05.07.08
Delving into Dewey
We (the Dewey Editorial Policy Committee) spent the day delving into Dewey tables and schedules. We discussed and approved nearly all of the dozens of proposed changes presented by the editors. And that was just day one. Tomorrow is another day of discussing and approving or tabling changes to even more Dewey numbers– and it promises to be a more challenging agenda than it was today.
The changes we approved today are far too many to summarize here. While some of them will take place with the next quarterly update of WebDewey, others are bigger changes that need time to be introduced to the library community, because they will affect all libraries using the Dewey Decimal Classification.
Dinner tonight was a great chance to get to know fellow committee members, both old and new (there are 4 new members at this meeting). I enjoy learning about different cultures by talking with the international committee members, as well as learning about different parts of my country from my American counterparts. We sometimes find out we are more alike than we are different and soon develop special bonds within the committee. The EPC is a really great group of people, no matter who serves on the committee. We’re all there because we want to make a difference.
02.07.08
Bottle or burn that energy?
When I arrived at work this morning, I had an inexplicable supply of extra energy. I don’t know if I got more sleep last night (I know it wasn’t near enough, but it was more than any night this week) or if I knew my packed schedule required a certain mental framework that would to provide me with the necessary energy to survive the day. At any rate, I felt as though I was ready to jump out of my skin with nervous energy– all day long. It’s days like this where I need some sort of physical exercise to burn off excess energy (and calories!).
I think the source of my extra energy is due to my decision the previous night to give up my spot on the Wellness Team. I’ve been on the committee long enough and I should have given it up last fall, when I started a new, permanent committee. Packrat that I am, though, I find myself collecting books, papers, emails, blogs– and even committees. It was one of four EVPL committees to which I belonged and the least essential to my role within the library. And I can’t forget that outside of the library, I belong to another five committees or advisory groups. I’m amazed at how much freedom and energy I gained by letting go of just one committee.
02.06.08
Maxed out
I’m not going to brag and say I get more emails than anybody I know, because there’s somebody out there who likely gets more than I do. But I probably have a harder time than most folks with getting through all of them each day. Reading, replying, or forwarding them to others seems to take up hours of my time, if I let it. Sorting them according to whether or not they’ve been read only adds to my dismay when I see how many fall into that category. Sorting by other groupings, like subject, author, or size turns up all sorts of interesting emails that are otherwise lost in the daily flood.
When I can’t read emails from discussion lists, I scan their subject lines, sort them by subject, then drag and drop them into folders on my hard drive, where they can live relatively undisturbed forever. I have good intentions to read them someday, but usually never do. Deleting them isn’t the answer. I can’t delete them for fear I will miss some nugget of wisdom or a byte of information I could have found useful. We packrats keep everything, from piles of physical papers to files of digital junk.
Subscribing to and reading blogs is another thing I struggle to keep up with. If I’m not tuned in to blogs and emails, I would miss out on what’s going on and what’s upcoming in my profession. I subscribe to 64 blogs and I thought that was a lot. Then I heard Stephen Abrams say he reads 650 blogs and just lets the information wash over him. I think I would drown.
I’m thinking of cutting back on my non-essential committee involvements at EVPL. I’ve simply got to find more time to get my work done during work hours and let others serve in my place. I’ve been on the Wellness Team long enough that it’s time I step down and let someone else take my place. They need branch representation and I need to get more work done. I think that being at work (unplanned) until 5:50 pm today (and most other days) made me realize it was time to let go of something.
