The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters By Priya Parker We spend much of our time in meetings, at conferences, and attending other work-related affairs—either in person or virtually—but often those experiences are narrowly focused on logistics, one-way communication, and mechanics. Parker shows that getting together with other people doesn’t have … Continue reading Building Community
Public Libraries and Resilient Cities Edited by Michael Dudley Resilience is the art of being able to bounce back from disaster. The uniting thesis of these essays is that public libraries are crucial to this process. Dudley makes the point that climate change guarantees near-future crises; other essays use relatively recent disasters, such as Hurricane … Continue reading Disasters in Libraries
Collection Management Basics, 7th edition By Margaret Zarnosky Saponaro and G. Edward Evans Collection Management Basics sheds light on many facets of collection management. When it was first published in 1979, the landscape of library collections was much different, and this all-inclusive text has been revised through the years to keep up. Beginning with a … Continue reading Getting to Know You (Again)
Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World By Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall Culture, goals, leadership, feedback: These ideas are ingrained in our work lives. They shape the organizations we work for and our experiences within them. But Buckingham and Goodall argue that they are, in fact, lies that distort … Continue reading Reenvisioning Work
Your Technology Outreach Adventure: Tools for Human-Centered Problem Solving By Erin Berman This title will guide professionals in exploring computer-focused library programming. While it provides good examples of tech programs that benefit from outreach, the bulk of the book deals with group planning and design. These are often applicable to any program series or project … Continue reading Digital Strategies for Librarians
In 1970, I was working in book receipts at Boston Public Library and just beginning to consider library school when I expressed an interest in cataloging during a coffee break with colleagues. Bill Crowe, who became dean of University of Kansas Libraries, suggested Cataloging USA, by Paul S. Dunkin, published by the American Library Association … Continue reading A Librarian’s Good-Bye
Fortunately for those who may forget authors’ names or remember a book only by the color of its dust jacket, there are numerous compilations to help. Some are little more than lists, while others contain discussions on how to assess content or match reader interests to certain books. The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction, … Continue reading Beyond Readers’ Advisory
Transforming Libraries: A Toolkit for Innovators, Makers, and Seekers, by Ron Starker, begins with the premise that libraries are at a tipping point in the evolutionary process, from being book warehouses to serving as centers for collaboration and learning. Starker analyzes issues that are changing libraries, including their historical context, the specific challenges each faces, … Continue reading Become Future Ready
Copyright: What Everyone Needs to Know, by Neil Weinstock Netanel, is intended for the general public and explores the various rationales for copyright. One goes back to the Statute of Anne—the first law to provide for copyright regulated by the government. Another is to compensate authors for the work of creating content. But even the … Continue reading Copyright Through the Ages
Why libraries must expand their community role is explained in Transform and Thrive: Ideas to Invigorate Your Library and Your Community, by Dorothy Stoltz with Gail Griffith, James Kelly, Muffie Smith, and Lynn Wheeler. The authors explain how to build a culture in which risk-taking is encouraged and “unlearning” is developed to spur innovation. They … Continue reading Reimagine Programming
In Six Issues Facing Libraries Today: Critical Perspectives, John M. Budd calls these issues persistent and thorny—and they are. The first topic addressed is information: what it is and what it is not. Budd explores the criteria used to evaluate statements and suggests further avenues for considering the theory of information. Next is information literacy, an … Continue reading Future Strategies
Let’s start with Revised Standards and Guidelines of Service for the Library of Congress Network of Libraries for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, 2017, from the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Developed by the Library of Congress and ASCLA, these supersede the 2011 standards. … Continue reading Information Access for All
