Wrapping up 2009

I have no complaints with 2009 -- in fact, I have some good news.

My temporary/part-time position at work was supposed to end earlier this month, but my supervisor was able to re-hire me at least until March! I will have at least a few more hours per week, more projects, and a somewhat promotion on a specific project. The specific project I'm referring to is that I will get to subsume my supervisor's position in a health literacy collaborative, where I will take the work as a staff employee, rather than the lower-level internship-intended-position it was originally conceived as. As I get more into the project, I'll share more details, but it's a very exciting collaboration to improve health literacy in Arizona.

I had some really great job interviews recently, but decided a couple options I was getting close to were not a good fit for myself and my partner. It's always kind of scary to make decisions like that where you wonder if you're making a good choice, but as friends and colleagues have told me -- you just know it in your gut.

Other great news, I was presented with The Margaret Maxwell Beta Phi Mu Award by the University of Arizona SIRLS faculty as the 2009 recipient at the December graduation ceremony! I am so honored, and of course won't deny the award grant will be extremely helpful for renewing those somewhat expensive professional memberships and such.

So this post isn't entirely about what's been going on with me, here are some good year-end best-of lists:

• Top 25 censored stories of 2009/2010


• The 10 best new Firefox add-ons of 2009


• Gizmodo's favorite books of the year


• The ten best documentaries of 2009

Happy holidays!

Teachable moment: for here or to go?

I have to say, I'm often a bit disappointed with the SLA magazine, Information Outlook, but this time, I found a few articles very useful. In the current December 2009 issue, Derek Law discusses the coming of age of digital natives and how librarians need to consider this group when providing library services and content in Waiting for the (digital) barbarians.

After giving a brief overview of the interests and technology activity of Gen-Y, he points out what librarians should consider upcoming challenges.

It is very depressing to review the results of the OCLC user survey (2006) showing that user satisfaction decreases when librarians try to help. Online users are in a hurry to find the answer (or a shortcut to it), but what we offer is a choice between showing them how to conduct a proper search or not helping them at all. This has been described as the "Eat Spinach Syndrome" (eat your spinach, it's good for you).

When providing reference and instruction for high school students during a summer science internship program, myself and my colleague were sure to stress that if they asked for help, we would work to make their research easier for them; I really think this is key especially with this age group, being a Gen-Y-er myself. Teachable moments are very important, but I think we need to provide both -- give them what they're looking for and tell them how to find it themselves next time, not necessarily simultaneously. The reference I provided was virtual, so what I did was provide resources the student was looking for because I knew he was stressed out and at that point in time just wanted the information, but in the second half of the message, I explained how I found the information, including which terms I searched for. If he didn't want to read that second half, then that's his prerogative, but at least he had the choice of how much time he would spend on that while trying to complete his research.

Instead of appearing as a barrier to information by being perceived as imposing a mandatory training session on how to find resources, I think it is valuable to provide both, and as takeaways. For example, with an in-person reference interview, help the student find what is needed, and then pass out a subject-specific handout on how to find that information next time. If he or she needs something more detailed or has more niche needs, then collect an email address and email the information. If the student seems in a rush or not interested, it doesn't have to be one or the other, as far as provide the teachable moment or only give them the resources without instruction; the information might be wanted for later, but not at that instant.

This was how I felt about the library while earning my undergraduate degree: I did not really want to ask the librarian for help because I didn't have much time and I did not want to have to sit through a possibly intimidating and lengthy lesson on how to use the library when I had a paper due in a couple days. Of course my opinion has changed over time, but I definitely can relate to other Gen-Y students.

Law wraps up his article soundly with,

We need to determine that we can make users' lives easier, not force them to learn something extra before they get to what they need.

So succinct and so suitable.

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Law, D. (2009). Waiting for the (digital) barbarians. Information Outlook, 13(08), 15-18.

Discovery and user control

I was reading The Joy of Discovery in Web Design in the Inspect Element Web & Design Blog and it made me think of designing user experiences online and in the library. The post talks about taking that extra step to make the experience memorable for users by providing opportunities for discovery.

From an in-person library experience, I think an intuitive understanding of this would be related to browsing. Libraries that go all-digital can really hinder this important experience for users by making browsing and discovery more difficult. I remember this being one of the most exciting aspects of the library for me: searching for something in particular, and then browsing around related shelving; the best part about it was being able to discover something new myself.

