Hope is sometimes elusive

It's difficult to maintain enthusiasm in your profession when, on a given day, the most pressing concern of the people you serve is the whereabouts of the flyers from the Sunday paper.

I know it's not for me to judge how people use the library, and that I should be thankful that they walk through the doors at all, but when that happens I always have an overwhelming urge to tell them that if they want the flyers they should go buy their own damn papers.

Nothing else that patrons ask for annoys me nearly this much. Clearly, I have a personal issue. Or maybe it's just that they get angry about this, but not because the air conditioning is broken and the stairway smells like sewage and the walls are literally crumbling. Apparently none of that is as important as knowing what's on sale at Kmart this week.

A bit of this, a bit of that

Remember my post-apocalyptic booklist? Well, it seems that Booklist magazine has totally copied my idea! I opened the 5/15 issue to find "Core Collection: Before and After The Road" which contains many of the same books on my list. Hmm. Very suspicious if you ask me.

Have you seen this survey on the value of an MLIS? Please go fill it out!

In related news, and to further substantiate my belief that librarianship is becoming deprofessionalized, I recently found a job posting here in MA for a reference position that doesn't require an MLS. To their credit they say "MLS or extensive library experience" (emphasis mine) but still, you are just opening a can of worms there, Nevins Library!

Also - I've won more sock yarn! I know, crazy, right? Just a month after winning some Dream in Color Smooshy Sock Yarn I have now won...more Smooshy Sock Yarn! Unbelievable luck, and it happened on the last day of work before vacation just when I thought I'd lose my mind. Thanks so much, Heather!

That's right, vacation! I'll be gone all week, whisked away to the woods of Maine with very limited internet access. So no updates from me, but hopefully when I return I'll have lots of book reviews and knitting progress to show you. Because, you know, there's not a lot to do up there.

Libraries and self-published books

I've been reading a lot the last few days about why libraries don't purchase self-published books. Vanity presses are being discussed on Publib, and the Librarian In Black posted about the elitism and laziness of libraries that won't purchase these materials. I disagree with "elitism" but maybe not with "laziness." This is part of a larger issue of collection development. It is too often a reactionary process - librarians look at reviews being fed to us from a small number of review journals and order what the reviews recommend. It should be more than that: we should be examining the collection, determining what is missing, and then finding it. Otherwise, your collection will be incomplete. There are entire subject areas absent from review journals.

In terms of self-published books, there are good reasons why libraries traditionally don't purchase these books. Generally they're not very good, hence the reason they are self-published. Libraries have a limited amount of money to spend and will spend it on the books that are popular and in demand. Historically, self-published books haven't generated demand as there's no publisher creating that demand through marketing. Although books of quality have been self-published there is no way to find out which ones are worth purchasing without reading them, and libraries simply shouldn't be gambling with their budgets.

But the publishing industry is changing, and libraries need to change with it. Some books are gaining popularity through online resources without traditional marketing or reviews. A Thingology article illustrates a perfect example of this. Getting Real, a book about building web applications, was originally made available in pdf, then released in print through Lulu.com. It is a big seller, but according to WorldCat only 3 libraries own it. If it's popular, libraries should have it, but how are we to know it even exists without looking for it? There is a growing need to start looking at non-traditional sources to guide our collection development and luckily this is becoming easier.

But there's another hurdle: even if a library is willing to purchase a self-published book, ordering it isn't easy. Public libraries order with purchase order numbers and then pay the invoice later, which isn't the way that self-published books are sold. How fantastic would it be if we all had corporate credit cards and could order what we want from any vendor we want? Alas, it is not that easy. Even small presses are difficult to order from using a PO. Sadly, purchasing policy is determined by the cities we work for, so the needed changes have to happen at a higher level than the library. We just need to convince our governing bodies that it's in their interest to evolve. Good luck to us with that!

Privatize your library?

This is not the way to support libraries. Two towns here in Massachusetts are proposing privatizing their libraries, saying that they are struggling with continuing services while keeping taxes low.

First of all, this completely goes against the very idea of what public libraries are. Private companies are not accountable to the public the way that a city or country run library is. Or is it? LSSI, the company that already runs libraries in California, Texas, Oregon and Tennessee, say that they would not rely on fees and would instead get their funding through grants and taxes. Kind of like now. So if the libraries would remain free and still operate on the same funding, what exactly would the role of this company be?

