Working Girl

I would like to apologize for the lack of posts from me recently. I've contributed a number of Book Talks, but I would really like to discuss librarianship more.

Things are busy at work right now and I've been using that as an excuse for my absence. I realize that being a librarian means keeping countless balls in the air simultaneously and I definitely envy those who can work and contribute to other things like blogs and Twitter feeds with real content and not just sporadic musings about pop culture.

That being said, here at least is a list of current projects that I hope to talk about later:

• Branch renovation and moving of its collection
• Policy and procedure revisions
• NEA grant-sponsored project via partnership with two other county organizations
• Personnel supervision
• Communication with staff in regards to inclement weather
• Social events in the work place

It's always an adventure in library-land; some days you're the windshield and some days you're the bug!

Book Talk: The Big Short

The Big Short by Michael Lewis chronicles the roots and full bloom of the recent financial crisis based on the subprime mortgage market failure. It's still unbelievable that this even happened and that the American public got so little explanation and so few answers. To read this book is to stand amazed as democracy and hope burn to the ground; to read this book is to become enraged all over again at the antics of Wall Street and the failure and impotent actions of the government to address the real issues. I found myself shaking my head and gasping in sheer disbelief. Lewis's writing is amazingly understandable and I enjoyed the depth of his research and all his footnotes. I think I'm going to read some of his research documents if I can find them.

On a side note, I briefly worked with/for both Bank of America (slash Merrill Lynch) and UBS during the time frame of this book. I was a contracted partner with a separate corporation, but I still remember the feeling of unease as all of this started happening. I didn't realize what was going on at the time though I realize now that know one really knew, and maybe never will.

Weeding isn't for Wimps

Since the spring semester hasn’t started yet, I took the opportunity to weed some of our collection. My purpose was threefold: to get an idea of what circulates (and what doesn’t), remove that really old HTML for Dummies book from the late 1990s, and try to figure out what to collect for some of my different liaison departments. Strangely, I really enjoyed weeding, and I want to do it again as soon as possible.

I learned a lot about our collection, but mainly I learned about my own approach to weeding.

• Apparently, I am a slash-and-burner; I would much rather get rid of nasty, old, and un-circulated material even if we have no other books on the subject. I want shiny new books, because I know that our students will not even consider touching that dusty book from 1899, no matter how cool I think it is.
• Gifts from patrons can be a nuisance. We have a number of gifts from participating members of our college community that need to be weeded. In fact, I’m not entirely sure how they made it into the collection in the first place. I feel no guilt weeding gifts from people I don’t work with, but it is another matter entirely if, say, the cataloger donated a self-help book that really is not appropriate for our psychology department. Mainly the gifts that I need to get rid of are out-dated technology books, because who even uses books to learn how to code anymore?
• Other librarians really don’t like to weed. I have had to justify again and again why we don’t need to keep that book on trends in mathematics education from the 1950s, because even if someone wanted an historical perspective, they would not come to our institution looking for it!
• I always forget to check what e-books we have and what is available on Project Gutenberg or Google Books. I know in some of my liaison departments, key theoretical works are now available free online. Does that mean I need to purchase a print copy as well? I’m not sure about that one.
• Weeding is an excellent time to shelf read. I found quite a few cataloging anomalies, missing volumes, and incorrectly shelved books. I was able to reorganize my different sections.

Weeding really opens up space on the shelf. I have purchased numerous new books this past semester, and now they have a home!

Oh my, a Marketing Plan!

It makes me feel good when I can apply what I learned in library school directly to my work. This doesn't happen too often (I haven't had to reference Robert S. Taylor - yet!) but when it does I AM PUMPED. I am heading up the Marketing and Outreach team at my library. The committee/team charge or plan hasn't been updated since 2005. Now, with a new team and dedicated communications librarian (me!) we're on our way to be the coolest library committee ever.

Our first awesome, exciting challenge... and by that I mean time-consuming, annoying obstacle, is revising the GIANT 17-page long Marketing Plan that describes goals, "objectives/outcomes", and tactics. I put objectives/outcomes in quotes because in their current form they are not measureable! And what's an outcome if you can't measure it - amiright? So, each meeting we've tackled about 1 to 2 pages of content. It is painful. The document is 5 years old, so a lot has changed. Even the charge of the marketing team has been revised so some goals aren't applicable anymore.

I am using a textbook, Demonstrating Results, from our Planning, Marketing, and Assessment class. The worksheets in the back should help us make the plan clearer, with more concise and focused goals and outcomes. I plan on having teams of two revise an outcome and the indicators that go along with it. I think I'll also take a page from me and Yogurt Moon's PMA to use as an example. I think it will be less frustrating for my team to write new outcomes using a standard guide and not just trying to fix what's already in the plan.

book talk: Man in the Woods

Scott Spencer explores the motivations and implications of a man who commits an anonymous scene in Man in the Woods. The protagonist murders a dog abuser and runs away; I liked the tone and pacing of the book but felt the characters were a little flat. It would be a good suggestion for traditional suspense fans who might be interested in leaning toward literary fiction (or vice versa).

Book Talk: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

Rhoda Janzen's Mennonite in a Little Black Dress is a hilarious and warm memoir of the time after her husband leaves her for another man. In the same week she is in a horrific car accident and she decides to return home to her Mennonite family to regroup. I love all the references to a deeply religious upbringing but she is never mean-spirited or condescending about faith. The author is apparently a very accomplished poet and if I can write half as well as she does I will be happy.

Book Talk: One Day

One Day by David Nicholls checks in on British chums Emma and Dexter on the same day (July 15) every year from 1998 through 2007. The story is familiar but nonetheless funny, frustrating and heartbreaking. We have all known and loved someone like Dexter and been afraid that we were someone like Emma - at least I have. Nicholls manages to capture the aimless melancholy that is the foundation of young adulthood in characters that remind us of the best and worst of ourselves.

This was the best book I read in all of 2010. (I cut it close and read it on December 31.)