Comments for In the Library with the Lead Pipe

Comment on Becoming a Writer-Librarian by Writing is Social | Thinking Outside the Books

Writing is Social | Thinking Outside the Books — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:27:49 +0000

[...] it didn’t feel like it was actually writing. A recent In the Library with the Lead Pipe article made me question my views of writing as an individual project. In it, the author reflects on her [...]

Comment on Becoming a Writer-Librarian by On Librarians Writing | Academic Librarian

On Librarians Writing | Academic Librarian — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:19:39 +0000

[...] week I’ve read three different articles or blog posts about librarians writing: Emily Ford’s Becoming a Writer-Librarian in In the Library with the Lead Pipe, Trudi Bellardo Hahn’s and Paul T. Jaeger’s From [...]

Comment on Making it Work: Surviving as a Librarian Employed in Another Field by The Web is Made of Links, or I Know Where You Came From | Hiring Librarians

The Web is Made of Links, or I Know Where You Came From | Hiring Librarians — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:02:32 +0000

[...] blog has been used as a citation at least twice, once by Alyssa Vincent on In the Library with the Lead Pipe, and once by Raymond Wang in an APALA [...]

Comment on Becoming a Writer-Librarian by sirmies

sirmies — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:30:07 +0000

Always drawn to pieces such as this. I don’t write but desperately want to. I think you accurately portray the level of commitment and effort involved in being/becoming a writer. And as for our profession I like to think it is essential that we make a commitment to this craft. Also your absolutely correct that writing is an integral function of who we are and what we do, so it therefore behooves us practice this craft.

This piece is very motivating and in time I hope to put some of your recommendations into practice.

Thanks for the thoughts

Comment on Becoming a Writer-Librarian by Emily Ford

Emily Ford — Fri, 10 May 2013 00:39:30 +0000

thanks! I’m not really sure I know the answer to your question because I’ve never quantified it. Usually I have spent a while fleshing out my ideas during my commute to and from work, while walking, etc. Then I’ll try to wrangle with my argument or the article’s purpose. This all happens before I even get my fingers to the keyboard to write.

My next step in the process is to try and create a sensible outline for an article. Usually I share the outline–and frequently the prior thinking process about an article topic–with with colleagues and friends. (This is a great example of writing as a social activity.)

When I get to the point where I am ready to write from an outline, I can draft an article fairly quickly–say, 3-4 hours of work–but sometimes it takes much longer if I am still grappling with my argument or ideas. Then, of course, there is the editing process. Typically I will edit first, then share with a colleague, and edit some more. Then there is the peer-review process, more editing and revisions.

I guess if you really want a ball park figure of how long it takes me to write one Lead Pipe article (as in, working at the keyboard) I’d say 10 hours? But that is so hard to quantify and really doesn’t mean anything.

Ideas sometimes float around in my brain for several months before I get to the point of even being able to talk to someone about them. In short, writing is not only about the time I spend at the keyboard, but on my personal reflections and the time I spend thinking about what I’m going to write and what I’m going to say. Now that this article has been published I’ve already started thinking about what topic my next Lead Pipe article will tackle.

Comment on Becoming a Writer-Librarian by Elise

Elise — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:04:22 +0000

Nice article! How long does it take to finish an article like this on average?

Comment on #HackLibSchool by Collaboration and the Library World | Hack Library School

Collaboration and the Library World | Hack Library School — Mon, 06 May 2013 12:00:35 +0000

[...] in the library world, it seems significant enough to revisit regularly. Micah Vandegrift’s #HackLibSchool inaugural article, for example, discusses transliteracy as an important concept for librarians to [...]

Comment on Building a Community of Readers: Social Reading and an Aggregated eBook Reading App for Libraries by Fred Jones

Fred Jones — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:53:53 +0000

As my friend would say, “What a complicated solution to a simple non-problem.”
I’d rather fantasise about a DRM-free, copyright-free future. In ages past, special exemptions and laws were created for libraries because governments recognised that copyright was about a balance between author’s/publisher’s interests and the public good.
These laws have not kept up to date with technology (in Australia, they apply only to printed books but not to DVDs, and other electronic media), but in a better parallel reality somewhere, libraries will work together and mobilise their users to push for legal change to extend such protections to all media types.

Comment on The Digital Public Library of America: Details, the Librarian Response and the Future. by The Digital Public Library of America | Exploring Social Informatics

The Digital Public Library of America | Exploring Social Informatics — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:28:32 +0000

[...] I am really interested in seeing how this project grows over the next few years. Here is a link to an article from In the Library with the Lead Pipe, with one person’s view of The Digital Public Library of America: Details, the Librarian Response, and the Future. [...]

Comment on Rising through the Ranks: On Upward Mobility in Librarianship by grasping at a grasp of project management | the girl works

grasping at a grasp of project management | the girl works — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:07:08 +0000

[...] Rising through the Ranks: On Upward Mobility in Librarianship (In the Library with the Lead Pipe, Sept. 15, 2010) [...]