nirak.net - Musings of an LIS Student

I had an interesting exchange with some fellow students this week (in blackboard, so I unfortunately cannot link to it.) The topic posted by the teacher was: How does one gain technical experience required for an system manager job? and second, what are some qualifications for a Systems Manager that might be listed in a job advertisement?

In my initial response as to qualifications, I said:

Can the candidate learn new languages as needed? I think this is more important than knowing any specific languages. … Preferred languages are changing rapidly. … A flexible programmer may be more useful than one that is especially well versed in one language. (Keep in mind that I am not a programmer)”

One of my fellow students responded, saying that she had read that it is not realistic to pick up be proficient in (sorry, had to go back and re-read) more than one or two languages. This surprised me. I certainly don’t think it is easy to pick up a new computer language, but I don’t think it is unreasonable to think a new hire could learn the library’s preferred language. One of my co-workers, Steve Ramsay, tells me “The first language is hard, because it’s your first language. The second language is hard because it’s not like the first language. After that it’s easy.” (except he probably said it much more eloquently.) Steve is a hella smart guy, so I take his proclaiming something as ‘easy’ with a grain of salt. Still, I think it is much more important to find a programmer who likes learning new languages than one who already knows specific languages- unless, of course, you need someone that can start working on a specific project right away. Edit: One person pointed out that a systems manager doesn’t necessarily need to know programming- I will address this in my next post.

So my question for programmers and people that hire them: Am I being unrealistic? Is it better to hire someone who already knows the languages used at your library, or is it OK to hire someone who knows some languages and is willing to learn more? I would really like to know if I am way off base.

If I was hiring a programmer, I would try to find out how willing they are to learn new languages by asking questions like: What is your favorite language? When was the last time you learned a new language? Why did you learn it? If they’ve been out of school 10 years and they only know the languages they learned in school, I might be a little worried.

Photos by: davestfu and Nat W.

karin :: Apr.21.2008 :: Library, School Stuff :: 6 Comments »

Last week was a crazy one for me- the last (I hope) bit of bad winter weather and serious time constrains made me a bit crazy. I think every once in a while I need a little breakdown to straighten myself out. Better weather means brighter spirits for me, and I started this week with renewed optimism.

As I have hinted at in previous posts, I have been having a good deal of trouble settling on a career trajectory. It’s not that I want the perfect first job, but I want a good first job. I still have my “OMG, did I do the right thing?!?!” moments about withdrawing my name from the position I applied for. I have come to the conclusion that job hunting is a little like gambling- sometimes you have to go with your gut and hope for the best. It doesn’t help that I hate gambling.

I have a few ideas about what I might want to do re: job possibilities.

1. Find a local job, save up money and continue networking like crazy

photo credit: Photocapy

The advantage of finding a local job is that I would not have to waste much time with planning a move, deciding where to live, etc. Lincoln affords a good deal of leisure time, and Omaha is not bad either. If I stay in state, I can put away a lot of money and would have a good amount of free time I can devote to professional development (read: more school, but not the crazy pace I have been maintaining.)

Of course, this option is dependent on a job opening up in the right place at the right time. I have heard of a few possible opportunities opening up, but there’s a LOT of talented new library professionals out there that I would be up against. Staying in state would probably mean settling for less than a dream job, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t find something that makes me happy.

2. Try to get as many fellowships/internships as possible

The wanderlust part of me loves this idea. Basically, I would try to find some kind of flexible employment that would allow me to leave for a few months at a time to do internships here and there. Better yet would be to get some fellowships to pay my way. I was kind of hoping I might be able to use the new NEH Digital Humanities Fellowship as a springboard (that would, of course, be contingent on finding a center to sponsor me), but unfortunately, I won’t meet the eligibility requirements because I’ll still be in school. I have not started to search in earnest for other fellowship possibilities- the library field isn’t known for tons of fellowships, but there are a few.

I like this idea because it would allow me to try out some different locations and jobs and hopefully find something that fits. The downside, of course, is that it would be less stable and would probably mean being away from my husband for extended periods of time. It would also mean not saving as much.

