I Am Library 101, Are You?

After months of hardwork and contributions from librarians all over the world, the Library 101 Project made it’s debut at Internet Librarian to much fanfare. Twitter is all abuzz with excitement over Library 101. After viewing the video, all I can say is Michael Porter and David Lee King did a fabulous job and my heart is full of g33k love for them right now. They totally rawk!

I’m posting the video here, but please, take the time to check out the complete Library 101 website. The website has not only the video but essays from librarians and a very prominent supporter of libraries. There is also a list of 101 Resources & Things to Know. You can also view additional Library 101 videos on YouTube and check out the pictures on flickr.

 

Library 101 Project: Pre-Launch Website is Up!

I’ve stated before that I am hopelessly addicted to my BlackBerry.  It’s a problem, I admit it, moving on.  I’m equally addicted to Twitter and I check it obsessively (I’m nosy and always think I’m going to miss something).  So last night, I checked Twitter for like the twentieth time in as many minutes and I saw a tweet from David Lee King announcing that the Library 101 Project: Pre-Launch Website is up.  *squee*

No, I don’t work in a library any longer but I’m still incredibly excited by new and exciting projects in Library Land.  Furthermore this project is the brainchild of David and a friend of mine (shout out to Michael Porter) with contributions from some of the best librarians in the world (they know who they are – I heart you guys!).   According to Michael, the Library 101 Project will go live on Wednesday, 28 October at 2 PM PST.  The page will host three main pages which will include the song, video and nearly twenty essays from thinkers across the library field.  The purpose of the Library 101 Project is to keep those working in the library field abreast of new and exciting changes in technology and librarianship.

 

Some of My Favorite People are Librarians

I Love My Librarian

How about yours?  Do you know a librarian who deserves recogntion for running a reading program for preschoolers?  Or a librarian who recommends the best books evar?  Or, perhaps, your librarian greets you with a smile when you walk through the door.  Whatever the reason, you can nominate your favorite librarian for the Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award!

Up to ten librarians will be recognized with $5000 at an awards ceremony hosted by the New York Times.

I met my favorite librarian when I was attending junior high school at Aviano Air Base, Italy.  His name was Mr. Wolford and I though he had the most incredible job in the world.  During the day, I would wander into the library and help Mr. Wolford shelve books and, in return, he would set aside books for me that he thought I’d enjoy reading.  Not that there were a ton of people beatind down the doors to the library – I was such a nerd!  During my ninth grade year, Mr. Wolford left Aviano to become a librarian in Bahrain (I suspect this is when my abandonment issues began).  After that I lost track of Mr. Wolford but I never lost the one thing that Mr. Wolford nurtured in me – a love for books.

If you know a librarian who has touched your life in some way, please take the time to show your appreciation by nominating him or her.  The deadline for nominations is 9 October 2009.  Winners will be announced in early November.

If you’d like to know more about what librarians do, check out Bobbi’s wiki,  ”Library Day in the Life.”  This wiki started as a few librarians who took up Bobbi’s challenge to document a day in their life, it has now become an annual event supported by a diverse group of people working in and around libraries.  Check it out, it’s ver interesting and fun reading.

 

LSW Raising Money to Help the Louisville Free Public Library

Damage at the Louisville Free Public Library

Last night, I followed the tweets and pics of my friend, Greg Schwartz, as he described the destruction that had befallen his library due to heavy rains.  Damages are estimated at roughly $1 million for books, servers, computers, etc.

We all know the importance of libraries to the communities they serve and how important they are to maintaining a sense of normalcy during times of upheaval.  In an effort to assist the Louisville community and let them know that we are there for them, Steve Lawson and Library Society of the World have started a project to raise money for the Louisville Free Public Library.  The goal is to raise $5000.

Here’s the official announcement from Steve’s blog:

I have set up the email LSW.LFPL@google.com and linked it to my PayPal account. I intend to collect money at that address until September 1, at which point I’ll send a check in the name of the Library Society of the World to the LFPL Foundation. You can just send money to that email address using PayPal, or use the button below:

If you’d rather send a check, send it to the Library Society of the World Clubhouse, PO Box 7893, Colorado Springs CO 80933. Make the check payable to Steve Lawson.

Don’t worry about how much you can afford to donate. My own contribution will be small-ish, between $20 and $50.

But there are about 300 members of the LSW room on FriendFeed. There are close to 1,000 members of the LSW group on Linkedin. I would like to think we can raise at least $5,000 for LFPL by September 1. That’s only $17 per FriendFeed member, or $5 per Linkedin member.

For this to work, you have to trust me. I promise that every dime that comes through PayPal or check will go to LFPL. (PayPal takes a small cut if your donation is charged to your credit card (rather than your bank account) and if you don’t choose the option to pay those fees yourself, so it’s possible that I won’t get the full amount of your donation. I’ll only be able to donate the money I actually receive after PayPal fees.)

On September 1, I’ll total up what we have raised and send it to the library. If you would rather give money yourself instead of sending it to me, here is the address and phone number given in the Louisville Courier-Journal:

The Library Foundation
Attn: Flood
301 York St.
Louisville, KY 40203
(502) 574-1709

Five thousand dollars or more for Louisville Free Public Library by September 1. Think we can do it? I’ll keep you posted.*

*Reprinted thanks to Creative Commons

 

Post Library Day in the Life: Day 1 – Finding My Niche

You thought I was going to hide in the stacks, didn’t ya?  Nope, you can’t get rid of me that easily.  I’ll be taking a little hiatus from this blog until I figure out what I want to do career wise.  However, I will be blogging over here while I try to find my niche.

