#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

via Wikimedia Commons

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.