Archive for June, 2009
In Defense of Library School
Since a lot of the population seems to be in the dark about what librarians actually do, it’s no surprise that when I tell people I’m in library school, I’m often met with skepticism, puzzled looks, or questions that illustrate their ignorance on the topic.
“So is it a certificate program or something?”
“Do you learn the [...]
Filed under: By: Paige Turner, MLIS | 9 Comments
Tags: MLIS, library school, classification, Management
Tales from the Trenches
Finding a job is a scary, overwhelming process in the best of times. But if you find yourself looking for a library job in 2009, you know it is far from the best of times. With cities facing huge budget shortfalls and colleges feeling the loss from decimated endowments, layoffs and freezes are commonplace and [...]
Filed under: A Day in the Life, By: Madame Lawbrarian, MLIS | 2 Comments
Tags: Harvard layoffs, job interviewing, MLIS
Not About the Buildings
Not About The Buildings was founded in the summer of 2006, after the trustees of the Providence Public Library overwhelmingly voted to close two-thirds of the city’s nine library branches. Without libraries, neighborhoods would lose community centers, easy access to information, and quiet, ad-free spaces in which to socialize and learn. (Luckily, the branches were [...]
Filed under: Books/Authors, By: The Librarienne, Intellectual Freedom, Success!! | 2 Comments
Tags: libraries, Not About the Buildings, Providence Library Advocacy, read-a-thons
Presidential Library Tourism
Presidential libraries are a unique sort of special library. They serve the strange dual function of being a museum dedicated to celebrating one of our nation’s leaders, and acting as a repository for all of that president’s papers and records. Presidential libraries I have visited have felt much more like the former, a museum and [...]
Filed under: A Day in the Life, By: Miss Information, libraries, library history | 2 Comments
Closed Stacks is a professional library blog, full of important commentary on pivotal issues. Our brainy writers are diligent about staying on topic. Following this logic, I should report on funtime summer projects in the college library. Self-studies, collection management, ILI planning, meetings, blah, blah, blah…
I just cannot do it. Anyone that works in academia [...]
Filed under: Books/Authors, By: Librarian About Town | 4 Comments
Tags: books, librarians, library of congress, reading
Twitter and a Global Perspective
I am sure most librarians have by now picked up on the amazing story of how young Iranians used Twitter to gather when cell phone communication was cut off in the midst of a highly contested election- but it still deserves a mention here.
In a truly classy act of international mindfulness, twitter put off scheduled maintenance [...]
Filed under: By: Miss Information, News, Success!! | 2 Comments
I’ve been lucky enough to hear David Sedaris read twice, and have one book signed by him (although most of my book collection is in storage, so it was a booksale copy of Barrel Fever, my least favorite of his works). He is always in the lobby before and after his performances, and sits there [...]
Filed under: A Day in the Life, Books/Authors, By: The Librarienne, change or die, digital divide, pop culture | 1 Comment
Tags: Literature, David Sedaris, Kindles, readings, nice people
Problem Patrons
They are like snowflakes– unique, come in flurries, and seem harmless until your eyelashes are full of them and you can no longer see!
I’ve worked at a lot of different libraries, and there are always problem patrons. Even in the most refined setting, the crazies come out to make life just that much more interesting [...]
Filed under: A Day in the Life, By: The Librarienne, libraries, tools of the trade | 6 Comments
Tags: crazies, membership library, patrons, public library
Libraries lend a hand…
By now I’m sure every librarian has seen this report from the Today Show, but it’s worth re-posting. It’s nice to get a pat on the back, and have someone realize what all we do.
Filed under: By: The Librarienne, Fun Finds, Success!! | Leave a Comment
Tags: libraries, recession, Today Show
