The first librarian blog that I chose to follow was The Gypsy Librarian. This blog is written by Angel Rivera, an Outreach Librarian in Texas, who has also been a Research librarian, a high school teacher and a college adjunct professor. The Gypsy Librarian has a companion blog as well, The Itinerant Librarian, which he uses to discuss issues with a more personal, opinionated tone.
Among the specific topics discussed on this blog are teaching libraries, library 2.0, the use of subject encyclopedias, and on reference services preferences by patrons. Having not particularly focused on academic or research libraries, these topics were mostly new to me, and I found the articles and entries to be quite educational.
One of the things that I found most useful about this blog was the article reviews. Rivera examines articles from other sources which pique his interest and provides commentary and/or rebuttal to the views expressed within. For example, the blog entry regarding an article in Library Trends about "Library 2.0" makes some very relevant points about the need for balance in library skills, particularly for students recently emerging from library school. Rivera points out that students should be up to date on emerging technologies, but that the importance of the role of the librarian is to use these technologies to help the patrons; finding a balance between the technological aspects and the interpersonal skills is a necessary part of learning to be a librarian. This entry reminded me that knowing how to use all of the web 2.0 technologies is less helpful than knowing how to teach others to use them, and understanding how the tools can be useful.
blog entry: http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/2011/03/article-note-on-becoming-librarian-20.html
The rebuttal to the "libraries are dying" hysteria, and the intended satire posted in The Chronicle of Higher Education (http://chronicle.com/article/Death-by-Irony-How-Librarians/125767/) also offered some very valid arguments and reasons why librarians are still necessary and useful. (And a bit of humor as well)
blog entry: http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/2011/01/can-we-please-stop-library-is-dying.html
Finally, I would like to add that one of the things that I found most useful about this blog didn't have to do with actual library issues at all. Rather, it seems that Angel Rivera and I have very different tastes in reading material. Frequent entries in this blog are reviews of books which Rivera has recently read, with reviews and links to his GoodReads reviews where applicable. I have never been a fan of science fiction, or of history, or of manga, or of graphic novels, necessarily. I recognize, however, that at a library, patrons are going to ask about genres with which I am not familiar. Reading the reviews of books that I can honestly say I will never have time or desire to read helps me to develop an understanding of the genre; a review by someone that has done enough research and reading to justify my acceptance of their opinion on the subject is helpful. Also, the reviews are detailed and clear, with explanations for what he dislikes or likes and why, based on his preferences for reading. I won't be using these reviews as a recommendation for what to read next, but I enjoy reading them and learning about the writing style and plots of the books which I may otherwise never have examined.
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