Kiyomi in Philadelphia

As some of you may know I had a rather whirlwind summer which led to me starting a new job August 2nd as an Assistant Professor with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries.

For those of you who read my previous post, Sunday June 27th at ALA Annual was the day I attended my committee meeting for the Residency Interest Group, this was great fun and I think the group is starting to move in a very positive and useful direction.

Sunday was also the day I decided to accept the offer of employment I received from Dean Joan Giesecke of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries.  This great piece of news really capped the whole ALA Annual experience for me and since August 2nd I have had the great pleasure (and occasional moments of terror at being an Assistant Professor with the Research and Instructional Section as a Subject Librarian for the areas of Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biological Sciences, and the Cedar Point Biological Research Station.

I highly recommend that anyone else considering a cross-country move try and take more time than I did as it was the definition of chaos to find a place to live, pack, and move in about 3 weeks from the paperwork getting on file with administration.  I have to give a lot of credit to the staff in the Dean of Libraries office, and to Bekins/Thornton Moving & Storage for moving both my furniture and my car way faster than the originally estimated.  I received everything within 5 days of pickup instead of the 7-15 days I was told to expect.  I have to give credit to the university for contracting with such a great moving company (but if you try them and have a problem please don’t blame me

So now I’ve been here just over a month and this is my first post, why is that?  Well there are really two reasons. 1) Unpacking an entire 2 person household mainly by yourself takes forever and the boxes stare at you mockingly, thankfully my husband arrived a couple weeks ago and things are shaping up well, we even bought furniture this weekend at the famous Nebraska Furniture Mart (Yay, I’ll have something to sit on other than a folding chair at home!).  2) The University of Nebraska Lincoln, and its library resources, are huge!  Even though I’ve had multiple orientation activities a week (plus 8 thirty minute subject specific one-shots) I expect I won’t complete all of them until November or December which sounds and occasionally feels a bit overwhelming, but overall it’s really great to work somewhere that people want to teach you how they do things so that you can succeed.  Between work and home I’ve been running around like a whirling dervish but that is mostly out of my system and I can start moving again with more deliberation as I find my place in the faculty of UNL, as a Librarian, and in Nebraska.

So now that you know basically what I’ve been up to how are you?

ALA 2010

Greetings  and salutations!

I hope that everyone reading this is doing well, and that my fellow attendees all made it home without incident.

So, what have I been up to?

June 12, 2010 I attended graduation at Drexel University and got to meet some of my fellow students, hurrah!

I also spent several days exploring Philladelphia with my husband, guided by my aunt and cousins before visiting Missy Harvey, the Computer Science Librarian for the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries in Pittsburgh.  We moved on to Harrisburg to visit the  National Civil War Museum, which I highly recommend seeing, and Gettysburg.  After that we moved on to New York, NY to visit my step-son and one of my oldest friends, and then turned south to Delaware.  I realized from the signage that I was near the University of Delaware and gave myself an impromptu campus and library tour, they have an awesome audio/video center in their library!  We spent a few days in Maryland relaxing with some friends, and then moved on to D.C. for ALA 2010.

A Few Washington, D.C. Highlights

Revisiting Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum (Twice!)

What can I say, you can’t take the science out of the girl and I always adore seeing the new takes on the NASA display and all the other changes, it really did take two visits to see all the new stuff and I still didn’t have time to see one of their IMAX presentations!

Spectrum Professional Options Fair

This event is part of the Spectrum Leadership Institute, I was there as a representative of ACRL’s Residency Interest Group.  The purpose of the event is for Spectrum Scholars to learn about various career paths and professional groups, and to provide general networking for them as well.  My group passed out flyers, business cards, pointed people toward other groups of interest at the institute and generally had a good time promoting Residencies, scholarship and mentoring opportunities, and librarianship.

ARL’s 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Intitative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce

As an ARL Diversity Scholar I was asked to attend this lunch celebration of the Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce.  I showed up early to help setup with my husband and we helped out and generally had a good time.  Not only was the food excellent, but the speakers were as well.  I was particularly proud of my fellow 2009-2011 Diversity Scholar Jeff Cruz’s speech. Jeff also challenged us to see which of us would become the first ARL director.  I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a multi-way tie in the end, good luck to us all!

Sunday – Best day!  I’ll do a separate post on this next week

Privacy -

Monday as I wandered in tired and without a plan and only 2 hours to spare, I had the good fortune to run into Brian Leaf who suggested I go to a session with him on privacy issues.  I’m not sure what the name of the session was but I really enjoyed one of the speakers analogy for privacy issues, a black box sitting on a rotting net with a flag.

