Please wait while I boot up…

Me: freelance librarian, 80% project manager, 20+% editor, writer, teacher, lecturer, translator, dreamer, commuter, shoe addict, music-lover.

My job(s): The Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences coordinates the getting Netted project where I’m the project manager, while the public libraries in Turku and Vaasa develop the contents and work with different user groups.

The project is all about social library work, but this time in close cooperation with the user groups in question – or at least with the local associations, societies and organisations – in planning the forms of activities. If your’re interested, find out more at http://verkkohaltuun.wordpress.com/ where the participating libray professionals from Turku and Vaasa city libraries and us project workers will blog during the week.

My day: working from home today. An average week, I commute once a week to Seinäjoki where I have an office on the Getting Netted project. Most weeks I’ll also be to Helsinki and back at meetings – but not this week, though. (Next week, I’ll be in Helsinki on Monday and Tuesday, Seinäjoki on Wednesday, Tampere on Thursday and Friday – it takes four hours to Helsinki by train, one and a half to Seinäjoki and just under three hours to Tampere. But working on a train makes the hours fly by.)

But. As I’ve already told elsewhere, I did most definately not get off to a good start today. I missed an online meeting I had set up. Totally unacceptable and completely embarassing, though everybody involved were really understanding. It took some time before I pulled myself together afterwards… (hence the booting up.)

An important piece of equipment when working from home.

I love working from home! You can get a lot done when there are no distractions, it’s quiet and you can choose the time of the day when you feel most productive. There are days when I’m in my pj’s and slippers until it’s time to hit the gym. Today, though, I had to dress up properly as it was -16 degrees C outside and I wanted go and vote in the second round of the presidential election – at the local libray, where else.

The day just flew by! We’re organising over 20 workshops, seminars and webinars on the project during the spring which means a lot of planning. Today, I’ve been going through email, answering mails, sending out quite a few, updating seminar programs, contacting potential speakers.

Tomorrow I’ll have to mix the project work with some writing and translating, as I’ll have to get an abstract of the Finnish library journal ready before Friday when the first issue of 2012 comes out. Bye until tomorrow!

Library Day in the Life 5

I started the day, as always, going through my two email acoounts, FB and Twitter updates and the news headlines on my iPhone, in bed. I don’t know if it’s a bad habit or not but it’s what I do first thing and last thing, almost every day…

The first thing I did at work was to have a very pleasant meeting with our  compentent events secretary over a coffee. As I’ve got so few working days left at my current position I’m trying to go through any unfinished projects or unclear assignments personally with each team member.

During the morning I, once again, answered questions about volunteering for the IFLA congress in Helsinki 2012 and edited a text on the subject. I updated agendas for meetings to be held next week and started working on a report on the services offered to the public libraries last year.

The afternoon was spent on filming an interview on Kirjastolehti. The interview was conducted by the dynamic duo, Riitta and Tuomas, from Kirjastokaista, the Finnish library internet tv. The library journal will no longer be only a professional journal but also a magazine for the patrons. Me and the editor-in-chief, Ira, talked about future plans, the contents and new look of the journal. The concept is new as the first new-style issue only comes out on next Thursday (as will the interview).

We also had time to discuss some public events for libraries the National Library is organising this spring where I would like Kirjastokaista to be present and interview staff and participants. It is good PR but also a great way to introduce specialised topics and new forms of seminars etc. to the whole library network.

None of my working days this week have been especailly ‘typical’ which I suppose is how my working life is going to be from now on: untypical, varied, versatile. That is exactly how I like it!

Library Day in the Life 2

Phew, what a day. Lumbago on the mend, though, at least I can bend down enough to take off my boots which is a huge improvement from yesterday.

The much-talked-about editorial meeting went well: lots of talk on and off-topic, chit-chat, laughter, new ideas, as well as rediscovering old ones. Me and the editor-in-chief, Ira, also discussed the interview scheduled for Friday afternoon with Kirjastokaista, the Finnish library net television.

After doing some shopping (for clothes, not shoes) I commissioned the articles for the professional 16-page pull-out I’m managing editor for. I also sent a message on Facebook to six book branch professionals as I’d like them to tell about their hobbies / interests in an article I’ll be writing myself. The theme of the next library journal issue will be fitness and well-being, physical as well as mental and intellectual.

I also answered and / or forwarded a few emails on the IFLA congress (Helsinki 2012!), topics for our management team meeting on Monday and future seminars. I’ve also been trying to figure out how much annual leave I’ve gathered by the end of May when I’m thinking of leaving my steady job at the National Library and starting out as a freelancer.

I’m quite looking forward to tomorrow. The whole management team from work and my own team of  customer management are attending a whole day workshop on – ta-da – customer management. But more about that later in the week.

Off to bed now with a book on journalism ethics. Nighty night.