Introductory Thoughts

Thing #3. This is the first post to indicate my start of the "23 Things" training program for Kent District Library. First a note about the blog title. This seems to be a good description of who I am, among many other facets of my personality. Among my many normal dreams (and others that can't be mentioned here that only get put down, if at all, in a personal journal) I have a recurring one about being somewhere and coming upon a stash, a cache, or a box of books. This is obviously part of the "wish-fulfilling" process that dreams do for us, and for me the dream of digging through some potentially exciting and unknown collection is one that goes very very deep. Fortunately though this activity is not just limited to the nocturnal, eyes-shut variety. Since I work at a public library that takes donations to (mostly) sell, I get to do a lot of digging. It's like seeing a random sampling of the history of recent American publishing, all in the space of five boxes. Just yesterday I came across a copy of a book a friend also owns--a great oldie called "Handbook of Nature Study", originally published in 1911 but, having gone through at least 24 editions, is obviously a work of some value. But that's enough for now. I am on work time after all.
OK, a few thoughts about the challenges of lifelong learning (#3 on the 23 Things) . To begin with, the stuff was pretty basic; I actually skipped some parts. But it was nevertheless somewhat useful. I think my biggest problem with learning is not the desire, but the distraction or even dissolution of that desire. Put another way, I have so many interests, that at times it can be hard to get focused on one thing and stick with it to the degree that a decent amount of skill is acquired. Secondly, I'd say that if something is required of me, but I don't have that desire, it's harder to take it seriously and get it done. This would explain why my grades in school were all over the map!
So, on to Thing #4. I can easily say that the "thing" I'm most excited about is Library Thing, which is a site I'm already familiar with, having heard about it from a daily e-mail/newsletter we get here that covers libraries and bookstores. But I must confess that I have quite a soft spot for a metal card file box I have at home that currently has a couple hundred cards in it, all of which enable me to find my books which are in boxes in my attic. I started this project about ten years ago, when I was doing some cataloging at my last library job. And though Library Thing strikes me as very neat, I will not be throwing out my cards anytime soon. They're just too easy to use. I will admit though that having remote access to my list would at times be handy....