D’Odyssey A Library Student’s Experience of the job market

Hey everyone, it’s been another long gap I know. The thought of writing another blog post was always appealing, but again the last few months have been exciting and draining. However, I have some exciting news: I have secured a school librarian position in the Chengdu Campus of Beanstalk International Bilingual School in the People’s Republic of China, I am beyond delighted. Given the rigors of the past few months, it was suggested to me that I write a blog on my experiences of the modern LIS job market. Whether you are nearing the end of your LIS course or considering a career move, I hope there something to be gained from my own experience.

Recently, I found a laconic description of the central theme of James Joyce’s Ulysses: “A single day in the life of a modern man is as exciting and dangerous as the whole of The Odyssey”. It is certainly difficult to argue with that point. While mulling that point over, I realised that whenever the process of job hunting is discussed, the notion of the modern, technological, digital world is often brought up. As if there has been a tipping point, before which the conduct of job seekers and employers differs from the behaviours exhibited after. This notion of modernity, created a link in my mind between my own job seeking, and Leopold Blooms trip around Dublin. If a simple stroll can capture the essence of the Odyssey, then imagine the adventures of a job seeker navigating the choppy waters of other candidates, employer expectations, concerns of family and friends, balancing reality and the promises of politicians and Universities, economic malaise and networking. In other words every job seeker encounter thrills, dangers and obstacles as multifarious and fascinating as Calypso, Circe, Charybdis and Scylla.

Like Odysseus at the beginning of the poem, recent jobseekers are departing from a scene of triumph; the completion of their education, with the wind at their back and all the world ahead of them. At least, that was how I felt, I was optimistic, surrounded by people also driven to succeed in the LIS world. During the closing months of the Masters in Library and Information Studies course, I sent out dozens of applications to Libraries and Information institutions in Ireland, UK and USA. An evening was not complete without hours of answering inflexible online forms for jobs in UK, trying to determine corresponding grades, and informing the employer that “yes I am white Irish”. Then came the rejections, the “try again at another time” messages, the silences. Moreover, once the course was finished, I had to return from Dublin to the family home in Cork and work out my plan for the immediate future. Throughout, this whole process, I must thank the advice and support of Martin O Connor and Jane Burns, both pillars of the Irish library community for their advice, proof reading and general support, without which this process would have been unbearable.

My zeal for working in Libraries remained intact, but I was beginning to realise that the direct route was not working. During this time, the thought of a Jobsbridge was abhorrent. Six months on social welfare, was not on the cards, and then working for a pittance while broke was too much to bear. Although more LIS jobs were available the competition from the backlog of older more experienced candidates and the fact that many positions were centred in Dublin (in my biased opinion) hamstrung my prospects. So, I got a job in Westherspoons that pub chain from the UK, recently branching into Ireland. Needless to say this was an experience, my customer service was impeccable, my pint pulling ability dreadful. However, I learned a great deal from my brief time there, exposed to customers, the differing personalities of my co-workers, the reality that workplaces do not run like clockwork, long hours (seriously eleven hour shifts with only an hour break) etc. One could say the experience compounded lessons acquired from the Masters course in UCD.

Desperate, not to give up on the library dream, I remembered volunteering as a reading mentor at Terence McSwiney Community College a DEIS secondary school in Knocknaheeny Co. Cork. For any non-Irish readers this meant essentially that, the Irish government recognised that the high school provided services in a severely disadvantaged area and provided funding and schemes to help the student body. It is not an exaggeration to say that the reading mentor experience was developmentally a defining one.
Firstly, it revealed first-hand the importance of education and information for people, especially those in difficult social circumstances and secondly how important library services are in that role. In my opinion, Anne Masterson the JCSP librarian at TCM embodies what I believe a librarian should be in a school setting. While, I was a reading mentor she hosted the sessions in the school library and was constantly involved in encouraging the students to read, learn and develop their skills. Witnessing this type of work was what made me want to become a school librarian. Therefore, rather than work at Wetherspoons and rely solely on making enough money for a TEFL course, I made contact with Anne and Ms Phil O Flynn the school principal and volunteered as a library assistant at the school for three months. I cannot deny that those were three excellent months, I gained experience providing a library service in an educational setting, and I met Mr. Alan Kennedy, a tutor employed by the Irish Department of Education to work one on one with students outside a classroom setting. I was asked to help Mr. Kennedy with a reading program for students from the Irish Travelling community, an essential and enlightening experience which I gained a great deal from.

