Circulating Ideas

Steve chats with Melissa Powell, editor of Becoming an Independent Information Professional, about her path to librarianship, her book, and how to find out if being an independent informational professional is for you, and if so, how to do it! Melissa Powell has been working in libraries since 1980, starting out as a shelver at … Continue reading 151: Becoming an Independent Information Professional by Melissa Powell

Steve chats with Sarah LeMire, co-author of Serving Those Who Served: Librarian’s Guide to Working with Veteran and Military Communities and the First Year Programs Coordinator at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, about her path to librarianship, transitioning new students to college life (including an AR tour of the library!), and how various types of … Continue reading 150: Serving Those Who Served by Sarah LeMire

Steve chats with Christian Lauersen and Marie Engberg Eiriksson, founders of Library Planet, a library-focused crowd-sourced travel blog, about library collaboration, why they started Library Planet, how you can contribute, and the making of a bossa nova library song. Christian Lauersen is director of Libraries and Citizen Services in Roskilde Municipality. He believe libraries are crucial institutions … Continue reading 149: Library Planet

Steve chats with Loida Garcia-Febo, President of the American Library Association (2018-2019), about her path to librarianship, visiting Puerto Rice post-Hurricane Maria, highlights of her ALA Presidency so far, and the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the profession. Loida Garcia-Febo is an international library consultant, researcher and expert on topics such as human … Continue reading 148: Loida Garcia-Febo

Steve chats with Matthew Winner, elementary school librarian and host of The Children’s Book Podcast, about his path to librarianship, diverse representation, professional learning networks, and being a White House Champion of Change. Matthew Winner is an elementary school librarian living in Howard County, Maryland. He is the host of The Children’s Book Podcast (formerly … Continue reading 147: Matthew Winner

Steve chats with Danielle Borasky, Vice President of NoveList, about her path to librarianship, the differences between working at a vendor vs. working in a library, the importance of books and reading, and some powerful features in NoveList. As Vice President of NoveList, Danielle Borasky leads a team working to help readers find their next … Continue reading 146: Danielle Borasky

Steve chats with John Huber and Steven V. Potter, co-authors of The Purpose-Based Library. In Part 2 of their discussion, they chat about dashboard metrics, marketing libraries (and why libraries have traditionally been bad at it), and sustainability. John Huber is an author, Lean Library Consultant and international speaker. After assisting over 100 manufacturing, distribution … Continue reading 145: Purpose-Based Library, Part 2

Steve chats with John Huber and Steven V. Potter, co-authors of The Purpose-Based Library. In Part 1 of their discussion, they chat about Lean Library Management, the purpose of libraries, and managing change through tough economic times. John Huber is an author, Lean Library Consultant and international speaker. After assisting over 100 manufacturing, distribution retail … Continue reading 144: Purpose-Based Library, Part 1

Guest host Troy Swanson chats with journalist David Beard about his work at the Poynter Institute and Mother Jones and how librarians and journalists can thrive in the future and fight off fake news. David Beard is a contributing editor to Poynter and writes the Morning MediaWire. He is a former digital content editor of … Continue reading 143: David Beard

Steve chats with Heather Moorefield-Lang and Gina Seymour. Heather is the editor of School Library Makerspaces in Action, and Gina is the author of Makers with a Cause: Creative Service Projects for Library Youth. Heather Moorefield-Lang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Library and Information Studies at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. She started … Continue reading 142: School Library Makerspaces

Guest host Troy Swanson chats with Laura Saunders, an Associate Professor at Simmons University School of Library and Information Science. Laura Saunders is an Associate Professor at Simmons University School of Library and Information Science, teaching and conducting research in the areas of reference and instruction, information literacy, and academic libraries. She also has a … Continue reading 141: Laura Saunders

Steve chats with Maurice Coleman, Technical Trainer at the Harford County Public Library in Maryland and longtime host of the T is for Training podcast, about the origins of his podcast, how he got involved with libraries and training, and why makerspaces are within scope for libraries. Maurice Coleman is currently the Technical Trainer at the … Continue reading 140: Maurice Coleman

Guest host Troy Swanson chats with Dr. Nicole A. Cooke, an Associate Professor at the School of Information Sciences, at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and author of Fake News and Alternative Facts: Information Literacy in a Post-Truth Era. Dr. Nicole A. Cooke is an Associate Professor at the School of Information Sciences, at the University of … Continue reading 139: Nicole Cooke

Steve chats with Karen Green, Curator for Comics and Cartoons at Columbia University’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and the creator of the graphic novels collection in Columbia’s Butler Library, about her (Eisner-winning!!) path to librarianship, defining comics, and how she teaches comics as literature.  Karen Green is the Curator for Comics and Cartoons at Columbia … Continue reading 138: Karen Green

Steve chats with a panel of school librarians at the 2018 American Library Association Annual Conference: Heather Moorefield-Lang, Deb Logan, Heather Thore, Stacy Brown, Gina Seymour, and Sedley Abercrombie. Heather Moorefield-Lang is an assistant professor with the Department of Library and Information Studies at The University of NC at Greensboro. Her research is focused in technology integration in … Continue reading 137: School Librarian Panel