’argent etun employeur qui supporterait ma participationa Ia conference. Eh, bien, tous ces obstaclesse sont volatilisés, grace au généreux appuique j’ai recu du Fonds Memorial JeanDesislets.

Continued on page 12

Student Award WinnersL to R: Sharon Filiatrault and Rachel Auclair

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Continued from page 11

“Jean Desislets Memorial Fund”

Je suis étudiante, inscrite au programme parcorrespondance en bibliotechnique, duCollege Mohawk et, bien que je travailledans des bibliothéques depuis quatorze ans,c’est ma premiere formation pédagogique.Mon emploi present, commebibUotechnicienne, a l’école secondairecatholique Lester B. Pearson d’Ottawa,exige que je corn pléte mon education, envue d’obtenir mon diplOme enbibliotechnique, et j’y travaille, a tempspartiel, depuis plusieurs années. Lesprofesseurs du College Mohawk soulignenttoujours Ia valeur de s’inscrire a desassociations professionnelles, alors j’ai suivileur conseil et je me suis inscrite al’OALT/ABO et a Ia section d’Ottawa. Je nem’attendais pas a m’impliquer Si rapidement!

Mon employeur m’a accordé un congéspecial pour participer a Ia conference, et jesuis partie pour Toronto. De Ia receptiond’accueil jusqu’au “barbecue” d’adieu, jepeux dire franchement que j’ai joui dechaque minute. Chaque atelier auquel j’aiassisté était approprie, intéressant etéducatif. Mes atehers favons comptent ceuxauxquels j’ai participé au debut et a Ia fin deIa conference: “Grassroots Advocacy”(“Plaidoierie populaire”), par WendyNewman et Ia presentation de l’auteurAntanas Sileika, Entre ces deux ateliers, unesuccession de sessions variées ontapprofondi ma comprehension del’expérience de vie réelle d’unebibliotechnicienne.

Quel groupe de personnes épatantes! Je mesuis sentie chaudement accueillie dans IafamiNe de l’OALT/ABO, et je suis retournéechez moi tellement emballée d’appartenir al’Association, que peu de temps après Iaconference, j’avais déjà répondu a Iaquestion: “Que pouvez-vous faire pour votreAssociation?”, en invitant mes collèguesbibliotechniciens(nes) du “Conseil desEcoles Catholiques d’Ottawa-Carleton”, avenir assister a Ia prochaine reunion de Iasection d’Ottawa et a participer a Iaprochaine conference annuelle en 2008.

Je suis trés reconnaissante pour l’occasion debénéficier d’une experience si positive, sanscompter de profiter d’une bonne dosed’interaction sociale. Qui aurait cru que lesbibliotechniciens pouvaient s’amuser de Iasorte? C’est important pour moi de rencontrerdes collègues de ma profession, pour discuterdes sujets de l’heure et de problémescommuns, et d’echanger des anecdotes aveceux, puis d’avoir du plaisir ensemble, tout endéveloppant mes connaissances techniques etaptitudes professionnelles. Je voudraistransmettre mes remerciements sincères auxmembres de Ia section d’Ottawa deI’OALTIABO pour leur support financier et leuraccueil chaleureux. Au plaisir de vous revoirtous bientôt! •

Par Sharon Filiatrault (Traduit par by José Gélinas)

Rachel’s Story

I have to admit that when I got an email fromAnn Censner of the Ottawa Chapter, offeringme a sponsorship to the annual conference ofOALTIABO, my first thought was: Yay! A trip toToronto!

I am a Library Technician student at AlgonquinCollege and will be going into my second yearthis fall. Encouraged by teachers, I joined theAssociation earlier this year not knowing muchabout it. However, in preparation for my trip andat the conference itself, I learned about theimportance of QALT/ABO. I got to know a greatbunch of women (and some men too!). I foundit so refreshing to meet people passionateabout what they do and always wanting morefor their profession.

I will confess I was nervous when I arrived inToronto. I did not know anybody and felt mylack of experience in the field would be aliability. However, I had a warm welcome fromeverybody and I honestly did not have time tobe homesick. From my very first workshop,Taoist Tai Chi, to the farewell Barbecue, Ilearned about what it is to be a Library

Continued on page 13

12

Continued from page 12

“Jean Desislets Memorial Fund”OALTIABO Salary Survey 2007By Maggie Weaver, OALTIABO ExternalCommunications Coordinator

Technician, but also how important it is tobelong to this Association. OALT/ABO is reallyjust a big family that supports each other andseems to always come up with creative ways topromote our great profession.

