+1 to TH5!
I’m also very new to the environment.. And I’m really liking what I see. Fifteen years of multi-billion dollar tech industry work makes what I’m seeing around library tech and the processes/services involved seem like a piece of cake. OTOH, I’m coming from a corporation which was under a huge amount of change (painful at times) for almost the entire 15 years I was there… I’m certain that someday the twitches that happen when I hear the word “reinvent” will stop. :)
Seriously though, the technology in the library is fascinating to me.. I thought we just had banks of card catalogs and microfiche!
#seeyouinphilly
Josh
On 3/2/16, 6:30 AM, "Code for Libraries on behalf of Tom Hutchinson" <[log in to unmask] on behalf of [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>I just wanted to say thank you for this thread. I recently jumped ship from industry and am still orienting myself. The non-technical aspects are a much bigger change than I anticipated; they are also precisely why I switched.
>
>To be honest I feel like I still don’t even really know what libraries / librarians are yet.
>
>Tom
>(th5)
>
>> On Mar 2, 2016, at 5:52 AM, Keith Gilbertson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> I also agree very much with what Deborah wrote. I'd come from an
>> IT/software development background, and even after a couple of years in
>> libraries, I hadn't adjusted to library culture. I was frustrated enough to
>> write a paper about it and present at ACRL:
>>
>> http://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/23885
>> Mutant Superheroes, Contained Chaos, and Smelly Pets: Library Innovation
>> through Imaginary Anarchy
>>
>> Reading my paper now, I recognize that I was completely wrong about a few
>> things (meetings aren't always terrible), and the tone seems entitled to me
>> today. But two of the things that I noticed that are considered good about
>> library culture were very stressful to me as a library newbie, and match
>> what Deborah has pointed out:
>>
>> - Emphasis on collaboration and consensus
>> - Expectation to work on multiple, simultaneous projects
>>
>> By the way, I've adjusted my attitude somewhat, and we've gotten better at
>> doing IT and software in the library and in our group, so I'm happy in
>> libraries now.
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Mar 1, 2016 at 9:39 PM, Fitchett, Deborah <
>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>> I actually feel that the tech side of library things may be less
>>> bewildering to a non-tech person than the *culture*. Things like:
>>>
>>> * the way any progress happens in University Time
>>> * the way we're dependent on vendors in ways that mean that yes, often our
>>> systems SUCK but we just have to play the hand we're dealt
>>> * the sometimes-fraught relationship between Library IT and University IT
>>> * the customer-focus of the library - including colleagues as customers
>>> * and relatedly, the collaborative nature of so much library work
>>> * depending on where they've come from and how well you're staffed, the
>>> very "bitsy" nature of Library IT, not just in having to know about lots of
>>> things but having to jump from one thing to another at a moment's notice to
>>> troubleshoot instead of being able to get stuck into a project
>>>
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