PLA--other wise known as "PL-AAH"

Oh... my, my, my, my, my, my...where to start this post?!

So, I spent the last four days in Minneapolis at the Public Library Association's National Conference. (And when I wasn't actually at the conference, I was getting lost in downtown Minneapolis...more on that later...)

And wow. Just...wow. Talk about amazing...and overwhelming...and amazing...and incredible...and yeah, I'm still trying to process through the entire experience of it all.

I have never been to a national library conference before. I've attended the Iowa Library Association's annual conference a few times and various other workshops around the state of Iowa. But a national conference was a beast I had yet to conquer. Until now!

The thing that still is so mind-blowing to me was all of the people. There were roughly 5,500 librarians from all around the country registered for this conference. (That's almost the same amount of people who reside in my hometown!) I met librarians from Oregon, Alaska, California, New Jersey (or "Joisey" as they like to say!), Indiana, Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Texas, Illinois, Washington...and the list goes on! We came from all walks of life, libraries of various sizes and populations, yet we were all there for the same reason...to learn and share about our experiences as public libraries. As one of my conference cohorts put it, "it reaffirms everything I know and love about being a public librarian." She is so right.

As I said before, I'm still trying to process the entire experience yet...but I know for sure that I'll be back with more posts as I come to more exciting and mind blowing conclusions! So, stay tuned!

Possible threats...

So, I'm having some issues. We've had yet another rash of thefts from our CD collection here at the library. As was previously noted, I tend to get a tad bit upset about this. So instead of whining about it (I know, miracle, right?!) I've been creating a list of possible threats instead.

Threat #1: You mess with my CD's...I mess with you.

Threat #2: You take my CD's...I break every last one of your fingers.

Threat #3: You steal CD's...I torture you needlessly until you give them back.

Threat #4: You take multiple CD's...I take one finger for everyone stolen.

Threat #5: You steal CD's from me...I pin you up outside our building and let all the taxpayers of Hiawatha throw as many water balloons at you as they wish.

Threat #6: You "accidentally" wind up with CD's that are not checked out...I "accidentally" remove your fingernails...with pliers.

Threat #7: You lift CD's and I catch you...you've just bought yourself a one-way ticket to shelf-reading the entire library...until you're blind.

Threat #8: You mess with the CD collection...I'll see to it that you and the Hiawatha Police Department become very closely acquainted.

Threat #9: You take CD's...and I send the library mafia after you...let me just put it this way...you thought Al Capone was bad, he's got nothin' on these ladies.

Threat #10: Finally, you should know that I am not above death and dismemberment.

Green beer anyone?

Happy St. Patty's Day, to ya!

As someone of Irish descent (if the last name doesn't give it away, the first name most certainly will!), I feel a little obligated to wish everyone Happy St. Patty's Day. My Irish lineage comes from my father's side...check out the link below to find out a little bit more about the history of my name

(we're even cool enough to have a family crest...wooo!):

http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx/keating-family-crest.htm

Like many Irish families, mine came over during the potato famine and settled in New York before branching out. Speaking of potatoes...my mother always tells the story of the first holiday that she and my father hosted for his family shortly after they were married. My mom made a little side dish of potatoes to go along with the rest of the meal. As the dishes started to be passed, my mom soon realized that after 3 people, the potatoes were gone! My poor mother, embarrassed, went back into the kitchen to make more! Ever since then, she makes at least a triple batch of potatoes when my father's side is over for dinner! Like any good Irish family, we sure do like our taters!

Finally, I'll leave you with an Irish blessing...


An Old Irish Blessing

May love and laughter light your days,and warm your heart and home.

May good and faithful friends be yours,wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures.

May all life's passing seasons bring the best to you and yours!

P.S. If you're going out in search of green beer tonight...please do so responsibly! (And drink one for me, because I'll be working!)

I love ugly animals...