Thank you OALT!ABO, and particularly theOttawa Chapter, for welcoming me and showingme how truly amazing Library Technicians canbe! •

Je dois admettre que lorsque j’ai reçu un courrield’Ann Censner, de Ia section d’Ottawa, m’offrantun parrainage pour participer Ia conferenceannuelle de I’OALT/ABO, ma premiere pensee aété: Quelle chance, un voyage a Toronto!

Je suis étudiante en bibliotechnique au CollegeAlgonquin, et je commence ma deuxième annéea l’automne. Encouragee par mes professeurs,j’ai joint les rangs de l’Association, plus tOt cetteannée, sans en savoir trop long surl’Association. Par contre, en préparant monvoyage et a Ia conference méme, j’ai apprisl’importance de l’OALT/ABO. J’ai rencontréplusieurs femmes (et quelques hommes aussi),des gens passionnes par ce qu’ils font ettoujours désireux(ses) de développer leurprofession. C’était rafraIchissant de voir ca!

J’étais sincèrement nerveuse en arrivant aToronto. Je ne connaissais personne et jecraignais que mon manque d’expérience seraitun obstacle a mon integration dans le groupe.Pourtant, j’ai été chaleureusement accueillie partout le monde et, honnétement, je n’ai pas eu letemps de m’ennuyer. Des mon premier atelier“Taoist Tai Chi”, jusqu’au “barbecue” d’adieu, j’aiappris ce que signifie étre bibliotechnicienne, etaussi combien l’OALT/ABO est vraiment unegrande famille oü les membres se supportentmutuellement, pour toujours promouvoircréativement notre g rande profession.

Un grand merci a l’OALT/ABO et, en particulier,a Ia section d’Ottawa, pour m’avoir accueillie etmontré a quel point les bibliotechniciens(nes)sont extraordinaires!

Par Rachel Auclair (Traduit par José Gélinas)

This summer, 224 OALT!ABO members andnon-members responded to our biennial salarysurvey. The results have been compiled, andwith the larger numbers respondingparticularly from school and special libraries,we have been able to do a bit more analysisthan last time.

Completing the survey questionnaire is oneway than OALT/ABO members can contributeto their association -- the analysis benefitseveryone. Next time we hope for even moreresponses from public and academic (college,university) libraries, so that we can providemore analysis on those sectors.

This year’s respondents have alreadyreceived a copy of the survey analysis. Lookout for the copy that will be bound in with theMembership List, which will be published laterthis year and sent to all members. +

OALTIABO Membership RenewalsBy Melissa Hall, Membership Coordinator

With our new constitution change, voted on bymembers last April, our membership year willrun from January to December each year.

Member renewal forms will be mailed bythe end of October.

Please watch for it in your mail!

If you do not receive your membershiprenewal by November 3o please contact

Melissa Hall, Membership Coordinator

Membership renewals not returned byDecember 20th will result in you not receivingyour January 2008 Newsletter.

Reading is to the mind whatexercise is to the body.

Joseph Addison

13

Queen of the Tourby Stacy Goddard

Since retiring from the library work force almostthree years ago, I find the focus of myConference going experience has changed.Instead of attending workshops primarily aimedat bettering my skills in a school setting, I nowseek out activities that aim at enhancing my new“career” as amateur genealogist. Theseactivities can take the form of a workshop (lastyear, I attended a class on cataloguing museumartefacts), but increasingly, I find myself on atour.

A pre-Conference day took place in a small partof Etobicoke called Aldergrove. This tour wasnot part of the conference experience for anyoneelse, but like many OALT/ABO members whotake this opportunity to visit friends and family,I wanted to visit someone important to me wholives near Humber’s Lakeshore Campus. Thisway, I was able to meet other members at thekick-off cocktail party Wednesday and go off tovisit my godmother on Thursday, followed by anevening at the Races.

Friday was a major tour day; three tours wereoffered and on three tours did I go. I have beenintending to get to Toronto Archives for manymoons, so I leapt at the chance to climb on theyellow bus with other history buffs and head intoToronto, It was a beautiful day and everyoneadmired the views along the lakeshore and thenewly leafed-out trees and blossoms. On arrivalat the facility, we were divided into two groupsfor the tour. My group was first taken to view thefive stories of records in eight levels in thestorage area. We watched what I can onlydescribe as fancy forklifts manoeuvre in thespaces fetching and replacing boxes. The boxesand shelves are bar coded, so rather thanindividually cataloguing the boxes, the barcodesget matched up on the shelves when the box isreplaced. Our next stop was the reference roomwhere you would consult with staff help on, for

instance, the history of your house. There wasa collection of books about Toronto or byToronto authors. It was interesting to hear,(especially for me, as our Virtual OALT/ABOBook Club had read ‘In the Skin of a Lion’),that Michael Ondaatje had researched thebuilding of the Bloor Viaduct in this facility. In acorridor leading from this area was theconservation room where we spent some timefinding out how historic artefacts arepreserved. Back downstairs, we swappedguides and got a tour of the current photoexhibit of Toronto, dating back to about 1850.I found this very educational since I was bornin Toronto, but haven’t lived there for manyyears.

