Greetings to American Libraries Readers

Jessamyn West Kathleen de la Pena McCook posted a link to the March 2007 American Libraries cover featuring its lead story, "Mattering in the Blogosphere."  I was one of the "well-connected"  library bloggers surveyed for the study, and actually made the cut.  Holy cow, but I am humbled to be in such good company!  I am especially pleased to be in company that includes my blogging godfather, Blake Carver at LISNews.  I don't have my copy of the issue yet, and it's a pain to get to the online version (because I can never remember my ALA log in), so I don't know how much of what I wrote got printed.  It was composed right after Midwinter, in a sleep-deprived haze, so I hope it's not too goofy or glib.

There has been a dearth of library-related postings here as of late, in keeping with my New Year's sorta- resolution to be a bit more selective about what I post.  In addition to wanting to make sure I'm posting truly thoughtful stuff, I've figured out that job misery was a key motivator for blogging.   I was not getting what I wanted (and needed) at my previous job, and had to find a way to make more of a contribution to the profession.  Blogging was a great way to play along from home.  And, it still is, but I don't feel nearly as compelled to write about library issues since starting a new job in mid-2006.   I think it's because I'm really content with my life and my job and with the contribution I'm making in my workplace.  I feel challenged and valued and trusted and empowered here at LPL.   It means more to me to be able to help my organization move forward and grow, than it does to put my little imprint on the profession as a whole.   Having said that, I'm not done biblioblogging by any means.  Stay tuned!

Comments

[Lori Bell]

Congratulations! You deserve it.

[Matthew]

I too found job dissatisfaction is a great blogging motivator. I seldom post to my own blog now that I am happily ensconced in MPOW.

I am surprised that some conservative bloggers (well at least one) made the list. Not that I thought that there was some anit-conservative bias, but because there are not that many conservative librarian bloggers.

I have read many of those blogs, including the good doctor's and while I don't always agree with them, I certainly enjoy reading their blogs, and experiencing their points of view. Occasionally I find that we all do share some common ground. (Heck even Kathleen agreed with something I posted on LISNews last week).

While we may have different political viewpoints, I think at a core level all librarians have the same desire to fulfill their patrons' needs to the best of their abilities.

Divergence of opinion makes for lively discussion and through such discussion which includes the confronting of divergent opinion we learn and grow.