Yes. I still work here.

George has heard me in the background on a few conference calls since my return from Estonia last month, but other than that I have been laying rather low. Post about Estonia! he says to me last week. For whatever reason, it has seemed daunting to catch up on whatever blogging I missed while I was gone, and then pull together my own thoughts about what's going on out there in libraryland. Enough is enough, I said to myself this morning, I must blog today.

Like magic, Kelli Staley sends me this email about SirsiDynix's announcement on their 15 finalists for "Building Better Communities" awards (full press release). Congrats to Lansing (since Kelli sent me the link), but a big shout out also goes to the New Mexico State Library and Wichita Public Library - both affiliated with our Community Partner teams at WebJunction. Five of the fifteen finalists will get $10K cash award - and I have my fingers crossed that you'll all get the final award. In the meantime, of course, congrats on being one of the finalists! We're proud of you guys!!

While you all have been saved from my Flickr slideshow of various Estonian wonders, here's a shot of the National Library, just for good measure - it's the last achievement of Soviet architecture in Estonia, completed and opened in 1993. The building is so large I couldn't get a good shot of it - so here it is (up close, and from afar). Estonia, and their library, was lovely. But is is also good to be back. Enjoy!