Required Reading
I’m not a terribly excitable person, but when I see good thing, I get a bit squirrely. Library Love Fest recently put up a post about a book coming out in February: This Book is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians can save us all.
Appropriately, I was sitting at the reference desk when I read the sample chapter, and I quickly decided that this is something that everyone needs to know about. I little sleuthing turned up author Marilyn Johnson’s website with contact information, and she responded to my frantic, fanatic email request for an interview graciously and promptly.
Here are ten questions about the book that every librarian needs to buy–yes, buy; and also gift to every friend and family member you have.
- You got the idea for this book while doing research on your previous one–The Dead Beat. Did the idea come to you in a flash of inspiration, or was it more of a slow process?
I read a number of obituaries in a short period of time that made me marvel at the changes happening in the library field — and that also made me wish I’d met the subjects: Henriette Avram, Frederick Kilgour, a community librarian in Maine, a map librarian who managed an important map collection, including digital maps, but also collected hand-drawn maps. What an interesting time to be a librarian, I thought. And no one besides librarians seemed to be looking at the profession — a terribly important profession, in my opinion.
- You’ve said that librarians were a tremendous help in writing this book. There is a new push for libraries to be more customer-service oriented. I work at a library that is incredibly customer-service oriented, but have found there are many that still aren’t thinking that way–did you find any exceptions to this new rule?
We’re in a transitional time, so of course you can find libraries where it seems there are more things you can’t do than things you can. But I’m impressed by how quickly that is changing. I happen to use a lot of libraries….and I’m finding more and more libraries that are open to outsiders, people who don’t live in that community or attend that institution. What a wonderful change that is! I use the chat services for all sorts of library websites, the 24/7 ask-a-librarian services, and the marvelous librarians at the Internet Public Library. You can really shop around now for good, thorough, accurate and helpful library assistance. And if you don’t find the answer you want, you can locate a librarian on Facebook or via the web on thousands (yes, thousands) of librarian-written blogs to help you instead.
- What can we expect from the rest of the book? The first chapter is a good overview, but I’m wondering where you’re going from there. Is this a tribute to the profession, a historical account, or something completely different?
The book starts with some stories of librarians making the transition to the digital age (with a few bumps along the way), then visits groups of librarians who are experimenting in ever more creative ways with new and old technological tools. I write about blogging librarians, librarians trying to upgrade their networked computer systems, and librarians who leap the walls of the library and serve street populations, long distance students, and users of virtual reality sites like Second Life. I also write about the Connecticut librarians who challenged the USA Patriot Act after an attempt to compromise their patrons’ privacy, and archivists who are trying to save various kinds of archives, on paper and in digital forms, before they disappear. And finally, I attend the opening of a community library that serves both the old-fashioned and the cutting edge needs of its patrons.
- You’ve said that everyone has a “great librarian” story–do you have one?
I have a million! But the one that I tell in the book, that made me want to sit at librarians’ feet and study their art and craft, was when a reference librarian heard me complain about how to save articles on the increasingly jazzed up web — every time I tried to define some text I found online and save it to a word processing file, I crashed the program. Have you tried this? the librarian said, and she showed me how to pull down the browser menu and find the option that lets you snap a picture of a webpage. Like magic, there was a file with a perfect snapshot of the article, pulsing ads included.
I became a student that day — of the changing, mutating, expanding web, and of librarians.
- Were you able to physically visit a lot of libraries, or was most of the research done online?
I live online, so I was always making forays into the web to find librarians and library sites on the web. It’s now possible to network with librarians from around the world from your laptop. But about half of my research took place in physical libraries, at conferences, or in places where librarians were hanging out. I visited libraries across the country and in the UK, and wrote about many of them. I would have liked to write about my visit to the British Library, for instance, or the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, but I couldn’t fit it all in!
- I’m guessing that you spend a bit of time exploring the new ways that librarians are helping patrons–Instant Messaging, Second Life, Text reference etc., did you delve into the new classification systems that are cropping up? Some libraries are dumping Dewey Decimal altogether, others are modifying the way books are classified and shelved to make the stacks more browseable. As a library patron, do you have an opinion about whether or not this is a good idea/helpful?
