Category: librarianship

librarianship, on life (and other things)

Please join the Programming Librarian & MCNY to learn about the Black Maternal Health Initiative!

Way back in 2022, I was the chair of the American Library Association’s Libraries Transform Communities Engagement Grant. It was a special year: we got to award TWO grants instead of the usual one! And now, in 2023, it will be my very, very great honor to introduce the Metropolitan College of New York Library‘s Black Maternal Health Initiative. The webinar is free; you just … Continue reading Please join the Programming Librarian & MCNY to learn about the Black Maternal Health Initiative!

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librarianship

#LibraryJobs: Or, hire more people and pay them all a whole lot more

Much to my surprise, #LibraryJobs was trending on Twitter. I don’t think we’re a big enough group to get that trending? I mean, library Twitter is hardcore but this is kind of random. Nonetheless, I have thoughts about library jobs, and the people who budget and hire for them. Libraries are at a breaking point, here in the U.S. They are, fundamentally, a public good–one … Continue reading #LibraryJobs: Or, hire more people and pay them all a whole lot more

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librarianship

Why ALA? or, an attempt to answer a Twitter question

The American Library Association’s yearly conference just took place, this time in Washington, DC. It coincided with the Supreme Court reversing the full personhood of people with uteruses (and destroying tribal sovereignty, too), and, as so often happens, included some good solid racism and bothsiderism. In the storm surges of rage and additional racism, one of my colleagues out East asked people to be specific … Continue reading Why ALA? or, an attempt to answer a Twitter question

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librarianship

after National Librarian Day

It’s Easter, if you celebrate it on the western calendar, and also the midst of Ramadan, and right around Passover too. It is also, apparently, the day after National Librarian Day, and I have about as many feelings about that as I always have around National Library Week. Events like National Library Week and National Library Workers’ Day and National Librarian Day are meant, at … Continue reading after National Librarian Day

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librarianship

on the classes I actually remember from my mslis

I’m in a semi-functional haze today, as I try to hold down chat and work like a functioning adult despite having trouble sitting upright (you would not believe how I react to COVID boosters, holy shit), and so when I stumbled across a tweet about memorable classes from library school (or a lack thereof), it made me think a lot about my own memorable classes—or … Continue reading on the classes I actually remember from my mslis

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librarianship

thoughts on getting a library degree, part II

Two years ago I wrote a two-part series about getting a degree in librarianship (I didn’t exactly recommend it) and finding a job in the library and information science field (I suggested starting as soon as possible and looking outside the field). The year before, I’d written about my own job hunt, a miserable, soul-sucking four year quest. Today, I saw a question on Facebook … Continue reading thoughts on getting a library degree, part II

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librarianship

why I really hate those we don’t deserve librarians memes

In the same week as the SLJ cover that centered whiteness1 during Black History Month, a meme—or, rather, a screenshot of a tweet—has been going the rounds again, positing that “we don’t deserve librarians.” The tweeter meant well, and the people sharing the meme mean well, and the thing being shared is, at its heart, pretty funny. But oh my God, people, let me tell … Continue reading why I really hate those we don’t deserve librarians memes

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librarianship

On Reading Critically

I’ve noticed some interesting misinformation going the rounds, of late. Some of it is built around daylight savings time, which seems random. I mean, I hate daylight savings time with the fire of a thousand dying suns, which is also my general thought on time changes, but it’s a time change. Who cares? Except that the misinformation—which I will not repeat here—has been flying so … Continue reading On Reading Critically

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librarianship

On the Job Hunt: Library Edition

So you’ve got that Master of Science in Library and Information Science (that’s mine), or maybe you’ve got the Master of Library Science, and you’re on the job market. (If you’re not yet in school, consider all sides of that degree before you apply.) Now what? Well, like, now you hunt for jobs. My job hunt was really miserable, I’m not gonna lie. And it … Continue reading On the Job Hunt: Library Edition

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