Author: yestoknow

I'm Tony Tallent and I am the Chief Program and Innovation Officer for Richland Library. I like to talk about writing, libraries, arts and communities. Contact me if you'd like to do that, too.

1 in 5? Maybe? (Parkinson’s Law)

I’ve received bunches of feedback from the 5 in 5 Challenge. In gist, what most are saying goes a little like this: I want to do this, but it seems impossible. However…it has made me think more about what I’m doing, writing and I’m more conscious about my time and the quality–and brevity–of what I write.

So, what I’m thinking is this: Maybe we can do 1 meaningful thing in 5 minutes. (?)

Since writing that post, I’ve dug back through my copy of The Four-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss to verify my point about working within time limits often results in a better in product. The point goes back to Parkinson’s Law. Ferris has this to say about it on page 75 of his book:

Parkinson’s Law dictates that a task will swell in (perceived) importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion. It is the magic of the immediate deadline.

With this in mind, I’d say that we’re all right on target! For instance, right now, I am working on a major project to create a mobile literacy outlet here in Charlotte that we’ve dedicated to launch on June 18 (this project includes the customization of a large delivery truck to be the centerpiece for a “mobile library zone”) That’s less than 1 month from now. My senses are heightened, I am on the phone, email and fax and searching for vendors like mad, putting teams into place and looking to hire a skilled and innovative contract program specialist–NOW. All these puzzle pieces are a floating around waiting to come together. However, I simply know they’ll come together in the right time and way. Is this Parkinson’s Law in action? Ask me on June 19.

Traveling Plans

Is there anything like “travel” to keep you aware and pared down to the absolute necessities? Being on the road keeps the mind open and the eyes peeled. The preparations for travel can be as time consuming as the transit itself! Ren Gen Guru Patricia Martin offered some smart and sharp suggestions to getting the travel pack down to the real essentials right before I packed for a big trip. There is something very Zen (and out-of-body) about being on the road and in heightened presentation form…what an opportunity to see what life (and creature comforts) are all about–and find out how necessary are “the necessities.”

5 in 5: Challenging Yourself

I’ve been intrigued by the 31 Day Comment Challenge that I first spotted on the Library Trainer blog. I’ve been taking this challenge but not following the guidelines set out for the it–I like the inspiration, but not the rules. And that’s working for me. I was flying out comments tonight and thought I’d give myself a really intense challenge. Send out 5 comments in 5 minutes. (I even brought in the kitchen timer to make sure I stayed in the time limit). What I found out was that the act of writing comments goes rather fast for me. Reading posts and actually formulating a meaningful response takes longer. I finished 1 and a half comments before the timer went off. But, I kept right on commenting and made 8 comments total within about 28 minutes. So, the news here is that it takes me at least 28 minutes to locate 8 posts of interest and them write 8 (quick) comments.

This all made me wonder a little bigger. How could my personal 5 in 5 challenge work in other, broader areas? What are 5 meaningful communications or actions we can make in 5 minutes? Is it even possible? I’ve read that time constraints can often assist in bringing forth the best end product (think: Project Runway). Anyone want to take this challenge–or build off of it?

5 in 5! Ready, set…

Building From the Top Down

Yesterday I had an excellent conversation with a colleague. He asked me what would I really like to do in the future. My quick response was something like: “I want to build a library from the ground up…well, really from the top down. What I mean by this is not beginning our building with bricks and mortar but with philosophy and commitment so that we are always poised to experiment, ready to adapt and have more limitless thinking and action.” It’s ultimately the invisible that strengthens the visible.

Here are three more questions that can help stimulate “building from the top down” thinking:

1. What if we crafted an entirely user designed library, organization, event?

2. What if our main guide for implementation was “Quick and Effective?”

3. What if we weren’t so concerned with counting resources, people, objects?

What big questions help YOU think (and build) from the top down?

Bake Sales, Bombs and Books

Remember this saying? I think there are still a few station wagons driving around that have it emblazened on their bumper stickers. I remember this saying and starchy screenprint image again as a former colleague of mine (who is now a teacher) recently sent me a request for direct donor support for her classroom of first graders. She’s using the assistance of DonorsChoose to take matters into her own hands. Although the service was founded in 2000, it recently received a boost because of some mentions on TV (7 years later!). I checked in on my friend’s project listed on the site and decided to help out by funding the project. Hoorah for teachers who work to get the job done by doing all they can to help the kids they work with each day. I wonder how an online service like this could work for libraries. Perhaps there is one already ? Let the “great day” that the old bumper sticker talks about happen!

100 Years

Today my grandmother, Carrie, is 100 years old. This past weekend I went back to my hometown to be with her and celebrate her life. This milestone has certainly made me think about all the growth, life and changes that my grandmother has experienced. 100 years. What a difference that can make. My grandmother has lived a rather cloistered life in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. And yet the world she knew in her teens or early adulthood has shifted so greatly, spiraling around her nest, a sky of changing colors around her very defined world. I think about what life was like for her when she was my age. And then I think what life could be like when I am her age (yes, I think we should all plan to live as long as my grandmother). How much the world changed in this time–both the hard world and the world of thought and action. Is there any way to prepare for “the world or tomorrow?” I think about my grandmother and the 10 children she gave birth to, the many concerns and personal trials she must have faced–yet she moved on. There is a grace and carefulness about her that I seldom see in my day-to-day life. Pehaps this comes with age. At the same time I see a playfulness and confidence that few twenty-somethings display within this little woman. I look at this picture of Carrie, my grandmother, on her wedding day (she was 15 years old) and I see in her all the power, fear and hope that rests in all of us. We don’t know what the next 100 years will hold. Really, we don’t know what the next 5 years will hold. What we can know is how we will approach it. Head on. With the eyes and fearlessness of a strong, gentle woman like Carrie.

