THE AMBIDEXTROUS LIBRARIAN

WHEN THINGS GET TENSE Not sure how to start discussing this one.  It was a weird night in the library.  And as the title of this post suggests, things got a little tense.  I guess I can expect to see this sometimes, or maybe more than sometimes.  When you're in an public space that's warm and inviting and entertaining and comfortable, people are going to want to hang out.  Unlike your lounge room though, you don't really have a say as to who that is.  Sometimes the odd person wanders in who is a little different, or perhaps has taken something they shouldn't have, and things get tense.  We are dealing with humanity here.  We're a diverse bunch. We had a young guy come in tonight who is known to staff.  He has his issues, whether they be mistreatment or a bit of neuro-diversity or maybe a bit of both, who knows.  He likes to pace and sometimes can be a little loud, but for the most part he keeps to himself.  Mostly.  I guess sometimes people get frustrated and an

FREEDOM TO SKIP PAGES, IF NECESSARY Jonathan Franzen - don't get me wrong, I really do love his books.  But as with every book lover (that's a sweeping generalisation, but I have the freedom to generalise), sometimes you just go through bit of a reading lull. I found this when reading Franzen's Freedom .  I have had Freedom  sitting there for yonks, but have been intimidated by its size.  Mainly because I had become used to reading YA novels, and I felt like I was back in those teenage years taking the first tentative steps into the ocean of adult literature.  I was daunted by the depth and complexity that I knew would sit beneath the lines. I don't know why I make myself believe that every foray into adult literature needs to be such an exercise in analysis and insightful questioning.  It must be the high school English student in me has never really graduated.  Why can't I just relax and enjoy the book?  I did, for the most part, really enjoy reading Freedom

AN UNEXPECTED CASE OF THE FEELS I am a couple of months in to my time at one of the busiest (if not the busiest) and most needy libraries in Victoria.  I am loving every minute (I say this seriously), aside from the disconcerting feeling that life is flying by.  No longer do the work weeks drag or the afternoons push through molasses.  I come to work, I help lots of people, I go home and the day is done.  I will be planning my retirement before I know it. The other night it was a little quieter than usual.  I was in the non-fiction section, perfect ordering, shelf tidying, nothing too taxing.  A young girl who must have been like, 19 or 20 wanders in, with numerous double-bagged plastic bags full of what looked like text books and notebooks, a bulging purse and a sweet, cheery-faced boy of about 4 who happily followed her around, non-complaining, eating a jam sandwich and grinning. She looked harried, and let's be honest she looked like she had had a hard life.  Nothing about

THE GENTLE ART OF CONFLICT AVOIDANCE As part of my public library persona, I have to (unsurprisingly) deal with the public.   Being in one of the busiest and most diverse communities in Victoria I also deal with some interesting customers.  Thankfully, my employer is fairly insightful on this front and so recently arranged for us newbies to attend a full day of "Conflict Resolution Training". Our trainer was no slouch.  He seemed fairly laid back, but then casually mentioned that he is one of only four high-level hostage negotiators within Australia, and has trained in negotiation with the SAS and the FBI.  Not that I imagine a heated overdue fine discussion will ever end in a hostage situation, but I guess it depends on the size of the fine.  As with any typical training session, there was a lot of whiteboard writing and workbook reading and question answering - but what was most interesting was watching video snippets of previous students navigating their way through ro

PD IS NOT A CHORE. I am pretty new to this whole Librarian thing.  I only graduated in 2015 and can count the number of library jobs I have held on one hand - but my inexperience and untarnished idealism mean that I am keen to throw myself straight into the mosh pit.  I ain't afraid of getting few bruises, or perhaps a scuffed Dr. Marten in the chin. Having just gained employment at both a public and academic library, I have so many "Professional Development" options to choose from.  It's kind of overwhelming.  I'm not even sure which career path I wish to take; but I do know that I want to keep up and keep learning.  Drink my coffee in places where all the interesting stuff is going down, the ideas are fresh, the music is good and (most importantly) the coffee is decent.  But being new to the block, how do I know where to go? It seemed to me that the most obvious choice was to seek guidance from my professional association.  Enter ALIA (the Australian Libra