I Need a Hero - New York Comic Con 2010

On October 8th & 9th, 2010, I had the opportunity to attend the New York Comic Con at the Jacob K. Javitz Center. A discount on weekend admission is offered for educators, librarians included, as an incentive for professionals to attend. The price for a weekend pass is $10.00, as opposed to the $50.00 regular price for non-professionals. This also includes a time set aside on Friday morning when the exhibit area is open only for those with professional passes before the convention opens to the general public. Professionals wishing to only attend on Friday are given free admission for the entire day. I opted for the weekend pass since I knew I would want to attend for more than one day. This was my second time attending NYCC, having also gone to the last one in February 2009. If possible, the convention was twice as overwhelming the second time around. Despite my bewilderment, I definitely had even more fun at this year’s New York Comic Con.

“Twitter, Tweets, & Hashtags… Oh My!” – Twitter & Social Media for Librarians

On March 24th, 2010, I was able to attend the monthly NY Librarians Meetup presentation on Twitter and Social Media at the Mulberry Street branch of the New York Public Library. The lecture was given by Nancy Picchi (whose Twitter handle is @islandlibrarian in case you want to follow her), a self-described “Librarian at Large.” “Nancy began the presentation on a humorous note by telling the audience that one of the reasons she loves technology is because “it saves me from housework.” Her talk specifically focused on Twitter, attempting to answer the question, “What is it all about?” and dispel the notion that it’s some stupid fad that will go away sooner rather than later. In this presentation, Nancy attempted to show us how Twitter has changed the way people, and specifically librarians, communicate with each other. She also provided us some of the potential applications we can use the website for our work as information professionals.

"Ask Not What You Can Do For Your Library..." - Albany Lobby Day 2010

Yesterday, on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2009 I participated in a state-wide effort to lobby on behalf of the libraries throughout New York in Albany, NY. This was my first visit to the state capital. From the city, it takes a little less than four hours to get there. I went with a large contingent of fellow library staff members from the New York Public Library. The library’s union, Local 1930, sponsored the trip by paying for the bus. We left in the early hours of Tuesday morning, just after 8:00 AM. People from all departments and levels of the library were encouraged and did participate, from librarians to clerical staff to even staff members from our Development Office. Since the issue of funding affects us all, it was nice to see that over fifty staff members were willing to pack in and tightly squeeze on a bus to fight the good fight and restore our library budget for the next fiscal year.

HEADS OR TAILS: The Library of the American Numismatic Society

On November 17th, I had the opportunity to attend the Beta Phi Mu annual fall event in NYC at the American Numismatic Society. This is the second Beta Phi Mu event in New York that I’ve attended. Last fall, I met members of the Theta Chapter while we toured The Horticulture Society of New York and got a private and revealing look at their library. This year, I’ll admit to being nervous before sending in my RSVP. I will be up front and confess; I had no idea what the word “numismatic” meant. I had never seen or heard that word before. A trusty visit to the dictionary reveals that numismatic, an adjective, is “of or relating to coins or currency.”