3. Be patient, wait for the perfect job

Instead of taking something less than ideal because it is close, I could just wait and apply to the dream jobs I’m sure will pop up after I graduate. I like my job and wouldn’t mind staying on for a bit, but the pay isn’t great.

The problem with this plan is I have no idea where I want to live. Lincoln is OK, and I’d love to live in California again but I can’t imagine being able to afford it. (I have a few other dream locals, like Portland Oregon.) I started a google map where I plotted places I might like to live and recommendations based on a quick Twitter poll. I would love to live somewhere I could walk to work or take public transportation, somewhere with a moderate climate, and somewhere with lots of natural beauty. Of course a low cost of living is helpful too. I’m not too picky. Suggestions are welcome.

The problem with the above approach is I don’t really know yet what the perfect job is.

Of course, I am oversimplifying my options - as William Turkel pointed out recently, career trajectories are never a linear or predictable as we would like.  For now, I’m taking a step back and keep watching, listening, and waiting. I’m looking at what others in my position are doing - a big crop of enormously talented Library school students are graduating this May. I’m keeping tabs on job descriptions and trying to figure out what would be right for me.

A big part of this is trying to figure out what kind of person I am- I have become quite the homebody in the last few years (that may just be a result of marriage, or maybe just a lack of money) but I’m starting to come out of that a bit. How adventurous do I want to be? How much risk am I willing to take? These are questions I ask over and over but I can only answer myself.

karin :: Apr.15.2008 :: House and Home, School Stuff :: 3 Comments »

School and work (I would say “life” but I have not had one of those for a while) have kept me away from blogging for a while. I feel, lately, like I am being pulled in different directions- which I suppose I am. I am starting to feel pressure to decide what I will devote myself to, and I *can’t* decide. I like my job now, so I think I might like to stay in the digital humanities. However, what drew me to librarianship is the ability to work with lots of people, which I would get from a public services library job. There are other considerations too- techie vs non-techie, reference vs support. I just don’t know- and I likely won’t know until I actually work in a few different positions, which is scary.

It’s not like I need to decide on a career path RIGHT NOW, but I am getting a lot more questions to the effect of “what are you going to do once you are out of library school?” and I don’t know how to answer. I feel like a bit of a failure not having a definite area of librarianship I want to go into. For the record, I know that’s so NOT true, but it’s just a feeling, gnawing away at me.

Add to that stuff school work and work work and committee work and school paperwork BS on TOP of the regular school work and you have an exhausted to the point of collapse Karin.

Which brings me to the real point of this post. I remember reading a while back about saying yes (was it on Kathryn’s Blog? Maybe…) and I sort of unconsciously took this advice to heart. I have been saying yes a LOT more than I would have a couple of years ago, when I protected my time rather zealously. The results have been good and bad. In addition to full time work and grad school, I have been to 5 conferences, presented several times, written some articles, I serve on the display committee at work, I’m secretary for the Nebraska Library Association NMRT, and I attend pretty much any professional development thing I can. I have also networked my butt off, and in the process made a lot of really cool acquaintances. I never feel like I am doing enough, though, because librarians are overachievers (at least a lot of them are) and plenty of them do tons more than I do. (For example: danah boyd posted recently about work/life balance.)

So I feel a little down when I realize I can’t do it all. Why not? What’s wrong with me? Where has all my energy gone? I kept expecting to get over this funk, to perk back up to the energy level I was at even last semester, but it is just not happening.

Saying yes all the time has led to some really great experiences though, and I wouldn’t trade any of it. All the conferences I have gone to have been a blast. I’ve met several people I now consider to be friends. I’ve been able to travel more in the last two years than in the 5 years previous to that. Best of all, I continually feel like I am doing something with meaning. I’m not just wandering around- I may be interested in too much, but it is all interesting to me. I’m not bored, just tired.

Unfortunately, there’s no break in sight for me- My semester ends May 2nd, and the following Monday I start my practicum. 90 house does not seem like a lot, but crammed into three months in which I’m traveling a lot (and still working another job), it will be a pretty large chunk of time. I’m also taking a class this summer and attending two conferences. I do, thankfully, have a vacation in there before the ALA conference in Anaheim, but travel for me is about packing in as much as possible into a trip, not so much relaxing. I will have about 3 weeks in August where I will only have full time work.

