January 20, 2010
Interesting Follow-up to the Privacy Post
Here's a recent post from American Libraries regarding privacy and sharing, and a conversation we need to have about Status Updates.
December 22, 2009
Rejection: A Case Study
As you can imagine, rejection is part and parcel of the job seeking process. Most companies send emails: "We regret to inform you, yada, yada, yada"; however, some places send old fashioned letters. They arrive in my mailbox with the logo of whatever library I applied to. They're normally thin seeing as it doesn't take a lot of paper to say "you just aren't what we're looking for". I open them, read them, shrug, and move on.
Within the last two days, I have received two of these (Merry Christmas to me!), and although I try not to take any rejection personally when it comes to the job hunt - it's a bad economy, no one has any money to hire me, etc - one of these rejection letters stung me like a bad break-up. It was a very standard letter: They received an enormous amount of interest (this is nothing new) and that they had to choose a pool of applicants for testing and interviews whom they believed were best suited to the position. I don't know why this bothered me so much. I have a feeling it had much more to do with the timing of the letter rather than the letter itself. I've just been getting too much rejection lately. I really need to toughen up. I should have opened the letter, read it, shrugged, and moved on.
On the other hand, I received a letter today that didn't upset me at all. In fact, I felt better about myself after reading it. First it thanked me for my application. Then it detailed why they chose someone else (no biggie), but then the letter also said, and I quote:
"Your own skills and experience in libraries are impressive."
I was agog. They also regretted that they couldn't meet me in person for an interview. Then they said they would keep my profile on file in the case that a vacancy should occur. I was rejected, yet I still felt good about myself. What's more, for the first time in months I felt like I hadn't made a huge mistake by choosing librarianship as a career path. I doubt that I will ever hear from the library again, but wow, someone in the profession thinks my library skills are "impressive". Finally!
I know that rejection is just as difficult for employers as it is for potential candidates. It's even more difficult when the candidate already has a relationship with the potential employer. I've been there, but it was handled really well. My potential employer focused on my strong points when breaking the news. They let me know that I gave a great interview and that ultimately my people skills will earn me a library position. They also let me know that the perfect candidate received the position, but I was also a very good candidate. In the end, I think letting me down was harder for them than it was for me. I totally understood why I didn't get hired. I probably would have gone with the other candidate too if the shoe was on the other foot, but it was nice that they took the time to let me know that I was a decent candidate too. Although it is not the responsibility of potential employers to make job seekers feel better about themselves, it does help maintain momentum for someone who has probably been getting a lot of rejection during their job search.
So, what have I learned. Although I already knew that rejection is part of the process, I know that if I'm ever in the position to hire someone I can write a rejection letter that will make a candidate feel proud instead of defeated.
Within the last two days, I have received two of these (Merry Christmas to me!), and although I try not to take any rejection personally when it comes to the job hunt - it's a bad economy, no one has any money to hire me, etc - one of these rejection letters stung me like a bad break-up. It was a very standard letter: They received an enormous amount of interest (this is nothing new) and that they had to choose a pool of applicants for testing and interviews whom they believed were best suited to the position. I don't know why this bothered me so much. I have a feeling it had much more to do with the timing of the letter rather than the letter itself. I've just been getting too much rejection lately. I really need to toughen up. I should have opened the letter, read it, shrugged, and moved on.
On the other hand, I received a letter today that didn't upset me at all. In fact, I felt better about myself after reading it. First it thanked me for my application. Then it detailed why they chose someone else (no biggie), but then the letter also said, and I quote:
"Your own skills and experience in libraries are impressive."
I was agog. They also regretted that they couldn't meet me in person for an interview. Then they said they would keep my profile on file in the case that a vacancy should occur. I was rejected, yet I still felt good about myself. What's more, for the first time in months I felt like I hadn't made a huge mistake by choosing librarianship as a career path. I doubt that I will ever hear from the library again, but wow, someone in the profession thinks my library skills are "impressive". Finally!
