In Brief: On average, it takes approximately five months for LIS graduates to find a library job, according to Library Journal’s 2012 Placements and Salaries Survey (Matta 2012). This time frame represents the experience of 34% of 2011 graduates, but stories of months- or year-long job searches are common (Weak 2012). While some can afford [...]

In brief: Members of the Lead Pipe Editorial Board reflect on their own personal philosophies of librarianship in response to Emily Ford’s recent article. What is your librarian philosophy? Let us know in the comments. Introduction In her August 2012 article, “What do we do and why do we do it?,” Emily Ford addressed the [...]

In Brief: This article draws a parallel between fatigued runners and overworked librarians, proposing that libraries need to pace work more effectively to avoid burnout. Through an exploration of cognitive science, organizational psychology, and practical examples, guest author Erica Jesonis offers considerations for improving productivity and reducing stress within our fast-paced library culture. I recently [...]

In Brief: The library community should develop a philosophy of librarianship. In order to do so the community should engage in a dialogue about what we do and why we do it. Our history with the idea of a philosophy of librarianship is long, yet the library community hasn’t resolved the problem of what that [...]

 tl;dr – Libraries and digital humanities have the same goals. Stop asking if the library has a role, or what it is, and start getting involved in digital projects that are already happening. Advocate for new expanded roles and responsibilities to be able to do this. Become producers/creators in collaboration with scholars rather than servants [...]

Several weeks ago I attended my first community college commencement. Despite my staff status, I was pleased to be invited to sit among the faculty behind the stage. From this vantage point I was able to watch the ceremony and play a small role in it (faculty, please stand; faculty, please sit) while reflecting upon [...]

Introduction If there were a single piece of advice I have for new professionals entering the field of librarianship, it would be to develop the skill of giving and receiving criticism. This isn’t something I’ve been able to find in an LIS course catalog, slate of webinar programming, or conference booklet (although it looks like [...]

In the Library with the Lead Pipe welcomes guest poster Micah Vandegrift. Micah is a graduate student in Library and Information Studies at Florida State University. He currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, and is interning at the Brooklyn Public Library. Micah’s education has focused on 20th century American culture, digital media and the humanities and [...]

In the Library with the Lead Pipe is pleased to welcome another guest author, Markus Wust! Markus is the Digital Collections and Preservation Librarian at North Carolina State University Libraries and works on exciting projects such as WolfWalk (mobile app for exploring NC State using special collections images and geolocation data) and NC Architects (database [...]

Summer Interlude Three years, twenty committees, twelve hundred instruction sessions, forty thousand monograph purchases, and half a million reference questions later, I’m at the point in this librarian job where I have enough experience to know how to get things done, and also enough to wonder, “What exactly am I doing?” The more you know, [...]