Out of sight, out of mind? prioritizing support of online learners
It’s been eighteen years and I can’t believe this is still an issue. In 2005, I started my first professional library job as a distance learning librarian. At the time,…
Slow librarianship and prioritizing life over work
I recently wrote an essay for CHOICE's LibTech Insights blog entitled "Building a Better Library Tech Future with Slow Librarianship." It provides a brief introduction to slow librarianship, how it…
Posted inabout me instruction librarianship libraries Work
The power of shame and belonging
In my last post, I wrote about the absolutely monstrous difficulty I was having getting off the migraine prevention medication (that wasn't actually preventing migraines) I had been taking for…
Vocational awe is always harmful
A friend of mine wrote a tweet that really made me think the other day: I understand arguments against a default "vocational awe," but much of the discourse denies the…
Posted inlibrarianship libraries slow librarianship Work
Valuing maintenance
My town maintains an old dairy farm from the turn of the 20th century that now contains public gardens, a CSA, and community garden plots. In the Summer and Fall,…
The end of Twitter?
The tl:dr is in whatever online communities you frequent, do you ever ask yourself "who isn't here? Who doesn't feel welcome here? What barriers are there to participation?" If not,…
Posted incommunity college libraries instruction librarianship mid-career slow librarianship Work Work-life balance
Stop normalizing overwork
In the years that I have been trying my best to avoid overwork, I've become more attuned to the signs that I am indeed overworking. I usually notice one of…
Posted inlibrarianship slow librarianship Work
Cultures of care and solidarity
I had a dream the other night about my high school history teacher Mr. Farina who I haven't seen since I graduated and he retired. I was ridiculously happy to…
Universal design for work?
I've had migraines for over 20 years. I didn't seek workplace accommodations for them until this year. The biggest barrier to getting accommodations at work was my own internalized ableism,…
Posted infree the information! librarianship management Work
So I’m a conspiracy theorist now? A call for retraction
I know a lot of librarians get mad about poorly informed articles about libraries all the time. It's rare that I ever really get truly angry about an article. I…
When to say yes (or no)
Workaholism is a hard addiction to recover from. It's not like some addictions where you can avoid the places or substances that played a role. Most of us are not…
Posted inblogging General librarianship
Losing my friend, Mark Lindner
Our profession has lost one of its best. My friend, Mark Lindner, died on Monday. Mark wrote one of the best library blogs during that lovely golden age of blogging in the aughts…
Posted inlibraries management Work
“Listening theater” and employee voice
I’ve been reading a lot about employee voice and silencing in organizations and there’s a phenomenon I haven’t really seen discussed explicitly in the literature, though it's possible I've missed…
What is slow librarianship?
Last week, there was a lot of chatter about slow librarianship on social media. People were looking for writing on the subject and I realized that my work is scattered…
Slow life, slow librarianship
It's been a quiet summer over here, focused on family, recovering from the stress of the academic year, and doing a lot of reading. I'd had fantasies of getting a…
Posted inabout me ALA american libraries career librarianship writing
Saying goodbye to American Libraries magazine
I’ve been pretty good about not making big life changes during the pandemic. We didn’t get a pandemic dog, even after finally getting our yard completely fenced-in last August. I’ve…
Posted inabout me librarianship libraries Work Work-life balance
Drop the ball
When I visited my parents in December of 2019, they asked me to go through a box of old stuff they wanted to get rid of. My mother had kept…
Posted inhi libraries Work Work-life balance
In all the bad… some good things
Wow, this has been a hard year. No one's life has been untouched by 2020 between the pandemic and unrelenting proof that the social safety net has been dismantled by late-stage capitalism, the…
Making Customizable Interactive Tutorials with Google Forms
Please note that the copies of these tutorials have not been updated since 2020 and Google Forms has many new features that have come out since then. In September, I…
Posted incareer libraries management Work Work-life balance
The crushing expectations on working women and where’s my fucking village?
On Friday and Saturday, my Twitter feed was full of anger and frustration over a blog post on the ALSC (Association for Library Services to Children) Blog. Entitled "How Motherhood Has…
