I was not much more than a newly-minted librarian when my greatest professional mentor gave me a chance at something that would launch my career beyond the confines of my institution onto an international stage. It was in the early 90s, when the Internet was just beginning to take off at large research libraries around the United […]
The Power of Powers of 2
Despite the fact that I consider myself a lifelong feminist, I am still surprised and dismayed at how easily I can overlook discriminatory behavior toward women. Or not even discriminatory behavior but things that are much more subtle, like situations that discourage women from speaking up or participating. So when a colleague forwarded a notice […]
A License to Skill
Librarypedia: The Future of Libraries and Wikipedia
The Wikipedia Library is an open research hub started in 2010 when Credo Reference donated 500 free research accounts to Wikipedia’s most active editors. Partnerships with HighBeam, Questia, JSTOR, and the Cochrane Library followed. Now, the Wikipedia Library is developing into a portal to connect editors with libraries, open access resources, paywalled databases, digital reference tools, and research experts. Two of the project’s leaders discuss the potential for collaboration between libraries and Wikipedia, as well as the new Visiting Scholars pilot program.
Using Data to Shape a Library’s Direction | Data-Driven Academic Libraries
Access to good data on key metrics such as circulation and student visits always helps make a better case for the important role libraries play on campus. But using data proactively to address emerging trends and challenges is “what it really means to be a data-driven organization” said Sarah Tudesco, Assessment Librarian, Yale University, during yesterday’s “What Is a Data-Driven Academic Library?” webcast.
Gender in Tech Librarianship
Certainly I’ve written about this issue before, and I will keep writing about it until there are no more reasons to do so. But the reason why I’m writing about the issue of gender imbalance in library tech is because I was recently at the Internet Librarian Conference in Monterey, CA, where my esteemed professional […]
Swets Launches Open Access Payment Management Service
“If Everything Goes As Planned”
Being Different, Part 9: How Not to Die on the Plain of Suckitude
In parts one through eight I first introduced, then explained and summarized my Topography of Skill Acquisition. But as I made clear in Part 3, the absolutely essential event to ever add a skill to your resume is to not die on the Plain of Suckitude. Because if you do, you are never coming back. […]