Pete Bromberg’s 23 things (minus 3): A getting to know ya post

Lori Reed, our intrepid blog manager, has asked each of the ALAlearning bloggers to begin the New Year by telling a little bit about ourselves.  I had no idea what I was going to write.  Enter Maurice Coleman, he of T-is-for-Training fame (and fellow ALALearning blogger), who sent around a fun training meme.  Voila!  Instant getting-to-know-ya template.

So here, in a slightly modified form (Maurice suggested one sentence answers, but — notice my attention to detail here– I didn’t notice that until after I finished writing my post) is a little bit about me.

1. Your One Sentence Bio: I’m just a simple librarian trying to make it in this crazy world.
   
   
2. Do you blog? If yes, how did you come up with your blog name? I blog with a bunch of wonderful people over at Library Garden.   We’re all from New Jersey which is the Garden State (no laughing, we’re 2nd in blueberry production, 3rd in cranberry production, 3rd in spinach, 4th in bell peppers, 4th in peach production, not to mention our tomatoes, corn, etc.) so we called ourselves Library Garden.  I almost immediately regretted it though because the blog was conceived for a national audience and there was a tendency early on by some bloggers to post only about parochial NJ items.  We got past that issue though and it’s been a great ride ever since.
   
   
3. What is your professional background? My first job out of college was working for Nordstrom, which I really view as the foundation of my professional experience.  It was wonderful to work for a company whose culture was steeped in customer service and employee empowerment.  I’ve been unable to work (for long) in any other type of environment ever since.   I received my MLS from Rutgers SCILS in 1992.  My internship was in the AT&T Law Library (I thought I wanted to be a law librarian.)  My first job was for the Spokane County Library District where I worked as both a reference and YA librarian. I then worked at the EPA in Manhattan, learning a lot in a relatively short time from a certain Free Range Librarian.  From there I moved on to Head of Reference Services at the Camden County Library for four years, and then to the South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative in 2001 as Program Coordinator, and more recently as Assistant Director.  Among other duties, I currently provide continuing education to over 600 libraries in the southern seven counties of New Jersey.  If you’re looking for the best job in librarianship, please accept my apology–it’s taken.
   
   
4. What training do you do? staff? patrons? types of classes? These days I do more scheduling of training then actual training, but I somehow still managed to do some speaking or training 14 times last year.  (I wouldn’t have guessed it was that much.)  Most of my training/speaking is for library staff.   I talk about change, the future, technology, effectiveness, training, virtual reference, cool tools, communication, teamwork, goal-setting, etc.  As a creative generalist I’ve never quite found a niche.  I’m the nicheless librarian (hmmm… maybe I should buy that domain right now…)
   
   
5. What training do you think is most important to libraries right now? The most important thing for us to focus on is Information literacy in the broadest sense.  And I don’t mean we need to teach others about information literacy (although that is a role for us), I mean we need to be information literate, and think of information literacy in a new way.  Librarians and library staff need to understand how the world of information behavior is changing.  How do people produce, search for, track, consume and process information?  How are technologies and economies of scale (think: mobile phones, social networking) affecting the role that information plays in our lives?  How are human relationships being affected, and how does this all relate to the role of libraries in society and in peoples’ lives?  These are the questions that would keep me up at night if I wasn’t such a sound sleeper.
   
   
6. Where do you get your training? I don’t get trained that much these days, but do sit in on many workshops that I schedule, so I pick up bits and pieces all year long.  I also take advantage of webinars as much as possible (thanks Webjunction!)   Most of my learning occurs through… oh wait, that’s the next question…
   
   
7. How do you keep up?
   1. Blog Reading (155 feeds and counting) through Google Reader (which I only recently started using–and I’m really loving.)   There are also a handful of blogs that I subscribe to through email (thank you feedmyinbox) because I want instant notification and/or don’t want to miss a single post.
   2. Twitter: I’ve cultivated a great network of tweeps who are always tweeting something incredibly interesting, thought-provoking, or just plain entertaining.  Follow me, I’ll follow you: http://twitter.com/pbromberg.
   3. Listservs: Digref, Publib, many NJ library listservs, and ALA/NJLA listservs, among others.
   4. Old School: I read Library Journal, Public Libraries, American Libraries, and a variety of Association newsletters.  (Maybe listservs belong under the “Old School” category too?)
      
