It's old news that librarianship is changing as a profession, and we understand that library professionals need to change with it. But how? How do you learn to see yourself 5, 10, or 20 years down the line when we have no idea what's coming next spring? Learn from someone who has bootstrapped herself from a tech-nervous newbie to a code-savvy web librarian over the last 20 years, and brainstorm ways to evolve all your strengths, skills and interests into your next big thing.
Hacking the Librarian: Evolving Personal & Career Development
1.
2. Not a Geek
Bachelors in Film and English
Library Science concentration in Youth
Services and Public Libraries
For fun:
Technical theater
Collage / assemblage
Beadwork
Live music / dancing
Writing
3. Surrounded by Geeks
My husband = sysadmin, network engineer, web
performance consultant
My friends = every possible kind of geek
Osmosis is awesome
4. Web Services Librarian?
1998 = Children’s Librarian
2003 = Adult/Generalist Librarian
2005 = EXISTENTIAL CAREER PANIC
2006 = Internet Librarian Conference
2009 = Branch Manager
2010 = Web Services Librarian
5. Web Services Librarian
Self-taught, entirely
Need-to-know basis
Build on what you know
Play – push the buttons
Become comfortable with discomfort
(In other words, exactly what we tell patrons)
6. Expect Change
The days of staying in the same job / role forever are
long gone
The Accidental… series
What's the Alternative? Career Options for Librarians
and Info Pros by Rachel Singer Gordon
7. Stay Informed
Social media – friends & colleagues
Popular magazines & websites, pop culture sites
Gizmodo, Engadget, CNet, Slashdot, Lifehacker, ZDNet,
Atlantic Cities, ThisIsColossal
SXSW, TED / TEDx
Major news sources: New York Times, BBC, CNN, Time, The
Economist Tech Quarterly
8. Stay Informed
Technical conferences – even if you don’t attend, skimming the
session topics will tell you what’s important / coming
Tech: Consumer Electronics Show (CES) , Interop (general IT),
Macworld, Velocity (web optimization), Defcon (security),
NANOG (networks), LISA (sysadmin)
Gaming conventions: E3, Gaming Developers Convention (GDC)
thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2014/01/04/10-must-attend-
tech-conferences-2014/
12. Be Realistic
Start with
current
strengths
& skills
Find directions
in which to
grow
Do the job,
push yourself
Don’t force
yourself to be
what you’re
not
Focus on your
strongest, most
passionate
interests
Stay aware of
what else is out
there
13. Be Realistic
Sometimes, it’s a long slow slog
Sometimes, you use controlled bursts of energy
Sometimes, you need to just jump
14. Engage All of Your Interests
What skills have you learned in non-work
environments that might be useful for your work?
What information and resolution about the world
have you gotten from all of your interests?
How can you bring all this to your career?
15.
16. List!
What is your current role at work?
What do you enjoy most about it?
What are your current interests, inside and
outside of work?
What skills have these interests fostered?
List at least 5 things that you’ve discovered
during this conference.
(Ideas, technologies, job titles, anything)
17. Interact!
Pair up and exchange notes.
Read the other person’s lists (to yourself).
Does anything jump out at you – possible
future roles, or themes / patterns?
Tell each other what you see. Any surprises?
18. Brainstorm!
Based on your lists and your partner’s
feedback, what possibilities do you see?
Pick one and list what you need to follow
up on it: training, research, money, time.
Is it doable – if not now, then in the next
few years?
Expect the change. You can’t totally prepare for it, but if you expect it, you’ve got a better shot at coping with it.
You might have heard at this conference things like – every librarian needs to know how to code. I disagree. I will never be a coder – no interest in diving that deep, not so good at debugging, Terminal makes me cringe.
Acknowledge your fears and rise to them
Specializing in content management, workflow, user experience, etc.Focus on your strongest, most interested areas, but stay aware of what else is out there. Just as true for non-tech: I was always better at reference than RA.