 

Library Day in the Life: Day 2 – Walking Away

Walk Away

So this is it.  My last day.  Thirty days goes by very quickly.  Four weeks ago I gave notice that I would be leaving my position as Archivist and Reference Librarian (aka Queen of the Histolibrarianivists).

I’m usually pretty open about my professional life but I have been purposefully hush hush on this issue.  Not because I have anything to hide but because I haven’t a clue as to where things are going from here.  My husband was offered an opportunity to move forward in his job and I am following him to new adventures.

So it is with a mix of sadness and excitement that I offer the last installment of library day in the life.  Just like yesterday, I have documented my day in the life of a librarian in pictures.  This has been a fun project for me and I’ve enjoyed sharing my professional life with all of you.

Now that my career as a professional histolibrarianivist is on a temporary hiatus, I will probably be sharing more of my life as a wife and mom.  Who knows?

As for my library life, I’m a geek at heart and I’ll find my way back into the stacks.  Until then, enjoy the pics and continue reading about the lives of librarians.

 

Library Day in the Life: Day 1 – Looking Back…

Today is bittersweet for me, it’s the day before my last day of work.  I haven’t blogged about my departure because I haven’t really been quite sure what to say.  I’m so good with “hellos” but “good-byes” tear me to shreds.  Especially when it comes to leaving Misericordia University.

I have such a long and wonderful history with this University.  I came here as a young married mother of four small children with a full course load and a whole lot of dreams and I’m leaving here as an *ahem* older married mother of four nearly grown children with two Master’s degrees and a wealth of memories.  In my time here, I have survived cancer, taught over four history courses, driven through mad crazy snow storms, endured giggle fits that have left me nearly helpless, killed two plants and met some of the most interesting people who will never fully understand the impact they have had on me.  I never thought I would ever leave….

I remember graduation day, as I walked across the stage to receive my Bachelor’s degree, I looked at my professor, Dr. Donald Fries, and told him that I’d be back.  As I walked off the stage, Dr. Michael MacDowell (University President) pulled me back and said: “You will be back.”  What we didn’t know was that it would take nearly five years but I did come back and it felt like coming home.

In an effort to do what I do best – preservation and documentation – I have decided to mark my final two days here in pictures.

 

Library Day in the Life: A Call to Action

My Office in the Sister Mary Carmel McGarigle Archives

Bobbi is asking librarians to participate in the 2nd Annual Library Day in the Life Project.  I had a great deal of fun with this project last year, so I definitely wanted to be a part of the project this year.  If you want to participate, just go here and sign up.  The fun part is that you can participate any way you want: blog, pictures, videos, whatever….be creative and share your library life!

 

They’re Baaaaaaccckkkkk….

Library 101

Those crazy librarians of “hi-fi sci-fi library” fame are at it again!

David Lee King and Michael Porter are working on a new song and video called “Library 101.”  They’re asking for members of the library community to submit pics or videos of themselves with some form of the 101 combination.  In order to participate, simply post your contribution to flickr and tag it “library101.”

The new video will debut in October 2009 at a special ‘Connecting Through “Lights, Camera, Action”‘ session at the Internet Librarian Conference in Monterey, California.

 

If You Forget, You are Doomed to Repeat…

Usually I stay away from political or controversial topics on my blog but there are times when something so distressing or  historic happens that I simply have to comment.  Yesterday was one of them days…

I was sitting at the Reference Desk talking to one of my co-workers and a student worker about the usual nonsense that helps to break up the day when I stumbled across this post.  I had to fight back tears as I read how Emmett Till’s casket had been found tossed in the back of a shack during an investigation of a heinous money raising scheme.  I started relating the story to my co-worker and the student worker, when the student interrupted me to ask “Who is Emmett Till?”

I was immediately taken aback, “Who is Emmett Till?”  Really?  From a college student? I had to check myself because I really wanted to explode.  He was a fourteen-year-old boy who was brutally lynched, his death launched the Civil Rights Movement, his mother took a bold stand by making him the face of hate….  I could go on.

Why did I take this question so personally?  Because I have a fourteen-year-old son at home and every time I look at him, I see what could have been and what may be.  I know the statistics for black men being incarcerated or murdered.  I know that he will be the victim of racial profiling.  I know that some idiot will call him the “n word.”  Even in 2009.  Even with a black man in the Oval Office.

I teach history and I spend a lot of time devoted to Emmett Till because I want my students to understand that it wasn’t just adults who were lynched, children were also victimized.   During the discussion, I brought up the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing and the deaths of the four young girls.  Again, the student asked for details.  Bless her heart, she really didn’t know.  Somewhere along the line, her instructors had failed her.

The student asked how could things like that happen back then, I asked how could things like that happen now?  Recently, allegations of racism have swirled around an exclusive swim club in Philadelphia after some children were asked to leave the pool.  The club president has denied racism was the motivation behind the eviction of the children.  Um, a note to the swim club president, whenever you have to invoke “I have black friends” or “We are very diverse” during a face saving mission, you are being racist.  All black people know that is code for “I know one black person and he or she is ok because he or she is different from the rest of you people and because I can see that I am not a racist.”

Contrary to what people would like to believe, racism did not end because the Obamas moved into the White House.  People are still falling victim to racism every day.  This needs to end.  And the only way it will end is through education and remembering the anger and the pain we feel when discrimination, in all forms, rears its ugly head.