Laura Townsend Kane

This book provides a nice overview of various segments of the library field. I enjoyed reading the spotlights of professionals in the different fields. Common threads, aside from a library science degree, included continuing education, networking, and coming to library science after other jobs and careers. The things I enjoyed reading about most in this book were about nontraditional libraries, the academic instructional services librarian, the San Diego Zoo librarian, the the clinical librarian in a hospital.

(On a personal note, a couple of librarians in "Spotlight" sections mentioned working at Duke, but I don't know either one.)… (mais)

Laura Townsend Kane's "Working in the Virtual Stacks: The New Library & Information Science," written primarily for those considering a career in libraries and those considering a mid-career change, is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in how libraries and library work are changing. Featuring interviews with more than 30 library insiders, "Working in the Virtual Stacks" introduces us to librarians as subject specialists; technology gurus and social networkers; teachers and community liaisons; entrepreneurs; and administrators in the five sections of her book. Even better for those of us involved with libraries as well as with training-teaching-learning within and outside of library land, we find numerous examples of library staff members as lifelong learners and facilitators of learning within the communities they serve. We can't go more than a few pages in this insiders' view without coming across references to library staff members' dedication to learning--their own as well as that of the library users they serve onsite and online. There are also numerous examples of library staff members promoting the use of online social media tools not only to complete the work they do but also to reach those in need of their services--just as many of us do in workplace learning and performance (staff training) endeavors outside of libraries. Most importantly of all, there is Kane herself confirming that "the days of sitting for hours at the reference desk, waiting for patrons to approach with questions, are long gone....librarians are expected to keep up with changing technologies" (p. 3)--just like the rest of us. And the best of them are there to help us through the transition in which we are still so deeply immersed in our careers as trainer-teacher-learners.… (mais)

The authors reviews several areas of librarianship: public, academic, school, special, and nontraditional. Each area has a descriptive overview of that area, profiles of people with a variety of jobs in that area, and sample job descriptions with a list of the common responsibilities of that job, required education and training, and related professional organizations. I have to confess I only skimmed most of the book, only taking time to read the parts that interested me the most. However, this is a great book for anyone considering librarianship.… (mais)