Yankee In Canada

The Librarians

The Librarians is a hysterical 6-part comedy series from Australia about the most non-politically correct, more or less completely dysfunctional library on the planet - except for yours, right?

Enjoy the promo!

Oh ya! Slam the Boards Baby!

Posted on behalf of Bill Purdue.

Librarians invade the "Answer" sites

Monday, 9/10/07--All Day

Supporting Wiki: http://answerboards.wetpaint.com 

I'd like to invite any and all interested librarians to be a little bold and have a little fun by going to online "Answer" sites, such as:

• Yahoo Answers
• Amazon's Askville
• The WikiPedia Reference Desk

(see a list of others at http://answerboards.wetpaint.com/page/Registry+of+Answer+Boards?mail=1127)

Once there, let's answer!
I envision a day-long answer fest. Answer as many questions as you feel you can. 5...10...20...you decide. Just try to do what we do well--provide answers from authoritative resources.

...and then MARKET!

This means making it clear that this question was answered by a librarian/library professional/etc. End each answer with the mention your own library, your VR service, etc. Add the link. Mention that readers should consider their own libraries, too. Promote it to local media. Keep in mind how many people don't even realize that libraries offer reference services. Let's surprise and delight them with our quality.

I'd like hundreds of librarians to do this. Thousands? Why not?

Be clear...you'll almost certainly be helping patrons who aren't yours, but I see this as an opportunity to make the reference librarian community more visible. I'd like to see a number of us remain engaged in the answer services, on the chance that the users will have us in the backs of their minds when they have questions they don't want everyone to see. As such, I'm not expecting to see a huge "blip" in our reference/VR stats because of this. But who knows?

The point is to meet some folks where they otherwise wouldn't expect us.

What to do next?

First of all, pass this message along to anyone who might remotely be interested.

Second, this is a very informal "action," so you can just mark the date and start answering, but you may also want to visit the Wiki and put your name up as a participant: http://answerboards.wetpaint.com/page/Participating+Librarians. I'm very lonely there right now!

While you're on the wiki, share. Think of good marketing "tags," signatures, etc. that we can use.

Most of all, visit the various answer sites, see if you need to set up an account. Try answering a few questions. A couple of us have already done this and we've already got a few "Best Answers" under our belts. See the "Exemplary Answers" section of the Wiki. Post one if you've got one!

Then, on September 10, get ready to "Slam the Boards!"

--Bill Pardue

Contribute to the Future of Librarians

Will Sherman over at degreetutor.com has posted his article, "Future of Librarians"  which he based on a number of interviews he conducted, via email, with librarians and information professionals.

Sherman has also posted a page where you can contribute your thoughts and ideas to support the discussion.

Librarian 2.0 - Interviews of the future of librarians

Will Sherman over at degreetutor.com has interviewed (via email) a number of librarians and info pros on the future of libraries and librarians.  My interview has been posted.

Thanks Will!

Embedded librarianship - the way to go

Embedded Library Services: An Initial Inquiry into Practices for Their Development, Management, and
Delivery [pdf]
A Contributed Paper for the Special Libraries Association Annual Conference

David Shumaker, Clinical Associate Professor
School of Library and Information Science, Catholic University of America
-and-
Laura Ann Tyler, Research Librarian
LMI Government Consulting

Shumaker and Tyler's new paper, recently presented at the SLA conference in Denver, is a great read for any information professional, but it's of particular importance to new information professionals and students as well as seasoned info pros looking for a change.  I only recently realized that I have never been anything but an embedded librarian my entire career.  Strangely, I always wondered why there was huge disconnect in what I was being told by other info pros, what I was reading in library literature and what I experienced at work.  Most of what I heard and read was about working in libraries with other librarians and info pros.  Even the SOLO environment didn't quite fit because many of my colleagues who are solos work in a one-person library.  Realizing my embedded status has made me look at my career very differently, in terms of the skills I need to hone and the professional development opportunities I choose to learn from.  For me, Shumaker and Tyler's work was a breathe of fresh air.

A Hipper Crowd of Shushers (NY Times)

Librarians make the fashion section of the New York Times. Throwbacks to old stereotypes aside, I thought it was a pretty interesting piece.  My life isn't quite like theirs, but good for them.  It has been YEARS since I was last profiled in the NYT!

Some folks don't think it's so awesome.

I have to wonder though if any of the fallout from this hullabaloo will actually reach the folks responsible for the piece.  Will all the criticism make a difference? Librarians talking to librarians is great, and we do that well, but at some point we are going to have to start taking our message to everyone else if we have any hope of changing their view of who we are as professionals.

A Hipper Crowd of Shushers (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/fashion/08librarian.html

The Illustrated Librarian Temporary Tattoos

Check out these temporary tattoos from Archie McPhee!

They are a MUST for your next library conference - or while sitting by the pool somewhere warm this winter.

The Post's Unsung Sleuths

This is an incredible article about the librarians at The Washington Post.  Fellow colleague, Derek Willis is given a full paragraph.  Way to go Derek!

The Post's Unsung Sleuths
By Deborah Howell
Sunday, July 2, 2006; Page B06

"The reporting that appears in The Post is supported by an infrastructure of research that readers do not see, except as credited in the occasional tag line at the end of a story..."