27 one-sentence blurbs

Buffy Hamilton shared a post from the MLxperience blog (Marianne Lenox) that asks for one-sentence answers to 27 questions (she got it from Maurice Coleman of T is for Training). Here goes:

1) Your One Sentence Bio
I operate on emotion, which I realise is not the best thing in the world, but I am also a very loyal friend, cultivate a certain bit of eccentricity, am very much a geek all around, and enjoy my work as a librarian immensely.

2) Do you blog? If yes, how did you come up with your blog name?
Yes, since 2001, and my blog name is taken from my identification with being a librarian as well as an double-entendre regarding my enthusiasm for the field and a traumatic squirrel bite (long story) in which there was some concern for rabies.

3) What is your professional background?
I have an undergraduate degree in history, sociology, and classics and an MSLS but for some reason wound up as a medical librarian at a charity children's hospital--for 13 years so far.

4) What training do you do? staff? patrons? types of classes?
I work in such a small facility that almost all training is done one-on-one, with occasional inservices in the past when new projects were instituted.

5) What training do you think is most important to libraries right now?
Becoming transliterate ourselves and helping our patrons to do so as well, learning to navigate different ways of acquiring information in all its myriad forms.

6) Where do you get your training?
The MLA provides great classes and webcasts, but I also read a lot in the field.

7) How do you keep up?
A good chunk of my Google Reader feeds are library-related, but primarily I keep up through several electronic lists on a variety of library subjects.

8) What do you think are the biggest challenges libraries are facing right now?
Embracing information in all its forms and educating the public about our expertise in organising, finding, and teaching others how to access that information.

9) What are biggest challenges for trainers?
Keeping up with the latest technologies and iterations of resources.

10) What exciting things are you doing training wise?
Well, to be honest, not much, as I am not primarily a trainer in my job.

11) What do you wish were you doing?
I wish I were working full-time in a library so I wouldn't have to do the current librarian-by-day-gas-station-clerk-by-night thing.

12) What would you do with a badger?
Hope there was a zoo fence between me and it; they can be very, very annoyed when disturbed--embracing nature is a wonderful thing, but embracing a badger is stupid.

13) What's your favorite food?
I'd have to say ice cream, especially English Toffee, although I can proudly say that I have not bought a box in nearly six months as a way of minimising its effects on my diabetes.

14) If you were stranded on an island, what one thing would you want to have with you?
A nicely decked out laptop with reliable satellite connexion, for communicating, learning, and reading, although I guess if that were the case I wouldn't really be stranded, would I?

15) Do you know what happens when a grasshopper kicks all the seeds out of a pickle?
No.

16) Post it notes or the back of your hand?
Post-it notes all the way--although they're easier to misplace than your hand.

17) Windows or Mac?
Windows.

18) Talk about one training moment you'd like to forget?
I was in a job interview demonstrating my training skills and I, the technological geek, got totally thrown off by a wireless mouse and botched the whole thing.

19) What's your take on handshakes?
They're largely silly, but I know the etiquette for them, and since women are the ones who initiate handshakes in mixed company, I normally don't unless I somehow go into super-powered business mode (or unless someone else initiates it, as it is impolite to leave them hanging even if they made a faux pas--ask Miss Manners).

20) Global warming: yes or no
Yes, of course, don't you read the news?

21) How did you get into this line of work?
I had a history degree, was going through a divorce, liked books, and needed a decent career that I'd enjoy--it seemed like a good idea at the time.

22) Why is the best part of your job?
The way people think you magically produced information from the aether without effort.

23) Why should someone else follow in your shoes?
Well, I'd say they should be a little more financially savvy in career choices, but otherwise being a librarian is one of the most rewarding careers available in terms of ephemeral benefits--plus you get to work with books, people, and computers.

24) Sushi or hamburger?
Neither--I'm a pescetarian who likes her fish cooked.

25) LSW or ALA?
ALA--and MLA.

26) What one person in the world do you want to have lunch with and why?
My best friend--he may not be famous, but I love him, he's more intelligent than just about any philosopher or statesman, has a wide-ranging expertise in esoteric and mundane subjects, and he can cook lunch beautifully, too.

27) What cell phone do you have and why?
I have a Nokia 6263 that is an upgrade from an old Nokia brick phone and has a lot of features I use, especially the music player and radio, although it is web-enabled and while not a smart phone per se, is 3G capable.