Tag: leslieburger

library corps? library corpse?

Posted on by jessamyn

This just in from ALA, and no I didn’t know anything about it until I saw the press release.

The American Library Association (ALA) has issued a request for proposal (RFP) for a consultant to conduct a feasibility study on a proposal to establish a Library Corps. The Library Corps is a proposal to recruit retired librarians to provide assistance to libraries that need help.

Pretty interesting huh? My first knee jerk response is ‘what about this looming job shortage necessitating all the library students we’re churning out by the thousands?’ My second response is that this approach is smart way to deal with both the library fiscal crises we’ve been seeing as well as the retiring and still-productive boomer generation (one that I heard a whole presentation about at PLA). This sounds like a smart direction for Leslie Burger to be going in with her brief time at the helm of ALA. Now if we can either put the brakes on some of the degree programs or start finding jobs for all these new students, I think we’ll be in good shape. [thanks beth]

hi – 28feb

Posted on by jessamyn

Hi. Sometimes getting people on board with a new idea is just as easy as plowing forward with a positive attitude and hoping that people will either sign on and share your excitement, or at least watch cautiously and be willing to be convinced. Two examples from today

  1. ALA Council is going to have an online “face book” to help people familiarize themselves with their appointed and elected Council reps. Big props to Leslie Burger for this one, but I helped a little.
  2. The Roxbury Free Library in Roxbury Vermont now has a URL and a mini web page. Big props to Susan D’Amico for being willing to learn about domain shopping and I helped with a little hosting while they plan their next step. What a nice little achievement to take to town meeting, don’t you think?

In both these cases, someone in a position of authority basically had to make a decision, flip a switch, say “yea” or “nay” to a new idea, decide to do something different. With some some help from people with good information (me in these cases, and others) whole new things spring up, new combinations of information, new methods of delivery. How neat is that?

leslie burger and what to do with ala

Posted on by jessamyn

Leslie Burger, incoming ALA President has a blog. I would love to know what Michael Gorman has to say about this, or as Caveat Lector calls him M-ch–l G-rm-n which always makes me smile. Leslie has already gotten going, meeting with some of the blogger types at Midwinter to solicit opinions about using and implementing “new” technology at ALA to help the organization. Her latest post The LIE, BQE and ALA talks about building on the idea of social networking to make ALA more relevant and useful to an incoming group of librarians, a group that may be wondering what ALA can do for them. Many people, myself included, chimed in with suggestions, and I’d encourage you to do the same.

ala elections

Posted on by jessamyn

ALA Elections are starting this week. I’ve requested a paper ballot again this year just to see how things work for the less technologically adept. The vendor running the elections is distributing all the emails with the login/password combinations for voting [yes, you read that right, passwords in email] over the next week to keep people from reading their email and then going to vote all at once, thus overloading the server, according to email we got on the Council list. Only one candidate has a blog this year, Leslie Burger. You may remember that the candidate without a blog last year was Michael Gorman.