Shamelessly re-posted from Ken’s blog because it’s oh so good- http://www.kenhaycock.com/kens-blog/entry/ten-keys-to-career-success.html As I pointed out to the graduates, it may be less appropriate to offer an inspiring message concerning our particular profession and its prospects in a tight economy but we also sometimes forget that this too shall pass. The term convocation denotes a coming together, in this case for a celebration of achievement, but it is also a commencement, a beginning, a beginning of a new career and a new life, and also a beginning to learn, just as one gets a driver’s license but then really learns […]
Monthly Archives: May 2011
19 posts
Over the past year, I’ve gotten to watch a group of teens that come into the library grow into full fledged hip hop artists. It all started with The Telling Room, a nonprofit writing center in Portland, ME, and their 2011 program Play. Their amazing Young Leaders and Writers workshop was the start of a collaboration between three teens (Chrispo, Emmanuel, and Ali) with local hip hop artist Sontiago (aka Sonya Tomlinson). THE CREATION The group of teens started coming into the library on a daily basis and used our study rooms as their rehearsal space. They would freestyle over beats and furiously scribble down […]
Daniel Stuhlman, Reference Librarian at Wright College, Chicago presents part one of an interview with the newly appointed dean of the University’s School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS). Daniel notes, however, that “note this is just for your information and amusement. Any connection to a real university or dean is strictly coincidental.” The ideas ring true. http://kol-safran.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-dean-interview-part-1.html Q> You talked about teaching management skills as important for librarians. Would you elaborate? What is your philosophy of management? A> One of the most common reasons for people to be dissatisfied with their jobs is they feel they are not supported […]
When we initiated a new usability study of our library’s website, we reviewed close to 60 library websites. The one dominant trend we observed was the placement of some sort of search functionality was present on the library’s homepage. Most libraries had tabbed search boxes that allowed users to click between tabs for searching the OPAC, periodical databases, and other types of information. Our assumption was that we also should move our search functionality to our library’s homepage. We thought that search was the primary purpose of our website, but the results of our usability study caused us to rethink […]
Back in late 2008, I received a phone call from a friend/colleague in Germany with a tantalizing offer: would I be interested in a three-semester teaching gig? The location was the University of Applied Sciences in Leipzig (Hochschule für Technik, Wirtschaft und Kultur – HTWK) [http://www.fbm.htwk-leipzig.de/de/fakultaet-medien/], and the job was a paternity leave replacement for their professor of electronic publishing and multimedia in the College of Media. How could one say no? I was feeling a bit stale in my library work, and know from past experience that I enjoy teaching semester-length courses and possess some teaching skill. That I […]
On Tuesday May 17, 2011, my library had the pleasure of hosting a show featuring the wizard rock band Harry and the Potters. The show itself was awesome: the music was great, the band was super nice, and everyone had a good time. The highlight for me had nothing to do with the actual show. Instead, it came from the patrons. The first moment where I noticed that this wasn’t going to be just any old program was when I stepped out to announce to the fans that were waiting for the show to start that the band was just […]
At the Future of Academic Libraries Symposium, I had about 15 minutes to hear from the attendees about their own “heretical thoughts” about LIS education. Thanks to Dale Askey (@daskey) for capturing these while I lead the discussion: Being more selective about who gets in to library school. Cut down number of graduates; avoid overstocking the profession. Deans/professors at conferences/forums, at thought leading/forming events. Where are they? LIS schools need to manage expectations of profession; libraries are being unrealistic by demanding immediate gratification in the form of perfectly fit graduates Instructional design should be part of the mix Internships integral? Yes, must […]
Greetings from Burlington, Ontario! Later today, I’m presenting Transforming Library Science Education: Heretical Thoughts at the Future of Academic Libraries Symposium. This is a longer version than I’ll present because I want to leave loads of time to hear the audience’s “heretical thoughts.” The slides are here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239835/McMasterHeretical.pdf
Greetings from Montreal! I just delivered the Keynote for the 79th Association des bibliothécaires du Québec Library Association conference. The crowd was wonderful! I appreciate how welcoming and friendly everyone has been so far in Canada. Here are the slides: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239835/HyperlinkedStephensABQLA.pdf
Melbourne Museum and social media, originally uploaded by ellen forsyth. Ellen Forsyth writes: The Melbourne Museum wants to make it really easy for you to connect with them online. They have signs around the museum prompting you to connect with the via facebook, twitter, Flickr, YouTube or Foursquare. They also had signed advertising their free wifi. They also have a free ipad app Please touch the exhibit. I like the way they prompt and do not assume that you know where to find them online.