Yearly Archives: 2011

251 posts

Library Director: A Possible Future

Thinking about the future has been very common for me in 2011.  I’ve asked myself time and time again, “what is my place in libraries?” but I haven’t come to a final answer.  I’ve had this feeling that I can’t be a teen librarian forever, but since it is the only position I’ve ever held I’ve had a hard time looking past it.  Could I be an academic librarian?  A self employed librarian?  These ideas have come and gone, but no one answer has really stuck.  Until recently… I started thinking about a possible future as a library director after […]

The New Normal: Catalyzing Ideas & People

This is the  text of my closing remarks from Internet Librarian International’s closing panel – our theme was “the new normal meets the new you.” The new normal: libraries have the potential  be anywhere and everywhere, librarians can actively contribute to transformative social engagement.  Our foundations are built on service and access. Sharing is key: Freeing data Encouraging participation Sharing Within our own personal learning networks. Civility & Kindness are key:  Being nice to our users and  each other.  We need to be loud, be vocal and an advocate for what you believe is right – and wrap it with […]

What Pizarro and the Inca can Teach Librarians: Why Libraries Should Not Be Part of IT – A TTW Guest Post by Dr. Troy Swanson

Legend has it that In 1532, Pizarro overthrew the Inca Empire with 168 men. Librarians have much to learn from history. I have been working my way through Charles Manns’ eye opening and complex book 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. Mann challenges us to rethink what we know about Native American culture demonstrating that pre-Columbian American culture was just as “advanced” as European culture. Mann also shows that the conquest of native society was made possible by many factors, especially the impact of disease. As you may have guessed, Pizarro did not overthrow the Inca Empire with […]

FREE ebook: School Libraries: What’s Now, What’s Next, What’s Yet to Come

Head on over to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/96705 A crowdsourced collection of over 100 essays from around the world about trends in school libraries written by librarians, teachers, publishers, and library vendors. Edited by Kristin Fontichiaro and Buffy Hamilton. Foreword by R. David Lankes. Photographs by Diane Cordell. CONTRIBUTORS: Kelly Ahlfeld, Diane Erica Aretz-Kernahan, Emilia Askari, Kathleen Atkin, Robert Baigent, Susan D. Ballard, Angela Washington-Blair, Dan Bowen, Holli Buchter, Jennifer Branch, Len Bryan, Jennifer Colby, Diane Cordell, William Cross, Meg Donhauser, Joanne de Groot, Stacy Dillon, Andrea Dolloff, Laura Fleming, Lorna Flynn, Elizabeth Friese, Rachel Goldberg, Beth Gourley, Dorcas Hand, Alida Hanson, Violet […]

Presentation: Impact of Learning 2.0 in Australian Libraries with Warren Cheetham

I am very pleased I got to present about the CAVAL research project with Warren Cheetham at the Library 2.011 Conference this week. The hurdles of distance, time and funding for travel fell away as we presented virtually from our offices. For Warren, it was Thursday morning in Townsville, while for me it was early evening Wednesday in northern Indiana. View the recording here: RECORDING