I don’t know if it’s the economy or the time of year but lately it seems like there is a lot of negativity going around, so last week when I saw this tweet from Jan Holmquist linking to this post, contributions, criticism and courage,  it really struck a chord with me.

I am by no means a perfect person, but I try.  I think a lot about what my goals are here, online and around libraryland. Sure there are some things happening in libraryland I don’t care for, that I think are a waste of time, that are poorly thought out, but I bite my tongue. I made a decision not to speak ill of other professionals, not to disparage the work of others just because I don’t agree with them, or because I don’t think its important or because I don’t get it. Let me tell you, sometimes I almost bite my tongue clean off not saying anything. But, in the words of mothers everywhere, if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all.

At the end of the meeting, of the work day, of the day, of the year I what do I want? I want to share the amazing work others are doing, to help and be supportive, to help others feel good about themselves and their work and be successful. I want to share and I want to learn and I want to work with (not against) others to make libraryland and libraries better places.Similar Posts:

• What’s the matter with our profession?
• Looking Back: The 5 Most Valuable Lessons I Learned (or Re-Learned) in 2011
• The Problem with Pseudonyms

Thank you to Buffy for bringing this to my attention.

I’m not usually one for resolutions, but 2010 has been a long year and I am looking forward to the New Year with unusual anticipation, and this is so timely for me. As we look forward to 2011 it is important for some reflection, so ask yourself as librarians, teachers, leaders, individuals:

How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make?

Will inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions?

Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?

Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?

Will you wilt under criticism, or will you follow your convictions?

Will you bluff it out when you’re wrong, or will you apologize?

Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love?

Will you play it safe, or will you be a little bit swashbuckling?

When it’s tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?

Will you be a cynic, or will you be a builder?

Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?

Regardless of your feeling about Jeff Bezos or Amazon.com take the time to watch or read the commencement speech he gave at Princeton earlier this year.

Similar Posts:

• The Problem with Pseudonyms
• Looking back – the year in review
• The Best of the Best: The 20 Most Important, Thought Provoking, Helpful Posts I Wrote in 2010

Yesterday I received this email through my Facebook contact form. I thought I’d post a response publicly so others can see it and to tap the wisdom of the web, What do you think, is she crazy to want to work in libraries?

I follow you on twitter and really enjoy all the information that you share. I’m a 41 year wife, mother of one and student. I’m working on my undergraduate degree with plans to get an MLS degree when I’m finished.

If you have time, please send me some advice.

What I want to ask you is this: am I crazy to want to work in a library? Everyone I tell (not library people) are so discouraging and seem to think libraries are going to die out and become a thing of the past. I’ve heard that a love of books is the worst possible reason to want to work in a library, but in addition to loving books, I love technology and I love people.

Hi Crystal,

Unfortunately I can’t give you an easy yes or no. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. The best I can do it point you towards some resources that I think the will help you better understand what being a librarian entails, what librarians really do and what their work days are like. If you haven’t already I strongly suggest working in a library. Volunteer if you have to in order to get a foot in the door.

For online resources I recommend you start with this slideshow by Ned Potter

Then I recommend you read these links from So You Want to be a Librarian? A Guide For Those Considering an MLS, Current Students & Job Seekers. The full posts contains more links and advice but these are for those thinking about getting a degree, working on it or newly graduated.

• So, You Want To Be A Librarian? Part I
• What the eff can you do with a MLIS/Archives/Library Science degree? - Earlier tonight a friend passed a question on to me from Aardvark in which the person asks, “What can you do with an MLIS other than become a traditional librarian or archivist?”
• Ten Practical Tips for New Library Students – Here is a list of ten tips I’d like to have had when I began library school. I hope you find some of them useful. Please feel free to add others by using the comment function.
• What MLIS Grad Schools Need to Tell Prospective – and Current – Students Now - One has only to participate in a few LIS discussion lists or online groups, hang out at a professional conference or two, or read some of the many LIS blogs and their comments to realize that the library profession is in the midst of extensive and somewhat discouraging change.
• Ten Tips for Building Your Career While You’re in Grad School - Grad school is not only an opportunity for you to develop your LIS skills and expertise, it’s also an opportunity for you to build a professional platform that will help launch you into a career that’s rewarding both personally and financially.
• Library School To Do List from Andy Burkhardt
• The Dos and Don’ts of Library School – from Lauren Dodd
• Library Day in the Life Project – trying to decide what kind of librarian to be? Check out the average day or week of librarians.
• What I want LIS students to know – a great list from Jill Hurst-Wahl