I know that rejection is just as difficult for employers as it is for potential candidates. It's even more difficult when the candidate already has a relationship with the potential employer. I've been there, but it was handled really well. My potential employer focused on my strong points when breaking the news. They let me know that I gave a great interview and that ultimately my people skills will earn me a library position. They also let me know that the perfect candidate received the position, but I was also a very good candidate. In the end, I think letting me down was harder for them than it was for me. I totally understood why I didn't get hired. I probably would have gone with the other candidate too if the shoe was on the other foot, but it was nice that they took the time to let me know that I was a decent candidate too. Although it is not the responsibility of potential employers to make job seekers feel better about themselves, it does help maintain momentum for someone who has probably been getting a lot of rejection during their job search.
So, what have I learned. Although I already knew that rejection is part of the process, I know that if I'm ever in the position to hire someone I can write a rejection letter that will make a candidate feel proud instead of defeated.
December 12, 2009
What is Privacy Anyway?
In this brave new world where everyone lives online, the idea of privacy has changed drastically. Facebook is one of the principle social networking sites online today. As such, it plays a large role in the brave new world. Recently, Facebook made some changes affecting their "privacy" settings. For the most part, the changes affect the end user positively. Facebook allows more control over Publicly Available Information (PAI). The user gains more specific control over who sees which pieces of their PAI (Yes. I punned on the blog). The other new control is the Hyper Control. This control makes it so that the user can control which friends can view certain information. This includes status updates, notes, and photos. I think this will increase passive-aggressive Facebook behaviour and will result in more people talking behind your Facebook (Oh, another one!). Ultimately, the changes Facebook has made regarding your privacy will make it harder for you to see what others post about you. For example, if you don't want certain friends to see photos of you doing bong hits in Tijuana, you can control that. If your friends don't want you to see photos of you doing bong hits in Tijuana, they can control that. Yikes!
Although I would agree that privacy, irregardless of whose privacy it is, has increased overall on Facebook, the question begs to be asked: If you don't want to share the information with some people on Facebook and not others, what the heck are you doing putting the information online in the first place? Furthermore, why are there pictures that you don't want people to see? Maybe you shouldn't have let your friend take a picture of you doing bong hits in Tijuana. It's like the ubiquitous celebrity sex tape. If you don't want the world to see it, why would you digitize the event (Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Carrie Prejean, etc)? Furthermore, if you digitize it, is it really necessary to put it on Facebook? "Privacy" is so compromised by Facebook, other networking sites, and the Internet that I wonder if it even exists in the brave new world.
Consider this blog. I am sharing information in a public format. I assume that the only people that will read it are people I already know, but it can be searched for in Google. I would never for a moment consider this a private blog; therefore, I do not write anything here that I wouldn't share with a stranger. Think about it: a stranger. When we were children, we were told to never talk to strangers, but on the Internet, we do it every day. It's kind of weird.
I would wager to guess that there exists at least one photo of every person on the Internet. I would wager an even larger bet that most photos out there were taken and posted without the person in the image knowing about it. Really, unless you're tagged in the photo, you have no idea that it's been put up by someone else. I remember when the Internet was a newer concept and most people were leery of any personal information such as first and last names, phone numbers, and addresses. Now, most people click and upload mobile photos without so much as a hesitant thought. We're also willing to enter credit information when making online purchases and social security numbers when filling out job applications. It's just a fact of life that a lot of our personal information resides on the Internet. The Internet is a public entity and a lot of people have access to it: Does privacy even exist?
If anything has come out of these new "privacy" settings, I have learned one thing: If I don't want it on the Internet, I probably shouldn't do it in a place where anyone with a camera can see me. Because cameras are everywhere and in every phone the public sphere has increased while the private one is disappearing. How paranoid do I sound?