We walked straight off our bus into lunch — allthat listening is hard work! Fully refreshed, Iwas ready for Tour 2, the Humber LakeshoreCampus Library. More than a tour of thefacilities, we got divided again into two groupsto find out how the library had been expandedand renovated. It is an impressive space andthe guides obviously enjoy working there.

After a brief break for refreshments, it wastime for Tour 3, Lakeshore Campus history.Our guide, Wayne Reeves, is also a guide forDoors Open, so his guiding resume isexcellent. It was fascinating to learn about thetransformation of the old Institute for theInsane into a modern educational, health andrecreational park. As well as history, our tourcovered geography, geology, biology and cityplanning.

These tours provided different things fordifferent participants; if, like me, you no longerwork in a library, you will still find this aspect ofour Conference very helpful. If you are still inthe library workforce, tours show you howother libraries function. We can’t lose!

Libraries are as the shrines where all the relics of the ancient saints, full oftrue virtue, and that without delusion or imposture, are preserved and reposed.

— Libraries-‘ Francis BACON (1561-1626) —

14

CLA (LTIG) News You Know That You Are an

Addicted Genealogist

At the CLA Library Technician Interest GroupWhen.(LTIG) business meeting in St. John’s, the 2007

__________________________________________

LTIG Award of Merit was presented to EricaSmith by Frank Mussche, President of • When you brake for libraries.Libramation, the award’s sponsor. Erica was thedriving force behind the establishment of the • If you get locked in a library overnight andnewest Canadian library technician association, you never even notice.NSALT, earlier this year.

When you hyperventilate at the sight of anEighteen people attended the CLA LTIG old cemetery,Networking social supper this year; thenetworking social at the upcoming CLA

• If you’d rather browse in a cemetery than aconference in Vancouver in May 2008 will be shopping mall.hosted jointly by LTIG and BCLA LibraryTechnicians and Assistants Interest Group When you think every home should have a(LTAIG). microfilm reader.

On behalf of LTIG, a session proposal has been If you’d rather read census schedules than asubmitted to CLA for the 2008 conference: good book.

Developing Your Professional PortfolioYour progress in the information profession will • When you know every town clerk in your

be driven primarily by y,j: your performance on state by name.

the job, your decisions, and your actions. Youcan make your own luck when it comes to If town clerks lock the doors when they see

careers, not just by being in the right place at the you coming.

right time, but also by evaluating what skills andexperience you will need for that next step, or • When you are more interested in what

that perfect job, and by planning to develop your happened in 1695 than 1995.

competence, learn new skills, and makecontacts. In short, you will develop your own • If you store your clothes under the bed and

professional portfolio. Learn how to work with your closet is carefully stacked with

your employer, colleagues and friends to notebooks and journals.

determine the skills you need, createopportunities to learn, and ensure that your

a When Savage, Torrey, and Pope are

professional portfolio is an active and ever- household names, but you can’t remember

growing contribution to your successful career. what you call your dog.

We will find out at the beginning of October if the a If you can pinpoint Harrietsham, Hawkhurst,session is accepted for the conference. Kent on a map of England, but can’t locateCLA is about to launch an upgraded website, Topeka, Kansas.with functionality that will allow interest groupsand divisions to upload their own information, a When all your correspondence begins “Dearand keep their own pages current. This should Cousin.”help LTIG keep in touch with its members.

a If you’ve traced every one of your ancestralIn February 2008, look out for the Feliciter lines back to Adam and Eve, have it fullytheme issue of library technicians, edited by documented, and still don’t want to quit.Karen Hildebrandt, convenor of LTIG. If youwould like to contribute to this issue of Feliciter,please contact Karen at --Author Unknownkaren. hiIdebrandtconcordia.ab.ca

15

The Oldest Library Technician?Submitted by: Maggie Weaver, External Communications Coordinator

Ennigaldi-Nanna of Ur was the daughter of Nabonidus, who was the last King of Babylon in the 6thcentury BC, before the Persians under Cyrus took over. Ennigaldi was born in 570 BC, and hermother was Nitokris of Egypt.

Nabonidus was a pretty awful king. He was the son of a high priestess of the Sumerian moon godNanna (called Sin by the Babylonians), whose most sacred city was Ur, and he wasn’t reallyinterested in governing. He was more interested in restoring old temples, particularly those of Sin,and he spent a lot of money fixing up the Ziggurat at Ur.

