The Killer's Tears by Anne-Laure Bondoux

Great new read. It has a fable-like quality that reminds me of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. If you liked that then this will appeal too.

Torchwood and Channel 10

It must be years since I have watched Channel 10. That was a decision brought on by not being able to tell when a programme was due to start! I did a two-hours stint once as friends asked me to watch Australian Idol because their son was on it. I dutifully did as asked - it was the very first series.

So it was with GREAT horror that I saw Torchwood was on Channel 10. But lo and behold, and congratulations to them, it all ran smoothly in timing for the first episodes. I even snatched a bit of a look at Australian Idol and thought "I can cope with that. Might watch again."

BUT - first Torchwood started at delayed times, and now has been relegated to a midnight spot. So again I ask for the the fleas a hundred camels to infest that TV channel; or perhaps some of the dark forces of Torchwood itself.

Tuesday Surprise

Thanks for the gift for finishing the 23 things. Just what I wanted to show my photos of the holiday.

Web 2.0 - perhaps we could start here?

I was really impressed with Western Springs history site shown at the Web Conference - just love the possibliies that you can have a photo of a house/street etc and then have people put their comments about the history etc. (It was a collaborative effort with the Historical society.) Also demonstrated on the day, was the Darebin Historical Encyclopedia - much more input and development seemed to have been done by library staff.

http://www.westernspringshistory.org/ - not via the library website
http://www.darebin-libraries.vic.gov.au/ - found it right down the bottom on the left

And today I saw in the local paper an article on Heritage Grants for Victoria. I thought that Bayside Library Service we could look at two areas - local govt. heritage studies and advice, or the community collections management.

http://www.heritage.vic.gov.au/page.asp?ID=399

I think it would be great to think about this for the future. If it were done through a library initiative, it would be give great cred to the library service from the community AND the Council. That was Darebin's experience. (Imagine all that champagne at the launches!)

Overall impressions of the conference

These are the things that grabbed me.

1. Web - based catalogue - FANTASTIC
2. Interactive Local History files.
3. Blog-based teen pages
4. Patron reviews and Patron tagging
5. Video story time
6. Videos made in libraries - or even bayside photo competition
7. Email notification PRE overdue.
8. Imaginon

It was a wonderfully inspiring day; though felt a bit inadequate with all the technology. I have not even considered implications - that is for others.

However, as Cavafy suggests, Ithica is not a place , it is a journey.

Session 9 - Imaginon - Helen Blowers

So we had come the full circle.

Imaginon is a building in Charlotte which combines a children's/teens library with a theatre. What a space it is. A 500 seat theatre, 250 seat perfomance space, arts/craft area, cartoon/ film-making space.

The main idea is the BRING STORIES TO LIFE.
And it is to DELIVER AN EXPERIENCE, NOT A SERVICE.

http://www.imaginon.org/

They also have photos on flickr - go check now that you have your account.

I'd love to have seen what they did with Fairy Tale Gone Bad! The mind boggles.

No description can do the place justice - even her slides and talk were almost inadequate to get a feel for the space.

One word EXCITING and another might be expensive... shows what you can do with foundation funding.

Session 8 - Darebin Historical Encyclopedia

An online historical resource presented by Katrina Knox (Culture and Leisure)and Jackie Goddard (Library service)

I was really impressed with this. It made me think of the start we have with the photos already on our catalogue. It might also be a challenge in 'letting go' ownership. It is a great way to preserve, as people do not have to disturb the original. I'm sure there would be people willing to scan photos, articles etc

http://dhe.darebinlibraries.vic.gov.au

The mantra - access - develop - interact - participate

It is more than photos - it has around 850 articles associated which librarians mainly inputted. The team is gradually putting on newspaper items from the Northcote Leader. At the moment, the historical talks are there as transcripts, but obviously these could be podcasts in the future.

It turned out to be a larger project than first thought. IT needed to be more involved and it needed separate IT plan to be developed. As it was done inhouse, it took a lot of time - 2-3 years.

Usability was tested - esp for older users.

Positives were -
* access with preservation
* great reference tool for students, general public , and library staff
* increased awareness
* positive reaction from both the local community and beyond.

The SECOND STAGE will include wikis, podcasts, epostcards, blogs and increased interactivity.

MOST EXCITING