Free Range Librarian

K.G. Schneider’s blog on librarianship, writing, and everything else, since 2003.

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Entries from February 2008

Getting that full Lenten experience

February 28th, 2008 · 9 Comments

The first rule of workshop is, do not cry at workshop.
I ran that tape in my mind over and over again this afternoon while the instructor for my writing workshop carefully, politely explained why my essay didn’t work.
I knew it didn’t work; that’s why I brought it to workshop. It has beautiful language and interesting [...]

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Tags: Writing

Off to Oxford…

February 26th, 2008 · 4 Comments

Mississippi, that is, for the Mid-South Creative Nonfiction Conference. By all reports a charming town, with a great bookstore and several good restaurants.
This is my first vacation by myself in over fifteen years — since I met Sandy –and it seemed like a good idea at the time, but I now feel a little stressed. [...]

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Tags: This and That · Writing

Stiffed Again

February 24th, 2008 · 12 Comments

I try not to think about this too often, but at times it’s depressing to contemplate that a capital city with two universities can be home to a “Gourmet Guide” — really, next to what you can find on Chowhound, the only local guide to dining in Tallahassee — with a rating system that [...]

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Tags: Tallahassee Dining · Tallahassee Living

LJ’s John Berry “Writes” an “Opinion Piece”

February 19th, 2008 · 44 Comments

Berry at Library Journal loves to stir the pot, but I don’t get the fuss over his latest about the Vanishing Librarians. Still, heck, I’ll give it a go.
It looks like the “transformation” we seek for libraries and librarianship may turn out to be more of a “deskilling” of library jobs than an enhancement of [...]

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Tags: This and That

Kensington and Leon County library make me a total customer service fangirl

February 19th, 2008 · 3 Comments

I wasn’t in the mood for Thistle and Shamrock on my drive home from a Sunday afternoon writing siege at Panera’s (a little Celtic music goes an extremely long way for me), and I really wanted to finish listening to the latest On the Media show I had downloaded to my iPod, so I rummaged [...]

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Tags: Customer Service · Tallahassee Living

What the hay, Chowhound?

February 14th, 2008 · 7 Comments

At first, when I couldn’t find a post I had made on Chowhound yesterday morning before I left for work, I chalked it up to my own sloppy surfing. I have been acutely focused on Friday’s talk, as many people from MPOW are coming, which I am finding very stressful to the point of frazzlement [...]

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Tags: Intellectual Freedom · Tallahassee Dining · Tallahassee Living · Writing · Writing for the Web

It’s not too late to pitch me those great library blog examples

February 13th, 2008 · 40 Comments

It is very early Wednesday morning, and I’m feeling some small beads of sweat on my neck. I’m looking for inspiration any way I can get it — from my brain, from divine sources, and of course, from you, gentle reader.
This Friday morning I’m giving at talk to SOLINET about how to market, get [...]

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Tags: Blogs Worth Reading · Library 2.0

Link Love Roundup

February 10th, 2008 · 4 Comments

On Thursday I had an annoying but minor crick in my left shoulder (no, not radiating pain — just a definite discomfort around my neck, collarbone, and scapula). I thought it would go away on its own, based on my experience with other cricks and creaks. On Friday I woke up at 6 a.m. and [...]

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Tags: American Liberry Ass'n · Linkalicious

The Shell Oyster Bar: Bliss on the Half Shell

February 4th, 2008 · 6 Comments

Note: this is the first of occasional reviews I’ll do about food in the Tallahassee region. I believe this region has a charm and sensibility of its own that could use new voices and champions. I won’t bother with chain restaurants — the local newspaper has those well-covered — and will focus on the [...]

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Tags: Tallahassee Dining