Ennigaldi officiated as high priestess of Nanna in Ur, as was usual for the daughter of the king. Shealso ran a scribal school for upper-class women. When Sir Leonard Woolley excavated her palace inUr, in a room next to the temple school he found a collection of objects that were much older, someas old as 21st century BC, including a Kassite boundary marker, a piece of a statue of King Shulgi,and a clay cone that had been part of a building at Larsa. With them were clay cylinders thatidentified the objects in three languages, which Woolley interpreted as museum labels. In otherwords, this was the oldest known museum.

We don’t actually know if Ennigaldi wrote the museum labels for her father, but it’s possible - upperclass women were literate at that time, and Nabonidus was away a lot.

In fact, Nabonidus was away for 10 years, which was why he was the last Babylonian king. He hadbeen given responsibility for the northern city of Haran, which had the second most important templeto Sin. He raised taxes to pay for the restoration of Sin’s temple in Haran, and the priests of Marduk,Babylon’s chief god, got worried that he might be thinking of a religious cabinet shuffle and make Sinchief god instead of Marduk, so they ran him out of Babylon. Nabonidus stayed away for 10 years,and the economy went to hell in a handcart, so Babylon was absorbed with hardly a fight whenCyrus was expanding the Persian Empire.

I first learned about Ennigaldi-Nanna in “Uppity Women of Ancient Times” by Vicki Leon, arecommended bedside read. There’s also “Uppity Women in Medieval Times”, in which I firstlearned about Blanche Parry, a Hereford-born “gentlewoman” to the 3-year old Princess Elizabeth.Blanche probably taught the princess Welsh. She stayed with Elizabeth when she was imprisoned inthe Tower of London by her Dad, Henry VIII. In 1565, Queen Elizabeth made Blanche Keeper ofthe Queen’s Books.

Does anyone know of other “old” library technicians? •

Congratulations to Our 10 and 25 Year Members —

10 year Personal Members: Jeanette Giroux, Katharine Heney, Jennifer Rayment, Maggie Weaver,10 year Institutional Member: Atomic Energy of Canada Library

25 year Personal Member: Helen Hyvarinen

This list may not be completely 100% accurate. If you feel you’ve been a member for 10 or 25 yearsas of May 2007 and we missed you, please contact Melissa Hall, Membership Coordinator.

16

A Day in the Life of an Itinerant Library Technician atthe Waterloo Regional District School Board

By: Beth Murray-Bannister

“Bag ladies”. When the Waterloo RegionDistrict School Board’s newly hired itinerantlibrary technicians started their rounds toschools six years ago, this is how we wereknown. We were the people who arrived atschools laden with the tools of our trade, butfew people really understood what we did. Inthe years since, not only have our bags beenstreamlined, but also the job we do is moreclearly understood and respected.

Amidst the many changes occurring in schoollibraries across the province, the WaterlooRegional District School Board adopted aunique model for their one hundred elementaryschool libraries. This library model includes ateam of three staff members — Library Clerk,Itinerant Teacher Librarian and Itinerant LibraryTechnician.

The school’s Library Clerk charges,discharges, shelves and repairs loanedmaterials, handles overdues, assists in the useof the library and locating resources, andprocesses new materials.

The Itinerant Teacher Librarians areresponsible for acquisitions, collectionmanagement, Library Clerk training, and librarybudgets. They work in co-operation with schooladministrators, overseeing the daily operationof each of their twenty libraries. They alsosupport teachers in integrating the library intoinstruction, and run library programs like theOLA Forest of Reading.

I am one of seven Itinerant Library Technicianswho have the assignment of visiting thirteen tofifteen school libraries on a rotational basis,usually once every three weeks. We report toLibrary & Resource Services - a division ofInformation Technology Services.

Because we are itinerant, we carry our laptop,scanner, extended key board, files, AACR2,office supplies, and more with us from schoolto school. When the Itinerant LibraryTechnicians started visiting our school libraries

in 2001, we did look somewhat like “thebag ladies”. We used folding carts withwheels to pull huge, green canvas bagsholding all or most of our gear. Oh yes,and we also carried our purse and anotherbag over our shoulders containing ourlunch and indoor shoes. We could notdeny the fact that we did look like “bagladies” and we too found great humour inthis. I am pleased to say that we havemade enormous improvements in this areaand now look more like airline flightattendants toting our compact leatherlaptop cases on wheels making our loadmuch lighter, less awkward, and moreprofessional in appearance.

