Contributors Michael Stephens

3983 posts

Supporting Loida Garcia-Febo for ALA President

Friends in the library world. I am thrilled to support Loida Garcia-Febo for ALA President. Please take a look at her campaign site for more. I am pleased to endorse Loida for ALA President. I have followed her work with the association and other international groups for some time. Loida recognizes the importance of inclusive service for everyone, and to do that we must advocate for ourselves, our institutions and our users. She also recognizes we must also develop our own skills and policies as the nature of information and access to information continues to evolve. I am confident her […]

Circulating Ideas: Episode 103 Michael Stephens

I am honored to be a guest on the Circulating Ideas podcast! Steve chats with Dr. Michael Stephens, Assistant Professor in the School of Information at San Jose State University and author of The Heart of Librarianship. He also writes the monthly column “Office Hours” for Library Journal. SHOW NOTES: Tame the Web The Heart of Librarianship The Transparent Library “Talk About Compassion” (Office Hours) “Dream, Explore, Experiment” (Office Hours) “Adopt or Adapt” (Office Hours) “The Hygge State of Mind” (Office Hours) And for all the folks out there who may need something to soothe their soul:

The Human Face of the Library: University of Colorado Boulder

IN an “Office Hours” piece from early 2014 on Reflective Practice, I wrote about the human face of the library. PUTTING A FACE ON THE LIBRARY This reminds me that the library should be human. It means that behind the keyboard, behind the blog, and behind the Facebook page, there’s a person ready to have a conversation: ready to help, ready to listen. I’m always looking for good examples of this. So I was thrilled to see this cool project from the fine librarians at the University of Colorado Boulder. Shared via librarian Adam Lisbon on Facebook who was part […]

Thanks PLAN! Slides and Links Here

Thanks to all who attended the Panhandle Library Access Network Annual Meeting, The slides from my keynote are here. Selected References Creative Classroom Model Model Programme for Public Libraries Selected “Office Hours” Columns cited: Talk About Compassion Dream. Explore. Experiment. Hygge State of Mind Speak of the Devil Color Me Curious Library as Classroom Live Long Day Library Emoji Learning to Learn Also of Interest: The Heart of Librarianship – New book from ALA Editions by Michael Stephens The Transparent Library – Free ebook from Michael Casey & Michael Stephens

New Research Article: Connected Learning: Evaluating and Refining an Academic Community Blogging Platform

I have an article in the new issue of the Journal of Education for Library and Information Science on our student blogging platform at the School of Information, San Jose State University. This study investigates the benefits of a community blogging platform for students in an online LIS program. Using a web survey and descriptive content analysis methods, this paper empirically addresses how student blogging communities can be effectively foster connections amongst instructors and students, and enhance perceptions of learn- ing performance. Overall, students reported the blogging community and blogging as- signment created a positive impact on their learning performance, particularly […]

Thanks TLN TechForum & Michigan Librarians!

Note from Michael: We had an issue with TTW for the past few days that Blake fixed for me last night. Apologies for being behind! Here’s a shout out to all the folks who attended The Library Network Tech Forum on Friday in Bloomfield, MI. I was honored to present the keynote, especially to folks in my adopted home state of Michigan!  As promised some links to follow up: Download the slides. Abstract: The Heart of Librarianship: Attentive, Positive & Purposeful Change The heart of librarianship is learning and supporting our users’ curiosity through every means possible. It’s a cyclical process […]

Future-focused Library

My Letter to the Editor was published in the Elk Rapids News today. Below is the full text before I cut it down to the 200 word max. This is response to a group fighting potential library improvements. Their letter in last week’s paper urged residents to drive 20 miles to nearby libraries and used the fact that the number of children in the village of Elk Rapids is declining. The letter is at this link AND the other letter below mine shares some disturbing stats about the village – please click through. http://www.elkrapidsnews.com/letters-to-the-editor.html Full Letter: As a part time resident and […]