Another Thursday morning training session - this time on our map library which moved over to this building when our last 'outpost' finally shut down last summer. It was a session that was evidently in huge demand and all of the ground floor wanted to go - including all the folk who'd normally be on the enquiry desk at that time.

I decided it probably would be more helpful for those who spend a lot more time on the enquiry desk than I do, to know how to answer queries so I (sort of) offered to sit on the desk and allow them all to go. I guess as 'team leader' for these two years that kind of falls to me. But anyone who knows my personality type will understand how much I felt I was "missing out".

On the up side though, I did manage to answer all five of the questions I got and the first one I couldn't manage came just as everyone emerged from the briefing and I could pass over the query to those who knew better.

I should have had some (80+) masters students to see today.

Fortunately on Monday the academic involved phoned to ask if I was "all set for tomorrow?" (i.e. Tuesday).

"Tuesday?" I said, recognizing his voice. "I've got you down as a two hour slot on Wednesday. In pen. For some time now."

Well, whoever fouled up and although I wouldn't put it past me I'm normally inordinately careful over such arrangements and always verbally or via email echo back the booking to be doubly sure, at least his phone call enabled the error to be spotted in time. Or I'd have spent a puzzled half hour wondering where they all were this afternoon and they'd have been waiting for me yesterday. Close one.

Quite a busy and 'stretching' day.

Someone at another University had read my article on our new extension and asked if a small group of their staff could come and visit as they're about to "renew and refresh" their library.

It fell to me to arrange it which I reckon is on the limits of my organizational ability. Still, I suggested a timetable, persuaded the Uni Librarian to give a talk on the process of the requirements planning, the architecture competition and the build; persuaded a couple of other colleagues to do a presentation on the revision of the website; and (only at the last minute) inveigled several colleagues to come and consume a "free lunch" with us so it wasn't me talking all of the rest of the time. I'd thought scheduling 90 minutes for a tour was possibly too much. It turned out to be far too little and I felt as though I spent the entire day chivvying them around.

But they seemed to enjoy it and claimed that they found it helpful. As ever it was interesting seeing our place through fresh eyes. Only a shame that we can't be a fly on the wall as they debrief.

First day in my diary for ages without a formal engagement. And what a relief that is. At last a chance to catch up with the seriously overloaded desk and email intray that I'm accumulating. Our IT lot are enforcing the mailbox quotas they've been warning us about but they're quite tight and those of us who, rather than printing stuff out, keep a fair bit of email and/or subscribe to high-volume mailing lists don't have any easy task of getting down to the quota limit. How much is a hard-drive? Could I buy them one for me?!

(Apparently not, after an earlier whinge the University Librarian did actually ask this at some higher meeting where the IT folk were present. And was told "it's more complicated than that". I'm sure it is; but I still think the tail is wagging the dog!)

Had to present the beginnings of the work I've done on a project for pre-entry students today. What little I'd knocked together of a pretend suite of web pages in PowerPoint seemed to go down well. If only there was really time to work on it properly.

But away with the family for the weekend, I knocked off at lunchtime (seemed a fair trade for Wednesday when I was here till 7.15pm).

Some of our once a week morning training sessions aren't so much training but social. This morning's talk was from a loans team member who has recently visited Thailand. Great stories, great pictures and interesting insight into an alien culture. My few days there a couple of decades ago didn't do it justice (which I knew at the time), but it was fun to revisit virtually.

The academic who arranged the mindmapping lecture also persuaded me to offer a workshop this afternoon demonstrating the software we have available (two different packages - not to mention the examples I've produced using PowerPoint) and providing an opportunity to have 'hands on' with PC/software or to explore the colored pencil option...

But while you can lead a horse to water, you can't make it drink and though I waited a good while, not a singe student showed up!

Training session today from our biggest (by far) ebook providers. 37,000 titles.

Discovered we're his example university as he trails round the country selling the product. Apparently we're the biggest user bar one (a uni with a lot of campuses abroad, with presumably limited library facilities). Not only that but rather than the average usage of such collections running to about 50% of the titles getting at least a view, apparently we're up at 70% which is good.

Hopefully with the new data mining post we've just employed we'll start getting some really useful/interesting statistics out of what's on offer from this and many other databases.

I'm still not convinced ebooks have really 'arrived' though when they must be read on a PC connected to the internet (though that's frequently becoming easier to manage!).

Bit neurotic about a lecture I had to give this morning. It was on mindmapping. I'm familiar with the topic and have taught on it before at TheOldPlace, but it's been a while. And this was to 80+ students. And I'd spent the weekend trying and failing to hunt down a folder full of lovely examples of mind maps I'd collected over the years (I suspect I threw them out in some attempt at a clear out - maybe between jobs).

