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I want to be in the Spotlight!
Can You Judge a Book By Its Cover?
By Kate Sawyer
In today’s media rich society, presentation is everything. Unfortunately, many library employees disregard, or ignore, the importance of cultivating a professional appearance. In my experience, many librarians and paraprofessionals dress as though they just walked out of a homeless shelter. Okay, don’t get mad—I know all that hooey about it shouldn’t be about what we look like; it should be about what we do. We are not supposed to judge a book by its cover, one is told. We are intellectuals, are we not? We are valued for our contributions, right? Hmmm . . .
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Library to cut staff and hours
By Dave Gossett, Herald Star (OH): August 21, 2009
A 31 percent budget cut led he Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County (OH) to lay off three full-time and ten part-time employees. MORE
Michigan Governor Agrees To Prioritize Support for Two Programs, Revise State Librarian Position:
Library advocates still plan rally to fight proposed budget cuts
In response to protests from Michigan library supporters, Gov. Jennifer Granholm has modified her July 13 Executive Order with a directive ensuring that a State Librarian position remains, even if the job is no longer a political appointment. MORE
Library offers wage freeze, other cutbacks:
Plan would trim about $320,000 from budget
By instituting a hiring and salary freeze for all library employees, the Peoria Public Library hopes to save a quarter of a million dollars. MORE
Library union gets new proposal deadline
To make up for a projected $1.7 million shortfall in 2010, the Rockford Public Library plans to lay off 30 library employees. But the union members representing 86 library employees have until September 14 to put forward an alternate budget that will save jobs and prevent the loss of library services. MORE
Library union says workers will be fired
By Lynn Hulsey, Dayton Daily News (OH): August 28, 2009
Dayton Metro Library employees may well face layoffs and cuts in hours, a result of a half-a-million dollar shortfall due to $4 million in budget cuts and $200,000 in investment losses. MORE
I want to write about Career Advancement!
A Gold Mine of Career Opportunities:
How Academic Librarians Can Dig Deep
By Melinda Faye Matthews
Countless professional development opportunities are available to academic librarians through committee work, classes and other networking events. Hopefully this discussion of the advantages and execution of career development will inspire other academic librarians to mine opportunities presented by their own institutions.
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Applications for the Donald A. B. Lindberg Fellowship due November 15, 2009
The Medical Library Association (MLA) is now accepting applications for The Donald A. B. Lindberg Research Fellowship. The purpose of this fellowship is to fund research aimed at expanding the research knowledgebase, linking the information services provided by librarians to improved health care and advances in biomedical research. The endowment will provide a $9,945 grant, awarded by MLA through a competitive grant process, to a qualified health sciences librarian, informatician, health professional, researcher, educator, or health administrator. Research in alignment with MLA’s research agenda’s top ranked research questions is preferred over other areas of research and is located at http://www.mlanet.org/research/agenda_2008.html.
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I want to write about Certification!
Podcasts: LibraryBeat Interviews Grady, Strunk on CPLA
In this LibraryBeat Podcast, Sarah Long, Executive Director of the North Suburban Library System (IL), interviews ALA-APA Director Jenifer Grady about the Certified Public Library Administrator Program (CPLA). Jenifer explains the origins of the program, as well as what it takes to achieve CPLA certification and the broad range of professionals who have taken the classes. She also discusses the next project from ALA-APA—the Library Support Staff Certification Program, which will be launching in January 2010.
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I want to write about HR Practice!
The ROI of an ROI:
The Advantages, and Pitfalls, of Conducting a Return on Investment Assessment (Book Review)
By Susan Locander
Determining the economic value delivered by a public library is an extremely difficult, if not impossible task, as demonstrated by Levin, Driscoll & Fleeter’s analysis of the Economic Benefits of Public Libraries. Quantitative challenges lie not only in pricing out what a public library gives away: access to informational and entertainment materials in all formats, to programs and cultural events, to reference services in human, print and online forms, etc., but also in determining how these materials and services benefit their patrons. Unlike a pair of shoes, which is purchased, used and eventually discarded, the “products” of the public library may have long-lasting, internal and external, local and widespread effects on—or value to—their patrons. To some extent, the effects of a public library are not only indeterminable, but also unlimited in scope.
