Just a quick note to say this is my last post. The reason? Lack of time. I used to do a lot of writing on evenings and weekends when I had more time to think….but having a 1-Year Old gives you less of that time. And I’d rather play with the kiddo to be honest. I’ve been clear in my posts that I never say I love being a librarian. Instead, I enjoy it. Love is for family and friends. I like the distinction because my job doesn’t define me. This works for me. It’s just my perspective. I’ll leave content up for a bit, but I do plan to delete my WordPress account by the end of the year (or maybe so ..read more

One small starting point for creating equity throughout the interview process is to supply job interview questions in advance. As a hiring manager, this was something that took me time to come around on. Previously, I thought I needed to see job candidates “think on their feet.” This process was always something I went through, so why shouldn’t everyone else? Nah…instead let’s end the “Hunger Games” mentality of interviewing. Are your questions really about “thinking on your feet”? When it comes to asking “quick thinking” interview questions (e.g., scenario questions like a drug overdose in th ..read more

It’s been one year since we shuttered the library building due to COVID-19. We were on a Spring Break that got extended by one additional week. Then the university made the decision to move all classes online. Faculty/staff were sent home to work by the Governor’s order. In prepping to close, we were busy turning off equipment, making sure we all had laptop access and remote desktop connection, and transitioning all services to online only. What did we forget? The library plants. In summer of 2020, we returned for a phased re-opening. In-person staffing was minimal while most of us continued w ..read more

I come from a working class family. As I was approaching the end of my MLIS program and job hunting, I was perplexed by this all-day academic librarian interview thing. I kept thinking: It takes the library ALL DAY to figure out if they want to hire someone? Why All Day? Then it was explained to me: The all-day interview is really just a series of shorter interviews with different groups of people, who often ask you the same question. At the end of the day, you’re either REALLY good at answering those questions, or so frazzled that your brain is fried. Also, in cases where the academic libra ..read more

Some people will groan at the mention of “staff trivia” and that is totally OK. However, it helped get me through the semester–and was a nice little weekly 5-minute distraction from all things pandemic. Here’s How It Came About I returned to work at the beginning of September after taking parental leave for a new baby. In the midst of the pandemic, my first duty was to check in with co-workers to see how they were doing. Staff rotate for in-person duty when not working remotely. All meetings moved to virtual-only. Comments from co-workers indicated they missed social interactions, lunch talk ..read more

This has been an tough academic year so far–on students, on faculty, on library staff. At times, I’ve felt like a teacher, therapist, commiserator, coach, and cheerleader all wrapped into one. We’re getting by–the semester will be over soon. Some of us have been working mostly in-person while others are exclusively doing remote work. Some of us our teaching in-person, some online, others both. We’ve had to scramble, learn new technology, alter assignments, and just…adapt. In doing so, don’t forget your academic librarian! Here are 8 simple tips to make the relationship successful and how your ..read more

I used to think I was the textbook example of a classic introvert–that is until I started working from home. Now I realize how much I crave those social interactions. My family is at home with me, so it’s not like I’m “alone alone” but it’s just different not seeing co-workers and patrons/students every day. The now ubiquitous Zoom and Microsoft Teams video meetings get the work done, but are not a replacement for our in-person interactions. As Covid-19 was ratcheting up nationwide, it was just starting to gain attention in my corner of Wisconsin. The week of March 9 we were on Spring Break (r ..read more

We’re hiring! Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin is looking for a full-time Electronic Resources/Systems Librarian. Details are on the university’s employment site. About the Electronic Resources/Systems Librarian The person in this position will be responsible for the overall management, access, and assessment of the library’s electronic resources, discovery layer, integrated library system, and proxy server. We use Sierra as our ILS and and implemented OCLC WDS for our discovery layer in Fall 2019. There will also be opportunities to help shape the library’s policies, programs, and ou ..read more

It started with library student workers. We noticed that some of them were skipping meals, not eating, or out of meal swipes (ID card “swipes” tied to the university’s dining plan). It was a combination of several factors: being over-scheduled with classes, navigating between their library job and a second job, long commutes, and money. Typical issues that almost any U.S. college student has to deal with these days. And for anyone complaining that younger folks have it “easy”…yeah, just stop with that nonsense. Our library marketing/events team* started brainstorming the issue. We had long ha ..read more

As an amateur photographer I’ve been contacted a lot for requests to use photos in various books. Sometimes it’s the author that contacts me directly. Sometimes it’s an editor or publisher. It tends to be for books that focus on the natural environment or travel, since most of the photos I take are outdoor pictures. At first, I was puffed with pride. Wow, someone thinks my photos are great! However, I’ve come to realize that it’s not necessarily because I’m a good photographer. It’s because the librarian me tags everything when I post content! My photos are well organized and easy to find. I’m ..read more