Dozer, Cooper, Compassion & Empathy: A common punch line in the librarian oeuvre pertains to the number of cats a particular librarian may own. We all know that librarians are dog people, too, as evidenced by the multiple Facebook photos I see of various canine biblio-companions. I am sure librarians also keep various other mammals, reptiles, and birds, but there is a natural fit between our love of four-legged friends and our calling to the profession. Here is a video about Dozer from Silver Muzzle Cottage
Categories Leadership
35 posts
Confession: I have neglected my duty as a library leader. With more than 10 years of experience working in three different types of libraries, and a multitude of specialized training under belt, I have neglected to strategically bring my library support staff into the conversation and up to speed on today’s public library services scene. I am running circulation similarly to that of a grocer: smile, scan, and say goodbye. As a supervisor I must find ways to open the conversation and empower my staff to be a part of the ever-changing library community. How much more empowering would it […]
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 […]
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 […]
My new column is up at Library Journal: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/09/opinion/michael-stephens/nurture-or-nature-office-hours/ There is much to be said for encouraging staff at your library to pursue the professional library degree. These folks know the ropes, the culture, and the community. Prompting staff to go to library school is an opportunity for the library profession to address its own need for diversity. It’s a chance to identify members of underrepresented groups and urge them to think about librarianship as a career. It’s also part of our own values: the American Library Association (ALA) Code of Ethics explicitly makes mentoring future librarians part of our […]
My new column is up at Library Journal: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/10/opinion/michael-stephens/the-livelong-day-office-hours/ Serving as a member of the advisory board of the Project Information Literacy (PIL) Lifelong Learning study has impressed on me the importance of understanding and addressing the information needs of citizens throughout their lives, especially as they move into the “real world,” postuniversity. The board recently discussed the findings and these results/outcomes should be of interest to all information professionals. We are all in the business of lifelong learning. One of the study’s overarching findings is, “Today’s young graduates prefer lifelong learning resources that have three information qualities: usefulness, connectivity, […]
The Little Free Library (LFL) movement has quickly caught on across the US. The dollhouse-sized miniature libraries are found on front lawns, parks, and public squares coast to coast. LFLs house books and magazines for community members. Circulation is free and runs on an honor system. The motto: “Take a book. Return a book.” As @michael pointed out in this Module 5 article, LFLs support literacy, stewardship, and community. They’re also examples of low-tech, high value localized collections that offer community enrichment and connection in public space. LFLs are a manifestation of community participation, action, and improvement. Who could object? […]
Note from Michael: I am thrilled to have Leah writing here for TTW. Way back in 2006 when I started at Dom, I taught my very first LIS701 class. There was Leah, smiling on the front row every Monday evening. Watching her study, graduate and do incredible work has been incredibly rewarding to me as an LIS educator. Thanks, Leah! What do you think of when you hear the word extrovert? Loud, chatty, pushy? Yeah. Me too. It’s funny – the first time I ever took the Myers Briggs was in grad school. I remember my professor asking if anyone […]
Over the weekend, while all my American colleagues were heading to The Big Easy for #ala11, I jumped north of the border to attend TEDxLibrarians at the University of Toronto. It was an inspiring day in a beautiful city and the speakers gave me a lot to think about on my long drive home. TEDx events are inspired by, and take their name from, the wildly popular TED conference. Local and independently run, TEDx organizers build the event around short and inspiring talks to create a TED-like atmosphere that is meaningful and thought provoking. Since TED first began sanctioning these […]
Library management is a battle against entropy. Those of us who remember our physics know that entropy is most famously captured in the second law of thermodynamics, but it may be easiest to think of entropy as the measurement of the dissipation of energy in a system. So, if hot water and cold water are poured into a bucket, the energy from the hot water will spread to the cold water until all of the water is the same temperature. The state of organization (hot vs cold) will dissipate into a state of high entropy (disorder). To reorganize the water, […]