Always difficult to judge how it's gone - especially when someone sitting in the middle of the second row of one of our largest lecture theatres has quite evidently gone to sleep. (I debated waking him up and then decided to leave him as it would only have been jealousy. If I'd stopped talking for more than two minutes, *I'd* have probably been asleep.)

After a couple more hours of lectures to Masters students over lunch and the early afternoon, the rest of the day turned into a horrible example of good news/bad news.

The bad news was this I discovered I'd lost the key to the drawer where I put my laptop and digital recorder.
The good news was the latter bits of expensive kit were both very safe!

The bad news was it took the best part of an hour trawling everywhere I've been today (various bits of the library, a nearby bookshop, a lunchtime eatery to celebrate someone's birthday, the lecture theatre from this morning). I'd left the lecture theatre till the very last place as it was furthest away. Of course, I arrived half way through a lecture and sat down to wait till the end of the hour.

The good news is that with time to kill I went through *all* my pockets again and actually found a pocket in my suit I didn't even know existed - and there was my (small) key.

The bad news is I'm utterly exhausted after three hours of really big lectures (not to mention the additional hike round the city and campus that I could have lived without!)

The good news is that if weren't for the latter I wouldn't have bumped into a student from the mass this morning who stopped me as I scoured the sidewalks to say thank you for the lecture this morning! It almost made it worthwhile.

(Oh and thank you to S from TheOldPlace who helped dig out some of the old material we'd prepared back when we did mind mapping as a shared session).

A PowerPoint session this morning from my favorite guru over in the academic skills unit. I have a lot of admiration for the style and content of Z and his ability to communicate in clear and interesting ways.

Actually, it wasn't so much a PowerPoint training session as an 'anti' PowerPoint session. It wasn't hands on, more a led discussion around the research that's been done that shows that PowerPoint doesn't actually help students learn and in fact in some cases hinders. Very interesting and although it's the second time through the material for me (it was hearing it elsewhere that got me to have him invited to do the same thing again in the Library), it's such a change of attitude from what we've all been led to believe and trained to do that it will probably take me at least a couple of hearings to let it sink in. If anyone wants pointers to the research, comment and I'll post URLs.

The Marketing Department came to talk to us this morning. Three ladies telling us about different aspects of their work - interacting with schools and colleges, 'forming relationships' with students and so on. Two had PowerPoint to talk to and the third who was apparently lurked to do the talk at the last moment, didn't. At least twice she apologised for "not having a presentation". By which, she must have meant 'PowerPoint' as quite clearly she did have a presentation and gave it very ably.

The afternoon was spent trying to get collective ideas from and promises of help from a small group who'd I struggled to get volunteers for as *their* managers were unhappy releasing them. I just about got the hour we spent (garnering good thoughts it must be admitted) but they can't commit to doing any actual work because of the other pressures of their departments. So I guess it's still down to me despite this being one of the 'solutions' my boss gave me! Joy.

Last night I trawled up to TheOldPlace who were hosting a 'computing' lecture. I went with a couple of computing academics and it turned out the speaker was actually one of our old students. Now working for IBM. As a 'metaverse evangelist'.

It was on the subject of Second Life (and how businesses use it although that didn't seem to be the main focus). He did a great presentation which was interesting, informative and insightful. I could have listened to him for longer even though it was late, I was very tired and facing a long trip home. One highlight was this machinima which he showed us:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxVDVggLqsA
but there was lots of other good stuff and I believe we're now hoping to get him to come and talk down in our neck of the woods.

Went to see the boss yesterday feeling a bit stressed over another new project I've been given to do (and quite a tight timetable on it). She was very supportive and offered various bits of advice and ways I could get help.

But I'm not sure the real import of what I was saying (I thought very clearly and explicitly) went in.

This morning I got a request from her to drop in on a meeting she was chairing and offer my Belbin 'plant' thinking - sparking ideas and so on. Which I was happy to do. And it seemed to go well.

I was less impressed when at the end I was given one of the group's projects to take on. Even when I pointedly asked whether that was appropriate given I wasn't a part of the group and had only been invited to come and provide ideas.

I shall cite this post at my nervous breakdown recrimination.

I know, I know it's been an age since I posted. I daren't even look.

I could blame the pressure of work, stresses at home, depression caused by that and more. But now, of course, it's just become a 'where do I start up again?'.

I won't endeavour to catch up, but if I get a 'blank' day might revisit something in the diary from the gap. But in the meantime, I'll just attempt to get going again...

Terrific Superbowl!

They can be a bit one-sided but this was nailbiting right down to the wire.