Libraries: a plea from a silence seeker -- Any takers?

Once sanctuaries of quiet study, libraries have become glorified community centres.  spiked-online.com

How Break Out of the Library Field and Feel Good About It, Veda Darby Soberman

Extract:

1.Don’t let them call you librarian.
2.Recall the broad core reasons why you chose to pursue a library career, and let those ideals carry you to other related jobs.
3.Pursue a variety of trainings, and apply for a variety of openings.
4.Maintain a Buddha-like detachment from librarianship. Continue reading all the details and much more, How Break Out of the Library Field and Feel Good About It @ INALJ: The I Need a Library Job eResource center! A community of information professionals working together to help you find a job!

Question YOU should be asking THEM during the interview: Cataloging Job

Here are interesting ideas and thoughts to ASK THEM, why you get an opportunity!!!

Extract:
Interviewing for a Cataloguing Position: The Two-Way Street, by Laurel Tarulli

Questions:

1. What type of person are you looking for to fill this position? For example, personality (sense of humour, easy-going, goal-oriented)? Work ethic?

2. How would you describe a typical work week?

3. Will my time be a mixture of working along and with people? Will it include projects?

4. How many people work in the department? Has there been a lot of turnover?

5. Can you describe the environment of your department? Its strengths and weaknesses?

6. Can you think of an employee/cataloguer who really stands out in your mind as exceptional? Tell me about him/her and their qualities.

7. In the past 5 years, tell me about a project or innovative idea that you’re proud of, or that has been a success within the department.

8. What is your management style? And, how will I know if you are under a lot of stress?

9. If I am working on a project and you feel there is a better way to do it, how will you approach me to offer suggestions?

10. Is this a new position? If not, what did the previous cataloguer go on to do?

11. What is your own professional mission statement?

12. Would you mind telling me how your career got to this point?

13. What is your biggest source of job satisfaction? What would you change?

14. Where do you see the cataloguing department in 5 years? 10 years? Expanding? Heading in new directions?

15. Can you tell me about the cataloguing department at the library now? What are you most proud of? What are its limitations?

16. Are there any projects or plans set for the near future that will impact cataloguing?

Reading now:

A Librarian's Guide to an Uncertain Job Market
Jeannette Woodward, Kindle Store

A Librarian's Guide to an Uncertain Job Market (Ala Editions Special Reports)
Jeannette A. Woodward

The Frugal Librarian, Carol Smallwood

Enhance Your Chances: How to Shine Brightly in a Tough Job Market!

Crowdsourcing and practical interview tasks (and YAY!)

Cataloguing Cheat Sheets

Some Cataloging Or Real Cataloging !? / Hesham Tolaib

Six tools to simplify cataloging

How to avoid original cataloging

The Battle of Building Library's Digital Collection, Revisited

Previous post @ Librarians as Knowledge Managers: The Battle of Building Library's Digital Collection

A librarian takes on Google Books, Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC, 7 June 2010 :
Extract:

The librarian believes he has found a new cause for his profession, to give a secure home to digitised texts produced with the highest quality standards and available freely to all. "These are huge benefits," he says, "and should be fought for by all of those who care about unimpeded public access to knowledge." Google beware - the librarians are getting cross, and they are quiet but patient people....

The Death of the Open Web, by VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN, May 17, 2010, NYTimes.com

CANADA: Open access - promises and challenges, Leslie Chan
03 May 2009, Issue: 0074 University World News

Amazon's Kindle (genre: e-book reader)

From Realities to Values: A Strategy Framework for Digital Natives

Libraries Reinvent Themselves to Serve Digital-Age Students

NPR Interview Podcast - Can The iPad Or The Kindle Save Book Publishers?

Genre Reader: Why Buying from Kobo Books is Better than the Amazon Kindle Store

Why Apple’s iPad is shaking things up with Amazon and Google by Martin Taylor

10 Biggest Challenges eBooks face

Should libraries have ebooks? I’m not sure they should, by Martin Taylor:
Extract:

"There are several problems with letting libraries lend ebooks, but there are also opportunities that could be a big help to our emerging digital publishing industry. It’s worth looking at both sides."