Exhibits Report

As per usual there was the usual assortment of people watching and free books.  I was especially impressed by the determination of the woman who brought her daughter to sit with bags and had 8 bags of books within about 30 minutes of the exhibits opening.  I myself snagged 8 which looked interesting, and even managed to snag a free copy of a book being sold Saturday by staring rather wistfully at a book as they were closing the signing and mentioning that I had the first book at which point the vendor gave it to me for free and I was the last person to have their book signed

I was disappointed in the selection of science related vendors, even the vendors with science products were not nearly as helpful as I had met at midwinter.  To that I say, science people want convention attention too!  If I ask about your science products and you are a representative for your vendor telling me you don’t have any handouts and only know that name of the products makes me wonder if you really want me to buy them.

In contrast I was very pleased to speak with the people from the Oxford University Press they were very helpful, interesting, and I learned about new products which were in my area of interest.  I was also very happy to meet up with Dave, Ryan, and the rest of the Mango Languages crew, if you haven’t tried their product yet see if you have access through your library and check them out!  I really love how they not only have lessons for English speakers to learn foreign languages, but also English as a second language lessons. (No I am not affiliated with them, I just like their product and want it to continue succeeding so I can continue using it!)

Poster Sessions

I really enjoyed the chance to see what people were doing to improve their libraries and their services.  I really enjoyed the opportunity to connect with other librarians and discover people with similar interest and specialties who I hope to collaborate with in the future.  Talks and presentations are useful, but if you don’t drop by the poster sessions when you can you’re missing a fun and highly useful opportunity to connect with your peers/future colleagues/future bosses.  Most interesting poster has to go to the librarians that created a virtual tour using adapted dolls, some model props, and photos to simulate  a library tour for online students in a video clip.  I also loved hearing about successful scavenger hunt strategies and brain storming for overnight mystery events in libraries.

All in all I had a great time, met great people, and learned a lot, if you have a chance to attend a convention I highly encourage you to go.

Attended ALA 2010 in D.C.?  What were your highlights?

Portrait of an ARL Diversity Scholar

What’s it all about?

As you may or may not know, I am a 2009-2011 ARL Diversity Scholar.  This means that I was chosen to receive financial aid, mentoring, professional development and networking opportunities.  The above benefits are provided by the ARL Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce (IRDW).  In return for this, ARL Diversity Scholars promise to try and work at an Association of Research Libraries member library for two years after graduation.  I use the word try because ARL can’t guarantee you a job and, as we all know, there are many libraries that are cutting staff instead of hiring.  What they can do is provide support and advice during your job search, and introduce you to leaders, movers and shakers in the library world heightening your exposure and recognition.  The impression you make and the ability to follow through on those connections are your responsibility.

ARL Leadership Symposium

ARL Leardship Symposium

The ARL Leadership Symposium is the first event you attend as an ARL Diversity Scholar.  The Symposium is a free event for MLIS students and was officially open January 16 and 17, 2010.  For Diversity Scholars, this event started January 14^th and included an extra day and a half of speakers, panels and networking opportunities.  All costs for the Leadership Symposium were paid for by ARL and I was able to schedule my flight back two days later so that I could stay and meet my ALA Midwinter obligations.

In addition to the panel discussions and speakers, the Leadership Symposium was the first chance I had to put names to faces and meet the rest of the 2009-2011 Diversity Scholars.  The group is very dynamic and I am in awe of everyone.  They make me feel like I’m a slacker with all of their energy and projects.  We are made up of people from a variety of ethnicities and age groups.  Some of us, like myself, are career switchers. Others are experienced library workers, and some are just starting their careers.  The scholarship is nice, but what really makes the ARL Diversity Scholar experience is your cohort.  While I can’t speak for past years, my cohort is inspiring, challenging and completely supportive of each other and I’m delighted to be a part of them.

Eating with the scholars in Purdue.

ARL Initiative to Recruit a Diverse Workforce Visit to Purdue University Libraries

The Purdue University Libraries visit is a well-organized two-day whirlwind affair that introduces scholars to current issues in research libraries, cutting edge services and the staff of the Purdue University Libraries.  Additionally, scholars participate in small group meetings with librarians specializing in one of their areas of interest. The first day ended with an informal gathering at the Dean of Libraries’, James (Jim) Mullins, house where we were treated to excellent food, a relaxed venue and time to get to know the Purdue University librarians.  The second day ended with a larger, more formal, reception that was attended by even more of the Purdue University librarians allowing us to visit with, and be advised by librarians who specialize in a wide variety of topics.  Because these events were less hectic than the Symposium the Scholars were able to spend more time getting to know each other.  You may be wondering why we needed more time. There are 20 Diversity Scholars in the 2009-2011 cohort all of whom are well worth knowing on a personal basis and doing exciting things in librarianship.  I wish I had an extra day to spend visiting with everyone, hopefully some of us will be able to meet up at ALA Annual but I’m a little sad knowing that the whole group will probably never again be able to meet at the same time as professional obligations will dictate our future schedules.

