Libraries
The Reference Desk
Posted October 23, 2013 by Julie Steenson
My professor in Literature for the Humanities also happens to be a reference librarian at a large university. He offered each of the students in my class an opportunity to shadow him for a day. I never pass up such great learning opportunities. My “typical” day had varied experiences, including a Library Instruction class and a meeting with a new faculty member to discuss how the library could support his research and students, but my favorite part of the day was our shift on the reference desk. It was an exceptionally busy day at the reference desk, with both walk-ups and email chat questions, and so my professor just looked at me and told me to go to it. Huh? Me? I appreciated the vote of confidence so without a missing a beat, I jumped right in to be a reference librarian, alongside my professor. Here I was in an unfamiliar library, suddenly helping a student with an obscure search related to the reproductive systems of pigs and cows. Yep, former history major turned librarian…
Okay Google Now…
Posted October 8, 2013 by Julie Steenson
I need to talk about Google. Most librarians have a love/hate relationship with Google as it is such a useful tool, the ultimate federated search, but also often perceived to be the biggest threat to our job security. With my last tuition payment this month (cheers all around!), I celebrated by finally joining the smartphone world. I opted for a Motorola Droid phone as they have good antennas and I live in the boonies, and I expected to love being able to check email and have a really nice camera with me at all times. I did not expect to fall in love with its excellent voice recognition software and my ability to ask Google whatever I wanted to know. I remember when a computer with far less processing ability than my little phone would literally fill a room, so I am enthralled with the power in this little device. My favorite feature is “Okay Google, now…” which allows me to ask it anything. Gasp! A librarian who is having an affair with Google…. We…
Banned Book Week
Posted September 27, 2013 by Emily Boyd
This year the American Library Association (ALA) has deemed the week of September 22-28 to be Banned Books Week. According to the ALA website: “Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship.” (Get more info at: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek) The lofty goals of this movement are very noble. Censorship is a huge issue that needs to be discussed more openly and this week brings a lot of awareness. That said, in my opinion, talking about banned books can quickly become very dramatic. The concept of Banned Books Week seems somewhat…
I might sound like your mother, but…
Posted September 26, 2013 by Julie Steenson
I am old enough to be your mother, so it’s okay. I know you are so busy that the thought of giving your time away might seem near impossible. Like many of you, I have a job, a home, a family, and of course, school. We are all in different stages of our lives, and so some of us have a cat, others a spouse. Many of us have kids – ranging from the tiny squirming variety to adult children, and everything in between. We rent apartments, live with our parents and own homes. We commute minutes and hours, and we are so tired and busy. I know what you are thinking. “I don’t have time to volunteer.” I got my first library job in recent years by volunteering at the library first, and then working my way up as positions became available. I volunteered in a prison library and found my passion to be a correctional librarian. But I am revisiting this topic (I have mentioned it in previous blogs…) because Tuesday night, I…
Teaching in the Library
Posted September 18, 2013 by Julie Steenson
I want to talk about librarians as teachers, and I don’t mean librarians in schools. I mean librarians everywhere. I have encountered many academic librarians who talk about teachable moments at the reference desk. I have had many teachable moments in the public library, too, and in the prison library. Teachable moments come in different varieties, just like patrons. Some of my recent “students” include: An older gentleman who reminisces about the old card catalog and hasn’t a clue how to search and find on the OPAC. A ten year old girl who wants to know if we have more books “like this,” as she holds up her latest read. A teenage boy who is watching Under the Dome on TV and wants to know if we have King’s novel on CD…and while he is here, what other Stephen King books do we have? An inmate who wants the next book in a Science fiction series. A middle-aged woman who has gone back to school and wants to learn how to use our databases. A…
Dissemination of Information
Posted July 28, 2013 by lazylibrarian
