‘Tis the Season for Lists, Awards, and Nominations

by Emily Hamstra

I always look forward to this time of year for many reasons–spending time with family and friends over the holidays, the end of a busy semester is approaching, and of course, lists and awards galore. I was delighted by this year’s National Book Award winners. Yesterday, The New York Times released the 100 Notable Books of 2012.

As you scour your favorite lists and anticipate your favorite award winners this year, I want to remind you to add RUSA’s lists and awards to your list of lists and award to watch. The RUSA awards are given out yearly to honor outstanding librarians, stellar books, and forward thinking publishers and editors. The RUSA awards are something that I look forward to. I always find the winners inspiring and encouraging, and I learn about exciting resources through the awardees.

The nominations for the RUSA awards are due December 15th. There certainly isn’t better way to honor your colleagues, someone who inspires you, or your favorite resource than by putting forward an award nomination! Do you know of a library or librarian who has developed a resource or guide to literature to meet the unique needs of patrons? If so, consider recommending them for the Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Reference and Adult Library Services Award. The winner of this award will receive $3,000. Where do you go to find a good book review? Do you have a favorite book reviewer or book blog you follow? If so, consider nominating an outstanding book reviewer, book review medium, or an organization for the Louis Shores Award. The winner will be recognized at the RUSA Awards Ceremony at the ALA Midwinter Conference. There are too many awards to mention them all, so read about all the awards on the RUSA Awards website.  

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Taking a Tumble with Tumblr

Recently,  The Digital Shift put together a fantastic article on Library and Literary Tumblrs to follow. The recommendations were fun and intriguing, and they really caught my eye and interest. Yet the article also left one slight, nagging, vaguely embarrassing question: “What on earth is a Tumblr, exactly?”

I’ve been following a few Tumblrs in my RSS feedreader, but had never really explored them in depth before. I had the sense that they were a mix between a Twitter tweet and a full-force blog, but the actual dynamics of the platform escaped me. Spurred on by the article, I decided to jump feet first into the world of Tumblr.

To begin my journey, I began with another excellent article from The Digital Shift, this one entitled Tumblrarian 101 by  Kate Tkacik. It very efficiently outlined what a tumblr was (my suspicions proved right: Tumblr is a mix between Twitter and blogging, with a bit of social networking tossed in for good measure), and explained the benefits of joining and following the platform. The article also linked to an extensive list of libraries and librarians already on Tumblr. Informed, I was ready to start tumbln’ myself.

Joining proved easy: to create an account, you need only an email address. Tumblr then walks you through an easy, intuitive process where you select a user name, choose topics the interest you, find friends already on Tumblr, and learn how to create your own posts and reblog other posts from people you follow. It’s incredibly easy, and within moments, it was simple to see why so many people have flocked to it. The Tumblr controls are simple to use and easy to intuit. The nature of the platform allows for quick posts and easy sharing, creating an altogether welcoming environment for a newbie of any level.

It’s fair to say I’ve taken a tumble for Tumblr- how about you, Dear Readers? Are you one of the many librarians on Tumblr? Any advice for newbie Tumblr users? Or perhaps, Dear Reader, you’ve been waiting to join? If so, then take the plunge with me, and let’s have fun tumbln’ together!

Follow us down the rabbit hole!

Do you have a story to share? Chasing Reference loves to venture down into the rabbit hole of librarianship, and we’d love to have you join us! Whether it’s a day-in-the-life exploration, an examination of an interesting service, or a fun and unique look at the world of libraries, we want to hear your story! If you are interested in contributing a post to Chasing Reference, and joining us on our journey, please email us at chasingreference@gmail.com. Follow us down the rabbit hole- things get curiouser and curiouser, indeed!

Curiouser and Curiouser: What caught our eyes online this week

“Curiouser and Curiouser!” cried Alice…
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Welcome to Chasing Reference’s weekly roundup of the curious articles and links that have caught our eye this week!

• The Scholarly Kitchen weighs in on the Georgia State copyright case: http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2012/05/17/final-score-in-the-georgia-state-game-library-94-publishers-5/

• Esquire Magazine launching fiction e-books for men: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2012/05/esquire-adding-fiction-e-books-goes-back-to-the-future.html

• Need a laugh? Read the best of the “replace a word with librarian” tweets.

• Meredith Farkas weighs in on setting priorities in academic libraries.

• Justin Hoenke looks at analog and digital signs in the library, and how he uses Tumblr to display interesting things on the digital signs in the teen room.