End of 2009 wrap up

2009 was a busy, fun year. I've been working on lots of online spaces, but have not managed to post about any of it here. This list is as much a diary entry for me, to remind me of what's been happening over the last 8 months or so:

• 2009 CAVAL Visiting Scholar research project with Michael Stephens. Involved some online surveys, a five week research trip to Australia by Michael and focus groups with Townsville library staff. Highlight of the year, and a high point in my career so far.


• PLA / QPLA conference blog - the joint conference of Public Libraries Australia and Queensland Public Libraries Association held in Townsville in October. This was my first real effort at managing a blog and creating a lot of content for a specific event/project over a defined time period. Very interesting and rewarding.


• Running a Learning 2.0 program for CityLibraries Townsville - CityLibrariesLearning: discover*play*connect


• Joining the Mo-brarians and having fun for Movember


• Realising that some online tools like Twitter, Dropbox and Skype have become almost invaluable tools for my work.

On a non-work topic - here is my very short list of things that had me thinking and reflecting on them long after the initial experience - kind-of like a "best of" list, but not really....

Book - "The art of racing in the rain" by Garth Stein A very moving novel about a family, as seen through the eyes of a dog.

TV - "Breaking Bad" (series 1) Drama, comedy, black comedy and lots of moments that make you think "what would I do in that situation..."

Movie - "Up" by Disney/Pixar. I loved how the movie told such a rich story of a relationship/marriage.

Music - for a whole bunch of reasons....

• "Blood" by The Middle East
• "Little Lion Man" by Mumford and Sons (and a live version from Triple J's Hottest 100 on Australia Day)
• "Brother" by Little Birdy
• "How to Tame Lions" by Washington

Best wishes for 2010!