PIN IT!

Posted December 8, 2012 by Maggie Davidov

Yes, this is about the field of library science. For serious, it is. I promise. It just takes all those pesky listserv emails to a whole other visually pleasing and not annoying dimension. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge fan of the idea of sharing and consulting with other professionals in the field when it comes to library questions. But does anyone get tired of the incessant emails? Because I do. Between all the clubs, the Simmons info, the tech lab, and my Moodle classroom forum posts, I’m awash in a sea of email that I must wade through to get to the nuggets of pure gold. As it is officially the holiday season and the end of the semester I am BEAT. I have no patience. All I want is pretty, shiny, sparkling lights and peppermint cocoa and “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?” I want things that make it easier to be inspired.This is how I came to pinterest.
Ok, this isn’t how I came to pinterest. There was actually a fabulous presentation in my LIS 488 class about ways to use pinterest in libraries and I was hooked. But doesn’t it seem like the perfect medium for the holiday season? For those of you who don’t know about the magical place that pinterest.com, go check it out. Type in anything in the search bar on the top left of the page like, let’s say, “Elf”. You’ll get this. If you love the movie elf, like I do, you’ll be inspired by the millions of pictures of Buddy inspired projects, quotes, and photographs. This is easily converted to use in the library. I have planned at least half of my upcoming displays at the library I work at through inspiring pics that I found on pinterest. They’re all saved (pinned) on a library inspiration bulletin board that I can refer to whenever.
So no, I lied, it doesn’t replace the listserv email system, but it sure is a nice break from that monotony. Think of it as catnip, or eggnog,  or SYRUP for librarians just looking for a little cheer this holiday season.