Libraries care about your privacy. They really do. It’s one of our core values. It always has been, long before this crazy thing called the internet came along, and long before companies knew just about everything about you, and hackers could expose online users’ personal information.
Though I extol the virtues of collaboration all the time, it’s clear I still have a lot to learn. 
I’ll be spending time with Jesse Lyn Stoner’s What is Collaboration and Where Does it Begin? soon. I always learn a lot from Jesse—a good thing, because I’ve got room to grow on this one.
If you believe in collaboration, as I do, you might want to take a look.
Yet another “end of year” post. It was fun to see A Life in Libraries “annual report.”
So, Happy New Year, and all that stuff. I am trying to get used to writing “2016” instead of “2015.” This month I am using another one of my friend Ben’s photos.
Photo courtesy of Ben Miller, The Jockey Box. http://thejockeybox.com/
Inspired by Bluechickenninja, who was inspired by Perpetual Page-Turner, here’s my list of books read in 2015.
I couldn’t begin to take Page-Turner’s survey: it is way too hard, and would take me way too long! But I will say I read 16 books (a little more than one per month. I’m slow), and the genre I read the most is chick lit. Continue reading
Have you ever thought that interviewing for a job is like playing an acting role?
When we interview for jobs (in many, but certainly not all!) library settings, we may be asked to give a presentation. I’ve given many, and “attended” many of other people’s interview presentations. I never really thought of it as acting.
Making the Most of Your Teaching Demo is about interviewing for a teaching job, but the same principles apply. It doesn’t tell you to think of the demo/presentation as an acting job, but after reading it, it seems to me that it sort of is, and if I ever have to do anything like this again (oh, gee, I hope not!), I’m going to try to remember to play the part. (and follow some of the good ideas in the post.)
If you read my blog, you probably notice I have several blogs I quote and use a lot here. One is Ask A Manager. I just think Alison Green is very smart and astute, and gives great management advice. She also has a great following, so the comments on almost all of her posts are also informative. She is also very responsive—she actually replied when I emailed her a management question.
I was so pleased when she posted this interview with someone who had been a prison librarian. How cool to have one of my favorite blogs post about one of my favorite topics! It’s an excellent post too, and very insightful and informative about a specialized field of librarianship you don’t always hear a lot about (or perhaps, even think about.) Please do take the time to read it—there’s some interesting tidbits about prison culture, prison reform, and other topics, in addition to the library aspect. Think about it: there are special populations that especially need libraries, and I’d say the incarcerated is definitely one!
I’m traveling this week, and busy with a new work project, so instead of an original post I’ll just say, “Happy Holidays.” Whatever holidays you celebrate this time of year, or whether you celebrate any or not, I wish you well. I wish you peace.
A Life in Libraries 