I tried really hard to grok cataloging, but I couldn’t figure out a good way to write about it. I love to browse, but when I want to find a particular thing, I want to find it quickly. I talked to experts who felt that when we get to the point where the majority of text is digitized (we are quite a ways from that now), and you can search whole texts quickly and easily, cataloging will fade in importance. But searchable text isn’t the whole answer, either. I’ve gone insane trying to track back and find a particular item that I know is out there because I saw it once. The people who figure out how to leave the right trail of breadcrumbs so we can find a book or an article, whatever form it takes, are doing very challenging jobs, and I admire them.
- Why do you think you’ve come across so many interesting librarians? What is it about the profession? Does the ‘meek librarian’ stereotype figure in to this discovery at all?
Librarians are curious, open to the world, and constantly learning. That can’t help but make a person interesting! Meek? I think modest is a better word. They aren’t egoists. They’re very happy getting lost in their work and being of service. I know it makes some librarians uncomfortable to talk about themselves, and I was very, very fortunate to find so many who would agree to share their experiences with me.
- Is librarianship finally ‘cool?’
I’m counting on it! Any profession with librarians like those in the funky social and philanthropic group, the Desk Set, has got to be cool.
- Did anything you came across in your research especially surprise/concern/inspire you?
Their wit and sense of humor! I had no idea librarians could be so funny!
- What is your relationship with libraries, and has it changed over the course of researching this book?
I am a library slut. I’ll stop and duck into any library. I’ve worked in the American Kennel Club Library, the Deadwood SD library, the main library in Little Rock Arkansas, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the Library of Congress, the tiny library upstairs in the Friends Meeting House in Chappaqua, NY, the Cuyahoga County Library in Ohio, the University of Pennsylvania and Penn State libraries..…I could go on. One thing has changed. In some of these libraries, I’ve revealed myself as a researcher of librarians, so I can’t use the quiet rooms without people poking their heads in to say hello or tell me another story!
Filed under: Books/Authors, By: The Librarienne, News, Success!!, libraries, library history, pop culture | 5 Comments
Tags: Additional credit: Paige Turner, Marilyn Johnson, required reading, the Dead Beat, This Book is Overdue!
Gone Rogue
As many people may have heard, Sarah Palin’s Tuesday release of Going Rogue lacked an index. Thankfully, Slate has created the Unauthorized Index of Sarah Palin’s Autobiography: Going Rogue. It includes gems like:
Baldwin, Alec
________preference for Stephen over, 314
Bono, nondescript conversation with, 301
Couric, Katie
________”repetitive, biased questions” of, 271
________unfair editing of interview with, 273
________condescension of, 276
________things I could/should have said to, 274-5
________things I could have done instead of talking to, 279
exclamation point, usage of, 4, 26, 120, 121, 122, 138, 150, 199, 207, 222, 223, 225, 233, 239, 241, 276, 302, 307
Going rogue, actual instances of
________handing phone to McCain for a radio interview without permission, 252
________expressing regret about pulling out of Michigan, 298
________distancing self from $150,000 wardrobe purchase, 317
________Todd going onstage on Election Night despite being told not to, 337
–It’s all pretty wonderful, so just go to the link.
Filed under: Books/Authors, By: The Librarienne, Fun Finds, News, pop culture | 5 Comments
Tags: awesome, Going Rogue, index, Sarah Palin, Slate
Conferences. You hear a lot about them in library school, and as you delve deeper into the library world, you find they are kind of a big deal to librarians. Just like in any industry, library conferences are loved up by librarians for the opportunities they afford to exchange ideas, let loose a little, and, of course, network with other librarians.
As a student, I’m offered free membership to ALA and the California Library Association for a year. I’m also offered opportunities to volunteer at conferences for said organizations in exchange for a very reduced conference fee. This year’s CLA conference was in Pasadena, CA, and though I don’t yet work in a library and didn’t have an institution to pay my way, I kind of wanted to go anyway to see what all the hype was about.
