'Thinking Outside the Box' as an Information Professional

I was honored to speak at a recent SLA (Special Libraries Association) meeting called “Thinking Outside the Box: Exploring Alternate Careers.” I spoke about the importance of being a writer, curator, and teacher as you pursue your career as a librarian or information professional. I also told the audience that librarians add value to their work and develop career satisfaction by analyzing and helping patrons make context of the information they present, rather than just handing over that information. On a practical level, I've been fortunate to develop my career in a few directions. This is important for the obvious reason that careers and companies change constantly. 

I also recommend contributing to a professional or nonprofit association early in your career and throughout your career. The meeting co-sponsors, the SLA's New Jersey and New Jersey - Greater Princeton/Trenton Chapters, are good choices for info pros in the Garden State. 


The other four speakers on the panel (Margaret Bennett, Joan Keegan, Amy Silvers, and Joanna Wojciechowski) presented interesting and inspiring messages about how they developed and redeveloped their careers. Read more about the event in Barbara Burton's blog entry.

85 Reasons to be Thankful for Librarians (via Zen College Life)

(Twitter: @staceygreenwell) I'm not sure who Jonathan is, or which college he's at, but I'm thankful that he's posted 85 Reasons to be Thankful for Librarians.

Of course, not every reason applies to every library, but some do because they focus on the skills librarians (or information professionals) bring to the table, no matter what the setting. Here are three of my favorites from Jonathan's list:

32. Libraries have much better quality control than the vast majority of websites.
49. Unlike the internet, libraries are careful that the information they contain is checked for usefulness before being included.
85. Regardless of what form a library takes, a librarian will always be ready to guide you to the information you need.

P.S. Thanks, for alerting me, Stacey!

Librarian Blogs Galore

Of course, I knew that there were thousands of librarians blogging. (I could go to one of the blogs to find out a better number, but I've already spent enough time tonight looking at some great ones.)

For my new blog, I've featured LISNews.org with its own feed, plus a few other blogs in a list.

Now LISNews tells me that there are 10 best (no more, no less). I had already put Stephen's Lighthouse in my list ... and now I have nine others to check out. I'll try not to overburden this site with long lists ...

A Few Good Men

Upshur County Hires First Male Librarian

Are guy librarians really that rare -- or is this a case of a copy editor looking for an "angle" on the story? The other applicant is a guy, too, so I guess the male librarians may soon take over Upshur County, Texas.

...

Male NextGen librarians remain a rare breed, Rachel Singer Gordon wrote in a 2004 Library Journal article: NextGen: The Men Among Us.

From the Front Lines of the Public Library

Shhh! No talking, drinking or fighting -- people are trying to read

There's nothing too surprising about Don Borchert's memoir of librarianship: Librarians and customers come in every form. But the article is fun reading.