Interview with Jessamyn West

Interview with Jessamyn West

Alright ladies and gentleman here is the first official LISSA Denton Blog Interview. For those of you who didn't read my previous posting I will be interviewing people in the upcoming year several times a month currently employed in the LIS field. These individuals will come from both traditional and nontraditional settings. I will be asking every person the same set of questions, for the most part, to give all of you a better understanding of what life as a LIS professional is really like and the wide variety of settings and environments these individuals are employed in. If you have any requests for types of LIS fields you would like me to post just shoot me an email or post a comment on the blog. If you would like to submit an interview or suggest someone you would like me to interview please also email me or post on the blog.

Our first interviewee is Jessamyn West.

For those of you who don't know who she is I have included her brief bio from her website below:

Jessamyn West is a community technology librarian and a moderator of the massive group blog MetaFilter.com. She lives in a rural area of Central Vermont where she teaches basic computer skills. She assists tiny libraries with technology planning and implementation, helping them with wifi and websites and making sense of their systems. She maintains an online presence at jessamyn.com and librarian.net and has had her address and phone number on the Internet for a decade. Her favorite color is orange.

Other bullet-point type information that may or may not be helpful.

-former ALA Councilor
-co-editor Revolting Librarians Redux
-librarian.net was one of the first librarian weblogs
-runs metafilter.com especially the question asking/answering part of the site Ask Metafilter.
-official blogger at the Democratic National Convention 2004
-"the FBI has not been here" signs
-Wikipedia article en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessamyn_Charity_West

So as you can see she's kind of a library celeb of sorts. Needless to say I couldn't wait to ask her a couple questions about her LIS career. Now lets get to the part you've all been waiting for the interview questions!

What is your educational/professional background?

I have an undergraduate degree in linguistics from Hampshire College
and a MLib from the University of Washington.

When you graduated college/graduate school what were your career goals/have they changed since?

I wanted to be a rural librarian and now I live in a rural area mostly
doing technology work but sometimes working as a rural librarian. I
like rural library work, but I think wanting to run my own library was
a goal that wasn't as attainable as I thought. Actually what i wanted
to do was LIVE IN the library I worked at, and while I tried hard to
do that, I haven't managed it yet.

When/how did you decide the LIS career path was for you?

When I got out of college and I thought about what I really had
enjoyed doing most when I was in college. The answer was looking
things up and doing research at the library. I have always loved to
read, and to help people, and there was a great library school just up
the road. It worked out perfectly.

What does a typical work day look like for you?

I have a lot of small jobs so there is really no typical day. Today I
got up around 10, had coffee, checked the website, MetaFilter.com
where I work as a community manager. Then I went to the vocational
high school in town that I work at, did IT stuff for a few hours
[helping people with software installations and getting their email
working] and then I did "drop-in time" for two and a half hours.
Anyone in the community can come by the computer lab and I will help
them with their computer issues. I had someone who came in to do
email, someone who had laptop questions, a whole family who had a new
laptop and wanted help setting it up and two young adults from the
evening degree program who wanted to catch up on facebook before
class. Then I went and had dinner with a friend and now I'm writing
this and will probably work some more on my book about teaching
technology to novice computer users before a nighttime scrabble game
and then bed.

What is your favorite/least favorite thing about your job?

Every day is different. I like that I've managed to achieve some sort
of status and reputation and someone who knows what she is talking
about but at the same time not get up to an alarm clock every day. I
love helping people and I love living in a rural community and I'm
happy I can make a living at it.

What is your salary range/What can students interested in working in your type of LIS profession
look to make as far as salary (both starting out and over time)?

It really varies. I make an annual salary in the mid five figures with
my community management job. The local high school pays me between
$20-50/hour for the work I do there. When I work at the local public
library I make $8/hour. Writing the book is going to pay very little.
When I go places to give speeches, I get paid in the
high-three-low-four figures depending on what I do and how long I'm
there. It's a weird way to make a living but it works well for me.

How do you think your education prepared you/didn't prepare you for your current career?

I didn't learn as much about the business side as I could have used. I
feel that I don't know as much about working with vendors and budgets.
I feel that I learned a good amount about computers, considering that
it was 1993-1996 at the time. I feel that I learned a lot about
working with lots of different sorts of people, in ways that are
helpful to me. I feel that UW gave me a good ethical foundation of
what it really means to be a librarian and that's been helpful to me
all the way along.

What advice do you have for current/graduating library and information science students?

DO NOT GO INTO SERIOUS DEBT FOR LIBRARY SCHOOL. Seriously. Get
practical experience with technology and in libraries before you
graduate. Realize that many great jobs don't happen in a library
setting and think about other places you could use your brain to be
useful. Get involved in professional organizations like ALA or TXLA
[which is really one of the best state library associations in the
country, seriously] and take advantage of some of their mentoring
programs and learn to do public speaking and interact with other
professionals maybe outside of your specialty or geographic area.
Interact with other librarians online and enjoy the social scene in
addition to the professional scene. There are a lot of great people
doing great things lately and there's always room for more.