Although I would agree that privacy, irregardless of whose privacy it is, has increased overall on Facebook, the question begs to be asked: If you don't want to share the information with some people on Facebook and not others, what the heck are you doing putting the information online in the first place? Furthermore, why are there pictures that you don't want people to see? Maybe you shouldn't have let your friend take a picture of you doing bong hits in Tijuana. It's like the ubiquitous celebrity sex tape. If you don't want the world to see it, why would you digitize the event (Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Carrie Prejean, etc)? Furthermore, if you digitize it, is it really necessary to put it on Facebook? "Privacy" is so compromised by Facebook, other networking sites, and the Internet that I wonder if it even exists in the brave new world.
Consider this blog. I am sharing information in a public format. I assume that the only people that will read it are people I already know, but it can be searched for in Google. I would never for a moment consider this a private blog; therefore, I do not write anything here that I wouldn't share with a stranger. Think about it: a stranger. When we were children, we were told to never talk to strangers, but on the Internet, we do it every day. It's kind of weird.
I would wager to guess that there exists at least one photo of every person on the Internet. I would wager an even larger bet that most photos out there were taken and posted without the person in the image knowing about it. Really, unless you're tagged in the photo, you have no idea that it's been put up by someone else. I remember when the Internet was a newer concept and most people were leery of any personal information such as first and last names, phone numbers, and addresses. Now, most people click and upload mobile photos without so much as a hesitant thought. We're also willing to enter credit information when making online purchases and social security numbers when filling out job applications. It's just a fact of life that a lot of our personal information resides on the Internet. The Internet is a public entity and a lot of people have access to it: Does privacy even exist?
If anything has come out of these new "privacy" settings, I have learned one thing: If I don't want it on the Internet, I probably shouldn't do it in a place where anyone with a camera can see me. Because cameras are everywhere and in every phone the public sphere has increased while the private one is disappearing. How paranoid do I sound?
December 4, 2009
Really?!
If you've been reading this blog, you already know that Twilight makes me weep for the future. I know now that my feelings are justified.
November 29, 2009
Little Know-It-All
Librarians are know-it-alls. I know this because I'm a Librarian. We usually say things like "Librarians don't know everything, but we know where to find everything", but this is just something we say to avoid embarrassment. No, we are know-it-alls, and sometimes not the good kind.
I can't just let someone continue believing something I know is incorrect. For example, a co-worker of mine came into work (my other job, not the library) one morning and he was super-stoked because he had reserved a suite at a Las Vegas hotel for his bachelor party. It wasn't just any suite, it was the Rain Man Suite. I was really impressed and happy for him, but there was one problem: The Rain Man Suite isn't at the hotel he booked at, it's at Caesar's Palace. I know this because I remember seeing the movie in 1988 and I stored the information in my elephant's brain in the rare chance I would need to refer to it for Jeopardy! or situations like this one. Before it even occurred to me that this tidbit of information had the capability to bring feelings other than joy to my co-worker I blurted out, in true know-it-all fashion: "That's totally not the Rain Man Suite at all. You're wrong! It's at Caesars Palace. See" ... and I Googled the information on my computer, proudly displaying the imdb results it for all to see. He promptly took me to the website he booked at. There it was, plain as day. His hotel was advertising that they had the Rain Man Suite. So not true! I steadfastly maintained that he was wrong and got totally duped by faulty marketing. My co-worker was very disappointed and it finally occurred to me that I had ruined his bachelor party. He was quick to point out that I had indeed ruined his bachelor party.
Why was it so important for me to be right? Why couldn't I have just let him go to his bachelor party and stay at his hotel and hold the secret til my death? One answer: Librarians are biologically predisposed to disseminate the most correct information at all times. This includes situations that may incur embarrassment for others.
