The Liminal Librarian

After yesterday’s post, I got a message on Facebook asking: So what do you speak about, anyway? Well, that’s a reasonable question. So, here are a few recent topics:

• Career building in a down economy
• Alternative careers for librarians and info pros
• The cross-generational library workforce
• Writing for publication
• Accidental library management
• Getting unstuck

I also do local classes on saving money with coupons, so if your library is in the Chicago area, drop me a line about that! I’m happy to chat about rates, other topics, and your group’s needs, so email me at rachel@lisjobs.com, and we’ll talk.

And, if you’re reading this and don’t know who the heck I am (thanks!), here’s:

• My bio, and
• My resume, listing all the workshops/presentations I’ve ever done, ever .

Tags: meta, presenting, speaking, workshops

I’ve been thinking lately about speaking and libraries and the effects of the economic crunch on library conferences. By this point in the summer, I’m usually confirmed for at least 3-4 presentations or workshops for the fall — and right now, I’m scheduled for a big, fat, zero. Now, it could be that I’m just not so interesting to hear anymore, but I’m pretty sure it has more to do with the craptacular economy than anything else. Invited speakers are a logical place to cut back.

Then, I just read in LJ that the Ohio Library Council has cut its entire convention this year — largely because people just can’t afford to go:

OLC made its decision in the wake of a survey of library directors that showed that very few could afford to send their staff to the event. “In light of the recent developments in the state’s public library funding and the drastic adjustments that all libraries have been making to their operations, the OLC made the most fiscally-responsible route for both members and the organization,” OLC said in a news release.

Ohio of course is an extreme case (and if you want to help, check out some of the links over at Pop Goes the Library). I presented there a few years ago and remember the conference organizers as committed and energetic people, so it’s disturbing to read this.

Then again, ALA attendance appeared to be great, although the number of vendors was down. Are smaller conferences going to be more heavily affected? Have those of you who do the conference circuit noticed huge drops in attendance, or a decline in speaking invitations?

Tags: conferences, economy, libraries/librarianship, speaking

(xposted mostly at Mashup Mom. Because I’m annoyed.)

I just spent a frustrating 1/2 hour at Chase. Why? A few months ago I registered LISjobs.com as a DBA and opened up a business account, mainly to deposit some very small checks from things like Google ads. I chose Chase because we have a personal checking account there, and I saw an ad on their site that they would waive business account fees for accounts linked to personal accounts.

The banker I signed up with (who of course wasn’t in today) assured me that this was the case, that I wouldn’t be charged any service fees, no worries.

This month, a $10 monthly service fee showed up on my business account. This is pretty significant, given that I have under $500 in there and they of course don’t pay any interest.

So, into the bank I go. No, they’re so sorry, they don’t have any such deal, and I obviously didn’t read the fine print. There was only an introductory 90-day fee free period. They’ll waive it just this once but it will keep being charged each month. Fees are only waived if I use my business credit card with them every month, or if I link to a “premiere” personal checking account in which we need to maintain a $15,000+ balance or be charged a $20 monthly service fee, and this of course has to be what the guy told me.

Now. I didn’t have a $15,000 balance in my checking account in March. I don’t generally maintain a $15,000 balance. I do not nor have I ever had a “premiere” checking account. And, this is not what the guy told me, or I wouldn’t have signed up for the account.

OK, fine, say I. Close the account and move the money to my personal checking account. Oh, sorry, they can’t do that today. Why? Since they waived the $10.00 fee “just this once,” it’s showing up as a pending credit to the account so I can’t close it until that clears, I have to come back another day.

Lesson learned: Get it in writing. I went home and checked my original paperwork, of course, nothing about the fee being waived. Too bad for me! And, way to be unfriendly to home businesses, Chase — Thanks!

Tags: chase, customer service

The following authors will be signing at the Information Today, Inc. booth [#4525] on Saturday July 11 from 1:00 — 2:00 p.m.

Tasha Squires, author of Library Partnerships: Making Connections Between School and Public Libraries

Pop culture mavens Sophie Brookover and Elizabeth Burns, authors of Pop Goes the Library: Using Pop Culture to Connect With Your Whole Community

They. All. Rock! Come on by .

Tags: ala, brookover, burns, ITI, library partnerships, pop goes the library, squires

(Blog it, Baby!)

Tags: blogging, computer, sam

I just received a fundraising letter from Dominican University. It begins:

Dear Rachel,

In 2005 on the occasion of GSLIS 75th Anniversary, you were selected as one of 75 Notable Alumnae/i by Dominican University’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science….

It goes on to ask me to consider a gift of at least $100 to help establish an endowment to fund scholarships, faculty and professional development, and “other endeavors.” And ends with:

PS: If you consider earning your MLIS degree a life-changing achievement that put you on course for your notable career, we hope you’ll join us in making a gift so others can earn this degree and embark on their own notable careers.

What’s notable here is this is the first I’ve heard about being selected back in 2005. You’d think someone would have mentioned it at some point over the last four years before using the topic to solicit donations. Just saying.

(But I feel so notable now! Someone buy me a drink at ALA )

Tags: alumna, dominican, fundraising, gslis, notable

Tag cloud in my trib

Originally uploaded by lib_rachel

I’m always taken aback by efforts to translate things that work well online into print. This showed up in yesterday’s Chicago Tribune — although they call theirs a “word cloud.”

Tags: chicago tribune, newspapers, print, tag cloud, trib, word cloud

It’s been an honor and a privilege to work with a number of ITI authors, but I was never so intimidated as when editing Kathy Dempsey’s The Accidental Library Marketer — given that she edited some of my own earliest work over at Computers in Libraries magazine. Be that as it may, her due-out-any-day-now book, quite simply, rocks. Get it. Now. In tough economic times her succinct and down-to-earth advice is more important than ever.

Also, if you’re headed to ALA next weekend, be sure to stop by Kathy’s book signing at the annual Swap & Shop on Sunday July 12. Swap & Shop runs from 11-1:30 in the special events area in the exhibit hall — so you can go even if, like me, you’re only springing for the exhibits pass! And check out her new site at LibrariesAreEssential.com — the URL sums it up right there.

Tags: accidental library marketer, ala, information today, ITI, kathy dempsey, swap & shop

I’ve been doing some talks lately on career building in a down economy, so was interested to see ALA’s new Getting a Job in a Tough Economy Toolkit. It’s obviously a work in progress, and kind of weirdly organized, but I’m cheered to see any association movement toward helping librarians instead of solely focusing on libraries.

Dear ALA: Here’s a shamelessly self-promoting suggestion — why not link up to LISjobs.com? Just a thought.

Anyway. What do you all think of it?

Tags: ala, economy, getting a job in a tough economy, job hunting, toolkit

Want to meet up? Have a book idea to talk about? Drop me a line: rachel@lisjobs.com. That is all.

Tags: ala, annual