i need a like button for this pic

so facebook wants to put like buttons all over my intarwebz.
boo.
i agree with sarah.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by Sarah_G

the rest of my #libday4

cc licensed flickr photo shared by jambina

[well, at least i posted something this week!]

tuesday

since i try not to schedule meetings on mondays, my tuesdays tend to have at least two of them. i think i run fairly productive meetings. i always have an agenda, take minutes, and rarely go over time by more than a few minutes. i’m also a big believer in only having meetings when there’s something to discuss – i’m not a fan of the standing meeting. but then, i don’t run every meeting at mpow.
these meetings had to do with sorting through work needing to be finished by the digitization team. my ABSOFRICKINLUTELY amazing programmer has created a database that queries both our catalogue and Sherpa/Romeo while tracking the process of depositing items into our IR. it is a thing of beauty and when we’re done testing it i’ll tell you more about it.
i also met with my direct supervisor to update her on the the past month and to sort out priorities for now until may 31 (end of fiscal year, chez moi). we’re going to focus on our new “on demand” service – printing on demand and digitizing on demand. (will post more about those when they go live.)
over lunch i rewatched larry lessig‘s talk about copyright in higher education – cuz sometimes librarians need to be reminded that they ARE fighting the good fight. also, i’m a huge fangirl of his, so watching a talk is never “work”. while watching larry, i took my first stab at a packing list for my trip, based loosely off of jessamyn’s (i know i talked about her in the last post. deal.)

other stuff done during the day:

• realizing that we need to get better support from a hardware vendor, and trying to figure out the best way to get what we need. they are a new company, and have great customer service, but they’re still growing so only just now figuring out all the demands of their users.
• answered a survey sent out by a library considering using one of our products, to help them make the decision.
• came to terms with the fact that my office is a berloody mess and i really need to do something about it before i lose my mind. note: this will probably be repeated in #libday5.
• thought about downloading some reading material for my travels tomorrow, but then realized that because i use zotero, i had all the PDFs/screenshots with me already. in my world, zotero = productivity.
• once home, worked for another few hours finishing up emails and letting folks now that i wouldn’t be back in the office until next monday.

finally fell asleep around 2am. i was restless thinking about going to the SLA Leadership Summit and seeing some great friends (who i only see at conferences due to geographical shenanigans, but who i talk to daily.) also, St Louis has ribs and blues bars. sweet.

wednesday to sunday

i’m at the SLA Leadership Summit in St Louis, MO.
i decided to come because i’m the Communications & Social Media Chair for both the IT and Academic divisions. being on the advisory boards means getting to help plan future directions for the divisions, which is interesting because i get some insight into the organization.
the leadership summit is very different from the annual conference. there are only about 250 people who attend leadership. they are all on chapter or division boards and are really the folks responsible for implementing and “living” SLA. thanks to the tiny size, it’s dead easy to meet folks.
leadership is also different because the summit is about developing the leadership capabilities of the attendees. we skillshare on topics like recruitment & retention. board meetings look at programming for the annual conference. the invited keynote is always someone that has an interesting take on organizations and how best they can serve their members. essentially, it’s about developing SLA leaders (both those who are appointed to boards, and those who self-identify as leaders) to ensure the association can respond to its membership.
this was my first leadership summit and on the whole i found it a good experience. it was great to hear what other folks have planned for the annual conference in New Orleans. it was interesting to hear about, and then really think about, the concept of loyalty when it comes to large organizations, and even further, what this means in academic libraryland.
and of course, SLA events are made for networking. some people i know i will only see at SLA events, and i’m always eager to catch up with them. the LSW had a sizable cohort at leadership, so much so that there was talk of having an LSW caucus – if only to have some beer money for the meetups at annual!
i’ve been a part of a number of library organizations since first starting library school – SLA, CLA, ALA, QLA, LSW – and to be honest, SLA has helped me the most in terms of growing into a professional. [i don't want to sound like a shill, because this is all very sincere.]
for any LIS students reading this, think about the associations to which you belong (and if you don’t belong to any, you are missing out on a crazy opportunity to network and gain insight – especially since students dues are usually insanely cheap) and be sure the association is working for you. can you find mentors? are there free resources available to you? are there scholarships available to cover your expenses to the annual conference? library schools can only do so much – becoming an information professional is all about being resourceful, both in terms of finding answers to questions, and seeking out opportunities for yourself.
to students who complain that their school “does nothing” for them, i say two things:

1. that sucks. a lot of us have been there. it’s frustrating.

