Our profession is steeped in a murky racial and gendered history. When Roxane Gay came on stage, the first thing she said to us was “man, there’s a lot of white people in this room.” And, she’s right. Librarianship has been feminized and white ever since Melvil Dewey. You remember, the Dewey decimal system guy? […]
Author: alpajews
I am a writer, poet, academic librarian, and scholar of environmental literature.
LOEX 2016: Grumpy conference notes and other things
The end of the Spring semester is a nightmare for academics most of the time, and it was especially so this year as I was finishing out my 1st full year at Paul Smith’s College and planning to conference the last week of the semester. Between visiting students in the residence halls, staffing the main […]
Professional growth: On moving on
This past semester was a whirlwind of change and sadness and joy. In August, I accepted a new position as the Student Outreach Librarian at Paul Smith’s College nestled in the Adirondacks of upstate New York. I have to say that it has got to be the most beautiful campus on earth. I can see […]
Marketing to Parents of College Students
I was recently asked to create some marketing materials that could be handed out to parents at New Student Orientation, and I jumped on the opportunity because anytime I get to be creative and draw, I’m happy. But, what do parents want to know about the library? Why should they care? This summer, I’ve spoken to […]
Library Marketing and Outreach Keynote Speech
Last week, I had the opportunity to give the opening keynote speech at the Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL) workshop at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. And you guys, it was awesome. I think this was the most comfortable I’ve ever felt speaking in front of an audience because the entire workshop was designed to get […]
Monarch Butterfly Workshop
Since 1990, nearly 1 billion monarchs have perished accounting for about 90 percent population decline. Like bees, monarchs are essential for pollination and like the bees, have fallen victim to excessive herbicide use on their lifeblood, the milkweed plant. Once flying by the billions over the United States between Mexico and Canada, only about 30 million remain. This […]
Off to Portland for ACRL 2015!
In a few short hours, I’ll be heading to Portland, Oregon for the 2015 Academic College and Research Libraries (ACRL) conference! I’ve never been to ACRL, so I’m super pumped and somewhat overwhelmed. Lucky for me, I’m going to be staying with a pretty awesome librarian blogging over at Librarian for Life & Style, so keep […]
Library Links & Loves: Professional Development
For me, professional development is the most important aspect of my job. Not only do the students benefit when I learn something new, but then I can share it with my co-workers and begin to make a larger cultural change. One of the reasons I took the job here is because I saw so much […]
Creek House Honey Farm
This post is originally published at Local Llano. It’s the science behind it that draws George and Paige Nester of Creek House Honey Farm in Canyon, Texas together to produce sweet, floral, and bright local honey. An intense love of the bees — an entire ecosystem in your hands — a world encompassed in a […]
Saying Thank You: A Post-Interview Essential
In the last few weeks, we’ve been interviewing for an evening Reference Librarian position, and it got me thinking about my own grueling job search, not so long ago! I remember stressing out about how much stuff I had to get together: update my CV to highlight what the posting is asking for, re-write my cover […]
Amy Pajewski 