Paper Hats

On September 9, at the Australian Breastfeeding Association Goldfields Regional Meeting I have planned a deBono Thinking Hats session to contemplate the issue of the cost of 2007 conference and training. I thought it might be fun to have coloured hats to wear while we think in each colour, so I went looking for paper hat instructions.

Using a large coloured sheet might get a little pricey - but perhaps the boys could paint some made from newspaper. CreativeKidsAtHome had suggestions to achieve the different shapes I'd like to use. Enchanted Learning offer an origami samurai hat. Then there is one way to make four different hats. Then there is the white chef's hat or, from about.com a green leprechaun hat or black top hat.

A green garden hat (from Playschool).

Not so usable for me, but fascinating: While the Smithsonian introduced the Mad Hatter, they don't have images online, so it is Mr Paper I thank for my first image of Moses' beautiful headware sculptures. I'm equally grateful to the student artists, their teacher and Dwight-Englewood School for displaying the students' Mad Hatter inspired creations.

Hot Library Smut

Hot Library Smut

For once I don't care how I found it - my night-time fantasties are fuelled for months. This is one I'll look at each night before bed, and fantasise about one day getting hardcopy.

Having Fun: How Girly Are You?

You Are 40% Girly

You are a pretty hardcore tomboy, and a very free spirit. Gender roles be dammed, you like to do things your way.

How Girly Are You?

Girls-Only Blogthings - How Girly Are You?

del.icio.us/moonflowerdragon

My latest Web 2.0 exploration is with del.icio.us/moonflowerdragon

It appears to operate a little more easily than google's notebook. With the notebook I can't organise the notes without opening a full screen. However I don't know how easy organising with del.icio.us will be as I am still unused to tagging. I cannot guess the full range of tags I will wish I had applied.

Obviously I'll tag to be able to find relevant content. But can I come up with nifty tags to help me refind the sites whose design or features I liked? I have tagged 'reread' and 'surfstart', for those pages I want to get back to, one day, when I have more time.

Impressive Libraries

Thanks to a feed from ALA Tech Source, I am once again distracted from program and agenda planning by the beautiful things some libraries are doing.

Princeton's web-face doesn't approach the best - but I love their physical presence and services from what I could see on Michael Stephens' Flickr show of his tour .

Darien's web-face is white and wordy - but I think those eight blogs are a great way to communicate with patrons.

For web-presence Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County is a hot competitor.  I'll need to spend lots of time, some other time, comparing it to others - I'll be viewing those multimedia tours, for a start.

But back to work for now.

Dewey Decimal Classification

I'm not sure how relevant the DDC will be to my sons.  Possibly they'll only need a basic appreciation of the system in order to use libraries.  I'd like to learn enough to classify materials myself.  There is an animated tour of the DDC at the Online Computer Library Centre. I wonder whether the notion or practice of classifying websites to DDC is at all useful.

World Breastfeeding Week is not in Wikipedia

World Breastfeeding Week is not yet listed in Wikipedia's International Observances page.

I don't have time to write something up at the moment, let me know if someone does?

Library Design

Eventually I may do the Library Design topic.  Some links that might help at that time:

Youth Space Album
Kids Space Album
One Small Room

Web 2.0 for ABA?

When my course assignments, regional meeting and CE workshop are behind me; when we have that extra computer for the boys; when we have found a cheaper home or replacement funds to be able to stay where we are: I want to contact ABA's website working group and join abachat to discover whether anyone else has been considering whether Web 2.0 can benefit the Australian Breastfeeding Association's working groups and volunteer efforts.

I'm thinking Flickr could image share as well as make our activity public.

I'm thinking Wikis to assist with development of training materials and the material in the Community Relations Kit.

Maybe I'll set up a test Wiki to explore all the ideas. For now, just noting for myself the webpages that will help me think about it:

techsoup - the technology place for non-profits: Exploring the World of Wikis,

I'll check back at 10 ways nonprofits can use blogs, and Brand new and useful: a survey of the week's newest tools, and as they refer to tagging - best check out Thirteen tips for effective tagging.