It might also be of help to read these posts on what it really means to have an MLS

• The Master’s Degree Misperception
• Response to “The Master’s Degree Misperception
• The Master’s Degree Misperception, Ctd.
• Response to “The Master’s Degree Misperception, Ctd
• The LIS Masters is a qualification of convenience
• I Got a Degree So I Could Fix the Printer?
• Library MAs: insufficient preparation for the real world of information work?
• The Librarianship Qualification
• Some thoughts on the LIS MA includes likes and dislikes on masters work.
• Tina Reynolds talks about what she felt was missing in her education in Library School.
• Finally Micah Vandegrift looks at the varying types of degrees a librarian get in the The MLIS vs. the MLS

Similar Posts:

• Round Up: What It Means to Have an Masters in Library Science, or Information Science or…
• So You Want to be a Librarian? A Guide For Those Considering an MLS, Current Students & Job Seekers
• What’s a Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Or How I Came to Work in Libraries

My first memory of interacting with Ned Potter is when he emailed me about the Library Day in the Life style for a new project called Library Routes.  We quickly connected via Twitter and occasionally email, and Ned soon became one of my favorite UK Librarians.  (In fact if you click on the link to his blog you’ll find he has even been gracious enough to let me copy his theme)  He has helped introduce me to other library-types outside of the States and get me thinking about important issues like the Echo Chamber, so when he asked if I would answer a few questions for LISNPN I agreed without hesitation.  My interview is part of a set he did that also includes Andy Woodworth and Buffy Hamilton.  I have copied my portion below and you can read the interviews  in their entirety on LISNPN.

Q. Welcome to the first ever LISNPN interview! Seeing as this is a US librarian special, let’s look at some cultural differences first of all. In your opinion is there any difference in the way people in the UK or America view the library as an institution (and the people who work there)?

A. You know I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer this one. I make a point of following people outside of my bubble including UK librarians, but I don’t know that I’ve noticed a difference in thinking. It may be that my focus still tends to lean towards like minded individuals even ones outside of the US.

Q. I’ve always had the impression, just from my limited experience of Twitter etc, that a greater number of senior professionals engage with social media in the US than in the UK – would you say that’s something you’ve noticed? And if so, why do you think this is? I like it when senior pros use social media because it levels the playing-field – its communication to anyone whose interested, rather than just to other high up people.

A. It is my impression that more professionals use social media in the US,  so that would make it likely that there are more senior professionals. We had a huge push towards using social media in libraries here in the US about 5 or 6 years ago. There are still articles in our professional publications detailing why you need an online presence and how to build one, whether it’s a blog or Twitter or a website

If there are more of using social media in general it would stand to reason that there are more senior professionals using it.

Q. Okay last cultural difference question – in the UK we have a concerted New Professionals movement. People who’ve joined the profession in the last five years or so get bracketed as New Profs and grouped accordingly for events etc. Is there anything similar in America? I’ve not noticed such a specific move to label the newbies on your side of the Atlantic…

A. We have several listservs for New Librarians or NextGen Librarians. ALA has a New Members Round Table with services like resume review and special sessions for new conference attendees. ALA also offers Mentor Connect as part of ALA Connect, our social site for ALA members . Members can fill out a mentor or mentee profile or both and the site helps them find a fit.

I will say when I was a newbie Mentor Connect did not exist and I wasn’t encouraged by my library to be involved in ALA so I wasn’t involved in the NMRT. I did belong to the listservs but eventually gave them up due to too much bickering and complaining. The connections I’ve made through social networking and the blogs I’ve read have, by far, been the most use to me.

Q. Do you see libraries as being in something of a state of crisis at the moment? What is the biggest threat we’re facing – governments, media, public perception, what?

A. I don’t. Yes I know that funding is being cut at many libraries. The economy is still recovering in the US and all industries are suffering. The latest report from the Institute of Museums and Library Service shows that use continues to rise.

Our largest challenge right now is the diversity of our services; we have our traditional print media, recently added media like music CDs and DVDs, and newly added digital content including databases, downloadable content like ebooks, music and videos. We are becoming more focused on community resources and being services centres with the addition of gaming, complex programming for adults and children. Local, state and federal governments are looking to us for support as they put more forms, instructions and services online and direct people to visit their local library.

