Meet me in Monterey!

Stop by and say hi Monday night during Internet Librarian! And, if you're interested, swing by Track C203 to hear me talk with Deb Hunt and David Diamond about Info Pro Skills for the Future!

This October, Information Today, Inc.'s most popular authors will be at Internet Librarian 2013. For attendees, it's the place to meet the industry's top authors and purchase signed copies of their books at a special 40% discount.

The following authors will be signing at the Information Today, Inc., on Monday, October 28 from 5:00 to 6:00 PM during the Grand Opening Reception: 


Ruth Kneale, author of You Don't Look Like a Librarian: Shattering Stereotypes and Creating Positive New Images in the Internet Age

Susanne Markgren and Tiffany Eatman Allen, authors of Career Q&A: A Librarian's Real-Life, Practical Guide to Managing a Successful Career

Donald T. Hawkins, editor of Personal Archiving: Preserving Our Digital Heritage

David Lee King, author of Face2Face: Using Facebook, Twitter, and Other Social Media Tools to Create Great Customer Connections

Marcy Phelps, author of Research on Main Street: Using the Web to Find Local Business and Market Information

LISA VII Call for Papers

Library and Information Services in Astronomy - LISA VII: Open Science - at the Frontiers of Librarianship

hosted by the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte, National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), Naples, Italy, June 17-20, 2014

In a rapidly changing scientific information environment, astronomy has been a forerunner. Astronomy libraries have adapted and responded with innovative services to meet the demands of this environment; Big Data, Open Science, are among the many challenges and opportunities that astronomy librarians face as they look ahead to the future.

Come join us!

The LISA VII Scientific Organizing Committee cordially invites you to submit contributed talks and poster presentations at http://eventi.oacn.inaf.it/lisa7/.

The conference Keynote Speaker will be Dr. Chris Lintott, University of Oxford, famous for making astronomy more accessible through projects like Zooniverse, and his advocacy for Open Access initiatives.

Submission deadline will be 30 November, 2013.

Please note that the SOC cannot guarantee that all submitted papers will be accepted and that it reserves the right to request that a proposed oral presentation be presented as a poster paper or vice versa. Notifications regarding accepted papers will be made no later than 15 January, 2014.

If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to contact:

Eva and Andras
Co-chairs, LISA VII SOC

Eva Isaksson
Helsinki University Library, Finland
Eva.Isaksson@helsinki.fi

Andras Holl
Konkoly Observatory, Hungary
Library and Information Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
holl@konkoly.hu

The New Librarianship

This is a call for book chapters for The New Librarianship, a book that will focus on new roles and responsibilities for librarians in the digital environment, as well as new skill sets, new partnerships, and other exciting endeavors.  The book will be published by Scarecrow Press.

Topical areas suggested include:

• information stewardship
• research evaluation metrics
• new skills and new roles
• open access
• scholarly publishing
• the library as publisher
• involvement, engagement, connection with patrons/customers
• training
• embedded librarianship
• research data management and services
• grant writing
• virtual reference, instruction, etc.
• e-science
• innovative uses of technology
• library mobile apps
• information visualization
• ILMS redefined
• data literacy, media literacy, multi-literacy
• institutional repositories
• sustainable and effective assessment
• exciting and innovative partnerships outside of and within the library
• user-generated content
• data curation
• innovative uses of metadata standards and interoperability
• new models for library services
• mega-collaborations (shared print, shared services, etc.)
• marketing/outreach services
• "green" libraries
• creating/reinventing new spaces in libraries
• web-scale discovery tools
• folksonomies

These are only a few of the topics that will be explored in this book.  The editor is looking for case studies, thoughtful and insightful opinions, and innovative new services and models for moving libraries forward. 

To submit book chapter proposals, please submit an abstract of approximately 100 words and a title for the chapter to Dr. Brad Eden at brad.eden@valpo.edu.  Deadline for proposals is November 25, 2013.  Deadline for accepted chapters to be submitted to the editor would be May 1, 2014. 

RILA Tattooed Librarians Calendar

Another state library association joins the Tattooed Librarians Calendar club!  The "Tattooed Librarians of the Ocean State" calendar sales will benefit the Rhode Island Library Association; "the twelve librarians and library workers featured in this calendar represent just a few of the many working professionals who are proud of their career, their ink, and the stories they tell."