What changes do you foresee for the field of Library and Information Science in the next five to ten years?

I'm a very poor futurist, so I always answer "More of the same, even
if you think otherwise"

Well there you have it folks. I hope I provided you all with some useful information and special thanks to Jessamyn for being so helpful. If you would like to know more about Jessamyn or you have some questions for her please visit her at her website librarian.net

New Year, New Blog

Hello all my name is Angel and I am the new secretary/treasurer of LISSA Denton for the upcoming school year. I will be changing the format of this blog. From now on it will be a post for interviews with individuals currently employed in the LIS field. Every two weeks there will be a new interview for LIS students to checkout. I will try to find individuals from both traditional and non traditional library settings so that people about to enter the work world get a true sense of what it is to be a "librarian" in todays work world. Stay tuned for more information. I will post links to the facebook and twitter when I have posted a new interview.

LISSA Elections

It is time for LISSA elections. This year, voting will be done through the SLIS Village. If you want to vote, but are not yet a member of the Village, email Jennifer.LaFleur@unt.edu to sign up.

To vote for the next President and Vice President, send the name of the candidates you would like to vote for to Jennifer LaFleur in an email within the SLIS Village. Please submit your votes by 5 pm on Monday, May 3rd. Here are the candidates:

President

Staci Young - I would like to serve as LISSA President, because I believe in the potential of the LISSA organization. I would like to develop programs to give us all more opportunities for professional development, professional networking, leadership, service and fundraising, all of which are facets of Librarianship that are imperative for careers as information professionals. I believe with the best resources, which UNT offers, the LIS student body will become the information leaders of Texas and potentially the US. I am the best candidate to lead LIS students in this direction.

Will Senn - I am a PhD student in the Information Science program. I earned my Masters in Library and Information Science at UNT in 2009. I have previously served as the SLIS SGA Senator and I am currently the College of Information's Alumni representative on the University Library committee. I would like to have the honor and opportunity to lead this successful organization in the coming year.

Vice President

Jaeger Wells - Hello, I am Jaeger Wells and I am currently in my first semester here at UNT in the SLIS program. I am running for the position of Vice President because I am a firm believer that at the heart of an academic department, there needs to be a strong student organization supporting the students interests. I believe that I could help make LISSA an even better organization than it is by doing more marketing as well as making students more aware of the resources available from LISSA. I am qualified for the position of Vice President because I have many years experience promoting and bringing people together as well as leading organizations. During my undergraduate career I was on the Executive board for the University of Southern Maine's chapter of Phi Kappa Sigma; running business meetings, setting up fundraising, as well as setting up philanthropic outings. As a small business owner, I ran On The Rocks Productions based out of Portland, Maine, organizing, promoting, and booking local all ages rock shows around the Southern Maine area. One of my biggest accomplishments was putting together a 2 day music festival featuring local, regional, and national acts; drawing a ground of over 200 people each day. I am able to communicate quite effectively with a variety of different people. I think my diverse background would help serve the LISSA community in fresh new ways.

Amber Bookman – I am a first year graduate student in the SLIS program and pursuing the school librarianship track. I received my B.A. in Literary Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2003. Following graduation I worked at several law firms in the Houston area with the intent of attending law school and pursuing a legal career. A couple of years after working in the field, I determined that my true interest was in teaching. I relocated back to the DFW area in Fall 2009 and began my MLS in the Spring. I begin the alternative teaching certification program this summer with the hope of securing a K-6 teaching position in the Fall. I currently volunteer at the Lewisville Public Library and am an Administrative Consultant to Angela Fraser Realty. For fun I enjoy reading, cooking, watching HGTV or the Travel Network, spending time outdoors, visiting with my husband, our pets, friends and family and meeting new and interesting people. I am excited about the strength and diversity of the individuals I have met thus far in the LIS program. LISSA is an opportunity for fellowship among all LIS students since we all share the same goal, to go forth and manage the information frontier! I hope to become an active contributor to the organization and encourage others to do the same.

And congratulations to our new Secretary/Treasurer and Members at Large, who are running unopposed:

Secretary/Treasurer

Angel Durr - My name is Angel Durr and I have been to most of the LISSA events throughout the year. I have experience being a treasurer as I was treasurer of the Texas State University College Democrats for a year. I really want to get more involved on campus and I think becoming an officer in LISSA would be the perfect way to do that. This is my second semester in the SLIS program and my field of study is law librarianship. I plan on graduating next May (if all goes well!). I am 22 and I am from Austin, Texas. I am very responsible and I was very involved in my undergraduate career with such activites as student government, student organizations, and an internship. Therefore, time management is no issue for me. I really hope next year we can plan some great events to draw some of our fellow LISSA students out of the woodwork, which I know can be somewhat difficult because of the nature of our program. However, I am up for the challenge!

