On being a librarian all the time, and switching off, and marketing yourself, and...

... the twitter bubble, and all sorts of other stuff as well.

  1. Here are the tweets in response to the Hacklib post, which started the conversation
  2. I'm uncomfortable with the notion that 'true librarian' is basically always 'on'. Switching off is important, to me. hacklibschool.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/new…
  3. I have no wish to walk into an empty room and 'turn it into a library'.
  4. And whilst I agree librarianship is a vocation not just a job, I DO want to be able to put it away when I leave the building.
  5. Maybe it's just because I've done so much stuff in my own time with the book, so I'm overloaded... But I'm a person *then* a librarian. :-)
  6. Here are some of the replies, and the conversation as it evolves...
  7. @theREALwikiman Too right! Work life balance is way too important.
  8. @theREALwikiman There's a couple of good comments to that effect at the bottom. (She says, whilst reading library blogs on her day off.)
  9. @theREALwikiman Have to agree with you, but then I'm always a bit wary of zealots...
  10. @Borissimo Yes I know what you mean - but I have also thought slightly similar things in the past so I think I'm just pretty fickle... :-)
  11. @theREALwikiman The medical professions are vocations and they are taught to put it away - otherwise they go insane & are bad at their jobs.
  12. @pennyb Yes, my best friend is a Doctor - I'd say his working hours are much more clearly defined than mine, actually.
  13. @theREALwikiman being able to switch off is very important-I believe it makes you better at your job when you go back into 'librarian mode'
  14. @librarianbyday @theREALwikiman No - Not 9 - 5 either... Just focused on whatever people you are with and what you do - I guess...
  15. @librarianbyday @janholmquist Nope not 9-5 either. God knows I spent a lot of time thinking about / doing librarianship.
  16. @librarianbyday @janholmquist But I'm not defined or consumed by it, and it doesn't travel with me wherever I go...
  17. @theREALwikiman @janholmquist agreed. That wouldn't be healthy. it does need to be more than 9-5 but not all consuming
  18. @theREALwikiman I'm always "on" on campus, no problem. On the other hand, it bothers me when people expect me to libr* off campus.
  19. @ostephens @cjclib @ijclark @janholmquist @theREALwikiman If librarians have ethics & values these cannot be discarded when you are off duty
  20. @cjclib @ijclark @janholmquist @theREALwikiman that is not to say we have to constantly be there helping people, but ...
  21. @cjclib @ijclark @janholmquist @theREALwikiman … if we spent our spare time actively preventing access to information that would be conflict

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Ned Potter

Forward looking Information Professional - tweeting about emerging trends, library marketing & advocacy, new technologies, New Professionals, all that stuff.

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