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Kim Dority on Beyond the Stacks

May 03, 2018 by Kate Spaulding in LIS, podcasts, recommendations

As another graduation season approaches, the most recent (and final! sadface) episode of Beyond the Stacks is the perfect podcast to listen to. I think students, new graduates, and professionals will all hear one or a hundred things they need to. Kim Dority's enthusiasm for the LIS profession came clearly through my earbuds, and she made several points that really helped this "deer in the headlights" (AKA new graduate):

  • LIS skills are useful and applicable in an infinite number of settings.
  • LIS skills are also extremely transportable (from job to job, from industry to industry).
  • LISers tend to be perfectionists, and we all really need to work on that. 

Kim had lots more to say, and this episode in particular is really worth a listen. I get my podcasts from Apple podcasts, but you can also access Beyond the Stacks episodes via their website. 

Episode page: http://beyondthestacks.info/index.php/2018/05/01/episode-24-kim-dority-alternative-lis-career-paths/#more-407

May 03, 2018 /Kate Spaulding
career, librarians
LIS, podcasts, recommendations
2 Comments
ala.png

Library Conferences, A Review

March 29, 2018 by Kate Spaulding in LIS, nuts and bolts, recommendations

In the past nine months, I've be able to attend three major LIS conferences - those of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) and the American Library Association (ALA) in June 2017 and the Public Library Association (PLA) just last week. After SLA, I wrote a bit about what I learned, but ALA was exhausting, and then the sh*t hit the fan in my personal life, and, well, I didn't write anything here again until ten days ago.

SLA and ALA were basically two entirely different worlds and gave me whiplash. Time, perspective, and PLA gave me a fuller understanding of the differences between the three conferences as well as enough qualitative data to generate some pros and cons. So in case you're weighing your options this year, here are a few observations and things to consider.

SLA Annual Conference

If you want to learn a new skill, this conference is for you. SLA places a strong emphasis on professional growth. The schedule is constructed to give you maximum educational opportunities, and all of the sessions I attended were extremely well done. Networking is also a big deal here. Attendees actively seek out new contacts, introduce themselves to each other, and trade business cards. First timers and students (I was both) are welcomed with open arms; it felt like the conference planners and more experienced SLAers all went out of their way to make sure I was comfortable and engaged. They cheered me on, encouraged me, included me, and offered help.

SLA's annual conference is (by far) the smallest of the ones I've attended, which is both good and less good. Personally, I really liked the size - it felt approachable, and it was awesome to meet people on the first day and then continue to see them in hallways, parties, and programs. However, if you're looking for a huge exhibit hall and lots of free books and swag, this conference is not for you. There were vendors and there was swag, but as someone who attended as a student (and has no purchasing power at work), most booths and I had little in common. However, small organizations are often more agile than larger ones, and SLA is no exception. Sessions felt fresh and brimmed with new ideas about business, librarianship, and ways of using technology.

Interested? Early bird registration ends April 6, though tickets will still be available after that date (and students don't have to worry since their tickets remain at one low price). This year, SLA's annual conference is in Baltimore, June 9-13.

ALA Annual Conference

If you want to be surrounded by 20,000 library folks, this is the conference for you. ALA's biggest selling point is its size - there are hundreds of sessions to choose from, a huge exhibit hall, and big name speakers (Hillary Rodham Clinton was the closing speaker last summer). There are sessions for every interest and every level of experience, and it's a great opportunity to expose yourself to the depth and breadth of Libraryland. Do you follow a LIS luminary on Twitter or listen to a library podcast? Do you work or go to school in a virtual environment? Odds are pretty good some those people will be at ALA in the flesh, so you could attend a session or event and meet them in Real Life. In the exhibit hall, there's a ton of free swag, book giveaways, emerging technology on display, and author signings. My favorite score was a signed copy of The Hate U Give, which I heart. And meeting Carla Hayden. That was dreamy.

ALA's large size is also, for me, it's biggest con. For one, the sheer number of people was kind of overwhelming and exhausting (at least for this introvert). I met some new people, and even followed up with some, but networking felt like less of a conference-wide priority than at SLA. Physically, the large size meant sessions were sometimes very far apart, and housing that many attendees necessitates a lot of hotels, not all of which are close to the convention center. 

Interested? Early advance registration ends May 2, though tickets will still be available after that date. This year, ALA's annual conference is in New Orleans, June 21-26.

