George Hawtin, Head Editor, INALJ Saskatchewan Your Library Board: Who Are They? Why Are They Here? As a lifelong library lover and avid community volunteer, I applied to join my hometown’s library board in 2008. In my early twenties with little formal education or business experience, I loved the library, but I knew very little about librarians…
by Jennifer Crutchfield, Head Editor, INALJ Connecticut Tips to be professionally successful Being successful in our profession is what we all strive for. Whether in a library setting or any professional setting, keeping ourselves focused on being successful at what we do is important in our professional development. I would like to share some tips I use daily…
by Alphild Dick, Head Editor, INALJ Washington MLSing the Good Old Days– A Retrospective on the Degrees It was with no small amount of relief that a year ago this month I wrapped up my final year of graduate school and started working. It was the end of five years of graduate education, having (ridiculously) subjected myself to…
Valarie Swayze, Head Editor, INALJ Louisiana The Library as a Makerspace: Celebrating & Inspiring Creativity Libraries across the globe are participating in the Maker Movement to celebrate the inventions and creativity of local Makers while inspiring others to join the fun. A Maker Faire, an event created by Make: magazine, is known as the greatest show-and-tell on earth…
by Lauren Bourdages, Head Editor, INALJ Ontario Informational Interviewing strategies for the Introverted and/or Socially Anxious* *Tips will work for anyone but this is my frame of reference! I am actually an ambivert, I am also someone who has moderate social anxiety (not clinically diagnosed mind you), which has actually gotten better as I get older,…
Angela J.A. Kent, Head Editor, INALJ-Virtual Work Talking It Out: Thoughts On Professional Writing The dreaded blank screen and blinking cursor. Whether it’s preparing a cover letter, writing a paper for class, creating a work presentation, or drafting a report for your boss, professional writing can be tough. Sometimes the link between your thoughts in your…
Angie Solis, Head Editor, INALJ Missouri So I’ve graduated library school… Now what? As I write this on the eve of my graduation from library school I find myself caught up in feelings of joy, fear, worry, happiness and relief. The feelings of elation come from the fact that I can stand up and proudly announce: “I have…
Stephanie Sendaula, INALJ Associate Editor Non-Library Conferences for Librarians There are a lot of conference acronyms in our profession: ALA, SLA, SAA, ACRL, PLA, AASL, AALL, etc… But sometimes we’re not able to attend those conferences for a variety of reasons including funding restraints, time constraints, or even the specific location. (Haven’t we all wondered whether to…
by Alphild Dick, Head Editor, INALJ Washington Confessional Professional I admit it. This post is entirely inspired by the flame war on ALATT that started on Sunday. If you don’t follow that group, you should. Well, maybe. It’s half professional inquiry, half goofing off. Most days you can find something useful or entertaining. But I digress. This post…
by Sheryl L. Christensen, Head Editor, INALJ California Technology-Related Career Trajectory: What’s Your Plan? Many insiders in the field of web-based projects, both library-focused as well as business-related, are no longer quite as enamored as they once were of programming certifications, or even, in some instances, IT degrees. There are still fields that absolutely require specialty certification…
Our best month Ever! What a great month! The big news is we reached over 5.5 million page views on INALJ.com! In addition it was the best month at INALJ.com for all stats! Our busiest day EVER was 21,863 views on 4/14, and our busiest week EVER at 116,111 views, and our busiest month EVER…
Rachel Loria, Head Editor, INALJ Colorado Shifting the perspective: Implementations that will help to overcome the librarian stereotype Boring. Long dresses. Quiet voice except when she is scolding the room to keep the noise level down. A “fussy old woman of either sex, myopic and repressed, brandishing or perhaps cowering behind a date-stamp and surrounded by an…
by Tracy Wasserman, Head Editor, INALJ Florida A Job for You as an Embedded Librarian The traditional librarian sits at a reference desk somewhere, waiting for someone to ask, text, or email a question. Nowadays however, librarians are increasingly providing “point-of-need” services in the form of embedded librarianship, being a part of the instant human connection that is…