This turned into a rather long post to say this: I’m gonna blog more, I promise.

karin :: Apr.10.2008 :: Library, Rant, School Stuff, Work :: No Comments »

I have been pretty quiet here lately. The truth is, there has been a LOT on my mind- stuff about my future career, where I want to live, what concessions I am willing to make (including how much time I am willing to spend away from my husband) and what exactly I want to do. So much is unsure, and I suppose I feel a little uncomfortable talking about things that I am unsure about- though I think for other library school students, this is exactly the kind of thing that is very useful to read about.

The other reason I have not posted about these feelings and thoughts is because it is hard to do so without naming names. Much of what I want in a job depends on where that job is, and that has to do with family, friends, and of course, my husband who is both my family and my best friend. (OK, trying not to sound too mushy, but he really is.) Also, the library community is small. It’s not hard to determine who I am talking about, even if I don’t name names. This has mede me super careful about what I post, especially lately.

So please forgive me if my posts come off sounding a little awkward and vague- it’s where my brain is right now.

I recently withdrew my name from a job that I really, really wanted. I think I had a good chance at getting the position, but it was just too far from home, in a place my husband would have had a hard time relocating. I knew this when I applied, of course. The plan was that I would spend the week in this other place and then come home on the weekends. It sounds OK on paper, and in planning, but when we actually sat down to figure out costs and logistics, it sort of fell apart. There were a lot of little things that, if taken alone, would have been fine, but all together would make the job unmanageable.

Then there was the fact that I am, after all, still in school- still carrying a full coarse load while working full time. Travel would mean cutting 5-6 hours out of my week when I have little time to spare. I can’t help but feel I should have considered all these aspects of the job before I applied, and I feel bad for not doing so. On the other hand, sometimes it takes a face to face confrontation with a possibility before it feels real. I am very grateful to the search committee of the school I applied to. It sounds like they are doing wonderful things and I am disappointed I will not be a part of it. They asked really great questions that really showed they are thinking about many of the same things I am, and it will be hard to come by a job that would allow me the opportunities this one would have.

The whole experience has made me cautious about job applications. For a while now I have been adding more and more to my to do pile- applying for a job seemed like the logical next step. I realize now that I need to take a step back and reassess. Full time work and school is hard- when I add to that presenting and writing and conferences and serving as secretary for the NMRT of the NLA, I’m pretty much filled up to capacity.

At the same time all this was happening, or maybe because of it, I have found myself drifting back to art as a pastime. I sort of stopped making art after I finished my Bachelors in Fine Art. The preparation for the final show and my final classes were overwhelming (I was working near full time then, too). I was constantly making art, and that art was constantly evaluated and critiqued, and it got exhausting. I not only had to create, but I had to think very carefully and pointedly about what I was creating, how to explain it, how to defend it, and how to present it. The thought of making a living at as an artist started to take on an ominous tone- a life full of creating for someone else, and to base my living off that… well, let’s just say I’m glad I found librarianship as another option.

So I’ve been painting again, and it feels good. It’s been a while since I’ve had a hobby completely outside of library stuff. Even the “fun” books I read last summer almost all had to do with some aspect of libraries- technology, management, etc. To get my artwork out there I’ve started a “free artwork” photoset in Flickr- I will occasionally put up small paintings there for free (and I usually announce on Twitter). There is something immensely gratifying about giving things away for free.

I realize that when I push myself too hard, I end up wanting to turn away from the things I am most passionate about, so I am on a quest to regain some balance in my life. I was so sparky last semester- my thoughts seemed to mesh up with what I was learning in class and the blogosphere supported it all. Now my feed reader constantly taunts me with the little “1000+” unread posts signal. I’ve taken a laissez faire approach to that- not gonna weed or do anything, just read when I can. I feel like I’m constantly running to catch up, not sprinting ahead of the pack. I hope that this spring break I can emerge with new enthusiasm and vigor, and more purpose about what I want to do and how I can accomplish it.