Here's another example from library school. I was in my Cataloging and Classification class. My professor was having trouble remembering the pseudonym of Lewis Carroll. I had my laptop in front of me so I Googled "Lewis Carroll pseudonym" and came up with "Charles Dodgson". I promptly put my hand up and answered the query to my professor's satisfaction. Gold star. Unfortunately, one of my peers also had a laptop in front of him. He raised his hand after I had answered the query and stated: "Actually, it's Charles Lutwidge Dodgson". Uh buh! Are you kidding me? Was it really necessary to correct me and embarrass me in front of all my peers for that? Apparently so, because Librarians are programmed to disseminate the most correct information at all times regardless of other people's feelings. I was mortified! Needless to say, I never raised my hand in that class again and made a lifelong enemy out of my classmate, but I clearly didn't learn how my patrons would feel if I corrected them as the Rain Man Suite debacle happened long after my Cataloging and Classification mortification.
I remember reading an article for Information Sources and Services on the topic of whether the correct answer is the right one. The resolve: Sure, but it might upset the patron. I have learned this lesson over and over during my internship at Stanford Health Library. Giving the correct answer is very difficult especially when the outcome isn't a positive one; however, is the correct answer the right one when you work in a health library? Absolutely. Having the most correct and up-to-date information is critical when it comes to health. Is it difficult to hand over an article about cancer that ultimately spells bad news for the patron? You bet it is, but it might end up saving their life. This is perhaps the reason why I didn't learn the embarrassing lesson in Cataloging and Classification and why I chose to ruin my co-worker's bachelor party. As it turns out, the little tidbit of disappointing information served a positive purpose in the long run. My co-worker called the hotel he had booked at and complained. The hotel ended up comping him a bunch of extra stuff and he saved a boatload of money for his bachelor party. Although he still hasn't forgiven me for embarrassing him and ruining his bachelor party, I'm sure he's thankful that he knows a know-it-all Librarian, at least until the next time I take him to school.
I can't just let someone continue believing something I know is incorrect. For example, a co-worker of mine came into work (my other job, not the library) one morning and he was super-stoked because he had reserved a suite at a Las Vegas hotel for his bachelor party. It wasn't just any suite, it was the Rain Man Suite. I was really impressed and happy for him, but there was one problem: The Rain Man Suite isn't at the hotel he booked at, it's at Caesar's Palace. I know this because I remember seeing the movie in 1988 and I stored the information in my elephant's brain in the rare chance I would need to refer to it for Jeopardy! or situations like this one. Before it even occurred to me that this tidbit of information had the capability to bring feelings other than joy to my co-worker I blurted out, in true know-it-all fashion: "That's totally not the Rain Man Suite at all. You're wrong! It's at Caesars Palace. See" ... and I Googled the information on my computer, proudly displaying the imdb results it for all to see. He promptly took me to the website he booked at. There it was, plain as day. His hotel was advertising that they had the Rain Man Suite. So not true! I steadfastly maintained that he was wrong and got totally duped by faulty marketing. My co-worker was very disappointed and it finally occurred to me that I had ruined his bachelor party. He was quick to point out that I had indeed ruined his bachelor party.
Why was it so important for me to be right? Why couldn't I have just let him go to his bachelor party and stay at his hotel and hold the secret til my death? One answer: Librarians are biologically predisposed to disseminate the most correct information at all times. This includes situations that may incur embarrassment for others.
Here's another example from library school. I was in my Cataloging and Classification class. My professor was having trouble remembering the pseudonym of Lewis Carroll. I had my laptop in front of me so I Googled "Lewis Carroll pseudonym" and came up with "Charles Dodgson". I promptly put my hand up and answered the query to my professor's satisfaction. Gold star. Unfortunately, one of my peers also had a laptop in front of him. He raised his hand after I had answered the query and stated: "Actually, it's Charles Lutwidge Dodgson". Uh buh! Are you kidding me? Was it really necessary to correct me and embarrass me in front of all my peers for that? Apparently so, because Librarians are programmed to disseminate the most correct information at all times regardless of other people's feelings. I was mortified! Needless to say, I never raised my hand in that class again and made a lifelong enemy out of my classmate, but I clearly didn't learn how my patrons would feel if I corrected them as the Rain Man Suite debacle happened long after my Cataloging and Classification mortification.
