Comment July: The End!

I think I'm the only person who participated in Comment July so I'm not going to feel guilty for finishing up early! I didn't do #BlogJune because I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up so I was quite excited at the prospect of Comment July. So, here are my thoughts and observations about the month, in no particular order or importance:

1. It was hard to stay on track
2. Finding blogs to comment on was easy at first but became progressively more difficult to track down
3. I felt I rarely had anything of real value to say
4. I discovered some interesting blogs and helped other people do the same
5. It was a good exercise in planning ahead and being organised
6. It helped me post on my blog more often
7. I wish more people would comment on my blog but after my experience it's probably because they don't feel there is anything they need to say.
8. Some blogs were super easy to comment on & others were a pain!
9. Blogs are great sources of inspiration
10. I don't like black backgrounds on blogs/websites
11. I'm glad it's over and I don't feel guilty
12. It was good to challenge myself :D

Weekly Inspiration ~ 22 - 26 July

30 Dr. Seuss quotes that can change your life: 
I've always been a Dr. Seuss fan so when I discovered these quotes via Pinterest I was very excited. My favourites are numbers 7, 25 and 28. Which ones do you like?

Hairy Maclary's 30th Birthday
I've been busy planning a Hairy Maclary themed toddler time for next week and it's been really fun revisiting some of my favourite childhood books. This one I remember particularly well :)

Comment July: Weekly Roundup #4

It's been a quiet week on the #CommentJuly front, mainly I think because I'm running out of blogs to comment on and can't find many posts that I feel are worth contributing to!

The Adventures of Library Girl:

The 'M' Word-Marketing Libraries:

The Busy Librarian

If you know of any great library related blogs that I haven't already featured on here, I'd love to hear from you! Just leave a comment here on the blog or send me a tweet @JuliadeRuiter

Holiday fun

I had the best experience this afternoon. During the school holidays our computer bookings are through the roof and I love it! It’s a great chance to connect with kids who wouldn’t normally come into the library. The opportunity to get to know them a little better came today when one 7 year old asked me if I wanted to play Hangman with him. He was so cute and earnest I couldn’t resist! After running it by my manager ( it’s not strictly work) I got the go ahead so I headed out the front to where about five kids were gathered. For about half an hour I played Chess, Hangman and Guess Who. It was so fun seeing them become more comfortable with me and I was able to share with them some of the things I get to do as a “li-bear-ian”  :)

It's moments like these, that make me love my job and our little ( ish)  library even more.

Weekly Inspiration ~ 15-19 July

It's been a quiet week on the inspiration front so here is my lone piece of randomness :)

Agnostic Maybe:
I like this blog in general, but the post I've linked to really stood out to me. I've commented on it as part of #CommentJuly so read my previous post for more details.

And because I can't leave this post with just one item on it here's the quote I've been saying to myself every morning when I drag myself out of bed.

Comment July: Blog of the week #3

This was a hard decision this week because I read some really awesome blogs but the one with the content that has really stuck with me is:

Agnostic Maybe!

12th #CommentJuly done :) http://t.co/dXLegpcDEO @wawoodworth

— Julia de Ruiter (@JuliadeRuiter) July 18, 2013

Comment July Weekly Roundup #2

This week's roundup seems to feature a lot of blogs about reading and books rather than libraries. Nevertheless I enjoyed reading them!

The Octopus Librarian:
Abigail Willemse has only just recently started her blog but it is full of great insights and information about the library profession. 

Miss Bookish Girl:
Miss Bookish Girl describes her blog as 'Musings on cooking, books and other sundries of life' which is right up my alley. A great blog to get lost in.

A Striped Armchair:
I enjoyed this blog because it had very in depth book reviews. I'm not very good at writing reviews so I always appreciate when someone takes the time to write detailed posts.

Amy Reads:
This blog is similar to the above blog and I also enjoyed browsing through the posts.

Dolce Bellezza:
Yet another blog chock full of book reviews-yay! :) I love the vintage vibe of this blog.

If you've been participating in Comment July, I'd love to hear what blogs you have commented on and any thoughts you have about it. Just leave a few lines here on the blog or send me a tweet @JuliadeRuiter

Comment July: Blog of the Week #2

This week's blog of the week is .....

Miss Bookish Girl!

Two of my favourite things are books and food so I really enjoyed this blog and am looking forward to reading it on a more regular basis :)

Weekly Inspiration ~ 8-12 July

Positive quotes gallery:
I recently discovered this great website with heaps of positive and motivational quotes which I've found have really resonated with me.