1. do something about it. host a conference (those who are “big names” in library-land love talking to students and will come to your school in the middle of the winter when it’s crazycold out and speak because they love LIS students). join the local chapter of whatever association seems to be the best fit. hop online and join in the discussion about libraryland (and no, I DO NOT MEAN NEWLIB-L.) reach out to info pros in your area that have jobs you want, and take them for a coffee to pick their brains. whatever you do, do not expect someone to do this for you. it’s your career – own it.

attn haters & drama llamas

the past few weeks have been, cover your ears kids cuz i’m about to cuss, batshit crazy in libraryland.

i’m done with it.
all of it.

if you don’t have something constructive to say, something that is looking to FIX problems out there, get out tha way.
personal attacks, anonymous attacks, and, well, attacks in general, just create some serious infighting in a profession with WAY MORE IMPORTANT things to worry about.

to the folks in libraryland who have had a rough coupla weeks, THANK YOU.
haters will always have blogs. drama llamas will always figure out a way to snark.
but please know that many of us think you rock.
(and remember, there’s always PS22 goodness available 24/7 thanks to the intertubes.)

in another life…

… i worked in the newsroom of a major metropolitan daily.

the site Stuff Journalists Like – is very accurate. especially post 3. i was a starving student (okay, not starving, but the lowest paid in the room) and even i knew that the food at the election night buffet was for everyone working that night and i shouldn’t fill up tupperware and keep it at my desk.

also, i wore shoes at work. can’t say the same for all of the editors ; )

procrastinatory post: CV writing is hard

thanks to some great folks i’ve met in the twittersphere, i’ve been able to check out what other soon-to-be MLISed people are doing CV-wise. both, like me, are looking at working in academia, and also like me, are technologically-inclined (though i really know very little next to them – i like what Meredith calls herself – a “cut-and-paste techie”). and all three of us have radically different CVs – both in appearance and content.

but is that a bad thing?

mine has a funky layout because i used to work in newspapers and can remake the scoreboard page between deadlines (which involves a ton of agate type and shmooshing text until it’s barely readable), so i guess i like people to know that i can do that. it also has only three bullet points detailing responsibilities after each job i’ve had. but i’ve had a lot of jobs (in my former life in publishing), and if i do 8-10 bullet points, the CV will be way too long for someone just starting their academic career.

but if i want to present myself as someone who loves tech and sees how it can help an academic library reach out to students and faculty, what format should i be using? can i be funky because i’m applying for emerging tech positions and thus want to project an aura of “i’m so cool and with it” (do people even say that anymore?) or do i go the academic-CVs-must-look-a-certain-way in a bid not to freak anyone out?

and cover letters… my GAWD cover letters. i am getting pwned by cover letters. i used to think they were no big deal.

Dear Señor Withjob Iwant,
I would like to apply for position A because I can do X, Y, and Z. I’m a hard-worker and a quick-learner and thrive in fast-paced environments.
I am eager to talk to you about the possibilities at working at AnywhereThatWillPay Inc. and look forward to our meeting.

Best,
Howdid I. Evergetajob
aka amy

then i found this post over at Caveat Lector

The question you are trying to answer in your cover letter to me is not “Why are you awesome?” It is triply not “What do you want?” I don’t care what you want right now. (I will care once I decide to interview you, but I’m not there yet if I’m just staring at your application package.) The questions you are trying to answer are “Why should I hire you? How will you solve my problems?” You had better speak compellingly to that, and “I am awesome!” is not a compelling answer by itself. How do you know whom I want to hire, and what my problems are? I told you in the job description I wrote. This is why your cover letter needs to repeat as many of my buzzwords as possible.

In other words, your cover letter is all about me. No, that doesn’t seem quite fair, but it’s what will get you an interview. Look, I’ll tell you a secret, okay? I’ve been on search committees. The way we do the first cut on applications is to sit around a table with a grid in front of us. Across the top of the grid is a list of the skills we asked for in the job description. Down the left is a list of applicant names. We sit there and we check off boxes. If you don’t have enough boxes checked when we’re done, you’re chucked. Get it now?

yowsa. back to the drawing board for moi…

twitter friends are really fun

yesterday i tweeted that i was not going to join any more associations unless they furthered my career, were fun, or were for a cause that i believed in.

in response Wayne (one of my Twitter friends) promptly invited me to join the Librarian Glee Club for the Homeless.

he even designed a tshirt for me.

thanks Wayne!