While I stayed in meager accommodations about three miles from the convention center, and took public transportation to and from, I was pleased to see that many working librarians were able to afford (or have their libraries pay for) centrally-located Hiltons, Sheratons and the like. This is comforting to me and gives me hope for my (financial) future. It also speaks to at least some degree of stability in California libraries, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
Though some might say that conference workshops are just an excuse to get together, I really did enjoy the workshops themselves, and learned a ton. Here are some points from my notes:
- Open source ILS software is thriving, and you may not need to be a tech genius (or employ one) to use it at your library. A group called Open Source Open Libraries is working on test cases of using software like Evergreen in libraries with minimal tech infrastructure.
- It’s hard, but not impossible for regular librarian folk to get a job in an academic library. BUT, it might help to: a) get a second master’s degree; b) hone your teaching skills; and c) do something flashy in the interview, like show an instructional screencast you’ve made.
- Even being familiar with Web2.0 basics like blogs, Twitter, RSS feeds, etc. can give you a ‘tech’ edge in an interview. It couldn’t hurt to play this knowledge up.
- If you live in the Bay Area (like I do) or in a similar librarian-saturated part of the world, you might want to consider moving to a less urban area to get your first job and your foot in the door. I have my eye on Placer County.
One of the main impressions that struck me throughout the conference is that the library is a creative, ever-changing industry. I used to work for a music search engine startup, and attended a fair amount of trendy music and search technology conferences in San Francisco. The CLA conference felt surprisingly similar, except there was a wider variety of people (and especially ages) represented. The same kind of vibrant, creative energy and excitement pulsed throughout the weekend, and it wasn’t a disingenuous “let’s make libraries relevant by signing up for Twitter” kind of thing.
Perhaps more than anyone else in any other industry, librarians enjoy discovering new things and sharing them with other people. This kind of attitude makes for a fun and very worthwhile conference. If you’re a library student, take advantage of student rates and GO to a library conference now.
Filed under: By: Paige Turner | 3 Comments
Tags: California Library Assocation, CLA, library conference, MLIS
After a long, grumpy, whiny period of underemployment, I was offered a position as a technology librarian at a busy public library south of Boston. I was, and still am, thrilled. The library is beautiful, it is part of an active library system with lots of opportunities to develop professionally, and I get a nice balance of public service/reference work and self directed technology 
troubleshooting. When I toured the library it looked so beautiful, filled with light and stained glass and current bestsellers, that I never expected that I might encounter the technology I did.
I have not seen a floppy disk since the mid-nineties, but they are the preferred way to save documents at my library. Some of the computers I ran into are running Windows NT or Windows 2000… some are running both! I had learned some basic troubleshooting and networking from my position as a graduate assistant at a large university, but I hadn’t realized how cloistered, how spoiled I had been, maintaining technology that was only three or four years young. For the most part, everything had worked smoothly, and if it didn’t work smoothly, I could pass that problem on to someone who knew much more than me. On one of my first days I asked the former technology librarian who I could bring problems I could not solve to.
“You’re it, kid” she replied, dryly.
So here I embark on a situation where the technology is unfamiliar, and unpredictable, the printers print what sounds to me like insults – “unsupported personality!” they practically shout at our circulation staff – and it’s just me, (and the answers I find on the internet), fighting the good fight.
Though public library technology was a rude awakening for me, a spoiled mac-using perpetual student, the atmosphere can’t be beat. The staff of my library are nothing but happy and thankful for what little help I can provide for them, be it clearing a terribly jammed paper from their printer or figuring out how to delete a text box in publisher. The patrons are a bit more expectant – they want to come to the library and have technology that works and is up to date. When this happens I want to yell “well - did you vote to support library funding!? hmm!?” but instead I try to remain Zen, and patron-focused, and do the best with what I have. After all, I am a public librarian now – my only job is to serve my community, and there is not much that is more fulfilling than that.
Filed under: A Day in the Life, By: Miss Information, barriers to access, digital divide, libraries, tools of the trade | 4 Comments
Go the distance
The Annoyed Librarian recently wrote a piece as a response to a piece from American Libraries about the increase in distance education programs for MLIS programs– this is a response to both.
Her main gripe was the fact that, ALA continues to promote the idea that a person can get an MLIS and then actually get a job. This push for distance learning is just another way for MLIS programs to tap a new market of wide-eyed hopefuls, and the ALA can perpetuate the idea that librarianship is a growing profession:
Interest in the MLS degree will no doubt continue, as employment opportunities in the library and information science job sector are projected to experience positive growth in coming years, according to data reported by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (sector analyses for 2006 to 2016), United States Bureau of Labor Occupational Employment Statistics, and reports from the American Library Association.