I remember reading an article for Information Sources and Services on the topic of whether the correct answer is the right one. The resolve: Sure, but it might upset the patron. I have learned this lesson over and over during my internship at Stanford Health Library. Giving the correct answer is very difficult especially when the outcome isn't a positive one; however, is the correct answer the right one when you work in a health library? Absolutely. Having the most correct and up-to-date information is critical when it comes to health. Is it difficult to hand over an article about cancer that ultimately spells bad news for the patron? You bet it is, but it might end up saving their life. This is perhaps the reason why I didn't learn the embarrassing lesson in Cataloging and Classification and why I chose to ruin my co-worker's bachelor party. As it turns out, the little tidbit of disappointing information served a positive purpose in the long run. My co-worker called the hotel he had booked at and complained. The hotel ended up comping him a bunch of extra stuff and he saved a boatload of money for his bachelor party. Although he still hasn't forgiven me for embarrassing him and ruining his bachelor party, I'm sure he's thankful that he knows a know-it-all Librarian, at least until the next time I take him to school.
November 21, 2009
Let's get Digital!
Books or digital files? Where should a library direct its future and funding? I understand why this is such a struggle; I struggle with it too. While I was an MLIS student, I enjoyed being able to access the majority of the articles I needed on my laptop from the comfort of my own home. I would become irate when I couldn't find the article I needed in an e-journal and had to physically go to the campus library. I also hated having to print out the article or copy it from a book. Who needs all that extra paper anyway? On the other hand, I still buy books. I, like many other librarians, am building a small personal library that contains everything from children's books to scholarly periodicals. I just received two new books in the mail today.
The struggle with going totally digital is that the book is such a big part of human culture; however, so is the computer. One library has decided to make the switch to a totally digital collection. Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, MA has gone full throttle digital. With this change comes many differing views on what this means for libraries, the most prominent being: Can you call it a library if you don't have any books in it? Perhaps one of the biggest problems for librarians is an entirely digital collection seems to negate the purpose of a library building and (gasp) librarians. On the other hand, while whole libraries can be digitized, a large percentage of the population lack the means to access digital collections. P.S. I see a huge opportunity here!
Ultimately, Cushing was able to make this change because it is a well-funded private school. Unless schools across America get the same kind of funding, most publicly funded schools will be waiting years before they can make the change to digital, if digital is the best choice for libraries. Cushing will serve as a guinea pig for other schools hoping to make the same change. Some of the anxiety surrounding this issue stems from the feeling that there's no going back to a paper collection. This is not so. Books will probably never totally disappear from our culture. I think libraries will continue to offer a hybrid model to their users. There will be some books and some digital books. In the event that libraries do go full throttle digital, the transformation will be more gradual than Cushing's. Until there is enough funding and support to go all digital, librarians can breath a sigh of relief, but continue to focus on developing their digital skills so they can be ready to lead their patrons into the future.
The struggle with going totally digital is that the book is such a big part of human culture; however, so is the computer. One library has decided to make the switch to a totally digital collection. Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, MA has gone full throttle digital. With this change comes many differing views on what this means for libraries, the most prominent being: Can you call it a library if you don't have any books in it? Perhaps one of the biggest problems for librarians is an entirely digital collection seems to negate the purpose of a library building and (gasp) librarians. On the other hand, while whole libraries can be digitized, a large percentage of the population lack the means to access digital collections. P.S. I see a huge opportunity here!
