Libraries
We are Not on the Same e-Page
Posted January 21, 2013 by Sarah Barton
My mother reads more books than anyone I know. She is always reading something, and more often than not she has multiple books going. She legally possesses three library cards from three different libraries, and she actively uses each of them. For the past few years, my father had been talking about getting my mom an e-reader for Christmas, but I always told him that she doesn’t need one because she is at a library multiple times per week. This year (and it is unclear whether this was the result of a lack of other gift ideas or a concerted effort to put my mom at the forefront of book technology), he finally gave her a Nook. For all the books that my mother reads, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her purchase one. That said, getting a Nook is not going to make her any less of a library user. I will be shocked if she purchases a book on her Nook – she is a library user through and through. Anyway, I was…
Restructuring Public Libraries
Posted January 16, 2013 by Julie Steenson
I like my blogs to be fun but informative, which usually means avoiding politics. Unfortunately, there is a political situation taking place across the nation that just might influence your decision to go to library school. I live in rural NH, and more often than not, rural libraries are staffed only by paraprofessionals. Librarians with Master’s degree are not the norm, but that is changing, for good and bad. Why a change is good? In the year I have been at GSLIS, I have learned there is a lot more to being a librarian than one might think when one checks out a book. Along with a ton of technology skills, there are many things that just make good practice and good library management. In my experience, paraprofessionals are smart people who use a lot of common sense, but their decisions may or may not be informed by library theory or tried and true methods. Why a change is bad? Recently, in St. Johnsbury, VT, the board of trustees fired the entire Athenaeum library staff…
McAllen Public Library Part Two: People and Programs
Posted January 13, 2013 by lazylibrarian
Last week I had the pleasure of sharing with you some insights from my visit to McAllen Public Library, winner of the 2012 ALA Award for Interior Design. To read the first part of this two part series that talks about the physical building click here. A library, of course, is not just about the building. The building itself might be marvelous, but if the library is not consistently offering services and resources that its patrons desire it will not remain praiseworthy for long. Fortunately, the director of the McAllen Public Library, Kathleen Horan, is not one to forget this. She is not content to let the library rest on its laurels. “Because of our culture and the way the news, the fads and trends come at us, everything comes and goes so we can’t afford to sit back and say ‘ok we can rest easy now because we won this design award,’ because we constantly have to stay valuable,” states Ms. Horan. In her eyes, although the national and international press is welcome, the more…
McAllen Public Library Part 1: Building a Community
Posted January 10, 2013 by lazylibrarian
You may have heard of the McAllen Public Library. It has been mentioned in such places as the L.A. Times and Time. It is the library that won the 2012 ALA Interior Design Award, the library converted from an abandoned Wal-Mart. But while the media may concentrate on this unique layout, the McAllen Library is so much more than building, amazing as it. While this blog post will focus on some of the marvels of the building itself, it is only the first part. Come back next week to learn more about the amazing programs and people involved in this “big-box” library. For a gallery of photographs click here. McAllen, TX is the state’s 20th largest city in terms of population. It is home to 133,742 people but it serves many more. For instance, my family lives in Harlingen, TX – about 40 minutes southeast of McAllen, but we regularly drive to McAllen for its dining and shopping options (and the closest Barnes and Nobles!). McAllen, by nature of its location on the American/Mexico border down by the tip of the state,…
A Book by Any Other Name
Posted January 9, 2013 by Julie Steenson
Yesterday was a busy day at my local library. A recent phone call from a patron began with, “I can’t believe you have only one copy of this book…” He wasn’t talking about the copy on our shelves, but about our virtual e-collection that we share with other libraries in our state (New Hampshire). The discussion turned to an explanation about library costs for eBooks versus what a patron might pay on Amazon for a Kindle download, as well as a referral to other sources of free eBooks (such as Project Gutenberg and Amazon’s Lending Library), and lastly, of course, a brief lesson on how to search only for available titles one can read right now on the state’s downloadable eBook consortium. This call was followed by a visiting patron, Nook in hand, who needed help to access the downloadable collection. Behind her stood a patron who wanted to download an audiobook to her iPhone…and a young lady of 12 with her new Kindle Fire… and a mom, with a stack of thirty picture books….
Do we still need libraries?
Posted December 29, 2012 by Maggie Davidov
It still blows my mind that the New York Times still thinks that this is a controversial question, worthy of their op ed section. And yet, every couple of months the topic rears its ugly head. This time, the conversation has four professionals arguing in favor of libraries from many different perspectives. One of the voices in this pro-library dialogue is Buffy Hamilton, school librarian of Canton, Georgia. I am a huge fan of Buffy’s, and her Unquiet blog. She speaks about how libraries are not just about book collection, but about connecting with a community and providing a learning space for that group. Lest you think that this is the only valid opinion posited, there are three more. All are wonderful, and use all those buzz words we hear in class: digital divide, marketspace, technology access and that echoing refrain, “…of the people, by the people and for the people.” There are also plenty of comments by the people like you and me. It’s a quick, interesting read that will get your engines revved…
Library Lesson Learned II
Posted December 17, 2012 by Sarah Barton
On my way home from the train a few days ago, I ran into a woman who frequents the library where I work. The library stays open until 9 pm two nights per week, and she is almost always there at least one of those nights watching videos and shows on her laptop. I say hi to her and ask how she’s doing, but we never had a conversation and I didn’t know her name. One night, for no apparent reason, she gave me a bag of tasty Szechuan peanuts. Anyway, when I saw her walking home from the train that day, we both recognized each other immediately and had a nice conversation. By virtue of seeing each other at the library, this woman and I had tacitly become friends. That very same evening at work, another frequent patron came up to me while I was shelving books to say that he hadn’t seen me in a while and asked how I was doing. I said that I only work a few nights each week, but yes,…
Heroism and Librarians
Posted December 16, 2012 by lazylibrarian
In the midst of the tragedy that occurred in Sandy Hook, CT this Friday there are stories of heroic deeds, of a principal, counselors, and teachers who either gave or risked their lives to protect their students. Although in the confusing aftermath, I have seen several different names it seems that a quick thinking librarian and her assistant calmly escorted their students into a supply closet, gave them coloring supplies and kept their heads enough to even ask the police that pounded on the door for ID before they opened up to them. There are many other librarians, many probably lost to history, who are heroes. Here are a few. 1. Ms. Clara Breed A friend of mine introduced me to this librarian, whom she came across while doing research on Japanese-American internment camps in World War II. Clara Breed was a San Diego children’s librarian who personally knew many of the Japanese-American families who were brutally forced into camps. She made sure that she kept in contact with as many of her students as…
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…
The Opposite of Rejection…I hope.
Posted December 6, 2012 by cdelnero
My last post about being rejected for a job I really wanted was sort of sad. Sorry about that. But really, I was depressed about that job. It sounded so cool. But that very day I was called about another job that I had completely forgot I applied for and was asked to come in for an interview. Even though I wasn’t as excited about it, I said that yes, of course I would interview. The job is for a library assistant position at a medical library in Hartford,CT.I have worked in the medical field for three years and people constantly ask me if I want to be a medical librarian and I always say no. I don’t really enjoy my current job all that much and I’ve been dying to get OUT of the field…until I had this interview. When I walked into the hospital I was immediately impressed. The facility is beautiful. There are restaurants and lounge areas and everyone was so friendly! I met with someone from Human Resources who explained their…