I wrote an article for Connecticut Libraries this month on iPhone app's. It's one of the things that's most on my mind these days - the power of a mobile application, whether it's WorldCat Local for the iPhone or Google's Mobile Search, the Kindle e-book reader for iPhone, or so many others (over 39,000) available (often free) via the iTunes App store. We librarians have to embrace the importance of mobility and the use of cell phones as people's primary computing devices in order to ensure that we're offering the best possible service for our users.
I've been using Zoho Projects, Remember The Milk, and RescueTime to try and control the many things that are floating around in my mind (yes, blogging is among the multiple-pages of lists I have at RTM). But I still don't feel in control. I think it's because I have to keep flipping modes between micro and macro - big picture / vision work and detailed / code-level work. I love the schizophrenic nature of what I do. I find it a challenge. But I also sometimes feel like I'm out of control of it all. I think it's because I have difficulty estimating the amount of time some tasks take, particularly those related to troubleshooting code. And because I often get sidetracked, there is the relearning curve when I return to a type of project that I've successfully worked on before but haven't finished up the final bits of. We have a lot of technologies to master here. I'm even straightening out old ASP code (which, yes, should be converted, I know, but ask me where that fits on the list of to-dos). The other bit I'm having some trouble balancing is the person vs. technology based aspects of my career. I find I have to be very different in dealing with people and politics than I am with working directly on technological solutions. I feel very fulfilled when I resolve issues - but these types of issues - the emotional/political issues vs. the technical ones - require very different types of energy and orientation.
In trying to get control of things, I've reduced the amount of time I spend on my Twitter and Facebook. I hooked my Twitter updates to update my Facebook status, but of course, that made me more cognizant of how many tweets I do in a day and - not wanting to load down others' feeds - I reduced the number. Then I felt like I wasn't participating in the conversation. I think I must master FriendFeed to help pull these aspcts of my online life together, but I haven't taken the time for that.
Some new technologies that I'm hearing buzz about, btw, include:
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The flip side of crisis = opportunity
I can't believe that May is ending. I haven't posted in over a month... So what's been going on?
Well, the larger issue that has been influencing our work lives and environment is the state's budget crisis. A union agreement that passed in May promised no layoffs in the coming fiscal year, but offered a retirement incentive package. I don't recall the exact numbers, but I believe it was something on the order of 1/3rd of our agency qualifies for this package. Even after the agreement passed, we weren't sure who was leaving. We still aren't. And we can't imagine what things will look like once we lose those people who carry with them so much institutional knowledge.
There are issues with the budget, moreover, that are so serious that it seems every day brings some new restriction. State agencies have been on a hiring freeze for something like a year now, with no promise of letup. The only way we'll save money via retirements, as far as I can guess is to NOT rehire those positions that are left vacant. The supplies - now that's an issue, too. We can't print things out anymore. We must absorb everything on-screen. I'm not so good at that, so if my proofreading gets worse & my work seems a bit more careless, I apologize in advance. Just this weekend, it sounds like the legislature raided one of our programs that provides grants. There is no purchasing being authorized. Our fiscal folks are at once under serious strain and yet having little to do because of the freeze. When the dam breaks, so to speak, it will be extremely difficult for them, no doubt, since there will be months of catching up. The new SEBAC agreement includes required "furlough days" (during which the agencies will be closed, employees will not report to work, and will not be paid). Even if you did the voluntary giveback / unpaid leave days in the April-June period, the furloughs are required.
Still, I know our agency & even our state are not alone. I'm grateful that our situation isn't worse. And I'm hopeful that this crisis will represent an opportunity - that it will require us to work in new ways and thus to innovate. The weight of our many years of tradition at this institution will no longer matter as much, because we cannot afford to keep the status quo. We have to work together in new ways. Those who are left will have to pull together, pool knowledge, share burdens, and communicate more directly than we ever have had to before. I know that our leader has shown his leadership skills more than ever, with his optimism and promise that our flexibility and adaptability will be our strength.
Well, the larger issue that has been influencing our work lives and environment is the state's budget crisis. A union agreement that passed in May promised no layoffs in the coming fiscal year, but offered a retirement incentive package. I don't recall the exact numbers, but I believe it was something on the order of 1/3rd of our agency qualifies for this package. Even after the agreement passed, we weren't sure who was leaving. We still aren't. And we can't imagine what things will look like once we lose those people who carry with them so much institutional knowledge.
There are issues with the budget, moreover, that are so serious that it seems every day brings some new restriction. State agencies have been on a hiring freeze for something like a year now, with no promise of letup. The only way we'll save money via retirements, as far as I can guess is to NOT rehire those positions that are left vacant. The supplies - now that's an issue, too. We can't print things out anymore. We must absorb everything on-screen. I'm not so good at that, so if my proofreading gets worse & my work seems a bit more careless, I apologize in advance. Just this weekend, it sounds like the legislature raided one of our programs that provides grants. There is no purchasing being authorized. Our fiscal folks are at once under serious strain and yet having little to do because of the freeze. When the dam breaks, so to speak, it will be extremely difficult for them, no doubt, since there will be months of catching up. The new SEBAC agreement includes required "furlough days" (during which the agencies will be closed, employees will not report to work, and will not be paid). Even if you did the voluntary giveback / unpaid leave days in the April-June period, the furloughs are required.
Still, I know our agency & even our state are not alone. I'm grateful that our situation isn't worse. And I'm hopeful that this crisis will represent an opportunity - that it will require us to work in new ways and thus to innovate. The weight of our many years of tradition at this institution will no longer matter as much, because we cannot afford to keep the status quo. We have to work together in new ways. Those who are left will have to pull together, pool knowledge, share burdens, and communicate more directly than we ever have had to before. I know that our leader has shown his leadership skills more than ever, with his optimism and promise that our flexibility and adaptability will be our strength.
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