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I want to write about Recruitment!
2010 E.J. Josey Scholarship Award Theme:
E. J. Josey, 1924-2009, American Activist and Library Leader
The Black Caucus of ALA, Inc., generally awards two $2000 scholarships to American or Canadian library and information Science students of African American ancestry enrolled in ALA accredited library Schools. On the occasion of our 40th Anniversary in 2010 we will award four additional Scholarships. MORE
Call for Applications for the 2010 OCLC Minority Librarian Fellowship Program
Application deadline: September 8, 2009
OCLC has announced the expansion and increased support of the OCLC Minority Librarian Fellowship program designed to provide a unique opportunity for aspiring library professionals from historically under-represented groups. MORE
I want to write about Salaries!
ALA-APA Council Passes Resolution on Support for Overtime Pay
During the ALA 2009 Annual Conference in Chicago, IL, on Monday, July 13, 2009, the ALA-APA Council passed the following resolution, which supports overtime pay protection (APACD #8.4): MORE
Girl Scout “valYOU” Patch Program
In 2009, WAGE and the Girl Scouts of Maine received a generous grant from the Virginia Hodgkins Somers Foundation, Inc. to develop a patch program for Brownie Girl Scouts to address valuing oneself, understanding the beginning steps of negotiation, understanding the value of money and savings, and goal setting. The valYOU Patch Program, helping girls ages seven to nine get an early start on valuing their worth and learning to negotiate for “win-win” outcomes, has now been piloted in Maine and is available nationwide as a bridge to the Junior Girl Scouts fourth through sixth grade Junior Girl Scouts Win-Win Patch Program which teaches young women lifelong problem-solving and negotiation skills. MORE
I want to write about Statistics!
Employment of Librarians—What Can Librarians Do?
By Ted Kruse
The January issue of Employment and Earnings announced the number of librarians employed in the United States was 197,000 in 2008, down from 215,000 in 2007. 2008 employment of 197,000 was nearly the same as the 195,000 librarians employed in 1995. MORE
New downloadable versions of Librarian Salary Survey data just for public or academic libraries.
CHICAGO – The American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) has just released two new downloadable versions of the 2009 edition of the “ALA-APA Salary Survey: Librarian - Public and Academic.” One version contains only public librarian salary data and analysis and the other version is specifically for academic librarians. The ALA-APA Salary Survey: Librarian - Public and ALA-APA Salary Survey: Librarian - Academic are available at the American Library Association (ALA) online store. For $36.00, library administrators, human resources specialists, and librarians to view and print data for six librarian titles by region and state. The public library version includes salary data by five library sizes, from those serving populations above 500,000 to below 10,000. The academic library version includes salary data by library type (two-year, four-year, university) for academic libraries.
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want to write about Support Staff!
DPE Fact Sheet:
Three Out of Four Support Staff Now Perform MLS Librarian Duties
By Jamie Bragg
A 2009 fact sheet issued by the Department for Professional Employees, “Library Workers: Facts and Figures,” offers insight on trends affecting library paraprofessionals. The sheet compiles data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau and the American Library Association, among others. The report provides a snapshot of factors affecting all library workers, but several statistics are of particular interest to support staff. MORE
I
want to write about Work/Life!
Librarian’s Brew
By Syntychia Kendrick
That Librarians are socially handicapped individuals—whose lives revolve around dusty books, tweed skirts, orthopedic shoes and their six or seven cats—is a misconception that needs to go the way of the Dodo bird. Reality presents a different portrait of the local neighborhood public librarian. In my experience, the vast majority of librarians are modern, social people who wear many hats in both their professional and personal lives. I’m the Young Adult librarian at a busy suburban library in Nassau County, NY. A typical work day for me includes collection development, working the reference desk in the Youth Services room, weeding my existing collection, preparing for a book discussion and supervising the library’s teen volunteers. I’m responsible for all aspects of young adult programming and at times you may catch me writing a grant proposal. I also work part-time as a librarian at another library one Saturday & Sunday per month.
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Editors: Jenifer Grady, Jamie Bragg
Index of all articles from volume 1, no. 1, though volume 6, no. 8.
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