A Saskatchewan library director who defrauded his system of half a million dollars (and possibly as much as one million dollars though that wasn't proven) over a period of fourteen years via orders to a false US-based publisher that he'd set up himself was sentenced earlier this week to two years in prison less a day.
Too bad the media kept identifying him as a "Saskatoon librarian" as this might give the impression he worked for SPL instead of the truth which was that he was director for a rural system that is based in Saskatoon but operates in rural communities south of that city.
Here are some more news stories about this if you're interested.
|
||||||||
Search
Recent Entries
Recent Comments
This Month
Month Archive
Links
|
Saturday, August 30
Rural Saskatchewan Library Director Sentenced to Two Years for Nearly $1 million in Fraud at Library
by
Jason
on Sat 30 Aug 2008 12:54 AM CST
Friday, August 29
Friday Fun Link - 29 Apps for Students and White Collar Workers (Aug 29, 2008)
by
Jason
on Fri 29 Aug 2008 10:52 PM CST
29 Web Apps For Students and White Collar Workers - lots of cool sites here, many of which I'd never seen before.
In other news, I had a surreal moment today: I was at a branch near my house today and got talking to a clerk. When I mentioned my new position with RPL, she said she recognized my name when the announcement of my new position went out to all staff at RPL last week. Turns out she used to work at the branch on the other end of the city that I frequented during undergrad...over ten years ago. Apparently "frequented" doesn't begin to cover it! (My immediate thought was "oh no - I'm *that* guy." At Southeast, there were a few patrons who were such heavy users of the library system that everyone on staff knew them by name, professional staff would order books specifically for them, and we all speculated how these people could read the dozens of books they ordered each month. I don't think I was that prolific when I went to that branch a decade ago - perhaps she just remembered me because I was in the category of "regular" rather than "super mega-user"! At least I think that must be it!  )Tuesday, August 26
I'm Going Home
by
Jason
on Tue 26 Aug 2008 09:17 PM CST
The announcement went out to the staff at Regina Public Library today so I can now officially talk about my new job. I have accepted a position as RPL's Organization Development Specialist!
"As a what??? I never took a class on that in library school," I hear you saying and I have to admit, I had a similar reaction when I first read the job posting. But the more I looked into what the job would be about and what it would involve, the more excited I became. Regina Public Library, like so many public libraries, is going through major changes and this position will have a key role in helping facilitate those changes within the organization. (Stop me when you hear too many buzzwords!) A big part of these changes are shifting technology and I'm especially excited to have a role in helping to develop RPL's already impressive use of technology by developing training plans for staff in how to best utilize these tools. How excited am I? I stayed up until midnight last night reading about what other libraries are doing to change themselves and brainstorming ideas I might be able to bring to RPL. I finish my contract with Southeast Regional Library this week, I'll have a week in Regina to get settled and try to compress two houses back into one then I start on September 8. I always look for the circles closing and here's another one - I've been a huge fan of RPL since I was very young to the point that, whenever I was in Regina with my parents, I'd ask them to stop at the Central Library so I could borrow books, magazines, records (!), cassettes and CD's. (I was living in Regina by the time they got their DVD collection!) Here's a shot of me, judging by the poofy hair, probably around 15 years old, coming out of Central Library. Now, in a time warp, I'll be doing the same thing every single day. I cannot wait!  Monday, August 25
I Have A Job
by
Jason
on Mon 25 Aug 2008 05:25 PM CST
Well, having managed to convince myself that I would likely be sitting on EI for a month or two this fall waiting for some pending jobs to be posted, there was a small flurry of Regina-based library jobs posted in the last month.
