Posts tagged librarianinblack

1) Your One Sentence Bio
I’m an iconoclast who often wishes she could better convince others to find the strength to stand up for their ideals.

2) Do you blog? If yes, how did you come up with your blog name?
I do blog at LibrarianInBlack.net. For my entire library career, librarian or not, I was referred to by library users as “that librarian…you know, the tall one in black.”  So, I figured that was a nice name…a bit of a riff on Johnny Cash, and the initials are LIB, which is also a nice library reference.

3) What is your professional background?
I have a BA in English Literature (minor in Psychology), an MA in English/Irish Literature and Mythology, and my MLIS with a focus on technology (which, back in the day less than a decade ago, was a specialty in and of itself, believe it or not).

4) What training do you do? staff? patrons? types of classes?
I train primarily as a consultant, not in my day job as the San Jose Public Library’s Digital Futures Manager. I train online and in-person, doing a lot of work for Infopeople, California’s library staff training organization. My past jobs, though, have involved training the public, and definitely training staff (something I still try to find time to do).

5) What training do you think is most important to libraries right now?
Dealing with the massive influx of information, change, and how to set up intelligent ways to stay current in our professional areas, including how to position ourselves as the info and media overload experts in our communities.

6) Where do you get your training?
I go to as many relevant free webinars as I can, find the greatest per hour training benefit at InfoToday conferences, and also try to take occasional professional development classes through ALA & its sub-divisions.

7) How do you keep up?
I rely primarily on my several dozen RSS feeds that I read through Google Reader, but have started to rely more on Twitter and the occasional serendipitous Facebook post from my professional contacts.

8 ) What do you think are the biggest challenges libraries are facing right now?
Our biggest challenge is to stop fooling ourselves, each other, and our customers that we can “do more with less” (or let’s be honest, even “do the same with less”).

9) What are biggest challenges for trainers?
Convincing the library power holders that training is an essential use of staff time and should be a priority, and finding ways to reach as many people as possible with the little time and money we have.

10) What exciting things are you doing training wise?
Our training group at work is currently getting ready to launch a databases-themed 23-Things/43-Things style learning course for our staff to help them get more comfortable with our online eResources.

11) What do you wish were you doing?
Resting.

12) What would you do with a badger?
Make friends with him or her.

13) What’s your favorite food?
The vegan garlic bread that I make, dipped in a good marinara sauce.

14) If you were stranded on an island, what one thing would you want to have with you?
Assuming that a “thing” means not a person or a beloved pet, then I would want my iTunes library of 13,000 songs with a solar panel to keep it going.

15) Do you know what happens when a grasshopper kicks all the seeds out of a pickle?
The pickle cries.

16) Post It notes or the back of your hand?
Post It Notes.  I’m known for writing notes to myself everywhere, including in the car while driving, on my legendary long commute…which is why my husband so thoughtfully bought me a tiny digital voice recorder to use instead.

17) Windows or Mac?
Linux, darn it.

18) Talk about one training moment you’d like to forget?
I got very ill, to the point of needing to go to the hospital, 15 minutes into an 8 hour training.  Fortunately, the wonderful Carole Leita was there as my assistant (which was the universe’s idea of a cosmic joke–I should have been her assistant).  But she took over for me, while I spent the next two days in the hospital.  Horrible for me, but I was so thankful to her!

19) What’s your take on handshakes?
They spread germs and they’re kind of gendered and culturally-biased intrinsically. I’d rather that we greeted each other the way that Farscape’s beautiful character Zhaan did (a motion with the hands like you’re bringing water up to your face–what beautiful symbolism!).  Go watch Farscape, even if you’re not a science fiction fan.

20) Global warming: yes or no
Assuming the question is “does it exist?” then, yes.

21) How did you get into this line of work?
What I liked about English graduate work was the research, and I faultily believed librarianship meant research all the time.  Ha!  I was had! My teaching background in English served me well and launched me into doing training, bibliographic instruction, and all that jazz during library school–and forever thereafter!

22) What is the best part of your job?
Having the chance to equalize the intellectual playing field in our society for anyone who chooses to use the library.  That’s amazing.

23) Why should someone else follow in your shoes?
No one should do exactly what I did – they have to find their own path with their own shoes.

24) Sushi or hamburger?
I’m vegan, so I’ll say–a nice veggie Dan Dan noodles.

25) LSW or ALA?
LSW.

26) What one person in the world do you want to have lunch with and why?
Neil Gaiman.  He inspires me through so much of what he does.  Plus he’s a literature/mythology buff and author who has embraced technology as a way to get his work out there.  I think we’d get along really well.

27) What cell phone do you have and why?
An old Treo, but I’m looking for a new phone and eyeing the Droid options.