On the same shelf:
Just released: Job Search The Canadian Way
Buy our book:
Download Ebook @ $10 CDN
Buy softcover in print @ Createspace.com

Are some degree courses a joke?

Bill Bennett
knowledge workers – for people who are paid to think for a living
December 13th, 2009
"In 2001, Chris Woodhead, England’s chief inspector of schools caused a storm when he accused British universities of devaluing higher education by offering ‘vacuous degrees’.

At the time, London’s The Sunday Times carried a surprisingly candid interview with Woodhead. Among other things he questioned whether many vocational courses deliver on their claims.

Woodhead says many courses don’t prepare students for the real world..." continue reading

BBC News | TALKING POINT | Are some degree courses a joke?

The question about degree courses (vocational, technical or any other type) is valid and an issue even in other countries, where the courses offered may or may not be worth a return-on-investment. A return-on-investment is again a subject matter. And hence, there is a trend to fill the gaps, such as,

SOLVING THE SKILLS GAP.

And this question, frequently bothering those who take a Humanities degree:

What jobs could i get with an MA in history? - Yahoo! UK & Ireland ...

The credibility issue: closing the academic/practitioner gap

EABIS 2008 Knowledge and Learning Forum Catalogue of Initiatives

Another graduate school serving the library field is about to lose the “L” name

Any alumni of Rutgers University, and any LIS professional, including this blogger, will be shocked to read about a revival-cum-survival spirit. Rutgers' is again in news--and LJ has it right on--not for a new Rocket Science, rather it is again about a Name change (undeniably, a debate that has always been our cup of tea!!!):

"as a form of protest, i refuse to come up with a witty title for this post
ok, i feel like i should maybe weigh in on this whole Rutgers dropping 'library' from SCILS situation. i posted a comment on my friend mike's blog, and i guess if i'm gonna speak my mind there, i might as well post it here as well. since i am lazy and don't really feel like spending much time or effort stressing over the whole thing, i'm just going to copy and paste my comment. (and what an easy way to drop a post in, since i haven't written in awhile. heh.)" Quoted from The Info Babe

Interestingly, other Library Schools that have no 'L' word include: Ischool @ University of Toronto, and iSchool at Drexel University; these are two current examples of a trend that will influence others.

See also: What’s the matter with our profession?

Bottomline: Some may wonder why we need the word: 'information' if words are just the matter as was argued in "Information Studies Without Information" In Library Trends 52(3) Winter 2004!!! Hence, are we getting into the same pond and business as in the following story where the naming business is a big business: Fresh Fish Sold Here

Hiring Manager’s Keyword Search Survey Results

A recent CareerBuilder.com survey found the following:

“…Hiring managers often use electronic scanners to rank candidates based on a keyword search of applications, so make sure to pepper keywords from the job posting into your resume as they apply to your experience. The terms employers search for most often are:
problem-solving and decision-making skills (50 percent)
oral and written communications (44 percent)
customer service or retention (34 percent)
performance and productivity improvement (32 percent)
leadership (30 percent) continue reading @ The Proverbial Lone Wolf Librarian’s Weblog

Ten New Positions I'd Like to See

Dream come true of another library blogger?? Not yet.... says Laura Cohen:

My library just got a huge, anonymous donation to fund ten new positions for as long as we want them. We're now in the process of figuring out the basics of these new lines. It's an exciting time for us. I may have been dreaming this.

Dreaming about:

• Social Networking Support Librarian.
• Collaborative Publishing Librarian.
• Multimedia Publishing Librarian
• Coordinator of Student Participation
• Programming Risk-Taker.
• OPAC Transformation Librarian
• Testbed Technologist
• Digitization Librarian
• Remote User Librarian
• Exploration and Training Librarian

Keep reading and hope against hope: Library 2.0: An Academic's Perspective

PS. Same shelf: A librarian by any other name... by Mary Ellen Bates

Talking Books Librarian: Who Needs Libraries?

