Start Over At The Beginning

Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh, 1889 Daily Thoughts 07/31/2020 I checked the library Twitter and Facebook group this morning. On the way to work, I read some more of Until the End of Time.   I am reading about storytelling how it relates to science.  Brian Greene writes a little bit on the language of mathematics. I spent some time discussing grants.  We are working on a climate change grant. I also spent some time working on curbside. Ry Moran on Archiving Truth and Reconciliation Materials and Respecting the Record https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=Ry-Moran-on-archiving-truth-and-reconciliation-materials-and-respecting-the-record Wake Up Libraries, Curbside Pickup Is Not the Answer: Reimagining Public Libraries Youth Services https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/?detailStory=wake-up-libraries-curbside-pickup-is-not-the-answer-reimagining-public-libraries-youth-services Writer Milan Kundera Donating Archive to Czech Library https:...

Henri Fantin-Latour, 1866 Daily Thoughts 07/30/2020 I checked the library Twitter and Facebook Group this morning. I am working the late shift tonight.  I won't be able to make the special meeting for the census at 6:00 p.m. I read some more of Until the End of Time .  I am reading about the origins of language and storytelling. We got some lawn signs to put out for the census on the library lawn.  Also, we have two tablets that are being used for the census. We are working on a technology survey and assessment for what we need for the library. Internet Archive Answers Publishers' Copyright Lawsuit https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/copyright/article/83971-internet-archive-answers-publishers-copyright-lawsuit.html Keep Calm and Read On With These Library Themed Facebook Masks http://www.ilovelibraries.org/article/keep-calm-and-read-these-library-themed-face-masks Dr. Seuss Coloring Pages for the Census https://www.census.gov/p...

Moonlight Wolf, Frederic Remington, 1909 Daily Thoughts 07/29/2020 I checked the library Twitter and Facebook Group this morning. I read some more of Until the End of Time.   I am reading about integrated information theory.  The author is writing about consciousness and information. I spent some time looking up information for purchase alerts for books on hold. I also worked on a survey for new technology. I am taking calls for curbside pickup. Library Stabilization Fund Act Seeks $2 Billion for Pandemic Losses, Reopening Costs and More https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=library-stabilization-fund-act-seeks-2-billion-pandemic-losses-reopening-costs-more-covid-19 Our Favorite Books About Libraries and Librarians http://www.ilovelibraries.org/article/our-favorite-books-about-libraries-and-librarians A Nevada Library Wanted to Back Black Lives Matter. The Sheriff Said He Wouldn't Respond to 911 Calls There. https://www.washingtonpost....

A Woman Reading, Camille Corot, Between 1869 and 1870 Daily Thoughts 07/28/2020 I checked the library Twitter and Facebook group this morning.   I am still thinking about the census. I read some more of Until the End of Time.  I am reading about thermodynamics and the origins of life.  The author describes how RNA existed before cells as well as how amino acids could be formed at the beginning of life on earth. I spent some time discussing the budget for books. There is going to be a meeting for the Westchester Library System for the census.  Unfortunately, I am on the desk working on curbside pickup at the time. I put in some orders for New York Times bestsellers.  I am planning on working on the purchase alerts later. The Pandemic Pushed Publishing Into the Digital Realm. So What's Next? https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/83954-the-pandemic-pushed-publishing-into-the-digital-realm-so-what-...

Image of the book  Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea  by  Jules Verne . Illustrations by Alphonse de Neuville and Edouard Riou.  I watched the film last night. Daily Thoughts 07/27/2020 I checked the library Twitter and Facebook group. Last night, I contacted some people about the phone banking for the census on Wednesday, July 29 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. I read some more of Until the End of Time.   I am reading about the difference between quantum physics and Newtonian physics. I worked on an order for Dear Reader which is a way to generate lists of books online. I also spent a little more time working on the census. I spent a little more time working with Curbside Pickup, we now have two late nights until 8:00 p.m. for curbside pickup.

