Librations

To whom it may concern:

I don’t know if it’s the spring equinox or what, but this seems to have been kind of a crazy week in libraryland for “interesting” interactions between librarians and patrons. According to my twitter feed, librarians have been hard at work of late documenting some of their kookiest patron stories. I think it’s time for us to come together and highlight these anecdotes that fill behind-the-scenes library life with glorious OMGs, WTFs, and LOLs. In other words, it’s time for….

Sh!t People Say to Librarians!

In the style of that youtube meme, we really need one for this. So, librarianish internet. This is my proposal. I will suggest a few lines. We can all pitch in and make this video a reality.

“Where’s the bathroom?”

“Can I borrow your stapler?”

“When did you start closing early on Fridays?”

“Do you have more staples?”

“I printed something and it won’t come out.”

“I saw this segment on 60 Minutes… maybe a month ago? It was about kids in a ballroom dancing class? Could you find the video of that? Oh, and the name of the school. Also, I was wondering, it seemed weird that all of the children in the class were Asian. Were they in an Asian neighborhood or something? There was this one kid that was interviewed on the show. Could you tell me his birthdate and the place he was born?”

“Is that non-fiction or real life?”

“I love your glasses. Where did you get them? You should be a glasses model.”

“Where’s your bathroom?”

“Can I eat this in here?”

“Is there a bathroom on this floor?”

I was talking with a friend last night (one from my high school teachering days) and mentioned that librarianship was good for “people like me.”

When he asked me to elaborate on what I meant by “people like me,” (as we had both gone into teaching for similar reasons, and he is still fighting the good fight in a Michigan high school) I realized I had a number of answers.  Here they are, in order of realization and by no particular importance…

1)People who just CAN’T get up at 5am every day without needing a nap by 3pm.  We enjoy a leisurely post-8am start to our workday.

2)People who like helping out-we’re quick to give directions, share a recipe, or introduce you to a friend who might be able to help.  We often post articles or links on your FB wall after you mention a problem or curiosity.

3)People who geek out about multiple areas of interest.  Maybe we love writing AND movies AND teaching AND science fiction AND graphic novels AND technology AND sharks.  We have probably considered academia as an option for exploring one of these interests in depth, but may have opted out because we don’t have the time, money or patience to get 5 unrelated PhDs.

4)People who *heart* teachable moments.  I’ve encountered a lot of almost- or post-teachers in LibraryLand.  Some of this like to teach passively through blogs, readers advisory tools, etc, while others jump at opportunities to stand up front and lead educational programs or technology classes.

5)People who like books.  Not only do I get to buy books, but it’s my job to keep up on what’s up in the publishing world.  Reading the new Mary Roach book for work?  I’m in!

6)People with hard-to-pronounce last names.  Seriously, getting 150 teenagers to remember and pronounce Esseltine correctly was just a BEAR! Now I just wear a nametag and remembering my last name is kinda optional.  (Ok, so this was an afterthought.)

I’m curious: what interests/characteristics makes your career the right one for you?  I know this list doesn’t apply to all librarians, and I’m coming specifically from the Public Library world, so comment away, people!

I’m just shy of six months into my job as the Art & Architecture Librarian here at CU-Boulder, and I’m learning a lot–about my job, the organization I work for, the students and faculty I serve, and so much more.

Several weeks ago, I helped a student at the reference desk with a particularly difficult question. We started chatting, and she identified herself as a McNair Scholar. She asked if the library had a liaison to the McNair program, and I offered to find out for her. Long story short, I am now the liaison to the McNair program.

This brief story illustrates an important lesson: If you express interest in something, there’s a strong chance you’ll be asked to be in charge of it.

As a new librarian, how can you use this organizational quirk to your advantage? Well, if you see something that you think needs to be changed, or might just need the attention of a dedicated individual to make it work better, don’t be afraid to speak up. Make sure folks around you (boss, colleagues, etc.) know what you’re truly passionate about. And don’t forget to be strategic about your interests! As a tenure-track librarian here at CU-Boulder, a focus of my developing research agenda has been working with underrepresented students. Serving as the liaison to the McNair program helps me unite the “librarianship” and “research” pieces of my librarianship/research/service puzzle.

