I’m sorry I haven’t made a post in a while, and I think this one is going to be short. Things are ramping up for the beginning of the school year (Monday) and I still have a ton to do. The thing is: The ASU Polytechnic campus is expecting nearly 10,000 students this semester, and we’re losing one of our librarians (hopefully temporarily). Unfortunately, this leaves one librarian to service all students, faculty and staff on this campus.

I guess you could say I am a bit bitter. At ASU’s West campus they have over a dozen librarians to service about the same number of students. At the ASU Downtown campus they only have three librarians, but they have less than half the students. You can hardly blame us for feeling a little like the forgotten stepchild. It’s true. Everyone’s always looking at West. I always hear: ...Read More

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I spent this week at a Women in Time workshop. We gained some great insights and tools, and began to create personal timelines of our lives. It was an exciting process! One of the first things we did was to divide our lives into “stepping stones” or segments; not by year, but by defining six or seven moments of change throughout our lives.

Some people overlapped their segments, and some were very linear. For example, one woman at the workshop grouped all the summers in which she traveled and had internships or life experiences in various countries, from age 12-24, as one segment. She also separated her time before college from her time after graduation, even though her travel experiences overlapped each of those segments.

I included the time before my birth—wherein my grandparents, my parents, and their friends all had experien...Read More

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It's time to submit your nominations for the LJ Teaching Award again! This year, the award is $5,000 and the winner will be honored at a reception in Denver, at the 2009 ALA Midwinter Meeting. For more information, please visit http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6586941.html

The deadline for nominations is September 29th. What's that famous line? "Vote early, vote often!" ...Library Journal is looking for individuals with a history of providing quality mentorship to students and new librarians. People who communicate core principles of librarianship through teaching and through example, and who have a strong knowledge of cutting edge technology. I suspect that these folks are popular in many different forums, so nominate them now, before their schedules for next year fill up!

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Want to try two of the most nerve racking things you have every done? Why not set them up in the same month? I will give you a master's degree that's worth is questioned in many circles and when you get it, I will take away your jobs because all three are Graduate Assistantships! AHHHHH! Okay I am calm now. Oh, I forgot. No one will ever ask you about grades. I ended with a 3.8 if anyone wants to know. I have my eye on NYPL, BPL, and a few other places.

While I know I will be staying in the NYC area for at least the next 10 years, will be married, and want to work in YA or children's lit, no job :( I am keep busy though. I will be doing a story hour at BPL, and will most likely start substitute teaching, and taking on more internships if the job thing doesn't happen first.
Don't panic Ellen! Right... Is it time to get that second master’s?

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As of Monday August 4th 2008 I will have completed all the requirements for an MILS. I should be partying. Right? I should be saying meet me at Bleeker and 4th and let’s party like its 1999-the year I graduated from high school. Why am I not in the partying mood? THE ECONOMY IS AWFUL! Now I have to pay back my student loans- like a lot of you out there. I feel like I am falling off a cliff, or being thrown off the ship!

School...School is easy. Do your work. Do the reading. Show up and participate. Here is your degree. I will love working as a librarian. My interests in children and young adult services have been growing for sometime now. I want to do this in the public setting. While this what I am aiming for now, the dollar is going to be making decision for me soon.  Will recommend a good book for food.

Reflecting a little on my time at Pratt I...Read More

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Today, I’m excited to share Dodie Ownes with you. This is the second half of our interview. The first half can be found at "From The Dark Side" on LJ. Dodie is the current Editor of SLJTeen, and a self-made Information Services Consultant working out of Golden, Colorado. Her interview has given me a window into the complex and interwoven world of “the dark side” (actually a blinding kaleidoscope!) of library services, and the extensive skill sets that feed it.

    --What services does your business provide for libraries, and how do you facilitate that?

I don't really do much work for libraries -  most of that is...Read More

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In case you were wondering, I continue to search for employment. I’ve had a couple of great leads in the past month, which—in Hiring Academic Library Time (HALT!)—means that I might know if these leads have led me anywhere by… oh…. September. As important as previous experience in libraries can be, I find that it's just as much about who you know. This isn't unique to library-world... it's just frustrating if you're not sure how to grow that network in your particular professional field. So many great librarians and vendors have given me helpful information-- or potential leads-- all I can do to thank them is commit myself to doing the same for the new librarians who come after me... and keep writing about my experiences as they come!

I’ve also begun to look more closely at vendor-world as an exciting opportunity for potential emplo...Read More

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Today’s librarian has been a treat to interview. She’s seen many different sides of librarianship—from vendor and journal sales to academic, public, and special libraries… She now provides information service-related consultations and projects for LibraryJournal, among other businesses that cater to libraries and librarians. With an MLS from the University of Chicago, a background in cataloging for retrospective conversions, and NOTIS record entry… I originally asked her for more information about the shadowy world of vendors and library journals. After reading what she has to say, I’m shocked at my ignorance. I had no idea that so much was possible outside the world of library science that I was introduced to in school!

Today, I’m excited to share with you the irrepressible Dodie Ownes. She is the current ...Read More

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In library school, we are taught that three kinds of libraries exist: Academic, Public, and Special. Melanie renames the "Special" library as a "Corporate" position-- aptly done-- and having experienced it, found her home in the Public Library domain. Her insights about finding patterns in the service we provide, and creating quick-fact sheets (aka: "cheat sheets") to respond to them, are applicable in every service setting. 

Melanie Ford is a Reference Librarian for the Indian Valley Public Library in Telford, PA.

-Do you consider yourself a Reference Librarian, a Subject Librarian, or something else entirely?
Reference Librarian

-Do you belong to ALA? What about other library-related associations?
I do not currently belong to ALA, although I have been a member in the...Read More

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Jennifer Gilley is the Head Librarian at Penn State New Kensington in Upper Burrell, PA, a rural location outside Pittsburgh. I have particularly appreciated her patron-centric and candid responses during our interview. She brought up yet another question for me to research and share-- Are paper reference materials still irreplaceable and worthy of shelf space, obsolete for today's libraries, for today's students, or none of the above? 

Also, before we return to the regularly scheduled programming, I'd like to share my joy with you that as of 5:30pm tonight, I will again have access to the internet from my home computer. YAYYYYY!!!!! This means the research, editing, content, variety, and regularity ...Read More

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So, according to a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, my second masters is not going to help me get a librarian gig. According to Yale Librarian Todd Gillman, there is evidence that potential librarians who hold additional advanced degrees are being passed over for good library jobs. What evidence indicates this? Well, apparently Mr. Gillman knew someone who this had happened to.

"I know of one job seeker who has a Ph.D. in English, publications including a scholarly monograph, many years of college teaching experience, a recent MLIS, and substantial preprofessional library experience. She sent out nearly 200 applications over an 18-month period before being offered a professional job as a reference and ...Read More

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