Welcome aboard, Rhode Island!

Librarian Shaming

It's a thing.

"The purpose is to give library folks a place to get things off their chest anonymously, and enjoy some commiseration from their peers."

I'm guiltily amused...

The Secret Lives of Librarians

Keltie Jones of the Truro Daily News learns that there's more to her town librarians than she realized, and wants to know why they aren't being consulted about the redesign of the library.  "While most of us see librarians sitting and talking to people or moving quietly about the facility, they are, in fact, quite an active group. [...]  Modern librarians understand that the buildings that house libraries need to be open, accessible, modular, and versatile. They are the experts, and they should be engaged in the conversation around choosing the new location for the library."

Well done, Ms. Jones, well done! 

Lego Librarian

Finally, a Lego figure to call our own! And Mr. Library Dude takes it and runs with it in his post "Image, Public Perception, and Lego Librarians."

"In May, Lego released its "Lego Librarian" as part of its popular minifigures series. I watched with some trepidation. More trite stereotypes? But then I thought: wait, this means librarians have officially hit the big time--we've been immortalized in Lego form!"

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the variety of librarians Mr. Hardenbrook was able to create with Lego minifig pieces...and I may or may not have recognized myself in the mix!

Wear What You Want

"An interesting discussion happened today on Twitter about clothing and librarianship...."  As always, Sarah Houghton-Jan (the Librarian in Black) cuts right to the point, and I wholeheartedly agree with her. In a post expanding on that Twitter discussion, "Wear What You Want: Dressing to Lead in Libraries," she says "Above all, stay true to who you are." Yes!

Who decided that librarians weren't supposed to dress to please themselves? (Caveat: within reason, in public.)

So, ALA happened...

...and of course, an article had to be written about hipster librarians and the stereotypes.  "No doubt: To make your way through the throngs of librarians at the conference — especially if you're not a librarian (the Chicago-based association restricts attendance to librarians, library-related professionals and journalists) — is to witness a real-time debate about what a librarian, and a library, should look like in 2013." 

It's an interesting comparison of the hip versus the dowdy, physical books versus robots, shawls and polka-dot dresses. My fave quote, from Ahmed Johnson: "There are still a lot of people who expect a tiny elderly woman. But it's all changing."

Vintage Awesomeness!

Just because.  "25 Vintage Photos of Librarians Being Awesome."

"Librarians, in case you hadn’t heard, are essential members of society — likely to expand minds wherever they go — and, as such, are fully worthy of hero worship (whether they’re among the coolest librarians alive or just pretty cool). That’s at least part of the impetus behind My Daguerreotype Librarian, ”[a] tumblr dedicated to literally or figuratively hunky and babely librarians from the past.” Inspired by the website, here’s a little extra literary goodness: 25 awesome vintage photos of librarians from ages past."

On the Brink....? Not!

12 Jobs on the Brink: Will They Evolve or Go Extinct?
Find Out If Your Job is on the Endangered Occupations List

"Librarian: Shelved or renewed? Glamour girl Google and her friends Bing, Yahoo and Cha Cha dethroned the trusty silencer of the stacks, our public librarian." Read more for their surprising - and welcome - verdict! (Slide 2 is the one of interest.)

Free For All!

"FREE FOR ALL is a multi-platform documentary project exploring the history, spirit and challenges of the free public library. With public libraries around the nation facing drastic budget cuts and even closures, FREE FOR ALL investigates why Americans are using their libraries more now than ever before and assesses the high stakes for democracy if public libraries become extinct."

That's a way to get folks into the library....

"Free pole dancing classes at library 'great success' with readers."

OK......

(sadly I cannot embed the video from the site)

This Scottish library had many other enticements to offer during "Love Your Library Day" but this one has got to be the best IMO. It's worth a watch if for no other reason than to watch a policewoman give it a try.

Libraries...of the FUTURE!

Libraries of the Future (Visualization)

Aside from the unfortunate portrayal of the future librarian as the classic stereotype *sigh*, this is a nifty infographic of Pew Internet data from LibraryScienceList.

Go, public libraries!