Infoblog

Opportunity and Tools for Discussing Diversity

francisca — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:44:42 +0000

When reading about a recent and unhappy event involving a library staff member’s response to the behavior of a library user with Down syndrome, which behavior was already being addressed by her acompanying mother , I recognized an excellent opportunity for library managers and leaders everywhere in the US to have a discussion with [...]

The fine art of maintaining a social media presence

eileen — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:21:10 +0000

LibraryScienceList.com recently came out with a post on the most social media friendly state libraries for 2013. The good news? California ranked 12th on the list. The bad news? California ranked 12th on the list. You can read all about the list and the libraries’ rankings here.

What exactly did they measure?

“To [...]

Michael Cart talks about a new book on defeating the culture of bullying

eileen — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:00:59 +0000

In his latest podcast, Infopeople’s resident book reviewer Michael Cart talks about a new book by Emily Bazelon called Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy. What are the best ways to defeat bullying? Not surprisingly, developing a sense of empathy and compassion [...]

The Art — and Act — of Listening

francisca — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:08:37 +0000

For twenty years, I’ve been teaching library staff best practices in reference and information and referral interviewing. It’s been way longer that I’ve been practicing reference work, and “practice” here comprises both repetition for the sake of skill building and working with comers who want and need the service (think medical or legal “practice”, just [...]

The one best thing

Laurie Putnam — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:57:00 +0000

Author Maureen Johnson is a big fan of libraries. Recently she posted this tweet:

I have a question for librarians: what are the best ways the AVERAGE PERSON can support the library? #longlivethelibrary

— maureenjohnson (@maureenjohnson) March 16, 2013

Librarians quickly hit the keyboards in response. The winning suggestions: Use the [...]

Embed ‘Em Where the Action Is: Watering Holes

francisca — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:18:57 +0000

Every week, I have the opportunity–often the opportunities–to provide on-the-spot reference services at a local coffee shop. Among other morning caffeine inhalers on hand as I make use of my own most portable electronics, some shyly ask about the rudiments of choosing and/or using specific creation-enabled tools (iPad, smartphone) . Others ask for help altering [...]

Learning and Teaching by Pattern Recognition

francisca — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 17:24:36 +0000

There is no longer any credible argument that a range of tech skills aren’t important to 21st century literacy. Yet one worry/concern/unhappiness I often hear from public library staff is frustration with trying to teach folks how to navigate various databases and distinguish the user’s perceptions of databases from the World Wide Web. Maybe reviewing [...]

How Do Off Duty Discussions Influence Your Library Practice?

francisca — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:33:58 +0000

Over the weekend, I spent a couple hours in discussion with three lawyers, one practicing, one retired from an academic career, and a third disillusioned and in the throes of considering other vocational options. At some point, the talk turned to classification–within library systems of materials and, in hyper-contrast (?), by the Nazis of populations–and [...]

Michael Cart talks about the world of adult books for young adults

eileen — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:34:22 +0000

In his latest podcast, Michael Cart, Infopeople’s book reviewer par excellence, gives an historical overview of the field of adult books for young adults. Oh, and he also has a new book of his own that recently came out: Cart’s Top 200 Adult Books for Young Adults: Two Decades in Review.

Michael Cart looks at the bestsellers of 2012

eileen — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 22:44:00 +0000

In his latest podcast, Infopeople’s book guy, Michael Cart, talks about the bestsellers of 2012 and the current state of e-book reading … and a bonus bit about Walt Kelly and Pogo!