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Originally uploaded by bobbypirsig.

Chillin w/Dylan Thomas in the stacks.

Is blogging a smart "career move"?

I recently read this article surmising ten reasons blogging might be good for one's career. It's nice to hear someone else's thoughts here because I've been percolating on it for a while.

In fact, blogging can probably help you be a better employee, mother, student, minister, (name a lifestyle...) etc. While you're honing your writing skills, you're also becoming a better-informed, more open-minded human being. You see, by posting articles and websites and whatever else you're interested in with your comments/musings, you're contributing to something much greater than any individual Blogger. This vast communication network exists for everyone to feel more connected, so use it!

I'm sure blogging couldn't hurt one's chances at a job. Even if it doesn't help, you're still having fun and becoming a more enlightened, knowledgeable human. So, blog for a job!

Unbelievable

"Verifiable" Instant Degrees


If I wasn't already feeling overeducated, this just put me over the top.

Dated portals

How 5 years ago is this? My instiution just got a portal for internal communication. Wow. Now we need to hire somebody titled "webmaster". What's that?!

OCLC MetaWiki

OCLC has begun research project examining wiki and how it relates to libraries. I can't wait to watch how this project turns out. I both love and fear wikipedia, so I'm interested in how OCLC will adapt to wiki.

MetaWiki

Creepy Media in 2014

Watch it.

Wireless libraries and cell phones

Just got my Nextel invoice (yippee!), and noticed that they are offereing another Bluetooth enabled phone that's actually reasonably priced. I'll have to review the literature and do some searching, but I wonder if any libraries in the US have patrons searching their OPAC's with cell phones. PDA's, notebooks and the like have been doing it, but now that cell phones have B.T. ability and web browsers, I'd think this would be happening someplace.

Edit:
As an aside, I just tried Google's SMS search. Been waiting for a response for a couple of minutes. If the response rate is this slow it might seriously hinder the Google SMS useability. Google states that responses should take less than a minute.

Fellows, brothas, gents, chaps, homeys...What's next?

Just saw a job posting for an Information Literacy Fellow. What a great title! I will be applying for this one mosdef. I suppose I'll need to find a smoking jacket and rosewood pipe. Hmmmm, I wonder where Heff gets those red velour robes? Not exactly the thing to be wearing while teaching an info. lit. class, but it could break the ice with a little humor/partial nudity (jk!).

Over-educated...Under-employed? Forget Librarianship!

Are you a middle-aged professional looking for a new career? Maybe you're a school teacher or college professor. Maybe you're an engineer or a home maker with a degree or two. You think..."I need a new job. Hmmm, I like helping people, I like books, and I like to read. I should be a librarian." I beseech you, PLEASE DON'T GET AN MLIS!!!

This post has been a long time coming, but a few experiences in particular have spurred it into blog status:

*My experiences in graduate school:
While there were a good many of us who were enthusiastic students with many years of prior library experience, there was also a large number of students with absolutely no library experience. At first I could not for the life of me figure out why these students paid $40,000+ to get an MLIS. They were-as a generalization-over forty, on their second/third/etc. careers, and had little to no proficiency with even some basic computing/internet technologies.

*The job market is flooded:
The number of positions (full time and part time) in the U.S. is something like half the total number of people holding MLS degrees. You’re applications for jobs are burying the applications submitted by people who are really zealous about their work.

Why would anyone want to get into this field without being totally driven and passionate about it? Because on paper it looks easy; the degree is (comparatively) cheap, doesn't take long to complete, and a lot of people in other fields simply don't know what being a good librarian entails. Customer service and reading skills are required, but they are just an infinitesimal part of providing quality services to your users. So, please, do some research before you take the plunge into library school...after all, research is what you do best, right?

Yo, this is the first post on my new blogger blog. I've used some others, but being a librarian I have a certain love/hate for Google. I love all of it's services, but some just shake the grounds of my professional philosophy. Don't get me wrong, change is a great thing, and Google makes more information available to more people everyday! It's just that the informational revolution is moving so fast that sometimes it's difficult to just hang on for the ride. So welcome to my space yunz! It will change often in the coming weeks so check back often.