Category: be the best you can be
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advocate.
I was poking around craigslist not too long ago, seeing if I had anything anyone needed in the “wanted” section when I came across this ad: Wanted: BOOKS OR MOVIES Hi, I am in need of books of any kind to read myself or to my children I have been laid off of work now…
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privilege.
Before I begin, a caveat: I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the most logical thinker in the world. I go with my gut on most issues. So if any of my arguments seem incredibly simple or even stupid, they just might be. And I am okay with that. Mostly. After reading…
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nontraditional: a list.
During one of my twitter frolics recently I found the effing librarian, whose blog I am completely and utterly smitten with. He talks about many of the hot issues in the library world, as well as advocacy and news, but in a completely bitchy and steely way. Love, love, love. Here is an expansive booklist…
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summer reading.
I have a complex relationship with the institution of summer reading. I never participated in summer reading as a child, which may explain my lack of zealous enthusiasm for it. I do see its value, and I do love that it gets kids into the library, but there is something about the entire exercise that…
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inevitable?
I often ask whomever is around me–usually fellow librarians–whether or not, as I age, becoming a bitter, stick-in-the-mud, clueless librarian is inevitable. I worry about this. I worry about this every time I turn in a lackluster story-time performance, every time I get another idea shot down, every time I sit through another boring, same…
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who’re you calling an oxymoron?
I love this post by Ryan Deschamps because it expresses so many things that I have thought or felt but haven’t been able to express about librarianship. Let us look at point number eight: 8. Accredited Library Schools Do Not Adequately Prepare Students for Library Work The process for creating ‘professional’ librarians has long…
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the sound of things to come.
I wrote a song for my library’s winter reading program promotional video (actually, wrote new lyrics to an existing song). Expect to see more of this in the not-too-distant future:
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I need an idiot’s guide to ALA
Not only do librarians have to have a master’s degree from an accredited university, we also subscribe to a Code of Ethics, a Freedom to Read Act, and almost every division of librarianship (from Youth Services to Young Adult to Reference Librarians) has competencies that they are expected to meet. Further, we have five laws*…
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things I, the librarian, cannot and can do for you
I cannot read your mind do your homework for you babysit your child allow you to drop the f-bomb repeatedly in the children’s department, around small children design/create the flyer for your small business reserve a movie for you that is still in theaters I can perform a reference interview, which means I will ask…