Comments on: Serendipity http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=23 Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:31:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Heather http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=23&cpage=1#comment-104 Heather Fri, 02 Jun 2006 17:38:00 +0000 http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=23#comment-104 I couldn't agree more - thanks for putting it so succinctly! Valuing serendipity and seeing connections should be coded in our job descriptions somehow. I couldn’t agree more – thanks for putting it so succinctly! Valuing serendipity and seeing connections should be coded in our job descriptions somehow.

]]> By: Bob Watson http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=23&cpage=1#comment-103 Bob Watson Wed, 24 May 2006 19:06:00 +0000 http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=23#comment-103 This is one of the "hidden" problems in librarianship: reference work depends upon wide knowledge (stuff in a person's head) rather more than it does about knowing what a particular book/database purportedly contains.<br/><br/>If you've got an inkling about what you're looking for you've got many choices as to where to look. If you haven't got a clue you're pretty much relying on the hope that your clueless questions will lead to something useful ... and you can only hope that the person you're searching for is even more clueless! This is one of the “hidden” problems in librarianship: reference work depends upon wide knowledge (stuff in a person’s head) rather more than it does about knowing what a particular book/database purportedly contains.

If you’ve got an inkling about what you’re looking for you’ve got many choices as to where to look. If you haven’t got a clue you’re pretty much relying on the hope that your clueless questions will lead to something useful … and you can only hope that the person you’re searching for is even more clueless!

]]> By: Harrlynn http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=23&cpage=1#comment-102 Harrlynn Tue, 23 May 2006 16:21:00 +0000 http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=23#comment-102 rachel, i can feel my hairs starting to split. the semantic you're describing is the same thing as what i would refer to as "doing my job." <br/><br/>a career is a job you want to have for a significant amount of time. for example, my brother is currently a career bartender because he's been doing it for a while and has no alternative money-making plans at the moment. he gets paid to his job, and that means he's a professional. any other wide-eyed thoughts are just bad cases of snobbery. <br/><br/><br/>and, by the way, i'm not buying ms kennedy's quote either. she is a whiz. she should stop downplaying her ability to easily find information. <br/><br/>what makes a good reference librarian is an excellent memory, and the ability to quickly access the correct language of an informational need. serendipiity is just what it is. luck. you can't rely on luck to do your job properly. unless, of course, you're a career gambler. rachel, i can feel my hairs starting to split. the semantic you’re describing is the same thing as what i would refer to as “doing my job.”

a career is a job you want to have for a significant amount of time. for example, my brother is currently a career bartender because he’s been doing it for a while and has no alternative money-making plans at the moment. he gets paid to his job, and that means he’s a professional. any other wide-eyed thoughts are just bad cases of snobbery.

and, by the way, i’m not buying ms kennedy’s quote either. she is a whiz. she should stop downplaying her ability to easily find information.

what makes a good reference librarian is an excellent memory, and the ability to quickly access the correct language of an informational need. serendipiity is just what it is. luck. you can’t rely on luck to do your job properly. unless, of course, you’re a career gambler.

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