librarian.net

Library Journal has put the list of Movers and Shakers online. Well, they have a list of their cutesy taglines, you have to click through to get the names. The page where they list all the Movers & Shakers by state has the names of every Mover and Shaker, though they’re not hyperlinked. Maybe we need to wikify this? I have included the list here. Can you guess any of the names? Life is too short, I copied the names over as well. update: Librarian by Day has gone a step further and linked to their blogs too, if available. Congrats to all of you.

• Grace Under Pressure (Maria Redburn)
• The Man Who Said No to Dewey (Marshall Shore)
• In Context (Hilary Davis)
• Films ‘R’ Us (Jim Cheng)
• Giving Back (Darci Hanning)
• Thrill Seeker (Allyson Mower)
• User-Centered Technologist (David Lee King)
• Deep Impact (Christopher Harris)
• Expanding OPACs (Steven Bowers)
• Multitalented (Evette Atkin)
• Pathfinder (Elisabeth Jacobsen Marrapodi)
• Collaborative Experimentation (Char Booth)
• Geek Librarian (Michelle Boulé)
• Metadata Man (Tim Spalding)
• Never Satisfied (Caleb Tucker-Raymond)
• Dynamo (Nancy Teger)
• Reader’s Best Friend (Jessica Moyer)
• Push Technology (Marcia Mardis)
• Direct Effects (David Rothman)
• Restoring History (Mark Greek)
• The Translator (Lisa Sweeney)
• Show Me the Evidence (Mark Vrabel)
• Anger into Fuel (Mario Ascencio)
• Global Thinker (Robin Kear)
• Life Work (Annabelle V. Núñez)
• On the Line (Alex Youngberg)
• Open Source Evangelist (Josh Ferraro)
• Leveling the Field (Jennifer Nelson)
• On a Mission (Daniel Cornwall)
• Passion for Diversity (Padma Polepeddi)
• Rural Improvement (Amanda McKeraghan)
• Community Ambassador (Mary Ellen Stasek)
• On the Same Page (Jennifer Schember)
• Do Something! (Amy Buckland)
• Data Tracker (Kim Ricker)
• A Blended Passion (Alexia Hudson)
• Razzle Dazzler (Tony Tallent)
• Creating Customers (Penny Sympson)
• Action Figure (Stephanie Squicciarini)
• Not Clowning Around (Devona Carpenter )
• Better Than Cool (Karen Brooks-Reese )
• Working the Crossroads (Alison Cody)
• Storyteller (Lucía González )
• Spark Plug (Jamie Watson)
• Transformer (Peter Bromberg)
• Team Effort (Sarah Erwin & Candice Gwin)
• Paying It Forward (Sol Gómez)
• On Time, on Budget ( Kim Fuller)
• Cowgirl (Lisa Wells)

I read Library Journal pretty regularly. I enjoy it, the writing is often great and John Berry and I see eye to eye on a lot of things. There have been a few lousy headlines about library topics that we’ve seen in the popular media, where the library was on what I would consdier the “right” side of an issue and the headline made them look like they were not. I read the whole article on salaries called What’s an MLIS Worth (for the record, I have an MLib.) and I have to say I could not get over the fact that women in librarianship, in all parts of librarianship earn less than men.

This fact is buried about four pages into the article in a section entitles “Gender Inequity Remains” and states “While women have seen positive improvements in salaries, finally topping $40,000, their salaries continue to lag approximately 6.5% behind salaries for men.” LJ then goes on to explain that they think this is because more men work in academic and vendor-type jobs where salaries are generaly higher. It also states that women have higher starting salaries generally and do better in special libraries where their salaries are 17.6% higher than men, but this section was one of the smaller ones in terms of total population; there were only 14 men’s salaries examined (and 86 women’s). Men in public libraries, on average, earn more than women, except in Canada. Men in academic libraries, on average, earn more than women. I’m sure there are many good reasons why this “effect” exists, but I’m a little curious whether there are really just a few totally plausible explanations for this, or if librarianship despite its intelligent, introspective, feminized nature is just as bad as everyplace else with its remaining gender inequity?

While I’ll miss Jay Datema’s editorial insights over at Library Journal, I’m thrilled as hell to see that he’s going to be working with the whizkids over at NYPL now.

The local library is hiring for a three hour per week job because they got some money and decided to expand the library hours. This is great news. Unfortunately, they need to hire a person to help out during some of those hours and it’s hard to find someone who wants to make a commitment for a job that pays less than $25 a week. The library — which I have been working for helping them with their website and their OPAC — asked if I would train to be an on-call librarian there and that’s what I’ve been doing.