      
8. What do you think are the biggest challenges libraries are facing right now?
   1. Figuring out our place in the rapidly changing world. While I think every business and organization is facing a similar challenge, the challenge to libraries is exponential because so many of the changes directly affect how people find and use information which goes to the core of our mission.
   2. Marketing/Telling our Story:  For years and years libraries have had a pass; we haven’t had to work very hard to demonstrate our value, and some librarians (still) seem to actively resent the idea that we should have to demonstrate our value.  Those days are over and getting overer. (Hey, I like that quote–maybe bartelby’s will pick it up.)  Which is one reason I was so pleased to see The M Word on LISNews’ list of blogs to read in 2010.  If you’re not already reading The M Word, I cordially invite you to begin.
   3. Focusing on Customer Experience.  To simplify as much as possible, but not simpler:  If our customers have a good experience when they interact with the library or any portion thereof, we’re golden.  If they don’t, we’re toast.   (Note:  I recently posted a piece on customer experience, with a basic overview and suggested links. )
      
      
9. What exciting things are you doing training wise? Any training I do these days is exciting.  Right now I’m working (with my wife) on putting together a full day preconference on the Enneagram.   This is very exciting!
   
   
10. What do you wish were you doing? As an Enneagram nine, I’m not sure I know what I wish I were doing.   But playing tennis or laughing with my wife is always better than a poke in the eye.
    
    
11. What’s your favorite food? Pizza.  Purchased somewhere in NY, NJ or the Philly area.  If you’re not buying pizza in one of these geographic areas it’s not really pizza.  Sorry, it’s not.  (OK, an exception for Chicago deep-dish.  As long as you qualify it.)
    
    
12. If you were stranded on an island, what one thing would you want to have with you? A book on how to survive on a desert island for less than five dollars a day.  And a sturdy guitar–maybe I’d finally learn how to play it!
    
    
13. Talk about one training moment you’d like to forget? Once, while teaching a class on communication, I used the old example of a loaded question, “So, are you still beating your wife.”  As a man presenting to a group of mostly women, I quickly realized that perhaps a better example was called for.  Such are the dangers of ad-libbing.  I felt terrible.  Awful.  Embarrassed.  But at the end of the day, it was still better than digging ditches.
    
    
14. How did you get into this line of work? I was going to be a teacher but then had a dream (yes, an “I was asleep at the time” dream dream dream type dream) that suggested librarianship might be a good career.  So I went to library school instead of for a Masters of Ed.  I think this story is true.  I’m almost certain it is.  And if it isn’t, it should be.
    
    
15. What is the best part of your job? It’s hard to pick a best part of a great job.  I suppose I enjoy a certain amount of freedom and creative control, and I enjoy that my job brings me into contact with so many people.
    
    
16. Why should someone else follow in your shoes? This question reminds me of  a story from Martin Buber’s Tales of the Hasidism, which I will now paraphrase to the best of my recollection.  The gist of it:   Samuel, a very devout man who is struggling to be good in the eyes of the Lord, approaches the Rabbi and asks, “Rabbi, should I try to be more like Moses or more like Abraham?”  The Rabbi replies, “Rather than trying to be more like Moses, or more like Abraham, the Lord would be pleased if you tried to be more like Samuel.”  And that’s all I have to say about that.  (note added 1/11/10–As a geeky librarian, it’s been bothering me that I probably got this story a little wrong–it’s been 20+ years since I read it, and I think I conflated two stories.  In any case, here is a more accurate version of one of the stories, the gist being more or less the same)
    
    
17. Sushi or hamburger? Both, thank you.
    
    
18. LSW or ALA? A false dichotomy if there ever was one.
    
    
19. What one person in the world do you want to have lunch with and why? I would love to have lunch with my paternal grandfather.  He passed away when I was two so I never really got to know him, and by all accounts he was a decent, and gentle man.  And I have a feeling he’d pick up the tab even if I insisted otherwise.
    
    
20. What cell phone do you have and why? I just bought an iphone five days ago because Verizon gave me such terrible service, compounded by billing errors–ugh, I’m exhausted just thinking about it… The iphone has been fun but all of a sudden I’m getting “no service”, so I hope this doesn’t turn into a problem as some quick googling suggests it might.  Fingers crossed!