Secondly, and this may partly answer that question, I'm concerned about one of the statements in the article: "LSSI generally does not hire unionized employees, helping it to save on benefits packages." Given the way my union has behaved I'm all for not being in a union, but what this says to me is that they don't want to give librarians decent benefits. Because everyone knows that librarians are compensated way too much, right?

Predictably, the MA Board of Library Commissioners opposes the idea. And although the idea was originally proposed by a resident, I have to think that many people won't want their tax dollars going to a private company. I sure wouldn't.

Here is an article about the privatizing of the Jackson County, OR libraries last year. 15 branches had closed due to a budgetary crisis, and re-opened with LSSI running the libraries with a smaller staff receiving fewer benefits.

Maybe I'm just a socialist at heart, but I think corporations have enough power already. It's bad enough that you can't see a movie or a concert or even a roller derby without being advertised to, so let's just keep the private companies out of our libraries, shall we?

What the fuck?

I was reading Library Journal at work yesterday and came across a review of Jennifer Weiner's forthcoming novel, Certain Girls. Near the end of the review, it says:

"(Note: F--k is sprinkled judiciously throughout)"

Wow, do adults now need to be warned about adult language in books written for adults?

I've seen this sort of warning in reviews for YA books, but never in a review for an adult novel. I find it hard to believe there is more swearing in this book than other novels, and even if there is - who cares? I certainly hope this isn't the beginning of a trend in LJ reviews.

I shared this with a couple of co-workers who were both equally baffled. It of course led to a library catalog search on the keyword "fuck" which brought up a number of results. One was the graphic novel The Squirrel Mother, also reviewed in LJ but without dirty-word commentary. Another was the book Expletive Deleted, which I think is delightfully ironic.

By the way, the LJ review was a glowing one, and noted the consistently high quality of Weiner's writing. She is one of my very favorite authors, and writes a hilarious blog. You can be sure I'll post my own review of Certain Girls when I read it. I've been on hold since September so I should be one of the first to get it.

As it was foretold...

...so it is coming to pass.

The Marathon County Public Library in WI has eliminated three librarian positions and replaced them with customer service positions, which were offered to the librarians whose positions were eliminated. "The reorganization also aims to meet the ever-changing needs of customers, [the director] said. Librarians today do less complex work, she said -- calling for pay adjustments and more technological assistance." The poorly written article doesn't clarify what this "more technological assistance" means, and it also refers to the librarians as being "demoted" though clearly that's not exactly the case. Nevertheless, we get the general idea of what has happened.

This news item has been discussed at length on Publib and on various blogs. Many people are outraged that the librarians are being treated this way. But it's not a surprise. I posted about the deprofessionalization of librarianship in a 3-part series here and here and here. John Berry's column in the latest Library Journal (2/15/08), "The Vanishing Librarians," speaks to the same issue. Annoyed Librarian blogs about the trend frequently. Even though US News and World Report insists that librarianship has a bright future, encouraging even more people to enter the profession, those of us who are already there know that our careers as we know them are in danger.

What has happened in Wisconsin is exactly what I talked about in my previous posts. The role of libraries is changing. It isn't good or bad, it just is. It seems good for communities because people are getting what they want - and that is why we exist. It appears bad for librarians because we are losing our jobs. But I don't think our jobs should be saved for the sake of having jobs, do you?

Furthermore, you need the right people in the right positions, and if a library needs a customer service person or a program planner then they should hire someone qualified to do those things, not someone trained to do cataloging or reference or collection development. It doesn't do anyone any good to keep librarians in positions for which they are not suited.

Some librarians' jobs, as the director states, may very well be less complex. But I would argue that the role of libraries is becoming more complex and the Marathon County Public Library, from what I can see, is simply doing its best to adapt.

New automated book machines!

It's too bad that I no longer enjoy the city of San Francisco, because they are doing some very innovative things with their libraries. First came their Book a librarian program, and now they are installing automated book machines in BART stations.

I was disappointed that the article starts with the notion of "saying goodbye to our neighborhod librarian." Such a negative spin on something that is actually so positive!

First of all, the book machines are obviously not a replacement for libraries, as they are of limited usage. They contain only the most popular books, and clearly there is a lot more to libraries than bestsellers. And of course it can't make book suggestions or answer your reference questions.