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - Inspiration (1898) Daily Thoughts 07/26/2020 I checked the library Twitter and Facebook Group.  I also checked my LinkedIn. I read some more of Until the End of Time .  I am reading about the origins of the elements in the early universe.  A lot of it is about star formation. I contacted some people via email about the Census Phone Banking for the City of Mount Vernon on July 29 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Web Bits The U.S. Wants To Develop A Quantum Internet https://www.cnet.com/news/the-us-wants-to-develop-a-quantum-internet/?utm_content=135498017&utm_medium=social&utm_source=linkedin&hss_channel=lis-kQX_GK_W7C 8 People Share Why They Became Librarians http://www.ilovelibraries.org/article/8-people-share-why-they-became-librarians Your Community: Tell Your Library Story https://shawneemissionpost.com/2020/07/25/your-community-tell-your-library-story-97416/

Cover of the July 1929 issue of  Air Wonder Stories .  Original copyright holder would have been either the artist, Frank R. Paul , or the publisher, Continental Publications. Daily Thoughts 07/25/2020 I need to rethink what I should be doing with blogging. I checked the library Twitter and Facebook Group. I am thinking about stopping doing this for a while so I can concentrate on other things. I read some more of of Octavia's Brood which is an e-book.  It is a collection of short stories in honor of Octavia Butler. Many have a social justice theme. Web Bits nternet Archive to Publishers: Drop 'Needless' Copyright Lawsuit and Work With Us https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/83929-internet-archive-to-publishers-drop-needless-copyright-lawsuit-and-work-with-us.html

Daily Thoughts 07/24/2020 I checked the library Twitter and Facebook group this morning. I finished reading the book, Leadership Is Language The Hidden Power of What You Say And What You Don't by L. David Marquet.  This book is about how we think of taking action versus thinking.  It compares the old industrial way of thinking about management focusing on control, coercion, and action and a newer way of doing things focusing on collaboration, learning, and cooperation.  It is a playbook on how to move to a more thoughtful style of management focused on planning, taking breaks, learning, and communication. Rising to the Challenges http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2020/07/rising-to-the-challenges/ Georgia Tech Creates Black Lives Matter Reading Room http://library.gatech.edu/news/georgia-tech-library-creates-black-lives-matter-reading-room

Daily Thoughts 07/23/2020 I checked the library Twitter and Facebook group this morning.  I also checked my LinkedIn account. I spent a little more time on the census.  There is a meeting of The Complete Count Committee of the City of Mount Vernon at 5:30 p.m..  I am working late tonight so I will miss it.  My colleague is covering the meeting.  Then they are going to a Zoom meeting with the Fleetwood Neighborhood Association.  We are working on arranging for what to do with the census tablets. I spent a little more time posting on social media. On the way to work, I read some more of Language is Leadership.   I am reading about to connect and create commitment with my coworkers. I also started reading Until the End of Time, Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning In An Evolving Universe by Brian Greene.  I am reading about how pockets of order emerged from entropy at the beginning of the universe. Machines Can Learn Unsupervised...

Desire In Her Palace, Walter Crane, 1875 Daily Thoughts 07/22/2020 I checked the library Twitter and Facebook group this morning. I read some more of Leadership is Language .  I am reading about how to get people to improve things for the next time they do a project after they have finished doing a project. I spent a little more time checking on the census flyers.  There is going to be a meeting on Thursday about the census with the City of Mount Vernon.  I watched a training video on how to use the census tablet for tabling.  It is already preset so people can easily fill out the census on the tablet. I also read the latest copy of Bookpage. I asked My Congress Person to Fund the Library Stabilization Act http://www.ilovelibraries.org/article/last-chance-federal-covid-19-funding%E2%80%94here%E2%80%99s-how-you-can-help-america%E2%80%99s-libraries Please do the same.  I try and contact my legislator when I see library legislation.  Adv...

Mary Cassatt, The Cup of Tea, 1880-1881 Daily Thoughts 07/21/2020 I checked the library Twitter and Facebook group this morning. I also checked on the census.  We have more material to distribute. How to Survive A Pandmic, According to an Academic Publisher https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/soapbox/article/83876-how-to-survive-a-pandemic-according-to-an-academic-publisher.html I put out some more material for the census.  I am going to be distributing some more of the We Count Kids! books this week.  We will have one more distribution next week.  We have been handing out census bags with the curbside pickup. I read a copy of Booklist and a copy of The Times Literary Supplement. I have been reading more of Leadership is Language.   L. David Marquet is describing a more collaborative form of leadership with more shared responsibility, breaking things down simple steps, and committing to learn new things.

Daily Thoughts 07/20/2020 I checked the library Twitter and Facebook group this morning. I read some more of Leadership is Language.  I am reading about the idea that one should free oneself from the clock and focus on taking breaks when things go wrong to correct them. I spent some time checking on the census material. I also worked a little bit on the census grant.  Hopefully, it will be done by the end of the day.

