Serendipity

One of my professors in graduate school liked to talk about the concept of serendipity in reference work. This seemed particularly strange at the time because it was Introduction to Library Resources where our assignments consisted of answering “reference questions” using specific reference titles. But as most of us now know, sometimes you find the answers through sheer serendipity.
I happened upon a reference to the Special Library Association’s 23 Things Initiative in an article I was reading online.

23 Things is an association-wide learning initiative introduced by Stephen Abram to help us all be in a position to innovate…The idea is that we all commit 15 minutes a day or about an hour (or two -- because you'll get hooked!) a week to learning and practicing with these new tools.
This is a self-discovery program which encourages us all to take control of our own learning and to utilize lifelong learning skills through exploration and PLAY. …

If you run SLA 23 Things as a search, you will find the initiative. I decided to check it out, especially since I am serendipitously registered to attend How Blogger, Del.icio.us and other Web 2.0 Tools Have Enhanced Management offered by CMRLS at Worcester Public Library later this month. Maybe I’ll get some practice in beforehand…