Photos: splorp BugMan50 capturingJenn (last one mine)

karin :: Mar.25.2008 :: Conferences, Library, Rant, School Stuff, Work :: 7 Comments »

The last few weeks have been very, very weird for me, and have shaken up both my outlook and my expectations.

Here’s the short version: On several people’s recommendation, I have applied for a job as a librarian here in Nebraska. I wasn’t planning on applying for jobs so soon (I don’t graduate until December) but the job description sounds really, really great so I went for it. While that was going on, I got an email that led to a conversation that just blew my mind and really opened up my eyes to different career trajectories I could take. I spent a few days sort of frozen with the fear that I would take the wrong path and end up in a job I dislike or end up with no money (a not so secret fear of mine).

Then I snapped out of it. I realized that there’s no mistake that’s irreversible, and what I want right now is experience more than anything. It’s still hard making a decision when I don’t know what lies ahead, but that’s always the case, right? And I don’t have to make a decision right this second, anyway. Whatever I end up doing will tell me more about what I really enjoy, and hopefully I’ll figure out the perfect job for me (and a way to secure it) in time.

The funny thing is, I already really like where I am and much of what I do. I am just a lowly assistant - I schedule meetings, I take minutes, and I generally try to make my boss’s life easier, but as time goes on I get more varied and interesting things to do. For example: maintaining the internal wiki we use to track the progress of projects, designing project sites, maintaining the website for the Center, helping with podcasts, and being a general design-y person. I think I could be quite happy staying here, but there’s just no money in the budget for me (that is, me as a professional after I graduate). In the end, that may be for the best- I think perhaps I need an impetus to try something new.

I decided to go to library school because of the huge variety of things I can do with the degree. Now that I am getting to the job hunting phase of my education, this range of options is both a good and a bad thing. Good, because I can see almost limitless opportunities ahead of me. Bad, because there is so much I want to experience that there is no way one job could satisfy all I want to do.

All in all, I couldn’t be happier with the way things are going. I’m excited about so many things, and I think I could be of help in so many areas, that there are lots of possible job opportunities- enough that I can, perhaps, be a little choosy. I am meeting amazing people along the way and having incredible conversations.

Now if I can just adjust to the change in time and get my sleeping patterns back to normal, I’ll be all set.

karin :: Mar.19.2008 :: School Stuff, Work :: 3 Comments »

I’m writing an evaluation of Quintura.com search engine for my Information Storage and Retrieval class. I’m having a lot of fun playing with it - it’s kind of like boolean searching for dummies. It uses Yahoo for search results, and gives a cloud of terms one can use to broaden or narrow the search. I’m not always a big fan of tag clouds, but in this case, it can work really well to show an overview of a subject. Plus, they have embeddable widgets-

All in all, a nice alternative engine. I much prefer it to similar engines like Clusty, KartOO and Grokker.

karin :: Feb.27.2008 :: School Stuff, Sites and Stories :: 2 Comments »

The campus where I work is thinking of outsourcing student email. This in itself could be a good thing- the student email, as it it exists, sucks. Most students that we work with in the Center don’t use it. The majority use a free webmail service, and of those, most use Gmail. Our students are not representative of the student body at large, though- they tend to have a good amount of technical skills. Yesterday and today I sat in on presentations given by Microsoft and Google on the services they can bring to campus. I have a lot to say about the presentations themselves, which I will talk about some other time (either here or on os-agnostic depending on how ranty I am feeling) but right now I just want to talk about the products Google and Microsoft offered and some thoughts on outsourcing email.

I will say that I am not a typical student (I’m not a student of UNL at all) - I use Linux at home, I try new applications on a very regular basis, I am committed to open source and open standards. I have talked to several students, though, and I am a student myself, and currently have the joy of having to use web based Outlook for my student email through Missouri-Columbia.

The first thing that immediately came to mind after I watched both presentations was: Google looks easy, Microsoft looks hard. I wish I had attended the tech meetings for the two companies, maybe then I could get a better idea of how easy or hard integration would be. Just as far as usability goes, though, Microsoft Live looks complex, has lots of options, and generally suffers from the same kind of feature bloat we have come to expect from Microsoft products. This could be a good thing, if you are a long time Microsoft user. You already know where things are and what features to look for. But if you are not a Microsoft user, this can be very annoying. Google, on the other hand, looked clean with a few well chosen features.

