{"id":2587,"date":"2012-04-12T09:25:15","date_gmt":"2012-04-12T13:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=2587"},"modified":"2012-10-16T18:06:43","modified_gmt":"2012-10-16T22:06:43","slug":"brian-mathews-in-six","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=2587","title":{"rendered":"Brian Mathews &#8230;In Six"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>My interview with Brian Matthews, the Ubiquitous Librarian<\/em><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/brianm.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-2599\" title=\"brianm\" src=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/brianm-e1334204837720-100x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Naomi: <\/strong>What is your dream job and why?<br \/>\n<strong>Brian: <\/strong>My \u201cdream\u201d job is to be the founder and CEO of a wildly successful startup company. I\u2019m addicted to entrepreneurialism. I love meeting, brainstorming and hanging out with innovators and creative types. I love watching ideas grow into something tangible. There are a number of startups here in Blacksburg and their energy is rubbing off on me. I love the thought of taking a concept, building it, launching it, and growing it. Whether it\u2019s a new commercial service or an academic research study&#8211; it\u2019s a very similar process on a conceptual level.<\/p>\n<p>In a library context&#8211; I think it would be a great challenge to be the Library Dean at a big ARL someday. Susan Gibbons is a inspiration to me. I still have a lot to learn before I can even think about that point in my career, but that\u2019s a dream down the road. We\u2019re going to see some dramatic changes over the next twenty years so I can\u2019t wait to see what happens next and to help guide that future.<\/p>\n<p>On a more direct level, I\u2019d love to have the opportunity to develop an entirely new library building from scratch. A modern work environment that propels learning. The new NCSU Library looks amazing&#8211; I\u2019d like to design something like that, but with a little more of a Silicon Valley vibe.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Naomi: <\/strong>What blogs should we be reading?<br \/>\n<strong>Brian: <\/strong> ACRL Blog, DBL, and info-mational are three library-land blogs I read regularly.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/acrlog.org\/\">http:\/\/acrlog.org\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/dbl.lishost.org\/\">http:\/\/dbl.lishost.org\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/infomational.wordpress.com\/\">http:\/\/infomational.wordpress.com\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Chronicle blogs are good too:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/chronicle.com\/section\/Blogs\/164\/\"> http:\/\/chronicle.com\/section\/Blogs\/164\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/thenextweb.com\/\">The Next Web<\/a> is good for web for news.<\/p>\n<p>And I also recommend following<a href=\"http:\/\/www.guykawasaki.com\/\"> @GuyKawasaki<\/a> via Twitter. Always leads to great stuff.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Naomi: <\/strong>Favorite library you have been to?<br \/>\n<strong>Brian: <\/strong>I\u2019m still very fond of the library at Georgia Tech. I worked there as it was transforming and it left a lasting impression on me. Work should inspire you&#8211; and when I was there, there were a lot of people doing cutting-edge projects. It was a special place.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of other libraries&#8211; I visited Harvard and had the opportunity to walk through Widener. It\u2019s lovely and grand&#8211; you can\u2019t help but be impressed. Every librarian should make a pilgrimage there, especially if you love print books and elegant reading spaces.<\/p>\n<p>But&#8230; after being there for a bit I had to head over to MIT to soak up more of the entrepreneurial vibe. I gravitate toward tech spaces and creative expression and so MIT is The Place for that. Just being on that campus makes you feel smarter and more productive.<\/p>\n<p>Stanford is another inspiring place to me. The libraries are great, but the most wonderful place on campus is the design school. I spent two hours at d.school just looking around and talking to people. I want to build library environments that have that type of engagement, immersiveness, and sense of wonder.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Naomi: <\/strong>Favorite book(s)?<br \/>\n<strong>Brian: <\/strong><br \/>\n\u2022 Inspired: How To Create Products Customers Love<br \/>\n\u2022 Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Toolkit for Managers<br \/>\n\u2022 Start With Why<br \/>\n\u2022 The Lean Startup<br \/>\n\u2022 Enhancement: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions<br \/>\n\u2022 Where Good Ideas Come From<\/p>\n<p><strong>Naomi: <\/strong>Favorite thing about libraries?<br \/>\n<strong>Brian: <\/strong>Libraries are not about books, people, or technology. They are a platform for social, intellectual, cultural, creative, and civic engagement.<\/p>\n<p>I also love when they are open 24 hours and when they offer free wireless to everyone.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Naomi: <\/strong>Best piece of job hunting advice?<br \/>\n<strong>Brian: <\/strong>Initiative and creativity are two critical skills that I look for. Demonstrate that you can get things done&#8212; that you can conceive ideas and lead their development. The best way to standout in a pile of resumes is to show me what you can do, not just tell me what you know. I like when candidates pitch new ideas. Fluency in 21st century literacy is good too.<\/p>\n<p><em>Brian Mathews is the Associate Dean for Learning &amp; Outreach at Virginia Tech Libraries. He previously worked at UC Santa Barbara, Georgia Tech, and the George Washington University. Brian is passionate about user sensitive librarianship, entrepreneurialism, and brand development.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Brian blogs at <a href=\"http:\/\/chronicle.com\/blognetwork\/theubiquitouslibrarian\/\">The Ubiquitous Librarian <\/a>hosted by The Chronicle of Higher Education. His book, Marketing Today\u2019s Academic Library, was published by ALA Editions in 2009. He recently published a white paper titled: <a href=\"http:\/\/vtechworks.lib.vt.edu\/handle\/10919\/18649\">Think Like A Startup<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My interview with Brian Matthews, the Ubiquitous Librarian Naomi: What is your dream job and why? Brian: My \u201cdream\u201d job is to be the founder and CEO of a wildly successful startup company. I\u2019m addicted to entrepreneurialism. I love meeting, brainstorming and hanging out with innovators and creative types. I love watching ideas grow into&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=2587\">Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1740,1748,5,335,1747,1734,1737,1730,1731,1739,1743,1742,1744,1745,1746,1733,13,216,1025,1750,1749,1735,1751,1728,1736,1741,1729,40,336,1374,1732,1738],"class_list":["post-2587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-six","tag-guykawasaki","tag-acrl-blog","tag-bio","tag-brian-mathews","tag-dbl","tag-designing-for-growth-a-design-thinking-toolkit-for-managers","tag-enhancement-the-art-of-changing-hearts-minds-and-actions","tag-george-washington-university","tag-georgia-tech","tag-harvard","tag-httpacrlog-org","tag-httpchronicle-comsectionblogs164","tag-httpdbl-lishost-org","tag-httpinfomational-wordpress-com","tag-info-mational","tag-inspired-how-to-create-products-customers-love","tag-interview","tag-interviews","tag-marketing-todays-academic-library","tag-ncsu-library","tag-silicon-valley","tag-start-with-why","tag-susan-gibbons","tag-the-chronicle-of-higher-education","tag-the-lean-startup","tag-the-next-web","tag-think-like-a-startup","tag-twitter","tag-ubiquitous-librarian","tag-uc-santa-barbara","tag-virginia-tech-libraries","tag-where-good-ideas-come-from"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-FJ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2587\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}