PLA Biannual Conference

Do you want a lot of free books? Then PLA is the conference for you. At this conference, the exhibit hall seems to be the centerpiece. There were only 2 or 3 hour-long educational session slots each day, and the bulk of the time was unscheduled. While there was a nice selection of mini (20-minute) programs in the exhibit hall, I wish there had been more time dedicated to learning. I bookmarked several sessions each time, so there was enough content to have two morning sessions, for example, with fewer choices during each hour. In addition, a lot of the sessions felt dated at PLA. I believe this is due to the submission deadline, rather than the fault of the speakers. The deadline for program proposals was nearly a year ago (April 14, 2017), which means a lot of the content last week was 12-18 months old. In case you hadn't heard, public libraries are evolving at an incredible pace, and social media and the interwebs exist, so new content is critical.

If you work (or want to work) in public libraries, PLA is a more focused choice than ALA. This conference is a good way to get out of your local bubble and learn from other public libraries' successes. It's also smaller, and thus, less overwhelming and more manageable. Networking is not a focus here, either, but I definitely saw people more than once and nodded in passing. The exhibit hall was smaller than ALA, but there were SO MANY free books. Happily, my hotel room was a short enough walk away that I didn't have to schlep heavy bags around with me all day. 

Interested? Mark your calendars! PLA's next conference is in Nashville, TN, February 25-29, 2020.

Have you attended conferences you loved or didn't? I'd love to read your insights!

March 29, 2018 /Kate Spaulding
conferences, career, SLA, ALA, PLA
LIS, nuts and bolts, recommendations
8 Comments

We Need Diverse Book Awards

July 24, 2017 by Kate Spaulding in books, LIS

This summer, I am taking a class on the history of youth literature with Melba Tomeo. It's been great, and it's definitely one of the best I've taken toward earning my MLIS. Last week's discussion prompt led to a lot of reflection and conversation, and I'm sharing my small part on this wider platform. I'd love to hear what you think in the comments.

The prompt:

After reading the various viewpoints on multicultural literature awards, where do you stand?  Do you think it is appropriate to have literary awards based on the ethnicity or race or gender or sexual preference of the author?  What effect do you think these awards have had on the history of youth literature?  Where do you stand on the issue of authenticity as described in the lecture?  Whose voice can or should speak about a specific community or cultural experience? I want to hear your opinion on the literature prizes and on cultural authenticity.

My reply:

Reading the articles for this week did not change my opinion. I do think it is appropriate to have literary awards based on the ethnicity/race/gender/sexual preference of the author. As several classmates have pointed out, various minorities have been and continue to be shut out of "general" awards like the Newberry Awards.

But I'd actually like to step away from children's publishing to make my argument. If you are anything other than a white, Christian, cis male, I bet you have felt a frisson of excitement when someone you identify with wins, triumphs, or overcomes. Did you celebrate when Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, or Sonya Sotomayor joined the Supreme Court? What about when Barack Obama became President? Or Elizabeth Warren persisted? Did you rejoice while Laverne Cox's star rose? Or over in sports-land, did you applaud Michelle Kwan or Ibtihaj Muhammad or the 2016 women's track and field Olympic relay team and their #blackgirlmagic?

There are thousands of stories I'm not mentioning, and maybe I haven't listed yours. But I bet you have a memory of someone doing something that made you stand up a little straighter with a feeling of "We're alike, that person and I. And I am so proud of that." That feeling? That's my argument.

Awards like the Coretta Scott King Book Award both highlight the winners and inspire aspirations among those who think, "We're alike, that author/illustrator and I. And I am so proud of that. Maybe I can do it, too." So, in addition to celebrating achievement, the award really could help increase the number of diverse books in addition to highlighting the great books that are out there.