Both services offer POP/IMAP email access- so if you don’t want to use the web email interface, you don’t have to. That said, I can’t ignore my preference for Gmail. The email threading feature alone has made the switch to Gmail absolutely worth it. The Microsoft interface is very nice looking, but looked slow and clunky and, of course, the “premium” version only works with Internet Explorer. If you use any other browser, you get a stripped down “lite” version. It is true that Gmail, too, has a stripped down HTML version, but I can get to both Gmail versions from most of my browsers.

Both services offer 24×7 tech support. Both services offer no advertising to current students. It was my understanding that alumni get advertising. Google mentioned faculty and staff frequently, and it was clear that they would love to take over all the campus’s email. Microsoft spoke a lot about integrating with our existing faculty and staff email and calendaring service (Lotus Notes), although he did make a couple of overtures to the fact that he’d love to switch us to Outlook. The Microsoft guy, of course, talked a lot about exchange and how standard it is and how well it works with existing systems.

In fact, the main thing Microsoft has going for it at this point is that it can integrate rather well with existing email applications. Microsoft email can tap into the existing global address books and provide student address books to the traditional email. From a tech point, this could be a deal breaker, I’m not sure. I think most students won’t have a problem with quickly looking for a faculty member’s email address on www.unl.edu, but faculty members are quite used to being able to access student email addresses from inside the email client.

Google, on the other hand, has collaborative features going for it. Microsoft offers collaboration via Microsoft Office Live - which requires students use Microsoft Office if they want to edit online documents. According to the Microsoft guy, Office Live documents are versioned every 12 hours or when you tell them to, rather than every time you make an edit like in Google Docs. The sharing features are just clunky in Office Live, especially compared to Google Docs’ simple interface. Google just wins in the matter of collaboration, hands down. Teachers should never have to tell students to go out and by Word to effectively collaborate.

Google talked a lot about outsourcing IT, while Microsoft talked about integrating IT into existing structures. I got the impression that the Microsoft way might mean more job security for IT employees, which is probably not accidental: IT’s perceptions of a product play heavily into these decisions, and if they say no a project is out. Google said IT people would be freed to work on more innovative technology uses, which sounds good in theory.

One thing that definitely left an impression on me (and this is where my biases come into play) is that the Google guy talked a lot about open standards and working across platforms - he always said Mac, PC and Linux. Most people just pretend no one uses Linux. Microsoft, on the other hand, treated non-Microsoft users as second class and almost non-existent. At one point, someone asked what the Microsoft solution would be like for Linux users, and the Microsoft presenter said (not quoting because I don’t have an exact quote) well, Linux users are mostly desktop client email users anyways, and they can still access the lite version of the web mail, which will probably be fine for them. He then went on to generalize about Mac users and how they need a very simple user experience, because they aren’t very technical. I found this funny since most of the more techie people I know use macs, but I digress. Another person asked if the Microsoft Office Live collaboration features would work with the Mac version of Office, and the presenter didn’t know.

<rant>
It also became painfully clear that Microsoft expects others to do the R&D to make their web mail platform browser agnostic. The Microsoft presenter mentioned several times that they were working with the Firefox people to get them to change Firefox so the Microsoft web mail would work. They said they’re working with “our friends in Cupertino” to make Safari work better, but that Apple was not as cooperative. This really bugged me- it’s the web application developer’s job to make the site work for the browser, not the other way around. He also said Safari doesn’t use javascript, which of course isn’t true.
</rant>

OK, now that have that out of my system…

One thing I did like about Microsoft’s presentation is that the presenter said that some schools have chosen to use both Google and Microsoft systems. Google didn’t mention this.

A few other small differences

Google

• Lets you brand with the university icon.
• Provides a start page (iGoogle, pretty much).
• Is working with open source course management systems like Sakai and Moodle
• Will let pretty much anyone associated with the university get a branded email, including parents of students, etc., though only current students and staff will get ad free interfaces.
• Went over privacy policy fairly well - “we do not claim ownership of your data.”

