A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to chat with Steve Thomas, the master mind behind Circulating Ideas - if not the only, then certainly the coolest, librarian podcast!
I've been listening to Steve's show since his very first episode, so it was a thrill to be included in his latest episode - a two parter featuring many of LJs Movers and Shakers. Steve is a public librarian from Georgia, but one of the things I love about Circulating Ideas is that it includes voices from all corners of libraryland.
True story:
Once, when I first became a librarian, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop that was attended by both public and academic as well as school librarians. The person leading the workshop actively refused to refer to either the academic or the school librarians as "librarians." She would say things like "one thing that librarians, media specialists and people who work in the college setting have in common is...." This is an extreme example, of course, but it's not the only time I've experienced this kind of separation between librarians, with each group believing its constituency to be the REAL librarians. Perhaps if there's one tiny silver lining to the economic disaster that has disproportionally impacted libraries, it's that we no longer have time for ridiculous pursuits like this. As Dr. King said, "we might have come here on different ships, but we're all in the same boat now."
But I digress.
My original point was that Steve's show is about all forms of librarianship and as someone who has benefited from listening to the questions he asks and the answers voiced by his crazy brilliant guests, it was a thrill to be on the other end of the mic. What's more, it's my pleasure to point you in his direction. So.. if you don't have Circulating Ideas in your google reader, it's time to add it. Now. Really, scoot. :)
PS: I can't bring myself to listen to my own interview, so... I can't promise I don't sound like a bumbling idiot. However, I can tell you that I'm the second librarian in the queue and my blathering starts about 20 minutes in. Enjoy!
