Seeking Certainty
Posted On Feb 2 2017“Uncertain times” is a phrase you hear a lot these days. It was actually in the title of the ALA Town Hall that took place in Atlanta last month (ALA Town Hall: Library Advocacy and Core Values in Uncertain Times). Political turmoil, uncertainty, divisiveness, and vitriol have so many of us feeling a bit unhinged. When I feel rudderless, adrift, even completely lost at sea, I tend to seek a safer port. I’ve exercised this method personally, geographically, and professionally and it has always served me well. For example, the stability and solid foundation provided by my family gives me solace …
We are ALA
Posted On Nov 30 2016I’ve been thinking a lot about governance lately. That said, I will avoid the topic of the recent U.S. election as much as possible, even though it is a factor in what makes me think about governance. Instead, I will focus on library governance and what makes it work and not work. Spoiler alert: active participation. I am an admitted governance junky, an unapologetic lover of Robert’s Rules of Order, and someone who tries to finds beauty in bureaucratic process. I blame my heritage. I come from a long line of federal government employees, all of us born in the …
Reviving Hectic Pace
Posted On Aug 30 2016This is the third, and I hope, final resting place for Hectic Pace. When I learned that the American Libraries version of the blog (2006-2007) would disappear into the ether and when OCLC announced that Movable Type (don’t judge!) Hectic Pace content (2008-2013) could be migrated to a new platform or thrown away, I was tempted to let the past be the past. But then I counted up the 150 posts and nearly 300 comments over 10 years and could not let the past be forgotten. I’m grateful to ALA and to OCLC for being my blog platform, but I’m excited …