During the school year, a typical dayconsists mainly of:• cataloguing new acquisitions• re-classifying older materials and

editing their online records• changing many items in each of our

school library’s collection to beconsistent with newly developedstandards

• database maintenance• processing materials• assisting with the weeding and deleting

of dated resources• ensuring curriculum documents are

current• labeling or removing of resources in

compliance with the copyright act

The technicians work twelve months ayear. Summers involve special project workin both elementary and secondary schools.No two summers have every been thesame but typically we work on suchprojects as:• inventories which include discrepancy

and items missing reports• packing up and re-shelving of resource

materials for library renovations• cataloguing and setting up materials for

new school library openingsContinued on page 18

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Continued from page 17

“A Day in the Life”by Beth Murray-Bannister

Thank you to our 2007Conference Sponsors:

What I appreciate and enjoy most about ourunique position is that our technical expertiseis well utilized by the School Board. We areconstantly improving and updating ourelectronic resources used to catalogue andclassify educational materials and resources inEnglish and French. Our cataloguing skills areconsistently kept up-to-date as we create fulland original MARC bibliographic and authorityrecords.

Because we have few clerical library duties,we do not have personal contact with librarypatrons. However, our reference skills are wellchallenged as we assist the clerks with searchstrategies on the public access computers oranswer collection arrangement and librarystandards questions.

The Library and Resource Services teamcommunicates throughout the day using aninternal email conference where we are able topost questions, suggestions, solutions toproblems and keep updated on new processesand standards we have adopted.

While there are presently over one hundredLibrary Clerks serving the elementary schoollibraries, there are only seven Itinerant LibraryTechnicians and five Itinerant TeacherLibrarians. These twelve dedicatedprofessionals cover all elementary schoollibraries across a substantial geographicregion. Needless to say, it takes an amazingamount of teamwork, co-operation, andcommunication by all three library positions tomake this the successful model that it is today.

Beth Murray-Bannister has worked as a resourceco-ordinator and library technician for over 10years. She has worked in public health and schoollibraries. She is past chairperson for the OntarioPublic Health Library Association, as well as aformer member of the Waterloo/Dufferin/GuelphHealth Library Network and alumni representativeon the Mohawk College Library TechnicianProgram Advisory Committee. All Waterloo RegionDistrict School Board Library Technicians arecurrently members of the Ontario Association ofLibrary Technicians.

Carr McLean LimitedAttn: David HatherleySales and Marketing Department416 Homer AvenueToronto, ON M8W 4X2www.carrrnclean.ca

(ESAO) Education SafetyAssociation of OntarioAttn: Tracy Byng4950 Yonge Street, Suite 1505North York, ON M2N 6K1http://www.esao.on,ca/

OLAStoreAttn: Jefferson Gilbert/Larry Moore50 Wellington Street East, Suite 201Toronto, ON M5E 1C8www,accessola. corn

Firefly BooksPaul LockwoodSales, School & Library66 Leek CrescentRichmond Hill, ON L4B 1H1http://www.fireflybooks.com

Algonquin College - Library andInformation Technican Programc/o Mac Nason, Coordinator1385 Woodroffe AvenueOttawa, ON K2G 1V8httx//www.algonpuincolleqe.corn/

Ontario Ministry of the EnvironmentOntario Sports Fish Program,Environmental Reporting andMonitoring Branch125 Resources Road, Etobicoke, ONM9P 3V4http://www,ene.ov.on,ca/

Thomson ScientificElaine Reaney TomaselliGovernment Account Manager3501 Market StreetPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania 19104Telephone: 1-800-336-4474 x 1528http://scientific.thomson .com!

18

Web 20 ToolsDel.icio.us Social Bookmarking

Submifted by: Anoela Carito-Walmslev

• So what makes deLicio.us my favouritebookmarking tool?

Are you:Getting organized ... bookmarks anywhere,anytime

• tired of disorganized bookmarks in yourbrowser?

• fed up with looking for a link on yourhome computer only to realize it’sbookmarked on your work computer?

• curious about what others are lookingat on a particular topic or subject?

If you answered “yes” to any of thesequestions, online social bookmarking tools arefor you!

The web has seen an explosion of onlinesocial bookmarking tools. Wikipedia definessocial bookmarking as:

“Social bookmarking is a way for Internet usersto store, organize, share and searchbookmarks of web pages. In a socialbookmarking system, users save links to webpages that they want to remember and/orshare. These bookmarks are usually public,but depending on the service’s features, maybe saved privately, shared only with specificpeople or groups, shared only inside certainnetworks, or another combination ofpublicness and privateness. The allowedpeople can usually view these bookmarkschronologically, by category or tags, via asearch engine, or even randomly.”(httix//en.wikipedia.orq/wiki/Social bookmarkinq)

Between home and work, I spend my time onfive different computers. Delicious allows meto save my bookmarks and access themanywhere, anytime. Not only can you accessbookmarks anywhere, links can be added toyour del.icio.us account from any web-accessible computer. Del.icio.us also offers aprivate sharing feature, While this takes the“social” out of social bookmarking, it meansthat I can add links to my account I normallywouldn’t share with the rest of the world.