The role of the Reference Librarian is no more. The days of sitting behind a reference desk and helping patrons find the tallest mountain in the US is long past, despite the clinging nostalgia of some. Instead reference librarians are expect to help patrons create a resume, open their first email account, adjust their Facebook privacy settings, find their favourite tv shows online, not to mention find resources for papers due tomorrow, help entrepeneurs find the much-needed free information to start their own business, break up fights, keep teens and adults from performing lewd acts in the stacks, defend funding to the public, board members and upper level managers. An MLS prepares one for only a small portion of this.

Q. Future trends – what are the developments on the horizon which will change the way we work, or just generally make things cooler?

A. It is an exciting time to be a librarian! We have more of an opportunity to shape what being a librarian means that any generation of librarians who came before us. My position Digital Services wouldn’t have existed 10 years ago. The ability to connect with others hundreds and thousands of miles away, across time zone and countries means we are exposed to more ideas that our predecessors. Our personal learning networks are huge and diverse, we have access to more help and more minds than any group of librarians before us. I think it is hard to see while we’re suffering growing times, but this is one of the most control we, librarians, have had over our own destiny probably since the formation of the first library.   

Q. Is there a single achievement, or event, or change, of which you are most proud in your career?

A. I definitely consider my work with transliteracy my proudest accomplishment. The group blog with co-authors* Tom Ipri, Brian Hulsey and Gretchen Caserotti has been a huge success. I’m actually blown away by the number of readers we have and the comments from the library community on the need for a project like this. The subsequent creation of the Transliteracy Interest Group, under The Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) a division of ALA was a major mile stone for the cause.

Over the last year I have become more aware of and more focused on the digital divide and more importantly what the divide really means to those on the loosing side of it. The need to be literate is no longer enough to be an active engage member of today’s society. Reports like that of the Knight Commission clearly demonstrate that we are dangerously close to a new type of second class citizen. Libraries are the most logical organization to tackle this problem and help close the gap.

Q. I really liked that #inatweet meme on Twitter – is there a particular platform or piece of technology you find really useful that you’d like to share with others?

A. Do I only get 140 characters for each one?

• Evernote – It’s invaluable for taking notes from blog posts and articles online and tracing mentions of you and/or you library.
• Tweetdeck– I couldn’t use Twitter on my desktop without the columns Tweetdeck makes possible.
• Seesmic – For using Twitter on my phone, allows me to see my lists and choose my retweet style. 
• Google Reader – I know a lot of people are giving up on feed readers but I can’t imagine parting with mine. I can’t be on Twitter or Facebook all the time, and this week when I’m spending my time writing, I know that my feeds are waiting for me this weekend.
• Gmail – the threading and filtering of messages is amazing and the searching is lightning fast, the recent addition of priority inbox makes it almost perfect.
• My Planner – I have to throw this in because I recently went back to a paper planner, I prefer it to an online calendar and task list

Q. Bobbi, a lot of people in my own personal echo chamber have similar interests in terms of social media, new technologies, presenting at conferences etc. A big difference between you and me, it seems, is that your job encompasses all that stuff (where as mine occasionally dips into it, but largely the two aspects of my career exist separately) – is there anything you can say about chasing the kind of role that allows you to do all that stuff? How does one achieve job-satisfaction that encompasses all those cool things..? [I'm not sure about this question - I know what I mean but can't quite make it clear on paper.. do you get what I mean?]

A. I can see how it might appear that my job encompasses all that from the outside, unfortunately it is not an accurate view of how I spend my days at work.  I spend a great deal of time at work answering emails, in meetings, serving on committees and writing reports or procedures. I estimate I spend and average of 20 hours a week of my own time investigating social media, new technologies and doing the work (like writing my blog) that allows me to present at conferences. I do it because I’m interested and I’m passionate about what I do, not just the 9-5 part of my work but the professional work I do outside of my day job. In some ways my job does line up with those interests. But I could also see doing it if I worked the reference desk full-time, I would still see the digital divide, still encounter the issues I see with ebooks etc, and my personality is such I would research those things even if I had to do it on my own time so I could provide better services to our patrons. Now maybe cataloguing wouldn’t be the best match for me at this point in my career but I don’t feel that a change in title or position would affect how I spend my time.

