Sri Lanka bound after all?!?!

Well, things are looking up. I may be off to Sri Lanka in the new year, if everything goes according to plan... for three weeks in January (8 - 26) and two weeks in March (19 - 30). Good news eh? So keep your fingers crossed that things stay relatively calm over there. This may mean I will have a valid excuse for missing March Break for the first, and probably only time, in my career. Yipppeee.

Wow! It is over already...

Here is the whole group posing with Dale Dyce (KPL's Coordinator of Marketing and Communications) and their K.P. Owls, on their last day at the library. We had a great two weeks, and it went so quickly, a bit of whirlwind. So much anticipation, work, and worry, and now they are on their way home later today.

I don't know where to begin in describing this experience. It has been exciting, exhilarating, inspiring, and completely exhausting. It is definitely a highlight of my career to date. The speeches they gave on their last morning were overwhelming, we really made a difference. Mr. Selvajothy, the Reading Room Supervisor from Trincomalee (shown far left in the above photo), really said it best... he told us that he has worked in the library for 24 years, and for all that time he thought that libraries were just about books, and we have shown him that libraries are really all about people. So when he goes home he will look at his library with new eyes. To me this means we were successful.

It was just wonderful getting to know the group over the two weeks, building friendships, and professional trust. Now I think if I get to travel to Sri Lanka we will be able to work together well, and we will make great progress. I am excited to see how they take everything they have seen and learned here home, to make changes in their context.

(me with the staff from Batticaloa)





(Ari, our wonderful translator, and the staff from Trincomalee)


So, I am sure I will have more to say, after I have actually had a good nights sleep, and a bit of time to digest everything. In the meantime, I will be off to the airport later this afternoon to say a final goodbye... though, I KNOW that I will meet these friends and colleagues again... I will get to Sri Lanka! Now, I must!

Henry - In Memoriam

I am sad (ridiculous understatement) to announce that my Henry passed away, quite suddenly, on Monday, September 4. Yes, right in the middle of the chaos and stress, I lost my love, my Henry. He was such a special cat. I adopted him as a kitten in the spring of 1994. He was there when I finished library school. Then he moved to New York City with me... and on some pretty dark days, he kept me going. He was with me in NYC, Guelph, Richmond Hill, Toronto, Peterborough, Whitby, and Kitchener... yup, we moved a lot, but we always had each other and that was okay. In June 2005 he was diagnosed with feline diabetes and he fought it, and after a few months on insulin, he bounced back and he was healthier and more active for the last year than he had been for years. So his death was a shock, but at least he didn't suffer and I was here with him. Life in the old apartment just isn't the same now, but at least Trooper and I have each other for company. Henry cannot be replaced and he will never be forgotten.

Survived week one!

Well, it has been quite a week. I have not been this exhausted and exhilarated in a very long time. The group arrived late last Monday night, and we have been going strong ever since. It has been really great. They are lovely people, eager to absorb as much new information as they can. I will post pictures and details just as soon as I can. I just hope that this week goes as smoothly as last week.

I feel like they are becoming more comfortable with Canada, KPL and me, everyday... which is just great. I love that they are more open to me and willing to risk trying to speak English to me. I wish I could be so brave with Tamil. They are eager for me to come and visit them, which mean so much to me. Hopefully someday, not too far away, I will be on a plane to Sri Lanka.

In the meantime, be sure to set your VCRs to tape Provincewide with Diane Vernile on December 24th (yes, Christmas Eve), she came to interview me and is going to do a segment on the project... okay, I am horrified and excited at the same time.

Next weekend, once they have safely boarded their plane, I will finally have time to post some pictures and more details about what we did. In the meantime, I will leave you with my favourite quote thus far... as I finished giving a tour of KPL on the first day, one of the gentleman just shook his head in disbelief and said "Kitchener Library is a whole world!" It is so good to have a reality check, and see the library through their eyes... they do not see the flaws they just see what is great about KPL. I needed that!

Wish me luck for week two!

two days...

Yup, the Sri Lankans will be here in two days. They arrive in Kitchener late Monday evening. I can't quite believe it is true, and I have to admit that I am a complete and utter nervous wreck at the moment. I hope that once they get here everything will go smoothly, they will have a great experience, and they will go home with lots of inspiration and ideas of what they can do in their libraries. I hope I have planned enough. I hope I have remembered everything. I hope I don't f*#k up. That's all. Oh, and a little sleep in between would be a very good thing!

wish us luck...