One of the things I love most about our profession is how generous so many people are with their resources, creativity and expertise. I was a classroom teacher for many years before donning a library hat and even though I loved that part of my career and remember those days with great fondness, I never felt as supported or as much a part of a community as I have since moving to libraryland. I truly believe that when we share, we all become better and our practice, as a whole, is strengthened. What's more, it's fantastic to be part of a profession that truly understands and embraces that philosophy.
Whenever I talk to kids about citing their sources and giving credit where credit is due, I strongly encourage them to, whenever possible, use resources that are licensed under Creative Commons - not because this will keep them out of the hot seat or to prevent the dreaded copyright police from knocking in the night - but rather because it shows them how much better we all become when we share. My hope is that they'll not only learn about attribution, but that they'll also grow up to become generous contributors to whatever fields they choose to tackle for work or pleasure. Sometimes I feel like we miss the boat when talking about copyright by focusing more on the law and/or the bad feelings that can result from someone else pilfering your work(s). Those things are important, of course, but I find I have better results from stressing the positives of sharing your talents and of using the works of others who are willing to do the same.
But, that's a post of a different color.
That being said, it was truly an honor to be a part of the sharing that went on during the TL Virtual Cafe Session on Adding eReaders to your Library Program. Honestly, I am still pinching myself.
And, in the spirit of sharing, here are my slides from the presentation.
View more presentations from Jennifer LaGarde
Coincidentally, some people were asking about the images used in the session - I'm actually pretty stoked (do people still use that word?) because every last one of those images was my very own! I tackled a 365 photo project this year that has turned out to be decidedly non-library related (but a great creative outlet!). So... when I learned I'd need to do a Power Point for the TL Cafe session, I decided to break out the camera instead of trolling the internet. It was great fun and helped me realize that Power Point doesn't have to be a substitute for Ambien. And, of course, all the photos (that do not contain students) are licensed under creative commons, so please take, use, alter and share. What's mine is yours. Similarly, some folks in the room expressed interest in the list of dystopian novels that I mentioned in the session. Feel free to email me at jennifer[dot]lagarde[at]nhcs[dot]net and I'll share the google doc with you! Finally, if you weren't able to make it to the session, an archived audio version as well as a text version of the comment thread are housed here.
Thanks again to everyone who shared their time, talents and experience with me last night. It's amazing to be part of a profession that embraces the philosophy of sharing for the benefit of the whole. I know I'm much better at my job as a result of this generosity.