In addition to convenience, this could be a fantastic marketing tool. Every person walking past the machines during their commute will be reminded of the library. If they are smart about signage, they will post library hours for the closest branch, post about upcoming events, and remind people of other services available when they visit the library.

Finally, I was not surprised to learn that these machines are made by a Swedish company and have already been used in Scandanavia. If you want to learn more, here is a lengthy video which includes a lot of coughing.

What library schools SHOULD be teaching

In the spirit of AL's post Courses I Wish I'd Had in Library School, I give to you course descriptions of classes that would be useful in my professional life. I'm sure Simmons GSLIS will add these to their curriculum soon.

Argument Without Reason: Illogic 101
You will not be able to argue with many patron and co-workers without this course. Learn how to win an argument with anyone, including the mentally ill or those who have simply been in their jobs for too long. Emphasis on volume, facial expression, and intimdating body language.

Identification and Removal of Stains and Odors
Library budgets are strapped and that means no improvements to carpets, upholstery, or plumbing. This essential course, now with a lab component for hands-on learning, will teach you all you need to know about common stains and smells as well as a thorough exploration of cleaners, sanitizers,and disinfectants.

How to Choose your Second Job
You will never be able to pay for this education with your salary, so now is the time to explore options for your complementary career. High pay is key to making your work hours worthwhile, and with that in mind you will learn how to break into the sex industry. Stripper, phone-sex operator, escort, and adult film actor are only some of the glamorous career options we will explore in this class. Free pasties with registration!

Dulling the Pain: Choosing the right substance for your mood
If you think the drug you take to cope with the public is the same one that will get you through a long boring staff meeting or help refrain from crank-calling the library trustees, think again! The varying effects of pharmaceuticals and liquor are discussed in this comprehensive course, which includes all you need to get you through your day, and beyond. Bonus section on using hallucinegic drugs to create more imaginative displays.

Weeding print reference

Although I am reference librarian, our reference collection is a mystery to me. It's true. I hardly ever actually look at those books, some dusty, some shiny, most probably unopened for years. We've just begun a project to weed the print reference collection and have also been talking a bit about the role of print reference now that so much information is available online.

Our reference collection is far, far larger than it should be. I really think it should be about half its current size. Patrons want books they can take out of the library, so for the most part the only people who would use these books are staff. But even for us, it's terribly difficult to find needed information in this collection. Doing a complicated catalog search to figure out which book to look in is time-consuming; we should be able to just walk to the shelf of the needed subject area and eyeball to find what we need, but with 6 aisles, it is far too large for this. And given the amount of use, the space being taken up is completely unjustified.

But size isn't the only problem - you can walk to any shelf and find a number of useless, out-of-date, and obscure books. I can't imagine what reference question would necessitate using the 1989 publication "The Encyclopedia of Monsters" or a computer buying guide published in 2001. Or the cartoonish "Like a Fish Needs a Bicycle," a book of feminist quotes with no index or apparent structure to it's organization, rendering it useless as anything other than a coffee table book. A Who's Who of Nobel Prize Winners that only goes up to 1990 may be of some limited usefulness, but I still say it has no place in a reference collection, which should only contain the most up to date, complete, accurate information available in print. Some would argue that having something on the shelf - even if out of date - is better than nothing, but I disagree. If it's not going to be used, it is only clutter and prevents us from easily finding the things that are useful.

Even more horrifying than the fact that we still have some of these items, is that many other libraries in our system also have them. I recently took a field trip with a co-worker to a neighboring town's library to see what their Reference collection looks like. Disappointingly, it was as large and dust-filled as ours. I felt a little better about the size of our collection, but felt like I had less ammunition to advocate for downsizing it. Why are libraries retaining this stuff for so long? Every time I start to withdraw an item and see that it's also held by 12 other libraries in our network, I second guess myself. But I forge on, knowing that I'd never direct a patron to that book, a good indication that it shouldn't be there.

So, what is the value of print reference, now that the internet provides up-to-date information literally at our fingertips? I dare say that most ready reference questions can be answered more efficiently and accurately online than through print resources. Only a small collection of print is needed to complement our online sources. So there. Weed away!

Library holds - a black market?