Towards the close of 2015 I also applied for a vacancy advertised on Library jobs.ie for a school in Kuwait. Part of this process entailed meeting the fantastic Loretta Jennings the schools HR manager, who was based in Ireland. I cannot stress how fortunate a meeting this was, given Ms. Jennings long experience in career advice. At around the same time, I decided to leave Wetherspoons, as I was becoming extremely unhappy with the type of work I was doing. Fortunately, I picked up Christmas work in retail which kept me occupied for a few weeks.

In an additional turn of fortune, a friend of mine was able to offer me two weeks volunteer work at the library and Media centre a St. Johns Central College in Cork city. As an institute of further education, it was an excellent opportunity to deal with a range of students, from those who recently sat the Leaving Certificate, to adults returning to education. Under the excellent management of Deidre Eccles, I was able to practice my chosen profession and help students with technological and educational queries.
In true modernist style, it has become essential at this point in the narrative to backtrack a bit. For several years I have wanted to live and work abroad. Before, beginning the Masters course in UCD, I stumbled across a blog post describing the benefits of becoming a librarian in an international school. After reading the piece the deal was sealed, I had a plan so cunning, I could brush my teeth with it. However, I had no idea how to break into the international school circuit. Remembering the advice of Jane Burns, Martin O Connor and another cornerstone of the LIS profession Michelle Dalton to network I decided to do just that. I met Michelle one evening, and she put me in contact with Laura “Missy” Cahill a school Librarian in China. The rest as they say was history, Missy is a wonderful contact and friend, offering invaluable advice and encouraged my joining an agency called “Search Associates” which specialised in International educators. Calling upon all my previous experiences, I was accepted by the agency, and travelled to London for a jobs fair.
I cannot stress how invaluable the fair was. Despite only being there for two days, I met several international school teachers, principals, and librarians.

Interestingly, the latter group only made up thirteen attendees out of two hundred. This illustrated the importance of trained librarians, and that a demand exists on an international level. Furthermore, what was wonderful about the fair was how helpful everyone was. One teacher would pipe up “does anyone know anything about Egypt?” and more often than not, someone would come over and offer their help. One such informal chat is what ultimately netted me the job with BIBS. An acquaintance I made, mentioned that a school was being set up, and put me in touch with the principal. On the whole the fair was a fascinating experience, it introduced me to others working in the international field, and boosted my confidence as I received several interviews, a job offer (which I rejected).

The weeks since the jobs fair were made up of waiting, with several schools considering my candidacy. Rather than remain passive, I followed the advice of a friend, a decision which resulted in my current employment as a clerical officer in Cork University Hospital. Where I remain until it is time to leave for China. There was a brief flirtation of attending an interview for a part time vacancy in Trinity College Dublin. Despite, the allure of the position the attendant risk and the cost of living in Dublin, ensured that decision to remain there I was.

So, what moral lessons, do my experience have to offer? If I am being honest, I am not sure. I could say it illustrates how convoluted the post recessionary job market is, perhaps it elucidates how millennials must be flexible and undertake actions they necessarily do not want, or ultimately the role that fate or luck plays in such affairs. Personally, I think it says how no man is an island. I could not have made it through the last few months alone. I had a great deal of help and encouragement. Which brings me to the expressions of gratitude. I cannot convey my thanks enough to my family and friends for helping me, during this time. In no particular order this extends to Martin O Connor, Jane Burns, Michelle Dalton, Elaine Harrington, Lai Ma, Claire Nolan, Amber Cushing, all the staff members of the Boole Library UCC, James Joyce Library UCD and the school the UCD School of Library and Information studies for all their support. To Loretta for all the advice and great conversations. To Julie, Helena, and Missy for all the tips advice, tirades, chats and aid offered to navigate the world of education and travel. To Anne Masterson. Ms. Flynn, Alan Kennedy and the staff of TMC, along with Deidre Eccles of St. Johns for the encouragement and opportunity to practice my trade. Last but not least I must thank Mr. David Cope of Search Associates for taking me on and guiding through the jobs fair, and to Karl Hanratty and Claire for putting me in touch with my current employer. For anyone I have not mentioned I apologise, but thank you for all your assistance.

