Creating communities of practice: A shared culture of professional development

Engagement in professional development activities is an expectation for many library faculty and staff. The ways in which librarians grow as professionals has a direct impact on their work within their institutions, as well as the development of the library profession as a whole. Typically, professional development is encouraged and reinforced through a system of reappointment and promotion that is often measured by individual activities. The University of North Carolina Charlotte’s J. Murrey Atkins Library is field testing a model of engagement that redefines professional development as a collaborative endeavor that supports individual exploration and growth while, potentially, impacting the profession. The focus of this new model is a philosophy of collective action and community building through the establishment and growth of library-initiated communities of practice

We Are Your Library

RISD Fleet Library statement printed on signs adorning the library doors.https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/library_critical_librarianship/1000/thumbnail.jp

Displays and Exhibitions in Art Libraries

Book Review of Displays and Exhibitions in Art Libraries, ed. by Christine Milne and Annamarie McKie. ISBN 9780956276308. Reviewed by Lareese Hall

Nothing Tweetable: A Conversation or How to “Librarian” at the End of Times

In Brief In 2015, Joshua Finnell (JF) was appointed data librarian at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Shortly thereafter, in 2016, Lareese Hall (LH) was appointed Dean of Libraries at the Rhode Island School of Design. Lareese and Josh first met as newly appointed liaison librarians at Denison University in 2009. Since that time, they have remained friends and professional confidants. In early 2017, as they find themselves working on opposite sides of the arts and sciences spectrum, Josh and Lareese reflect on the perils, frustrations, hopes, and passions they still encounter and stoke in the library profession and in the off centered world in which we find ourselves