The Librarian in Black has published a thought-provoking post called A Treatise on the Black Market of Holds. She says that the library hold system has created a two-class system in libraries: those who know about the system and are willing to pay fees to put items on hold, and those who don't know about it and just come into the library to browse the shelves, assuming that what they see is an accurate representation of what the library owns.

What first struck me about this post is that there are library systems that charge a fee to place holds. In Massachusetts, there is no charge to put an item on hold. This includes items at other libraries in our network. (Even an interlibrary loan coming from another state is free.) At my library, if a patron asks for a book that is currently checked out or not owned by my library, we immediately offer to put them on hold. It may not be publicized extensively, but the system is not a secret and not even close to the black market that LIB describes.

Sure, new items aren't on the shelves, but that's because of popularity, not the hold system itself. Without a hold system, those copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows would still have been gone immediately. At least this way, patrons know that they will get a copy at some point rather than having to drive to the library over and over again hoping a copy will be available when they get there, before finally finally giving up and buying the damn thing instead. Come to think of it, without the hold system maybe those copies of HP would have been there - people who really wanted it would just buy it rather than going through all the trouble. Think about what that would that do to our circulation numbers.

There is a lot more to say about this, but LIB's post touches on so many issues that it would take me a week to organize a post about it all, and then it would be so lengthy that none of my 8 readers would get through it. But I do recommend reading her post, as well as the informative and interesting comments. It is a lot of food for thought.

Impermeable definition of the day

From Webster's Third New International Dictionary:

strobile n 1 [NL strobilus] : STROBILUS 2 : a spike with persistent overlapping bracts that resembles a cone and is the pistillate inflorescence of the hop

Uh, thanks for the clarification.

Book a Librarian

The San Francisco Public Library has recently started a great service which I hope will catch on in other libraries. Their new Book a Librarian project allows patrons to make an appointment with a librarian for in-depth help that can be difficult during a regular reference transaction. For example, this could benefit someone who is setting up their first email account and is unfamiliar with computers, or someone conducting extensive research who needs to learn how to make the most of the library's databases.

This could be especially useful in libraries like mine, which don't offer classes because there is no computer classroom. Also, now that some of us are concerned about the deprofessionalization of librarians I think this is a good way to lend more legitimacy to our positions while providing a very helpful service. We spend a lot of desk time dealing with non-reference issues like printer jams and computer sign-ups, so it would be great to spend some off-desk time offering such a personalized in-depth service.

Rethinking Information Work

The deprofessionalization of librarianship - part 3

In part 2 I shared my outlook of the library profession which is admittedly grim but, I believe, realistic. Since it will do no good to leave you regretting your MLS and the money spent on it, I need to tell you that all is not lost. With some thought and planning you can create a more sustainable career and I know just the book to help you: Rethinking Information Work: A Career Guide for Librarians and Other Information Professionals by G. Kim Dority.

Similar to “What color is your parachute,” this career guide is specific to librarians, complete with exercises to help you determine career preferences. Dority acknowledges the changes in libraries and the bleak outlook for traditional library work, and her book is a guide to identifying your true value as a professional and finding the right fit for your skills in this changing landscape.

It begins with chapters about different types of library work. "The Traditional Path" covers public, school, and academic libraries, including user services, tech services, and administrative services. In "The Nontraditional Path" we learn about nontraditional jobs in traditional libraries, and traditional roles in nontraditional environments. Contracting and freelancing are discussed in "The Independent Path."

Once the different types of work are covered, Dority moves on to help you create a portfolio by focusing on accomplishments, projects, and skills rather than positions you have held. You can examine your transferable skills and reframe your work life to help you pursue a new career. She describes creating a “career map” to lay out goals and strategies to reach them, and an “education map” to plan needed training.

She encourages the reader to take advantage of change to create new opportunities, and to take responsibility to overcome obstacles to improving your work situation. Simple suggestions include writing down your obstacles and reframing them in a way that is internal rather than external, to pinpoint something you can do to improve the situation.

Each chapter has a bibliography of books, articles, and online sources to further explore the themes in each chapter. Appendices of special interest groups, employment resources, and current awareness resources are also included.

I found this book inspiring, helpful, and a refreshing change from most library career discussions. The author is realistic about the future of our work without being dismal, instead showing us how to innovate new and satisfying careers. I read a library copy, but will probably buy my own – I think it’s worth it just for the extensive bibliographies. The accompanying website is also filled with helpful information. So go ahead and get started!