In short, having the support of colleagues, friends and family makes all the difference in the world for job seekers. Unlike Odysseus, you cannot successfully blind the Cyclops, or visit the underworld alone, relying only your wits and strength of character A strong network, or crew to continue the analogy is required for success. And in that regard I have been most fortunate indeed.

For anyone interested in getting in touch my twitter handle is @OMichaelos

 

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bone: The Information Environment of the Italian- Abyssinian War .

Hey everyone, it has been a really long time hasn’t it? Apologise for dropping off the face of the earth. The previous months have been convoluted and difficult and I needed some time to myself. Today’s post will be a quick discussion of points raised by Christopher Duggan’s excellent book Fascist Voices: An Intimate History of Mussolini’s Italy. Regarding the information environment of the regime and its impact on public perception. While it is indulgent, I feel it is important to stress how crucial a role information plays in any society.

Firstly, it is important to realise that Fascist policies regarding information, did not spring out of the ground.  As a result of the chaotic nature of the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and the fractured nature of both, society and the polity, the Kingdom of Italy had a historical interest a special interest in promulgating an educational system (information landscape) in which ensured the population were both “content to remain in the condition that nature assigned to them, and not encourage them to abandon it”… while also being “honest, industrious, useful to the family and devoted to the king and the fatherland” (p.180). As noted by Duggan, the perceived failure of this experience, coupled with the “degree factory-esque” nature of the system created an army of unemployed graduates who vented their frustrations at the sluggish state economy, as well as failing to mould students morally and emotionally (p.181). The Fascist state successfully tapped into these concerns and set forth a new educational program in which: “(schools) at all level and in all their instruction should educate the Italian youth to understand fascism, to renew itself in fascism and to live in the historical climate created by the fascist revolution” (p.182).

Certainly, it could be argued that the success of the program may be seen in the lead up to, duration and conclusion of the Abyssinia war. As part of its policy to “renew fascism” the state celebrated the successes of ancient Rome, espousing the ideology of mare nostrum and imperial expansion (p.250). Clearly, popular images of fertile, wealthy African colonies which would provide resources and a home for thousands of settlers of the metropole was not unique to Fascist Italy. However, the proliferation of Fascist ideas in Italian society was such, that the war received universal public support (pp.251-52). Clearly, as articulated in Duggan’s argument, this attitude was born out of popular belief, that the war was Italy’s first step in replacing the decadent imperial powers of Europe. As the “theory” when, the new men and women of Italy would achieve spiritual renewal through conflict and emerge as disciplined, energetic individuals unbound by decadent materialism, bourgeois humanitarianism, “craven comforts” and sedentary ways of life” (p.126).

Obviously, such sentiments illustrate the success of the state in controlling the information landscape of the country, in turn shaping the behaviour of its citizens. Duggan describes how throughout the Abyssinia war and aftermath, the government utilised films, postcards, songs and advertisements to drum up popular support for the conflict, by illustrating orientalist exoticism and lurid press details of uncivilized practices such as slavery child sacrifice which Italian civilisation would sweep away (p.260). Moreover, the state created an environment in which it could mobilise its population to make sacrifices for the war effort, such as asking couples to donate the metal in their wedding rings, and encouraged, both the conviction that Italy was asserting itself on the world stage and myriad of rumours detailing Ethiopia was a fertile land rich in untapped oilfields (p.255, 258-9). As such, this resulted in a festive atmosphere within Italy complete, with a marked popularity in songs such as “Africannia” (Little African girl) and “Ti Saluto e vado in Abissina” (Farewell, I am off to Abyssinia”). Compounding these attitudes, was a blanket censorship of the use of chemical weapons against the African armies. (p.262).

