About

Two great passions in my life (aside from my fantastic husband, quirky cats, and grumpy dog) are library work (which is all about education, learning, and helping others), and rock climbing.

I came to the library world later in life (or so it feels). I spent several years as a computer engineer in the Internet business and I was never more frustrated. I only figured out later that it wasn’t the daily work that bothered me, it was who I was working for. We built sites for huge corporations and that had no value for me. All I knew was that I love to learn and help others – teaching seemed to be a natural fit, so back to school for the required degree and then into the highschools.

Let me say now: the good teachers in the public school system should be worshipped. They have one of the most difficult jobs in the world, and often get very little respect. I came home frustrated every day because I couldn’t reach all 30+ kids in my class that day. It didn’t matter that I might help one or two – I hated the fact that I couldn’t get through to all of them.

We then moved to the best place on earth: Squamish. We did it because at the time it was the only place we could afford, but more importantly, it has the best rock climbing in Canada.

Once here, I taught at the local community college and then met a friend who had just started working at the local library. It hit me like a thunderbolt: library work! Of course! A perfect combination of learning, education, and helping others. Once I got on staff at the library, I discovered how librarians are really pushing the technical envelope. I was impressed and inspired and couldn’t absorb enough.

It didn’t take long before I realized that an MLIS is pretty much a requirement everywhere, but I was reluctant to go back to the classroom for a third degree. The closest school was in Vancouver – I’d have to quit my job and commute and enclose myself in stuffy classrooms once again. So, I started looking around for online programs and found a fully accredited program at Northumbria University in the UK (none were available in Canada). I could do everything online and keep working full-time. It seemed that online learning would be a great fit with my interest in technology, and so I began my studies in September 2005.

Since then, I’ve taken on a contract with the Public Library Services Branch, helping smaller libraries in B.C. get set up with websites and easy-to-use content management systems (we’re using Plone). I’m halfway through the Masters and I’ve learned a lot about online education, but that’s another long post… I can’t wait to finish this degree and see what’s in store…

For now, it’s sunny out, so it’s time to climb.

Note: the views expressed by me on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employers.