Keeping Up With the Profession

**See also Staff Training and Online Training Resources for Librarians

Tips for Keeping Up

• Make your first stop for "keeping up" Steven Bell's Keeping Up Web Site found at: http://staff.philau.edu/bells/keepup. This site lists more than a hundred different sources for developing a well-rounded keeping up regimen that includes e-newsletters, web page change detection services, good web sites to monitor (using WPCD services), and of course, some blogs. The philosophy of this site is that to really keep up with librarianship you need to go outside the boundaries of traditional librarianship, which means keeping up with internet search, information technology, teaching and learning, and (for academic librarians) higher education. For additional keeping up strategies take a look at this article published in College & Research Libraries News (July/Aug 2000) titled "To keep up, go beyond: Developing a personal professional development plan using e-resources outside the bounds of library literature"

• Subscribe to Current Cites, a monthly current awareness newsletter on information technology. A team of volunteers writes one-paragraph annotations on the best of current literature, web sites, etc.

Blogs/Websites to Watch

• Info Career Trends Lisjobs.com's Professional Development Newsletter
• LIScareer News 3-4 new articles each month relating to career management

Discussion Lists for Librarians

Finding Them

• The LISWiki Discussion Groups page is an organized list of library-related lists/discussion groups
• ALA's Open Discussion Lists
• [1] Librarian's Internet Index. Perform a search for "(library OR librarian) discussion list."
• Library Listservs-n-More
• [2] SLA's Discussion Lists (The e-mail address should match your SLA membership address, if you have one, otherwise you may not be able to access the "private" lists to which you are a member.)

Open Lists (Membership Not Required)

• GOVDOC-L: Discussion of Government Document Issues
• MEDLIB-L: An Email List for Medical Librarians
• TLA-L: A listserv for the Theatre Library Association.

Reference Sources for Librarians

• Whole Library Handbook 4 - Many topics of professional concern are addressed in this reference work.

• SaveLibraries.org - Website which keeps up-to-date information on programs and activities scheduled to keep libraries open and operating during the current recession; please add information about advocacy activities for your school, university, special and public libraries, because IF ONE LIBRARY IS IN TROUBLE, ALL LIBRARIES ARE IN TROUBLE. SaveLibraries.org was created and is managed by Lori Reed and Heather Braum. ... Thank you to LISHost.org and InMyBook.com for sponsoring SaveLibraries.org.

Specific Blog Posts/Articles to Check Out

• Growing Schools: Librarians as Professional Developers