Del.icio.us also offers users a handybookmarklet button which works in anybrowser. (http :1/del, icio. us/helD/buttons ) Thebutton allows you to easily bookmark thecurrent site you are browsing to yourdel.icio.us account. Del.icio.us also allows youto add notes and comments to your links. Youcan visit my 800+ public bookmarks athttx//del. icio. us/anqelacw.

Tags, tags, and more tags

Tags are keywords that you assign to yourbookmarks. Tags help you organize your linksinto topics or subjects. Unlike formaltaxonomies, you can assign any descriptiveword or words as a tag to describe your link.Once you start adding tags to your bookmarks,you’ll notice that users often post similar linksto related content using the same tags.

While there are numerous online socialbookmarking tools on the web, this articlefocuses on DeI.icio.us ( httD://del.icio.us/).Del.icio.us was one of the first players in thesocial bookmarking scene and continues tolead the pack. At a mere 4 years old,del.icio.us is one of the most popular socialbookmarking sites.

You can view the most popular tags ondel.icio,us by click the popular link button.(httD://del.icio.us/rJopular/ ) Curious to seewhat’s just been posted to del.icio.us?Take a look at the most recent page.(http://del,icious/recent).

Continued on page 20

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Continued from page 19

“Social Bookmarking”Submitted by: Anqela Carito-Walmsley

Finding and research Integration with your browser

The power of social bookmarking tools lies in theability to search other users’ links on topics ofinterest. The del.icio.us search engine not onlysearches your bookmarks, but also allows you tosearch other users’links, tags and notes. Forexample, while writing this article, I searched thetag “delicious” to find relevant links of interest forthe “further readings” section.

Networking!

The network feature is another powerful researchtool on deLicio.us. The del.icio.us network allowsyou to connect with other users who may sharethe same interests as you. I use my del.icio.usnetwork to explore bookmarks from friends andother del.icio.us users interested in web 2.0technologies. Similarly, if I find a bookmark thatmight be of interest to one of my friends, I canbring it to their attention by using the “links for”feature.

Subscriptions

Del.icio.us has a subscriptions feature thatallows you to watch all your favorite tags in oneplace. After you add a tag to your subscriptionwatch list, del.icio.us watches for everyone’sbookmarks saved with that tag. Links whichmatch your subscribed tags are delivered to yoursubscriptions page. As a “tag” aggregator, thesubscriptions page is a great tool for watchingwhat people are bookmarking about a favoritetopic or subject.

RSS anyone?

RSS feeds are available on most pages withindel.icio.us. Look for the orange IIi logo at thebottom of each page. RSS allows you tosubscribe to links added by any del,icio,us user.You can also use RSS to subscribe to a populartag or to track additions to your subscriptionspage. (If you don’t use RSS, don’t worry — we’ll becovering that in a future issue of this newsletter.)

If you are looking to integrate your bookmarksinto your browser, there are lots of unofficialtools on the web that work with del,icio,us.You will find numerous tools that integrate withdel.icio.us including browser add-ons,bookmarklets, and mobile plug-ins. Now youmay be wondering, wasn’t that the point of notusing my browser bookmarks? Happily,browser plug-ins allow you to share andbrowse your del,icio.us links, without having toleave the current website you are browsing.

So how can you make your librarydel.icio.us?

Libraries have started using socialbookmarking tools on their websites.Examples of how you can use del.icio.us inyour library include:

• creating subject and industry guides;• links to community information;• organize links using the Dewey

Decimal Classification;• promoting resources aimed at a

specific audience;• creating Iinkrolls on your library’s

website.

To learn more, take a look at “Make YourLibrary del.icio.us: Social Bookmarkinq in theStacks” presented on February 22, 2007, byJason Griffey from the University ofTennessee at Chattanooga.

For more examples of how libraries are usingdel .icio,us see “del. icio. us libraries”:http://anqelacw.wordress.com/2007!06!04/deIicious-libraries/

Don’t forget, you can also search the tag,“delicious+Iibraries” in del. icio, us too.

If you do decide to make your library delicious,please send it to me, and I’ll be sure to blogabout it and add it to the del.icio.us librarieslist.