Ultimately, Cushing was able to make this change because it is a well-funded private school. Unless schools across America get the same kind of funding, most publicly funded schools will be waiting years before they can make the change to digital, if digital is the best choice for libraries. Cushing will serve as a guinea pig for other schools hoping to make the same change. Some of the anxiety surrounding this issue stems from the feeling that there's no going back to a paper collection. This is not so. Books will probably never totally disappear from our culture. I think libraries will continue to offer a hybrid model to their users. There will be some books and some digital books. In the event that libraries do go full throttle digital, the transformation will be more gradual than Cushing's. Until there is enough funding and support to go all digital, librarians can breath a sigh of relief, but continue to focus on developing their digital skills so they can be ready to lead their patrons into the future.
October 20, 2009
I Deleted My Twitter Account: The Biggest Mistake of My Professional Life?
When Twitter started to become really popular, I created an account. I figured, if Ellen is talking about it, it must be the best thing ever. I soon found out that Twitter is just more of the thing that occasionally bothers me on Facebook (FB): The status update. I'm sure I'm not alone here. Do you have a friend who is constantly updating their status with mundane details? Does that person drive you nuts too? My account lasted all of two weeks.
For awhile I was enjoying linking to things and people I found interesting, but I didn't see how it was superior to FB. I was getting all the information I needed from FB, why did I require yet another social networking tool? I'm regretting my decision now as Twitter seems to be the library thing. At the time I deleted my account, I didn't see Twitter's potential to be a really interesting, and daresay effective, way to share information. How could I have been so blind?
With Twitter, the user is able to share links to interesting information they have encountered during the day. You tweet this to your followers and they have the opportunity to read further, but sometimes the headline will suffice. While initially I only saw the mild irritant that Twitter would become: friend would constantly be updating about mundane details and others would join in making my iPhone vibrate off into oblivion eventually causing me to destroy the piece of technology I love most. Yeah, that sounds like fun. Stupid Tasha and the pressures of social networking! - This is another blog I'm sure.
Although Twitter does have the potential to give the user a proverbial rash by spreading the useless factoids of the Interweb and otherwise, it can also be used as a powerful tool to spread quality information. You no longer have to tell your friends, "Hey, I read this great article, I'll email it too you", you can just tweet it and be done with it. This is why people use Twitter in their social lives, but herein also lies the library potential. Libraries use Twitter to promote programming, new resources, other libraries, anything really, to their patrons and the larger sphere. In many ways, Twitter is the marketing libraries have been waiting for. Partially because it is so far reaching, but mostly because it's FREE! We all love free.
There are many other uses for Twitter other than those mentioned here. Finally, I see Twitter's potential. Needless to say, I'm going to begin another account.
For awhile I was enjoying linking to things and people I found interesting, but I didn't see how it was superior to FB. I was getting all the information I needed from FB, why did I require yet another social networking tool? I'm regretting my decision now as Twitter seems to be the library thing. At the time I deleted my account, I didn't see Twitter's potential to be a really interesting, and daresay effective, way to share information. How could I have been so blind?
With Twitter, the user is able to share links to interesting information they have encountered during the day. You tweet this to your followers and they have the opportunity to read further, but sometimes the headline will suffice. While initially I only saw the mild irritant that Twitter would become: friend would constantly be updating about mundane details and others would join in making my iPhone vibrate off into oblivion eventually causing me to destroy the piece of technology I love most. Yeah, that sounds like fun. Stupid Tasha and the pressures of social networking! - This is another blog I'm sure.
Although Twitter does have the potential to give the user a proverbial rash by spreading the useless factoids of the Interweb and otherwise, it can also be used as a powerful tool to spread quality information. You no longer have to tell your friends, "Hey, I read this great article, I'll email it too you", you can just tweet it and be done with it. This is why people use Twitter in their social lives, but herein also lies the library potential. Libraries use Twitter to promote programming, new resources, other libraries, anything really, to their patrons and the larger sphere. In many ways, Twitter is the marketing libraries have been waiting for. Partially because it is so far reaching, but mostly because it's FREE! We all love free.
There are many other uses for Twitter other than those mentioned here. Finally, I see Twitter's potential. Needless to say, I'm going to begin another account.
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