ARL Mentoring

ARL provides several levels of mentorship outside of the conference.  For my group the first level would be Mark Puente, Director of Diversity Programs for ARL.  Mark coordinates the scholarship program and also provides advice on networking, job and scholarship applications, interviewing and the odd job lead.  The scholars also practice peer mentoring.  Many of us have a wide range of experience and because of our different backgrounds we can often help each other whether it be giving feedback on a websites, or posting new job leads we think someone might be interested in.  One thing we try and keep in mind is that we are different individuals with different interests and goals.  Because we are so different we are not competition for each other, but support.  In addition Mark finds mentors for each applicant based on similar professional interests.  My ARL mentor is Geetha Yappa, a science librarian at the University of California, Riverside.  Geetha has provided advice and insight into the application process, reviewed my resume and cover letters, introduced me to other librarians with similar backgrounds and interests and provided me with job leads.

In Summary

In addition to fewer student loans I have enhanced my leadership skills, made connections with librarians from around the country, become part of a community of new librarians who are advancing librarianship, and in some cases redefining it, and gained a broader perspective on the missions and services of large academic research libraries.

I hope that this post encourages those who are eligible to apply when the call for applicants is made for the 2010 IRDW.

This is a wonderful program, I hope that in the future donors and funders will look at the people it has supported and continue to pledge funds based on the success of those who it has helped.

Happy 101

Back in January Library Scenester, aka Erin Dorney, gave me a Happy 101 Award.  Thank you again Erin!  Erin is a sweet, enthusiastic, and engaging blogger, and I recommend you check her out if you haven’t already.  In addition to being a great person, Erin is the Outreach Librarian for the University of Pennsylvania, Millersville.

So, what is Happy 101?

Happy 101 is an Internet meme, and if you trace it backwards you’ll see it has passed through many different types of blogs, but I’ll let you discover exactly what types of blogs for yourself.   Meme’s work by having you do something, linking back to the person who tagged you, and then tagging others to do the same.  In this case you share ten things that have made you happy, and ten bloggers who you enjoy.

Please feel free to continue this meme, or not, with no pressure from me either way; apologies to all the great bloggers out there who aren’t covered in Erin’s or my list.

Ten things that have made me happy:

1. My husband Jeff, he can always make me laugh.
2. Green tea, Genmaicha by preference, or any other unsweetened Japanese green tea blend.
3. Starting my last quarter at Drexel (although I’ll be sad to go, it’s been a lot of fun!)
4. Weeding the things we (my husband & I) own, and being able to donate really nice things to charitable thrifts. It reduced clutter, helped people in need, and reduced waste.
5. The constant support and encouragement of mentors like Jodye Selco, Missy Harvey, Harvey Brenneise, Mark Puente, Megan Perez, and the list goes on.  Thank you all.
6. My future sister in-law, she has a great sense of humor
7. Working with the other members of the Residency Interest Group, they are interesting, dedicated, and dynamic individuals.
8. Seeing the spring flowers, bunnies and squirrels twice a week when I go to my internship (botanic garden).
9. Planning my trip to Drexel’s graduation in June followed by a tour of the New England states to see friends and family ending at ALA Annual in D.C.
10. Taking a day to read sci-fi and fantasy novels right before this quarter started.

Ten bloggers I enjoy (I’m deliberately not repeating anyone Erin mentioned.):

1. Stephen Abrams @ Stephen’s Lighthouse
2. John Dupuis @ Confessions of a Science Librarian
3. Stephen Fry @ The New Adventures of Stephen Fry
4. Futurity.org
5. Tim Jones @ Zoonomian
6. Andrew Maynard @ 2020Science
7. Michael Stephens @ Tame the Web
8. Towson’s Emerging Technologies Librarians (Carrie Bertling, David Dahl, Carissa Tomlinson) @ Library Tech Talk
9. Laurel Tarulli @ The Cataloging Librarian
10. Beth Williams @ Going Green @Your Library

And as an Easter Egg for those of you who read this far, I just thought I’d mention that I’ve added several more resources to the General Reference section of the site which may be of use and interest to those interested in science, or just looking for a few more library centric resources.