Thanks to all the fine folk that attended my keynote this morning at the Sirsi Dynix Connections Summit! Download the slides here. Selected Library Journal “Office Hours” columns cited: Adopt or Adapt Room to Grow Librarian Superpowers What’s Next Formula for Success Hygge State of Mind Talk About Compassion Dream. Explore. Experiment. Color Me Curious Speak of the Devil Library Emoji Learning to Learn The Right Questions Resources to Inspire: Basgen, B. & Testori, P. (2016). Socially engaged learning. Deitering, A. & Gascho Rempel, H. (2017). Sparking curiosity. Educause. (2016). 7 things you should know about….The 2016 key issues in […]
Contributors Michael Stephens
4147 posts
Devil’s advocates need not apply As I was listening to the Library as a Classroom lecture this week, the devil’s advocate component reminded me of a phrase that is more productive. That phrase is “yes, and…” rather than “no, but…” or “let me play devil’s advocate”. In conjunction with this flip on devil’s advocate, asking people to bring solutions is an excellent tool and one I’ve been actively trying to train my staff on for a few years now. When someone comes to me with a complaint or is being a naysayer, I will frequently ask them to remember I am […]
Dr. Mary Vasudeva wrote this post in response to readings in her MLIS course INFO 298 The Hyperlinked Library “Leave the library and go where the people are.” (Stephens, 2017, Built for people). I happened to be in a situation where I couldn’t listen to the lecture for this course module (on an airplane), so I was going through the slide show. . . which made me think about learning modes in general. And then, I got to slide 5, which states “The heart of libraries is learning and supporting our users’ curiosity through every means possible” (Stephens, 2017, Library […]
Thanks to all who attended the Northland Library Cooperative meeting in Traverse City yesterday. How wonderful to spend time at my home library and with Michigan library folk. Download the slides for the keynote Library as a Classroom and afternoon session Formula for Success here. Selected Library Journal “Office Hours” columns cited: Adopt or Adapt Libraries in Balance Librarian Superpowers What’s Next Formula for Success Hygge State of Mind Talk About Compassion Dream. Explore. Experiment. Color Me Curious Speak of the Devil Library Emoji Learning to Learn The Right Questions Telling Stories Gifts of this Hour Open to Change Image: Traverse Area District Library’s […]
As a student in Dr. Michael Stephen’s Hyperlinked Libraries course at San Jose State University, Beth Harper wrote six reflection blog assignment posts over the course of the semester. Each of those posts has been published on Tame the Web and can each be read here: Where we live – Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 * * * * * Beth Harper is a public services paralibrarian living in historic central Denver and working in the western foothills under the shadow of the Front Range, and an MLIS student at San Jose […]
My new column is up at Library Journal. It’s called “Telling Stories.” This piece marks the seventh year I have been writing “Office Hours.” My summer reading pile included a preview of Annie Spence’s Dear Fahrenheit 451. Spence is a former student of mine who went on to be a public librarian. Her new work is a collection of personal “letters” to books of all kinds—i.e., Dear Color Me Beautiful or Dear The Hobbit. There is also a dash of “It’s You, Not Me” breakup style notes for soon-to-be weeded titles destined for the book sale. It is a funny, […]
Thanks to all the great folks at the Ohio Library Council. I had a wonderful time in Dayton. My talk: Adopt or Adapt: Approaches to Emerging Tech and Trends Presenter: Michael Stephens, San Jose State University There’s no doubt about it. Library Information Science has become a technology-driven field. Information technology is impacting every industry right now, and libraries are no different. Note the influx of job descriptions for emerging tech librarians, user experience specialists, and others who guide technology-focused projects and departments. But, emerging tech is just one part of the bigger picture. The best librarians will be creative, […]
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA, October 10, 2017 — Gwinnett County Public Library and the San José State University School of Information will co-sponsor the Innovative Librarians Award to recognize library science graduate students who put forward new ideas that improve libraries and library services. Nominations will be judged by public librarians with years of frontline, managerial, and administrative experience. “When hiring professional librarians, we’re always looking for those who are willing to put forth their innovative ideas and be agents of change,” says Michael Casey, GCPL Director of Customer Experience. “What better way to discover new and innovative ideas while at the […]
Practice Toodling around in the Denver Art Museum between lunch and work yesterday (I work 4-8pm on Thursdays) I realized – right now, I have time. To slow down, to pay attention, to explore. I always feel under such tremendous pressure to use my time well, and right now, this is using my time well – getting to know my new city, getting rested, spending my time on the bus and train getting caught up on all the reading I haven’t done in the last few years. Thinking and processing. Refilling the well. This is important. I’ll cycle back around to the part […]
The pulse and the flow So what do people want from us? They want help doing things, rather than finding things. – Brian Kenney, “Where Reference Fits in the Modern Library” Infinite learning. Infinite learning. This is actually a really hard topic for me to write about, because it’s so personal, so close to my heart. I don’t know where to start. It’s like talking about breathing. Infinite learning is more than lifelong learning. Lifelong learning is where the mainstream core of the profession is now: “….All purposeful learning activity, whether formal or informal, undertaken on an ongoing basis with the […]