Microsoft

• Also talked about a service called “Skydrive” - basically an online thumbdrive. 1 gig for now, more later.
• Seemed to think everyone uses MSN messenger. (?)
• Did live demo of products, which Google didn’t do.
• IT has more control- can go in and trace emails, see if one was sent, etc. Not sure if they can do this with Google- but would they want to?
• Microsoft’s calendar will support iCal format.

What I want

I’m still not 100% sure on the idea of student email outsourcing, but from a pricing standpoint, it makes so much sense that it is probably inevitable. I do love the Google suite of products, and I really like that they play a little nicer with different OS’s, so I hope they either choose Google or leave the choice up to the students. I have a hunch most students will choose Google, but maybe not- in any case, it should be the student’s choice. In my ideal world, the student would be able to get a free for life POP/IMAP address that could be used with any email program and was not tied to an outside service, but I suppose I’m just dreaming on that front, huh?

karin :: Feb.21.2008 :: Free as in Freedom, Linux, School Stuff, Work :: 5 Comments »

I realize that I have to blog now, because I can’t write an in depth piece about social networking and then have that be the last thing on my site for a week, right?

Things are busy around here- which is great - but it also means I’m having a hard time fitting everything in. I have more blog post ideas than I know what to do with, but I’m having trouble bringing things into a cohesive form.

This semester has been a little weird for me. My first semester of library school, I tool Library Administration- and since I knew nothing about libraries, I soaked everything up like a sponge and most of my blogging had to do with what I was learning in class. Now, though, I have different interests, and not all of them match up with my classes. My attention is more fragmented than ever- because I want to read all about what I’m learning in class, but I also want to read more about other topics, and there’s not enough time to do everything.

I’m also realizing that my attention is becoming more and more fragmented- I find it hard to sit down and just do homework at home because of all the distractions. I can think of two ways to solve this- either work at work (that is, either come in early or stay late and do homework at the library) or create a dedicated study space at home. May have to go with the library for the short term since I can’t think of anywhere to put a study place at home.

New Blog 

I have also found I’ve missed being able to blog about anything and everything that is on my mind. Here is not the place for that- I want to keep this space for library issues. So my solution is to start a new blog. You can find me over at os-agnostic.com, where I will ramble on about non library related tech stuff, talk about my art, and just generally be off topic. Feel free to subscribe, or just stop in and check up on me. OS Agnostic is probably more of interest to techno-geeks and my friends and family than the library crowd.

karin :: Feb.11.2008 :: School Stuff, Site Updates, Sites and Stories :: No Comments »

Yesterday I explored some of the advantages to using social networking in a professional capacity (including my personal experiences.) I got a good response - thanks everyone! I am pondering an article, but it has to roll around in my head a bit first. I feel kind of weird analyzing my activities online like this because it sounds so technical- the truth is, I am making friends just as much as I am making “professional contacts.” That was one of the first signs for me that I was on the right career path- I found colleagues I could relate to, look up to, and really like.

Today, I’ll share a few do’s and do not’s I thought of- feel free to add more in the comments.

Do: Learn how each social network works. There are different ways to use each service, and it is likely you won’t use all of the features on any of them. For instance, I am not very active in groups on Flickr, but I always look at my contacts’ photos, comment where appropriate, and monitor my conversations. (Flickr makes this easy!)

Don’t: Use networks to spam people. Individualized messages are great, form letter sounding messages are not so great.

Do: Choose the networks that work for you. Twitter may not be your thing, and that’s fine. Find the networks that work for you and use them. (Hint: if you like Scrabble, join Facebook and challenge somebody to a Scrabulous game.)

Don’t: Join networks for the sole purpose of asking for a favor. Joining one day and then asking people if they know of any good jobs the next isn’t kosher. If you are going to use social networks, you have to be social- start early, and keep it up!

Do: Put up pictures of yourself. I use an icon for my profile pic (it is fairly distinctive) everywhere, but I also include another picture of myself if allowed. I also put my picture on my about page. People like to know who they are talking to, and it will increase the likelihood people will recognize you should you ever meet them.