Now, this blog is pertaining to web design, and the post can be directly related to library websites too. Creating alternative search features, and even going as far as to hide some fun features within pages that are more interactive could certainly improve a user's experience visiting the site. Even creating more resources for users that they might not even think would be provided through the library, for example, feed listings for interesting subjects to outside blogs or recommended Twitter feeds for research topics, or maybe tutorials for concepts related to but not directly involving just how to use the library or search a database. Maybe even including more library polls for users to contribute their feedback so they feel more involved with the library and are able to say something when they come visit the library virtually.

As Inspect Element says, "Subtlety can play a large role in discovery too even if the visitor doesn’t feel as though they have discovered anything, subconsciously giving them a feeling of greater control." I think that's an important idea to think about with libraries -- giving the user a feeling of greater control; greater control in manipulating library information and resources online, as well as navigating the library in person.

Library Routes Project

I got wind of the Library Routes Project through Twitter and thought it would be great to contribute. I wish I had found something like this when I was applying or just starting library school!

Welcome to the Library Routes Project!

The idea is to document either or both of your library roots - how you got into the profession in the first place, and what made you decide to do so - and your library routes - the career path which has taken you to wherever you are today. As well as being interesting of itself, it will also provide much needed information and context for those just entering the profession or wishing to do so.

My path of becoming a librarian was definitely brewing in the background over a few years before I realized it. I wish it had hit me sooner, but I think a series of events led me to this career:

• 2002-Read Punk Planet article (article not available online, unfortunately, but I have the paper copy saved in my files) about radical librarians and how social change and activism are possible within librarianship
• 2004-Saw friends working at libraries during undergrad and kept hearing positive things
  
• 2005-Started to really enjoy research and finding information for courses in my major and in general on the internet
• 2007-Began working at a health food/supplements store and excelled at providing reference services for people having questions about health conditions and remedies
  

After graduating with a B.A. in Communication Arts, I started looking for marketing/outreach positions, mostly with non-profits. There was a lot of competition, and since I didn't have a degree specific to marketing or advertising, it was even tougher. I applied to a couple corporations for somewhat similar or management positions, but found I didn't have enough interest in any of those jobs to make myself go to the next round of interviews because it just didn't feel right. I then saw a notice that the natural health food store near my apartment was hiring, and I wound up there; I figured in the meantime at least I'd be helping people and I would get to learn a lot about Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). I started to think about going back to school since I felt my degree was too generalized to find a more specific career, and everything libraries just started sticking out for me, including noticing how much I liked helping customers find information. Luckily, I had just moved to a city with a library school at a major university, so I applied and now here I am. I obtained a position in my program's department first, and then a graduate assistantship at the library, so I left the store and immersed myself in LIS.

As far as my route to my current position (Part-time Outreach Information Specialist at the Community Outreach & Education Core at the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center at the University of Arizona) -- which entails outreach, web design, and reference -- started off as an internship during my last semester of school, and turned into a part-time/temp position until I find permanent employment. It's a great fit for me since I have a background in outreach and an interest in design and technology -- not to mention the experience in reference for health resources from the health food store. Most of my tasks involve web design, for making the sites look nicer, for organizing the information and resources better, and to design and organize in a way that would obtain the interest of the community and researchers (outreach).

When I first started library school, I was more focused on trying to figure out what kind of library I wanted to work in, rather than what kind of position I would want; I think the latter is more useful unless one really wants to specialize in a certain type of librarianship.

For new or potential students, I'd really recommend first figuring out what you'd like as far as positions or even just position duties, and then look at related job advertisements, which can tell you where to fill in the gaps for what classes to take or maybe where to do an internship. It's also great to have an internship that is flexible where you can get nearly any kind of experience you want, as mine had been. I was able to suggest to my supervisor that I create a tutorial for students in Keep Engaging Youth in Science summer internships, as well as present instructional sessions about how the designated librarians for their course (myself and a SIRLS student) could assist them in research. I've also been able to be very creative with web design and making the sites more interactive and up-to-date. Although I'm not fully settled yet in a permanent position, I love what I'm doing now and am gaining valuable experience as well as tangible work samples to add to my portfolio.

That about sums up how I became interested in librarianship and wound up at my current position; not the most romantic story, but I suppose it was a logical journey!

Event planning & promotions presentation for PLG-UA LIS Skillshare

I presented this on Tuesday, November 17th at the Progressive Librarians Guild - UA Chapter LIS Skillshare.

I have about 8 years or maybe a little more of event planning experience (including outreach/promo/marketing/pr), so I thought I would share my accumulation of skills. Since I've done educational events, festivals, music shows, library student group workshops and a symposium, community social events, and fundraiser events, I wanted to capture all event types for the attendees, but of course all the information could be relatable to libraries (public, academic, or otherwise).

Event Planning & Promotions - LIS Skillshare

View more presentations from Nicole Pagowsky.