I have been taking part in a leadership program for IT personnel within our university system. It’s a 9-month program, with 2-day workshops and on-the-job activities sprinkled throughout. One of the very first things we discussed was reflective practice: how it can be used to promote personal growth and how personal growth can benefit your relationships of all types. Have you ever done something and thought “man, I could have done that so much better”, or “next time I need to remember to do ‘x’”? Do you forget to actually follow-up on your own advice? Reflective practice help! The reflective […]
Monthly Archives: April 2016
9 posts
For me, the heart of librarianship is learning. It’s a cyclical process of support, engagement, and discovery with deep roots in the concepts of service, access, and freedom to pursue interests of all kinds. No matter what type of institution, someone is gaining knowledge, finding information, or creating something new based on our facilitation. And in my opinion, the role of facilitator and guide is best delivered with humanity and heart. (Fom the Preface) ALA Editions has gathered and published five plus years of my “Office Hours” columns from Library Journal as a book entitled The Heart of Librarianship. The […]
In recent years, the tiny house movement has gained momentum as more and more people are making the shift toward smaller spaces with fewer belongings. While purging clutter can be a freeing experience, learning to live without can also pose some challenges. Fortunately, mobile information environments and new models of library service mean that living small no longer has to mean going without. I’ve been a part of the tiny house movement since 2007. My boyfriend, our 4-pound Chihuahua, and I first downsized from a 600-square foot apartment to a 19-foot camper, then back and forth between a 33-foot sailboat and a […]
Jan Holmquist details an interesting way libraries have helped keep services open in the face of funding cuts: An “open library” is a library with a combination of hours staffed with professional librarians and hours with self-service. That combination has proved itself successful because the result is more loans and lots of more visits to the library. In Denmark we have a lot of happy library fans using open libraries. Some are people who now use their local library instead of the main library. We know a lot of people commuting to jobs now have a better opportunity to use the […]
One of the big themes running through my life as a student this semester is connecting, mainly through connecting to others in the profession through the Internet. When I recently read the quote from the New Yorker about “some of our closest friends and most significant professional connections are people we’ve only ever met on the Internet,” my heart jumped and my ears opened to listen a little closer–in other words it really resonated with me. As an English speaking, budding librarian living in Hungary, my ‘in-person’ professional network, at least with other librarians, equals zero, which means that all of […]
A shout out to all the good folks who came to my talk the last day of the Public Library Association Conference 2016 & all the librarians who stopped me to ask “How is Dozer?” Denver was such a welcoming city – and I so enjoyed talking with public librarians from all over. Download the slides (large download). Office Hours columns cited: A Genius Idea In the Moment Library as Classroom Holding Us Back Infinite Learning Learning to Learn Mobile at the Library Reflective Practice Always Doesn’t Live Here Anymore Agents of Change Stacking the Deck Power of Quiet Color […]
Join me at the next Library 2.016 online mini-conference in June: Library as Classroom June 15th, 2016 12:00 – 3:00pm US-Pacific Time In A New Culture of Learning, authors Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown write, “Where imaginations play, learning happens.” This could and should define our services for now and in the future. The library as creative classroom means we approach the learning opportunities we create with thought, user-directed planning, and insights from research. This classroom may include physical spaces for instruction and discovery as well as online, multiscale platforms aimed at social learning and participation. Libraries of all kinds […]
This week we held our own Human Library event at my library. The short video below is a quick overview. The Human Library as an idea has been around for a while now, but it is becoming increasingly common in libraries. We utilized it as a way for students from a range of classes to come together with our “books” to explore diversity and understanding within the context of their classes. Faculty members signed up by course section and built assignments that connected to the program. Books Come Alive at Moraine Valley Troy A. Swanson is Department Chair and Teaching […]