“Waiting in Vain” – Bob Marley
Head Tale
Yet Another Librarian's Blog
Free Public Library Cards at Edmonton Public Library Will Continue
The subject of user fees in Alberta public libraries is of great interest to me.
That’s why I was very excited when a colleague recently informed me that a pilot project to remove user fees at Edmonton Public Library during the library’s centennial year was being made permanent!
The number of people with library cards has climbed about 40 per cent during the past year, after the cards that used to cost $12 annually were handed out for free. About 163,000 Edmontonians had library cards a year ago, and that has now jumped to 228,000 people, the EPL numbers says.
I’m not completely plugged in to what’s happening in every public library in the the rest of the country but a lot of stuff emanating out of EPL (the article mentions a contest for a free trip to Iceland if you sign up for a card for example) makes me think that they’re, if not the top, one of the top public library systems in Canada right now.
At the same time, the decision to remove user fees is a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned. Yes, the library will forego $700,000 in revenue but kudos to EPL board and management for doing the right thing for their citizens and maximum accessibility rather than focusing only on the numbers at the bottom of their balance sheet.
That’s what great public library service is all about!
Saturday Snap: I’m Not Sure If Sasha Is Late For Easter Or Early For Halloween?
Clean-up in Aisle 7!
Sasha decided to grab hold of the egg carton in our shopping cart the other day and dump a few of them on the grocery store’s floor.
Conveniently, Shea was in another aisle while I was with Pace who said “Let’s get out of here!” and pretty much took off running. (He also felt incredibly guilty about the broken eggs and thought his sister was going to get in trouble.)
Meanwhile, an old couple who happened to be walking by stopped to have a chuckle and help scoop the eggs out of our shopping cart. This was both embarrassing, kind, and somewhat scary since I kept thinking the old guy was going to crack an egg over our groceries – something we’d avoided since most of the eggs in the carton Sasha tipped landed on the two loaves of bread we also had in the cart and/or on the ground.
Friday Fun Link – The Most Famous Book Set In Each of the 50 States
Earlier this week, I posted an infographic of the most famous brand from each US state.
Soon after, I came across a similar graphic which features (arguably) the most famous book set in every state…
Pale Blue Dot – Carl Sagan
This is beyond cool. I love Carl Sagan and how he puts life into proper perspective…
http://vimeo.com/22582065
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin Gives a NSFW Defense of Gay Marriage
(h/t to JK or FB)
The Corporate States of America
Here’s an interesting map of the best known brand from each American state (with a handy list of all the brands-by-state so you can see the smaller states that are harder to make out on the map)…
Music Monday – “C’mon, C’mon”
Here’s a clip of the band we went to see last Friday night.
The name of the song isn’t given and I feel like my 17 year old self listening to “Smells Like Teen Spirit” trying to make out the lyrics so you only get the most basic of lyric excerpts as the title of this post.
Anyhow, here’s the clip…
“I Can Barely See” – Herb and the Humans
Hmm, What Should I Write About?
I have folders, both in my e-mail program and in my browser, that have dozens of sites bookmarked as potential blog fodder.
I have thousands of photos that I could easily turn this into a daily photo blog featuring nothing but photos of my kids every day (don’t get excited, grandparents – probably not going to happen!)
I have all kinds of random thoughts about what’s happening in libraries, technology, politics, hockey playoffs and about a zillion other areas I’m interested.
I often whip off posts after getting home from work, after supper but before bedtime routines.
But then, it’s Easter Sunday, I’ve had all day to contemplate what I could write or post. The kids are in bed, Shea’s watching a streaming lecture for a course she’s taking and I’m sitting here, working my way through a backlog of e-mail (always a constant in my life.)
Yet I can’t think of anything specific I feel like posting – not even a joke about how Easter falls on 4:20 this year!
Saturday Snap – “Who Needs A God When You’ve Got Satan”
There’s a certain level of irony that I spent part of my Good Friday watching a band from just behind a guy who was wearing a “Who Needs God When You’ve Got Satan” t-shirt. 😉
But I should probably back up a bit…
Shea and I spent Friday doing a bunch of spring cleaning with my parents who’d come up for a couple days to help us out. Since they were already here, we were able to respond in the affirmative when a friend texted to see if we wanted to go see his son’s band, Herb and the Humans who were opening for another band that was in the midst of a Canadian tour.
Here are a few random thoughts from the evening…
- That moment when you realise that you’re friends, not with people who play in bands, but people whose twenty year old sons play in bands!
- I was also *very* relieved when my friend also brought and offered Shea and I earplugs – a definite first for me at a concert but instead of a week of ringing ears like when I went to concerts in my younger days, I could actually hear the next day which was nice.
- I didn’t catch their name but the opening band reminded me of the type of music my MLIS classmate Paul Slater plays in his band, Monobrow.
- I’m also a lot less self-conscious at concerts than I used to be when I was young. For example, I could give two shits if anyone noticed I was wearing ear plugs whereas, when I was 20, I’d be anxious if I even thought I was standing wrong while watching teh band.
- Psychobilly is a thing. (What? That’s what Reverend Horton Heat plays? Oh, cause I saw that band play at Ness Creek like 15 years ago. Music cred restored!)
- Shea and I were able to get to Bushwakkers before the show for an appetizer and a pint. It’s a kid-free pub so unfortunately, we don’t get there as often as we’d like to. In fact, the last time I was there was when Shea was down in Weyburn and I stopped in for supper after work and happened to bump into the same friend who’s son plays in the band. (That night ended a lot differently than a single pint though!)
- It was an all ages show which, to my mind, means kids who are 16, 17, 18 (eg. just under the legal age for buying booze) are allowed in. But there were a TON of really young kids – like, I’m talking Pace’s age – 6,7,8 years old! (I really hope all their parents brought them ear plugs as well!)
- The headlines had a flat tire so Herb and the Humans got to play a couple extra songs which was a nice bonus.
- When I see people wearing shirts affirming their approval of Satan, I don’t feel fear or anger but more of a “oh, isn’t that cute?” no different than if he was wearing a clever nerd pun shirt. 😉