Ten Reasons Why ‘Professional Librarian’ is an Oxymoron « The Other Librarian Before you comment, yes, this is an unbalanced look at professionalism. Yes, I am trolling a little bit – but with a heart that wants to lead discussion on the topic of library professionalism. Please do write a post about why these ten reason are bullocks. On the other hand, I often see librarians and library school students that take professionalism as a given. I see this as unrealistic, especially in an era of rapid change. In reality, it is the exceptions that prove the rule. 1. You need to pass the bar exam to practice law. 2. Besides the risk of being considered unemployable, a librarian has no real professional obligation to adhere to any of the values claimed by the ALA or any other so-called professional body. 3. The number of books in the field written ‘for librarians’ is analogous to books written ‘for dummies.’ 4. Despite claims otherwise, ‘librarian’ comes from ‘library’ which is a place where there are books. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. So there. Like this: Like Loading...
Eighteenth-Century Resources -- Professional Resources This page, edited by Jack Lynch of Rutgers – Newark, is part of the larger collection of Eighteenth-Century Resources on the Net. General Resources Calls for Papers on 18th-c. topics Part of the large archive of Calls for Papers in English literature at Penn. Internet Mailing Lists A list of mailing lists devoted to the eighteenth century, including: Claire's Seventeenth Century (Claire George, Univ. of Durham) A discussion board for 17th-c. studies and news. Where to Find The Eighteenth Century [microform] Collection (Roxanne Kent-Drury) A list of libraries that carry all or part of the microfilm collection. Eighteenth-Century Reading Room Blog (Graduate Center, CUNY) A blog and discussion group hosted by the CUNY Graduate Center's 18th-c. community. Societies Kevin Berland's site accompanies the C18 list he runs; a fine collection of resources, especially valuable for the Selected Readings. Fledgling master index to 18th-c. resources, sponsored by ISECS. Regional ASECS affiliates NASSR (Waterloo)
18 Do’s and Don’ts Of Usability On The Web | Spyre Studios Are you a web designer or do you run a website? Good, because this article is for you. If you’re designing websites for a living or running your business online, there are 18 tips in this article that you should definitely read and remember. You can have the best visual design skills on the planet, but if you build a website that works like crap and doesn’t allow the visitor to feel comfortable going from item to item and page to page, you are missing the very core of a good website design. Do utilize a grid for your website structure Before you get upset and start screaming that a grid is a box for creativity, I’m not saying to ensure your entire site is boxed in. Do Not forget your search form A lot of people will go to your site and immediately look for a search box. Do make your navigation easy to find & readable Do Not make your “contact” link in your navigation bar a mailto: link Do utilize UX Apps as much as possible for web tests O.K. This is especially true for blogs/content sites.
Continuing Education - Texas Library Association Filling Your Dance Card in Hard Economic Times If you’re not peering over the cubicle wall, hoping that the global economy won’t affect your workplace, you’re either a Trump (or a Hilton) or in a watertight business—or possibly you’ve had your head in the sand. It’s mighty tempting to throw your hands in the air and declare, “I have no control over this!” But here’s the thing: you do. If you’re feeling a little worried: fair enough! The worsening economy will adversely affect our industry, at least in the short term. So how do you ensure your company isn’t a wallflower? Step one: understand that happy clients provide job security#section1 Businesses are pretty simple: you provide products or services in exchange for a fee paid by clients. Think carefully about every action you take. Get serious about your client’s targets and goals. Step two: know your company’s goals#section2 A lot of companies are reasonably open and transparent about their direction, and it’s likely that you have a basic understanding of your company’s direction.