I fell for this propaganda, as did many of the currently under- and unemployed, or working in a completely different industry people I graduated with, so any time anyone says something against it–big thumbs up from me.
What I would like to bring to the table, aside from giving kudos to Annoyed Librarian, is a comment on the notion of distance education in MLIS programs. As someone who relocated 1,800 miles to attend an accredited library school, and who while attending that library school not only wrote a grant to support distance education, but also had a yearlong GAship in the DL office; I am uniquely qualified to comment on this subject.
Here is the map that ALA has on their website of all of the accredited programs in the Unites States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. 
Even a cursory glance shows you that most of the programs are located in the eastern half of the US, with a few scattered around as you head west. Hawaii is a hotbed of programs, I should have moved there, but I digress. Prior to moving to Rhode Island, I lived in North Dakota, which has no MLIS program except an undergraduate degree. The nearest schools are in Wisconsin and Kansas, neither of which has a tuition reciprocity with North Dakota (St. Catherine’s in Minneapolis was not accredited when I moved, nor is it on the ALA list, though I know they do have a program).
The only option for people who live in these non-MLIS areas of the country is distance learning, or moving. I was lucky in that as a single lady of 28, I was able to take my car, cat, and knitting supplies, and head east to the school of my choosing, and then pay five times what the locals paid in out-of-state tuition. Most people don’t have that option.
At the library where I worked before moving, many of the full-time librarians did not have MLIS degrees, some had managed to take advantage on Emporia University’s traveling MLIS, which brings instructors to areas where there is interest but no program (no idea if they still do this), and some were trying out these newer distance learning programs.
The argument that I made while writing a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian grant is that the Fargo, ND metro area is a very educated part of the country that greatly values its libraries, but it does not have a program at any of the local Colleges and Universities–why should the library be any less staffed by professionals or held to what some would consider a lower standard just because of geography? Many people I worked with would have loved to go to library school but either can’t leave the area because of family ties, can’t afford to pay out-of state tuition (which the maximum allowable federal financial aid does not cover all of), or simply don’t want to leave the area.
Many of the people I’ve met in the Northeast are the same way–they don’t want to leave their family, friends, home for jobs in North Dakota or other parts of the country. Since ALA insists that there will be jobs for all of us, many of the people who live where there are existing library schools go just because they are there. Distance education certainly isn’t going to stop the overabundance of librarians, but it does even the playing field a lot more.
The problem is not with distance education, that is serving to balance things out, and make sure that all libraries have staff who want to be there and are trained to the same level. The problem is with the misinformation that ALA insists on putting out there in terms of job availability. When a potential student is doing career research and the major agency in that field says there will be jobs– why would a person not believe it? What ALA is looking at is how many librarians will be able to retire, not how many will, how many can actually afford to, and ALA of all agencies should know–librarians don’t retire.
There would certainly be more jobs if pretty much every place that employs librarians wasn’t in a hiring freeze, but still not enough to guarantee every graduate a job like we’ve been hearing. I’m just as guilty as anyone else in that I want to stay in an area with two MLIS programs and expect to get a job, but I also expect to be working part-time with no benefits for quite a while, and then beat out less-experienced recent graduates for a full-time job when one finally becomes available.
Filed under: By: The Librarienne, MLIS, change or die | 4 Comments
Tags: ALA, American Libraries, Annoyed Librarian, Distance Education
That time again…
To vote for LISNews Blogs to read in 2010!! Last year, we at ClosedStacks were fan favorite (thank you thank you thank you!), can we do it again? No, because we’ve already won once making us ineligible.
If you have other favorites you think deserve attention, give your vote: here
Filed under: Success!! | Leave a Comment
Tags: Closed Stacks, kudos, Thanks!!
The most evil man in the world…
…lives in suburban Chicago. I read this article, and physically recoiled at the horrible things Constantine Xinos has to say about a small library branch:
“Those who come up here with tears in their eyes talking about the library, put your money where your mouth is,” Xinos shot back. He told Sydney and others who spoke against the layoffs of the three full-time staffers (including the head librarian and children’s librarian) and two part-timers to stop “whining” and raise the money themselves.
