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 […]
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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 […]
Greetings! An IRDL colleague at the University of Colorado Boulder, Adam H. Lisbon, is conducting research on scholars and students who use non-English sources of information, but write their actual research papers and articles in English. It would be great if you could take a moment to participate in his survey: Take the Survey: https://cuboulder.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_4TxeCSmaqZWkJk9 A bit about the survey: This survey investigates how multilingual scholars manage their sources for research, specifically: Keeping track of non-English sources of information, such as their titles, publishers, and other information often found in citations and bibliographies. As well as… Keeping track of the vernacular, […]
I am thoroughly enjoying Rick Anderson’s new book, a collection of his essays and writings from the last few years. Don’t miss this one, especially if you are involved in leadership, the shifting nature of collections, and managing change within organizations of learning. More Info is here: CHICAGO — A creative thinker on topics related to library collections and scholarly publishing, Rick Anderson does not back away from controversy. “Whenever we, as members of an organization like a library, are forced to choose between good things, we may start by trying to figure out some way to have both things,” he writes […]
Check out Megan Bergeron’s informative post for students who may be new to the networking scene. As scary as meeting new people sometimes can be, the biggest favor you can do for yourself is get out there and just start saying hi to everyone you meet and learn a bit about what they do. Its a great way for you to learn more about yourself and help you learn to focus on the things you’re really interested in or passionate about. At the end of the day the only person who’s going to look out for your best interests is yourself, […]
A big thank you and shout out to the good folks at Poplar Creek Public Library District. I had a blast speaking at their Staff Development Day yesterday. Download my slides. The featured image is a little riff we did on storytelling with emoji. Can you tell what epic story it might be? 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 Also of Interest: The Heart of Librarianship – New […]
Cheers to Martin! Martin Garnar, dean, Kraemer Family Library, was recently elected 2016-17 president of the Freedom to Read Foundation. “The foundation does important work supporting the First Amendment in libraries and the larger society, and I’m humbled for this opportunity to advance its mission,” Garnar said. The Freedom to Read Foundation, based in Chicago and founded in 1969, is affiliated with the American Library Association. The foundation protects and defends the First Amendment and supports the right of libraries to collect information, according the foundation’s web site. This is Garnar’s second term on the foundation’s board, having previously served […]
Anytime someone asks me if they should go to library school, I want to give them an unconditional “Yes!” Since I’ve graduated, spent almost two years working as a full-time librarian, and started to pay back my student loans, I haven’t given one unqualified “Yes!” to anyone. I’d like to say something about why that is. * * * From 6:00 to 9:00 PM on Wednesday nights, I work at the information desk with one other employee, often a part-time library clerk. Recently, we were doing a little arts and crafts project to pass the time, and she asked me […]
The conference programme is out for Internet Librarian International 2016! This is one of my favorite conferences – please take a look. At ILI, we’re all about responding to challenge through innovation. ILI is a great forum for sharing ideas, learning new skills, hearing about new tools and technology, making unexpected connections, discovering practical solutions, and exploring new and interesting approaches – all with the aim of helping you make a difference to your organisation, clients and communities. Take a look at this year’s programme and plan now to meet up with us in London this October.
One year ago I made the jump from a career full of youth services to a life as a director of a small public library. It was a jump that I knew I wanted to make for awhile and when I had the opportunity to work at the Benson Memorial Library in Titusville, PA I jumped right at it. YOUR COMMUNITY IS UNIQUE. UNDERSTAND THEM. We can’t rely on an article in a library related publication to spell out exactly what we need to do in our library. Every community is different, and with that you have to adapt to […]