Continued on Page 21

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Continued from page 20

“Social Bookmarking”Submitted by: Angela Carito-Walmsley

1

Once you start using del.icio.us, you’ll quicklyrealize the power of online social bookmarkingtools. You may never go back to browser-based bookmarks ever again!

Angela Carito-Walmsley blogs over atmélange httrx//angelacw.wordpress.com andcan be found on del.icio.us athttp://del. icio. us/angelacw. Contact her atangelacw@rogers.com.

Social Bookmarking

Wikipedia — definition of SocialBookmarking:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social bookmarking

“Social Bookmarking in Plain English”,Video by CommonCrafthttp:/lwww. youtube com/watch?v=x66lV7GOcNU

Links and Further Reading

Del.icio. usDelicious: http:!/del.icio.usDel,icio.us bookmarklet button:http:!/del. icio. us/heh/buttonsDel.icio.us popular tags:http://del. icio. us/ropularfDel, icio.us recent links: http://del . icio. us/recent

DEL,ICIO.US TOOLBOX: 180+ del.icio.ustools and resources:httr>://mashable.com/2007/08/31 /delicioustoolbox!

Del.icio. us libraries

List of libraries using deLicious:htt ://angelacw.wordDress,com!2007/06/04/delicious-libraries/

“Make Your Library Delicious: SocialBookmarking in the Stacks”, presentation byJason Griffey, the University of Tennessee atChattanooga, February 22, 2007httr://www.opalonline. org/5weeksGriffey2007O222 htm

“Tags Help Make Libraries Del.icio.us”,Melissa L. Rethlefsen, Library Journal,September 15, 2007:http://www.libraryiournal.com/article/CA6476403.html

Social Bookmarking 101: Presentation byStephanie Zimmerman, TrainingCoordinator - Library System ofLancaster County:httrx//www. lancasterlibraries.org/IsIc/Iib!IsIc/training docs/social bookmarking 101

“Social Bookmarking: 50+ SocialBookmarking Sites”, August 8, 2007:http://mashable.com/2007/08/08/social-bookmarking-2/

“Social Bookmarking Showdown”, ScottGilbertson, Wired Magazine, November6, 2006:http://www..com/techbiz/it/news/2006/11/72070

“Top 30 Social Bookmarking Sites”:http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social30.html

“The Big Boys of Social Bookmarking:The Top 24 Sites”:http:/!www. 1 0e20 . com/blog/2007/05/1 5/the-big-boys-of-social-bookmarking-thetop-20-sites/

Volunteers are not paid not because they are worthless, but because they arepriceless.

- Anonymous

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Continued from page 19

“Social Bookmarking”Submitted by: Anqela Carito-Walmslev

Finding and research

The power of social bookmarking tools lies in theability to search other users’ links on topics ofinterest. The deLicio.us search engine not onlysearches your bookmarks, but also allows you tosearch other users’links, tags and notes. Forexample, while writing this article, I searched thetag “delicious” to find relevant links of interest forthe “further readings” section.

Networking!

The network feature is another powerful researchtool on deiicio.us. The del.icio.us network allowsyou to connect with other users who may sharethe same interests as you. I use my del.icio.usnetwork to explore bookmarks from friends andother deLicio,us users interested in web 2.0technologies. Similarly, if I find a bookmark thatmight be of interest to one of my friends, I canbring it to their attention by using the “links for”feature.

Subscriptions

Del.icio.us has a subscriptions feature thatallows you to watch all your favorite tags in oneplace. After you add a tag to your subscriptionwatch list, del.icio.us watches for everyon&sbookmarks saved with that tag. Links whichmatch your subscribed tags are delivered to yoursubscriptions page. As a “tag” aggregator, thesubscriptions page is a great tool for watchingwhat people are bookmarking about a favoritetopic or subject.

RSS anyone?

RSS feeds are available on most pages withindel.icio.us. Look for the orange logo at thebottom of each page. RSS allows you tosubscribe to links added by any del.icio.us user.You can also use RSS to subscribe to a populartag or to track additions to your subscriptionspage. (If you don’t use RSS, don’t worry — we’ll becovering that in a future issue of this newsletter.)

Integration with your browser

If you are looking to integrate your bookmarksinto your browser, there are lots of unofficialtools on the web that work with del.icio.us.You will find numerous tools that integrate withdel,icio,us including browser add-ons,bookmarklets, and mobile plug-ins. Now youmay be wondering, wasn’t that the point of notusing my browser bookmarks? Happily,browser plug-ins allow you to share andbrowse your del.icio.us links, without having toleave the current website you are browsing.

So how can you make your librarydeLicio.us?

