Jessica Baumgart Rocks!
February 11th, 2006It was a great week for librarian bloggers. First Gary Price is hired by Ask (ASK! I’m so thrilled for Gary) and now Jessica Baumgart becomes a Berkman Center affiliate. Congrats Jessica. Well deserved.
Two great examples of librarians who reach out to communities and businesses beyond librarianship. One of my goals for 2006 is to network with more non librarians than librarians (and I don’t have to go to conferences to do this). Liz Lawley freakin’ works at Microsoft. These are the librarians that I look up to. Those that go beyond the four safe walls (virtual or physical) of the library community. That, in my opinion, is the difference between a good librarian and a great librarian. Gary, Jessica, and Liz are shining stars and should be given a standing ovation (OK, I just gave them one).
Chrystie Hill and I will be speaking to so many people this year to build up case studies and interviews for our book on building communities. One issue that we will emphasize is that librarians need to get out of the library and mingle with civic organizations, educational associations, law enforcement, and more. The topic is libraries building communities and librarianship is not practiced in a vacuum anymore. Todays fast paced world will quickly pass us by if we are only talking to each other.
If you attend conferences, go to a non-library show. If you read trade journals, put down Computers in Libraries for one month (sorry ITI) and pick up writings from another profession. Read more than just library blogs! Get out there people. The world is waiting for you to awe them with your talents.