February 7, 2010 · 1 Comment
I am participating in an “Ambassador’s Visit” on behalf of the CLA’s Re:Generations Committee at the U of T’s iSchool this week. I don’t think I get diplomatic immunity so there go my plans to commit lots of crimes.
Ambassador’s Visits are where Re:Gen Committee members go to their local lie-berry school to discuss with students the in’s and out’s of academic librarianship — how to prepare yourself for the job market, how to get interviews, and what the job is actually like. I’m co-presenting with Jane Schmidt, who is a big-wig at Ryerson University (She is Manager of the Collection Services Team there).
We’re going for a relaxed, audience-driven discussion that will hopefully give students some insights about our field and help students chill out about getting jobs. Oh, and to promote CLA! Because you should join.
Question to you, librarian people: What sorts of things did you wish you’d known before you entered the job market? What kinda tips do you think are important to inform students about?
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January 24, 2010 · 1 Comment
I just got an upgrade from my HTC Dream, to an HTC Hero. The new phone has been sitting on my desk for the last few days, because configuring a cell phone and transferring data is not exactly numero uno on my list of weekend activities.
But then I watched this video of the Hero’s capabilities, and I got really excited.The thing weighs less than my keys (100 grams to be specific) and is faster than my Dream.
Also, if you don’t find the guys giving the presentation totally adorable, you have a cold heart.
I know material items are not the path to happiness, but I think this phone might be an exception. It makes me REALLY and TRULY HAPPY.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: mobile, technology
Image from the Library Juice Press website, libraryjuicepress.com.
An interesting read awaits me! Once I figure out how to buy a book that I am QUITE CERTAIN will not be at Chapters anytime soon I am buying The Politics of Professionalism: A Retro-Progressive Proposal for Librarianship by Juris Dilevko. He is a professor at the Faculty of Information (and from whom I took a fantastic class called “Literature of the Social Sciences and Humanities”), and has published a most controversial book on the shortcomings of library education. A shortcoming, he argues, that has resulted in a profession distracted by fleeting technologies, preoccupied with professional advancement,and unconcerned with “the possession of meaningful knowledge that can be turned toward social good.”
WELL.
The first chapter is online (Merci a Monica for sharing that information), and is an enticing read for those among us who care about library education. Which is me. Why? I dunno. But I’ve blogged about the issue before. And I’m NOT EVEN IN LIBRARY SCHOOL ANYMORE.
I think I agree with some of what he says regarding subject knowledge, and the need for more reflective thinking in our profession. But I wonder about where many of my colleagues fit into his vision of librarianship, i.e. Librarians who work with eLearning, or digital initiatives, or information systems. I’ve seen what happens when those arenas are left to non-librarian technical teams, and it ain’t pretty. Or those who manage the libraries, and worry about glamorous things like who’s going to cover the desk when everyone is on vacation, or where we’re going to get the money for more computers. I wonder about where they fit in. But perhaps those questioned will be answered in Chapters 2 through 6.
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Tagged: Faculty of Information, Good reads, i-school, librarians
Scan me!
Do you have a smart phone? If you do, go download a barcode reader app. I have one for my Android phone, and it’s simply called Barcode Scanner. I guess if wanted to, you could also carry around an actual barcode scanner, but that’s… weird.
Bill the Web Librarian at York University Libraries, and the author of the esteemed Miskatonic University Press wrote this post, in which he offers up his great idea for a Code4Lib 2010 t-shirt design. Just hover your barcode reader over the image to see what comes up. Tons and TONS of interesting applications for this technology, and many thanks to Bill for bringing the tool to my attention.
My Code4Lib 2010 t-shirt
My Code4Lib 2010 t-shirt
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The Special Libraries Association has voted to keep it’s name, and not change to Association of Strategic Knowledge Professionals. I’m a member, and I found the whole debate really interesting.
Question to you, fair reader: What does Special Library mean to you? How about Strategic Knowledge Professional? Lie-berry and non-lie-berry people alike are welcome to comment!
Here’s the news release:
SLA Press Release – 10 December 2009
SLA Contact:
Cara Schatz
P: 703.647.4917
cara@sla.org
SLA Name Will Stay: Alignment of Association to Continue
Alexandria, Virginia, December 10, 2009- The Special Libraries Association (SLA) announced the results of its association-wide vote on a new name today. Voting in record numbers, SLA members failed to approve a proposal to change the organization’s name to the Association for Strategic Knowledge Professionals. 50 percent of those members eligible to vote participated in the referendum, with 2071 voting yes and 3225 voting no.
“The active discussions, online and in local meetings, are a testament to the passion and commitment that knowledge and information professionals feel towards their association and their profession,” said Gloria Zamora, SLA 2009 President. “This level of engagement will help make SLA and its members more effective advocates for the information profession in the years ahead.”
The name change proposal stemmed from the findings of the Alignment Project, an intensive two-year research effort aimed at understanding the value of the information and knowledge professional in today’s marketplace and how to best communicate that value. “Our name will remain,” Zamora continued, “but we will go forward with developing opportunities for our members to use the Alignment findings to demonstrate their contributions to the organizations that employ them.”
“Information and knowledge professionals are critical assets to the organizations that employ them, yet their contributions and capabilities are too often underestimated,” said SLA CEO Janice R. Lachance. “The findings of the Alignment Project research will guide SLA in developing services and programs that will more successfully position these professionals in the marketplace and attract the recognition and compensation they deserve.”
