Committee Service and the Fledgling Librarian: Creating Community, Confidence, and Employability

As a librarian-in-training, you face many demands on your time - classes, homework, a job, a marriage, a family - the list can go on and on. In the midst of all these school- and life-related responsibilities, committee service is something people often defer until after graduation. This is unfortunate, because the benefits of participation in committees, round tables, and other groups early in your career cannot be overstated. With only a small time commitment, local professional service can provide you with an invaluable - and underrated - way to meet people, gain experience in the profession, and land yourself the job or promotion you want

Being a New Librarian in a New Library: What to Expect When You Take the Plunge

Just prior to my graduation I was offered a position at a new branch campus of Johnson and Wales University, a small private school esteemed for its culinary program. Largely due to the advice of my professors I decided to make the leap from graduate school into the unknown territory of this new university and its new library. My library science professors had often extolled the virtues of being involved in the birth of a new library; their wondrous depictions of their experiences inspired me to get involved as well. Of course, my professors had not so often mentioned that starting a new library (or any business) can be a chaotic experience that will always defy your expectations. In this article I hope to tell other would-be library planners what they can expect from this type of venture and add my voice to the chorus of those who recommend the experience

Personal Bias in Library Collections and Services

Regardless of library type, size, or the number of collecting librarians, selection based on personal values can be difficult or even impossible to avoid. Lack of exposure to varied sources or lesser known points of view can lead to unbalanced collections. Also adding to the difficulty of establishing balanced collections is the demise of the small publisher. Without a varied group of publishers, access to diverse views grows ever more limited. Large publishers that focus on the bottom line are less likely to publish works that may not find a mainstream audience. While the availability of materials lies outside the control of the average librarian, there are a number of resources designed to help individuals or groups charged with collection development make informed and unbiased selections. This article contains an annotated list of some of these resources

Review of The Successful Academic Librarian by Gwen Meyer Gregory

This is a book review of The Successful Academic Librarian by Gwen Meyer Gregory

Webinar Series Title Changed to Honor Founding Member

Pat Carterette passed away recently. A webinar series she helped found has been renamed in her honor

Growing like the Plants from Unseen Roots : The Equalizing Role of Plant Imagery in Aurora Leigh

Plant imagery abounds in Elizabeth Barrett Browning\u27s novel-poem, Aurora Leigh, and critical readings have not thoroughly explored the meaning of and intent behind that imagery. Plant metaphor and images in Aurora Leigh are used to challenge the concept of Victorian women\u27s inherently inferior nature and to present an argument for female equality. When traced throughout the work, plant imagery foreshadows Aurora and Marian\u27s ultimate personal independence and familial harmony and helps the reader to understand the poem\u27s controversial ending. Ties to three of Browning\u27s literary influences in the selection of plant images are explored: Emanuel Swedenborg, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Each of these three understood and used nature imagery to significant effect in their own writings, and Browning adopted and developed those images in her work