As far as chasing a role you think you want I would offer words of caution. My title of Digital Branch Manager might indicate I spend all my time with new technology and digital services but it really is a small portion of my responsibilities. Real satisfaction has to come from within, if you know what you’re interested in and you want to contribute be prepared to make those contribution on your own time, if you’re fortunate enough to get a job with some overlap that’s great.

Q. Final question, which we’re going to ask everyone who does these LISNPN interviews. Take yourself back in time to when you’d only been in the profession for a couple of years – is there one piece of advice you’d give yourself, or one thing you know now that it would be have been useful to know then?

A. Get more involved in professional organizations. The libraries I worked didn’t encourage involvement with professional organizations and I wish I’d taken the initiative to do it on my own. I didn’t know where to start and I felt overwhelmed. Believe it or not, I am shy and socially awkward, I find it hard to strike up conversations with strangers and I’m terrible at small talk. Being involved has helped alleviate a lot of those issues. The advancement of the social web helps too, I would have found direction from blogs or Twitter and felt on some level part of the community before just jumping in.Similar Posts:

• Yes I am a Digital Branch Manager, No I Do Not Regularly Build Bonfires of Print Books in My Backyard & Dance Around Wearing Warpaint
• Voting for the Edublog Awards is Open
• What DO you wish your patrons knew?

In my case this means my day, the 9 to 5 one, not the one on the side where I write this blog and other stuff and do workshops and present and read article and government reports, though it helps there too. For the sake of this post I’m focusing on my 9 to 5 job or more like 7 to 6 job.

Here are 10 ways Twitter has made me a better employee, better at my job and benefited my library.

1. Connection to experts.

Thanks to Twitter I can connect with experts it might take years to connect with otherwise. I might see them in passing at conferences (if I’m fortunate enough to attend) or exchange emails. But Twitter connections so much easier to make. No need to write a formal email, I respond to their tweets starting a conversation that is much faster and easier to maintain than formal emails. Through my tweets they get a feeling of what I am like professionally and as in individual.

These connections include those tweets that aren’t related to work or libraries, personal tweets help build a relationship between people who have never met face to face. They are the mortar between the bricks.  Think of them as office cooler talk, it’s the grease that helps the wheels turn.

These connections are invaluable for asking questions, getting feedback and growing as a professional.  It also means when my library is exploring a new project my network of experts to ask for advise is much, much larger than others. When we are researching a new service the first place I go is to my Twitter connections and I get accurate, up-to-date information faster and more efficiently. What boss wouldn’t love that?

2. Pool of information

The amount of information shared on Twitter is amazing. Even better because the information shared is first vetted by the individual who shared it I am assured of its accuracy timeliness and relevance.

3. Real time awareness of News

Your best bet for real-time, as it is happening awareness of news is Twitter. It is just better than newspapers, radio and TV for instant news. News my patrons are interested in, news my management team needs to know. News that effects the decisions we, the library, make.

4. Real time updates in technology and library issues.

Want to know what latest technology marvel Apple is unveiling that wont work with any of your library services but all your patrons will be asking about? Twitter. Want to know what is happening with Vendor issues like the JSTOR interface change? Or Libraries lending Netflix? Twitter.

5. Connection with patrons

Patrons ask me questions on Twitter all the time. Yes for real. Patrons go to the easiest, most convenient method for them, for some its Twitter.

Technically my librarianbyday twitter account is not related to my library in any way. It doesn’t matter, people who know me in the community know I work at the library, I’m their point of contact.

6. Professional development for free!

Hey budgets are tight. But it is important that we take time to develop our staff. Library staff members need professional development to best serve our patrons.

Twitter is no substitute for conferences or face to face training or workshops, but if money is tight it is better than nothing. I get to interact with my peers, exchange ideas and I get pointed toward important library developments without leaving my office.

7. Contact with local organizations and groups.

Because I live in my community I follow local organizations and groups I am interested in. I ask them questions, retweet their tweets and keep up with upcoming events.  They know I’m a librarian that works at the library, they also know I am a customer/patron of theirs. When they have  need than could be met by the library they’ll think of us first because they know me.

Twitter is a great way to build relationships with other organizations,  something that is especially important in today’s economy. Even better you don’t have to spend two hours of work time eating bad food and listening to bad presentations.

8. I’m always learning

I think it would be next to impossible to be on Twitter and not learn  something new. Librarians who are always learning are more flexible and open to change. One thing we know for sure about libraries right now is times are changing and staff need to be able to change too.

