Road trip!

As part of start my business, I am driving around central Texas and visiting small public libraries. On Monday I sent email to 23 library directors introducing myself, what I am attempting to do, and to offer them an opportunity to schedule a specific time to speak with me. I have had over half write back. Half of those I have scheduled appointments with for next week.

I wonder about the wording of my initial email. Perhaps these conversations will help me to clarify my language for the future. I am not looking to replace anyone's existing IT services, as many have city or county IT departments that they have to use. My hope is convey that I am the IT professional that specifically knows not only library systems but technology work flow with in libraries. I have spent many years as an in-house systems person. I understand the WHY a library wants/needs different network configurations or firewall considerations. And so much more....

I hope to be the IT person they bring to the table when planning a special project or trying to compose a tech related grant. Of course I can and am willing to do some computer maintenance, but I excel at speaking library with/to IT people. Or most importantly, I speak IT to librarians and their community. 

Simmons University

I spoke with the wonderful people at Simmons earlier this week about possibly being Adjunct Faculty. Specifically, we were talking about their LIS488 - Technology for Information Professionals course which is described on their website as: "This course provides the conceptual foundation and context of computing, Internet and related technologies as used in information-intensive professions. With an emphasis both on concepts (along with an emphasis on terminology that appears in the professional literature) and skills (interactive demos and/or hands-on sessions), the course encourages students in trying out and learning new pieces of technology. The course provides an overview of topics such as how computers work (hardware, software, history of IT); networking; internet, related technologies and the future of WWW; content management systems; RDBMS and XML; ethics; security; information search and retrieval; the impact and implications of technological change on libraries, archives and other information centers; technology today and tomorrow; and other related topics" (http://internal.simmons.edu/students/slis/current/courses/course-descriptions/all-courses). The syllabus reads as a wonderful parallel to my experience and a chance to give new librarians the extra tech edge they meed to get started on their path.

I am pleased to say that they have since expressed an interest in having me join their teaching pool. As with all adjunct opportunities, whether I will be teaching in any given semester depends on demand. However, the first hurdle has been jumped and there is a possibility that they may have need in the fall. 😀

What's next?

Well, indeed, I made it through. I am officially Dr. Tine. Of course the question everyone is now asking is "what's next?". This has been challenging for me to answer to myself. I have a very strobg desire to give back to the library profession. Libraries have saved my life in a number of ways throughout my life by giving me a home and purpose. Coupled with this is a strong sense of helping people and traching/training. My specific area of practical expertise is technology. My research area of interest is international librarianship. So how do I find a path which may afford me some joy at all of these levels?

Currently, I am seeking adjunct faculty opportunities to feed that teaching piece. I am trying to write about my international experiences, not soley from my dissertation. I am tryibg to create and build a library technology consulting practice to assist small and rural libraries. Of course, eventually I may need to get a day job if none of this is fruitful. But until then, I am trying to follow my passions.

I expect I will be posting here more as my world evolves. I encourage you to get in touch if anything I say touches a cord.