#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Sep 11 2017 - 8:30pm ET

via Nick Youngson

TOPIC

Handling Microaggressions in the Library

Leigh has chosen a very timely and relevant topic for the next chat that I expect a lot of people will have a desire to chime in on. Her inspiration for the chat comes from an article over at Letters to a Young Librarian: Handling Microaggressions in the Library, by Amanda M. Leftwich.

JUST A HEAD'S UP - PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'RE CHANGING 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 dealt with microaggression on the job? Please share your experience if you are comfortable.

Q2 What resources do you turn to in reference to handling microaggressions in the library?

Q3 What can libraries do better to combat microaggressions?

Q4 What advice can you share with others to handle microaggressions on the job?

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

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Aug 14 2017

via Investment Zen

TOPIC

Side hustles & library professionals

I've found myself thinking lately of an idea I had a few years back for a side hustle that I never bothered to actually run with. And I know Leigh for sure, and loads of other library professionals out there have side hustles, those related to libraries and those not directly related. I want us to talk about these gigs and these ideas for gigs. Let's explore them together. My main inspiration article for this week is 7 tips to brand your side hustle like a pro from Ms. Career Girl, but you could equally say that my inspiration was also Kevin Sampsell's So You Want to Start Your Own Micro-press? at The Center for Fiction because it was what got me thinking of my old idea again.

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 Do you now/have you ever/do you want to at some point, have a side hustle/second gig? Is it LIS related?

Q2 What kind of LIS related side hustles do you think are out there for library and information professionals?

Q3 What tips and resources can you share with those out there who might be interested in starting a LIS related side hustle?

Q4 Do you think your side hustle makes you a better library professional in your day job? How so?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 9 PM ET MONDAY, AUGUST 14 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Jul 24 2017

via Negative Space @ Pexels

TOPIC

Summer Reading & Summer Reading Programs

It's summer, and in LibraryLand that means summer reading and summer reading programs are upon us. This week that's what we're going to talk about, our inspiration article is Read A Book And Win A Ferrari! It’s The Summer Reading Club! by Roz Warren over at HuffPost. If you're at all like me and your library doesn't do summer reading for adults, you might be interested in the BookBub Summer 2017 Reading Challenge, I'm doing this one with my student assistant at work. My library card is getting a good workout lately thanks to it.

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 running a summer reading program at your library, or have you in the past? If not, do you have interest?

Q2 What types of activities are you doing for summer reading and for what age groups?

Q3 Where have you been the most successful? The least successful?

Q4 What advice/resources can you share for future summer reading programs?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 9 PM ET MONDAY, JULY 24 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Jul 10 2017

via SLA and ALA

TOPIC

#LISprochat annual SLA and ALA post-conference chat

This is a yearly feature we run to help those of you who went to either SLA Annual or ALA Annual share what you learned with your colleagues who for whatever reason could not/did not attend.

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 a conference this year? If yes, what conference and what was your reason for attending?  If not, why not?

Q2 What are your takeaways from  #SLA2017 or #ALAAC17 or other conferences and what did you enjoy the most?

Q3 Tell us about someone who you’ve met at #SLA2017 or #ALAAC17 or other conferences and why are they awesome?

Q4 What did you like least/what you’d like to see change about #SLA2017 or #ALAAC17 or other conferences for next year?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 9 PM ET MONDAY, JULY 10 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Jun 19 2017

via Flazingo Photos

TOPIC

Moving between types of libraries/from libraries to information work or vice versa

This week's chat topic is inspired by Becky Yoose's "Fitting” into the Big Tent: The Role of “Fit” and Moving Between Library Types at Letters to a Young Librarian. I chose this week's topic because transferable skills are always an important thing to talk about and because it's always interesting to think about the differences between types of libraries and between libraries and information work.

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 switched between library types or between libraries and info work? which types of libraries? What type of info work?

Q2 What do you think are the most transferable skills a library professional can have?

Q3 How do you sell yourself and your transferable skills to employers?

Q4 What advice do you have for building skills for a new type of library/info work when your day to day job is very different?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 9 PM ET MONDAY, JUNE 19 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Jun 5 2017

via PDPics

TOPIC

Dealing with difficult library users

Having recently had a situation myself where I wasn't sure exactly how to navigate the issue I was having I thought that a chat on dealing with difficult patrons might be timely. Whether it's grumpy patrons, people who don't want to follow policy, people who make you uncomfortable for whatever reason, or even just vocal people with very different viewpoints to yours we've all had at least one encounter with a patron that could have been labelled as difficult. There are a lot of articles out there about dealing with difficult people in a customer service role, here are 4 that directly relate to the issue in libraries:

1. MLA2010: Black Belt Librarians: Dealing with Difficult Patrons by Brian Herzog at Swiss Army Librarian
2. The #@%& Joys of Library Work by Roz Warren in Metropolis
3. Dealing With Difficult Patrons by Jessica Olin at Letters to a Young Librarian
4. How to Deal with the Grumpy Patron by Gina Martinez in Library Worklife

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 How do you deal with an angry/belligerent patron who is argumentative during your interaction with them?

Q2 Have you ever been made to feel physically unsafe/uncomfortable during an interaction with a patron? How did you deal with it? What changes were made to policies if any because of it?

Q3 What do you do if a patron is loudly espousing a belief of an inflammatory nature in a public space that could make you or other patrons upset?

Q4 How do you deal with disrespectful patrons? i.e. the patrons who don't respect libraries or library workers for whatever reason.

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 9 PM ET MONDAY, JUNE 5 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG. 

#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon May 22 2017

via Flazingo Photos

TOPIC

Dealing with gaps in your resume

Just a reminder Leigh will be hosting the chats for the month of May, Lauren is currently adventuring in England. For the second chat of the month, she's chosen the topic of dealing with resume gaps. Her inspiration is Gaps in Your Resume: Addressing an Interruption in Your Career Path by John Lehner on LIScaeer.com. 

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 had to deal with a gap on your resume, please share your experience!

Q2 If asked in an interview, how do you explain a gap on your resume?

Q3 Do you do anything different on your resume to deal with a gap? What do you do?

Q4 What advice do you have for handling a gap on a resume?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 9 PM ET MONDAY, MAY 22 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG.