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Blogging and the Shifted Librarian
by Jenny Levine
The traditional way to promote yourself has been in print, either by writing for a library journal or by publishing a book. To get to that point, though, you have go through a number of steps: carefully think out what you want to say, take the time to prepare it, find someone that is willing to publish it, edit it, wait for it to be printed, and then wait to receive it in the mail.
Building a Brand Online
But all of this changed with the advent of the Internet -- as you no doubt realize, if you are reading this! While the library profession still relies heavily on subscribing to, purchasing, and reading paper texts, early adopters (including myself) have embraced the Internet, especially the Web. To help my colleagues grasp the Internet's potential, I started The Librarians' Site du Jour in November 1995 as a way to highlight new reference sites of interest.
I maintained Jenny's Cybrary to the Stars and the Librarians' Site du Jour for four years, and it was difficult to let these sites go when I finally made the decision to stop updating them. They had become a part of me, a very public part that still holds some part of me in the Internet archives. Jenny's Cybrary and The Librarians' Site du Jour became my brand, and were the primary way in which many people in the library world knew me. Letting it go meant letting that brand lapse -- almost like becoming an "empty nester," except that, in my case, it was my online presence that was gone.
Building a Blog
A year or so later, I started to realize that I missed the part of myself that lived online and connected virtually with other like minds. Throughout 2001, I kept my eye on a new phenomenon called "blogging." The multiple forms of blogging are difficult to describe, but the phenomenon started out in the form of personal journal sites. The key is that they were organized by date in reverse chronological order, archived, and generally powered by software that let the user type stream-of-consciousness thoughts in a browser -- after which the words automatically appeared on a web site.
Blogging as a communication medium took off on September 11, 2001, when the personal journal aspect of these sites became a connection that traditional news sites couldn't match. At that point, blogging went from being a peripheral blip on my radar screen to being a major trend to watch. I started actively tracking the stars of the blogging world more closely (Cameron Barrett, Meg Hourihan, Jason Kottke, Dave Winer, etc.), and reading their sites daily. Still, I didn't have the time to start my own new site. That, however, changed in January 2002, when Dave Winer's Userland released a new version of its "Radio" blogging software.
I downloaded it on a whim, just to see what it did. I didn't anticipate starting my site for several more months, but it turned out that blogging is incredibly addictive. Like potato chips, you can't stop after just one, and Radio made the process obscenely easy (no more HTML and FTP!). My test consisted of one post on January 13, and hasn't stopped since. I named my site "The Shifted Librarian" because it centers around my theory of "information shifting:" that information now comes to us instead of us going somewhere to get it. (This naturally has a major impact on libraries.) I announced the site on the ILA RTSF mailing list in the context of how useful blogging could be, at about the same time Dave Winer noticed my new site on his server. Each pointed to my blog, and from there, things took off in a direction I'd never imagined.
Blogging As Branding
Since that first post in January, I've increased the frequency with which I post (usually recording 15-20 posts a day). I've found myself at a unique intersection between bloggers, techies, and librarians. In the blog and tech world, I'm known as "Jenny the Librarian." You wouldn't believe how many non-library users have written me or who have called me "cool" on their sites, all because I'm a blogging librarian.
According to Userland's statistics, I just topped the 100,000 hit mark, and I'm number four on their all-time hit list (since October 2001). If you look at my ISP's statistics, I've gotten 172,899 hits just since February. Userland says I'm getting at least 1,000 hits a day, while my ISP says I'm getting 3,500 hits a day. Either way, I'm humbled, flattered, and mostly just flabbergasted.
Of course, I've made even more virtual friends than I had in my previous online incarnation, and my network has grown far beyond just librarians. While I have several projects in the pipeline with these virtual friends and acquaintances, the most incredible so far has been a freelance contract with a newspaper in South Carolina, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. They asked if I would be willing to syndicate some of my content to a blog on their Web site, and I didn't even let them finish the question before I answered yes. Over on their site, I'm known as "The Tech Goddess," but I still get to write about semi-techie stuff AND libraries. It's a fascinating role to be in, and I can't wait to see how it plays out.
What's the point of all of this? I've unintentionally become a multi-faceted brand, which is having a profound effect on my personal, work, and online lives. Blogging is a great way to make your voice heard, get your opinions out there, and tie yourself to a specific idea, trend, or topic. The best part is that I'm not alone in this. Our profession is lucky to have The Handheld Librarian, The Rogue Librarian, The NewBreed Librarians, Library Stuff, LISNews, librarian.net, Library Planet, the Virtual Acquisition Shelf & News Desk, and a passel of others you can find listed at Peter Scott's compendium of library blogs.
So, if you find yourself with very definite opinions on specific topics, if you're always sharing your ideas with others, or even if you just find yourself forwarding URLs and e-mails to different people every day, blogging is a great way to make connections and promote yourself in the process. Blogging software makes it possible for anyone to do this, and the best part is that you can start right away, rather than waiting for someone else to publish your work on paper!