Perhaps, the worst consequences of the information environment of the Italian regime were the atrocities committed against Ethiopians by Italian solider. Many soldiers were young men raised entirely, in a society in which devotion to the Duce, patriotism, hatred of humanitarianism, exaltation of military virtues, and the inherent “rightness” of Fascist values, Italy’s civilizing mission and the benefits that the conquest would bring Ethiopia. (p.261-2). Unquestioning adherence to these values, created both passive accomplices and active perpetrators of mass murder against the Ethiopian population. These policies persisted throughout, the colonial occupation, in one notorious instance, in the wake of a terrorist attack in Addis Abba ordinary Italian colonists responded “around armed with manganelli (wooden batons) and iron bars bludgeoning any natives they came across in the streets”, none of these instances of violence were allowed to be reported on in Italy (pp. 263, 289).

Ultimately, I agree with Christopher Duggans assertion, that the policies of Fascist Italy created the following situation as noted by Florentine law Professor Piero Calamandrei: “Alas… we are, without being, aware of it a bookish people, who see the world through fantasies… For decades we have been confusing our desires with reality, our poetry with history”.  Or put another way by Jewish writer Franco Fortini: “If Fascism was to fall tomorrow and it was up to us young people to rebuilt Italy, we would not know what we wanted”. (pp.336-7). In other words, the fostering of an information society, in which critical thinking takes a backseat to fantasy, rationality with pure emotion,  and blind certainty is the dominant force, only serves to create a society that is both intolerant, and normalises/perpetuates atrocity. Moreover, it is argument that must be had in every country, at every point in its history.

References:

Duggan, Christopher. (2012) Fascist Voices: An Intimate History of Mussolini’s Italy. London: UK,  The Bodley Head.

“Cabbages and Kings” Information Society and Uzbekistan

A recent article on UK libraries described efforts by Parliament to amateurise public library services following widespread closures (Dickens, 2015). Given the desire of nearly every country in the world to create an “Information Society” such actions appear counterproductive. This sentiment is also stressed in Library and Information Studies (LIS) literature, especially if the author is writing about information literacy. It could be argued that these writings express an unconscious belief in Utopianism, i.e that the work and practices of Information Professionals can overhaul and improve both the individual and society as a whole.

More specifically the dream of many Information professionals is the establishment of a society in which every citizen has acquired the skills necessary to evaluate and utilise the wide range of information sources available to them. Furthermore, the method to achieving this ultimate goal is very simple;  information training allows people to improve their overall lives by basing their knowledge on the best sources available.

However, as illustrated by the UK example most governments appear content with the most immediate benefits of the Information and Communication Technology revolution rather than exploiting the full potential of these innovations by providing the necessary infrastructure. Conversely, any unwanted effects of the Information age such as social media whistle blowing, data leaks and the free exchange of opinions and materials are subjected to rigid controls and scrutiny in order to maintain the political, economic and social status quos of various sectors. Despite the global nature of the Information revolution, the corpus of LIS literature is predominately focused on Western Anglophone countries. Therefore, it may be interesting to discuss a state which does not received a great deal of attention e.g. the Republic of Uzbekistan.

After the collapse of the Soviet Bloc many member states of the Commonwealth of Independent Nations received support from UNESCO and the EU to develop their information, educational and cultural heritage sectors. As noted by a 2013 report prepared for the European Commissions TEMPUS-TACIS program (Technical Assistance for the Commonwealth of Independent States): “the collapse of the Soviet Union was disastrous for the highly centralised and collaborative library system shared by the members states” (Johnson, 2013, p.43). One of the former Soviet states Uzbekistan sought to reform the library service following economic chaos of the 1990s with “a Presidential Decree (No.381, 20 June 2006):
‘About the organisation of information and library provision for the population of Republic’: which placed ‘librarianship and the implementation of new information technologies among the top priorities in the country’ (Johnson, p.5

The importance importance of LIS to the Uzbek government is further illustrated by a flurry of similar decrees:

1. No.VII-3029, (2002) “On the Improvement of the Organization of Scientific Research Activity”: adapt library services to post independence circumstances.

