Monthly Archives: February 2010

YouTube: More than just cats.

Posted on February 21, 2010 | 5 Comments

Sometimes people put videos on YouTube that are so divine, and so delightfully brilliant, that they merit some honourable mention. No, I’m not talking about that video of the kid who just got back from the dentist. Or the ninja cat.

I’m talking about videos created by academic educators — librarians among them — that explain really complex scholarly concepts in clear and succinct 5 minute (or so) videos. They’re from a variety of places, and have a variety of approaches, but the common thread is that they are amazing teaching tools. Watching them has actually made me a better instructional librarian, and I even played one in a class I taught because I though the creators did such a fantastic job of relaying key information literacy concepts.

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Posted in Library Issues, Technologies

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Visual CV

Posted on February 15, 2010 | 4 Comments

As a new librarian, and one who finds herself on the job market in a few months, I’ve spent lots of time thinking about how to market myself to potential employers. As I mentioned, I spoke with students last week at U of T’s iSchool about breaking into the profession and one piece of advice I gave was, get yourself a web presence. Get a blog, get on LinkedIn, get on Twitter — create a professional persona for yourself online. So, I was pleasantly surprised to come across this little tool, Visual CV. It’s fun! It’s easy to make! And it can act as an extension of the resume you’ve just submitted in a job application. Sometimes it’s heart breaking to have to cut some things off your resume, or there’s the obvious constraint of paper over a dynamic web page. So, if you’re like me, and you put your blog link on your resume, than you can add a link from said blog to your Visual CV, and give potential employers the full picture. I’ve added mine at the sidebar (————————>) front and centre, or you can check it out here.

Sometimes networking events are hard (nothing like trudging through snow in a business suit!), but this is an easy way to get all your professional experiences out there, ready to be viewed by potential employers. So, fair students: You are on reading week right now! Take a few hours to get yourself webberized, and make yourself that much more appealing to employers who are looking for curious, tech-able new librarians to fill their ranks.

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Posted in Library Issues

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Imma Re-Pra-Zent

Posted on February 7, 2010 | 3 Comments

Update: The event was great! We set it up so that the content was largely driven by the students questions, and I think it worked…. I was there until 9pm talking with some of them. It was a very curious, impressive group. People: The future of library land in is good hands!

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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Posted in Professional Associations

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