Job Posting: Emerging/New Tech Reference Librarian & Some 2.0 Thoughts

Rochelle posts a job opening at her library:

http://rochellejustrochelle.typepad.com/copilot/2007/08/job-posting-eme.html

Emerging/New Technology Reference Librarian

The La Crosse Public Library Information Services Team is looking for an energetic library professional who can apply updated practices and perspectives to a traditional reference setting. We seek a team member who will evaluate, teach, coordinate and implement new and emerging technologies, will coordinate the overhaul of our existing web site and who understands 2.0 as a service concept, not just a tech thing. Characteristics desired: evident sense of play and discovery, unflappability in the face of change and ambiguity, and an ability to appreciate existing library and work culture while striving for meaningful transformation. Experience and MLS are preferred but we will consider applications from highly qualified, eager, mature new professionals or those who are nearing completion of a library or information sciences master’s program.

You will work in a popular, well-supported public library located in a community that offers endless outdoor recreational opportunities and a growing arts scene, with the Twin Cities just a short drive north on I-90. Position available immediately, but open until filled. Interviews starting October 1, 2007. Salary range $37-42K, with excellent benefits. For full job description, go to http://www.lacrosselibrary.org/about/employment.htm.

I appreciate this line:

We seek a team member who will evaluate, teach, coordinate and implement new and emerging technologies, will coordinate the overhaul of our existing web site and who understands 2.0 as a service concept, not just a tech thing.

I just finished a draft of a guest column for Serials Review on 2.0 stuff and I included this line: Library 2.0 is much more than a set of Web tools. It’s much more than a library blog or IM screename. A major part of the discussion, sometimes lost in conference presentations and journal articles that center on “cool technologies,” is the application of open, participatory thinking to library services.

This fall, I’ll be designing and teaching a new course at Dominican, LIS768: Library 2.0 and Social Networking Technologies, that will examine both the tools and the wider ideas I see coming into play in libraries, such as the job description above. We’re using Casey & Savastinuk’s Library 2.0 as the text as well as readings from LIS theorists and technology practitioners.

The syllabus is here: http://l2course.wordpress.com/

I’m excited about the new course. We start wednesday night! Look for the students’ class blogs soon.