By Michael Casey & Michael Stephens Now, more than ever we need to deliver our best customer service. No library users should walk away feeling that their questions or needs were not fully addressed. No teen should come to the reference desk only to be met by a sarcastic answer and a hand gesturing them to some distant region of the stacks. No senior should be expected to use our newest technology without being offered a training session. Is this hard in today’s tighter economic times? Absolutely. Time is at a premium, as is money, but right now you need […]
Monthly Archives: June 2009
25 posts
I spent part of the afternoon today reading through a wonderful book called Blog Blazers: 40 Top Bloggers Share Their Secrets. After writing my dissertation on the motivations of early adopting librarian bloggers, it’s nice to see such a broadly diverse group of well-known bloggers sharing similar thoughts about their writing and what makes a good blog tick. Author Stephane Grenier interviews 40 bloggers – many of whom may be well known to TTW readers including Seth Godin, David Armano and Jessamyn West, all sharing their insights in the book. I’m especially fond of the question Grenier asks many of his […]
I won the 21st Century Award, originally uploaded by JenWaller. Congrats to Jennifer Waller – who won the University of Washington iSchool 21st Century Award this weekend! She posted the text of Cadi Russell’s announcement of the award: “Good evening. My name is Cadi Russell-Sauve. I am honored to be here presenting the 21st Century Award on behalf of Masters of Library and Information Science student body. Each year ALISS, the Association of Library and Information Science Students, presents this award to a graduating student who best embodies the future of our profession. MLIS students nominate graduating classmates who demonstrate […]
Pres4Lib Organizers: John, Janie, Amy and Pete, originally uploaded by New Jersey State Library. Congrats to the good folks who put together Pres4Lib. I watched a bit from afar and was impressed with the enthusiasm and excitement in person and online participants brought to the day. From the wiki: Pres4Lib2009 Camp IS a presentation camp for library speakers and trainers a series of informal gatherings and lightning talks to share ideas, technologies, and discussions around how to deliver effective presentations an opportunity for presenters and trainers (and those interested in presenting and training) in the library community to network and […]
When Kyle invited comments on how newly minted (and seasoned!) librarians were job hunting, I had to share my story and technique. After graduating in December from my masters program, I had high hopes: well before graduating, I had been lucky enough to have a few phone and in-person interviews. While the experiences were each unique and useful, they didn’t end in a job. As anyone who has been through a search — particularly in a weak economy — can tell you, the emotional weight of the hunt is overwhelming. Each rejection can further breed anger, sadness, and frustration. Instead […]
The American Library Association (ALA) Emerging Leaders, Group G is collecting real stories of how Human Resources Development and Recruitment (HRDR) has impacted job seekers—new graduates and transitioning career seekers alike—over the past 35 years. Find the perfect job thorough the ALA Placement Center? Locate the perfect candidate at a conference? Successfully revamp your resume with NMRT? We’d love to hear about it. No story is too small, no story too large. Visit the website (http://www.ala.org/cfapps/emergingleaders/jumpstart/index.cfm) for more information or to submit a story. You can also submit stories via email to: library.careerstories@gmail.com or upload a video to YouTube with the tag “jumpstartlibrarian” Thanks from Emerging Leaders 2009 Team […]
READ, DISCOVER, CONNECT, ENRICH, originally uploaded by Lester Public Library. Nice! Please see https://tametheweb.com/2009/06/02/library-trading-cards/comment-page-1/
I’m reading through Robin Hastings’ new Library Technology Report called “Collaboration 2.0.” This is one LTR not to miss! And don’t miss Dan Freeman’s interview with Robin at TechSource: http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2009/06/robin-hastings-discusses-collaborative-work.html Dan Freeman: So your topic for this issue is Collaboration 2.0. Can you define this concept for us? Robin Hastings: Collaboration 2.0 is the use of free, easy-to-use web 2.0 tools (think Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Google Docs, etc.) to make teams who may not be in the same city, state or country work together seamlessly. Since the philosophy behind the 2.0 tools is one of user-created content, almost all […]
I had a great time at the MOBIUS Conference in the Lake of the Ozarks region of Missouri. My keynote was Tuesday night, followed by a rocking Dessert and Beverage reception. It was a very nice event. Thanks to all who attended and to all who chatted with me at the conference and around the Tan-Tar-A Resort. The slides are here: https://tametheweb.com/hyperlinkedlibrary/HyperlinkedMOBIUS.pdf
Eden Prairie Library By the Numbers – Lobby Display, originally uploaded by edenprairielibrary. Emily Lloyd writes: Hi, Michael– My coworker Marni came up with a great idea for one of our lobby bulletin boards: a display called “Eden Prairie Library by the Numbers.” Illustrated with photos taken in the branch, it includes stats like how many returns the library checks in every day (roughly 4000), how many storytimes we offer per week (8), how many items were checked out from our location last year (1,333,427), how many years the library has been part of the community (35), etc. The display […]