2. Presidential Decree (No.381, 20 June 2006): renamed 14 regional public libraries as Information and Library centres (ILC) governed by Communications and Information Agency of Uzbekistan (CIAU)and co-ordinated by the Republican Information-Library Centre

3. 2006 Decree: Renamed school and university libraries Information Resource Centres (IRC) with some falling under the auspices of CIAU

4. 2006 Decree: All ILC’S and RLC’S to possess computers and internet services and help develop “national information resources, electronic libraries and databases”. (Johnson, pp.52, 53, 55, 63)

Moreover, the main role assigned to IRCs and ILCs is “the creation of electronic libraries and databases that combine all their information resources in a union catalogue” (Johnson, p.63). The efforts made by the Uzbek government are detailed in depth by the report with special attention paid to the creation of a Master’s program with EU funding and collaboration to meet local requirements. The program is hosted by Tashkent University of Information Technologies and was a success domestically (Johnson, pp.68-69). Indeed, the author of the report quotes Rakhmatullaev’s, (2000) belief that the development of library and information services is part of a broader program of transforming the region economically, politically and socially (p.70). The only obstacle to the process noted by the author is the country’s reliance on central planning (Johnson, p.70).

As mentioned above, the belief in the transformative powers of LIS is deeply ingrained in academic writing on the subject. Unfortunately the hopeful arguments of LIS researchers rarely match up with the realities of how individuals outside the profession perceive Information services, as evidenced by recent developments in Uzbekistan. Even after the major overhaul of LIS and the information sector the politics, economy and society of the region has not changed for the better. Presidential elections in 2015 have been described “as a show” with no competition against the incumbent leader. Moreover, the state controlled media depicted the election as fair with opposition candidates putting forward programs for reform at managed public meetings, while at the same time stressing the importance of stability and continuity of the current regime (Schenkkan, 2015, Elections). Contrary to the desire to create an information society, freedom of speech is tightly controlled by the Karimov government as evidenced by the following practices: the refusal to acknowledge economic instability, falsified economic forecasts and predetermining the opposition campaign policies etc (Schenkkan, 2015, Elections).

More seriously these trends of information control obfuscate very serious issues. An excellent example is the conflict in Iraq and Syria, which is depicted by Central Asian governments and media outlets as the fate which will befall the country if the current governments were removed from power (Schenkkan, 2015, Central Asians). Moreover, this authoritarianism has created an information situation in which disgruntled Uzbeks (especially migrant workers in Russia) accept misinformation, propaganda and apocryphal information in the traditional and social media as fact (Schenkkan, 2015, Central Asians). However this topic will be discussed in another blog post.

In short, contrary to the idealism of European Information Professionals, Uzbekistan has not become an information society. Despite repeated political and social commitments to the ideal, the stance of the Uzbek government prevents libraries and information institutions from fulfilling their primary goal of providing information to their patrons. The consequences of this policy is a severely misinformed society, who cannot locate or act upon relevant information and are reliant upon a predetermined view of the world, politics, society, economics and certainly every conceivable sphere of life. Such circumstances are debilitating, deceitful and more dangerously deluding. Moreover it is not an information literacy society or a paradise. But it is Utopian is the sense that most of its claims does not exist.

References
Dickens, J. (2015, August 19) Nicky Morgan Library campaign branded a ‘hollow gesture’ after closures. Schools Weeks. Retrieved from http://schoolsweek.co.uk/nicky-morgan-library-campaign-branded-a-hollow-gesture-after-closures/

Johnson, I.M, (2013). Library development in Uzbekistan: progress and problems since the dissolution of the USSR. The International Information & Library Review, 45(s 1–2). 50–62.

