The Library, with a staff of 42 FTE, attracts nearly 30,000 people to its programs and circulates over 730,000 items. The Library includes the Trove, a library for children, and the Edge, an innovative library for teens that includes a digital media lab. The final phase of its capital campaign will create a Learning Commons for adults as well as a café and bookstore. Special consideration will be given to candidates with experience, training, or interest in any of the following: digital media, emerging technologies, services to teens, services to adults 55+, and local history. Experience in instruction is a […]
Categories Library Jobs & Careers
285 posts
Context Book Assignment: Net Smart: How to Thrive Online Critics of modern social media and our emerging hyperlinked culture are abundant. So are cheerleaders and utopians, who praise the potential of new media and our always-on, always-connected, society. Critics warn us that Google might be “making us stupid,” as Nicholas Carr put it. They wonder, as Sherry Turkle has, “Why do we expect more from technology and less from each other?” They worry that we are becoming overloaded with information, unable to focus on sustained chains of reasoning, and “driven to distraction.” They express concern at the tendency for Facebook […]
Note from Michael: Valarie Kingsland delivered the SJSU SLIS Outstanding Student speech at our convocation She graciously allowed me to publish her remarks here. Thank you, Dr. Hirsh, for your generous introduction. It’s a pleasure to be here with you and your loved ones. To share in the celebration of this special day, when we reflect upon our time as students, delight in our new titles as archivists, librarians, and information professionals…and contemplate our future. It’s an honor to have been chosen to represent you and share our story. Our Story Remember when you found out you were accepted […]
My new column is up at Library Journal, all about our research concerning The Hyperlinked Library MOOC. Also, I’m very happy to announce we’ll be teaching a revised and updated version of the #hyperlibMOOC in Spring 2015. http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2014/04/opinion/michael-stephens/lessons-from-hyperlibmooc-office-hours/ LIBRARIAN’S ROLES Kyle and I wrote a paper for the proceedings of the 16th Distance Library Services Conference this month in Denver based on this post-MOOC survey question: “Reflecting on your MOOC experience, what roles do you think librarians might play within MOOCs?” The identified roles include: Guide Rarely in the library, working on the go, from home or third place, or amid […]
My new column is up at Library Journal: Let’s unpack this sweeping suggestion for improving libraries further. What of teaching ability? I advise my students to make sure they take courses in user instruction and technology, no matter where they want to work. Delivering instruction should be a part of every professional’s skill set: in a training room, across the desk, in the stacks, on the fly. Maybe it’s time to add creating a short training session or learning module to the interview process for all librarians, not just those in colleges or schools. Borrowed from Apple, the Genius Bar […]
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2014/03/people/movers-shakers-2014/jan-holmquist-movers-shakers-2014-tech-leaders/ Jan Holmquist’s nominators describe him as a “global librarian,” and it’s easy to see why. In addition to his current work as head of development for Denmark’s Guldborgsund libraries, Holmquist’s side projects tend to involve collaboration with librarians all over the world. He is engaged with ongoing international projects in Germany and the Read Watch Play Twitter reading group based in Australia. And in 2011 and 2012, he worked with librarians in the United States and the UK on the “Buy India a Library Project” and then built awareness of the program’s efforts with a presentation on crowdfunding for […]
Are you my mentor? An exploration of the intersection of Twitter & mentoring relationships. In the real world mentors are usually organic relationships without specific titles, goals, or responsibilities. Mentors are simply experienced people you get to know and look to for advice, informally and organically. They’re people you go to coffee with, people you ask for guidance, and people you call when there’s a big decision to make. (Barr, 2013, para. 14) Ideas about mentors and mentoring have changed a lot over the years, particularly with the advent of social media. As an avid Twitter user, I was curious […]
“Honestly, I simply wanted to manage a library the way I had always wished I had been managed,” says Hill, with a laugh, when asked to describe her management style. “Coming up in this field, you get so tired of hearing ‘No,’ or ‘Let me tell you why that is not going to work,’ or ‘We tried that years ago; it didn’t work.’ ” http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2014/01/awards/corinne-hill-ljs-2014-librarian-of-the-year/
My new column is up at Library Journal and it’s all about the incredible community of LIS folks in new Zealand: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/12/opinion/michael-stephens/notes-from-some-small-islands-office-hours/ Something struck me about this conference, in addition to my interactions with the library folk I met as we traveled down the North Island, stopping in Wellington for a talk I gave at Victoria University and on to the South Island. At a combination #hyperlibMOOC and library folk tweet up held at Pomeroy’s Pub in Christchurch, I finally asked the assembled group, “Why does the LIS community here feel so cohesive and tight-knit? Is it the isolation?” Between the […]
Note from Michael: I posted about Megan’s work here: https://tametheweb.com/2013/09/26/if-you-like-it-put-a-badge-on-it/I remember my exact reaction the first time I heard about Digital Badges. “Hey, these could replace performance reviews!” I exclaimed. Maybe it was due to upcoming performance reviews I didn’t want to complete, maybe it was my deep love for quest based learning, or maybe it was just one of the many things I exclaim in excitement during any given day, but for some reason it stuck. I couldn’t get badges out of my head. This was several years ago and my excitement over badges has only continued to grow. I’ve […]