9. Keeps me in touch with the larger world.

As human being we tend to gravitate to people with similar ideas and interests. Twitter connects me with people I might not connect with otherwise, they might have completely different interests outside of libraries. Because I frequently interact by choice with people with ideals different than my own I’m better able to assist patrons with ideals who don’t align with me. Remember we are supposed to be warm and welcoming to everyone equally, even if you think their ideas are abhorrent.

10. Sharing and borrowing

Thanks to Twitter it is easy for me to share information about all the awesome things my library is doing and for others to share what their libraries are doing. Why reinvent the wheel when I can steal programming ideas from libraries who have already implemented them? Even better programs I might never have thought of.

Still not convinced? Check out:

• Twittering, Not Frittering: Professional Development in 140 Characters from Edutopia
• How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Personal Learning Network
• Can Twitter Help your Professional Development?
• Twitter is really professional development
• Twitteracy: Twitter as professional development tool

Don’t have Twitter and now want to set up an account? Check out these great guides.

• New to Twitter? Here’s what you do
• Dipping into the Stream from American Libraries
• Twitter 101: How should I get started using Twitter?
• Twitter basics
• The Twitter Glossary
• Newbie’s guide to Twitter
  
• Twitter for Libraries (and Librarians) from Computers in Libraries

Similar Posts:

• Do you Twitter at Work?
• How to Decide Who to Follow on Twitter
• Twitter: making the cut

Last week after my There Are No Magic Beans post one of my favorite librarians, Daniel Cornwall, emailed me with some concerns about the post.  I emailed him back and we had a good discussion.  With his permission* I’m posting a revised edition of our conversation here. I’m sure he is not the only person who had one or all of these thoughts.

… I’m concerned that posts like these are going to have the opposite effect you intend. In concept I’m with you. People have to drop the expectation that they need do nothing after their shift ends (when I finish typing this note, I’ve got homework on digital repositories to do for Best Practices Exchange 2010). We all need to be lifelong learners even if we don’t want to be.

People already say and think those things about me. I don’t think one post is going to sway them one way or another. In fact based on my interactions with people like that nothing I say or do will change them. I can only hope they retire or find a new profession.

I think essentially telling people to grow up, stop whining and get back to work confirms whiny people in their belief that people just don’t understand what their lives are like. That it’s easy for a Bobbi Newman (and, in the world of govdocs, a Daniel Cornwall or James Jacobs) to do librarianship 24/7, but “some of us have lives – blah, blah, blah.”

Can I just say how much it pisses me off when people say something about “having a life” when it implies I don’t (or Daniel doesn’t). I have a life thank-you-very-much. One I’m pretty happy with actually. Granted it doesn’t include parking my butt in front of a tv for hours at an end, but I’m ok with that. I don’t do librarianship 24/7 but I do live my life with purpose aligned to my larger goals.

Nobody said it was going to be easy. Most things worth doing aren’t. I’m not interested in babysitting non-starters. I hope to provide motivation and ideas for people who already have some motivation. But the people who have heard the message and know there is a need and choose to spend their finding reasons not to it, nothing I say or do will change them.

Oddly enough I wrote that post in July and posted it the morning before TEDx Atlanta but I’m only more certain of it. I saw speeches from people who accomplished incredible things, things people told them they couldn’t do or that were impossible. They didn’t waste time trying to persuade the non-believers.

At the risk of suggesting something you might have already tried in the past, it might be more effective to highlight the ways that people make time to learn more or solve their problems. Ask your fan base for how they do it. I’m finding that my time on my stationary bike in the morning is good time for professional reading or networking with Facebook. Although today I watched Stargate Atlantis on my iPhone, but you get the idea.

Other suggestions might be material from WebJunction or any other number of sites that have resources of interest there for the taking. Empower people to make their lives richer and maybe they’ll take you up on it.

I think all of those are great ideas! Go for it! There is value in it and someone needs to be doing it. There was a point when I thought and did a lot of those things. It just isn’t how I’m interested in spending my time anymore.

Or keep whining. But if folks like us won’t stay positive, who will?

I actually see the original post as positive. I  have worked long and hard to get where I am. I didn’t get here by whining that I didn’t have enough time. I found time, I taught myself. I’m a firm believer in hard work and taking responsibility for your own actions. There is so much I love about being a librarian and what I do. I’m tired of allowing a few to drag me down, I see that post as a declaration of that.