Schenkkan, N, (Producer). (2015, March 28th) Central Asianist #1: Central Asians in ISIS & ISIS in Central Asia. [Audio Podcast]. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-central-asianist-podcast/id980890993?mt=2

Schenkkan, N, (Producer). (2015, March 28th) Central Asianist #3: Elections in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. [Audio Podcast]. Retrieved from https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-central-asianist-podcast/id980890993?mt=2

A Long Shot is Better then None? LIS Job Hunting in Ireland

For the sake for transparency this is a topic I do not wish to discuss. Point in fact I am afraid to address this topic. At a recent Library Association of Ireland (LAI) conference a panel was asked “Will there be more Library jobs in the future?” While this may be due to projection I was left with the distinct impression that the speaker was extremely tired, worn down and desperate. Despite recent hopes in an economic recovery the reality is that the Irish job market is still very shaky. Factor in the limited number of Library and Information studies positions and the large number of graduates and you are left with a recipe for an angry, petulant outpouring on the current situation.

That is not my intention but I would be lying if I did not admit to feeling like the aforementioned speaker. Unlike the majority of my Masters in Library and Information Studies (MLIS) colleagues I did not enter the Information studies field from another career. This is my first Masters course and aside from odd jobs acquired here and there my chances of gaining employment as an undergraduate had been stymied by the eternal catch 22: no job without experience, no experience without a job.

There was never any doubt in my mind that I wanted to be a librarian, over the past four months I have applied for dozens for Assistant Librarian, Library Assistant, Information Officer, Digital and Media Librarians and School Librarians throughout Ireland, the UK, Canada and Sweden. These efforts did not result in gainful employment. While the LIS community in Ireland is full of wonderfully helpful people I find that their advice on the job seeking situation creates a “catch-44”.

What I mean by that is, accepting short term contracts and unpaid internships would be perfectly fine except for one catch, the vast majority are centered in Dublin. A casual chat with anyone in Ireland will reveal the cost of living in Dublin is astronomical and impractical for anyone who does not already live in the county. Paid internships while ideal are like gold dust due to the numbers of competing graduates who already reside in the Dublin area. In other words the LIS catch 44 translates to: you need a job to get experience, experience to get a job, you need a job to get money and you need money to get a job.

Given my current situation unless an abundance of internships become available in Cork, my LIS prospects are at sea. Internships are not viable as I cannot afford to live on €450-550 euro a month in Dublin. That is simple reality and as a result I am convinced that a long shot for LIS job seekers really means “it will happen when pigs colonize the Yaroslavi Oblast”.

Currently I have given up on seeking LIS employment, my hope is to find a job that does not involve call center duties and earn enough money to do a CELTA and gain teaching and library experience in foreign climes for a few years. I am aware that this post sounds very mean spirited. I hope that it does not, but it might. Librarianship as a career appealed to me as a child, it is the area I wish to work in, however due to various overlapping circumstances many LIS students are swimming against a very strong current.

I suppose that I am really just reiterating the advice given to me by wise and wonderful librarians “By Indirections find directions out” or you will get a library job by tortuously circumnavigating the traditional job seeking channels. But I add this caveat if you can; do it while working and earning money. To my mind unpaid internships are worthless, despite the experience on offer, they do not allow people to support themselves and live independent lives. Which is why I would honestly advise retail work for year as it means; money to live on and time to attend conferences and network rather than scraping by on a wing and a prayer. To my mind, the internship pathway immobilize people and mires them in poverty and uncertainty.

While my own suggestion is by no means perfect I would urge LIS graduates to take menial jobs or return to previous careers and build up their LIS experience on the side. Information jobs do exist and more will become available, your time will come. Until then help your classmates and other graduates, network, become involved in the LIS community but always ensure your financial independence and well being, God knows everyone else is. It is perhaps better to have an income and gain experience tangentially, rather than enter the profession straightaway only to lose the clothes on your back.

Once Upon a Time: Libraries as Storytellers

Narratives are an essential part of the human experience. From going out to buy milk, to reporting serious news stories people construct stories out of their experiences. At its simplest, this process is an attempt to conceptualize and understand the world around us. Libraries and other institutions are excellent examples of storytellers. As every collection and exhibition is designed to communicate a chosen narrative. Just last week, my Capstone group opened an exhibition on the Abbey Ballroom Indoor Football League (a link will be provided below). While creating poster content, there was some discussion over what kind of narrative we wanted. Should the exhibition only highlight the mostly positive aspects of the League? Such decisions have an enormous influence on the message, presentation, and reception of an exhibition.

