There are a number of resources online for lovers of fonts and typography.

FontStruct is a site that allows you to design a font directly on their web site for free.

There are also detailed step-by-step guides to the tools and steps needed to create a font locally on your own computer. 

Finally, if do-it-yourself sounds too hard or too time consuming, you can pay $9 US and have a font based on your handwriting created automatically with Fontifier.

(Er, except this list is for the United States)   Still interesting though.

(via MetaFilter)

A recent post on Librarian.net reminded me that this year's list of Library's Journal's 2008 Movers & Shakers is now out. 

Congrats to Amy Buckland for getting the nod! (<old man voice>I remember when Amy was just a wee lass, firing off e-mails to library school-focused blogs asking about the merits of various schools.</old man voice> Obviously I didn't do a good enough sales job for UWO and she landed at McGill. London's loss is Montreal's gain.) 

Looking at the list of recipients and seeing how many of those named have blogs (and/or are doing work focused on technology and Web 2.0 stuff), it made me wonder what sort of relationship there is between having a blog and the "real world" of libraries?

Classmate John Miedema of the Slow Reading blog recently presented at Salt Lake City Public Library's "Thinking Ahead" conference.  I'm not sure if his blog was how they found him and/or if it helped lend credibility to his application if he "cold called" them as a potential speaker but I'm sure it didn't hurt.

Maybe that's part of it - you need to have a certain specialty or theme that you're "known" for?  (See #4 here.) Amy runs Library Student Journal, John has become a leading proponent of the Slow Reading movement. 

I haven't won any awards or been invited to any conferences because of my blog (yet! ) but as I recently blogged about, it's been an amazing way to become connected to a wider library community that I wouldn't otherwise have in the pre-Internet days. 

(Of course, I also have my days when I think bloggers are a lot like poets and professors - namely, a group of people who are mostly interested in what other people in the same area are doing while no one else gives a toss.  I've organized enough poetry readings in my life to know that 99% of the people who come to them are other poets.  And the citation count wars of academics trying to get their papers cited by other academics often seemed like more of an academic circle jerk than anything. )

Er, anyhow, ranty tangents aside, being a part of the conversation has been useful, even if it hasn't paid off in awards, conference invites or Google-buyout offers.  Even something as simple as being able to post the full version of my essay that won second place in the CLA student essay contest last year since CLA didn't have room to print anything but the winner in Feliciter has generated the a couple hits from people who searched for it after the winners were announced last year.  And who knows - it may do so into the future as well.  And then?  That CLA conference invite can't be far off!  (How can you tell it's conference season?  I'm hoping to go to SLA this year - and to maybe get a chance to meet the famous Jessamyn West of librarian.net and MetaFilter.com - but CLA looks like it's not going to happen, what with the price of diapers and whatnot.) 

Did you know that March 4 is apparently National Grammar Day?  Neither did I which is why this post is coming on March 9.

In honour of this obscure but auspicious occasion, here's a list of the   Top Ten Grammar Myths.

10. A run-on sentence is a really long sentence.
9. You shouldn't start a sentence with the word however.
8. Irregardless is not a word.
7. There is only one way to write the possessive form of a word that ends in s
6. Passive voice is always wrong.
5. I.e. and e.g. mean the same thing.
4. You use a before words that start with consonants and an before words that start with vowels.
3. It's incorrect to answer the question "How are you?" with the statement "I'm good."
2. You shouldn't split infinitives.
1. You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition.

(via Reddit)

It threw me a bit to be typing a random list of common English words rather than the more usual sentences and paragraphs but I did okay on this site's typing test - one of many available online. 

When I've done other typing tests, both online and in the real world, I get anywhere from 60-90wpm depending on the day, my mood, etc. etc. 

Here's what I got with my first try on this site...

[Edit: I think "real" typing tests have a formula - every mistake counts against your final total and every five keystrokes is a "word".  So if you have 82 words per minute but 4 mistakes, you are 78 wpm - which is what I would've got if I used this methodology.  And I'm not sure if they're using the "5 keys = 1 word" rule either.  But anyhow, it's good to know that you can just bang away, get 150 mistakes but be told that you type 150 wpm!  And make sure you put that on your resume! ]

82 words

Speedtest

If you're an MLIS student or recent grad, I encourage you to enter this contest.  (I can't tell you how much fame and fortune I've gained by being a runner-up last year!   That does remind me - I better spend my CLA gift certificate for free swag before it expires!)

