Hardly working

Originally uploaded by lib_rachel

… may be when you don’t even care that your keyboard isn’t hooked up to anything… Now that’s nextgen.

The idea here is that all these little things add up — yes, maybe you don’t feel the pinch when you buy lattes (or whatever your personal vice may happen to be), but add lattes, to lunches out, to having to have that iPhone the week it comes out, and eventually something has to give. If you buy lattes, or lunches, or iPhones, that’s money you now don’t have to spend on something else.

This comes to mind when reading David Lee King’s recent Answering the What Do I Have to Stop Doing Question, on how to answer library folks who ask what they have to stop doing in order to do new things with technology. David’s answer focuses on reframing the question in terms of library priorities. He explains:

Will your daily work change? Maybe. Will some things that you currently do not get done? Maybe - but that’s ok. Because you’ll be focused not on “doing stuff,” but on moving the organization forward.

So yes - the less important, non-prioritized stuff will either get done or get forgotten - and that’s ok. Because you have reframed your question.

That’s a good answer, which fits right into the latte factor idea of determining your priorities and where you want to spend, whether it be money or time — but I’m not sure it goes far enough in answering the question. (Read the comments and links as well for more perspectives.)

Some of the commenters point out ways in which Web 2.0 technologies help save time in the long run, which is another piece of the puzzle here. In smaller, less well-funded libraries than David’s, the time issue is a more major concern: every bit of the day can be filled up with serving organizational priorities, especially if you are the only one there. The “that’s OK” answer also carries the danger of how we define the “smaller, less important” stuff — it’s easy to get sucked into Web 2.0 things instead, defining these as more important because they’re, well… FUN. But, someone still has to sweat the small stuff and keep those library wheels turning.

I think that we need to acknowledge that answering “what did you have to stop doing in order to start doing these new things?” question involves true opportunity cost. At home, the answer may very well be “watching so much TV.” At work, though, it’s not always as simple, especially if your organizational (or administrative) priorities don’t as easily translate to “take time to try new things.” Sometimes taking time to try new things means not taking the time to do “old things” that are useful to or cherished by some segment of your population. If you can make the argument that both reflect organizational priorities, how do you choose? How do you make sure your choice reflects your library’s and your patron’s needs, rather than your own preferences? That’s a piece of the conversation I’d like to see extended further.

Tag cloud for chapter 1, What’s the Alternative?

Originally uploaded by lib_rachel

Here’s the cloud for chapter 1 of What’s the Alternative. Guess it’s pretty clear what the book is about!

LISjobs.com LOGO CONTEST

LISjobs.com is seeking submissions for a new logo that reflects its mission of job hunting and career development for librarians and info pros. This logo will be featured on the upcoming redesign of the LISjobs.com website, as well as in additional print and online materials.

Guidelines:

Please keep the design in a landscape (wider than it is tall) format, and use lighter colors to help it stand out against the redesigned site. While creating your design, keep in mind that the new LISjobs.com expands coverage of career development and library education issues, serving all stages of info pros’ career cycle. I’m seeking a logo that best represents that mission.

Please submit your design as a .jpg file to rachel@lisjobs.com by Monday, July 7. If your design is chosen, please be prepared to submit a high-quality Illustrator (.eps) or Photoshop (.psd) graphic (vector preferred).

If your design is chosen, you affirm that you will transfer all rights over to Rachel Singer Gordon/LISjobs.com. By submitting a logo design, you affirm that you are its creator and have not used others’ protected work in its design. You will be credited on the LISjobs.com website as the logo designer, with a link back to your own web presence if desired. You will also receive a free resume posting on LISjobs.com (lifetime, or as long as I still offer this service) as well as an autographed copy of What’s the Alternative: Career Options for Librarians and Info Pros (ITI, 2008).

The winning design will be chosen by Rachel Singer Gordon. If no design is selected, there may be no winner of this contest, and LISjobs.com may stick with its old logo.

My del.icio.us tag cloud via Wordle (via blogwithoutalibrary.net). I obviously need a new project; note the predominance of the altcareers tag from the latest book! (I also need to install real screencapture software on my new PC, excuse the fuzziness!)

To change your Type of ALA Membership (e.g., from Student to Regular Member), or to drop any Division or Round Table, please call Member and Customer Service at 800-545-2433 ext 5.

Although, the referring email claims that:

If you would like to change your member type, add or remove Divisions, Sections or Round Tables, or update your contact information, please use the online form.

What’s up with that?

I’m also noting that my last few issues of American Libraries have gone largely unread. (And is it just me, or is each issue skimpier than the last?) I might re-up for one more year, since I’ll likely actually be able to attend next year’s conference in Chicago, but…

5yo: Hey mom? Do men marry men sometimes?

me: Yes, sometimes they do.

5yo: Well then can they combine their 2 sperm cells and make a baby?

me: No, you need sperm and an egg to make a baby, so you need a man and a woman.

5yo: Well how do they have a baby then?

me: Well, sometimes they adopt a baby who grew in someone else’s tummy, just like we adopted Sam. Remember, there are a lot of different ways that babies join families.

5yo: Well, I’m not going to marry a man. I’m going to marry Saffron so she can grow a baby in her tummy.

me: OK.

5yo: And then when I go to astronaut school, she can stay home and take care of him! And his name will be Henry. Like the neighbor’s dog in Jack and Annie.

me: I thought you said Saffron was going to be an architect?

5yo: She can do that job later.

Despite the fact that I may be raising a mini chauvinist, at least he’s open minded about the marriage issue. (He later came up with: “Well, girls can marry girls, then, and then you’d have two moms!”) OK, but you’re thinking “stop blogging about your kids already — what does this have to do with libraries?” Simply this: a lot of kids in his generation are growing up thinking of things like gay marriage and adoption and multiethnic families as natural, just another way to do things. This should be a wakeup call for librarians to continue standing on our principles in terms of the way that we provide services to all.

I feel the same way about librarians who refuse to work Harry Potter parties, who won’t purchase materials on homosexuality (or witchcraft, or what the heck, even “intelligent design”) — or who block MySpace — as I do about pharmacists who refuse to dispense contraception: You’re in the wrong profession, folks.

Full-body contact reading

Originally uploaded by lib_rachel

A few days ago, we received our adoption finalization documents from the court. It’s final!

The Barack Obama Song, by Jake

Originally uploaded by lib_rachel

So do you think he has a future as bright as that of the Obama Girl?

(Also, this is to test out what blogging Flickr video looks like. For kicks.)