Daily Archives: April 26, 2011

3 posts

Office Hours: Comment on “Stuck in the Past”

This is intriguing – comment by “B” at  http://bit.ly/gYGL6k : Some of my former co-workers (who were also hiring managers) nixed applicants that responded “Because I love books” to the question “Why do you want to work in a library?” While such a black and white approach to hiring makes me a bit squeamish, I do strongly encourage job applicants to be a bit more creative in their response. Apparently “Because I like books” is such a common response (among the entry-level crowd, at least), that giving a different (thoughtful and honest) answer is a quick way to nail the […]

Upcoming Presentations: Spring & Summer 2011

Just a few more talks before I have most of the summer off to work on some research projects and prepare for classes at SJSU SLIS: May 2, 2011: Library Unconference Day, Keynote Lightning Talk. May 2-4, 2011: New Jersey Library Association, President’s Program/Keynote & Tech Trends TTW Goes to Canada: May 12, 2011: Keynote,  Association des bibliothécaires du Québec Library Association, Montreal, Québec. May 17, 2011: “Heretical Thoughts about LIS Education,” The Future of the Academic Library Symposium, Burlington, Ontario. (Registration is full, waitlisting is possible.) June 9, 2011: Finger Lakes Library System Technology Workshop, Ithaca, New York. June 17, 2011: […]

Office Hours Extra: “Get as many technology skills as you can…”

Thanks to Rich Allen, Technical Services Librarian at Winthrop Public Library in Massachusetts , for sending this link. The Boston Globe recently ran a story called “Checking Out the Future.” It highlights the Simmons program but also explores the increase in technology use and required skills for new grads. These lines echo some of the things I’ve written about in “Office Hours:” (emphasis mine) Library science used to be the realm of career changers. Bookish types, having put in some years in the work world, would enroll in a graduate program with dreams of one day making a living surrounded by the […]