how do u describe a colour?

So I just found this on the book TARDIS - this is one of the coolest books I've seen.



I opened this, and thought: "Wha...?!" Every page is black...




:S Wha...?



This is a book of colours for VISION IMPAIRED kids!!! Is that not the coolest thing?! The writing is in print AND Braille! It describes what the colours FEEL like, then the next page appears blank, but have raised 'pictures' on them to feel! I turned them into the light so I could photograph a couple:


















I LOVE THIS. And books SHOULD be for everyone. ESPECIALLY picture books! :)

- Posted on the road from my iPhone

step into my office

A tour of my new office...

Here she is: The library on wheels!



The collection.

The desk :)

And here I am at the helm!

Here it is: My first official 'mark' on mobile librarianship... *ahem* Whoopsie :S

Well at least it's not as bad as Tall Paul's...

CRIKEY! o.O

Perks of the job? You bet!

Best vanilla slice on the South Coast!

Lunch location yesterday.

Need I say more?

the best job ever just got better.

Remember I told you I had a suprise... well now it's official and I can tell you...

The Casual Librarian is now MOBILE.

Having just got my Medium Rigid license (Yes: I am now a "truckie". A truckie who reads books.) This is now my office:

The job involves driving the bookmobile around to small schools that dont have a library, small coastal communities, housebound folks, and retirement villages.

It's a library ON WHEELS.

And if that wasn't cool enough for you: This is where I had lunch today.

Yep: It's a tough job. But someone's gotta do it!  :)

Stop in and say hi if you see me parked in your neighbourhood!

10 things i love about u... library

Inspired by Rene Cousineau's "10 Things I Love About Being a Barista" I have decided to dedicate today's post to being grateful for my job. I am grateful for my job EVERYDAY. I consider myself so lucky to not just enjoy, but to LOVE my job. Sickening I know, but I actually think "YAY!" when I get phoned up for a shift. So. Here is my 10 reasons I love being a librarian:

1) Books.

Duh. Ok sounds obvious, but seriously I LOVE books. I love the papery-ness of them, the fonts, and hardcovers, the paperbacks, and OH THE SMELL of old library books.... *swoon*. From colourful endpapers, to pop-up books, to cover art, to graphic novels, braille, audiobooks, thick encyclopedic tomes, to Quarto-sized art books... Books are beautiful.

2) My regulars.

From Allen, who has read every Western book on the shelves, and who I am constantly hunting out little Western treasures for. To Mark, who comes in to use the internet and says thankyou about a million times. There's Priscilla who's a fantasy fan, and Mrs Taylor whose card never seems to work, or the computer tries to double-charge her for reservations. And the dozens of horse-crazy girls who just want to be shown the horse books. I love the ineractions, conversations and relationships I have with people at the library.

3) Being people's safe-place

From the homeless man asleep on the couch, to studying teens, to elderly people getting in out of the cold. Breast-feeding mums. People with disabilities. Carers looking for respite. Gamer geeks. Academics. Lost kids. People looking for Legal Advice. The library is a safe haven for eveybody. A free, egalitarian, truly public space where anyone can find shelter, company and quiet.

4) My coworkers.

Truly - what a bunch! I love their humour, their patience and their quirks. There isn't a single person on staff you cant have a giggle with, or ask for help.

5) The history.

Have you ever opened a book, and seen what the earliest date stamp is inside? Can you believe someone read the book you're reading in 1974? That that little red RHB in a circle drawn carefully on the endpapers, represents someone you've never met, who loved the same book? Have you ever read the 1948 edition of "The Complete Family Medical Reference" or anything by Mrs Beeton? How far we've come...

6) The quiet.

Having been a teacher, and a teacher of students with special needs, I TRULY appreciate having a job where I can hear myself think.

Really.

7) Chance findings.

I love it when someone recommends me a book, and I think 'yeah, why not. I'll give it a read...' and then I cant put it down. And I stay up reading in bed until 4am - to hell with being tired tomorrow! And I am different for having read it.

8) The order.

My OCD LOVES the orderliness of the library. The catalogues, the databases. the DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM! Everything in its place. Knowing that if I search Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone, and the computer says we have a holding at our branch - there it will be: Youth Fiction, letter R, marked ROW. Spine facing out.