I skimmed over Rethink your organisation's website because I think ABA's website is great, very carefully thought out, well-upgraded from time to time.

Other things like podcasts or RSS feeds, might want to start from.

I'll be doing 23 Things... eventually

With wistful sigh that I am not a staff member of the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County to be motivated by their wonderful incentives, when my assignments and workshop organisation are out of the way by September 17, I plan to get cracking on the 23 Things

23 Things (or small exercises) that you can do on the web to explore and expand your knowledge of the Internet and Web 2.0

It looks like I've begun already, but there are some new ones there for me.

I'm impressed with the whole project as an entertaining staff training method - modelling, motivating, respectful of adult choice, collaborative.

Tracking bloggers of Australian Breastfeeding Association

How many things can I find to distract me from the current assignment?

I merely contemplated how a blog format main page like that of Plainview Public Library, might facilitate updating the website of my local Australian Breastfeeding Association group, thought I remembered seeing another group's website that did use a blog format, and googled a bit.  Didn't find what I sought but was fascinated to find how many people have blogged about the association, or breastfeeding with links to ABA.

For example:

• Mumspotting - Christine Lim Simpson - which also distracts me in wanting to point it out to my sister in terms of regular creative expression, and take a feed from her illustration Friday.
• Sazz's blog
  
• Bawling Babies
  
• Maldives Breastfeeding Support Group
• bobim's pregnancy diary
• A comment to a post about LLL from someone who didn't join & why.
• lactationconnectioninoz (that one's 3 yo)
• Stitching Mum (who was that training in 2004?)
• Sprouts
• Cathy
• Bin of The life and times of Bin and Mitch

Tell me about others?

Flickr_ing Libraries

I'd like to see my public library improve its web presence - and I'll write more about that later...

one of the features I've enjoyed on some library sites (not ones where the number of photos is huge, and the images look like there has been absolutely no selection so it is like the same photo with slight variations) is a Flickr widget.

Such as at: Sherrard Public Library, Albany, Plainview, Thomas Ford (Libraries & Librarians on Flickr)

I have to learn more about how it can be used to enhance a website - like whether it can enable patrons to view the library's images without having to leave the library's website. Perhaps I could start at Tame the Web's push, ten, ten more or world-rocking reasons.

Another excellent item would be linking to and encouraging patrons to contribute to National Library of Australia's PictureAustralia by Flickr endeavour, for example I didn't find any of Australia's classic breastfeeding images at PictureAustralia.

The Libraries and Librarians Flickr group discussion included responding to patron concerns. I'm glad one of the comments pointed to Michael Stephens blogarticle Flickr + Libraries = Scary, Scary, Scary to Some Folks.

Then, when I've had enough of Flickr I can go back to studying in more detail the first modern steps for a library to connect with its public.

More library promotion

This time, Kathleen Odean's ideas to encourage moms & daugh ters to read at home led to these ideas: 

"Read Mermaid Janine before going swimming or starting swimming lessons."  Following on from reading other relevant books before for example walking at a pond, going to a circus or the zoo - I thought - I just don't think about reading related books before such things - but then...

What if the library briefly reviewed some of their relevant books for the aquatic centre newsletter, perhaps in a series? 

@rt library

@rt library - that's the way I want to be introduced to art.  Maybe with sparkers too.

Library Activities & Special Events - sleepover?

With life's typical unfurling style despite the months' advance notice of my obligation to present a library event, with seven days to go I have still not decided what to present. Leave aside that I don't work in a library so will be presenting on a theoretical event, the wealth of ideas (eg one list and another[book week]) is just too distracting to make a decision.

