Library
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Carrots
So it looks like I am good at giving people carrots. Not the orange, vegetable kind, the intriguing idea kind. I had a meeting with a colleague today where we were supposed to practice a data management interview. The idea behind it was to get us fmailiar with the question bank and be able to facilitate this kind of conversation. We did eventually get to that, but what was more interesting was the conversation we were having around data management. We discussed the differences in our respective liaisonships and the types of people we were getting traction with. I shared with him the kinds of targets I was going after in…
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NCBI for Librarians training.
I am two days back from the week long NCBI for libraians training course at NIH. It was a fabulous experience being among so many librarians and scientists trying to get a handle on the some of the most complex repositories for biomedical data. The people there were wonderful. I recommend anyone with science liaisonship to take it. The ultimate purpose of the course is to train the trainer. So part of my implementation will be to train fellow librarians on what these resources can do. And I will spend the next several months sketching out a plan for that. Our faculty are already lifting heavy loads in their tenure…
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5pm and daylight
I just realized it’s February. In my time, that is the backside of the gauntlet of events that starts sometime late October. But these weeks have flown by. I am starting to come out of a work shell. When I left today I noticed that it was still daylight. This little observation usually means that I have made it though the toughest part of winter for me. I also realized that despite my uncertain future (Thank you Governor Rauner!), the weekend trip with my sister and a few friends will be coming up in about two weeks. We aren’t even leaving the suburbs, but we are holing up in a…
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Time and department heads
Of course I don’t consider 2015 to be this horrible, impending doom that I implied in my last post. I’m not heaping a load of expectations on it either. I try very hard to remember that time is just a human construct, an attempt for us to make sense of our world. I do think that I spend a significant amount of time figuring out how to manage time, how to make the most of my time, and how to make sure that I am useing my time wisely. That’s a lot of paying attention to time. This has become particularly important at work. I have workshops to create, and…
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Nine days
Nine days into 2015 and job insecurity has set in. Nine days into 2015 and I am trying to make my brain turn back on. Nine days into 2015 and I worry that my weekend won’t feel like a weekend with all the usual that has to get done– plus some. Nine days into 2015 and I feel behind on sleep Nine days into 2015 and the headaches are back Nine days into 2015 and I have to consider extensive planning for the next six months Nine days into 2015 and I am spinning plates at home and at work. Nine days and the interrupted list from late 2014 still…
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Work clarity
I don’t to talk about work, but that is the only thing that my brain wants to do right now, so I will work with it. I’m half way through a busy work week and I have a lot to get done before it is over. One of the meetings that I had gone to was a special faculty meeting that was to discuss the changes in promotion and tenure form and to outline the current, elected committes available to run. The first applies to me, the second doesn’t. What I got out of the meeting was the clarification on what I was to be evaluated on during my next…
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2015 work in review
I didn’t realize it, butI was starting to get anxious because in a month or so, I need to start a dialog with my director about contract renewal. I have a ton of things to do this semester and I am only at the earliest begining of all of it. I won’t bore you with the details, but the fact that I have so much work to accomplish and yet my renewal is around the corner is making monkeys in my head. Last summer, I spent some time outlining the goals that I would have this year. I used the performance evaluation form that was in circulation at the time,…
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List of things
List of things to do: Create content for at least three workshops. This includes teaching outline, learning activities, handouts and/or worksheets. Contact several instructors about teaching dates for the spring. There are at least five. Contact other instructors about embedding literacy content into their courses, co-teaching opportunities Outline idea for conference poster and/or discussion table Figure out how I am going to take those ideas and develop them into research projects. Prepare website content for one of my colleges. Develop curriculum for research module and decide when that course will take place. General work for committees. Get some background reading done. Formulate concept for collaborative guide for one of our…
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One thing
There is a host of things going on in my mind. I have a lot of work to do in a short week. I am hosting a cookie baking and exchange tomorrow and there may be freezing rain. I have all of my weekend work, normally done over two days, crammed into Sunday. I am participating in National Novel Writing Month and while currently on track, will have to make up time next week. We are hosting Thanksgiving and that prep work needs to get done, including the final email that tells people when to actually show up. I need to get back to the gym because I haven’t been…
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Unexpected progress
I rarely get to say this, but I had a very productive meeting. It was with a department head, introducing myself and offering an opportunity to get to know me and my work, and a chance to get to know that department. A number of topics came up that I expected later on in a more developed relationship. One was the opportunity to teach a one credit course, developed around information searching and data management on a lab level. The department head brought up that subject and was totally supportive and offered to back me on getting a more robust module into the curriculum. I’ll be formally meeting the faculty…