Libraries have started using socialbookmarking tools on their websites.Examples of how you can use del.icio,us inyour library include:

• creating subject and industry guides;• links to community information;• organize links using the Dewey

Decimal Classification;• promoting resources aimed at a

specific audience;• creating linkrolls on your library’s

website,

To learn more, take a look at “Make YourLibrary del.icio.us: Social Bookmarkinq in theStacks” presented on February 22, 2007, byJason Griffey from the University ofTennessee at Chattanooga.

For more examples of how libraries are usingdel.icio.us see “del.icio.us libraries”:http://anqeiacw.wordpress.com/2007/06/04/delicious-libraries/

Don’t forget, you can also search the tag,“delicious+Iibraries” in del.icio.us too.

If you do decide to make your library delicious,please send it to me, and I’ll be sure to blogabout it and add it to the del,icio.us librarieslist.

Continued on Page 21

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People News

Congratulations to Penni Chalk on herappointment with the Change Management Pillarto assist with scheduling and registeringapproximately 1800 staff for Phase 1 training.

Penni joined the Ministry of Revenue/Finance inFebruary of 1982, working as a library technicianin the Ministry library. She joined the MOSTproject in December 2004 as the project’sInformation Coordinator and has been responsiblefor setting up and maintaining the project’s centralfiling systems (both hard-copy and in eRoom) andhas provided document management support forthe MOST, RevGen and Telephony REPevaluations. Penni has been the FOI liason officerfor MOST and provides eRoom training to all newstaff joining the project.

The Halton-Peel Chapter members were thrilled toreconnect with Diana Doxtdator at Shop Talk lastmonth. Diana’s new role in “the Library world” isworking with SOLS to develop a First NationAdvocacy Program — Congratulations Diana!

LIT NEWS:NEW - Connestoga College is offering a part-timerelease and distance education format of theLibrary and Information Technician DiplomaProgram at the Doon campus.

OALTIABO’S NEWS ALERTS:Our Discussion List is hosted withYahoo! Groups. Please be sure to getyourself signed on so you are kept up-to-date with shared job postings, questionsfrom fellow LT5 and recent issues thatneed immediate action.

Your new OALTIABO WebSite to be revealedJanuary 1, 2008!!

As per your requests amembers only section of thewebsite will be created asPhase 2 of the new site.

QUESTION:What would you like to see in themembers only section?

Send an e-mail with a subject line“Members Only web page” to Mariaat: infooaltaboonca to share yourideas — remember this is YOUR website!

OALTIABO Bookclub Chapter Reads

October 2007The Poisonwood Bibleby Barbara Kingsolver

December 2007White Oleander by Janet Fitch

January 2008Deafening by Frances Itani

March 2008Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor

May 2008Guest author at Conferenceopen for suggestions

The next two2007-2008 Newsletters

will go to print on the following dates:

January 12, 2008April 15, 2008

Please consider contributing to YOURnewsletter! If we don’t talk about whatwe do, who will?

(Deadline for submissions is 15 daysprior to the print date with the exceptionof January’s Newsletter deadline beingDecember 1St)

Please welcome Jenn Clarke as theincoming Newsletter Editor.

http://wwwconestoqacon ca/ce!falUbusiness/it. isi

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YOUR 2007-2008 Executive Contact List

President: Stella ClarkStoney Creek, ON L8E 5W9E-mail (H): pclark8(coc1eco.ca

President-Elect: Maria RipleyMississauga, ON L5A 3M4

E-mail: mariaripley526l (hotmail.com

Treasurer: Claudia Scharmann-PersaudToronto, ON M3M 3G7

E-mail: claudiapersaud(sympatico.ca

Membership: Melissa HallKanata, ON K2M 3A4E-mail: mhall(äcihi.ca

Conference Coordinator: Theresa ZiebellOttawa, ON K2A 4A9

E-mail: ziebtheroqers.com

External Communications Coordinator: Maggie WeaverToronto, ON M4T 1A5

E-mail: kweaver5478croc:iers.com

Internal Communications Coordinator: Jennie ClarkeE-mail: cIarkemuse(hotmaiI .com

Chapter Coordinator: Maggie Weaver(Maggie will do double duty until this position is filled — see above)

Archivist: Penni ChalkOshawa,ON L1H7K5

E-mail: pchalk(äsympatico.ca

Past President: Tracy MorganMilton, ON L9T 1G3

E-mail: morvay(qlobalserve.net

An inspirational quote:

I shall pass through this world but once.Any good thing therefore that I can do,

or any kindness that I can show to any human being,let me do it now.

Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

- Etienne de Grellet

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Ontario Association of Library Technicians IAssociation des bibNotechniciens de IOntario

• Abbey Market PO. Box 76010, 1500 Upper Middle Road West. Oakville. L6M 41-15

Publication Agreement # 40688591

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