9) The Comfort

The library is always the right temperature. The carpet is clean and soft. The couches and ottomen and cushions are plump and inviting. The desks are clean and waiting. The swivel chairs swivel. The lights twinkle, and the breeze gets pushed around lightly by lazily spiralling ceiling fans. My work clothes are soft trousers or flowy skirts, comfy shirts and flat shoes. it's warm in winter and cool in summer. *sigh*

10) Generally, people are happy.

People generally come to the library, because they want to. Whether they need information, or a place to wait, or a place to change their baby, or entertain their children on a rainy day, or to send an email, or just someone to chat to or get out of the house, people are usually happy to be in there. We don't need to police people, or deal with aggro, or maintain order, or entertain people, or force them to do anything. Our job is just to be friendly, to look after the library and the books, and ultimately to help people. Our job's motives are simple and alrtuistic. What a blessed relief.

shelf-help

Our house is full of books. We love our books. Sometimes though, I dont feel like our random stacking on boring wooden shelves does them justice. I was thinking about book storage/presentation/display today, which lead me to google some interesting shelving ideas...

WOW. There's some cool shelves out there! Do a search yourself... go on... :)

I don't think I've even scratched the surface here - as far as cool shelves go.

Then I've seen magazines where random stacks of book appear in designer rooms. Looks great, but might be a pain if you find you want the book on the bottom of the pile. Which I'm sure I would.

One thing I have seen though, which I totally love, and which totally appeals to the obsessive compulsive side of me, is books used to inject colour into rooms, or books shelved according to colour.

Inspired? Me too.

just beautiful

I loved the song before. Love it even more now.

confession

I have a thing for retro fire king luster ware. Specifically these cups. I only own 1, but I'm always looking for them in people's houses and second hand stores. My nan had a set of these. And I remember nan would make me a cup of weak tea in one with the saucers and the milk jug and we would sit down like ladies having tea. They always made me feel so grown up and elegant. I think I was 7.

if i could look like anyone else

...so beautiful it hurts...

vague and nebulous

Another blogger of the lovely and the irrelevant, Miss Om has started a Tumblr dedicated to all things thus. It's lovely. And irrelevant. Go there.

just because

From Must Have Cute

be astounded

Renew your amazement in this beautiful planet we live on, and the talent of some of the people in it.

National Geographic Photo Contest

Breath-taking.

itchy feet

Don't ya just love it when other people's travel pictures are so beautiful, you just want to hop on a plane right now? Here's a couple of pics from a friend's trip to Italy...so gorgeous!

geisha

As you can probably tell, I have a bit of a geisha fascination. Probably ever since I read Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha. Last year hubby and I travelled to Japan, and  I got to fulfil my dream of seeing geiko and maiko, and wadering around the cobble-stoned, wooden store-fronts of Kyoto. Here are some photos I took.

 





 As you can see - many people go out 'geisha watching' in Kyoto - you can see others taking pictures too. Often you had to jostle with a few others to get a good vantage point to take your pictures!

Coincidentally, we happened to visit Kyoto at the time of the Gion Festival - one of the biggest festivals in Japan. As part of this festival, I got to fulfil another dream and attend a Maiko evening at a local hotel. This meant I got to actually spend some one-on-one time with a real Maiko, and with the aid of a friendly -Japanese speaking - waitperson, ask some questions!
 
Conversation with Chikayoshi - Maiko from Pontocho District in Gion.

How long have you been training?
About 2.5 months, but I have been living in the Okiya for about 1.5 years now.

Why did you decide to become a Maiko?
I've always wanted to be one, and I've always loved dance.

If you hadn't become a Maiko, what would you have done?
I would have gone to high school.

What is your favourite Maiko skill?
Dance.

What do you find the most difficult?
Speaking in the traditional language of the hanamachi (geisha district). It's a very old fashioned Japanese dialect that Kyoto Geisha are expected to speak.

How long does it take you to get ready for your evening appointments?
About 2 hours.

Do you see your family much?
No, not much at all. It's very difficult.

What would you do on a typical day?
I love going to movies! When I take off my makeup and hair ornaments, it's like being in disguise!

Do Maiko and Geiko mind people taking their picture in the street?
No, not really. Sometimes when people say nothing and just jump out, it startles me! But if they say "Excuse me, can I take a picture?' I never mind.