Listen to this Article
It seems like these days, almost everyone is debating the purpose of libraries and printed books... and lots of libraries are facing budget cuts... in light of this, have you heard the online sound publication titled Who Needs Libraries? You can listen to it at SoundPrint

On the same shelf: Article: Cell Phone Reads to the Blind

Obsolete Academic Librarian Skills

"A few bloggers were having fun identifying totally obsolete skills. You know, the sort of things we all used to do all the time that nobody has to bother with anymore. For example, dialing a rotary phone, using carbon paper to make copies, or changing the ball on a selectric typewriter. That got me to thinking that in the years I’ve been in this profession, for the vast majority of academic librarians, there are more than a few accumulated skills and practices that could now be considered obsolete...." continue reading
Posted by StevenB on February 20th, 2008 under Just Thinking. Comments: 38

PUNCHLINE:
"If Google and a librarian had an informational smackdown, who would win?"
"Today's librarians are shelving stereotypes" read more by By CAROLYN FEIBEL: Information isn't reserved for books @ Houston Chronicle

This Week's Roundup for Library Technician Jobs: 02/09/2008

@ University of Toronto's FIS.

Library Technician (Part-time) Peterborough Law Association, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada; Posted: Friday, 08 February 2008
Deadline:February 20, 2008


Systems Library Technician, competition number 08-SSLT-RAF (Full-time) The Law Society of Saskatchewan Libraries, Regina, SK, Canada; Posted: Friday, 08 February 2008, Deadline:February 25, 2008


Information Services Technician (Part-time)Library @ Mohawk College of Applied Arts & Technology, Hamilton, ON, Canada; Posted: Wednesday, 06 February 2008, Deadline:February 13, 2008

@ The Partnership National Library Jobsite of Canada

• LIBRARY TECHNICIAN Lambton College of Applied Arts & Technology, Sarnia, ON, 2/1/2008, Deadline: 2/15/2008

@ http://www.fla.org/jobline.html

• Library Technician - Calgary Catholic School District - Calgary, AB CLOSING DATE: Until a suitable applicant is found

@ Saskatchewan Association of Library Technicians. None this week.

PS. Click here for previous job postings!

Disclaimer: The positions are as described on the above Website(s). This blogmaster does not accept responsibility for accuracy, reliability, etc. All clarifications / communications about a position should be directed to the respective source.

Library 2.0: Based and Debased

It is heartening to see that Library world is adapting the word: Library 2.0--adapting the word sounds more apropriate because adapting the technology & / or technique of Web 2.0 is not so much obvious. The Word-base is growing, at least if the following is any trend in a Web directory:

Home : Libraries : Library and Information Science : Weblogs : Directories Links:
BlogBib: Select
Librarian/Library Blogs - Annotated list.
BloggingLibraries - Lists by library type, from blogwithoutalibrary.net.
Library Weblogs - Directory categorized by geographic location, compiled by Peter
Scott.
RSS(sm): Rich
Site Services - A categorized registry of library services that are
delivered or provided through RSS/XML, Atom, or other types of web feeds.
The Blog - Overview of blogging for librarians by Rachel Mathieu and Robyn
Fleming. Includes a directory of library blogs.

Also read:

• Library 2.0 Debased by John Blyberg @ blyberg.net [info courtesy: Dr. Francis J Devadason]
• How to find out the best combination of web 2.0 tools and their suitable Library applications, About This Discussion
  Started Jan 6 by: F.J.Devadason

NB. Ask for more info about my own presentation on Web 2.0: Challenges for libraries.

This Week's Roundup for Library Technician Jobs: 02/02/2008

This idea of a Weekly Roundup is based on the trend set by Heather Matheson, Reference Librarian, Carleton University Library @ inspyration: recruit : retain : reflect

None this Week @ University of Toronto's FIS.

Other Job sites: @ The Partnership National Library Jobsite of Canada

• LIBRARY TECHNICIAN Sarnia, On --CLOSING DATE: 2008/02/04
• Branch Library Technicians (2 Positions) Richmond, B.C., CLOSING DATE: 2/15/2008

@ http://www.fla.org/jobline.html

• Library Technician - McCarthy Tétrault LLP - Calgary, AB; Date posted: January 29, 2008
• Interlibrary Loan Clerk - Grande Prairie Public Library - Grande Prairie, AB, posted: Jan 28, 2008
• Deadline Extended* Libray Technician - Westbrook School - Cochrane, AB
• E-Resources Library Technician II - Library, SAIT - Calgary, AB, closing date: 22 Feb., 2008

@ Saskatchewan Association of Library Technicians. None this week.