I went for three interviews early last week, had two offers by Friday and today, made the tough decision to accept one of them. In a rarity for me, I went more with my head than my heart in making my decision but I think it will be the right choice in the long term (much like how choosing a year and a half contract in rural Saskatchewan turned out to be the right choice over a full-time, permanent government librarian position for more money and every second Friday off that I was also offered when I was first looking a year and a half ago.) I'm not going to say anything else right now because I think the employer wants to announce it internally first and I know very well how small and inter-connected Saskatchewan's library community is and that many people in that community read this blog, either directly or via RSS and Facebook. I will say that I'm pretty excited and think it will be a position that's a good fit for my interests and abilities. (Now, where'd I put my 506 notes?) Thursday, August 14
Hypothetical Reality Question
by
Jason
on Thu 14 Aug 2008 09:17 PM CST
A bit of hypothetical reality question for you - what is the single most important thing you should do as a manager to help staff accept institutional change?
Tuesday, August 12
LibrarianGear Is Back
by
Jason
on Tue 12 Aug 2008 04:28 PM CST
Canuck Librarian recently posted that the Librarian Gear store is back in operation as well as listing a couple other places to get library-related swag.
I'd also add CafePress to the list although I'm not sure how good of quality their stuff is - I've never ordered from them but have heard mixed reviews. Hmm, Cafe Press allows you to create your own designs. Maybe I should start a sideline? In that case, I'm sure their quality is top-notch! Monday, August 11
Link Dump
by
Jason
on Mon 11 Aug 2008 05:39 PM CST
I'm getting so many tabs open in Firefox that it's time for a patented Jason Hammond Link Dump. (That sounds awful. I should come up with a better name for it!)
Er, here's the accumulated shit...  "The Road" tops EW's list of 25 New Book ClassicsSkip the MBA program and get your personal MBA by reading these 77 booksSome Humourous Internet Safety GuidelinesAsk.Reddit's ways in on the Five Saddest SongsI don't know what I'd put on my Top 5 but here's what popped into my head for #1. 1. He's A Good Dog - Fred Eaglesmith (I couldn't find an authentic Fred version so this is a link to a fan cover. Loses some of the impact without Fred's gravelly voice but gives you a taste anyhow. Hmm, maybe I should just finish the list with four other sad Fred songs. MacLean's has a story about living libraries where patrons can borrow "types" - policeman, Arab, homosexual, Atheist, etc. - for half hour conversations. (via Toni Samek on the CLA listserv)A graphic comparing Barack Obama and John McCain's tax relief plans"Digital Ghosts" - the Toronto Star looks at what happens to your online presence after you die. Fits perfectly with my interest in "Digital Footprints" which is the same idea but when you're alive or dead.In other news, I just heard I have an interview next week. Wish me luck! Saturday, August 9
What Proportion of Academic Library Books Never Get Read?
by
Jason
on Sat 09 Aug 2008 10:25 PM CST
AskMetaFilter recently featured an interesting question about how many books in a typical University library rarely or never get used.
It was timely for me because, although I'm in a public library setting, I'm in the midst of a major weeding project so I've had occasion to look at the usage statistics for over a thousand books in the last couple weeks. I'm happy to report that it is extremely rare to find a book that has never been used. Slightly more common are books that haven't been checked out since the early 1990's (which is when our system automated) and unfortunately quite common to find books that haven't been checked out since the late 1990's to early 2000's (which corresponds to the emergence of the Internet in the consciousness of the general public which is my best guess for this decline/shift in reading habits.) Make sure you read down to the comment marked as "Best Answer". On a semi-related note, does anybody know of an organization or method to dispose of a large number of weeded books short of the perennial "LIBRARY BOOK SALE - ON NOW!!!" As always, AskMetafilter has a couple suggestions (I'm only linking to one thread because I can't find the other one that was on the same topic that I saw last week.) Saturday, August 2
Author Offers IPO
by
Jason
on Sat 02 Aug 2008 09:02 AM CST
Author offers IPO to raise funds to help him write his second novel with 60% of royalties as the reward. The story also contains a link to an oldie but a goodie that I posted last July - "If libraries didn't exist, could you start one from scratch today?" |
 www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing public photos from shealisahammond. Make your own badge here.
Login
|
||||||
|
|
||||||||
