Absence Alert

I am going to be away for several days, and then fairly busy for the next coupla weeks. I will be posting as I have computer access and time, but to be honest the blog will be pretty low on the priority list during that time. Consider it a bonus if you hear from me. 8-)

In the meantime, I encourage you to visit Slaw to see what my fellow contributors over there are up to.

I will be attending the upcoming KM World and Intranets 2005, and anticipating some good blogging from there, so do check back around November 14th!

Cheers,
Connie

Wilson Jones University - How to Get Organized!

From office/school supply manufacturer, a whole section on learning to get organized: Wilson Jones University.

Also, helpful articles on these topics:

• managing clutter


• managing documents


• managing projects


• managing time


• managing workspace

Internet Librarian 2005 - InfoToday Blog

Check out the InfoToday Blog for the Internet Librarian 2005 conference, currently in progress (actually, probably winding down!).

Statement by the Prime Minister on the Passing of Rosa Parks

I quite like today's Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on the passing of civil rights icon Rosa Parks at age 92:

"Today I join all Canadians in mourning the passing of one of the most influential figures in the modern civil rights movement. Rosa Parks was an icon, not just for minority communities in the American south, or for women, but for all of humanity the world over. From her refusal to be treated with indignity on a 1955 Montgomery, Alabama, bus was born a movement and from this movement, a greater appreciation and acceptance of the sacred principles of liberty and equality.

“Though Ms. Parks spoke in the quietest of tones, her voice will continue to ring loud as a symbol of courage, of the strength of the human spirit and of the need to continue the fight against inhumanity in all of its manifestations.”

LexisNexis Butterworths Canada now distributing Condor Books and Jewel Publications

Did you miss it like I did? I have started receiving invoices from LexisNexis Butterworths for Condor Books and Jewel Publications, and wondered why. Found my answer!

See the June 2005 "What's New" newsletter [PDF: See page 5] from LexisNexis Butterworths (Canada) for this announcement:

Condor Books and Jewel Publications Agreement

LexisNexis is pleased to announce a new agreement with Condor Books Inc.
and Jewel Publications Ltd. that will allow LexisNexis to distribute the
following publications:
• Annotated Creditors and Debtors Laws of Ontario (Lazar Sarna and Philip Petraglia)
• Bankruptcy of Corporations (Lazar Sarna)
• Code civil du Québec annoté (Lazar Sarna)
• Code de procédure civile annoté (Lazar Sarna)
• Corporate Securities and Finance Law Report (Lazar Sarna, ed.)
• Corporate Securities Laws in Canada with a Guide to U.S. Law (Lazar Sarna and Philip Petraglia)
• Directors and Officers — A Canadian Legal Manual (Lazar Sarna and Hillel Neuer)
• Insider Trading — A Canadian Legal Manual (Lazar Sarna and Noah Sarna)
• Law of Bankruptcy and Insolvency in Canada (Lazar Sarna)
• Mergers and Acquisitions (Lazar Sarna and Petra Alince)
• Rank of Creditors’ Rights in Canada (Lazar Sarna and Audi Gozlan)

Ontario Hospital Wait Times Now Listed

The Ontario Government is now listing wait times for hospitals throughout the province. See: Ontario Wait Times Strategy : Introduction. From the left of the page, you have options to read about wait times across the province, search for shortest wait times in your area, and have various questions and concerns addressed.

Providing the general public do find this page buried on the Ministry of Health website, I think this will go a long way to dispel some existing anxiety in this province.

FIS Alumni Tea - Wednesday, November 9, 2005

This year's FIS Alumni Tea will be taking place as described below:

Faculty of Information Students
University of Toronto

FIS Alumni News Update
Owing to scheduling issues, the FIS Alumni Tea is no longer on November 2nd. The Tea will be held Wednesday, November 9th, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. You are invited to come and provide career insight to the Faculty's students! RSVP to Sara at 416-978-3034 or alumni@fis.utoronto.ca. We hope to see you there.
Kim WachtaPresident, FISAA
Judy DunnAssistant Dean, FIS

If you are FIS alumni, I strongly encourage you to attend. Last year it gave me a terrific chance to connect with students and other alumni. It is especially important to be present to support students and encourage them as they embark on this new career!

And don't forget to sign up for the "Ask an Alum" programme!

Reminder - Connie Crosby Links

Don't forget I have a "sister" blog to this one. It is gathering up the web links to items I am viewing on the web and have ear-marked for future reference. It's a "link blog" and is available by clicking on http://conniecrosbylinks.blogspot.com from the bar at the side of this blog. I often post several times a day over there! You don't know what you are missing if you haven't had a look yet.

