Power

Power is one of those English words that I wish had a wider vocabulary, like 'love' in Greek. Dictionary definitions run the gamut from political authority to energy or exerted force to strength and ability. For a word to be used in so many contexts is frustrating to new English speakers and bothersome for writers (and librarians). If you take a moment, I'm sure you'll think of a variety of ways we use the word power. Here's some I came up with:

• Political - "in power"
• Rights movements - "empowered"
• Car ads - "powerful engine"
• Sports - "power play"
• Faith - "power of the Holy Spirit"
• Business - "power words, power suits"

It struck me that many of these uses are worthless unless there is belief behind the power. Stay with me, I do have a point - or at least some thoughts. See, if politicians can't gather people to believe in his/her ability to lead, they won't come into power. And if you believe a cause isn't worthy of a fight, how is it empowering to stand up for your rights?

Admittedly, "powerful engine" is a marketing term, hopefully anchored in some engineering tests, and has little to do with belief. And "power play" is when one team has the advantage over the other, like when a hockey team is a man down and the opposing team makes the most of the imbalance of power.

What would my faith in the Holy Spirit's power be if I didn't first believe in the trinity and God's constant presence in my life? And isn't a power suit just something in your wardrobe that you believe makes you look your most authoritative?


My poor neglected novella will definitely contain some power struggles. You've got your werewolves, you've got your vampires, you've got your humans - oh, don't look at me like that. It's not Bella and Edward all over again, I promise. There's even some reflections on Thoreau.

Secondly, but more importantly, Canada is headed into a federal election. Our last three have ended with a minority government, the last two with the Conservatives leading and Stephen Harper as our Prime Minister. (This is one of those times I know I made the right choice by pursuing librarianship instead of journalism as a career - I just can't keep up; at least with a library at my fingertips I'll know where to find the information, but I won't have to create the news articles.)

We spoke in my management class about what makes a leader...I would argue that a leader needs power in his/her corner - clout, if you will. And I don't mean the klout that you earn on Twitter; I'm talking about influence. It's preferable that this power and influence will be the kind that makes people want to stand behind you, follow you, believe in you.

My point is this: words don't make something powerful, people do. Sure, words can convey power, but first, there has to be a belief. Believe in your leaders. Believe in your fellow Canadians, your faith, your sports team, your coworkers. Belief is a powerful thing.

Down the wire

I've been reading and thinking about communication lately. I had an assignment to speak to an information professional, for instance, and I learned that intuition and communication were prized tools in management. It got me thinking about how I will apply what I'm learning in a corporate or academic environment, and what I can do to improve my own communication skills. For starters, I'm trying to keep up this blog with an average of 4 posts a month. That's the goal, anyway. Secondly, I joined Twitter, but to keep my freakout quotient down, so far I'm just following uni cohorts and library-related accounts.

I still get excited when there's a new e-mail in my box, like I used to when I got snail mail addressed to me. If you know anyone who's deployed, or is constantly relocated, correspondence is gold. I kept shoeboxes of letters sent from my penpals for years while my family was overseas. Now I just re-read my e-mails when I'm lonely or feeling out of touch, and it's not quite the same thing as seeing your friend's handwriting.


I rarely get anything in the mailbox now but bills, real estate ads and pizza coupons*, but I use my cell/mobile phone throughout the day. I'm sure I use it more for text messages, social media, and e-mail than actual phone calls. Sometimes I'm even surprised when it rings!

How about you? How do you like to communicate? Over a cup of tea, on the phone, with Skype? Do you think our communication skills have suffered under the influence of social media?

Should we be worried, or is this just a natural progression, and our skills are simply becoming more diverse? Is the immediacy of digital communication a bonus or just another way of tying us to our devices?

On a more contentious note - are your family members part of your online experience, or do you try to keep family and friends in separate spheres? How about the older generations in your family? Some of mine have e-mail and nothing else - I'm quite proud of them for learning that, but I still send paper cards for special occasions because an e-card just doesn't seem to cut it. Others don't even have a computer, and I admit I could be better at sending them letters to keep them in the loop.


Today on facebook I came across a survey that asked which 3 out of 100 websites I visited daily, and mine were facebook, Twitter and Gmail. It struck me that all three are related to communication... I suppose that shows I value keeping up with people. But how personal is personal communication when it's mostly text and intangible attachments?

*Edit - My family and close friends keep in touch via e-mail, Skype and facebook for the most part, but they also send me birthday and holiday cards and the occasional care package - often with chocolate.

Excuses, excuses

I know, I know... it's been a whole month. I'm sorry. I've been very busy, I promise. And with what's happening in Japan and Libya lately, it seemed almost superficial to just post another book review or recipe, but I couldn't really think of what to say that hasn't already been said by someone with a greater depth of understanding than me.

-And then another week passed while I went on vacation-

Four weeks ago I began a thrilling, terrifying adventure - grad school. Yes, I have re-entered higher education, and am on my way to becoming a librarian! Not the bun-wearing, shushing kind either - but aside from that I don't know what kind of librarian I would like to be. As technology creates more formats to hold information, librarians' jobs change and their roles expand. I don't think libraries will die out anytime soon, they'll just be different from how they're portrayed in movies like The Music Man.



"What do you want to take out?"
"The librarian."

God, I love that line. Robert Preston is gold. And Shirley Jones...I can never pick whether I love her as Marian, Laurey, or Julie best.

Expect to see more library, book and DRM (digital rights management) related posts in the future. It will take me approximately 18 months of full-time study to earn my MLIS (Masters in Library and Information Science), and that's as a follow-up to my English B.A. There's far more to library studies than shelving, cataloguing and microfiche!

Librarian 2.0 - Twitter account, red glasses, nose stud, Kindle and all.