This is a blog post I've been meaning to write for a long time now. For those who don't know, a lot of public libraries in WA are currently moving, have moved, or looking at moving to new LMS providers. Legacy systems that most of the state were using are…
What I learned in 2016
This post is for the GLAM Blog Club set up by newCardigan. If you aren't in Melbourne check out CardiCast for some great GLAM talks. My professional ethics are something I will stand up for 2016 started off pretty rough for me professionally, over my December/January break some internal…
Symposiums, Symposiums, Symposiums!
Last year I was asked to convene the ALIA WA Symposium 2016. I agreed, because, hey you’ve got to try these things out at least once. I also wanted to use the opportunity to try something different and ‘be the change I want to see’ (Rundle, 2014) . Fast forward…
What If... Stargate SG-1 had a librarian?
Like Uatu I watch our universe and many alternative realities , and like the Watcher before me, I have decided to recount to you a tale of one of these worlds. Recently I have been peering into the reality that is Stargate SG-1 . By 'peering' I of course mean binge watching…
Covert Censorship, Overt Libraries
“Knowledge, like air, is vital to life. Like air, no one should be denied it.” ― Alan Moore, V for Vendetta The Censorship is Coming From Inside the Library! When I took over as Branch Librarian for an established public library at the beginning of 2015 I knew there would be…
Let My Comics Go!
Comics for life, yo In case you didn’t know, I’m a bit of a comic nerd. Every public library I’ve worked in I’ve made it my personal goal to leave the comic or ‘graphic novel’ (they’re comics people, be proud!) section better than I found…
DIY Arcade Cabinet
It took a weekend of swearing but it’s alive! A while ago I got the wonderful idea to run an adults event teaching library clients how to turn a Raspberry Pi into a retro arcade cabinet. The event went quite well as I had the funds to give clients…
DIY Workshop: Bright Bunnies
In my current job role I’ve been focusing a lot on events and initiatives to run in my small, one branch library and I thought it best to start sharing these ideas to the larger library world! We’ll be starting with the first ‘maker’ event I ran, based…
Libraries, Earl Grey, Hot
For those not familiar with Star Trek this post will look at my experiences purchasing and running a 3D printer in my public library. Back in July 2013 I acquired funding to purchase a Makerbot Replicator 2 and since September 3D printing services have been available to the public (both…
Mmmmm...Pi
A while ago I got the idea to use Raspberry Pi’s as replacement OPACs in my library. Cheap, linux based computers with a very small footprint made them the ideal choice for slim mount terminals on bay ends. Sadly there were issues with mounting them on the ends of…