Don’t: Put up potentially embarrassing pictures of yourself. I know this should go without saying, but it bears repeating. If you are already on social networks, you might want to clean up your profile a bit before you start friending professional contacts. (e.g. get rid of pictures of yourself surrounded by beer cans.) There’s always the option of maintaining a separate identity- that always seemed like a lot of work to me, but it is certainly do-able.

Do: Check your name in search engines. If you have a very common name, you might want to consider adding your middle initial or using a nick name to differentiate yourself from the other “Jane Smith’s” out there. If you do this, you have to be consistent and use it everywhere- resume, business card, website, social networks, etc. If nothing else, make sure that your name + library (or whatever industry keyword you want) brings up something about you.

Don’t: Fall for “Search Engine Optimization” offers. If you stick with a well known blogging platform (like WordPress, Blogger, Movable Type, Drupal, etc.), enable name based URL’s, and especially if you buy your own domain name, your site will already be optimized. You can increase your ranking by commenting on others’ blogs (real comments, not “mee toos”) linking from any other sites you own, and perhaps asking a few well known acquaintances to link to you, if appropriate. The absolute best thing you can do is develop content: i.e. write in your blog.

Do: Share your knowledge. Some might say that you don’t want to give everything away, but especially in the early part of your career you have to demonstrate that you have something to say before you can reasonably think of charging for your knowledge and skills.

Don’t: Become locked into your opinion. It’s perfectly OK to revisit something you wrote about before and say you changed your mind. That’s not wishy washy- that’s showing the ability to think in the face of new evidence and make an informed decision.

Do: Carry business cards with your web address at all times. I’m a student, so I don’t have professional cards- I just ordered some Moo Cards and use those. The point is to make yourself findable whether you meet someone online or off.

Don’t: Complain, gripe, be snarky, or otherwise be overly negative. I’m not saying everything has to be sunny and roses, but try to put a rational face on things and look at the bright side whenever possible. Try offering a suggestion for change or research how other institutions handle similar situations. If you’re not sure, get a second opinion or sit on a post for a day.

Do: Utilize a number of social networking sites in your “main” site. For instance, instead of uploading pictures to your private web space, put them on Flickr or another photo sharing site. You can incorporate books you are reading into your site through LibraryThing, or show the blogs you are reading using a Google Reader widget. Link back and forth to different services with wild abandon.

Do: Similar to above: Link early, link often. You might think that linking to another person’s website doesn’t really do anything, but it does. They might see that incoming link, and link back, or come visit your site.

Don’t: Limit your networking to online. OK, this probably doesn’t belong on this page, but it’s important. Try to make it to local conferences, write articles for your state library association publication, give local presentations and join mentoring programs. These are just a few examples of ways you can get involved locally. Online networking is great, but meeting someone face to face really solidifies a relationship. And dress nice when you attend the conferences- you never know when you might get an on the spot job interview or pre-interview.

Do: Use Creative Commons licensing whenever possible. You can get a license for your work here, and on some sites (like Flickr) you can set a license for the content you upload. I have most of my content under a CC By: license- which means anyone can use it, but they have to credit me. This does two things: it gives you more links back, and it just about guarantees your work will be spread more widely. If you are worried about stealing, think of it this way: If someone wants to steal your online content, they will. It’s happened to me. But some people will look for content they can use legally, and you want those people to find your content, because they are good about linking back. Besides, it’s just cool when you find one of your pictures on someone else’s blog header.

karin :: Feb.07.2008 :: Conferences, Library, School Stuff, Work :: 4 Comments »

I’ve had this idea in my head for a presentation or article or something, but it’s not clearly formed yet. I’m hoping posting here (and maybe getting some feedback) will help me clarify my thinking. Maybe it is best left as a blog post.

When I started library school a yearish ago, I knew no one in the library world. I had never heard of Stephen Abram or Walt Crawford, let along Meredith Farkas or Karen Schneider. I had only started working in a library a few months before, and despite the fact that my first job was as a page in a library, my knowledge about libraries was limited.

