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UPDATE: Success! Unglued: So You Want to Be a Librarian

So I’m sure you’ve heard of Unglue.it. I’ve blogged about Unglue.it (https://unglue.it/) before. Here’s an interesting model for ungluing a good and useful book to make it available for all.

Find So You Want to Be a Librarian at Google Books

So You Want to Be a Librarian

Lauren Pressley, 2009

https://unglue.it/work/76348/

70 Ungluers have pledged $2,174 toward a $9,000 goal

So You Want To Be a Librarian

As the title says, if you want to be a librarian, this book is for you. But it might also be for you if you want to help those who are new to the field, or you just want to be reminded of a big-picture view of librarianship as a profession. With your help, we can Unglue So You Want To Be A Librarian.

Help Unglue So You Want To Be A Librarian! from lauren pressley on Vimeo.

Why Should Librarians (and Those Who Want to be Librarians) Unglue? Unglue.it is something every librarian should be paying attention to. Part crowdsourcing, part open access, part answer to the ebook problem, it’s a solution to some of the most critical issues libraries are facing today. Ungluing a book gives it to the world, so that anyone can access the ebook without Digital Rights Management (DRM), without worrying about how many devices they’ve put it on, and without worrying about legality and compensation issues. Libraries can provide access to unglued books for free, forever, in any format — no need to worry about changing contract terms or pricing.

Why We Should Unglue This Book Librarianship is service-focused profession that is about connecting people and information. This book provides a realistic view of the field, covering a range of different types of libraries, assorted types of positions, and various challenges and changes that make librarianship exciting and keep it from getting old. Who will find it useful?

  • Library students: for its concrete strategies for how best to approach their library school experience;
  • Librarians: as a resource for encouraging people to join us in our work can use this book as a tool to show students, community members, or others all the various ways they can participate in the field;
  • Potential librarians: as a reference source to help point them to further resources and more specific areas of interest.

Beyond those that are in the immediate target audience, practicing librarians have also found the book relevant in their own work. As Peter Bromberg, Assistant Director of Princeton Public LIbrary, says:

I bought Lauren’s book primarily because I love her blog, and greatly enjoy the quality of her writing and thinking, and secondarily as a show of support to a friend and colleague. As a librarian with 17 years in the biz (clearly not the target audience) I didn’t think I’d necessarily get much out of the book, other than an enjoyable read.
Well I got that, but I also learned A LOT!! Lauren did an amazing job of covering so many aspects of librarianship–aspects that I frankly don’t engage with or think about often– that I got much more out of the book than I ever imagined I would.
Reading it was stimulating, energizing, and thought-provoking. It gave me a clearer idea about what my colleagues across the profession do, and I felt myself developing a stronger connection to a profession that I already felt quite connected to!
Based on my experience, I highly recommend the book to seasoned professionals as well as newbies. If you work in libraries, regardless of your position, or time in the field, this book is for you.

Helping out College Students The primary audience is a group that doesn’t have funds for extensive book collections. They’re college students and new graduate students. They have student debt, and are responsible for making tuition payments on limited income. Let’s unglue this book for college students considering the field, and graduate students just starting to explore it.

So What Do you Get Out Of it? You will get a thank you, a sticker, a book from Library Juice Press, or a Library Juice Press gift certificate, depending on the amount of your donation. And, ultimately, an Unglued book about librarianship to share with those who might want to do what you do for a living. You get a chance to participate in an experiment in an alternative model of information sharing. And, you get an opportunity to share both Unglue.it and the surprising profession of librarianship with the world.

Who is this author, anyway? My name is Lauren Pressley, and I love libraries. I care a lot about mentoring new professionals, and do so through my former graduate program and my institution’s formal mentoring program. I also blog, tweet, and am involved in the profession at a national level. I want people to know about the diversity of our professional work and what it is librarians actually do. I want to open up this field to the students who are majoring in computer scientist, business, communications, and other subjects, who might not have realized they have a great background for the field. I want to work with these people, and this book is a way to get them started. That’s why I wrote this book, and that’s why I hope we can Unglue.it.”

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UPDATE: the ungluing campaign for So You Want To Be A Librarian has been successful! so you *all* unglued this book. https://unglue.it/work/76348/

Stephen

 

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Posted on: December 29, 2012, 5:29 pm Category: Uncategorized

2 Responses

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  1. Thanks for updating, Stephen! We are SUPER EXCITED to be able to unglue a book by and for librarians.

  2. Thank you for the mention!! We are very excited about this!