Sunday, July 21, 2013

Blogging about Professional Blogs



                The “Beerbrarian” is Jacob Berg, Director of Library Services in an unnamed academic library in the Washington D.C. area. Like many other librarians’ blogs, the Beerbrarian’s blog covers a bevy of topics around libraries ranging from the “New Librarianship” movement to how students view their library satisfaction. There is no common theme among the blog post topics, just a blistering and brutally honest tone that conveys his opinions on the subjects of his posts.

                Personally, I appreciate his honesty, even if others view it as rude or offensive. One blog article he wrote was his very blunt thoughts on 5 interviews he conducted in May. http://beerbrarian.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-four-and-half-types-of-people-i-met.html

I read this blog post for another class, but it caught my attention and I’ve been following his blog ever since.  Berg was criticized by some for using profanity and posting his unfavorable thoughts about these interviewees. ALA, however, saw the point Berg was trying to make, and posted a link to it on their job listings. The follow up blog post to this confronts both sides of the issues people took over his words. http://beerbrarian.blogspot.com/2013/05/interview-451-four-and-half-follow-up.html

Rather than viewing the post as rude or crass, a prospective job candidate should read this and take to heart the observations posted within. Job seekers get so swept up in their desire to get the job that they lose sight of what image they are presenting and how they come across to the other person sitting across the table from them.

                I will continue to follow the Beerbrarian’s blog. I really appreciate his honesty, because sometimes hearing the hard truth is the last thing we want to do. I applaud the fact that he is willing to say how things really are.

 


                The Annoyed Librarian is a blog hosted by Library Journal. The author is completely anonymous, with a tongue-in-cheek attitude about current events in the library profession. The topics covered in his/her blog posts range from the future of libraries to “hipster” librarians to busybody trustees. Unlike the Beerbrarian’s Blog, the Annoyed Librarian focuses more on how libraries are developing, how new graduates view themselves, and how libraries are staying relevant in the changing workplace.

                The Annoyed Librarians post about “Hipster Librarians” was a reaction to an article s/he read during the ALA conferences in Chicago this year. (http://lj.libraryjournal.com/blogs/annoyedlibrarian/2013/07/08/the-hipster-librarian-an-oxymoron/)

 I found this post both humorous and relevant, as it is addressing a current social trend, and how libraries fit in to that topic. I also really appreciated the post on “Busybodies @ Your Library”, as it really struck a familiar chord with me. We have that same type of person on our Friends board, and their “beliefs” often clash with the mission of the library.

                Overall, I like the Annoyed Librarian because I can relate to their point of view. S/he may be discussing heavy topics in an off-the-cuff sort of way, but s/he does it in such a way that you feel like you are shooting the breeze with an old colleague over coffee, complaining about work with another like-minded individual.

 

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