by I admit it, I hate the stereotypes of librarians and don’t feel I fit the traditional view of the librarian and fight against it (although I do have glasses and occasionally pull my hair back). The days of the old librarian are gone. Here’s a little piece about librarians revolting from the staid image, staging a mock protest during filming for a movie which features a librarian. More power to the protesters!
odd stuff
Where Have All the Readers Gone?
Here’s a piece lamenting the fact that fewer people seem to be able to read, comprehend and retain larger works of writing. Are future generations of readers doomed? I certainly hope not, although I must admit, I do find myself reading too many small chunks thanks to emails and rss feeds. I finally sat down with a peice of fiction the other day and it felt good to read more than a page. In an effort to stave off the dark days ahead, I vow to read more than my emails and rss feeds. Gee darn…
Bada-bing! It’s here!
The new update of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is out and has added more terms to its prestigious pages. Some of the words included:
- Bada-bing
- Disneyfication
- wi-fi
- wonky
Maybe it’s just me, but I think some of these words belong in a slang dictionary rather than the OED, or maybe I just don’t hang around the right people (ie. those who use the words all the time).
Soon
Yes, the conference wrap-ups are coming soon, the manual should be done soon. Just a thought I came across at The “M” Word that I quite liked to tide you over:
It isn’t about how the library can change your life but how you can change your life at the library.
Conferences
I've returned from the annual CLA Conference that was held in Ottawa. While I couldn't attend the whole conference, I did manage to attend the Access to Government Information Interest Group (AGIIG) track, the first AGIIG track at a CLA conference. I was official notetaker, so I couldn't blog directly from the conference, but I will be posting highlights of the sessions I attended. Unfortunately, these postings may be a little late, as I try to get everything done before dashing off to the ALA Conference in New Orleans at the end of this week. Top on the list of things to do, is updating the course manual and exercises for a course I'll be teaching in the fall. Starting in September, I will be teaching (through Distance Education) Information Work 420, the second part of a reference course (dealing with directories, handbooks, statistics, government information, GIS and the reference process) for Mohawk College's Library and Information Technician's Diploma program. So, until that's done, the conference postings will be on the back burner (sorry). But, once done, there will be conference postings galore, as I will have all the details on ALA too! Stay tuned!
Thought for the Day
Here's something I found at The Ubiquitous Librarian. I think it's a good simple thing to keep in mind:
"Instead of trying to make your library seem cool, be a librarian and do cool things."
Balance
Balance is important in life. We must work and play. Sometimes I wonder if we forget about balance. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement, flash, and potential of new technology. Yes, we must look ahead to our young and future users. We must accommodate them and many of the library2.0 possibilities will be appreciated by them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the L2 is a bad thing. I'm looking forward to seeing how we can best incorporate L2 services into our libraries. But we must not forget our longtime users who may not be as comfortable on computers. In our rush to look ahead, sometimes we forget those we currently serve. Now, I'm not saying that we aren't currently serving either group, current and future users, incorrectly or poorly. What I am stressing is that balance is important in all we do, so let's keep it in mind.
World Information Society Day
Tomorrow is the first World Information Society Day with a theme of Promoting Global Cybersecurity. The day was formerly know as World Telecommunication Day and has been aptly renamed. The Secretary-General of the United Nations states that everyone should work "to connect the unconnected and build a free and safe information society that will spur development for all the world’s people." Here here to that!
My Librarian
Here are a couple of things that have caught my eye in the world of librarianship.
A decision will soon be made regarding the opening of a Nazi archive. Previously, the archive was only open to survivors of the Holocaust, to allow them to track survivors. A panel of 11 international legal experts will be deciding whether or not the archive should be open to the general public. A wealth of information could be opened to historians and other researchers of the Holocaust.
The library marketing blog The "M" Word has a post about personal branding. More companies are pushing the "my" aspect (my card, my Coke). Libraries have often used the copyrighted phrase "@ your library". Perhaps in the age of library 2.0 we should be using the "my library" approach. Some libraries already allow customizable features. Many services that our patrons use now offer such features. Yahoo has joined the bandwagon and is allowing users to customize their page. Customization and self-centeredness are becoming the norm.
An idea I really like is the "my librarian" idea. This sounds very close to the notions of a liaison librarian found in academic libraries. The liaison librarian is associated with a department and the faculty often think of the librarian as "my librarian". Why not promote this notion? It helps promote an idea of personal service. Students of that department or faculty will know who to turn to for assistance. In some universities, librarians are assigned to a particular year of students (ie. all first years). By promoting the My Librarian idea that The "M" Word suggests, we may create a more intimate atmosphere and who knows, we may reach patrons who previously felt intimidated by the library and librarians. Definitely an idea I'd like to pursue.
Info*Nation
I'm helping spread the word. Info*Nation is in pre-launch at the moment (to be released around the time of the CLA Conference in Ottawa June 14-16) and so is aimed at gaining support from those in the profession. Once it launches however, it will be aimed at those thinking about becoming a library or information professional. I think there's some great potential here and will be interested to see how youth use the site. Take a look at it for yourself.