Tag: meredith farkas

books read: 2007

I tried and failed once again to complete the 50 book challenge last year. However, I did a little better than the year before, and probably would have read at least two more books if I hadn’t made a cross country move.

  1. The Empty Chair by Diane Duane (fiction)
  2. A Librarian Is To Read by Betty Vogel (non-fiction)
  3. Wordplay: The Official Companion Book by Will Shortz (non-fiction)
  4. Death in Winter by Michael Jan Friedman (fiction)
  5. Puss ‘n Cahoots: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery by Rita Mae Brown (fiction)
  6. So Say We All: An Unauthorized Collection of Thoughts and Opinions on Battlestar Galactica (Smart Pop series) edited by Richard Hatch (non-fiction)
  7. Solstice Wood by Patricia A. McKillip (fiction)
  8. Gauntlet by Michael Jan Friedman (fiction)
  9. Progenitor by Michael Jan Friedman (fiction)
  10. Reunion by Michael Jan Friedman (fiction)
  11. The Valiant by Michael Jan Friedman (fiction)
  12. Three by Michael Jan Friedman (fiction)
  13. Oblivion by Michael Jan Friedman (fiction)
  14. Enigma by Michael Jan Friedman (fiction)
  15. Maker by Michael Jan Friedman (fiction)
  16. Journey Between Worlds by Sylvia Louise Engdahl (fiction)
  17. Orphan’s Quest by Pat Nelson Childs (fiction)
  18. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (fiction)
  19. Towards Zero by Agatha Christie (fiction)
  20. At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie (fiction)
  21. Nemesis by Agatha Christie (fiction)
  22. Ordeal By Innocence by Agatha Christie (fiction)
  23. First Have Something To Say by Walt Crawford (non-fiction)
  24. Social Software in Libraries by Meredith Farkas (non-fiction)
  25. Beer & Food: An American History by Bob Skilnik (non-fiction)
  26. Guinness – The 250-Year Quest for the Perfect Pint by Bill Yenne (non-fiction)

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i readed some buks

I read some professional literature for #23 & #24.

First Have Something To Say by Walt Crawford is a must-read for anyone who wants to write for the library profession. The language is accessible, and Walt lays out the processes in a way that just makes sense. I plan to purchase my own copy soon.

I read Walt’s book in preparation for reading and reviewing Meredith Farkas’ Social Software in Libraries. I won’t be posting the review here or anywhere because (hopefully) it will be published in the first issue of the Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship next year. If you have any interest in incorporating social software in your library, I recommend reading Meredith’s book. She asks all (or nearly all) of the questions you need to ask before deciding to implement anything.

For anyone who’s counting, that puts me at 24 books read this year, which is one more than I did last year. w00t!

ala annual, part one — washington, d.c.

Bloggin’ the ALA.

Aaron Dobbs and his chapeauALA Annual is as large and overwhelming as I expected, and still frustratingly too broad or too narrow at times. Either there are five different sessions I want to attend at the same time or there are none. Meh. On the up side, I have started to figure out where I should be within the organization, which turns out to be straddling the line between ALCTS and LITA.

At the ALCTS Serials Section Acquisitions meeting yesterday, I made a suggestion for a program for next year’s conference in Anaheim. The end result was that everyone on the committee liked it and the chair asked me to be the chair of the program. I’m new enough that I don’t know what I’m in for, but I think everyone will help if I get in over my head.

After the meeting I wandered over to the exhibit hall and got a copy of Social Software in Libraries: Building Collaboration, Communication, and Community Online by Meredith Farkas and have her sign it. Very nice to meet her in person.

Later in the afternoon, I skipped out on a session to attend the last few minutes of the BIGWIG Social Software Showcase, which was pretty cool. I’m sorry to have missed the first part. Met a few more blogger types that I’ve only known virtually, and that was nifty. It’s also why I attended the BIGWIG meeting this morning, and how I came to the revelation that I will find my people in LITA.

The coolness continued with the LISnews dinner/social at Capitol City Brewing. Blake Carver and Rochelle Hartman continue to rock my world.

Today was more tech goodness, which included the very interesting and very well attended top tech trends panel presentation. And now, I will close this out and pack up to head over to the Grand Hyatt for the Blog Salon.

to tenure or not to tenure

Meredith Farkas of Information Wants To Be Free has a great essay on one of the great conundrums of academic librarianship: Should we strive for tenured faculty status or should we embrace a support staff role within the context of the university? She leans towards the non-tenure side and makes some excellent points for it. … Continue reading “to tenure or not to tenure”

Meredith Farkas of Information Wants To Be Free has a great essay on one of the great conundrums of academic librarianship: Should we strive for tenured faculty status or should we embrace a support staff role within the context of the university? She leans towards the non-tenure side and makes some excellent points for it.

I’m a bit ambivalent. On the one hand, I do view myself as a colleague of the teaching faculty in that I use my expertise to educate our students just as they do. On the other hand, I’m more of a behind-the-scenes librarian, and most of my work is focused on providing research tools that are useful and functional. In that respect, I am more like support staff than faculty. As for my tenured librarian colleagues, I wish that there was still something that could light a fire under them because they often appear to be apathetic and uninterested in improving themselves or the library.

I will continue to jump through the hoops towards tenure, because in the end, that’s how I make myself a better librarian (and keep my job).

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