As I wrote last month, the idea of stories immediately brings thoughts of my father, who was an extraordinary storyteller. Dad died a few weeks ago, on October 6. Few people talk about grief openly, outside of funerals and memorials. How it commingles sadness, anger, and, strangely enough, laughter. This Read more…
Reading the original IFLA Trend Report from 2013 (“Riding the waves or caught in the tide? Navigating the evolving information environment”), it felt very prescient. Their trends included redefining the boundaries of privacy and data protection, and the empowerment of new voices and groups, both of which felt very 2020. Read more…
Introduction Last month, we were discussing digital resources in my class on academic libraries, and I came across an article on the use of YouTube in such environments. While Cho (2013) was advocating for its use in building digital collections, it got me searching for examples of how academic libraries Read more…
As we get into the meat of this course, I have been fascinated by the idea of interconnectivity that is implied within the term “hyperlinked environments.” The idea of community is not new, of course; John Donne (1624) declared that “No Man is an Iland, intire of it selfe;” (Meditation Read more…
One of the challenges in our interconnected modules is choosing what to write about and reflect on. I read our required readings early last week, and I was struck by their messages of community and inclusion. Given the events of this past spring, these are important topics to consider — Read more…
When people consider the library as the center of the community, they often think of the public library. But through my classes this semester, we are exploring ways that the academic library is a central part of a college or university community as well. For example, SMU Libraries has been Read more…
Reading this book after our first couple of weeks, the biggest concepts that tied Mr. Palfrey’s ideas to those we have been discussing were his thoughts on how librarians and libraries should approach change, build community, and transform for our digital future. Here are some of the main threads that Read more…
The idea of leadership has (unsurprisingly) come up in my class on library management, and it’s reappearing this fall in my class on academic libraries. It’s a common question, What makes a good leader? And there’s usually not one universal answer, as leadership is often defined by how someone reacts Read more…
As I have been working on my MLS, several themes have come, and gone, and returned again. How to structure a reference interview. Why communication is important. The importance of strong leadership. This month’s theme seems to be change management. I first noticed it at the beginning of the month: Read more…
On the day I was celebrating the 1st year anniversary of working at Southern Methodist University, I presented the culmination of the largest project I worked on during the spring semester, at the Cross Timbers Library Collaborative Conference, with my supervisor at SMU, Jonathan McMichael. One of the things that Read more…