I found that I really liked my first library class (Library Administration) and it spurred a lot of thoughts in my existing blog. As time went on, my blog became more and more about library stuff. At the same time, I sought out other library blogs and subscribed to them. At one point I was subscribing to hundreds of library blogs- I have cut back since then. Reading blogs did several things- it gave me glimpses into the different types of careers I might have, it clued me into what librarians were talking and thinking about now (something reading the professional literature just didn’t do) and also let me experience what a conference was about before I went. By selectively delving into the archives of some of the more long running blogs, I was able to gain an appreciation of where the profession has been in the last few years.

After reading blogs and writing for a while, I started commenting. I tried to keep up with my comments- looking for responses so I could respond back if needed, but I found the whole process unwieldy. Now, there’s a Firefox plug in called “cocomment” that watches my comments for me. I also started to examine my other web presences. I had a MySpace profile, which, luckily, had no embarrassing pictures or anything- I cleaned it up a bit so it looked presentable for potential employers and colleagues to find. I started actively seeking out librarians on social networks - looking through friends of friends for names I recognized, mostly. I did the same on Flickr, signed up for a Facebook account, etc. I joined the Ning network “Library 2.0” and was active there for a while. I created a library student Ning network, and though it is pretty dormant now I met a lot of great people through it and continue to find new blogs to read when new people sign up.

Somewhere along the way I redesigned my site and migrated to WordPress from Movable Type. I created a second site at karin.dalziel.org to serve as my C.V. I tried for a professional looking design. I started treating everything online as part of my professional identity- this may not always be important, but I believe it makes a difference, especially in the year or two before job hunting. That said, I tried not to totally stifle myself, either- much of my life is online, after all, and I don’t want to completely cut that off. Another big change was to start using my real name for nearly everything - commenting, site logons, etc. I still have a few places where I use an alternate logon, but there aren’t many. I check my name in several search engines to make sure my site comes up first, and that the results are indicative of what I want people to see.

A bit before I attended my first ALA conference in Washington D.C., I joined Twitter and started friending library people (later I extended friending to local people, educators, and computer geeks.) When I went to the conference, I brought my PDA- while I wasn’t always connected, I had internet often enough that I could see what people were doing on Twitter. I found it very useful, and would definitely recommend it.

Now I am in the maintenance phase of my online life- I take a look at new applications occasionally, but mostly stick with what I have. My MySpace and Facebook use has dropped off, but I’m active in blogging on my website, Flickr, del.icio.us and Twitter, among other places. I carefully tag photos to make them more findable, and CC license my work so it can be re-used with credit.

A few specific examples of what online networking has done for me:

I created an “Open Access for Librarians” presentation for a class. I was very happy with the slides and the talk. This was the first thing I put on my “Publications, Presentations and Projects” part of my professional website. I quoted Dorothea Salo’s blog, Caveat Lector in my presentation, so I sent a quick email with a link to the presentation on my own site so she would know. (At the time, I considered this more of a professional courtesy than anything- I’d like to know if I was being quoted.) Dorothea linked to my presentation (and complemented my on my website!!) and it was also picked up by Peter Suber and American Libraries Direct, an email that goes out to American Library Association members. It was also featured on the home page to my own library’s website.

More recently, I gave a brown bag talk on Zotero, a open source citation management program I have been using for over a year. I worked hard to create some amusing, attractive slides. I added the talk to my website (as I always do) and told people about it in Twitter and on my blog. I also responded to a request for slogans on the Zotero forum, pointing to the research LOLcats I made for the presentation on Flickr. I got a nice email thanking me, and got a free Zotero Tshirt and stickers. I was also recommended to do another presentation on Zotero.

Can it work for you?

I don’t necessarily think the online social networking approach will work for everyone, but for me, it has been amazing. I can’t afford to go to that many conferences (at this point, I pay out of my pocket for them) but online I can take part in conversations I wouldn’t otherwise be able to. It’s not a replacement for traditional, face to face networking, publishing, and conferences, but it is a great supplement. Another huge advantage for me is that I am a little shy when meeting people for the first time, but if it is someone I know from online, I at least have a way to start up a conversation.

Tomorrow I’ll post some do’s and do not’s for professional social networking.

karin :: Feb.06.2008 :: Conferences, Library, School Stuff, Sites and Stories, Work :: 14 Comments »