More from the mailbox

Part of reenergizing the program at work has included purchasing the LibGuides platform to create what we're calling Resource Guides (it's the Kleenex/tissue issue - who knows if we'll stay with the same platform, so why confuse students with a brand name?).  This is the third school I've used these guides in, and they're an…

I wish it were this easy!

In a few weeks many school librarians will be congregating in Hartford (CT) for the biennial AASL National Conference.  I've been faithfully going since 1997 (Portland OR) but this time I was on the fence about attending.  That it's now about 10 miles from where I work made the decision easier, ditto the fact that…

Reading Reading Reading

It's interesting to see that one of the most popular posts on this blog is The Role of Reading - none of my other posts comes close. I suspect that's to do with the fact that we do, as a country, value reading. More important, we value the idea of reading. Here's what I mean.…

Finding the sweet spot – customer service

Recently I had a Close Encounter of the Smarmy Kind with a salesman.  A friend and I walked into Men's Warehouse to buy a new suit (for him) and suddenly - there he was.  Our new BFF, joking about Brooklyn and missing the Good Life in the Big City.  And during the upsell, the whispered…

Not Drinking the Kool-Aid

While at the recent AASL National Conference I had the pleasure of spending time with several people new to the World of AASL. They weren't new to "Big ALA", but they'd spent time in other divisions despite being school librarians (I know so many others that belong to ALSC or YALSA and have little to…

#AASL11 reflections: technotreats

I'm always interested in how others are using technology (and technotools) intelligently in their schools - after all, we know that technology is only a tool, it's not the answer to our pedagogical/programatic problems. Right? Here are some of my takeaways (and one rant) from the conference. 17 Things to Chew On The presenter, Alicia…

“I should just retire”

I've been hearing that, or versions thereof, for the past few years and recently it seems that every group of librarians I'm with includes one that is just giving up.  What's causing this epidemic?  They're feeling unappreciated and unwanted not by their schools or students, but by their own profession. Yes, by their own profession.…

Going GaGa

A recent post by The Daring Librarian, entitled Lady GaGa Librarians Unite, has gotten a bit of notice.  Gwyneth is also one of the members of the Geek Squad/Geek Tribe, about which I've posted before.   As luck would have it, I spent the other evening with one of my former students, a classical musician, and…

It’s still broken…

I've blogged about the ways in which I think ALA is broken (not to mention one division to which I belong, AASL).  Then along comes Will Manley, with a wonderful addition to this theme.  As the Quakers say, he speaks to my condition.  Oh, and check out his recent posts on political correctness and blogging/commenting…

Vaguely insulted

Yesterday, as I was presenting "at" the Alabama Library Association's conference, someone called me at work.  The message was there when I got back, and it was clear that it was a wrong number... ish. The call was from a salesperson, and was for a James Smith.  Yet this salesperson had clearly listened to my…