The funny joke about all my weird techie/bloggy/travelling stuff is that I started down this path because I wanted to live in the country and I didn’t want to be a teacher, work in the post office or be a police officer. I mean I like books, love to read and love to help people, but first and foremost I wanted to be a small-town librarian. This is the first “job” I’ve had where I actually did that. All my other jobs have been at larger libraries, school libraries or the weird circuit rider library job that I mostly do now. So I got to train on things I’ve never really learned before like how to use the circulation system and the barcode reader, how to operate the lift, how to transfer a call, how to keep teenagers happy but civil, how to call people and leave a message that their books on hold are are in without saying what the book is, you know the drill.

And, it should come as no surprise that this work was hard, and interesting, and engrossing and kept me so busy I didn’t check my email for three hours which is unusual for me during a work day. Michael Stephens and Michael Casey discussed the need for many of us with specialized jobs to switch off with other people, walk a mile in their shoes, or work a shift at their desk, to get an idea of what their real challenges were. Its good advice.

One of the librarians and I had a good laugh over thinking about the idea of IM reference for the YA librarian who has to monitor the teen computer area and is rarely near her own desk. There may be ways of making it work, sure, but in the abstract it was a totally ridiculous idea given how she works. It’s good for techie people like me to know that before we start offering our oh-so-helpful advice. Anyhow, I had a good but tiring day. Apropos of Banned Books Week I also like their title “Going to the Field” which reminds me of this part of one of my favorite poems by Wendell Berry.

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

My article for Library Journal’s NetConnect called Saving Digital History about archiving digital content is available online. LJ has done something weird and terrible with their web layout so that it’s now somewhat broken in Firefox for Mac so my apologies for sending you to the so-called “print” version. I also got to talk to Jay Datema and Peter Brantley as part of the NetConnect podcast series. It’s a hefty 50MB download, but I thought it was a pretty good conversation that Jay did a great job annotating.

This interview with Kurt Vonnegut appeared in Library Journal almost 34 years ago, it was nice of LJ to put it on their website.

Vonnegut expressed no surprise, however, at the censorship problems some of his books have run into with public schools in parts of Michigan and Ohio. “It’s the same thing every time. They ban something of mine, the ACLU jumps in, loses the case in the lower court, and wins the appeal. After all,” he stresses optimistically, “they can’t win. What they’re doing is unconstitutional.”

From my email to your eyes. Please nominate your favorite awesomest librarians.

The editors of Library Journal need your help in identifying the emerging leaders in the library world. The sixth annual Movers & Shakers supplement will profile 50-plus up-and-coming individuals from across the United States and Canada who are innovative, creative, and making a difference. From librarians to vendors to others who work in the library field, Movers & Shakers 2007 will celebrate the new professionals who are moving our libraries ahead. The deadline for submissions is November 1, 2006.

You can use the online form here [warning: print out a copy before you submit, in case your submission fails and everything you wrote vanishes]. Or, if you prefer, print out the PDF and return it to Ann Kim at LJ, 360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010, or fax to 646-746-6734.

update: not sure if your favorite librarian has been a Mover and Shaker before? Check out Marylaine’s handy (and alphebatized) list of past honorees. Thanks so much for putting this together Marylaine!

You have probably heard that former United States Secretary of State Madeline Albright has been selected to be the keynote speaker in New Orleans at ALA this year. Apparently LJExpress’s email announcement service provided two different versions of this announcement. The initial email announcement appears below.

As if their [sic] already isn’t enough hot air in New Orleans in June, ex-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will detour from hawking her forthcoming book to pick up some no doubt serious fast cash keynoting next summer’s ALA Annual Conference.

And here is how it appears on LJs website.

As if there isn’t enough hot air in New Orleans in June, ex-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has arranged to make the American Library Association’s Annual Conference a stop on the tour for her new book. She will deliver the keynote at the Opening General Session.

Is it too much to ask that the largest library association in the world get a speaker who isn’t just seeing our conference as another stop to give her stump speech at? Maybe I’m just naïve but I would think that for what ALA is likely paying, we could get someone to make a special trip.

update” A reader sent me this email today, perhaps I was too hasty. “I had the privilege of hearing Madeleine Albright when she was the keynote speaker at SLA in New York a couple years ago, and she gave a great speech about the importance of the free flow of information to a free society. I would not just write her off without hearing what she has to say.” [thanks ann & allen]

I emailed with Ann Kim at Library Journal who said that people can email in their Mover and Shaker nomination forms as long as it has all the same information they ask for on the pdf form. I have taken the text of this and put it online for people to copy and paste into an email message. So, if printing/faxing/mailing was keeping you from nominating someone to be a Library Journal Mover and Shaker, here is a solution for you.

Do you know someone who would look great gracing the pages of Library Journal for all the good library work they’ve been doing this year? Do they rock? Are you in awe of their librarian superpowers? If so, nominations are open for Movers & Shakers 2006. If you need to refresh your memory of who has already been selected, here are the winners for 2002 [there’s me!], 2003, 2004, 2005. Push the envelope and ask Library Journal if maybe we can submit nominations electronically this time. [thanks marylaine]