The Unquiet Librarian

You may have noticed that I have been uncharacteristically quiet the last few weeks.  Part of this silence is due to the fact that I have been insanely busy with library life, and many of my happenings/discoveries have been posted on my library blog at http://theunquietlibrary.wordpress.com .   Part of the silence has also just been life—this time of year seems to be busy for all.

However, I have also been quiet as I have tried to make sense of and come to terms with the news that our evening school campus at CHS (”North Campus”) will be closing at the end of the semester.   We the faculty learned this shocking and devastating news on Thursday, October 2 prior to giving our last exams of the first quarter.  The news then was published in the local newspaper before we even had a chance to break the news to our students the following week. 

While one board member was quoted as saying he believed “students would not suffer” from the consolidation of our two campuses, students in fact have already been impacted by this news.  Many of our students live 20-30 miles away from the south campus in Woodstock and cannot afford to drive 40-60 miles round trip four nights a week to take courses.  Others cannot make it to the first class by 4:00 due to their work schedules and the distance of the south campus from their workplace during the day.  Several students have already withdrawn to seek their GED this past week and specifically stated that the impending closure of our campus was the reason for them stopping their studies and pursuit of a diploma through our north campus.  Other students have commented that they probably will not continue their schooling after this quarter because they cannot make the drive to the south campus come January. 

I am one of the original faculty members of our north campus that opened in January 2006.  For the last three years, I have spent an average of 18 hours a week teaching English courses to our students.  While we are compensated for our work, you have to love what you are doing and have some kind of passion for teaching to devote that much of your time and your weeknight evenings (especially when you consider the fact I taught until 11:00 the first two years until our schedule changed and we now end at 9:45) to such an endeavor.  Our campus, which housed 150 students at our peak last year, has been a small and nurturing environment in which students felt like they belonged to a family and that staff members truly cared about their progress and well-being.  I feel honored to have had the opportunity to teach here and to hone my teaching skills—it has been a wonderful adventure for me and my students as we have tried new learning strategies and activities.  This was a campus in which I felt valued as a faculty member and as though I truly made a difference in the lives of my students, particularly those that I “looped” with through consecutive courses.  It was here that I was lucky enough to teach some of the brightest and most industrious students I have met in my 17+ years of teaching. 

It is never easy to say goodbye to something you love, to let it go.  It has not always been an easy road to travel, but it has been a gratifying journey to travel this way for three years—I will always treasure the wealth of happy memories I have of being part of this campus.   I feel immensely lucky and honored to have been part of this fellowship—my heart aches to think of how much I will miss our students and the camaraderie with the faculty.  I wonder what will become of my students—what path will they take, and what will happen to them?  I hope that we have made a positive impact and that whatever road they take, that some part of Polaris North will always be with our students.

Many of you have heard the old expression, “Where one door closes, another opens”; I have found this to be true time and time again in my life.  After having a few days to absorb this major news, I realize that for the first time in many years, I will have free time on my hands.   While I am truly sad and heartbroken about the closing of our campus, I am envisioning the doors that will be opened in my life by this change.  I look forward to having more time for myself, to exercise and take better care of myself—I might even begin running again and train for another marathon!  I look forward to more time with my family and my dogs, to have time to catch up on my reading (outside of all the reading I did and enjoyed with my students), to have more time to devote to my library, to have more time to spend with friends. 

I have no doubt that my experiences as an English teacher for the last three years have made me a better person, librarian (yes),  and teacher in profound ways.  I feel I have been a positive influence in the lives of my students.  While my heart is heavy to see this journey come to an end, I look forward to the possibilities that this change will bring to my life.  Even Thoreau, as much as he treasured his time and experiences at Walden, saw that there were benefits to leaving that treasured place and to exploring new directions in his life.   I am giving myself permission to slow down and be still for a bit, to heed the wisdom in Willa Cather’s words, “There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.”   I look forward to seeing what I can learn from the “calm” that will envelop me come January 1, 2009! 

As a proud alum of UGA, I’d like to welcome Loran’s Best, UGA VII!

Many thanks to everyone who has dropped an e-note to check on me in recent weeks!  Thankfully, my blog silence is not due to the severe weather that has hammered Georgia and my county in recent weeks.  Instead, other major distractions have kept me away from my blog:  end of year library inventory and winding down the school year with my 10th and 11th English classes at Polaris Evening School.  While I give the illusion of being a distant relative of the Energizer Bunny , I have actually been rather tired the last two weeks and have felt all the hard work of this past school year catching up with me.  What little time I’ve had at home has been spent napping, visiting family and friends, feathering my 1950s nest, or spoiling the dachshunds.

However, I am recharging my batteries, and I will be back with some new blog posts next week!  Thanks to everyone for the care and concern.   

In the meantime, I hope everyone has a relaxing, safe, and fun Memorial Day weekend!