As far as authorship, the first amendment means we can read and write (pretty much) anything. Good authors can write well about people and subjects outside of their own life experiences (see: science fiction). Should white, female authors be extra thoughtful, conduct extra research, and perhaps tread more carefully when writing about a non-white boy? Absolutely. Should they whine when they are excluded from consideration of one award committee? Absolutely not.

~~~~~

I was listening to It's Been a Minute, an NPR podcast with Sam Sanders, on my walk today, and he said something that happens to really mesh well with this subject. In the July 21, 2017 episode, he and his guests were talking about the kerfuffle over HBO's announcement of a new TV series set in a fictional America where slavery still exists because the North did not win the Civil War. Sanders said, "I'm black. I'm never going to tell white people, white artists, white creators, to not try to understand a world that's not their own. I want you to get it right. I want you to get the right perspective. I want you to do it justice. But I'm not going to tell you you can't do art about that. That's not what art's about." To that, I can only say: Amen.

Photo courtesy CCAC North Library under CC BY-NC 2.0

July 24, 2017 /Kate Spaulding
young adult book, social justice, children's books, awards, diversity
books, LIS
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The Impact of Professional Associations on the Careers of LIS Professionals

July 16, 2017 by Kate Spaulding in LIS, news

At the Special Libraries Association annual conference last month, I co-presented a research paper with Ame Maloney. The conference was great, and you can read more about what I learned via this post.

Earlier this year, we conducted a research study – and got nearly 1,900 responses! We looked at The Impact of Professional Associations on the Careers of LIS Professionals and gathered some interesting data. Our research should be useful for students, LIS professionals, graduate programs, and professional associations.

Our paper and presentation were well-received, and I’m proud of the work that we did. There’s definitely still more to do, but this was a great start. If you were one of the delightful people who helped us, cheered us on, or applauded our efforts, thank you. It was truly gratifying to feel the community support.

If you are interested in our research, here are some resources. We are happy to share our data and analysis, but please remember to cite appropriately! We put a lot of work into this project. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. It would also be awesome to hear about how you use our research! We’re definitely interested to see if and how it applies to the real world.

To download our paper, please visit SLA’s 2017 Contributed Papers. Ours is listed fourth under Monday, June 19.

A recording of our presentation is available on YouTube. The audio is not great, nor are there captions. Sorry! Thanks to my classmate for recording us on my phone :) Our slides are available for download here in PDF format.

  • Kate Spaulding on LinkedIn
  • Ame Maloney on LinkedIn
July 16, 2017 /Kate Spaulding
SLA, conferences, professional associations, research, career, survey
LIS, news
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photo of person presenting to a group of people seated around a conference table

What I Learned at SLA 2017

July 16, 2017 by Kate Spaulding in LIS, news

In June, I attended the Special Libraries Association annual conference. It was my first professional conference, and although I researched extensively, I wasn’t complete sure what to expect.

Phoenix was boiling hot – unfortunately for the University of Arizona, the weather didn’t do much to help their recruiting efforts (they’re hiring librarians, if you’re interested) – but I had a pretty great experience anyway. Over on the iSchool career blog, I wrote about what I learned. Did you attend? I'd love to hear your takeaways!

Photo courtesy WOCTechChat

July 16, 2017 /Kate Spaulding
SLA, conferences, librarians, career
LIS, news
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workspace

Last Week in Careers

April 19, 2017 by Kate Spaulding in LIS

As you may know, one of the hats I wear is that of iSchool Career Blog writer. Last week I had the pleasure of writing about the Special Libraries Association's (SLA) annual conference. I spoke with Brandy King, the 2017 Conference Chair, and she was a delight. She's so enthusiastic that she made me less nervous about attending my very first conference. Read more about SLA 2017, why you should go, and Brandy's tips for making the most of your experience. 

I also wrote about Big Interview, which is a service available to all San José State University Students, free of charge. It's a neat program that allows users to record themselves as they answer interview questions. There's a whole library of questions to practice with. 

April 19, 2017 /Kate Spaulding
career, SLA, conferences
LIS
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Call for Survey Participants

March 28, 2017 by Kate Spaulding in news, LIS

If you have an MLIS (or equivalent), work in the broad LIS field in the US, and have five minutes, I would really appreciate it if you would help me!

My classmate and I are are conducting a study. We are working independently of any institutional affiliation, though we're both currently graduate students at San José State University’s iSchool. We are specifically seeking participants who have an MLIS (or equivalent) and work in the U.S. in the (very!) broad library and information science (LIS) field. 

We're studying the career impact that participating in LIS professional organizations has for LIS students.

For a consent form with more information, as well as to start the survey, please follow this link: https://goo.gl/vP4faE 

We will be presenting at the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Annual Conference in June. If you'll be there, let's connect! It's my first conference and I'd love to meet you. 

Please let me know if you have any questions, and remember, sharing is caring!

March 28, 2017 /Kate Spaulding
research, survey
news, LIS
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The site owner, Kate Spaulding, deserves all credit for opinions expressed on this blog and are not to be construed as belonging to any individual, organization, or employer affiliated with her.

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