I always find these kinds of graphics interesting. Usually though, its because I’m interested in their design instead of the information. In this case, I think that this graphic brings to mind more questions than it answers but it’s still pretty.
1) The average librarian makes 60+ a year? I’m now wondering how they came up with that average. Obviously, they are taking full careers into consideration and not just the entry level positions. In which case, I wonder how many years an average librarian has to work to reach the average pay? And that makes me wonder, what is the average career span of a librarian? By this, do they mean only those working as a librarian or are they considering library manager, directors, and other higher management as well?
2) The highest largest amount of librarians are between 24 and 54? Are you freaking kidding me? So the average librarian is aged somewhere in the average age range for a person who has professional level career before retirement? I would be far more interested if this was broken down into at least 5 year increments since you need an MLIS to be a librarian and so few people get post graduate degrees before 24 anyway. People also begin to retire after 54 so this 30 year age range makes this data completely uninteresting. Basically they are saying that people in the average working age range have jobs.
3) The left and right brain stuff is kinda interesting, but what is more interesting is what the crap is written in all those little subsections of this girl’s cranium? I mean, there could be anything in there! I think, at least its my guess, that this is where the how to clean the toilet, dealing with unruly patrons watching porn, and changing lightbulbs is listed in the graphic because I don’t see that anywhere else. The big stuff on the outside is everything I thought librarianship was going to be, and the I’m guessing the stuff on the inside is all the other stuff nobody tells you about.
4) The where they work part is actually interesting, I liked this part.
5) Brief history? No kidding… Franklin to Dewey? What about Carnegie!? This crap is only 150 years long and at its most recent it’s 130 years out of date!! Libraries have been around since 350 BC and this is the crap they decided to show? WTF?
6/7) Gender and recreational activities are also fairly uninteresting because it’s exactly what you would expect. But I want to add a section. I think that overall, librarians most significant recreational activity is kicking ass and being awesome! So where is that catagory?
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At the time of writing this blog post, I’ve read two articles on the death of reference. The first was called “
I’ve been thinking about some of our libraries most successful programs and services that we offer. I realized that almost all of the most successful ones have come from partnerships that have been cultivated by the staff. These partnerships have led to larger program numbers, a wider array of programs, and increased services and collections. Even more importantly, we are being offered money and resources to provide some things that we wouldn’t have been able to provide before. The following list are some of the partnerships we have at EPA Library.
This partnership isn’t complete yet, but it bears mentioning. I received a grant to 
An organization called 
This is my grant narrative for the East Palo Alto E-Reader Lending Library. This opportunity arose because a neighboring library had a friends group with unspent funds from a grant. The money needed to go towards the implementation of some kind of technology. Basically, I know that a 
The East Palo Alto Library, as a branch of the San Mateo County Library, seeks to create innovative and exciting collections to engage our users in ways that meet their changing needs. We have established unique collections as part of the East Palo Alto Library that includes a Seed Library, circulating laptops, and a newly implemented Guitar Lending Library. By expanding our unique collections to pre-loaded and high-demand subject-specific e-readers we are seeking to engage the public with resources that they may otherwise lack access to. Some of these non-fiction resources would include career- and job-seeking guides, as well as cooking, entrepreneurship, business management, and travel guides. Besides non-fiction, the East Palo Alto Library has a high demand for some genres and authors of fiction materials as well. Some of these include many urban fiction series, mysteries, thrillers, and various authors within these genres. These kinds of collections can help adults with their educational and recreational resource needs.
E-readers also lend the library with interesting and new opportunities for collection development. The “collections” kept on the e-readers can vary widely and because an e-reader can hold up to 3,500 books, many varied collections can be kept on one e-reader. These collections are easily and cheaply interchanged if needed and can be supplemented with many of the free e-book resources found online as well as through access to the library’s Overdrive digital book resource. These kinds of innovations will allow the library to continuously interchange collections while not being forced to throw away or weed existing collections thereby creating a greener organization as well.
Just as one seed can produce many seeds, one idea can change many lives. Free public libraries were revolutionary in their time because they provided access to books and knowledge that had not previously been available to a large segment of the population. A free seed lending library can also provide people with a chance to transform their lives and communities by providing access to fresh, healthy food that may not otherwise be available.
Collective Roots is a local non-profit that “seeks to educate and engage youth and communities in food system change through sustainable programs that impact health, education, and the environment.” This group is also responsible for the East Palo Alto Farmer’s Market that is held every Saturday from 2-5pm in front of the EPA YMCA. They also work with youth and adults to design and sustain organic gardens on school and community sites that are linked with kindergarten through 12th grade curriculum provided by Collective Roots.
.” Let me state that I HATE this book for a number of reasons. *But really, the power of the theory behind the book is the power of positive thinking. By believing that what you want can be accomplished you can accomplish it.* So, as a profession we need to begin this cycle of believing we can accomplish everything we need to. I don’t think that this can start from the position of negativity or self-doubt that I keep seeing and hearing but needs to begin from a position of positive actions. What better way to begin this cycle than through a party and celebration of our profession? 
This is a conversation that I have had many times. In fact, I said something similar here in 
This was a completely random and recent thought that I had in the 
If you were a past or current EL you can support your fellow Emerging Leaders by voting for them in the 2011 ALA Elections! I’d link all of their info but it looks like you can’t get to it unless you have logged in to the ALA site for voting. 
The ALA Think Tank grew from a group that was originally conceived at the ALA Annual conference in Washington DC as a way to save money on conferences. The original 13 members were made up of young librarians and leaders who had an interest in doing more for the profession and getting more out of the conference. From this, we realized that we cou…ld take advantage of the shared experiences and knowledge of the group and gain even more from the conference. We began brainstorming ways to improve conferences for younger professionals, find ways that ALA can work to better support new young leaders in the profession, and generally advocate for the next generation of librarianship.
PC Sweeney 