Denise E Agosto examined, the real benefits of oral storytelling on young children after noting a gap in the literature. Interestingly, her work illustrates, the importance of storytelling for audiences of all ages. In regards to adults Agosto quotes Engles “The Emergence of Storytelling,” which notes how narratives grant adults “a form for organizing huge amounts of information and serve a host of powerful psychological and social functions.” Despite the study’s narrow focus, its findings on the benefits of well structured, high quality content may be universally applicable. Arguably, audiences of all ages would experience a deeper meditation “about their social world,” after listening, and engaging with a narrative that affects their: “interpersonal relationships, empathy, and interests”.

In the modern age, storytelling is also exclusively provided in an informal education setting. This grants Libraries and museums a virtual monopoly, over a potentially useful and influential method of education. While the narrative function is central to the mission statement of information institutions a caveat is required. In the rapidly changing library world there appears to be a trend of adopting new trends, techniques and methodologies to appear relevant in the modern age. Although practices such as information literacy, fundraising and communal partnerships are important innovations, they carry risks. The largely apolitical narratives offered by libraries may be imperiled by the decision to accord institutional influence to businesses, private individuals, and organisations which have their own agendas, biases and prejudices. In more autocratic societies such as Russia and Belarus, state influence in Libraries and similar institutions has resulted in politicized of narratives which trivializes or suppress communal experience outside the official state narrative (Salamensky, 2013).

Therefore, it is imperative that Libraries tell stories in such a way that they work “in and against” hegemonic or dominant styles of narrative (Grek). Otherwise we as Librarians, will have lost our way by manipulating our patrons with propaganda, or politically manipulative materials in propagating our patrons instead of educating and developing them through well constructed stories or narratives. 

References 

Agosto, Denise E. (2013) “If I Had Three Wishes,” Storytelling, Self, Society: Vol. 9: Iss. 1, Article 3. Available at: http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/storytelling/vol9/iss1/3

Grek, S. (2009). In and against the Museum: The Contested Spaces of Museum Education for Adults. Discourse: Studies in the cultural politics of education 30(2). 195-211.

Salamensky, S.I. (2013). Culture, Memory, Context: Re-enactments of Traumatic Histories in Europe and Eurasia. International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society, 26(1). 21-30.

Appendix 

Link to Abbey Ballroom Indoor Football League Exhibition description: https://www.facebook.com/events/1464273383867298/

A Digital Reflection? Librarian and Podcasters

A conference is going on at the Dublin Business School today. By following the accounts of individuals in attendance one is exposed in real time to the salient points under discussion discussion. An hour or two ago the topics were collaboration, two way communication and the successful utilization of social media to appeal to users and creating consumable information.

If the twitter fairies are to be believed then Information Institutions must create quality palpable content which is accessible to as wide a range of users as possible. This is easier said than done. Quality information is very difficult to come by. Given the thousands of newspaper, articles, blogs, tweets etc. How is a user to know which is “good information”? Even as a trained Library and Information studies (LIS) student this is an issue I also struggle with daily. To give an example my undergraduate degree is in History and I enjoy locating material on topics relevant to my interests. Very often however I find myself trapped between either a deluge of dubious sources or, a paywall around scholarly articles which are clearly of a certain standard. While I do not wish to delve in depth into the issues of open access and monopolisation of the publishing industry by private companies, it must be argued I have come to the conclusion that podcasting can play a role in remedying both of the situations above.

Firstly, I must argue that I am biased in favour of Podcasts. The reason for this is simple given my interest in history I am often drawn to topics and areas not normally covered by western historians. As a result translations and information regarding topics such as the experiences of the Central Asian republics of Soviet rule from 1918 onwards is non-existent. However just this week I located the Central Asianist programme by the Freedom House organisation in which specialists discuss the historical and contemporary issues related to central Asia. In other words I found material which bridged an information gap which was not available elsewhere. What’s more given the format of Podcasts, relevant information is either included in the recording or attached to the description in the RSS feed. What is more, they are rarely concealed behind a paywall and offer quality information to the general public free of charge. While it is certainly true that poor quality podcasts exist: for the most part many programmes are created by academics and researchers employed by research institutes with access to quality sources or passionate laypeople who wish to accurately represent a topic they love.