Castle Hill:
Last weekend I stayed at Lake Lyndon Lodge and we made an afternoon trip to Castle Hill. It was the only time it didn't rain during the whole weekend so I took the opportunity to snap a couple of pics. Here is my favourite ( taken with my iPhone so quality isn't amazing)

Beautiful view from my trip to Castle Hill this past weekend :) #memories pic.twitter.com/7KvCPDeTTV
— Julia de Ruiter (@JuliadeRuiter) July 7, 2013

Into the River:
This blog post by Emma Neale perfectly describes how I and probably many other librarians feel about this controversial book.

As always, I'd love to hear what has been inspiring you this week. Just leave a comment here on the blog or send me a tweet @JuliadeRuiter

20 random things about me

1: I'm extremely impulsive

2: I have two brothers and two sisters

3: My favourite colour is blue but I will always secretly love pink

4: I'm obsessed with watching random YouTube videos

5: I LOVE technology especially learning new things

6: The Disney cartoon version of Anastasia is my favourite movie

7: I don't like fruit except really summery stuff like pineapple or nectarines

8: I almost studied occupational therapy before the library sucked me in :)

9: I have an irrational fear of spiders

10: I would rather hang out with my family then anything else

11: One of my proudest achievements to date was when I won Best Pianist for our House Choirs and Best Director for House Dramas at high school ( about 5 years ago, but still important to me!)

12: I literally love every kind of music out there: country, pop, dubstep, rap, reggae, rock, classical- you name it I've probably got it.

13: Coffee is awesome

14: I am a compulsive list maker. I just can't help myself.

15: I play piano and guitar and would love to play cello one day.

16: I detest any kind of physical activity, except maybe dancing. And possibly yoga.

17: I would happily be a hermit for the rest of my life ( I'd probably draw the line at growing a shaggy beard though)

18: I hate all seafood

19: My  favourite musician is Mark Knopfler.

20: I could eat Watties baked beans every day for the rest of my life.

Weekly Inspiration ~ 1-5 July

This week has been a fun one, with lots of school groups performing in the library as part of Maori Language Week 2013.

The boys from Oamaru Intermediate School Kapa Haka group performed a spine tingling haka #MaoriLanguageWeek pic.twitter.com/uc0op4yVWT
— Waitaki District Lib (@WDLibraries) July 4, 2013

Comment July: I've been very inspired after reading through lots of blogs and commenting on the ones that really spoke to me. It's been a great experience so far. See my previous post for a roundup of all the blogs I've commented on this week.

Libraries are treasures: I enjoyed reading this article about how precious libraries are. Here is one quote that stood out to me in particular:

"I get butterflies just thinking about all the words, ideas and knowledge contained on those shelves. What a privilege we have to walk among great writers, ancient to contemporary. What history we can witness, what language we can absorb. A public library is a treasure"

Rediscovering favourite songs: I've been listening to 'Send me on my way' by Rusted Root non stop for the last week. Matilda used to be my favourite movie as a kid ( I'm pretty sure I watched it every Friday night) and I could never find the song that played as the movie ended, until I randomly came across it while looking for songs for an upcoming mini road trip. I was super stoked!

She was a bookworm like me!

As always, I'd love to hear, read or see anything that you have found inspiring or motivating over the last week. Just leave a comment here on the blog or send me a tweet @JuliadeRuiter

Comment July: Blog of the Week #1

Drumroll please..........
This weeks blog of the week is:

Audacious Fizz!

First #CommentJuly comment done :) http://t.co/wKTX1HhEzE @megingle
— Julia de Ruiter (@JuliadeRuiter) July 1, 2013

I have really enjoyed looking at Megan's blog over the time she has been posting.I like that she is unafraid to think outside the square and challenge traditional methods of library operation. I'm eagerly anticipating future posts. #NoPressure Megan ;)

Comment July Weekly Roundup #1

I've really enjoyed the first week of Comment July. Here is a list of all the blogs I've commented on this week.

Audacious Fizz: 
I wish I could comment on all the posts on this fabulous blog. I love the way Megan challenges librarians to think in different ways- I know she has definitely inspired me to make some changes in my day to day work activities.

The Well Read Kitty:
Reading is one of my favourite hobbies so I loved reading this blog all about books!

My Best Friends Are Books:
If you want the latest information about children's and YA books, Zac's blog is the place to go!

Yarnbrarian:
The post I read-'So, you want to be a librarian?' was such a good one. I liked that it made me think in different ways and really assess why I enjoy being a librarian so much.

Letters to a Young Librarian:
I really enjoyed this post about why manning the circulation desk is so important.

If you've been participating in Comment July, I'd love to hear what blogs you have commented on and any thoughts you have about it. Just leave a few lines here on the blog or send me a tweet @JuliadeRuiter