What Is Wrong Here?

twoshoes Originally uploaded by ScruffyNerf.

Yeah, I actually wore two different shoes to work today. You may not be able to tell, but one sandal is black and one is brown. Wow!!!

A Goal Meme

I was tagged for this goal meme by Eduardo Peirano over on his Onlinesapiens blog. It is a pretty interesting meme – and I had some fun reading different people’s goals. The premise is to list “your best, most exclusive, and over-the-top goals.” Well, I have a confession to make – which will most likely go against every tenet that is set down for professional and personal development – I don’t really do goals. I live very day to day. If I’m unhappy with something, I work to change it (and yes, this may involve setting a goal for myself). These goals change constantly depending on where I am or what I am doing in life. This meant that I really had to think about what I would consider to be my most important, until now unspoken, goals.

• Finish library school – This goal is almost the entirety of my life right now. I need, I want to be done!!!!!
• Take better care of myself – Given that library school has taken over my life, I have little time for exercise, personal down time and relaxation. This needs to change. I’m feeling very fat and lazy of late – and this plays havoc with my mental state.
• Travel more – There are so many fascinating places on this planet – and I would love to see them more. High on my list of priorities would be to see the pyramids in Egypt and tour the ancient ruins, relics, etc. in Greece. I’ve been to London twice – and would find it sad to never go back. However, I loved both Paris and Venice. I’m going to Las Vegas in early June – and have high hopes for that experience (especially since I’m definitely going to see the Grand Canyon).
• Be happy – This is what I live for. Happiness is the key to everything for me. This is my most important goal.

Again, I won’t tag anyone because I guess although not a goal, it is a rule I live by. However, I’d love to know what your goals are.

Dr. Phil’s Test – I’m a 32

Since web quizzes, personality tests, etc. undoubtedly reveal all sorts of fascinating (and always accurate) facts about people, I couldn’t stop myself from taking Dr. Phil’s test. I guess it is making the rounds via email. Given that I don’t ever pass things along, I’m not going to copy the entire email text. I found it via Elizabeth the Librarian’s The Disorganized Librarian blog (who scored a 38). Since you are dying to know what at 32 is, I will post that information.

31 TO 40 POINTS: Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful & practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who’s extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over if that trust is ever broken.

I have to give this one its due – fairly accurate. Well, it is probably the closest of the 6 categories. Make of it what you will!

In Library School and Beyond

In a post published today, Nicole Engard, from What I Learned Today, discusses the problem of keeping up with the library profession. She writes:

I’ve been talking to a lot of new people lately – students and librarians alike – and in those talks, something has become very clear to me – no one is teaching people the simple techniques to keep up with our profession. I’m not talking about the power user style of keeping up (subscribing to hundreds of feeds), I’m talking about the basics of library journals. In my program I have only had one professor encourage us to read American Libraries (she even emailed us the online version every time it came out). I had one professor point us to digital library journals (in my digital libraries class) and others have pointed us to the databases where we can find library specific articles. What about the journals most libraries subscribe to?

I wonder if this particular skill is even considered to be important in terms of library education. I have to agree with Nicole that I haven’t encountered much at all about current awareness in my time at library school. I’m not saying it isn’t there at all. If I recall, it seemed to be something that was not explicitly stated, but was encouraged in a couple of classes. In these classes, the professor and the students often shared links to library news or articles that they thought were important. This professor also required us to subscribe to several listservs (that I am now still subscribed to – ARGH!!! – I’m getting so tired of listservs). Some professors add journal titles that are relevant to the class on the syllabus. Again, this encouraged keeping up in what I would consider to be a passive manner – and mostly related to the actual course material rather than libraries and librarianship in general. There is definitely room for a more explicit statement about keeping up.

So, I’m trying to decide – does this actually belong as part of library science curriculum? I can see faculty thinking that they have enough to teach to students. I can also see them thinking that this is a basic skill that students should already have – and realistically, can learn easily on their own with some guidance. However, there does need to be guidance. There is definitely a need for a basic primer which could include a list of standard journals, listservs, blogs, websites, etc. that faculty feel are critical (using library blogs as a way to stay current has never been mentioned in school). This wouldn’t necessarily need to be part of class, but possibly part of a package or orientation given to all students. Faculty in specific classes could add to it with specific information tailored to specific subjects. If such lists were updated regularly and made public, librarians who have been out of school for awhile could use these resources to update their own knowledge. Library schools need to set the expectation that students keep current with news of the profession.

Some information on keeping up with the profession (and some blog posts on how not to be overwhelmed too):

• If I had just 15 minutes a day – Information Wants To Be Free
• Keep On Keeping Up- ACRLog
• Keeping Up When You Don’t Have Time – The Shifted Librarian
• A little note on reading and keepin up – The Gypsy Librarian
• Steven Bell’s Keeping Up Web Site
• You need to keep up with the disciplines – The Gypsy Librarian
• On information overload (slightly ranty – be warned!) – The Scattered Librarian
• I’ve Got The Bandwagon Blues- Library 2.0: An Academic’s Perspective
• Librarians Keeping Up and Making Time – Library Revolution

Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Keeping up is a commitment that we should all take the time and energy to make. It really isn’t hard. Unfortunately, it is the easiest thing to let slide when work and life get busy.