Great Minds Think Alike

Check out Aaron the Librarian. I didn't get the idea for my site/blog name from Aaron, but good ideas are meant to be stolen.

As a reporter in a previous career, and now as a customer service agent, I try to speak clearly on the phone, especially when identifying myself, but I've been called Aaron, Derek, Alex, Erin, etc. My favorite is "Alec Suarez."

The original EricSchwarz.com (no relation) has gone all 404, but you can see something he put up in 2004. I remember reading his wedding tales, but I never contacted him to express my URL envy.

Follow the Leader

All along I thought followship was a 30 Rock joke. But followers can also be leaders, and it's nice to see some examples as published in The Wall Street Journal's Career Journal.

And Peter Bromberg writes in Library Garden about the lost art of listening to new co-workers: Ten Questions to Ask Every New Employee.

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.

SLA Leadership Summit in Louisville

The SLA's GLBT Issues Caucus invites you to dinner during the Leadership Summit in Louisville, Jan. 25, 2008.

When: Friday, Jan. 25, 2008, at 7 p.m.

Where: Browning's Restaurant and Brewery, 401 E. Main St., Louisville, KY 40202. (East Main Street at North Preston Street). - Phone 502-515-0174. (Directions below.)

Description from the SLA Kentucky Chapter's Restaurant Guide: "This restaurant at historic Slugger Field offers informal pub grub with a good selection of entrees. [$30 range for dinner]."

RSVP/Contact: Please reply to Eric Schwarz by Thursday, Jan. 17. Email me at eric "AT" ericthelibrarian "DOT" com. Guests are more than welcome.

------------------------------------------

Directions: From the convention hotel (Louisville Marriott Downtown, 280 West Jefferson Street). Map.

Walking Directions:
Distance: 0.7 miles
Estimated time: 13 min
1 Start in 280 W Jefferson St, Louisville, KY 40202 going
towards S 1st St 0.2 mi
2 Turn Left on S 1st St 0.0 mi
3 Turn Right on Congress Aly 0.2 mi
4 Turn Left on S Floyd St 0.1 mi
5 Turn Right on Billy Goat Strut Aly 0.1 mi
6 Turn Left on S Preston St 0.1 mi
7 Arrive in 401 E Main St/Us-31E (W), Louisville, KY 40202

Driving Directions:
Distance: 0.9 miles
Estimated time: 3 min
1 Start in 280 W Jefferson St, Louisville, KY 40202 going
towards W Liberty St 0.0 mi
2 Turn Left on S 3rd St 0.1 mi
3 Turn Left on W Liberty St 0.3 mi
4 Turn Left on S Brook St 0.3 mi
5 Turn Right on E Washington St 0.2 mi
6 Turn Right on N Preston St 0.0 mi
7 Arrive in 401 E Main St/Us-31E (W), Louisville, KY 40202

Attendees as of Jan. 24, 2008

• Ard, Constance
• Burton, Barbara
• Dollinger, Michelle
  
• McBee, David
• Mulready, Chris
• Schwarz, Eric
• Shea, Ann
• Shea, John
  
• Vargha, Rebecca