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 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…
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…
Posted inlibrarianship libraries management speaking Work
Recognition doesn’t have to be a zero sum game
As usual, the week the 2020 Library Journal Movers and Shakers were announced, I saw plenty of complaints about the award and, in some cases, awardees. I’ve been reading this…
Posted inALA hi librarianship libraries management Work Work-life balance
Thoughts on work, well-being, solidarity, and advocacy in our current… situation
I have been wanting to blog for weeks. I have several blog posts I started that I just couldn't get through. My attention span reminds me of my son's at…
#LISMentalHealth: That time my brain and job tried to kill me
Happy LIS Mental Health Week friends! I want to start this post by recognizing someone who has done a great deal to support library workers' mental health in the face of…
Thoughts at Mid-Career Part 5: Where to From Here?
This is the fifth in a series of essays. You can access the rest here, though it’s not necessary to read them all or in order. "To me, the only habit worth ‘designing…
Thoughts at Mid-Career Part 4 – The Cult of Productivity: You’re Never Doing Enough
This is the fourth in a series of essays. You can access the rest here, though it’s not necessary to read them all or in order. “These days, I just want to slow…
Thoughts at Mid-Career Part 3 – Our Achievement Culture: What You’re Doing Will Never Be Enough
This is the third in a series of essays. You can access the rest here, though it’s not necessary to read them all or in order. Of all my annoying qualities, my…
Thoughts at Mid-Career Part 2 – Ambition: You are Not Enough
This is the second in a series of essays. You can access the first here, though it's not necessary to read them all or in order: “So maybe my great…
Posted inabout me librarianship mid-career Work Work-life balance
Thoughts at Mid-Career Part 1 – Letting Go, Questioning, and Pathfinding
This is the first in a (probably) five-part series of essays. For about two years, until January, I felt a disturbing lack of ambition. I felt directionless and passionless; devoid…
Posted inALA librarianship libraries library school management Work
“Devaluing” the MLS vs. respect for all library workers
I'm sure some of you remember the big push last year and early this year to require the MLS for the Executive Director of the American Library Association (ALA) --…
Wayfinding and balance at mid-career
It's LIS Mental Health Week; a week focused on raising awareness of mental health. This post isn't about mental health per se, but something that I think, for me, is very…
Choose your own professional involvement adventure
Last month, I had lunch with two friends who are also in academia. We talked a lot about professional ambitions and "extracurricular" professional involvement. One of them is starting a…
Posted inlibraries management Work
Bias in climbing the career ladder and Hillary Clinton
This race must be familiar for many women: she’s overqualified for the promotion, he’s unqualified, and yet it’s still a contest.— (((Touré))) (@Toure) July 29, 2016 I had lunch with…
Posted inabout me libraries Work Work-life balance
Playing the super-productive librarian. My #LISMentalHealth Week post
I know a lot of librarians who've suffered with depression or anxiety, take psychotropics, or who go to therapy. It makes me wonder if people with mental illness are drawn…
