Yesterday, I had lunch with a PhD student who had just successfully defended their dissertation proposal the day before. As we talked about why we do what we do in grad school, it prompted me to think through my own reasons for pursuing another graduate degree, this time in theology. There were things discussed inContinue reading “What I didn’t know”
Category Archives: career
Sundays are in danger
Sundays are in danger of wholeheartedly turning into the I-am-dreading-Monday day of the week. I wake up and immediately start to worry about what I need to accomplish before having to go back to work the next day, which includes not just regular work, but also what I have to do in terms of completingContinue reading “Sundays are in danger”
Organizational weirdness, again
It is really painful when the OW Factor ratchets up to a ten. Remember: the OW Factor, a completely made-up rating, stands for Organizational Weirdness Factor, with ten being the highest and zero being the lowest possible score. I invented it when working years ago in an environment where there was enormous dysfunction, the mostContinue reading “Organizational weirdness, again”
Challenges facing liberal arts college libraries
In the past few years, I’ve been fortunate enough to be interviewed for leadership roles in other academic libraries. One example was for a peer institution, where I was asked to present my perspectives on challenges facing liberal arts college libraries to a wider audience during my on campus interview. As is usually the caseContinue reading “Challenges facing liberal arts college libraries”
Five laws of library data
I propose a Ranganathan-esque set of laws for library data. I do this without any grand conceit or purpose, and for all I know, someone else might have come up with this before and done it better. I haven’t checked. I simply began thinking recently about library data and how it can be used, re-used,Continue reading “Five laws of library data”
Dealing with profound disappointment
Sooner or later, you will almost certainly encounter a time when you are profoundly disappointed in your career. Suggestions for handling those periods is the focus of this post. Causes for disappointment are quite varied and the following might not apply to every situation. I have not “solved” this common problem and that is notContinue reading “Dealing with profound disappointment”
Neglect
I’ll admit it: I’ve neglected this blog lately. I’m not sure of all the reasons why although the most common one is that it has felt like one more thing to do. And I don’t need or want “one more thing to do.” I read an interesting article recently about someone in higher education whoContinue reading “Neglect”
Strange(r) things
Strange(r) things have been happening lately. For example, did you know that such a thing as Green Bean Casserole Pizza exists? And that it is actually tasty? And that it comes from Aldi? Weird, but true. Another example: a coworker asked me how I know for sure what I believe (referring to my faith). ThisContinue reading “Strange(r) things”
The vacation that wasn’t
My previous post was overly optimistic and positive. In reality, a week of vacation turned into a week of mostly work with a bit of vacation. Grump, grump, grump. In many ways this was because a controversy broke while I was away regarding copyright guidance I gave for the campus as a whole. (At theContinue reading “The vacation that wasn’t”
Tech rich
Although there has been a lot to be disappointed about lately, there has also been some good stuff happening as well, especially when it comes to technology. I recently discovered that my favorite maker of iPad cases with keyboards, Logitech, has a case designed for the iPad Pro that includes a trackpad. This is somethingContinue reading “Tech rich”
The OW Factor 