Follow a Professional Listserv

I am a part of ALA’s Public Libraries and Librarians listserv which focuses primarily on library programming. I was actually really excited to join this group because I’m really interested in the programming aspect of public libraries and how they serve the community. I have been disappointed with this group though. There really is no interaction or dialogue between the users for this forum even though there are about 1500 subscribers. There’s one lady who posts a lot of articles and open questions but no one seems to really get into the discussion. There are a ton of posts for webinars to join and a call for peer reviews, bloggers, surveys, and abstracts. The topics that were of interest to me were the ones that actually had to do with programs at the library like hosting authors, STEM, museum exhibits, and other events that have gotten people into the doors. The biggest conversation was about various libraries’ strengths and weaknesses when it came to programing. The strengths listed were programs catered toward younger children and families; ones that were centered around stories, fun and entertainment/educational; ideas for programs were always free flowing from the staff; collaboration with camps, preschools, child care centers, and homeschoolers. Weaknesses that some users supplied were any programs geared toward middle school/teens; book clubs and/or book discussions; strictly educational programs; funding for programs in general, especially for refreshments; and that they have had limited success with preregistration.   

Forums like these are hard to really stay on top of. There are so many lists and groups you can be a part of online, that I think some of the forums just get lost in the crowd. I know for a while I tried to be involved in groups on LinkedIn and just couldn’t keep up. People who are actively involved in some of the online forums are that way because it is their primary job to do so. It’s hard for people who are just starting off in the profession to really have any concrete ideas or opinions when most of us aren’t even working in a library or information center. I feel like some of these forums work best when it is a small group of people in the same area. That way everyone is dealing with the same issues and can sympathize with what’s going on with other people. If forums aren’t what work for someone’s involvement in the profession, I think that large conferences are great. They provide an overview of everything going on and you get a taste of all the different aspects of librarianship. I would love to go to a big ALA conference one day when I have a few more classes under my belt, and really engage in the issues and conversation with librarians that are in the field. In all honesty though, I think forums have fallen to a lower priority for group discussions. I love reading personal/professional blogs on topics to join a discussion, rather than just an open forum where there really is no clear rhyme or reason to what people are posting other than it somehow pertains to the theme of the forum.