If Libraries Remove Computers, Will Anyone Come? - Wired Campus If iPads and other new mobile computers catch on, libraries might not need to offer rooms full of computers for students to do their research, writing, and Facebooking. But if that happens, will students have any reason left to visit the library? That’s the provocative question posed by Brian Mathews, assistant university librarian at the University of California at Santa Barbara, on his blog this week. The trend in the last few years was to add more computers to the library, creating spaces often called “information commons.” And during that time, visits to the library have increased greatly. “I think the key to our current success has been the computers,” Mr. But now Mr. His answer is sobering for library officials: “If you take the computers out of the commons, I think you’d see our numbers drop by half,” he argues. In an interview with The Chronicle, Mr. “It’s key to start having that conversation now,” he said. Are computers the key to current library success? Return to Top
Open Data is Civic Capital: Best Practices for "Open Government Data" By Joshua Tauberer ( who runs the congressional transparency website www.GovTrack.us. Thanks to Gunnar Hellekson (RedHat, Inc.) for help with the initial version, and to all others who provided feedback. Originally published May 19, 2009. This is version 1.5 dated January 29, 2011. See the Document History at the end for a list of changes since the original. Government data, also called "public sector information" internationally, is a valuable resource to society when it is public and open. This is not a new idea, and already many government entities have begun to embrace these ideas. "The power of digital information to catalyze progress is limited only by the power of the human mind. It is perhaps easier to imagine how government scientific data can improve lives than government records: government funded research in the life sciences helps us to cure disease, for instance. "Government information is a valuable national resource. How Open Data Is Useful "4.
Technology Review: TR10 Think of the most frustrating, intractable, or simply annoying problems you can imagine. Now think about what technology is doing to fix them. That’s what we did in coming up with our annual list of 10 Breakthrough Technologies. We’re looking for technologies that we believe will expand the scope of human possibilities. see the list How to age-proof your career - Apr. 28, 2010 For work purposes, Marcia Noyes, 49, a marketing and public relations manager at tech company Healthagen, recently got an iPod Touch.By Dan Kadlec, Money Magazine contributing writerApril 28, 2010: 11:05 AM ET (Money Magazine) -- At a company golf outing a few years ago, Michael Levine tried to rattle his 24-year-old colleague as he was about to putt by stealing a line from the 1980 movie "Caddyshack:" "Noonan!" he yelled, just as the caddies in the film did to disrupt a character on the green. The joke fell flat -- painfully flat. There's no upside to appearing stale -- much less ancient -- in today's workforce, where job security is as elusive as the gophers Bill Murray stalked in "Caddyshack." Sure, many companies value older workers for their institutional knowledge, industry expertise, and mentoring capacity. Far more than pop culture is at play here. "If you can be flexible, it's going to help," says Robin Ryan, career coach and author of "Over 40 and You're Hired!"
Control and Conquer Stress: MensHealth.com It's hard to say, exactly, what the worst part about stress is. Is it the tightness that starts somewhere around your solar plexus, then extends out to your toenails, earlobes, and cerebellum? Is it randomly snapping at innocent—and, occasionally, quite guilty—coworkers and loved ones? Is it sobbing quietly behind the closed door of a men's-room stall? Uh, sorry, did we say that last one out loud? The point is, stress attacks in all sorts of ways—which means that if you want to control it, contain it, conquer it, you need to fire back in kind. Soon you will, too. TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH, BODY, AND LIFE!
Government 2.0: A Theory of Social Government This is the second of two posts written by Dr. Mark Drapeau about government 2.0. Click here to read his first post, "Government 2.0: An Insider's Perspective." In June 2008, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress’ investigative arm, released a report stating that, “more than 4 years after September 11, the nation still lacked the government-wide policies and processes called for in law to provide a framework for guiding and integrating a myriad of ongoing efforts to share terrorism-related information critical to protecting our homeland.” Simply put, people in the government aren’t talking to each other enough. In what I think is a good trend, people associated with the government are using Web 2.0 (whether they know it or not). Ironically, however, many government agencies block such sites for use at work. Despite this, there are overt sprinklings of Web 2.0 influence all over the federal government. There are also promising extra-governmental efforts. Dr.