Reading Other Blogs - Thing 2

Typically I do not devote much time to reading blogs. I am struggling against the feeling that I am drowning in a sea of content, particularly when it comes to professional development as a librarian. It seems that there is no shortage of bright, articulate librarians blogging about the profession, along with dozens of conference Slideshare presentations that I could lose myself in, not to mention the daily avalanche of emails from several listservs that I subscribe to. The drawback to such an abundance of information is that my purpose as a librarian is to spend my time getting things done instead of spending all my time reading about the actions of others. To be sure, it is instructive and wise to keep current on professional trends and topics of concern, and to be able to read about how colleagues are assessing their information literacy programs, for example, but I've learned that it is difficult to follow many blogs, etc. and remain productive at the same time. Now to the point: I checked out the blogs of several fellow 23 Things participants just before writing this post, and I've also been following several other library blogs some months now using Google Reader.

After taking a look at the Delicious list of bookmarked 23 Things blogs, I decided to investigate those tagged "rare books/special collections" as well as those tagged "digitalrepositories." I was hoping to break out of my bubble as an academic reference librarian a bit. The particular 23 Things participants' blogs that I checked out included:

Jen the Librarian - Good to find someone from the U.S. in this seemingly U.K. dominated activity. Jen has some great advice for library students about how to prepare for a job.

Notes from the Basement - Alison has an interesting story, abandoning a Ph.D. to work in archives. I also really liked the color scheme of her blog.

Girl in the Moon - I like this writer's style. Entries seem to be coherent and flow, and graphics are used tastefully for illustration. I'm also really intrigued by her work environment. As someone with a history degree, I can easily see myself working with very old and rare books, intrinsically interesting simply for persisting so long.

Links (w/o much commentary) to other library blogs I follow:

ACRLog - Authors of entries vary, official blog of ACRL.

thewikiman - Academic librarian

Information Wants to be Free - Meredith Farkas. Need I say more? One of the leading lights of the profession, she seems to have found a balance between getting things done and writing about it.

Annoyed Librarian - Just what it sounds like: biting humor and sarcasm.

Agnostic, Maybe - Public librarian

Library Babel Fish - One of InsideHigherEd's blogs, Barbara Fister always seems to have something insightful to say about current library issues.

Happy clicking!

Inaugural 23 Things Post

I'm a bit behind the ball at getting started on the 23 things. I cannot remember where I first heard of the 23 things and if you look at my blog, you will see that it has been quite some time since I have written here on "The Quiet Site."

I am an early-career, young academic librarian who just this May secured a full time position as Reference-Instruction Librarian at a small private college. In many areas, I have more enthusiasm than knowledge and I find myself in the frustrating position of having good ideas but not possessing the skills to realize them. I am participating in 23 Things in hopes that I will learn more about cutting edge technologies and learn about how to manage my career and professional life. Several things in particular that interest me are:

Thing 3 - Considering Your Personal Brand -

It seems that the movers and shakers in libraryland have all mastered the art of creating a dynamic online presence. I'd like to learn how to be someone who offers original thoughts, who adds value, instead of someone who is an echo chamber or parrot.

Thing 15 - Attending, presenting at and organising seminars, conferences and other events -

Right now, I am only a member of a local chapter of ACRL. I would like to get more plugged in to national organizations and figure out how I can participate in sections of ALA that I find professionally relevant. Now that I have a job which will cover conference fees, I am eagerly awaiting my chance to attend ACRL 2013.

Thing 22 - How to identify your strengths, how to capitalise on your interests, how to write something eyecatching that meets job specs-

My interests seem to be all over the place, and I have no idea where my life will lead. I received enough rejection letters before landing my current job to think that I might well benefit from some wisdom on self-presentation in writing a cover letter.

Ventilation

I just looked at a grade for a 250 word posting on a management theorist. Given 3.5 of 5 points, I was savaged, nitpicked apart, for not formatting correctly. Little things, like an ampersand instead of "and" between the last names of two authors. Writing "Works Cited" above my citations, which is evidently MLA, not APA, terminology. Ah! I can't wait until I am out of this program! For now, all I can do is exercise greater caution with the submission of my next assignment and work hard not to take the criticism as a personal attack. It would be nice if she had found one good thing to say...nope, just criticism and point deduction.
On a happier note, it is still snowing here in Pittsburgh :-) And I have time, or am taking the time, to do a fair amount of recreational reading. Soon I have a phone date...

Defiance - movie

When is the man with the gun in his hand the kind of man to be??

Lots of Links, or Following Fun

I am still alive here in Pittsburgh, for all 2 of you reading. Here are some links to neat online things I've discovered recently.

Cheap travel and a neat way to meet people(maybe)

Ansel Adams in color

Road trip!! (Oh for gas money!)

And take a look at that gazebo - strait out of Rivendell? Where do they find this stuff?

A Warm Blanket for an Early Morning

Full recording of Avett Brothers newest albumn

Closer to love

Its (a beautiful) Sunday here in Pittsburgh, and someone just started a blasted lawn mower. I was trying to partake of food, beauty and quiet before going to work. I think I'll still succeed, but I wouldn't mind if the lawnmower wasn't running in the background. There was a wonderful church service this morning. We sang quite a few old hymns: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee; On Jordan's Stormy Banks; God, Be Merciful to Me; Great is thy Faithfulness. The pastor spoke of "God Behind the Scenes," God at work in the world and in our lives even when we cannot see how He is working or to what end, for what profit or purpose, using as his text Exodus 1:1-2:10. During the sermon, I had a small epiphany. Hebrews tells us that Christ can sympathize with our experiences, our temptations, in every way, because of the incarnation. I realized that, because of the cross, Christ can also identify with the separation from God that we feel as fallen and sinful creatures.