Comments on: The Perception Filter

By: Agnostic, Maybe | TechRetriever

Agnostic, Maybe | TechRetriever — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:19:36 +0000

[...] this post is an expansion of thoughts from a previous post on the topic of awards and recognition within the librarian [...]

By: On Awards & Recognition « Agnostic, Maybe

On Awards & Recognition « Agnostic, Maybe — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 04:38:38 +0000

[...] this post is an expansion of thoughts from a previous post on the topic of awards and recognition within the librarian [...]

By: Erica Findley

Erica Findley — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:27:25 +0000

About awards. I think the development of leaders is important and I think recognition is a big part of that. Although, I do want selection criteria to be made more transparent and I think the sheer number of awards available is too many. Too many awards kind of downplays the recognition factor especially when you have to explain to EVERYONE what the award was for.

By: JohnSchoppert

JohnSchoppert — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 08:08:01 +0000

I like what you’ve said about perception. There are still people who seemingly think that libraries should be about books exclusively as they complain about people just checking out DVDs. I was walking around my public library branch the other day noticing how many kids were studying, how many older patrons were reading newspapers and magazines. I see every day how people use study rooms, to, well, study.
Amongst all that we realize we are more than books. But I would hope that at the core we should acknowledge reading is our gravitational pull. Books are changing, but the importance of reading isn’t. Even if its informational reading on-line.
The recent foray of the ALA branding @yourlibrary missed the mark. While it acknowledged our recognition and response to technological change it left behind the core value. I agree with your assessment of a library’s book stereotype but I would like to look at it as not a tether but a slingshot.

By: Obligatory, end-of-year post (not that there’s anything wrong with that) « bringyournoise

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:48:28 +0000

[...] time. Special thanks to that group of loyal readers, which keeps me going, and to those bloggers (Andy, Will, Sarah, Bobbi, Steve, Roy, Henrik to name just a few), who have been doing this a lot longer [...]

By: Brad

Brad — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:28:14 +0000

Interesting post. Re: award recipients. A 20-year colleague told me that it also has a lot to do with who you know. You may do outstanding work, get published, present, etc. but if you are not active nationally, and don’t pay your dues, you’ll likely not get noticed.

I also agree with Mike: There is a technology disconnect.

By: Mike the Librarian

Mike the Librarian — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:10:35 +0000

The big gap, to me, is the dearth of librarians who really understand, use, and can teach technology in a library that’s supposed to be about technology. The younger ones are presumed to know it — which tends to preclude real learning or teaching — and the older ones are presumed to be unable to learn it — which tends to convince them that learning is impossible. For a field dedicated to lifelong learning and being able to support what we provide (which includes a lot of technology), it seems to me that technophiles are few on the ground.