#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Mar 11 2018 - 8:30pm ET w/Special Guest chatter!

via Media Mike Hazard on flickr

TOPIC

Residencies & Fellowships 

Our next chat will be on residences and fellowships led by a guest host, Amanda M. Leftwich. Amanda (@thelibmaven) is the Online Learning Librarian & Diversity Fellow at Montgomery County Community College. Leftwich has a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Arcadia University and a Master of Science in Library Science from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests include intersectional librarian identity, diverse collection development, and mindful practices/strategies in librarianship. She is the creator of @mindfulinlis - a Twitter account dedicated to mindfulness in librarianship.

Amanda has compiled a great list of additional resources on the topic for us all:

ACRL Residency Interest Group https://acrl.ala.org/residency/ 

Alston, J. K. (2015). Interns or professionals? A common misnomer applied to diversity resident librarians can potentially degrade and divide. In R. Hankins & M. Juárez (Eds.), Where are all the librarians of color? The experiences of people of color in academia. Sacramento, Calif.: Library Juice Press.

Alston, J. K. (2017). Causes Of Satisfaction And Dissatisfaction For Diversity Resident Librarians – A Mixed Methods Study Using Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/4080

Barrientos, Q. (2018). Finishing up a library residency: My final thoughts [Blog]. Retrieved May 15, 2018, from https://acrlog.org/2018/05/11/finishing-up-a-library-residency-my-final-thoughts/ 

Boyd, A., Blue, Y., & Im, S. (2017). Evaluation of academic library residency programs in the United States for librarians of color. College & Research Libraries, 78(4), 472–511.

Donaldson, K.S. (2018) Recruiting diverse librarians: Residency programs as an entry point to the academic librarian profession in the United States. Paper presented at: IFLA WLIC 2018 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Transform Libraries, Transform Societies in Session 218 - Women, Information and Libraries SIG.http://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/2223 

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QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 What is a library residency or fellowship? What are your views on residencies and/or fellowships in libraries?

Q2  What strategies should one use when applying?

Q3 What are some practical tips for setting goals during the residency/fellowships?

Q4 What resources or advice do you have for future residents and fellows?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, MARCH 11 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Feb 25 2018 - 8:30pm ET

Tumisu via Pixabay

TOPIC

Mentors and mentoring

Having mentors can be a big part of your career, whether they're official or unofficial mentors they help us grow and change as we move through our jobs. Being a mentor is also a big part of moving up as you get more experience/ So let's talk about having mentors and being mentors. I became a Supervisor in 2017, so I've been trying since then to become a better mentor to my student assistants. Last year I read a really good book on the subject: Mentoring and Managing Students in the Academic Library by Michelle Reale

https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2016/05/31/mentoring-from-both-sides-now/?fbclid=IwAR32P29PHxNtMrWR-WMmHXBH9p34Leg4F7EiuABVdKfRrYAKTZR0XNL-SME
http://ala-apa.org/newsletter/2008/03/15/mentoring-a-valuable-step-in-developing-library-leaders/?fbclid=IwAR1alBI6sIE0JfGvKldisv6XhO1xmWPWxMjxH58ZHEt34mvz_8n15mfTR1w

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 Have you ever been a mentor or had a good mentor. Please share your experience. 

Q2  For those who had mentors, what were some good qualities of your mentor. Where could improvement be made?

Q3 For those who were mentors, what did you learn from your experience and where did you see areas of improvement for yourself?

Q4 What resources and advice can you share on being a good mentor?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Feb 11 2018 - 8:30pm ET

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TOPIC

Post-conference chat: Ontario Library Associate Superconference, ALA Midwinter, and SLA Leadership Symposium Edition

January is an incredibly busy month for library conferences. Canada's biggest library conference happened in Toronto, ALA Midwinter was in Seattle, and SLA took over New Orleans. Three conferences, three associations, three different sizes. Let's talk about the many different experiences you all had at those conferences. If you didn't get the chance to attend this year come and see what you missed, and here are the websites to check out in advance:

https://www.olasuperconference.ca/
https://2019.alamidwinter.org/
https://www.slamediaplanner.com/leadership-symposium-1/

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 Did you go to #SLAleads, #ALAMW19 or #OLASC this year? If yes, what conference and what was your reason for attending?  If not, why not?

Q2  What are your takeaways from  #SLALeads, #OLASC or #ALAMW19 or other conferences and what did you enjoy the most?