*Please note my comment policy states I reserve the right to post emails regarding blog posts. Similar Posts:

• Is She Crazy to Want to Work in Libraries? Advice for a Potential Librarian.
• “Go be secretly awesome. Then tell someone.”
• There Are No Magic Beans You Have To Do The Work

It never fails at a conference or a webinar or on twitter or a blog post someone always says – but I don’t have time for that, IT will never let us do that, administration will never let us do that. Never mind what “that” is. There is always a reason. An excuse. Yes an excuse. I don’t understand these people. I’m not sure what they are looking for, magic beans? fairy dust? There isn’t any.

I read this post Yeah You’ve Got Problems. So Solve Them by Will Richardson during the mad rush between a workshop and ALA in July. It really stuck with me. I think I’m going to borrow his approach.

That is a problem. What are you going to do about that?

I hear ya’. How you gonna fix that?

I love talking with other librarians and library staff.  But there is always a least one person who wants the presenter to take them by the hand, follow them back to work and wave my magic wand over their problem.  Guess what? No one else can solve your problem.  It’s your problem. At your job. No one knows that situation better than you. People can give you tips and suggestions and motivations and links, but no one can fix your problem.  That’s your job.

Maybe this post is harsh, but I think a call for a little responsibility is in order. Sometimes that means doing research on your own time, in the evening (gasp!), fighting for what you believe in, what you need, what your patrons need, even if the person you are fighting is a coworker.Similar Posts:

• More About Magic Beans
• Eternal September: Be Ready to Repeat Yourself. Again.
• Yes You Do Have The Time to Learn That New Fangled Internet, Just Put Down The Remote

…Information Resources and Library Science, like mine.

A round up of the discussions happening around the web right now. Most of these post have a LOT of comments. Even if you don’t agree with them or the comments it is worth the time to read through them.

Andy Woodworth wrote The Master’s Degree Misperception and followed it up with The Master’s Degree Misperception, Ctd.

Emily Lloyd of Shelf Check responded with Response to “The Master’s Degree Misperception“ and Response to “The Master’s Degree Misperception, Ctd.”

Ned Potter brought a UK perspective to the discussion with The LIS Masters is a qualification of convenience

Kendra added her thoughts with I Got a Degree So I Could Fix the Printer?

Library MAs: insufficient preparation for the real world of information work? adds another UK perspective to the mix.

In The Librarianship Qualification Niamh Page talks about what being a librarian means to her.

Some thoughts on the LIS MA includes likes and dislikes on masters work.

Tina Reynolds talks about what she felt was missing in her education in Library School.

Finally Micah Vandegrift looks at the varying types of degrees a librarian get get in the The MLIS vs. the MLSSimilar Posts:

• Is She Crazy to Want to Work in Libraries? Advice for a Potential Librarian.
• What’s a Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Or How I Came to Work in Libraries
• So You Want to be a Librarian? A Guide For Those Considering an MLS, Current Students & Job Seekers

I get a lot of email asking for advice either on getting an MLS, the job search or the skills needed. So I’ve pulled together a list of the best of the best advice for potential MLS students, current students and job seekers. In cases where the titles are not self explanatory I’ve grabbed a sentence or two from the post to give context

The Degree

• So, You Want To Be A Librarian? Part I
• What the eff can you do with a MLIS/Archives/Library Science degree? - Earlier tonight a friend passed a question on to me from Aardvark in which the person asks, “What can you do with an MLIS other than become a traditional librarian or archivist?”
• Ten Practical Tips for New Library Students – Here is a list of ten tips I’d like to have had when I began library school. I hope you find some of them useful. Please feel free to add others by using the comment function.
• What MLIS Grad Schools Need to Tell Prospective – and Current – Students Now - One has only to participate in a few LIS discussion lists or online groups, hang out at a professional conference or two, or read some of the many LIS blogs and their comments to realize that the library profession is in the midst of extensive and somewhat discouraging change.
• Ten Tips for Building Your Career While You’re in Grad School - Grad school is not only an opportunity for you to develop your LIS skills and expertise, it’s also an opportunity for you to build a professional platform that will help launch you into a career that’s rewarding both personally and financially.
• Library School To Do List from Andy Burkhardt
• The Dos and Don’ts of Library School – from Lauren Dodd
• Library Day in the Life Project – trying to decide what kind of librarian to be? Check out the average day or week of librarians.
• What I want LIS students to know - good list from Jill Hurst-Wahl added 11/30/2010
• Ten Things You Won’t Find On Your LIS Class Syllabus – a great list from Andy Woodworth added 11/30/2010

