Head Tale

After an
enormous smear on my character, just because I happened to be looking
at web pages of belly-dancing librarians at two in the morning (), I started thinking to myself: what are the similarities between librarians and porn stars?  (Not to say that belly dancers are porn stars, of course!)

I couldn't think of very many and since I know that the word's getting
out that I have a blog, I'd love people who read this to add comments
with their own ideas.  Eventually, I'll pull them all to the front
page.

HOW ARE LIBRARIANS LIKE PORN STARS?
– both are on the forefront of the issues of freedom of expression and censorship
– both are mostly female professions
– both look sexier in glasses (weak, I know)
– both are interested in utilizing the latest technologies and full capabilities of the Internet
– both are found in institutions that require membership cards

Okay, help me out here. I'm stretching the idea pretty thinly already!

In our “503 –
Reference Sources & Services” class, each week a few students have
signed up to send around a summary of the readings for that week's
class.  I'm not sure if this is the purpose but it's a great idea
for those weeks when you don't get to assigned readings yourself. 

I was up this week and so here's my summary of this week's article:

To Chat or Not To Chat: Taking Another Look At Virtual Reference


Steve Coffman & Linda Arret


Summary by: Jason Hammond




This article provides a comprehensive overview of the development of
virtual reference services in libraries from 2000 to 2004.  Based on
their bios at the end of the article, you would expect the authors to be
very pro-virtual reference but they sound a cautionary note, claiming
that at least to this point (in 2004 or perhaps before as the article
may have been written long before it was published) virtual reference
has proven to be costly, time-consuming and ineffective, especially
compared to traditional methods (phone, in-person.)




My own take is that it's an unfair comparison – “Internet time” is
faster than real time but things don't spring fully formed either – the
telephone has been around for over one hundred years and talking to
people to exchange information for tens of thousands.  Still, it would
be interesting to see if the numbers for VR have continued to decrease,
stayed static or begun to improve again, since this study in 2004.




I had a discussion around this very topic with a classmate today.  I
don't think virtual reference is a passing fad and we both wondered if
the MLIS program is doing enough to prepare us for the technology that's
increasingly being used in librarians (blogs, wikis, podcasts, RSS
feeds, etc.) not just today but what will be in use a year or two from
now when we're out in the “real” world.  So far, the answer feels like
'no'.




My summary ends there but here are some links if you're interested:




Discussion of the Second Part of this Article


http://www.teachinglibrarian.org/weblog/2004/09/steve-coffmanlinda-arret-article-now.html




Top Technology Trends for Librarians 2005


– this article is already a year old but it still has some timely stuff
in it.  If you don't recognize *any* of the terms being discussed, come
see me, stat!



http://www.tametheweb.com/ttwblog/archives/000791.html




AskMetaFilter


– could a community-based reference service, drawing not just on
reference librarians but also on the expertise and opinions of patrons
work in a library setting?  This site, although not tied to a specific
library (but frequented *by* librarians) is an example of how that might
be accomplished:




http://ask.metafilter.com




Cheers,




Jason

I guess I can
talk about this now since it was announced publicly in class by
Christina Winter on Tuesday.   She surprised me a week or so
ago by letting me know that she was going to nominate me for the
“Spirit of Librarianship” Award that student council offers each
semester.

Here's the blurb:
The Spirit of Librarianship Award is
given to a Master of Library and Information Science student to
acknowledge and celebrate the contributions that this student brings to
the program (outside of academics) in terms of peer support and
administrative savvy.  It is to be awarded to the student who
“exemplifies the spirit of librarianship” in their daily life as a
student.  It is based on a steadfast presence, positive collegial
support, administrative contribution, a willingness to help whenever a
need arises, public service and networking; it
would include those among us who exude an “aura” or warmth, a friendly
“out there” presence of support and interest in fellow students.  It is
about strengthening and supporting library service in daily practice.



Any current Master of Library and
Information Science student is eligible. Nominations are put forward
for suggested candidates by fellow students or faculty near the end of
each term and voted for by fellow students, faculty, GRC employees and
administration as desired.


I'm
especially
honoured that it's Christina who thought of me as her dad is the head
of the University of Saskatchewan library and her mom is a librarian in
the public system in Saskatoon so she knows a thing or two about what
makes a good librarian.  Still, her and I have disagreed on a few points
around what exactly that might be so that she would think to nominate
me is extra cool. 

With that said, it isn't just false modesty for me to say that I have
mixed feelings about this.  I have done a whack load of
extracurricular stuff since getting here – from big things like setting
up a monthly speaker series and organizing a Freedom to Read Week event
to smaller things like planning a “class photo” day and setting up a
class listserv.  (Not to mention sitting at the Grad Club for six
hours at the end of  Week Two to hold a table for the class. 
I actually had a classmate recently tell me she thought that was our
official orientation mixer!)  I think I was the only one from our
class to go to OLA and I was also the only one to put up my hand when
Sam asked recently if anyone was going to CLA in Ottawa in June (I'm
going to try anyhow, schedule and funds permitting.) 

There are three reasons I'm doing all of this stuff:
1) I'm not planning to do co-op so I want to do other things to help my
chances of getting noticed against people who do have library
experience, previously and from co-op,  when we're out there
applying for the same jobs.

2) this is the type of stuff I've always done – setting up readings and
events, using technology to bring people together – and it's the type
of stuff I thrive on. 

3) I strongly believe in creating communities and want to try to help
facilitate a sense of togetherness in I can that goes beyond “hey, you
were in my class back in '06, weren't you?  What's your name
again?”

But I've worked with a few different awards programs in the past and
although I see their benefits, I also know that, as with anything
subjective, trying to pick a “winner” or whatever you want to call it,
can be pretty meaningless.  Instead, more often, awards leave out
deserving people.  I mean, what's the difference between the
winner of last year's Saskatchewan Book of the Year and the other four
books on the shortlist?   Not much. 

That's how I feel about the people in my class.  Each and everyone
of them has something unique that they'll bring to the field of
librarianship.  Some of them are working their asses off to get
really high marks and learn everything we're being taught.  Some
of them are quieter but when you talk to them, one-on-one, you can't
help but see how amazing they'll be as librarians.  So many others
have extroverted, outgoing personalities that are going to help destroy
the librarian stereotypes of old when they're unleashed on the stacks
in a year or two.

I'm not going to turn down the award if I win it.  But I wish
there was a way that we could all win it.  I mean, I wouldn't care
if my resume said: “co-recipient of the 2006 Spirit of Librarianship
Award” and no one has to know that everyone had 39 or so
“co-recipients”, not just one or two.  (Er, unless my future
employers read this blog.  In which case, I'm screwed!)

I don't know – these are the things I think about late at night when
I'm putting off other, more important work.  Maybe that's why I
don't deserve the award.  But then, maybe because I find myself
thinking way too deeply about these things is why I should get the
award?  Who knows…time will tell as it always does.