Disclaimer: The positions are as described on the above Website(s). This blogmaster does not accept responsibility for accuracy, reliability, etc. All clarifications / communications about a position should be directed to the respective source.

Strains and Joys Color Mergers Between Libraries and Tech Units

By ANDREA L. FOSTER, The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 18, 2008

Adrift. Dysfunctional. Desperately needing a change. The adjectives sound like descriptions of a bad relationship, but about three years ago Xavier University, in Cincinnati, applied them to two of its departments.

Both Xavier's library and its information-technology unit were in terrible shape. Xavier had hired four chief information officers in five years, its technology was obsolete, its library and IT staffs didn't talk to each other, and students had to jump through hoops to do online research.

David W. Dodd, the CIO who arrived at Xavier in 2005, said students and faculty members wanted three basic things: "Provide the services I'm looking for, in the manner I want, and get out of my way." They weren't getting any of them. full article

Same Shelf and aisle of my desktop:

• Librarians and IT Professionals and
• Librarians and Techies – A NEXUS

Readings between the shelf:

• Google Print vs. The Open Library vs. Project Gutenberg

"Today we saw yet another entry from The Library of Congress, as it
received 3 million dollars to start their own project, from a most
unlikely source, Google! It was suggested at today's Geek Lunch a
motivation of Google's might be to let The Library of Congress pay
the price in non-cash value, for opening the vast intercontinental
virtual prairieland to the virtual settlers, who just happed to be
an assortment of multi-billion dollar cartels, who have felt those
slings and arrows of their misfortune a little too much." Michael Hart


• Best Practices: Trainer, Train Thyself (Part 1 of 2)
  Carole Leita’s Infoblog post earlier this week draws attention to a myth-breaking report from University College London (UCL), the British Library, and the Joint Information Systems Committee: Information Behavior of the Researcher of the Future. Her post also makes me think about the current behavior of those of us who are or have been involved in staff training and development programs.
• British Study Says "Google Generation" a Myth; Libraries Must Step Up, Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 1/28/2008 [info courtesy: Sujatha.Thadakamalla @ Aucklandcity Public Library]

Two interesting articles review this British Library Report: Society Is Dumbing Down, by Zubin Jelveh @ ODD Numbers; and We're all information gatherers now, By Jeremy Wagstaff @ AsiaMedia

Librarians and IT Professionals:

Ian said...
Actually, Ian only WORKS WITH the talented people who created the "Librarian/IT Professional" videos (Sean Robinson, our IT Department manager; Lynn Hoffman, Information Services Coordinator and Digital Collaborative chair; and Kay Gregg, videographer, among others).
But I did do the Miniature Mayhem one. With lots of help from Kay.




see also interesting comments [by Nick Dobbing, Meredith, @ davidrothman.net's Blog

Librarians and IT Professionals

A Fuse #8 Production

Librarians and Techies – A NEXUS

Is a Library Technician (LT or LIT) allowed to teach LTs?

I have received the following question, any response to this?

Hello Mohamed:

I found this blog post on Sunday and I'm sending it round to anyone I think might be interested. Do you know if LTs are allowed to teach LTs in your area or if a university degree is required? Cheers.

Julanne Hennessy, Library Technician

Suggested reading:
See also a blogpost by Derek Whitehead that shows concern (among others) at least on two related issues in the professional circles:

• it seems likely that we haven't got a systematic enough approach to articulation between paraprofessional and professional qualifications


• there is a strong preoccupation with the relative roles and status of librarians and library technicians, as one might expect

Quotes (for reflection): "As with teacher-librarian jobs, full-time library technician positions tend to be a secondary school phenomenon." Anybody home?Who's really left in Ontario's school libraries?Glenn Turner

"A library technician recently contacted me for advice on how to teach the school staff about the Focus on Inquiry document (Alberta Education 2004). Though I applauded her initiative in seeing the need to teach children using an inquiry model, I questioned why this job was being done by non-certificated staff. I am told by learning resources consultants from across Alberta that it is common for non-certificated staff to teach information skills." Almost extinct
Teacher–librarians are Alberta’s newest endangered species, Fern Reirson

And, the punchline is, if you wish to see the trend, as to how many LTs have teaching qualification, wait for the results of this survey: Australian School Libraries Research Survey

Uneasy tensions in LIS Education

This article covers the training and education of librarians.

