On technology self-education

I have had a harrowing 24 hours which I have just gone through after attempting to properly fix our home network to allow remote printing. That was the original aim, to permit, say, my Dad, to print from his laptop (which he actually uses as a lap-top, in his easy chair) to my basic printer on my Desktop PC, which is not the main hub of the network. What I ended up doing was knocking my own desktop offline and borking the its Internet connectivity such that I couldn't get back on! It turns out my Linksys-G Wireless adapter driver was corrupted (I learned the next day, after phoning the angels & gurus at SugarLand PC) and had to be reinstalled. First we uninstalled then reinstalled the adapter itself, then reinstalled the driver software using the install wizard and the original CD-ROM that came with the ancient Linksys-G adapter...at long last, success! And no need for a Geek house-call. I even got the Weather Channel Desktop application to function correctly, and my adapter was reposition in such a way that the signal strength it receives is up to 90%, up 30% from 60% in its original location.

Still no remote printing capability at this stage--I did tinker a little further before finally giving up on that. It's not critical, but it is something I would like to learn correctly some day, so that we can enjoy a *proper* home network that takes full advantage of what networking capability can do for users...especially laptop to desktop cross communication.

I created a new account on |biblios.net, the LibLime answer to OCLC Connexion; all well and good. But what I'd really like to do is download and install the Koha ILS on my Desktop to play around on, but this requires stuff like Perl and Apache, stuff that I've scarcely got the foggiest idea how to install or operate. Likewise, there is a client version of |Biblios similar to OCLC Connexion Desktop Client and it integrates with the Koha ILS but also requires Perl and Apache and the aforementioned extras that I've got no idea how to set up either.

But I think it would be worthwhile spending the money and time to learn how to install the Koha ILS and related |Biblios client version if only for the learning experience itself at a systems level. I might even be able to play with MARCedit and see how well it plays with Koha (or doesn't). It all takes time (which I have) and money (which I don't)...and patience and possibly a willing teacher. But I would have to view it at least abstractly as a worthy investment, a set of skills once learned that might serve well in a future librarian job whether in an academic, public, or school setting.

Also have an offer to do some distance cataloging of electronic resources on a contract basis, one gig at a time. It looks pretty complicated, but I think I should force myself out of my comfort zone and give it a shot. Not like there's really any other way to stay current with cataloging and cataloging skills, whatever my misgivings about RDA and what the future of cataloging and librarianship may hold for us all. I'd also gladly take an underpaid paraprofessional Reference assistant gig at this point as an in-between kind of job...which is kind of sad for someone with two Master's degrees, which is hardly unique among professional librarians.

But I'm dubious of my ability to boot strap myself to techno-know-how. I do feel like I will need a tutor or at least a paid consultant to get going with a project like setting up a fully functioning Koha ILS on my home PC that is web-accessible from the outside world, etc. Just an ILS to play with for training purposes, the way some library schools are beginning to do to teach cataloging fundamentals.
Also intend to play around on Biblios. Maybe find bib records for books in my personal collection and catalog ones that don't have records there, down to assigning an LC Classification number. Self-teaching in cataloging is an agonizing process if you don't have a reliable mentor, as I often haven't. Cataloging is a dying art in part because new catalogers aren't being supported properly, at least if my example is any indication.

Anyway, I'm grateful for the broadband access I do have through my old fashioned safety net, i.e. my parents. Sometimes I really am a walking stereotype.