Great article furthering the introvert vs. extrovert commentary.
Ever since Carl Jung first started giving people their personality types, there’s been a divide between the introvert and extrovert camps. It’s possible to bridge that gap, though. Here’s how to coexist with different personality types.
via How Introverts and Extroverts Can Peacefully Coexist | LifeHacker.
See also: Susan Cain: The power of introverts | TED Talks and Quiet: The Power of Introverts – By Susan Cain.
Technology enthusiasts who spend their days playing with computers and robots often have the amount of social graces of the machines they’re programming. So it’s either a brilliant or incredibly off-base intervention that an MIT graduate student has designed computer software to attempt to teach the socially-maladjusted how to be more sociable, via a Siri-like virtual conversation coach.
The program, called My Automated Conversation Coach (MACH), “uses a computer-generated onscreen face, along with facial, speech, and behavior analysis and synthesis software, to simulate face-to-face conversations,” according to a press release. “It then provides users with feedback on their interactions,” for example, how good was their eye contact, which words did they emphasize, how did their voice rise and fall.
via A Computer To Teach You Not To Act Like A Computer | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation.
5 critical ways to determine reliably and effectively if you should change careers, and once you get hip to these signs, you’ll be able to answer for yourself in a heartbeat, “Should I stay or should I go?”
via 5 Ways To Tell If You Need A Career Change | Forbes.
A few years ago, I made the decision to leave a great career that paid very well and go back to school. It was a great decision for my personal growth, although it was hard to leave the people I worked with – they were the best part of the job. Reading this article I can say I met 4 out of the 5 critical signs that it was time to leave. I found that just because you are really great at doing something doesn’t equate to actual enjoyment and satisfaction.
Since June is historically LGBT Pride Month, it’s worth taking a look at the ways in which cinema has depicted queers and trans people on screen in comedies, dramas, and documentaries. While this is no definitive list of the best films to feature LGBT characters, themes, or icons, it is a collection of titles worth seeing…
We’ve all hit that point where we can’t figure out exactly what we really want to do with our lives. It can come when you’re 18 or when you’re 50, and it’s always a difficult process to work through. It’s not hopeless, though! Here are a few ways to help you figure it out.
via Four Ways to Figure Out What You Really Want to Do with Your Life | LifeHacker
The article suggests to:
Librarians aren’t usually in the habit of name calling (unless you catch us before we’ve had our coffee or when the catalog is down), so it’s with a bit of trepidation that I’m writing this. But then I thought, what the hey–even librarians should be able to take a moment and vent our frustrations!
We’ve become pretty comfortable getting up on our soapboxes to protest in the face of budget cuts and layoffs, but sometimes it’s hard to actually express some annoyance about common viewpoints towards libraries. After all, we truly are here to help people. It’s our passion. Nobody chooses to become a librarian for the money (because there’s never very much of that to go around). We choose this profession not just because it’s our calling but because we believe in the power of access to information to transform people’s lives.
Yet too often, no matter how many times we may repeat that mantra to ourselves, it seems that the same tired misinformation is what gets regurgitated in the media and even occasionally by our friends and families: Libraries are outdated. Nobody reads books anymore. You can find anything you need to know online. As any librarian will tell you, we’ve heard it all before…
See the full article at How Not To Be A Dick To A Librarian | xoJane.
Recent research in cognitive science, psychology and neuroscience has demonstrated that deep reading—slow, immersive, rich in sensory detail and emotional and moral complexity—is a distinctive experience, different in kind from the mere decoding of words.
For the full article see: The Case for Preserving the Pleasure of Deep Reading | MindShift.
Quotable: “As I tried to navigate my way through the wading pool of rejection, creation, and then rejection again, my biggest downfall wasn’t funding, or a business plan, or office space. It was my habit of constantly comparing myself and my own progress to others that nearly led to my demise.”
LIS Specific Articles
She Said She Had a “Crush” on Us | Hired Librarians
An interview with Nicole Tekulve, Information Commons Librarian, and Virginia Cairns, Chair of Search Committee/Head of Reference & Instruction.
Remove Your Librarian Glasses | Information Tyrannosaur
This ability to challenge your own perspectives, examine your implicit assumptions, and inquire into the the viewpoints of others is crucial to diversity work, but also to the work we do in our organizations and the work we do as librarians.
Dear Freshmen: What iSchool Seniors Want You to Know | Information Space
As you’ll hear every senior say, and as you will one day realize yourself, your years of college will go by so fast, and you’ll have no idea where your time went.
A Conversation on The Value of the LIS Degree | Information Space
The current conversation around the value of a professional LIS degree recurs on a regular basis. We recognize that this conversation has many sides to it, so to frame a potential dialogue on the topic, Jill Hurst-Wahl (current LIS faculty) and Matthew Gunby (recent MLIS graduate) have considered possible goals of the LIS degree.
Leadership in a Digital Age | American Libraries
The increasingly digital context brings challenges and opportunities for librarians, library staff, archivists, and museum professionals. New roles and the competencies required to perform them are evolving. One overriding role for all of us is that of the leader.
Dewey-It-Yourself: How to supplement your library school education | Hack Library School
It can be very frustrating to look at job postings and think, “What does that even mean? They didn’t teach me that!” But with an optimistic and do-it-yourself attitude the gap between what you know and what you need to know can shorten.
General Articles
Will getting an advanced degree limit your career options? | LifeHacker
A graduate degree really is an investment, one that could further your knowledge in your field and possibly boost your earning potential. But, as with other types of investments, there are also risks involved.
You Have To Prove You Deserve the Job | FastCompany
The world is flooded with college graduates this month eager to start that shiny new job. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you are looking for a job:
Happiness: Expert Advice On How To Be Happy In Life | Huffington Post
The lowdown behind the newest research on how to get more happy — right now.
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