The Job Search

• So, You Want To Be A Librarian/Archivist: The Job Hunt (Possibly Part I) – In the list of ridiculous things that I consider to be dehumanizing, job hunting is one of them.
• So, You Want To Be A Librarian/Archivist: Job Hunt Part II: Do’s
• So, You Want To Be A Librarian/Archivist: Job Hunt Part III: 75 and counting.
• Tests for Hiring and Training - some sample hiring tests from Brian Herzog
• Job Search Sabotage – A few weeks ago, I was going through one of my email accounts I haven’t checked in a while and came across a link on “job search sabotage”. The topic of the link originated from a spam email but it got me thinking about how those preparing for employment in libraries and the information profession can avoid job hunting pitfalls.
• Things to do when you’re in library school…with an eye to when you get out.
• Some Interview Tips from a Recent Grad -
• on reading cover letters and resumes advice from Laura Crossett
• Tips for library job applicants in a tight market – advice from Merideth Farkas
• Tough Times: Thoughts on the Library Job Market from a Department Head Who Just Hired a Reference Librarian - from Rich Roche
• Notes on Reading Resumes – tips from Brian Herzog
• What Not to Do When Applying for Library Jobs - from the crew at In the Library with a Lead Pipe
• cover letter madness- advice from Laura Crossett

General Professional Advice

• Your Virtual Brand - Online presence for professional success
• Finding Your Voice - Blogging for career advancement and networking
• Dipping into the Stream -Building collegial ties on Twitter and FriendFeed
• Career Q&a With the Library Career People – a whole blog of library related career Q&A
• This Librarian’s Blog Name Says It All – getting support from the library community when it seems you’ll never get a job
• So You Want To Be a Librarian – an excellent book by Lauren Presley

Skills

• What programming should a library science student learn? – I received this email from one of the students in the Collection Development class I taught at Mizzou and thought in addition to giving my answer I’d open it up for the hive mind.
• Why every Library Science student should learn programming – The title is meant to incite a bit of discussion. I myself am not entirely convinced that every library student should be required to take a semester long course in programming, but I also think there are several very good reasons for librarians to learn programming
• Technology education and the “real world”
• Core skills: Curiosity – Over the last month, as I contemplated our three open staff positions, and thought about all the December graduates from library programs, and then faced down finals week, I thought about what the core skills and competencies are for academic librarians.  Do we know?
• Staff Technology Competencies – another tool for evaluating staff technology competencies.
• Technical Skills & the Librarian – What type of technical skills do you need to be a librarian? A tough question to answer. Specific skills will vary depending on type of library one works in, will vary by departments within a library, will also vary from library to library – and will most definitely change rapidly.
• Skills for the 21st Century Librarian
• 21st Century Skills, Libraries and Librarians

Help keep this site ad freeSimilar Posts:

• Is She Crazy to Want to Work in Libraries? Advice for a Potential Librarian.
• What programming should a library science student learn?
• What’s a Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Or How I Came to Work in Libraries

As I look at the Library Day in the Life Project last week I think of all the things I could reveal if I didn’t blog as “me”. Things that might help others. Things that might show a better perspective of what I do all day. But because I’m me there are secrets I must keep. I must guard the privacy of patrons and staff. I’d also like to still have a job when I show up for work in the morning. Oh the lure of anonymity.

I have seen the flip side of anonymity. When you don’t own your words you aren’t accountable. Sure you can share so much more freely, but there is the dark side too. Unfortunately those who don’t own their words seem to always go over to the dark side.  You know what I’m talking about: snark, profanity, lewdness, hatefulness, pettiness, name calling, personal attacks, ill thought out arguments and logic.

I am just as capable of swearing and snark as the next person in fact there are those who might say I excel at it. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, I’m good at it, I enjoy delivering my cutting remarks. But I don’t feel I need to do it publicly for attention.

It’s easy to talk crap when you aren’t held accountable. It takes courage and wisdom to own your words

It would be great to see an anonymous account dealing with real issues, objectively and intelligently.  Instead pseudonyms just seem to bring out the worst in people. Similar Posts:

• We’re barely treading water, what will keep us from drowning?
• In the End I Want to be Able to Say I Contributed More Than I Criticized
• Is She Crazy to Want to Work in Libraries? Advice for a Potential Librarian.