I like the idea of a sleep-over for older children ( Gracie Woodard claims it helps the library staff bond with the community:

• Most impressive was Julie Page's Girl Scout book badge earner: with its heavy theme on book preservation.
• Locked in the library - Apparently the Town of Newington library has one annually for children ages 6-12. Children bring their own sleeping bags, pillows and parent/caregiver. They sing karaoke, make crafts, hear bedtime stories, eat snacks and have breakfast in the morning.
• A halloween sleepover at Enfield featured a spooky campfire, special candles and ghost stories.
• Joy Hanchett of Southern Adirondack Library System found the American girls sleepover book and Statewide Summer Reading Program manual useful in filling out her library campout night.
• As an unschooler I'm not convinced of the value of using a sleepover as a prize/enticement for reading volume such as a Robert W Rowe Public Library although I'd like to know more from their perspective, and what happened at the sleepover.
• At Northland Public Library they had a family sleepover - I'd love to know more about it and their other Library Week activities: customer appreciation contest, a read-a-thon, book nook discounts, and special adult and children's programs. They also have regular teen movie nights, and game nights.
  
• Not sure that this would transfer to a public library, but Bement School's sleepover sounds like it was fun (elements: movies, pizza, facials [it was all girls] and a conga line]). I wonder what other items were auctioned at the Spring Fling and were "the Jacksons" the parents who won the sleepover at auction?

Book/activity ideas

Then, when surfing from that one list:

• From book/activity ideas for fathers & sons, I brainstormed more of my own:
• Combining crafts and books: Reading (search library for picture books re: trip, travel, postcards) then make some postcards and send them to friends and relatives.  Maybe Australia Post might sponsor the event with some postcard-backing or blank postcard supplies.
• From "Take a low-key field trip in conjunction with a picture-story book. Read Matthew's Meadow and then take a walk in a meadow."  I began thinking about taking a pseudo-trip through the library - with super-large models between the stacks or in window-spaces - craft/colour activities could be placed near the window-scenes (I'm envisioning  window-sized scenes now!
• Could the make your own book idea be done in a library?: Perhaps in a 6-10 week program?  Library (sponsor?) provides a blank 'book', and week by week different illustrative methods are used to expand a story or anthology.  Add an "About the Author" paragraph.
• Having music by a composer/musician playing in the background during a children's biography of the composer/musician - and continue with free-form drawing to the music.
• An ongoing book club or storytime program might "travel around the world" with a map in the library progressively charting locations from books read/discussed.
• This one "Read a novel in conjunction with a trip to a geographic region: Go Fish for Florida, Nekomah Creek for Oregon, and so on..." I thought, well unless there are a lot of stories about local places its not a library event - but then if the library's website has discussion boards or a wiki (which I think is a great idea with libraries connecting local people online) then this could be a topic for the board - first a suggestion to families with an invitation to write back about it (and maybe send a postcard - all of which could be displayed as they come in and collected, bound for the local history collection).
• Many other ideas could also be expanded through such a discussion board: including the stories of our travels with audio-books.
• Same list, no additional inspiration, but I like them and want to find the books that put it together (but get an artist-type to do the activities)
  
• After reading a book illustrated with collage, try making a collage. Or paint with watercolors after seeing watercolor illustrations in a book.
• This idea didn't take me anywhere for a library promotion but I am very curious about the books: "If you live in a city, read Alphabet City, then go look for letters in your urban setting. With older children, read Round Buildings, Square Buildings, and Building That Wriggle Like a Fish, then take a walk and talk about the buildings you see." (Actually this also might be a theme for a library field-trip combined with a discussion board topic, with photos being collected for a local history collection).
  
• Clearly for an teen or pre-teen book club: match a novel to a  movie, enjoy & compare.
  
• Same list, not sure how appealing it would be in a library - but would love to hear experience that supports the idea (in a library setting):
• Read a biography together about an artist and take a trip to a museum. Paint a picture or make a sculpture together. Since children's book have a limited number of reproductions of paintings, find a book for adults with even more pictures to look at.

Marketing the Library

This online training package fairly well covers the point of one of my
current subjects.

http://www.olc.org/marketing/

It is prettier than my subject handbook.