librarian writers, advice from someone who knows

Writing tires me out lately. In addition to my job at the library, I’ve been cranking out one or two articles a month for various publications. You saw the link to the WebJunction article a few days back. I also wrote a very basic “My First Library Web Site” article for the Vermont Library Association [not online] and a piece on the USA PATRIOT Act for Clamor Magazine [not on their site but my local copy is here]. Many librarians are librarian-writers. Marylaine Block who maintains Ex Libris has published a long essay by Steven Bell called What Works for Me: 10 Tips for Getting Published. Well worth a leisurely read.

a word about well-covered ideas, or what I might refer to as “done to death” or “jumping on the bandwagon” ideas. You know them – information literacy, blogging in the library, digitization projects, virtual reference. I don’t think these are off limits, but you need to bring a different perspective to any of these topics. nmrtwriter