Really the last word...

...and it goes to Shakespeare, in the form of this very clever piece of writing by Bernard Levin

On Quoting Shakespeare

If you cannot understand my argument, and declare it's Greek to me, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger; if your wish is father to the thought; if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or lived in a fool's paradise -why, be that as it may, the more fool you , for it is a foregone conclusion that you are,as good luck would have it, quoting Shakespeare; if you think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage, if you think it is high time and that that is the long and short of it, if you believe that the game is up and that truth will out even if it involves your own flesh and blood, if you lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul play, if you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop) without rhyme or reason, then - to give the devil his due - if the truth were known (for surely you have a tongue in your head) you are quoting Shakespeare; even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing, if you wish I was dead as a door-nail, if you think I am an eyesore, a laughing stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded or a blinking idiot, then - by Jove! O Lord! Tut tut! For goodness' sake! What the dickens! But me no buts! - it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare.

Last Words

The Playground has been quite a fun experience for me because I got to do it both as a "student" and as a "Teacher". As a trainer, it was not always easy to stay one step ahead of everyone else, which I had to do in case someone asked me a question and I actually had to help them complete one of the tasks! Overall I think this has been a useful and enlightening experience for me, and I have really enjoyed interacting with my fellow staff over the "things". It's been interesting seeing some folks emerge from their technology shells, and also to see how creative some people are with their blogs. Hopefully we can take some of the things we have collectively learned on the Playground and use them to create innovative programs for us and for the public.

Del.icio.us -- But Not to Me

I left this one to last because frankly it left me cold. I really can't see the point of having one's bookmarks here. Maybe it's because I don't have very many, and have no desire to collect hundreds of them. I can see it's usefulness for some folks but it's definitely not for me. I also don't really see the point of the social networking side of it. Frankly it would be just as easy to do your own searches on Google. So no delicious for me. (Maybe it has something to do with my not liking chocolate??

Email, Calendars and Office 2007

I am already pretty familiar with Email etiquette, so not much new here for me.

I haven't set up a meeting on Calendars but have certainly received invitations. This is a very useful tool because you can make sure not only that people get the information but that they get reminders of the event as well.

When I first saw the new Word and Excel I liked the layout, but I had alot of trouble finding the tools I commonly use, and even now, having used it already quite frequently, forget where things are. I like the translation tool!

Technorati - No. 11

With all those blogs out there, it's good to have something trying to organize them. I like how they have been put in categories. I did at search with just the word "Shakespeare" and got 16,000 hits. I narrowed it down to "Shakespeare festival" and got 442 hits. The watchlist feature is nice, I like the idea of an automatic filtering of subjects of interest. I don't want to do it though - who has the time! It seems if you want people to find your blog,this is the way to go. I don't want anyone to find mine, so I won't claim it.

#13 Library 2.0 - O Brave New World!

I have been in libraries since babyhood, when my mother wheeled me to her volunteer job at the local library (which by the way was the first incarnation of Capilano Library!). When I was old enough, I used the card catalogue to find stuff for school projects and my Sunday afternoon by the fire reading. In university it was microfiche (whoever thought that was a good technology!),and near the very start of my career as a librarian came the computer, which changed everything. I remember in those first days of the computer catalogue, and how often patrons came to me looking for the card catalogue and bemoaning its demise. Think if we tried to bring that back now...!

Now it's all changing again, and libraries need to jump on the 2.0 bandwagon with all their traditional values in hand. Spider Robinson once said that librarians rule the world, because they control all the information. We don't need to rule, but we need to lead, we need to keep libraries relevant and places where people want to go. We need to be at the vanguard, using these new technologies to enhance the old ones. We need to be in a position to teach the new stuff to those who are used to the old, and use the fresh ideas and the people who have them to keep pace with a world that because of 2.0 is not getting bigger but is getting smaller as the whole connects in.

Vanier Park