So what do YOU want to be in charge of?  :)

[Note: This content is cross-posted from a previous post on Hung Truong: The Blog!]

Looking back on my old posts from before I went to school at a hybrid Information/Library Science school, my opinions of librarians seemed fueled by a bit of prejudice. For example, in my visiting days post I wrote:

I sat down at a table whose occupants were librarians. Pretty much everyone there was an LIS (library and information services) specialist. This wasn’t really a great first impression, since I applied under the HCI (human-computer interaction) specialization, and to be honest, libraries aren’t really my thing.

What, exactly, did I have against librarians and libraries? I think I mostly felt that, from the school’s website (or the parts of the website that I studied), the program was more for people who were generally interested in information from a more technology-oriented viewpoint. So I was hoping to see more technological-minded folks at my table.

I still, however, decided to enroll. And I’m glad I did. Slowly, I think I started to understand what libraries are all about. I started using the local library. A lot. It probably also helped that I worked at a library my entire time at the school. I wasn’t studying to be a librarian, but I was exposed to the culture. Computer nerds and librarians make a good team.

So did library school actually change me? Or was I somehow intrinsically drawn to the program where computer nerds and book nerds collide? Maybe a little of both. I’ve always had a secret love for organizing and archiving things.

For example, pretty much no one in my family seems to care much about backing up files. I, on the hand, am a bit obsessed about it. I still have files from middle school preserved in their original file formats and directory structure in place. Who knows, some day I might want to look back on that stuff. I’m also kind of a nut when it comes to properly organizing and applying metadata (and preserving said metadata) from photos. Oh, and also backing everything up, both on-site and off-site (using multiple online services).

I also get really irritated when I go to the library and see something like this:

Is that a Drama and Horror blu-ray disc I see mixed in with the Action ones!? Usually I will take the offending discs and put them in the right place. There was also that one time I saw Harry Potter in Comedy when it should have gone in Fantasy. The worst is when a DVD gets mixed in with blu-ray. That’s like the same as a book being in the CD section! Oh man, now I’m rambling.

The point is, I think I already had some Librarian/Archivist in me before coming to library school. Hanging out with like-minded people probably reinforced the behavior mentioned above. And probably for the better. If you’re a computer nerd, I suggest you check out libraries (and librarians!). If you’re a library nerd, I suggest you check out computer nerd stuff (and computer nerds!). Together, we can make the world a more information-y place.

This weekend, three Librations team members (Emily, Katie, and Hung) began the long process of preparing for the ideal future — that is, a future where libraries are dominated (and known for) Segway Reference. What, you ask, is a Segway Reference? I will do my best to describe the experience:

Imagine if you can a library with wide aisles and lots of room to maneuver. Now add in the obligatory patron or two, quietly or loudly studying, reading, or computing. Pepper in some high ceilings for good measure, and a pinch of natural light. Now, with your mind’s ear, sprinkle in a little humming — it’s coming closer. What is that noise? It sounds like… a floor being waxed in the next room over. Or maybe an electric mixer, bread-hook attachment confidently working through some particularly difficult dough. As the sound grows ever closer, you can’t help but raise your head expectantly, waiting for whatever it is to round the corner, while the book stacks in front of you don’t even tremble at its approach.

Suddenly she shoots out from behind the books, librarian goggles keeping the wind from her eyes, cape flapping behind her, and a giant questionmark emblazoned across her chest. She is laughing! She is zipping through the library, and you realize suddenly that this why you had to sign a liability release form as you entered the building — this is the fabled — the legendary — Segway Reference Librarian. Her steed is, of course — you should have known all along — a gyroscopic, battery-powered human transporter. She glides up to you and pauses, the forward-backward motion of the stop inherently comical. “May I help you?” she asks.

Segway Reference is my dream for the future of libraries. With basic training complete, at least three Masters of Science in Information (Information) are ready for the next step — recruitment.

Let us know what you think of this idea — is it in you?

We hope so.