Friday, February 1, 2008, is National Wear Red Day—a day when Americans nationwide will take women’s health to heart by wearing red to show their support for women’s heart disease awareness.  The Heart Truth is:  “Heart Disease Doesn’t Care What You Wear—It’s the #1 Killer of Women.”  The statistics are alarming:

• Heart disease is the #1 killer of women.
• One in 4 women dies of heart disease; 1 in 30 dies of breast cancer.

The good news is that both men and women can lower their risk of heart disease by as much as 82 percent by leading a healthy lifestyle.  Join the national awareness movement by wearing red on February 1, and encourage your family, friends, and coworkers to do the same.  Anyone can participate by showing off a favorite red dress, shirt, or tie, or Red Dress Pin.

The Heart Truth is a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other partner organizations.   The campaign launched the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness in 2002 to deliver an urgent wakeup call to American women.

For tools and materials to help you learn about heart health and National Wear Red Day, visit www.hearttruth.gov.  We’d also like for you to visit http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth/press/nhlbi_04_campaign.pdf to learn more about The Heart Truth Campaign.

Here are some other great resources:

• What is the “Heart Truth”?
• Take the Go Red Heart Health Checkup!
• A Heart Health Action Plan
• Questions to Ask Your Doctor/What’s Your Risk?
• Listen to this 60 second public service announcement
• Go Red for Women!

Wear red on Friday, February 1, 2008 to help celebrate this important day!  Ruth and I will be helping our female staff celebrate this day by having heart healthy snacks and treats available for you in the media center.  We will also be putting some little treats and goodies in your mailboxes the week of January 28, 2008—February 1, 2008.

Let’s get heart healthy@ The Unquiet Library!

As the first day of 2008 dawns cold, clear, and bright here in Georgia, I  am contemplating the whole concept of resolutions.  Normally, I do not make resolutions because I honestly strive for self-improvement year-round (*really*!), plus the hype that surrounds them makes me feel a little ill.  However, self-reflection is always a good thing, so here are my resolutions for 2008—you will note these are a mix of professional and personal because my two “lives” really do overlap!

1.  To take more trips to the beach.  My little sojourn to COMO in October 2007 made me realize me what I’ve been missing and how nurturing the ocean really is to the soul!  If I ever win the lottery, I will build the coolest library on the beach!  I bet it would be overflowing with patrons, especially if we had an outdoor reading room right on the beach.

2.  To continue my growth as a 21st century librarian—I am truly proud of what I have learned as a librarian in 2007 and the efforts I have made to a Library 2.0 kind of gal.  I also want to keep up my efforts to follow the principles of Library 2.0 Manifesto 1 and *especially Library Manifesto 2 *—I feel I did a good job of living up to these principles in 2007, but I want to do even better in 2008.

3.  To be patient and not become frustrated when the rest of our learning community does not jump on 21st century learning and library world concepts the way that Ruth, my fellow library goddess, and I do.  Some revolutions take time and happen quietly.  Instead of grousing about the fact that people aren’t “getting on board” with Learning 2.0 and Library 2.0 as fast and enthusiastically as I would like, I will instead channel my energy into enjoying the sense of “flow” I get doing these fun new things and will hope that people will follow my lead and example!  Ruth—remind me I said this!

4.  To have more fun and smile more EVERY DAY.

5.  To make more time for exercise—a healthy body really does make for a healthy mind!

6.  To try and read a work of fiction at least once a month.  I am a super busy girl, and it is hard for me to make time to immerse myself in a work of fiction. 

7.  To not feel guilty about all the non-fiction reading I do in magazines, blogs, social librarian networks, and other onlinemediums.  I learn a *ton* of new information and wonderful creative inspiration, especially from blogs.  Now you know why I am a blog-a-holic.

8.  To take more time to be grateful that I am in the most amazing profession in the world.  I am so incredibly happy that I made the decision to become a librarian.  When I did my Ed.S., I must honestly confess that I was not sure if I was making the right choice (long story…), but each day I do what I do totally affirms that decision.  I honestly *love* what I do, and I am so thankful for my colleagues and friends both near and far as well as my UGA family who still give me great advice and support.   I take great pride in being a librarian. 

9.  To say “no” from time to time and realize I cannot do everything I want to do as fast as I want to do it—and that is OK. 

10.  To keep dreaming big and think of the “why I cans” and the “why nots” instead of the “can’ts”.  

11.  To remember the wisdom of these two great writers:

*”Some things are learned in calm, and some in storm”—Willa Cather
*”The cure for anything is salt water:  sweat, tears, or the sea”—Isak Dinesen

12.  To hug and kiss my four dachshunds every day.

13.  To march to the beat of my own drum.

14.  To compare myself only to myself.

15.  To give thanks for all the blessings I have in my life each day.

16.  To finally get off dial-up at home and upgrade to something faster!!!

 Happy 2008 to all!