Members at Large

Howard Marks - As an active member of both ALA and TLA, I would very much like to serve as a LISSA officer. I am a dedicated, passionate library and information science graduate student at the University of North Texas who strongly feels libraries are the key to learning both on a local and global basis for people of all ages. My recent work experience was serving two months at the Fort Worth Public Library as a temp reference librarian helping patrons. After ten plus years as a professional advertising and marketing copywriter crafting words to reshape the present, my dream is to enable others to learn from words of the past to become part of a promising future. I plan on graduating in December 2010. I have been active as a volunteer in organizations in the past, including Newsletter Chairperson of the Gulfport-Biloxi Advertising Club and as a Big Brother for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of North Texas. I currently help out to serve meals for the homeless at the Bridge in downtown Dallas on occasion.

Stephanie Boring - I am originally from Houston and attended Stephen F. Austin State University in East Texas for my undergraduate degree (Child Development and Family Studies - nothing like Library and Information Science!). I worked in the private sector for about 7 years and realized my passion for library science quite recently. I have now completed 18 hours of my masters and desire to pursue a career in preservation upon graduation. In my college sorority I was an officer and truly enjoyed the experience and the first-hand understanding of the group which accompanies these positions. I would love to serve in a similar capacity with LISSA.

LISSA Officer Elections - Call for Nominations

LISSA officer elections are coming up. Five positions are available: President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, and 2 Member-at-Large positions. This is a great opportunity for anyone looking to develop leadership skills, become more involved in UNT's Library and Information Science program, and network with students, faculty, and professionals in the field. If you are interested in running, please e-mail the following information to untlissa@gmail.com by noon on Friday, April 23rd: name, position for which you are running, and a paragraph about yourself.

Here is a description of each position and its responsibilities:

President:
The President of the Association shall preside over the meetings of the Association, both general assemblies and the meetings of the Executive Committee. The President shall be responsible for all communications to officers, the general membership, the Dean, the faculty, and the staff regarding Association meetings, assemblies, activities, and other pertinent information regarding the Association. The President shall act as the official liaison between the Association and the Dean, faculty, and staff of the School of Library and Information Sciences, the University of North Texas (UNT) Student Association, and the UNT campus and administration. The President shall appoint chairs for Association committees. The President shall also attend Faculty/Student Council or will designate a representative to serve in his/her place.

Vice-President:
The Vice-President shall assist the President in the performance of that position and shall serve in that position in the event that the President is absent. The Vice-President shall have primary responsibility for programming Association functions. The Vice-President shall also be responsible for the upkeep of the Association bulletin board.

Secretary/Treasurer:
The Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for the recording of minutes at all meetings of the Association. The Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for the distribution of the minutes to all members of the Association. Financial responsibilities include the conducting of any financial transaction and accounting which is conducted by the Association and the reporting of such activity.

Member-at-Large:
Members-at-Large shall be responsible for chairing committees as appointed by the President. The Members-at-Large shall also be responsible for assisting the Vice-President with the programming for Association functions. In addition, one Member-at-Large will be responsible for the distribution of information regarding the American Library Association (ALA) (convention information, scholarships, etc.) and one Member-at-Large will be responsible for the distribution of information regarding the Texas Library Association (TLA)(convention information, scholarships, etc.)

Tour the Exhibits at Dallas Public Library

Join us on Friday, April 9th for a tour of the Dallas Public Library exhibits and a discussion of cultural heritage objects and libraries. The tour is at the J. Erik Jonsson library (1515 Young St, Dallas, TX) and starts at 3:00 pm. After the tour, everyone is welcome to join us at Iron Cactus to wait out the rush hour traffic.

If you would like to attend, email untlissa@gmail.com. We will let you know where you can park for free. If you are interested in carpooling from Denton, please mention in the email whether you have space for additional riders or if you need a ride.

Free Webinar - Getting Involved in TLA

Getting Involved in TLA • Tuesday, March 30, 10 - 11 am

NEW free TLA Webinar just in time for Conference! Join former TLA President Gretchen McCord Hoffman for a 1-hour discussion on opportunities in the nation's largest state library association. Learn how TLA resources can help you improve your library, your career, and your profession.
Just go to http://tinyurl.com/tlareg to register!*

The webinar is completely free and requires no downloads. Participants will need Internet access and a nearby telephone. Instructions for logging into the web site (www.readytalk.com) will be sent prior to the event, along with instructions for dialing into the toll free conference call.

Check out other great webinars coming your way from TLA at www.txla.org/ce, including the Strategic Initiatives series on leadership. Speakers will be Maureen Sullivan, ACRL Academic Librarian of the Year, and Molly Raphael, former director of the award-winning Multnomah County Library, as well Joel Garza, principal of East Early College High School in Houston.

*Full address is https://secure.txla.org/secure/forms/mtgLogin.asp.

Finding a Job in a Federal Library

The Virginia/West Virginia LISSA branch has organized a find-a-job-in-federal-libraries chat with panelists from a variety of federal/military libraries--they'll be discussing the job market for 2010/2011, tips for interviewing, resumes, etc. Since this group has had such a great response in offers to be panelists (and since the information to be covered would be useful to everyone, not just Virginia residents), they are opening this up to the whole UNT LIS community. The chat will take place in the SLIS Village Wimba classroom on April 7th from 6-8pm CST.