I have a week off between the end of my internship and the start of my full-time job! If you are interested in some of the cool things I found while going through the Cambridge Public Library’s old vertical file take a look at the Cambridge History Room WordPress. And what am I doing with my time off? Reading, of course. And drinking Mayan coffee from the Simmons Café….way too good. But one of the books that I just finished up is True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society by Farhad Manjoo. Among the many interesting points Mr. Manjoo brought up in his book; this passage really struck me… “It is a common mistake in the digital age. New technology gives us access to vast new stores of data and tolls with which to understand them. On the Web you can find seemingly any number you want: an instantaneous county breakdown of live election results; a census of illegal immigrants in the United States…Through my local library’s Web site, I can get thirty-year-old…
Library Lesson Learned IV
Posted July 8, 2013 by Sarah Barton
As much as I am looking forward to having the perfect library job, I am not quite so naïve to think that such a thing will fall into my lap, especially on my first attempt. In fact, I would argue that no job is perfect – there is always something that renders even one’s ideal job just short of utopian. For my current part-time public library job, teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) classes is that something. Now, before the ESL police come knocking down my door, let me clarify a few things: 1) I fully understand that ESL is a crucial program for an urban library population, 2) I have seen firsthand how much the ESL students appreciate the classes, 3) I think it is fantastic that many ESL programs (including the one at my library) are taught by volunteers, and 4) As a strong candidate for an Introvert of the Year award, talking/teaching for two consecutive hours is not really my thing. It’s not you, ESL; it’s me. I dread ESL like…
Privy to Privacy
Posted June 13, 2013 by Sarah Barton
I haven’t heard much, if any, nitty-gritty library lingo since classes ended in April. In my GSLIS experience, it seems that most of the jargon-y, theoretical stuff happens in the classroom while the more practical, practice-oriented application occurs in outside jobs, internships, or volunteer activities. Anyway, a big news story caught my attention last week not only because of its national ramifications, but also its parallels to things I have learned at GSLIS – right down to the jargon. Throughout the day last Thursday I followed an article on the New York Times website called “U.S is Secretly Collecting Records of Verizon Calls.” I will spare you the details of the article (its title alone provides a succinct synopsis), but the main thing that stood out to me about this news story was the amount of library lingo being thrown around. A senior Obama administration official was quoted as saying that the government was only collecting the metadata about, not the content of, the phone calls. It is one thing to… Wait, hold on a…
The Friends of the Library Book Sale
Posted June 4, 2013 by Julie Steenson
The majority of my weekend was occupied by the Friends of the Library Book Sale at the library where I work. Most people don’t give much thought to library sponsored book sales, other than, “Do I have books to donate?” and “Oh, such great deals to fill (and overfill) my book shelves!” Like many other public library Friends’ groups, our library’s Friends raise money for all kinds of programming expenses and museum passes, and we rely heavily on their continued support and generosity, especially in these lean fiscal times. The most vital piece of the Book Sale that I had, until recently, overlooked was how much this was a community event and what community really means for public libraries. Here are all the pieces of COMMUNITY that came together to make our Book Sale a great success: Donors – So many members of our community cleaned out their homes and donated great books and movies. Town support – The Firefighters and the Community Church shared their tables with us so we had a great organized…
The Interview
Posted May 20, 2013 by Julie Steenson
If you have followed my journey from mom to batgirl, you already know that I have committed myself to an unusual career path – correctional librarianship. A year ago, I did not see this coming. After my first semester, the possibilities for my library degree seemed endless and in fact, I was a bit worried that I would never narrow down my interests. Other than motherhood (which was my first calling), I did not expect to experience a vocation, a calling, an overwhelming need to pursue a very specific career. Then I set foot in a prison library, and my life changed. The problem with a desire to be a prison librarian is that there aren’t that many prisons or opportunities for pre-job experience. The good news about wanting to be a prison librarian is that the skills I acquire in a public library setting are very applicable. On top of that, I am a champion of the benefits all around to volunteering, and my desire to learn everything I could about prison libraries turned…