Month: March 2011

Personal Branding for New Librarians: Standing Up & Stepping Out

ACRL 2011
ACRL 2011

Branding, as a term, is often viewed negatively because many people feel that it implies selling yourself as something you’re not.

In reality, branding is merely a word we use to say “this is how others perceive you”.

A great example of this is Apple, as a company it is known for innovation, ease of use, reliability, and customer service. In order to maintain their status as a number one seller or electronics they carefully manage the types of products which they create and how their stores are run to preserve their reputation in the above areas.

You may be perceived as smart, reliable, flaky, fun, or boring. Managing your online identity helps you understand how others perceive you which will enable you to more accurately portray your
values and interests.

Why should you care?

  • Not knowing what is associated with your name online can lead to you being associated (wrongly) with others crimes and misdemeanors.
  • People with the same first and last name can make you unfindable in search results.
  • Vendors, clients, colleagues, and administrators will search for you online. Do you know what they will find?
  • Not paying attention and over-sharing does cost people jobs.

Why are the benefits?

  • @KateClancy received invitations to two speaking engagements because of her blog posts.
  • Name recognition in your field. Write about what you care about and you’ll be surprised how many people are paying attention.
  • Collaborators! Meet and maintain contact with similar interests anywhere in the world.

Want to learn more?

Personal Branding for New Librarians: Standing Out and Stepping Up
March 31st
10:30am – 11:30am
ACRL 2011 Virtual Conference

Presenters Information:

Kiyomi D. Deards, University of Nebraska-Lincoln / kdeards2@unl.edu

@kiyomid (Twitter)

Erin Dorney, ?Millersville University / erin.dorney@millersville.edu

http:www.libraryscenester.wordpress.com (Blog) / @libscenester (Twitter)

Bohyun Kim, Florida International University / bohyun.kim@fiu.edu

http://bohyunkim.net/blog (Blog) / @bohyunkim (Twitter)

Alison Miller, ipl2 Reference Services, Drexel University / milleru65@gmail.com

@millerlibrarian (Twitter)

I Am Not Now, Nor Have I Ever Been, A Medical Professional

Rod of Asclepius

I Am Not Now, Nor Have I Ever Been, A Medical Professional. I come from a family with several health care professionals, at least one in every generation. Add in being a science librarian for the biological sciences, chemistry, and biochemistry, and it’s no surprise that I pay attention to biomedical news and research a bit more than most.

Here’s some things I am concerned about, you should be too!

1. Iron-deficiency is not something you get just for being a lady

Context and variations by Dr. Kathryn Clancy

Kathyrn Clancy, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois, relates her research which proves that most women do not become iron deficient because they have periods. Kathryn Clancy backs up her claims with solid research data and a list of references. Key statement: “If you have iron-deficiency anemia and your doctor is insisting it’s because you slough off your endometrium from time to time without doing a single test to confirm it, you may want to insist on an endoscopy. It could save your life.” Want to know more about Kathryn Clancy’s research? Check out: An activist scientist for women’s health. For those interested in women’s health issues also check out: I don’t have a 28-day menstrual cycle, and neither should you. I really like how she makes the distinction between natural variation and serious health issues, understanding the difference is key to making an informed decision (Yes, I like this phrase, it’s very important!).

2. Proposed Cuts to @NIOSH ERC Program

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Andrew Maynard, Director of the University of Michigan Risk Science Center summed it up well as ?It’s the cutting of all occupational health training grants that is really worrying!? Want a carefully considered opinion piece? ?Read Andrew Maynard’s post Obama’s 2012 budget does not bode well for safe & productive workplaces. The post also links to further additional rebuttals of the justifications for the cuts.

3. Alcohol ‘more harmful than heroin or crack’

Guardian UK

The study says that if drugs were classified on the basis of the harm they do, alcohol would be class A, alongside heroin and crack cocaine. This study was led by former UK government drugs advisor David Nutt who was controversially dismissed (giant balls of molten gas raining down from above controversial) for disagreeing publicly with the governments policy on canabis. Many in the science community took the stance: Why ask the scientists if you don’t want to know the answer? ?Just to be clear David Nutt is NOT advising banning alcohol, but people should be made more aware of the adverse effects of over indulging, and what exactly overindulging means. More Guardian Pieces about David Nutt. And an interesting piece about the current state of affairs in the UK on Nature’s science blog The Great Beyond.

Image courtesy of Ddcfnc under Creative Commons Attribution – Share Alike 3.0 Unported.