The future of librarianship

The deprofessionalization of librarianship - part 2

Ever since library catalogs were automated, librarians have speculated about the demise of librarianship as we know it. We're still here, but it's becoming clear that our roles are changing and continuing to become less professional as the public is able to meet more of its information needs without our help. Library 2.0 is all about the democratization of information, and the effect on libraries and librarians is telling. The fact is that a lot of what we do on the job no longer uses a high level of skill. Most cataloging is now done centrally by a library network rather than at each individual library. Many reference questions are being answer by Google, or through home access to library databases. Of course someone still needs to plan programs, hold story times for children, and show people how to sign up for computers, print, and find and request books, but you don't need an MLS for those jobs.

There was an article on Slashdot recently about IT people who feel like their job security is threatened by Web 2.0. Emily over at Library Revolution says that she sees this differently; her take is that Web 2.0 is empowering people to get many jobs done themselves without having to depend help from IT. This is how I feel about Library 2.0: people now have so much easy access to information that they don’t need a gatekeeper (i.e. librarian) to help them. How fantastic!

A second benefit to recent trends is that it will be cheaper for public libraries to operate without having to pay so many MLS salaries. No doubt libraries will continue to exist as long as people still want free books, magazines, dvds, and cds, but surely an advanced degree is not needed for these jobs. This is good news for libraries with funding issues, and surely better than closing down.

Like IT people, librarians can’t help but worry about job security. But in addition to wasteful spending that many municipalities can’t afford, it’s ridiculous to waste our skills by keeping positions professional when they shouldn’t be. Those of us with MLS degrees are bored in jobs where we aren’t working to our full potential. Furthermore, pretending that these positions still use high level skills is really doing us all a disservice. I wrote a little about that here – it doesn’t reflect well on the profession when we try to justify MLS salaries and all we can show them is that we are holding game nights. How does it help our reputation as a profession when we are being asked to justify our existence and that is all we can come up with? Pretending that these jobs require advanced degrees is just self-preservation, but we are supposed to exist for the good of our communities not for own personal gain.

Don’t just think you can switch to another type of library though, because these changes are happening everywhere. Corporate libraries are beginning to close or decentralize, and the librarian role is more aligned within departmental units if it continues to exist at all. Many companies such as the accounting firm where I used to work, are making research information available through robust intranets and training employees how to use them. Like with public libraries, this is good news for those who need information, but bad news for librarians.

So what does this mean for librarians? This free and easy access to information is what we have been advocating for, and ironically it will be our downfall. We need to define new roles for ourselves. If you enjoy traditional librarianship, this may not be pleasant to think about, but we need to face reality: the jobs we are used to will no longer exist. Sure, there are librarians who will be retiring, but their positions won’t be there waiting for us to seamlessly slip into, and the ALA needs to stop pretending otherwise.

The October 15th issue of Library Journal touched on these issues in its cover story "What's an MLIS Worth?" Here are some trends noted:

-a substantial leap in graduates reporting jobs outside of the library and information science (LIS) professions (up 43.7%)
-those reporting placements outside of library agencies increased by 37.4%
-more grads in nonprofessional jobs, rising temp positions, more graduates taking multiple part-time positions, and a longer average job search
-nonprofessional positions increased by almost 37.5% between 2005 and 2006
-2003-2006 28.5% growth in placement with vendors

It's becoming harder to find employment in the library field and many librarians are taking positions in non-library environments doing what most of us would think of as non-librarian work. This is where the profession is heading, and we better be ready. How do we prepare for the inevitable shifts in our careers? Funny that you ask - I just read a helpful book that addresses that very question. Next week I’ll post my review on Rethinking Information Work: A Career Guide for Librarians and Other Information Professionals by G. Kim Dority.

It's only a game

The deprofessionalization of librarianship - part 1

You may have noticed recently that libraries have begun adding video games to their collections and hosting game nights, much like many libraries have film nights. While this is all well and good, some of the accompanying ideas in the library world are only serving to hasten the slide into deprofessionalism to which librarianship is destined.

