Where is Page 100?

 I  find page 100 in a book an exciting thing, maybe more exciting than actually finishing the book.  Even if the book has 800 pages, page 100 is the most exciting milestone.  As I was approaching the 100th page in a book I was recently reading I starting thinking about the benchmarks I work towards in a book.  Much like when I run, I look for a landmark in the distance to give me something to focus on and work for.  After I meet that goal, I look off in the distance and find another landmark and so the pattern goes.  In a book I do the same thing.  I start by going chapter by chapter.  Then, as I get to page 60 or 70 I set my sights on page 100.  At this point, I am most likely to "hit the wall" and give up.  Once I hit that glorious centennial page, I get a renewed sense of purpose and my second wind.  I then start setting my sights on the halfway mark, then three quarters and finally, the finish line.   

I have also been reading a book on my iPad.  I love how, when I swipe the page, it turns like a real page.  I also love how I can change the font size and page color.  I even like that it tells me how may pages are left in the chapter.  It is very handy to be able to copy and past text, take notes in the book, and even post a quote from the book on Facebook straight from the app.  I can also carry multiple books with me at the same time.  Another great thing is that if I am out and want to read, I can open the book on my iPhone and pick up where I left off on my iPad.  Despite all of this, it still doesn't show me the benchmarks that I commonly look for in a book.  Even though there is the little progress bar at the bottom, I don’t get to see the bookmark move through the book.  I don't get the joy of reaching that 100th page because the page numbers change depending on the font size. 

I was recently asked which ereader I think is best.  I think they all have their pluses and minuses.  I love my iPad and my wife loves her kindle fire hd.  I have friends who have Nooks and love them as well.  These are great because they function more as a portable computer than simply an ereader but they can really strain the eyes.  The more simple ereaders such as the Kindle Paperwhite fix the eye strain issue, but lack the other functions found on the more advanced tablets.  In the end, though I love my iPad, there isn't a substitute for a real, tangible, book made of paper or the feeling of reaching that 100th page. 

A clean look at a dusty old profession

If you are like me you have always viewed librarians as older ladies with their hair in buns, thick glasses, and too many cats.  I thought this until I became one my self!  Yes, I still see this stereotype fleshed out in many libraries, but I am hoping to break this mold and creat a new, cooler stereotype. 

I kind of fell into being a librarian, or as most in the profession prefer "library media specialist."  While working as the in school suspension teacher, or as people in that profession prefer "prison warden," my colleague and friend who was the working in the library had to resign due to medical reasons. I was sad to see my friend leave, but was also excited to find this get out of jail free card.  I was given a 4 hour crash course in library media science and then thrown into the job 1/3 of the way through the school year.

I have learned a lot in the past couple of years in my new role.  I depend a lot on my local colleagues and the Internet to help me do my job.  One thing I have learned is that the library or the preferred name in the biz "library media center" is way more about technology than you might think. For one thing, we are charged with the task of teaching "cyber citizenship."  Also, the introduction of ebooks is changing the game. I find this attractive because now, we can get our books back automatically and not have to bug kids about it or charge them for lost books. 

I guess this is more like mindless rambling rather than a thoughtful blog post.  I just felt inspired to start a more professioanl blog after going to EdCamp this past week and meeting some really cool teachers and media specialists. I will admit that there may have been some older ladies with buns who treat their cats as children and who still wear their glasses on chains, but, overall most of the people I met were way cooler than me, and that takes a lot...<insert obligatory emoticon> :-)