So, this blog really has nothing to do with the picture to the right...but I have a thing for ugly animals and wanted to share it! You may laugh, but it's true! My favorite animal in the whole world is frogs. Yep, those slimy, ribbett-y, hopping little creatures. Love 'em!

Anywho, onto more interesting subjects than my random odd obsessions...like cheap, nasty jelly beans...okay...I'm done...seriously...

I'm going to be attending the Public Library Association's National Conference in Minneapolis from March 26-29th. I'm super-duper excited about this!! You have no idea how much whining, groveling, nagging and begging was involved on my part in order to be able to go to this conference. I *literally* started begging to go to this conference over a year ago. No joke. Ask Jeaneal. I haven't shut up about it since I saw on the website that it was going to be in Minneapolis for 2008. Yeah, really excited about this one!

I mean, just think, there will be hundreds upon thousands of librarians from all over the country decending upon Minneapolis for this conference. Be afraid, be very afraid! Bwa-ha-ha-ha! Actually, in all reality, I'm just very excited to be able to network, attend workshops, and see vendors. It's going to be very cool and I'm sure ya'll are going to have to listen to me rave about it for the next 6 months. So get ready! I do want to send a shout out to our Friends group for their assistance in the registration fees. I'm very thankful!

Which reminds me, that is also the week that we will be laying down some new carpet in the library. (And me, the slacker, will get out of most of the work!) Because of the new carpet, we will be closed March 21-24 and March 31-April 1. We will be offering reduced services from March 25-30. These services are limited to: *check out of reserved items only, *returns, *Pre-printed tax forms only, *No juvenile programming or internet service. Please also keep in mind that Marion and Cedar Rapids will be offering full services during this time, so if you have a need that is urgent, don't hesitate to contact them for additional assistance. Finally, remember that you can return materials to any of the metro libraries as well as any of the Hy-Vee grocery stores in the Cedar Rapids area as well.

That's about it for now! Here's a re-cap for those of you who don't love me enough to read my entire post:

*I love ugly animals and cheap, nasty jelly beans
*I'm going to PLA in Minneapolis
*We are getting new carpet and will be closed for about a week

There you have it! Later tators!

I promise...

This is my last complaint about the winter weather...okay...maybe not...so I lied! (Hey...I need something to complain about and if it's not the library then it might as well be the weather!!) Has it not been a rough winter? I mean, seriously! I had to laugh last weekend when it was about 50 degrees out and there were *literally* people walking around in flip-flops and tank tops. (You think it's been a little rough?!)

I think my mom stated it best last night when she said, "Hey! We've gone four days without precipitation! Maybe spring's finally on it's way!" Now, mind you, my parents live an hour south of here in Washington and didn't get the crud that we did on Wednesday morning. But bless my mom for being the optimistic one...I'll just continue to whine about it until the middle of summer!

So, I found this cartoon today and couldn't help but share it because it expresses so much of how I feel right now--a little robbed by winter!

Here's to a "precipitation-free" weekend! Woo!

Duh nah nah-nah nah nuh da dun

*They say it's your birthday* Duh nah nah-nah nah nuh da dun *Well, it's my birthday too, yeah!* For those of you who can't figure out what tune I'm singing it's "Birthday" by the Beatles.

Yeah, that's right...it's my birthday...the big 2-6. Past my quarterlife crises of the 25th year and on to the 26th. Yep, four whole years away from 30. *scary* I mean really, what do I have left to look forward to?!? My mid-life crisis? (Only if it's a good one and I get a Ferrari and lots of really fabulous shoes!) I suppose I shouldn't be so pessimistic about getting older. I'm sure there are lots of things to look forward to...like menopause...sorry...too much information! Anywho, this birthday really hasn't been a bad one. I got to eat a half a pan of really yummy cake. I received some beautiful flowers from my beau. Tonight, after work I get to go have dinner and pig out. I recieved lots of great birthday wishes via phone, e-mail and other electronic communications. So really, I should be grateful that I have so many wonderful people around me to celebrate with!

Let the party begin! Duh nah nah-nah nah nuh da dun...