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,…
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 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…
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 inintellectual freedom librarianship libraries
When libraries and librarians pretend to be neutral, they often cause harm
Two recent events made me think (again) about the toxic nature of "library neutrality" and the fact that, more often than not, neutrality is whiteness/patriarchy/cis-heteronormativity/ableism/etc. parading around as neutrality and…
Whose rights matter more?
My dad recently shared with me a book, written by a distant cousin who is a professor in Israel, about her grandmother's immigrant experience and her relatives. Her grandmother just…
Posted inALA free the information! intellectual freedom librarianship libraries open access our digital future
Holding to our values during difficult times
I write a lot in my American Libraries column about library values, particularly those around access and privacy. My latest column (Jan/Feb 17), which should be out soon online just…
Is the Framework Elitist? Is ACRL?
Many of you who read my blog already know that I came to librarianship from social work, where I was a child and family psychotherapist. As a therapist, one of…
Posted infree the information! librarianship speaking
Appreciate your speakers
I have been very fortunate to address librarians nationally and internationally as a speaker. I love sharing my ideas, experiences, and things I’ve learned and meeting other librarians. I have…
Posted inabout me career free the information! job search librarianship libraries library school management Work
Should the horrible first job search be seen as a rite-of-passage?
I felt really sad when I read Kyle Shockey's post on the Librarian Burnout blog about feeling burnout after library school and being in the midst of the job hunt.…
Posted inALA free the information! intellectual freedom librarianship libraries management open access
The Next Librarian of Congress?
Late last week, I received an email from the culture editor at the New Republic about writing an article on the next Librarian of Congress. It was the first offer…
Are online MLIS degree-holders “less than?”
When I graduated from library school, I worried about anti-online-degree bias. I worried that people would think my degree was somehow "less than" because I'd done it fully online. I…
Posted inassessment community college libraries community colleges free the information! instruction librarianship libraries open access
You could learn a lot from us: community college librarians at ACRL
ACRL was ridiculously amazing this year. I feel energized, affirmed, and hopeful (and completely exhausted and sick since it ended). The programming was so high-quality and relevant that, in most…
Posted infree the information! open access
Read your contract: Being OA isn’t enough
So, I missed writing this for Open Access Week, or Fair Use Week, or Open Education Week, but I think these are topics that we should be focusing on every day…
Framework? Standards? I’m keeping it local.
I'm sure most of you have already heard that the ACRL Board has decided to adopt the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. What I think is more interesting…
LibGuides, you’re not “Web 2.0” without an open API
Update: I've been in touch with a Springshare representative who tells me that things like the contextually aware D2L widget from Portland State University will work in LibGuides 2.0 and…
Peer learning in library instruction
Teaching is such a solitary thing. Sure, you're up in front of a bunch of students, and maybe an instructor if you're doing course-integrated instruction, but the act still feels…
Posted inassessment free the information! instruction knowledge management librarianship libraries our digital future research speaking
Reflections on library assessment and the Library Assessment Conference
I wanted to write about the Library Assessment Conference as soon as I returned, but unfortunately, life got in the way. I got barely a week and a half before…
Posted infree the information! libraries
Is your big deal a good deal?
We've all suspected it. We've all talked about it. Some have even written and spoken at conferences about it. But now we have hard evidence that there is incredible variation…
Don’t go it alone. On the benefits of collaboration.
I don't have all the answers. There, I said it! I'm a pretty smart person who did well in school and has been relatively successful in her career, but I…
