The three things you must have to live in today’s library world

If you work in a library today you must have the following three things. Otherwise you’re not going to last. (And this is a bare minimum list. It could easily be longer.)

  1. emailIcon An e-mail address
    Seriously. There are librarians without an e-mail address. There are even library directors without one. This technology is more than 30 years old people. It’s not like I’m asking you to buy your own domain and run a mail server. Head on over to gmail and sign up now. (bonus tip: pick a username that actually resembles your real name.)
  2. images A Web presence
    Again, no domain name required. No HTML knowledge necessary. I’m not talking about a whole Web site, just a presence. Head on over to Facebook and create an account. Want something more “professional”? Use LinkedIn. Then, when someone asks for your contact information, you’ll actually have a URL you can give them along with your e-mail address.
  3. A photo of yourself
    Have a headshot available just in case someone asks. You may not be a regular speaker but you’ll be asked for one eventually. Maybe you’ll need one for a grant you’re submitting. Maybe the local paper will decide to interview you one day. Have one ready. Telling the requester you’ll need to get one taken and send it to them won’t give a great impression. Besides, you may want to use that photo as your Facebook or LinkedIn avatar. (I generally carry my camera with me and I’ve been told that I take some pretty good photos of people. Next time you see me, ask me and I’ll be happy to help out.)
  4. Bonus: An avatar
    Granted, you can use your headshot as your avatar on various other sites but sometimes you want something a little more “fun” than an official photo. Make yourself our of Lego. Wimpify or Simpsonize yourself. Create a WeeMee. Show a little bit of your personality when you can get away with it.

One Reply to “The three things you must have to live in today’s library world”

  1. Amen….it would have been so much easier to get in touch with people (like their class is cancelled) if an e-mail or webpage were available.

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