There’s nothing wrong with libraries collecting video games and even having game nights, but please, stop pretending that this is an intellectual subject that we all need to study and is worthy of entire conferences. That is just embarrassing. It is embarrassing not because librarians are talking about video games – because we should be – but that some of us are trying to raise them to an intellectual level worthy of study. This may very well be justified in the education field, but not in libraries. You don’t need a library school class, a scholarly article, or a symposium to learn how to purchase video games and make them available to your patrons. How this bizarre intellectual leap occurred is beyond me, but it is a trend that is sure to make our already damaged image worse. Maybe these so-called gaming librarians think it makes us look cool and progressive, but in reality it makes us look foolish and desperate.

Lest you think I have something against video games, please bear a few things in mind:
-a Wii lives at my house and I know how to use it (and have scored pretty high on Big Brain Academy)
-I have borrowed a video game from a library
-I attended a PLA session on gaming with John Beck, author of Got Game and it was very interesting and I’m totally convinced that people can develop problem-solving skills from playing video games.

But as the Annoyed Librarian said, "This stuff doesn't require a master's degree, or even a college degree." This is the problem when librarians are already trying so hard to justify our existences, and failing miserably: when we try to prove the value of our skills and convince our institutions that they need us, and they see shit like this, what do you think that says about us? No matter how much fun they are to play, or how educational they can be, or how successfully a library gaming night fosters a sense of community, they are still just games. And when our colleagues talk about gaming as though it's a large, vital part of our highly-skilled field, and an important trend in libraries, we need to stop wondering why we are paid so poorly.

Thoughts on a recent AL post

The Annoyed Librarian has written another thought-provoking post. In a way, I take offense at the notion that librarians can demand higher pay, because in public libraries that doesn't seem possible. The city and the union decide on a pay scale and there is no salary negotiation. Someone else will take the job if the pay isn't enough for me. Of course, this is exactly the problem - the fact that *someone* will take the job, so there is no need to raise the pay. But the fact of the matter is that you can't always choose to go work at the higher paying libraries because job openings are so rare and field is so competitive. If you want to work in a public library, you don't have a hell of a lot of choice.

But AL is right - working in public library is a choice in itself. I could very well take my skills and go work for a company that will pay me more for those skills. I choose not to, at least not right now, because of various factors too numerous and boring to list here.

As for librarianship being a "calling," I'm not sure what that even means. I've always thought a calling is something spiritual and since I am about as spiritual as a baked potato, I'm probably not the best person to address this topic. But I think it implies that you have no choice, that it is your destiny, and it's a mystery to me why that means that you can't be paid fairly.

In my case it's definitely not a calling, it's an interest. I have a lot of interests, and maybe someday I'll get a job doing something else I am interested in such as petting cats or eating cheese. I have great skills in those areas, so I'm sure to command a large salary.

Banned Blah Blah Week Blah

I am happy to say that my library is not celebrating Banned Books Week (or BBW as the ALA likes to call it). This is probably because most of my co-workers are so professionally out of the loop and uninvolved that they don't even know about it, but in my little fantasy world it's because they, too, feel only apathy and a bit of irritation at this time every year. I have to agree with the Annoyed Librarian - I see that these so-called banned books are widely available in libraries and bookstores and I just can't bring myself to care much.

Banned Books Week is, of course, a misnomer. None of these books are banned, they are just challenged by parents who don't want their children reading about gay penguins or dog scrotums. We all know that there are scary fundamentalist Christians and their ilk everywhere, just looking for things that upset their delicate moral sensabilities that they can complain about. Why do we need a special week to draw attention to them?

The ALA says that they will continue to use the word "banned" because "A successful challenge would result in materials being banned or restricted." But these are all local actions, and in reality a successful challenge would result in one book being removed from one library in, perhaps, a small town in Alabama. I can't accept that this really constitutes banning. After all, everyone in that town in Alabama can still go out to their nearest bookstore and buy a copy. And if enough people care, they can probably petition the library to return the book to the shelf.

In a way, it's more about taxpayers trying to shape their library's collection, which brings me to a point I mentioned in a previous post: most censorship is done by librarians during the collection development process. Librarians will fight to the death to make sure that Harry Potter stays on the shelves once it's there, but my library just came perilously close to not purchasing a copy of If I Did It because one person does all of our adult collection development and that one person happens to find the book offensive. But you don't see stories about that on the news, do you? If librarians are going to talk about banned books, I think we need to examine what we ourselves are doing that may constitute censorship because ultimately we are the ones who have the most control over library collections.

