-
The Emotional Labor of Librarianship
Librarianship isn’t what you might call a physically demanding profession. Youth librarians do exert quite a bit of energy–I regularly hit 6000 steps during a day of book talks, and if I’m not sweating at the end of my toddler time then I feel like I’ve failed as a presenter–but compared to, say, my stint as…
-
Management According to Hamilton: Thomas Jefferson
“What’d I Miss?” If you manage a Thomas Jefferson, you have a star employee who always convinces you to send them to the best conferences and networking opportunities. They reflect well on your organization, though, so you don’t mind sending them everywhere all the time. When a Jefferson is actually at work, they’re rushing in…
-
We Live in a World of Bad Text
Obamacare vs The Affordable Care Act Fake news versus propaganda . . . (one more) Alt–right versus white supremacist ripped from the womb vs late term abortion * * * There is power in names, in language, in how we describe things and what we call them. When female authors write under male pen names (or just use their…
-
Signifying Nothing
or, “ego lost.” Three years ago I wrote about ego and librarianship, a howl of anguish of sorts, a call to action, a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. I don’t even recognize that person anymore–who was that woman, so full of words and opinions? Where has she gone?…
-
Management According to Hamilton: Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton Their name is Alexander Hamilton, and don’t you forget it. In fact, you couldn’t, even if you tried. This employee doesn’t usually stay around too long, but when they’re in your organization, you can’t avoid hearing their name. They work their way into the best projects and onto the most interesting committees,…
-
Hi, Miss Julie’s Loves of Librarianship
Libraries are for everyone Everyone benefits from libraries, whether they use them or not Make every interaction delightful, wherever it happens A degree does not a librarian make Every library its community, and every community its library Libraries are for everyone Libraries are for everyone in your community, whether they are homeless, trans, on the spectrum,…
-
Picture it: a program
Do you want a program that you can do at your library that is: intergenerational? collaborative? creative? involves multiple departments, including tech services? celebrates picture books and novels? Well, here it is: Buy a bunch of blank books from Bare Books. They have paperbacks, picture books, graphic novels, board books–all of them blank and ready…
-
Smile! Rats! Or, a book talk
When I book talk, I sometimes like to structure them as a sort of narrative unto themselves. I thought I’d attempt to write out an example for you. When I book talk Smile, I like to throw in my own personal story about when I was a kid and I needed a retainer because one…
-
Out of STEAM
I have a confession to make: I don’t care about STEM. Or STEAM. Or even STREAM. I just don’t care. .fin. Ha, no, just kidding. Here’s what I love: The Boombox at Skokie Public Library. They had a ton of middle schoolers who needed something to do and exposure to teach, so they decided the library…
-
top 5 tips for youth reader’s advisory
I’m in the process of creating some reader’s advisory resources specifically for those who work with youth, so keep an eye out for more GRADE A QUALITY CONTENT around here!
Hi, Miss Julie
EDI, Leadership, & Storytime
Hi, Miss Julie 