Cover of  Famous Funnies   number 214 (December 1953), featuring artwork by   Frank Frazetta , using many of the techniques he employed in  EC 's  science fiction   titles . Publisher:  Eastern Color .,  From Wikimedia, Listed as Public Domain. Daily Thoughts 07/19/2020 I checked the library Twitter and the library Facebook group.  I also read some of the latest news and meditated a little bit. While I am reading through the news, I often like quirky stories.  Libraries are often a haven for the unique or interesting. Some Of the Stranger Books Found in the Bodleian Library https://museumcrush.org/some-of-the-stranger-books-found-in-the-bodleian-library/?fbclid=IwAR30JE_2m5mSaLbczJ01X0-5XfKhdxE4Tp80xqXaxuhStnAIF-TFcN4dSF8 I also look for more local news about libraries. Get A First Look At New York City's Newest Library https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/get-a-first-look-at-new-york-citys-newest-librar...

Edouard Manet, Moss Roses In A Vase, 1882 Daily Thoughts 07/18/2020 I checked the library Twitter and Facebook Group today. I also read some of the book, Language is Leadership The Hidden Power of What You Say and What You Don't by L. David Marquet.  The opening chapter is about the bad decisions that led up to the sinking of the ship, El Faro, a container ship that entered a storm and sank.  The author describes the language used to make the decisions that lead them to their untimely end. I posted a little more about Facebook.  I am still focused on the census. Today, they had a community garden event at the library which went very well.  People showed up, built raised beds, and planted vegetables outside the building.

Nicholas Roerich, 1922, The Kings of the Earth Reading the Book of the Dove Daily Thoughts 07/17/2020 I am reading The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown on my smart phone.  It is an allegorical tale with a robot. I like the clean, simple illustrations in the book. It is easier to read a smart phone than a book on the subway. I checked the library Twitter and Facebook group this morning. I checked the lobby tables to make sure there was census flyers and materials on the curbside pickup tables. I spent some time reading two copies of Library Journal this morning.  I read literature for selecting books both online and in print.  The content is what matters to me, not the package which they come in.  Either print or online is useful.                                

"Artichoke" wallpaper,designed by John henry Dearle for Morris & Co. Printed design pre-1900 Daily Thoughts 07/16/2020 I checked the library Twitter and Facebook group this morning. I posted a little more on the census.  We got some flyers in Spanish for the census.  People took a lot of the We Count Kids books.  I should be getting a shipment of material from the Westchester Library System for the census. Last night I watched several episodes of Season 2 of Star Trek Discovery. I also read some more of Martha Stewart's Organizing.  I am reading about how to plan for a garden year round.  There are a lot of organizational tips for gardening. I have to work on scheduling today. I came in today early to do a little more for the census.  The Westchester Library System sent me tote bags which are being handed out with the curbside pickup.  We also got a large batch of We Count Kids books in Spanish which we are giving to a committee mem...

Daily Thoughts 07/15/2020 I checked the Facebook Group and Twitter this morning.  I also meditated and checked the latest library news.  I read some more of  Martha Stewart's Organizing.   I am reading about how to organize a home office.  Earlier I read about how to organize bedrooms.  I like the tips she gives. This morning, I found an article on Microsoft's new plan for training.  It is tied in with LinkedIn, there are now tracks for specific professions in LinkedIn like programmer and system administrator.  This affects libraries because we subscribe to LinkedIn through an online subscription. https://www-geekwire-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.geekwire.com/2020/microsoft-unveils-sweeping-job-training-initiative-teach-digital-skills-25m-impacted-pandemic/amp/

Cover of the pulp magazine Weird Tales (November 1939, vol. 34, no. 5) featuring Towers of Death  by Henry Kuttner. Cover art by Virgil Finlay.  Daily Thoughts 07/14/2020 Today has been a trying day.  I took a day off to rest.  My father was sick, my son was sick, and several other things which were overwhelming today.  I rested for most of the day. I did not attend two census meetings that happened today.  We did get a census grant which I have to finalize the paperwork for tomorrow.  It was a complete surprise. There was quite a bit that did not get done.  I did get a chance to check my email, the Facebook Group and Twitter page for the library.  I always do this. I took some extra time to meditate and sleep.  I try and have some time to meditate every single day. I read some more of Martha Stewart's Organizing.   I am reading about closets and bathrooms.  It is pretty mundane reading.