“I don’t care that you guys miss the librarian, and she was nice, and she helped you find books,” Xinos told them.
“Don’t cry crocodile tears about people who are making $100,000 a year wiping tables and putting the books back on the shelves,” Xinos smirked, apparently referencing the fired head librarian, who has advanced degrees and made $98,676 a year. He said Oak Brook had to “stop indulging people in their hobbies” and “their little, personal, private wants.”
The person he was speaking to, in this instance, was an 11-year-old girl.
I may be almost too optimistic at times, but I never thought that anyone HATED the library the way this guy does. Everyone needs to read this.
Filed under: By: The Librarienne, libraries | 4 Comments
Tags: "Connie" Xinos, Chicago, Constantine Xinos, IL, Oak Brook, Oak Brook library, Sydney Sabbagha, terrible human beings, Xinos
Librarienne Seal of Approval!
Another thing they never teach you in library school is how to dress for the job of librarian. We can all picture the stereotypical librarian, and I’m sure most of us would like to avoid becoming a stereotype at all costs. The problem is, at least in this case, the stereotypes really do fit the profession.
Sensible shoes– library floors are HARD, and will hurt your feet in ways never previously imagined. Combine that with schlepping around heavy books, and you’ve got foot pain, backache, and are on your way to a nice hump. This may be why librarians are seen as cranky, and can you blame them, really?
The footwear and clothing issues are something all librarians and paraprofessionals must encounter. Perhaps just as you start that new great job you think to yourself, I am not going to dress like a librarian, I will be fashion-forward and hip! Problem is, you go out and spend a lot of money on cute, hip clothes only to find out that they don’t really work for the job. Skirts may be too short or tight, fabric not breathable enough or dry-clean only, shoes that are comfortable for a few laps around the mall have you crying out in pain at the end of a six-hour shift.
I am here to help (as much as I can). I have no idea what guy librarians wear, and I welcome any suggestions, but ladies, I have got you covered.
First item to receive the Librarienne Seal of Approval for fashion-forward library wear–Dansko shoes. Danskos are not all attractive footwear, some are damn ugly, but they will be the most comfortable shoes you can find for library work. When I was starting out, I tried 
every kind of shoe I could. I spend entirely too much money, and actually went to work a few days in sneakers, which I hate wearing when not running. Some shoes deadened the pain, but after five eight hour days in a row, I was in agony. The problem is that most shoes are designed for be comfortable to walk in, which makes sense. While you do do a lot of walking in library work, you do even more standing. Shoemakers just don’t think about that, but Dansko does.
These shoes have got thick, rubber soles to absorb the shock of walking on hard floors so your back doesn’t get constantly jolted, and the insole hugs your foot perfectly providing cushion and stability. The only 2 complaints I have about these shoes, is that some are ugly (lots of clogs), and they provide little-to-no traction on ice. They are a bit expensive, unless you find some at the Dansko outlet, but the pair I currently own have been with me for three years, and I still get tons of compliments on them.
If, initially, you look at this shoes and think that they look vaguely orthopedic, let me assure you that you will not care after spending a day on the library floor in a lesser shoe. Every other brand of footwear noted for its comfort (except Dr. Scholls, cause I want to be hip, so I haven’t tried those) has let me down–these never have.
Filed under: A Day in the Life, By: The Librarienne, change or die | 7 Comments
Tags: buns, glasses, librarian fashion, librarian stereotypes, shoes
“NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 2009 as National Information Literacy Awareness Month.”
Filed under: By: Librarian About Town, News | Leave a Comment
Tags: information literacy
Evil Socialist Agenda
The Menace of the Public Option–public library that is.
For far too long, this menace has undermined the very foundations of our economy. While companies like Amazon and Barnes & Noble struggle valiantly each day to sell books, these communistic cabals known as libraries undercut the hard work of good corporate citizens by letting people read their books for free.
Good stuff.
Filed under: A Day in the Life | 2 Comments
Heidi
The Librarienne
Librarian About Town
Miss Information
Madame Lawbrarian
Paige Turner