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Material that supports the study of how libraries and knowledge professionals are trained, how they share their skills, and how their peers view them.
The 15 worst mistakes interns have made, according to my coworkers
by Rachel Gillett
June 14, 2016
Summer internships aren’t a vacation; they’re a professional opportunity that should be treated as such. REUTERS/Chris Helgren
Those who work in media cross paths with a lot of interns.
Business Insider, for example, has an extensive internship program, which not only gives burgeoning reporters job experience and guidance but also provides editors and reporters with the experience of managing people.
To help readers glean lessons on what not to do as they begin their own internships this summer, I asked my colleagues who have managed or worked with (or as) interns about the worst mistakes they have seen interns make (or made themselves) at Business Insider and beyond. Read more…
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How to be a Good (Library) Boss
by Bahark Yousefi 
Thursday, May 19, 2016
I am in the business of encouraging librarians to apply for library management jobs. When I come across smart, awesome, politically progressive librarians (which happens with delightful frequency), I try to convince them to consider management. This is not because I think management is the only path forward for these wonderful humans, but because I want more smart, awesome, and politically progressive folks at those tables. I want them there because libraries need to be changing in big, fundamental ways, and right now, as things stand, that’s where the power to push for those changes resides. Often, the librarian (aka my target) will ask me what I think it takes to be a good library manager and my answer, without fail, is “be a decent human being.” Now, as true as that may be, I appreciate that it is not very specific. What follows is an attempt to expand the list, in no particular order:
- Be a decent human being (still #1).
- Be the kind of boss that tells employees about their rights and then helps them claim and exercise those rights.
- Be absolutely committed to transparency. Do not assume that you know what others need/don’t need to know (of course, be mindful of all the legal and ethical stuff).
- Have a vision. Care very, very passionately about something and make sure everyone knows what that is.
- Make absolutely sure that people who work for you have the resources to do their work. If resources are scarce, then change their work. Do less with less and more with more. Read more…
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5 Hard Lessons I’ve Learned As A Career Coach
J.T. O’Donnell
June 14, 2016
I’ve been a professional career coach since 2002. Over the last 10+ years, I have learned a lot about the industry and what it takes to be an effective career coach. [Click here to learn more about becoming a career coach.]
Back when I became a coach, the concept wasn’t as widely accepted as it is today. In fact, my clients were afraid to admit they were working with a career coach because they felt like it indicated there was something wrong with them. Today, we now understand career coaching isn’t a sign of weakness, but a path to greatness. It’s why all the top pro athletes and business executives use them. If you want to optimize your performance and achieve new levels of success and satisfaction in your career, it’s more than likely you’ll work with a coach at some point. Why? If you could do it on your own, you would have by now.
I Learned These Lessons The Hard Way
Having worked with literally thousands of people on their careers, I have learned some valuable professional lessons. In the beginning of my coaching career, I thought I could help everyone. I was wrong. You can only help people who are ready to be helped. I wasted hundreds of hours on people who just weren’t ready to succeed. I learned the hard way the following five things:
People only turn to career coaching when they are in pain.
School teaches us everything except how to manage our careers. As a result, nobody enters the professional world with the right set of skills and abilities to successfully manage their careers. Unfortunately, it isn’t until a person makes a major mistake or has a career setback that they seek coaching. Only then do they have the Ah-ha Moment that they need to close the gap in their knowledge and abilities so they can get back on track. Read more…
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The progressive librarian: 10 ways to be more forward-thinking
by Sarah Tanksalvala
For librarians, being more progressive means embracing new ways of approaching their job and the role of the library in a university. Progressive librarians are working to revitalize libraries by making them more than simply places that store information. Part museum, part lab, progressive libraries are exploring and defining their services based on people’s needs.
“Librarians find themselves in the midst of trying to reinvent themselves and what they do,” says Sebastien Marion, virtual services librarian at New York Institute of Technology. “The challenge is how to go from book-storage places to collection places to places that engage with skills.”
Progressive librarianship has a number of defining components. Progressive librarians support reading culture, in an academic environment in which many are pushing for all-digital libraries. Progressive librarians support personal learning, and see the library as a place where personal learning and lifelong exploration can take center stage.
Here are 10 tips for librarians looking for ways to become more progressive.
1. Focus on the human component: Libraries might be seen as places to go work quietly, but progressive librarians look for ways to make libraries more human-centric. Read more…
Stephanie L. Gross, MSLIS 