Cover of Fall 1953 issue of Tops in Science Fiction, Kelly Freas Daily Thoughts 07/13/2020 I checked the library Twitter and Facebook Group this morning.  I am showing one of my colleagues how to work with the Facebook page.  Social media has become part of a librarians job.  It is part of outreach and programming. I also worked a little more with the census posting on the different social media platforms. We are doing curbside pickup for material from the library.  I took several phone calls today. On the way to work, I read some more of Martha Stewart's Organizing.  Right now, I am reading about how to organize different parts of the house.  I like how she describes how to organize the kitchen.  Her writing is very clear.  It is straightforward and easy to follow.  None of her suggestions are out of reach for the average person so far. I took some extra time to relax last night. Tomorrow there will be a meeting with the cit...

English:  "The Painter's Window," oil on canvas, by Spanish artist Juan Gris.  Courtesy of the Baltimore Museum of Art. 1925,  Juan Gris is one of my favorite artists. Daily Thoughts 07/12/2020 As always, I checked the library Twitter and Facebook group.  I also checked my email.  People remind me that I should not be checking my work email while I am not working.  I find it impossible to not check on things.  I want to know what is happening. This morning, I read a little more of Martha Stewart's Organizing .  I make it a habit to read a little bit every day.  Just like I make it a habit to meditate for a little bit and write a to do list.  Organizing habits make things easier to do. I also did some lite floor exercises.  I can hear Star Trek Discovery Season 2 running in the background.  I'll watch it and go do something else, then come back and watch a little more of it.  It is kind of like background f...

I am the Daughter of that Unfortunate Captain Keitt : a woman throws back her hood and reveals her identity to a man. Howard Pyle, before 1911. Daily Thoughts 07/11/2020 I posted on the library Facebook Group and Twitter.  Like most things you succeed by making things a consistent habit where you do them day after day.  This builds up over time.  Then when you have something worthwhile to say, it attracts a larger audience because you already have a consistent base group of followers. I have been posting daily about the census.  I look around for different places to post.  Today I posted about the census in some Westchester Hispanic groups in the Facebook Groups.  I also posted a Spanish PSA Public Service Announcement on the census.  The 2010 census shows that Mount Vernon, New York is 12.3% Hispanic.  I think this has grown considerably. I still read the news articles on libraries.  However, I don't think it is necessary to pos...

Monet, Red Chrysanthemums, 1861 Daily Thoughts 07/10/2020 It is kind of strange going to Grand Central Terminal in the morning.  It is mostly empty with very restaurants open the trains run on an hourly schedule which gives me a lot of time to wait or make phone calls.  Most of the trains and buses are fairly empty with lots of space between seats.  Everyone is wearing a face mask. I worked a little more on social media.  We are putting together a marketing plan and working with social media right now.  A lot of it is planning on what we are going to do for the next year. I posted about the census and a little bit about the library on social media this morning as well. We are doing curbside pickup which entails people calling in and requesting items to be picked up on the 1st avenue side lobby for adult materials and on the 2nd avenue side entrance for children's materials. I spent a little more time working on the census.  George Latimer, the ...

Van Gogh, Irises, 1890 Daily Thoughts 07/09/2020 This is my second post as Start Over At the Beginning.  I am just warming up today with a public journal.  Part of the reason I wrote my old blog, Book Calendar was that I wanted to keep a public log of what I was doing.  I no longer feel that it is necessary. I got a new webcam today.  I am still not that familiar with it.  It might take me some time to get used to it. I am also planning to go to a conference in September online, the Library Advocacy and Funding Conference on September 14 through September 16.   https://www.everylibrary.org/lafconintro This should be both interesting and useful.  I am going to focus a little more on highlights of what I am doing and less on the mundane things which I do every day. Also, the imagery will change.  It will be a little more about my daily mood. I am not going to just list articles any more as well.  I read a little bit of libra...

interrobang Jack Lipton Daily Thoughts 07/08/2020 Some changes are coming in how I will be doing things.  This blog is no longer about books.  It is about a little more.  It is about my thoughts and feelings and daily experiences.  The world is changing and I thought I might change a little with it. I thought I might expand my horizons a little bit and write about some other things than just books.  There is a lot happening.  I also think, I should be writing about a little more than just what I do at work.