Stepping outside of the box...

Granted, I am currently reading a book titled, "If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat!" by John Ortberg. However, I have found that the concepts within these covers definitely carry a great deal of weight. Why should we fear taking chances in the library world rather than succumbing to failure? Maybe if we stepped out of that "comfort zone" or "box" and took some chances, we would grow and the benefits of that growth would resonate to our library communities!

If you are interested in the topic of risk taking, please feel free to explore articles published in Library Technology Reports, Library Trends, and Teacher Librarian to get you started.

MLIS complete

Greetings! I am pleased to announce that I, along with twelve other cohorts, recently completed a masters degree in Library and Information Science. What an invigorating, challenging, and rewarding experience. I cannot believe how much each of us have learned and grown through this process. Now comes the really difficult part, finding a professional position!

Hanging yourself out there...

Everyone should be aware of this, not just tweens and teens. Recently I became aware of a situation very close to home. If you are a Children's Librarian, a Young Adult Librarian, or a parent, you may want to guide our future, should the opportunity arise. What am I talking about? For starters, MySpace.com, and other social networking web sites. Ensure that our young people do not put too much information out there to make them easy targets. Please follow this link. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/tech/tec14.pdf
It will take you to the Federal Trade Commission's "Social networking safteey tips for tweens and teens." Retrieved May 18, 2006 from American Libraries Direct.
Keep in mind that this is geared toward young people, however the rest of should take this information seriously as well. We tend to think it will never happen to us. Think again and
stay safe!

Information Literacy

Last Summer I worked on a project and developed a bibliography on Information Literacy. What is Information Literacy, you ask? It is really about teaching others to find the desired information they need or want. So, do we need libraries now that more and more journal articles are available (free) on the Internet? Of course we do! How is the information seeker going to wade through the web to find credible and/or relevant sources without assistance from a trained professional? How will they know what tags to use? The wonderful world of Subject Headings maintains accessibility, however the end user has no idea what they are or how they help. The Librarian's role has evolved from the stereotypical shusher to an educator. Let's jump on board and ride the web, shall we? Rather than feeling intimidated, use those same skills that we used in the print indexes of yesteryear and get online. You will amaze yourself at what you can and will find. In order to be a better educator, you must play and learn. Happy treasure hunting!