Brave Enough to Be Silent

Do you know this kid? Likely not. His story has not been told very widely (especially in light of “important news” such as the wedding plans of Jenna Bush–which actually aired during the NBC Nightly News last night). This is a picture of Lawrence King, a 15 year old student in California who was killed by another schoolmate for expressing himself on February 12, 2008.

Today is the National Day of Silence–a day to bring attention to the need to end bullying, mental torture and discrimination, especially GLBT kids who generally have little notable support. This year’s Day of Silence is being held in honor of Lawrence King, a kid who dared to express himself in this world that is still growing and learning, and often does not see the importance and beauty in diversity.

I find it very interesting that The Day of Silence falls on the Friday before Dia de Los Ninos which celebrates kids, learning and diversity.

Did your library or community group observe The Day of Silence? Mine didn’t. For every child who has ever been taunted, hurt or disillusioned by bullying; for every adult who has the memory of discrimination; for every teen who is afraid to come out or simply express themselves–I envision a world ofacceptance and inclusion. I also know that, generally, your Public Library is a safe and accepting place. Let this always be (more) so.

In the memory of Lawrence King, let’s start where we are to make this world a more embracing place.

Dia de Los Ninos (Dia de Difference)!

On Sunday, April 27 Libraries and community centers all over North America will be celebrating Dia de Los Ninos. This celebration brings together the best intentions, dreams and good hard workof so many people from many backgrounds. It is much more than a program effort, it is a concerted drive to bring attention to the importance of of reading in the lives of children as well as the very beauty and diversity of our world. That is a big call to order! It takes a big dreamer (and creator) like author and inspir-er Pat Mora to rally the dreams and efforts of people in so many places to craft something so cohesive and meaningful as Dia. Pat reminds us that Dia de Los Ninos is not just about one day of celebration. It is really a movement that concerns inclusion, involvement and thinking beyond the limitations of today to realize a more unified future for our community. If your library or organization doesn’t celebrate (or in some way honor) the spirit of Dia de Los Ninos, check into it…join this effort that carries the ideas and ideals of community and concern so gracefully and joyfully.

Click! Photos & Freedom

The past couple of days have been some-kind-of-wonderful in that I’ve realized how important it is to embrace and celebrate freedom. Specifically, I’m talking about the freedom to share pictures (images, photos, whatever you want to call them). Since the incident in Washington, I’ve thought more about this than I ever imagined I would. The freedom of the photographer is something that is of great value, especially now that we’re able (and expect to) document our lives, the places we go and our thoughts on them. Lori sent me this recent article from BBC that addresses the issue of the right to take pictures as a citizen.

Jason & Varanrat sent me these “photographer’s rights” links. Jason suggests that if you’re a frequent photo snapper, you should keep a copy of one of these in your pocket at all times. Take a look.

Photographer’s Right’s

Legal Rights of Photographer’s by Andrew Kanter

Photograhy & The Law

Ok, in the last link on photojojo there is the line about “Sensitive government buildings (military bases, nuclear facilities) can prohibit photography if it is deemed a threat to national security.” But how are you supposed to know this if they disguise the building to be something other than it is?

Any photographer’s tales to tell?

Here’s to freedom!

Free Use Photos, Part 2 (The Plot Thickens)

Last week my colleague, Lori, called me for 2 reasons. First, she’d read my post about creating Free Use Photos and was intrigued by the idea. Second, in the process of looking into “Free Use” a bit more, she’d found a group who aim to do just the opposite by making flickr images exclusive, basically inaccessible legally without obtaining specific (paid) rights. [While searching just now, I see that one of the group’s administrators has changed the very formal and hard-edge statement that was listed last week which was essentially language that spoke of image-poachers and keeping images from free use. The statement now is more about offering “useful information for photographers…”].

Lori put forth the challenge to expand my one “Free Use Photos” set into a flickr group. Yes! Within a few hours the Free Use Group was set up, and has grown in the past couple of days to have over 30 members and 4 administrators.

You can be a part of the Free Use Movement, too, and join the Free Use Group.

Part 2, Scene 2

This morning I received a call from the FBI. I’m not making this up. It was a follow-up from the photo-taking-spree I conducted during Computers in Libraries in DC. I explained (again) why one would want to take photos of signs and buildings and such to use in presentations and on blogs. I explained about “Creative Commons” that I had just presented at the conference earlier that morning with Helene Blowers and that I’d posted the images on flickr in a set called “Free Use Photos.” When the interviewer asked me what this flickr thing was and how was it spelled, I resisted the urge to say “well, it’s sort of like The Google.” This “interview” went on for about 10+ minutes. How does one answer questions like “how many pictures did you take of that building?” Which one is “that building?” “Why would you take a picture of a water outlet?” Well, it was interesting and perhaps useful to someone who wants to portray the idea of “letting go of resources.” I have a better question(s): Why did I have to have this conversation in the first place, and does this gentleman have to call every tourist in D.C. who snaps a shot of their reflection in a window or a fire hydrant or an interesting doorway?

I’ll say it again: the “0” in 2.0 should not have to be a hoop (as in “jump through this hoop before you have access”).

Freedom!