About SLA
The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nonprofit global organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners. SLA serves about 11,000 members in 75 countries in the information profession, including corporate, academic, and government information specialists. SLA promotes and strengthens its members through learning, advocacy, and networking initiatives. For more information, visit us on the Web at www.sla.org.
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Tagged: librarians, professional associations, sla
Brief note:
As a part of my Re:Generations work, I’m trying to get content created for the , which is sponsored by CACUL (Canadian Association of College and University Libraries). It’s supported by this program called Ning, which is actually sort of a cool way to display your webpages, integrate things like blogs, events, announcements, etc. into a nicely format
ted interface, and create a virtual space for communities. Communities such as Canadian academic librarians.
Anyway, we’ve been working away at this little corner of the interwebs, seeing if it fits the needs of CACUL, and when I went to visit the homepage today, there was a whole bunch of new activity! People have begun joining and creating their own little groups. Yay! It’s warms the cockles of my heart when things like this get buy-in. If you’re interested in this type of stuff, check it out!
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: academic experience, CACUL, volunteer activities, web 2.0
I mentioned awhile ago that I was a new member of the Re:Generations Committee within the Canadian Association of College and University Librarians. I just posted my virgin post to their Re:Generations blog, so check it out! (Is it kosher to post a post on your site that just directs to a post you posted at another site? We’re gonna say… Yes.)
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: blog, CACUL, web 2.0
UPDATE:
Check out this very interesting article by Michael Geist in the Toronto Star today; it mentions York Libraries’ OA policy (and the relative failure of Canadian universities to hope on the bandwagon):http://www.thestar.com/news/sciencetech/technology/article/712135–law-bytes-canadian-universities-closed-minded-on-open-access
——–
Awesome news from work!
I mentioned that I’m on the Scholarly Communications committee at York Libraries and that I heart open access. Soooo I was pretty stoked that the OA policy our Committee drafted was passed unanimously by our Librarians’ Group. My homeboys John Dupuis and Bill Denton, fellow lieberrians-in-arms blogged about it too. Here’s the announcement:
From h_pampel, Flickr. Uploaded on June 7, 2009; accessed October 14, 2009.
York University Open Access Policy for Librarians and Archivists
We are proud to announce that an Open Access Policy was passed unanimously by the librarians and archivists of York University on 1 October, 2009.
Librarians and archivists at York University recognize the importance of open access to content creators and researchers in fostering new ideas, creating knowledge and ensuring that it is available as widely as possible. In keeping with our long-standing support of the Open Access movement, York librarians and archivists move to adopt a policy which would ensure our research is disseminated as widely as possible and available in perpetuity through deposit in York’s institutional repository, YorkSpace.
Policy Statement
Academic librarians and archivists at York University1 commit to making the best possible effort to publish in venues providing unrestricted public access to their works. They will endeavour to secure the right to self-archive their published materials, and will deposit these works in YorkSpace.
The York University academic librarian and archivist complement grant York University Libraries the non-exclusive right to make their scholarly publications accessible through self-archiving in the YorkSpace institutional repository subject to copyright restrictions.
Guidelines
This policy applies to all scholarly and professional work produced as a member of York University academic staff produced as of the date of the adoption of this policy. Retrospective deposit is encouraged. Co-authored works should be included with the permission of the other author(s). Examples of works include:
- Scholarly and professional articles
- Substantive presentations, including slides and text
- Books/book chapters
- Reports
- Substantive pedagogical materials such as online tutorials
Works should be deposited in YorkSpace as soon as is possible, recognizing that some publishers may impose an embargo period.
This policy is effective as of October 1, 2009 and will
be assessed a year after implementation.
Yay us! And just in time for Open Access Week!
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September 17, 2009 · 4 Comments
K, I realise I have not posted on this blog since JULY. But I have a good excuse: I am so GD BUSY. Who are the jerks that spread rumors about librarians going home at 5pm? They are big liars!
ANYWAY: I have been prepping for instruction-season at York, and it’s lots of fun and students are adorable and all but it’s ALOT OF WORK. Here’s an example of a web guide I put together that will go along with a presentation I will be giving for a class in a few weeks. I earns ma pay! (See where it says, “The handout provided in class is available here.”? CLICK ON IT. My infamous clip-art skillz live on!) (Okay, I could resist including an image of the handout. I luuuuv ma handouts!)
Clip Art Awesomeness
Also, I am taking part in a few associations.
1) FIAA: Faculty of Information Alumni Association. It’s fun! I am on the social media committee (Ooooooh!). I’d like to point out that to organize the group, Kim (Elle Presidenta) created a Huddle space. From what I can tell, Huddle is a project 
management application, and the functionality is really hot. If you’re interested in an PM app, Huddle is worth checking out.
2) I am the newest blogger for the Re:Generations blog, which is a blog hosted by the Re:Generations committee — the branch of the Canadian Association of College and University Librarians that is for the lil’uns (read: New and Emerging Librarians). I’m also the New Professionals Rep (or something to that effect), so I get to like… professionalize. And such. I just had a conference call with the group, and I’m pretty stoked!
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I am participating in an “Ambassador’s Visit” on behalf of the CLA’s Re:Generations Committee at the U of T’s iSchool this week. I don’t think I get diplomatic immunity so there go my plans to commit lots of crimes.
