RA For All - great Blog!

   The blog I  just discovered is "RA for All" and it is a great resource for public librarians who want information on good reads for their patrons.  Part of the mission of this blog is to help librarians in their quest to provide advice to both fiction and non-fiction readers.

  The author provides links, lists , and news about Readers Advisory.  He teachers a class in Readers Advisory( Dominican U- Graduate School of library and Information Science.) so he also shares some of his students work.

   There are also book review,s and links to other book review blogs to provide even more reviews.

 On the right hand side, three are links to book discussions, links to ideas for elementary librarians,( Sturdy for Common Things)  and other blogs with interesting content and book reviews.

The content here is interesting , informative , and addictive. I think you will find a lot of content to give you ideas and inspiration!

Managing Interruptions

  How do you manage interruptions?  Do you get interrupted  and then lose your focus to the job at hand?  Does your day seem like a feeble attempt  of getting your to do list and mostly a series of one interruption after another?

  Here are a few strategies  that may help you

Phone interruptions- the worst

  1. Ask your clerk or secretary to hold all calls. ( while you are working on a specific project during a specific time period.  ) If there is an emergency then of course  they would interrupt you.

2. If you take phone solicitations- again ask your clerk/ secretary  to get details . In my building, it is easy as we do not take phone soliciations as part of our policy- so the clerk / secretary can simply tell the telemarketer.

3) Let  your answering machine  work for you. Even easier if you have phone number id.

Work Interruptions

1) When you have a block of time for a special project ( and you have an office or cubic) shut the door and put up a sign DO NOT DISTURB !

2) When interrupted by a patron , student , or co- worker ask: How Can I help you?  Have them get right to the point. Help them with whatever- then get back to work!

Procrastination

   Are you a procrastinator?   Most of us procrastinate in one area of our lives or another.  There are many reasons why we procrastinate: fear of failure, wanting to do something else, feeling overwhelmed ,or being just plain lazy.

   First determine what situation cause you to procrastinate. The best way to overcome procrastination is to start small.  Figure out what it is you need to have done.  Take 10 or 15 minutes and tell yourself  you will just start the task.  (By breaking the task into smaller increments , you will feel better about starting, and you will see that you did accomplish a small portion of the task/ job.

  I like to break down large projects into do-able task.  The other thing that helps is writing down steps/ activities that need to be done and due dates when you want each segment done.

   Another help is to keep your written tasks in front of you , so you can grab a few minutes to do one part.
Then cross off /or date  each segment, and  you'll be able to see your self getting the job done.

   Some other tactics to stop your procrastination : offer yourself a reward/ bribe for the completion of the task or project, delegate part or all of the job, clean your workspace and leave only the task at hand out, or trick your self: I 'll only do one page today"

  Check out my book"The Organized Library" under the tab Books for Sale for more ideas on how to get more done.

Bookish

  Bookish is a great site that gives readers expert book recommendations. The mission of
Bookish is to engage readers with more stories , books, and authors,\.

  Bookish features great content about both new and notable books  Through this site you can read reviews , check ratings  , and read a sample.  If you are registered you can 'add to  your bookshel' and purchase books in various formats.

  You can get recommendations  to great reads by typing in titles, and then Bookish leads  you to other titles that are similar  or by the same author.

  You can also search by subject( cooking, children's, biographies,mysteries, romance, and Ya just to name a few.

  Check out down at the very bottom of the page  to just browse.  There are further recommendations lists of best sellers , and prize winning books.  I think you may find Bookish  an extremely valuable resource for both librarians and  book lovers.

Being organized- What are the Benefits?

  Being organized means being able to find what you are looking for, getting tasks m and activities done in a timely manner, and being in control of your life responsibilities, activities, and events.

  When you figure out which ( or all areas of your life that are not working, then it is time for you  to take the steps to learn how to be organized.  Start with one area that needs to be organized.  As you learn this skill, then you can select another area and continue to the organization bug spread to the rest of your life.

 You will  surprised how much more effective you will be and how much more smoothly  your day will go.

  If you are organized at work, then start to work on the other areas that need help.  I will be writing some posts that will give  you ideas to help you get started. 

Early Word Part 2

     More on Early Word!  This site is awesome and provides so much great information about the best and upcoming new books.  On the left hand side t, there are so many categories to select from: audio books, book events, books and movies,  fiction lists. ideas to steal, librarians in the news,  non-fiction lists,  to name just a few.

     As always, there are links on the left to the archives for each month.

   Now to the right!  We have links to best seller list which are invaluable to the the busy librarian selecting  reviews and recommendations.  There is also an awards list that will also help in collection development.  There is a Coming Soon section that showcases all the newest books that are arriving in the coming weeks and months.


  There are links to library reads, movies and TV tie ins based on books( and even links to trailers of the new show or movie.  Also there is a listing of links to publishers catalogs.

   The more you look at Early Word , the more  you see  how much it has to offer!  So keep checking out this great resource!

21st Century Library Blog

   The 21st Century Library blog offers a forum whereby librarians can form a community of discussions about problems, issues, and specific topics.  This blog presents broad perspectives on issues affecting the library profession.

  Librarians can collaborate by responding to polls, and surveys and adding their input.  There are links also to articles  relating to library issues that concern us today. If you continue you will find links to all blog posts, listed in order from oldest to newest.

 One of the things I like bet are the additional links to other library blogs and websites.  All in all this a great spot to visit and get the latest ideas and innovations.  You can see the issues and how other  librarians respond to them and what they think are the best  solutions.