OWS Library Solidarity

 Photo Credit: David Shankbone

The Occupy Wall Street Library movement seems to be getting it's day in the sun. Following my last post, I thought I would share some updates here:

Hack Library School has put together a great post with the library student's perspective on the Occupy Wall Street movement and the roles that libraries are playing. Click on over to check it out.

Rachel Maddow + OWS + Libraries = my head exploading with delight! Watch here.

And here are some more links talking about the current state of the grass-roots movement from around the country. Well, mainly NYC and PDX:

http://peopleslibrary.wordpress.com/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/15/occupy-wall-street-library_n_1094941.html

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/11/occupy_wall_street_library.php

http://gothamist.com/2011/11/15/occupy_wall_street_library.php 

As these libraries find new homes, I will try and keep updating!

In which our protagonist lands a job...

It really looks like I am going to be a librarian...

When I first started thinking about getting my MLIS here in Portland, I had a former coworker who was enrolled in the program I wanted to join leave the bookstore for a position with a prominent medical university here in town.

"Hmmm," I thought to myself, "I bet that would be a great job to have while going back to school. In fact, I think I would love to work there..."

With the process of getting into and starting school underway, I turned my attention to getting a job that would start my career as a librarian or information specialist. Fate smiled upon me, and I bumped into the former coworker, and she let me know that the prominent medical university was hiring student workers AND she would put in a good word for me. She is an angel. After applying and having a great interview, I start work on Tuesday.

It's going to be fascinating to work in a medical library, since I've never had any intention on being a doctor. Yeah, they make a lot of money, but blood is gross. Really gross. At least when I am bored at work I can research various debilitating medical conditions. Whenever I or a loved one receive a diagnosis, I'll certainly have the resources to find all the worst case scenarios possible and give the doctor a run for their money. Good thing I'm not a hypochondriac!

In other news...

Found this great article on cnn.com about the future of libraries. What I like about it is that it is not super alarmist. There is no "THEY'RE BURNING BOOKS" mentality. The article states that the way society gathers and devours information is changing, and libraries need to change to stay relevant. I especially like the end of the article where the funding issue is mentioned. There is a real catch 22 to the fact that updating libraries is super expensive, but with the current economic shenanigans we're going through, libraries can't afford to remain competitive.