I have so many projects and events to update on, but so little time to talk much about them. To break the silence on this blog here’s a blog-and-dash post featuring some quick highlights.

Nancy Butler’s talk at the Heliconian Club was an absolute inspiration. I was shocked to realize that she has served as the solo volunteer librarian that supports the entire Shaw festival, and happy to be replaced so she can pass on all the work she has done since 1982. I am going to try and get a copy of her speech and post it on the club’s website. The club is a wonderful place with many inspirational members, but their communication methods need a total make over to make up for 30 years of lag in order to really take off as they enter into the next 100 years. Guess who couldn’t turn down the opportunity to design a communication strategy for a community organization from the ground up? Me!

The phenomenon of the undervalued information professional is not limited to the traditional institutions, as the information architect often gets left out of the picture as well when knowledge systems and websites are being built. I have been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting on the changing field of information through my work in putting together a pilot professional development event for the KMDI, which is designed to address the ‘other’half of the students at the Faculty of Information who doesn’t identify with the culture of being a librarian or archivist, although they share similar values. I serendipitously attended a presentation by Kimberly Silk that alerted me to the incredible research that SLA had done on this topic just over a year ago, which is practically mandatory reading for those who really struggle with the identity of this profession, either as a employee or an employer. All this paints a complex picture and it’s great fun to connect the dots.

I am doing some project and funding planning for the On-Demand Book Service in the background, to move it beyond its incubation phase as a learning scenario in a classroom context, towards user needs assessment and system design specifications (two areas that I am very interested in). It is also a great excuse to try and bring people together, and work with them on a project, from across disciplines and institutions. That’s all I really can say right now, but hey, planning for the future is important but unsexy work! Such as documentation. Don’t be surprised if you start seeing some of that in the form of blog posts.

Overall, there is a lot of research and writing I’m doing vis-à-vis my master’s and consulting work. The work is varied and unique, such as bringing my design background into an information needs research project, and the opportunity to address issues of knowledge organization in the domain of music. I love the opportunity to connect with people that this type of work presents, either through my talk coming up next week, or the projects and ideas I’m working on right now. But boy is it ever a big reading list.

I am getting rather good at this juggling act, but I am really looking forward to getting through the next couple of months without resorting to drinking coffee.

Which I haven’t.

Yet.