Education for 21st century librarianship continues to face many of the uneasy tensions that have been present since its beginnings in the 19th century. Some of the tensions facing Library and Information Science Education:

Tension # 1: Generalization versus specialization

There's always been a tension between specialization and generalization in the history of the development of Library Science as an academic discipline (at least in the United States). I guess you could say both have won or maybe they co-exist uneasily? For example, one can still get a graduate degree in Library and Information Science with just about 12 courses. In some schools such as the University of Arizona's School of Information Resources and Library Science the generalization-specialization is exhibited in the following ways: graduate students can specialize in an area of study such as Knowledge Organization. The specialization is a core intellectual problem area of LIS - see this article in D-Lib Magazine for more. Or they can specialize in a particular information environment such asSchool Library Media certification.

Tension #2: Practice versus Theory

Tension #3: 1 year versus 2 year graduate degree

Tension #4: Education for Information (the I word) versus Education for Library Science (the L word) or is it LIS Education?

Tension #5: Cataloging education versus Knowledge organization (or organization of information) approaches

Tension #6: Distance learning versus classroom delivery

The Williamson report on library education chastised librarians and called them "prejudiced" even in this regard for failing to take advantage of new technologies that would provide access (to library education through DE - distance education) to rural areas.

Tension #7: Crisis Criers - if we believe some folks LIS education has been in crisis now for over a hundred years in the US (since inception in fact). continue reading @

Education - LISWiki

The Librarians - an Australian ABC Comedy Series

The Librarians Interview


[Info courtesy: Michelle McLean @ Connecting Librarian]

See also:

Criticism and Interpretation: 'The Librarians'Blog 2007

ABC TV TURNS A NEW PAGE IN COMEDY

The Librarians - an Australian comedy - in review

Google it

Bigotry by the book, The Age

Seneca Library Holiday Song

The Technique of Song and Sound Visualization: Blogga Song of Librarians

Silence Please: Mr. Bean, The Library

2008 Ontario Association of Library Technicians Conference

OALT/ABO: 35th Annual Conference
Up coming ConferencesDates:
May 7 - 10, 2008
Location: Kingston, ON
More details to follow...

• Past Conferences - themes and locations

A Course on Library 2.0 & Social Networking

Info courtesy: Sukhdev's World

LIS 768: Course Syllabus
Here is the updated syllabus: stephensl2syllabusfinal1.doc
Revised Course Schedule: lis768courseschedulerevised.doc

See also:

Tags Help Make Libraries Del.icio.us: Social bookmarking and tagging boost participation, By Melissa L. Rethlefsen -- Library Journal, 9/15/2007

Social Software in Libraries, by Meredith Farkas

New OCLC Report: Sharing, Privacy and Trust in Our Networked World:
The practice of using a social network to establish and enhance relationships based on some common ground—shared interests, related skills, or a common geographic location—is as old as human societies, but social networking has flourished due to the ease of connecting on the Web.

This OCLC membership report explores this web of social participation and cooperation on the Internet and how it may impact the library’s role, including:

* The use of social networking, social media, commercial and library services on the Web
* How and what users and librarians share on the Web and their attitudes toward related privacy issues
* Opinions on privacy online
* Libraries’ current and future roles in social networking

The report is based on a survey (by Harris Interactive on behalf of OCLC) of the general public from six countries—Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States—and of library directors from the U.S. The research provides insights into the values and social-networking habits of library users. continue reading the report

Info courtesy:
Gerry McKiernan
Associate Professor
Science and Technology Librarian
Iowa State University Library
Ames IA 50011