What has this to do with Libraries? Well it is interesting to note that these programmes practice many of the techniques discussed in LIS literature. A high quality podcast will avail of search engine optimisation techniques, skilfully exploiting tags, linking social media account, creating a recognisable brand name directing users to other relevant content and collaborating with other podcasters to produce projects consisting of easily digestible information. Is this a perfect comparison? Of course not but it is curious to note apparent trends present in two tightly knit communities such as LIS professionals and Podcasters. Moreover, many of the presenters do this work as a labour of love in their spare time. However, the success of their approach may be seen by logging into a channels Facebook group and reading the volume of questions, extra content and interaction between patrons and creators. It could be argued that Podcasts fulfil the argument of the library role offered by Martin Berendse chairman of the Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam for the need to bond with a user community, serving as a social mechanism and the creation of a recognisable “brand name” to ensure patron loyalty (Van de Geer, 2015).

I learned that from a podcast. Am I arguing the Podcasters are perfect tools for libraries? Not at all, by their very nature podcasting is very constrained by the digital divide. The conversion of audio into Mp3 files automatically limits their usage to certain devices. Factor in the sheer amount of time, energy and money required to purchase professional recording and editing equipment and software, scripting, editing and creating content on a constant basis plus the categorisation and publicity work involved in search engine optimisation for each program. There are also the issues of curating the digital files, generating metadata and the creation of collection policies to oversee the management, deselection and preservation of Mp3 files across technological formats.

That said, I would argue that there is much that Libraries could learn from the podcasting community. Due to the nature of their work, these channels are well versed in the realities of collaboration, marketing, search engine optimisation and brand creation in the digital age. Furthermore, to quote Paul B. Kaufman who discussed the digital revolution and shift in the representation of information from print to audio visual regards to oral history suggested the possibilities of collaborations with Journalists and Public Media producers (tv, radio, websites) (Kaufman, 2012, p.3). While podcasting is not specifically mentioned, the possibility that the community will continue to grow offers a resource for librarians to learn from and work with.

References

Kaufman, Peter B. (2012). Oral History in the Video Age. In D. Boyd, S. Cohen, B. Rakerd, & D. Rehberger (Eds.),Oral history in the digital age. Institute of Library and Museum Services. Retrieved from http://ohda.matrix.msu.edu/2012/07/video-age/

Van de Geer, J. (Producer). (2015, May, 31^st). TWIL #121: Martin Berendse (Chief Executive Amsterdam Public Library). [Video Podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.thisweekinlibraries.com/

Welcome to Librarymuses

As the title suggests welcome to LibraryMuses. My name is Michael O Sullivan and I am a graduate student in Library and Information studies at University College Dublin (Republic of Ireland). The purpose of this site is to explore issues and topics arising in the Library and Information world.

However, as this is my first WordPress site unassociated with College work, this post will serve two functions. First as a welcome and explanation of the site and secondly as means of collated my various blog sites from the last six months together. The content of each site relates to Library and LIS topics. Therefore, rather then let it go to waste here are the URLS in descending order

The first focuses on Creating and Publishing Digital Media: issues of copyright, search engine optimisation, composition and presentation of Information through picture, Prezi and other media formats and the ethics of copyright.

https://mosullivanis30240blog.wordpress.com/

The second is a lesson plan I created for a fictional Information Literacy course. The topic of research is The Soviet Occupation of Poland 1939-1941 serves as the students topic of research. The goal of the program is to teach sixteen year old’s academic research practices such as an awareness of plagiarism and copyright, Media Literacy across a variety of formats, and Boolean Logic to facilitate ease of learning.

https://historyinformationliteracy.wordpress.com/

The final blog page relates to the issues arising in the area of Management for Information professionals. As many information professionals serve as administrators and team leaders it is essential to understand issues of diversity, financial management, collaboration, and the trends in the information section that has created these issues.

https://omichaelos1900.wordpress.com/