---

Dear Students:

CLA is pleased to announce the 25th Student Article Contest.

CANADIAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
25th STUDENT ARTICLE CONTEST

Eligibility
The contest is open to all students registered in, or recently graduated from, a Canadian library school, a library technician program, an information science program, or faculty of education library program.

Registered students may be full or part time; graduates should have completed their studies within one year of the competition's closing date of March 31, annually. Articles submitted must be written while the student is enrolled in a program of study, or within one year of graduation.

Each contestant must submit a faculty member's statement attesting to the fact that the article fulfills the above requirements.

Multiple-author papers are eligible, but in the event such a paper is selected, only one prize will be awarded.
Submissions may be in English or French.
Prizes
First Prize:
$150 cash prize.
Free registration, accommodation and transportation to the CLA/ACB National Conference (courtesy of Coutts Information Services, Bowker and ProQuest).

The winning article will be published in Feliciter, the magazine of the Canadian Library Association/Association canadienne des bibliothèques. (Winning articles in French would appear in both official languages). (courtesy of Coutts Information Services <http://www.couttsinfo.com/>, ProQuest <http://il.proquest.com/brand/micromedia.shtml>, Bowker <http://www.bowker.com/>, and the Wosk Family Bursary).

Runners-Up:
First runner-up receives:
$75 choice of CLA/ACB publications.
$150 cash prize courtesy of the Wosk Family Bursary
Second runner-up receives:
$75 choice of CLA/ACB publications.
$100 cash prize courtesy of the Wosk Family Bursary
Content and Style
Articles should discuss, analyze or evaluate, in a clear and readable style, timely issues in librarianship or information science. Conclusions and premises should follow logically, and statements should be supported. Essays or term papers should be reworked into an article suitable for publication. The style should be informal but informative. References, if required, should be drawn from Canadian sources as much as possible and follow CLA/ACB's style sheet  and also available from Valérie Delrue at the CLA/ACB Office at (613) 232.9625 ext. 301 or e-mail: vdelrue@cla.ca

Originality
All manuscripts must be the original, unpublished work of the contestant(s). Entries must be submitted exclusively to the Canadian Library Association/Association canadienne des bibliothèques during the competition period.

Format for Submission
Manuscript length should be between 1,000 and 1,500 words, typewritten on 8 1/2" x 11" paper, double spaced, with generous margins. Two unfolded copies should be submitted to the following address, no later than March 31, annually.. Winners will be asked to supply their article in electronic format.

Send to:

Student Article Contest
Canadian Library Association/Association canadienne des bibliothèques
328 Frank Street
Ottawa, ON K2P 0X8
Tel: (613) 232-9625
Fax: (613) 563-9895
e-mail: info@cla.ca

Please include a separate page containing the following information: Full title of entry; name of the author(s); home address and telephone number; name of the program in which author(s) is/are registered; and a faculty member's verification.

Judging
A panel of judges will read and evaluate all entries; additional evaluators may be called upon to assess submissions in French.

Judges look for originality; value and relevance of the information presented; consistency and accuracy; style and readability; and suitability for publication. If, in the opinion of the judges, no article submitted satisfies these criteria, the panel reserves the right to not select a winner.

CONTEST CLOSING DATE: MARCH 31, ANNUALLY

Thank you,
Valerie Delrue
Membership Coordinator
Canadian Library Association
328 Frank Street
Ottawa, ON  K2P 0X8
Tel: 613-232-9625 x 301
Fax: 613-563-9895
vdelrue@cla.ca

The ALA recently released a survey of rural librarians with all kinds of interesting, enlightening and downright depressing comments and statistics.

As someone who willingly chose to work in a rural library as my first job over a city position, this survey also hits close to home (although I do believe that the situation in Canada for salaries and working conditions is much better than in the US for the most part.)

(via the always jam-packed ALA weekly e-newsletter which, unfortunately isn’t online)

I'm sort of working in reverse here. The following is the first eulogy I ever did. I had little idea what I was doing at the time but I knew that I wanted to do something unique and different to capture my grandma (who was both of those things) rather than the traditional "this person was born here, married him/her, did this for a living, died here, is survived by" paint-by-numbers type eulogy.    more »

Since I've got a bit of a morbid theme going, I thought I'd post another eulogy - this one was for my Grandma Hammond who passed away a few years ago.    more »

(I mentioned a couple weeks ago that this eulogy had gone over very well and that I would post it when time allowed. A long weekend is ideal for catching up on all those loose ends and so here it is...)   more »