The ALA says that Banned Books Week "celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them." Well then, let those parents express their opinions on the inappropriateness of the Gossip Girls series because we know that nothing will come of their complaints anyhow. If it is intellectual freedom and access to information that we are so concerned about, perhaps we should turn our attention away from these small isolated incidents and spend a week promoting more timely and relevant issues such as library funding and net neutrality.

Continuing Education for Librarians

As information professionals, we have a responsibility to educate ourselves about current technologies and information trends so we can continue to be relevant to our patrons throughout our careers. (I touched on this subject a bit here) This sounds like common sense, but I think we can all use the reminder. I don't know how many libraries support continuing education, but from my limited public library experience it appears that it is not emphasized enough. Let me just say that I think most of us don't want to end up being this librarian. I'd like to think this situation is an anomaly, but the fact is that many librarians do not embrace change, nor do they think their skills need to be updated regularly. I don't know if it's ignorance, apathy, or some other factor, but it appears that many leave library school and think they know everything they will need to know for their whole career.

This is a subject which I feel strongly about and could expound on at length, but instead I will offer some suggestions for continued learning. There is no one-stop shopping center for library continuing education and sometimes you need to poke around a bit to find something more sophisticated than Email 101 or Introduction to MS Excel. Here are some of the education sources I've come up with:

-Library schools. Many have continuing education classes; many of those classes are online so you can take them no matter where you live!

-Your library's network may have classes for members.

-State library associations also may offer courses.

-Conferences are always good learning opportunities with sessions on the latest trends and technologies. In addition to ALA, PLA, SLA and the other big national conferences, state and regional associations have conferences that are much less expensive to attend.

-Adult education centers. Many will include technology classes.

-Informal learning. 23 Learning 2.0 Things, reading blogs on librarianship, identifying topics you are interested in and picking up a book or going online to learn about those topics.

Any more suggestions? Leave them in the comments!

On patrons asking the right questions

I mentioned in this post about using Zamzar that I don't often apply my knowledge. It is true - most patron interactions on the Reference desk are of the "Can I use a computer?" variety, with a few "Do you have this book?" questions thrown in. It's difficult to keep one's reference skills sharp without practice, and it's also easy to just get lazy and Google everything. Throw in the fact that many patrons would rather have a less-than-authoritative quick answer than an authoritative but time-consuming answer, and you have an idea of what Reference service can be like.

On the other hand, there is ample opportunity to apply computer skills, which indicates a need to shift away from extensive and unapplied knowledge on using print reference resources and towards computer problem-solving and internet reference. Every librarian should have a thorough knowledge of good online information and tools, as well as a working knowledge of how to use anything on the library's computers.

One day a co-worker who was working on the Reference desk called me during my break in the staff room because a patron, who I had helped earlier with a Powerpoint problem, had another question. Although I haven't used Powerpoint in around 6 years, I can certainly find a book about it with which to answer questions, which is what I had done previously (and what any librarian should be able to do). When I firmly reminded my co-worker that I was on break, she said "Well, we don't have time for this stuff either!"

The beauty of reference, the reason why it is so interesting and exciting, is that pretty much any question is fair game (and certainly ones about programs installed on the library's computers!) After all, we are information professionals and computers have become the primary way of accessing, manipulating, and sharing information. How can we say "I'm sorry - we aren't computer experts" and just go back to surfing the web and waiting for "real" reference questions? We cannot tell patrons that we don't answer certain questions just because they aren't the questions that we want them to ask.

I used a Thing in real life

Remember 23 Learning 2.0 Things? New Things are still being added on the Learning 2.1 blog so I've been keeping up, more or less. I'm not continuing to try everything out, but I'm at least reading the posts.

Earlier this week at work a patron was trying to open a .wps file and could not. I remembered seeing something on Learning 2.1 about file conversion and after a quick Google search I recognized Zamzar as the tool I read about. (dear Google, is there any problem you can't solve?) It worked fantastically and the patron was able to open and print the files she so desperately needed. Triumph!

It's really nice to be able to apply some knowledge for a change. Usually it just clunks around in my brain, forlorn and unused, until it eventually disappears. But using my knowledge on the job makes learning feel worthwhile! Now if only I could find a use for all that algebra...