Cheers,
Connie

FIS Graduate Placement and Salary Survey Released

Each year the Faculty of Information Studies at the University of Toronto conducts a Placement and Salary Survey of its recent graduates. Results of the survey of graduates who received the MISt degree in 2004 has now been released: Placement and Salary Survey, 2004. I am always surprised at how high the salaries are for starting positions, but do not feel this is a bad thing for those graduating with a professional masters' level degree. Do keep in mind that it is a small, self-reporting group. Previous surveys are also available at the bottom of the page.

All This Week! Guest at Out of the Jungle

Check it out! Out of the Jungle.

Oh Frabjous Day!

Calloo, callay! My Deluxe Librarian Action Figure (Nancy Pearl in red) came in today. A big thanks to Wendy for ordering her for me!

Movers & Shakers 2006

I was tipped off to this by Jessamyn West in her blog librarian.net:

The editors of Library Journal need your help in identifying the emerging leaders in the library world. Our fourth annual Movers & Shakers supplement will profile 50-plus up-and-coming individuals from across the United States and Canada who are innovative, creative, and making a difference. From librarians to vendors to others who work in the library field, Movers & Shakers 2006 will celebrate the new professionals who are moving our libraries ahead.

Deadline for submissions is November 1, 2005

To nominate someone for Movers & Shakers 2006, please print out the form at

http://www.libraryjournal.com/contents/pdf/LJMoveShakeForm.pdf

and return it to Ann Kim, Library Journal, 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010 or fax to 646-746-6734. Movers & Shakers 2006 will be distributed with the March 15 issue of Library Journal.

Previous Movers & Shakers

My Current Obsessions

These are the things I am currently working on/worrying about/losing sleep over (in no particular order):

- finding time to do everything I want to do or (more importantly) that I said I would do. My constant battle!

- figuring out what type of intranet architecture and applications would best suit my organization. I am spending lots of time talking to people, creating consensus, reading, and viewing vendor demos. I am confident it will all come together with enough work;

- convincing my partner Marty that we really will need a vacation in the next four months and that it is a good thing to plan ahead for these sorts of things since the spontaneous last-minute thing never seems to work out for us;

- getting through the mound of invoices. The more behind I get, the faster the pile seems to grow. I have to get these cleared up pronto since I have a budget report pending, not to mention publishers calling;

- sorting out which loose leaf services to cancel. I hate to slag anyone, but generally the publishers really seem to have crossed a line with the number of loose leaf services and filing releases they are producing. Old, tried-and-true textbooks are now being produced in a loose leaf format. Formerly those titles updated once a year are now being updated twice or even three times a year, at twice or three times the cost since most are charged per release. Not only has this put a tremendous strain on our budgets, but also staff cannot keep up with the filings. And gee whiz, do you think this could be contributing to my growing backlog of unprocessed invoices? Hmmm.... The only solution I can come up with (aside from constant whining on my part which frankly doesn't seem to be helping) is to cancel those that aren't getting enough use all at once and explain why we are doing so. Just as soon as I find some time....

- getting rid of STUFF. At home and here in the office, I am really fed up with the clutter I seem to accumulate. My coworkers did a wonderful thing earlier this year and organized my office while I was away. I haven't done too bad at maintaining it, but I really need to clear out some of the things that I'm not using. One step I have taken is that, for any invoices I keep on file in the cabinet (but usually don't have time to file, so they sit in a pile), I have instead been scanning them into PDF and filing them away electronically on the network. Presto, changeo! No more paper piled up, no more paper to clear out of the cupboard when it gets too full. It's almost too simple....now I just need to find some other solutions to reduce my time spent on my routine tasks.

Well, thanks for listening. My time spent here hasn't helped clear up the backlog, but I sure feel a lot better after venting! Now, back to those invoices....

Guest blogging at Out of the Jungle

All this week (October 3 - 7, 2005) I am guest blogging at Out of the Jungle. Jim Milles has asked me to give a Canadian perspective of legal research in law firms, and in particular whether students coming out of law schools are seen as having the skills they need for legal research. Will the reality of Canadian law firms contrast with U.S. firms?

I encourage you to head over there, and welcome you to comment on (or gently correct) my postings.

Cheers,
Connie

Run for the Cure Recap

Thanks to everyone who sponsored my 5 km walk today for the CIBC Run for the Cure to raise funds for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. It was a gorgeous day, and my friend Melanie joined me in the walk. I also saw my Pilates teacher Sagrario before and after her run, amazingly considering the crushing crowds of participants.

I was fortunate this year to double the donations I raised over last year. Thank you for all the kind support! If you haven't yet had a chance to sponsor me but would like to, you may still be able to do so--try clicking on the "Support" link to the right on my blog page. Or contact me via e-mail connieblog@sympatico.ca before October 28, 2005.

Namaste