Much of what leaders do is make decisions – some of them tough ones. Humans are inherently bad at this. If you’re a leader who makes decisions, how do you get better at it? A successful business leader visited an MBA class to enlighten the students. At the end of the talk a student asked [...]
Purpose Before Task

This simple phrase sums up my entire marketing approach. I came across it last Sunday, reading the New York Times and a feature on the Disney Institute’s customer service training. Purpose Before Task. What does that have to do with marketing? Everything. 1. Why is this the message we are delivering? Many libraries have Homework Help [...]
Learning Everywhere | Office Hours
The annual Horizon Report is a valuable guide for LIS professors and librarians to emerging technologies and trends. The 2012 report is no exception. It identifies “key drivers of educational technology adoptions for the period 2012 through 2017.” These can enhance both LIS pedagogy and library service.
Services More Meaningful Than Ebooks | The User Experience
Advice From a Search Committee Member | Backtalk
Job seekers, pay attention! I have some advice for you from the perspective of someone who has served on a variety of search committees and has recently had my own successful job search. This advice will help you get a job or, at least, an interview. What I have to say is not new, but surprisingly, very few job seekers follow it.
The Library as the People’s API | Peer to Peer Review
Demise of the Ed.D. | From the Bell Tower
When Harvard University’s Education School said it would end its Ed.D. program many higher education experts questioned if this would start a trend. If it does that could be the end of a popular degree for academic librarians. I’m going to do some generalization here. Based on my experience, many of our academic librarian colleagues [...]
Lead the Change

It just keeps getting better. I continue to be blown away by the hunger in libraries for marketing — not just the promotion side of marketing — but bona fide market research. This week’s Lead the Change session, held at my library gave me new inspiration. 100 library staff from the five-state area around Ohio gathered [...]
Rich NYPL, Poor NYPL | Editorial

A plan for the future of the library is causing consternation in some circles, though it is unlikely to have much impact on the rich/poor divide. It calls for putting most of the research collection into storage and transforming the recaptured space for public use, including additional Internet access, a popular collection, areas for creation and collaboration, and so on.
Steal This Idea

Looking for ways to create a new library card campaign? Hartford Public Library invited customers to create theirs, and it might give you the inspiration you need. Using Facebook and Twitter, the library asked customers to submit copy ideas for the new cards. Top ideas made it onto new,branded cards, and customers can choose their favorite: Show Me [...]








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