Q3 Tell us about someone who you’ve met at #OLASC, #SLAleads or  #ALAMW19 or other conferences and why are they awesome?

Q4 What did you like least/what you’d like to see change about #SLAleads, #OLASC or #ALAMW19 or other conferences for next year?  What were your thoughts on the controversy at #ALAMW19?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Feb 4 2018 - 8:30pm ET

crossroads by Carsten Tolkmit via Flikr

TOPIC

Transitioning jobs in the Library and Information Industry

Apologies for the lateness of this post everyone. It was an incredibly hectic month for me at work. Thanks to a suggestion from one of our chatters this week we're going to be discussing transitioning between jobs in the library and information industry, a topic near and dear to my heart as someone who bounced around between areas before finding my niche. Our industry and the work we're capable of doing is so incredibly broad that it makes sense to think about how we can move between realms within it. Here are a whole bunch of interesting articles on the topic:

https://www.libgig.com/librarians-changing-jobs-2018/
http://ala-apa.org/newsletter/2005/04/17/attention-new-librarians-and-career-changers/
http://inalj.com/?p=103224
https://acrlog.org/2014/11/20/transition-making-it-as-a-librarian/
http://www.ala.org/rt/nmrt/news/footnotes/february2014/adaptable-applicants-preparing-change-your-library-path

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 Let's talk about skills first. What are some of the most transferable skills that a library and information professional has in their arsenal?

Q2  How do you articulate in resumes/cover letters and interviewers how you're going to be able to transfer those skills to a new environment and position?

Q3 What advice do you have for people who are transitioning into a new type of library or information work environment? Have you ever done that? How did it go for you?

Q4 Lastly, let's talk about transitioning into libraries and information work from outside the industry. Tell us about any experience you have doing that.

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Jan 14 2018 - 8:30pm ET

via WikiMedia

TOPIC

Libraries, and the US Government Shutdown

Welcome to the first chat of 2019! We're tackling a big topic to get the year started. How is the US Government shutdown affecting libraries? Well, the Library of Congress remains closed. Here are some more resource links:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/government-shutdown-what-closed-open-affected-explained-post-office-irs-national-parks-2019-01-05/

http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/Shutdown

https://libguides.northwestern.edu/shutdown

https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-presidential-libraries-open-during-shutdown-20190103-story.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/01/10/government-shutdown-freebies-deals-and-help-furloughed-workers/2523404002/

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 Are you or anyone you know affected by the government shutdown? Please share.

Q2  Is your library doing anything to help with the government shutdown? Please share.

Q3 What resources can you provide relating to the government shutdown?

Q4 How can we as librarians and info pros advocate for issues related to the government at our jobs and in our community?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, JANUARY 14 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Dec 17 2018 - 8:30pm ET

via Wikimedia Commons

TOPIC

#LISprochat Winter Holiday Extravaganza part 2: Libraries and holiday customer service

As promised it's part 2 of our winter holiday extravaganza and it's all about the unique experience that can be customer service during the holiday season.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 Tell us about your worst holiday-related customer service experience in the library

Q2 Tell us about your best holiday-related customer service experience in the library

Q3 Does your library have a required holiday greeting that you use? If so, what is it? If not, what holiday greeting do you use by default and why?

Q4 Do you feel like your library does a good job of providing inclusionary holiday related customer service overall? What do you think they need to change?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, DECEMBER 17 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Dec 10 2018 - 8:30pm ET

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TOPIC

#LISprochat Winter Holiday Extravaganza part 1: Libraries and holiday prep/programming

There are so many different holidays that take place in and around December. So Leigh and I want to wish everyone a happy holiday and we hope 2018 ends pleasantly for everyone! In honour of that fantastic diversity, let's take some time to find out what everyone does at their libraries for the winter holidays. We're going to do this in 2 parts as you can tell from the title. Part 2 will be all about the unique experience that can be customer service during the holiday season.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 What kind of prep does your library do for the winter holidays? Do you decorate - if so, is there one holiday that gets prioritised over the others? What are your thoughts about that if you feel comfortable sharing them.

Q2 What kind of holiday programming or community engagement does your library offer in December?

Q3 For my fellow academic library people, how does your library handle the end of the semester and the exam crunch?

Q4 Lastly, if you had complete control and cost were no object and you had infinite resources, how would you celebrate the winter holidays at your library?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, DECEMBER 10 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG.