As ALA (American Library Association) Annual in Chicago fast approaches, there are many topics at the forefront.

1) Library as place

2) CORE values (sustainable)

3) AI's impact on library staffing and services

4) Librarianship is more than just being employed by a library

5) Library leadership in five, ten, fifteen, twenty years out and beyond

6) Libraries change the world!

And go!

Essential or not essential...

Essential or not essential, that is the question in a COVID-19 world!
-Sharon A. Sample

During the COVID-19 escalation, it was deemed that Library Staff were not essential and needed to stay home when the Shelter-in-place or Shelter at home orders were activated in various states.A dichotomy was born. Unionized public libraries were some of the last libraries to close to the public, especially in metropolitan areas. 

Several repercussions quickly arose. If closed to the public, what services would still be provided and how? If closed to the public, would library itself be closed completely, unstaffed? What possible legal actions could result? If a library remained open and staffed, what were the risks of exposure? How would staff be managed; compensated, furloughed, work remotely and etc.?

Core values versus COVID-19

The Coronavirus 

Mindfulness is the next topic. Stay tuned!

Fake or Not Fake News

What tools do you use to decide what is fake or a hoax?

Snopes.com is a great place to start when you receive forwards from friends, relatives, or others.

Midterm Election is fast approaching, so get your scoop before going to the poll:

https://www.politico.com/ 

https://www.factcheck.org/ 

Here is a top ten you may find useful:

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/2016/07/20/the-10-best-fact-checking-sites/ 

Remember to look for Accuracy, Currency, Authority, Reliability, Bias, and Validity

Here is an article via NPR to help you: https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/12/05/503581220/fake-or-real-how-to-self-check-the-news-and-get-the-facts



Common Sense Education 

Do you need to access Social Security Administration to replace a lost or stolen card, update address, or another reason? Did you know you can create your own secure login?

Just follow this link to get started:  https://www.ssa.gov/
 

SleuthyLibrarian: I have been busy searching for something worthy of...

I've been gone a while...I switched library types and have been trying to master public librarianship.



Watch for future posts, now that I have figured out the workaround since Blogger moved to Google.

50+ years of age employees substantially less productive?

Having recently read the Saul Levmore and Martha Nessbaum article titled Let's Agree on an Age to Retire, Wall Street Journal, which was buried in the Review section on C4 dated September 23-24, 2017. I strongly encourage anyone reading this Blog or following any other Social Media to become curious and get involved! 

Why should you care about what the authors say in this article? If nothing else, the claim that most individuals over the age of 50 are less productive should grab your attention. If not, the statement that employers view hiring individuals in the aforementioned age range as "a risky burden" should rock your world. 

Migrating from a defined-retirement plan to a defined-contribution plan gave the employees more justification to remain employed with a given employer or shop for a better fit. If employees are forced out of jobs by a certain age, they are very likely to be viewed as unemployable by other employers. Don't take my word or the authors viewpoint as gospel. 
Investigate Labor Laws and retirement for yourself, become proactive rather than reactive. Your future depends on it!

-Sharon, a Librarian