Welcome!

Wow! It’s so great to be here! I'm so excited to share my thoughts and insights about the library field with you all! 

I’ve been pondering this first post for the better part of a week … I could talk about that interesting Pew Internet study that hit the interwebs earlier this week … or how eBooks are taking a toll on libraries and publishing … or how book clubs are awesome and every library should have one or three … however, I chose to leave those beefy posts for a bit later. And tell you a little about me because it’s always nice to know a little about the voice behind the voice, if you know what I mean. 

So grab your coffee and prop up your feet … go ahead … I’ll wait ….

So remember when you interviewed for your first library job, or if you’re not there yet, when you got asked that age old question “Why do you want to be a librarian?” 

To that I answer: I have a passion for reading (don’t we all) and I enjoy working with all kinds of people, which is a good thing considering I interact with a variety of folks on a daily basis.  But the BEST part, in my opinion, is ALL of the questions I get to ask every day! I thrive on questions and answers and am forever asking my coworkers, my twitter followers, and my family and friends oodles of questions. Even questioning things that I know the answer to, just do double check myself. 

And second best is the technology – oh the technology involved in librarianship – staggering how fast it moves huh!?  Part of my job is to learn and to actively keep up with this technology….and, well, I’ll be honest, it makes my heart skip a beat. 

But that’s enough about me – tell me about you dear readers – why did you decide to be a librarian? Or if you’re pursuing your MLS, what made you make that leap? 

Til next time …

Welcome to the New 2013 Official BEA Librarian Blogger: Erin Holt

Before we introduce the 2013 Official BEA Librarian Blogger, we want to thank our 2012 Official BEA Librarian Blogger, Julie Jurgens. Julie was a pleasure to work with on our Librarian Blog for BEA 2012.

Now we would like to welcome the 2013 Official BEA Librarian Blogger: Erin Holt, Reference Librarian in Franklin, TN. Erin loves young adult literature, social media and  inter library loan; she looks forward to ending each day with her nose in a book, letting her imagination run free. Before attending library school, Erin worked in advertising in New York City. You can follow her on twitter at twitter.com/LibrarianE13, and, of course, here on the Official BEA Librarian Blog!

Please join us in giving Erin a warm welcome to the BEA blogosphere! We're so excited to be working with Erin this year and can't wait to start hearing her thoughts & insights; and we're sure she'll start some dynamic conversations with all our Librarian followers about the industry and BEA! 

Summer Reading

Last summer I wrote a long and rambling post about my dislike of summer reading, which you can read here. I still have most of those same feelings, and really wish that our education system would change for the better, but on the whole I really do enjoy summer reading and the fun, festive atmosphere it provides around reading and literature.

I also like that in recent years, having a summer reading program for adults has begun to gain more traction in more libraries. On WBEZ lately they’ve been stating a statistic that 53% of adults have “low or limited reading skills.” While most probably think of summer reading as a way to reward current leisure readers (who already see reading as its own reward and really don’t need or perhaps want an added incentive) I wonder which, if any, libraries are using summer reading as a chance to reach out to, program for, and otherwise engage and assist those struggling with illiteracy or limited literacy.

Many communities and librarians have been arguing lately about what people are reading (mostly women and teenagers but that’s a whole discussion unto itself) but perhaps those energies would be better focused on actually making sure people can read, period, rather than being the Good Taste and Worthwhile Literature Police.

What do you think?