Category: News

Posted on

Corona Virus and Library Science Students

The following is an update I sent to our alumni. It is a version I sent off to our LIS students.

Greetings Friends,

As you may know the university has extended Spring Break through next week and is then going online with all of its courses (graduate and undergraduate) for two weeks after that (through April 3). For the latest information on the university’s response please see:

https://sc.edu/safety/coronavirus/

To be clear, this is the authoritative source for information. I haven’t emailed you before because the school has to wait for the university’s lead.

I wanted to reach out to see if you had any questions, and make you aware of a few things:

  • Next week is an extended break for the students, but busy for the staff and faculty. We will not only be adjusting dates and materials for course, but many faculty will have to move in-person classes online, and that will take work.
  • The university guidance also means changes in scheduled events. The Deans and Directors lecture on April 3rd has been indefinitely postponed. This includes the award ceremony and the Beta Phi Mu installation. We are working on a new date for these, or alternatives.
  • Right now hooding and graduation have not been effected, but the situation is “fluid.” As I learn something, you’ll hear it.
  • Offices and administration remain open at the university. Some staff and faculty will be working from home, particularly if they are in a high-risk group such as immune compromised. Also folks traveling may have to self-quarantine.
  • Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. If I don’t have answers, I’ll track some down.

And now a personal note. We got this. We as a school, as faculty, as students, as staff, we have this. We know how to work online sure, but more importantly, we know about using knowledge as an antidote to fear and misinformation. Some of you may find all of this an over-reaction. Some of you may have a heightened sense of anxiety in these uncertain times. I had a bone marrow transplant 18 months ago, so as someone who is immune compromised, I get it.

The answer is not to disconnect from community while we may shelter away physically. Some of our students are already working in libraries, all of them are being prepared to support communities. Right now what they’re feeling (anger, relief, anxiety, confusion) is being felt by the 3rd grader in a school library. It is felt by a spouse browsing the health books. It is felt by students in Thomas Cooper, or the person self-quarantined at home. Soon it will be their role to reach out to all of them. To let them know they are not alone. To provide what information we can, and all the compassion we have. In these times of conflicting stories the role of a librarian and an information scientist is to be trusted and caring.

I will send updates as I have them.

__

R. David Lankes
Professor and Director

803-777-3858
[email protected]
School of Library and Information Science
College of Information and Communications
University of South Carolina

Posted on

It’s Not You, It’s Me

Welcome to the new look of my site. It is very different than my last configuration. All the content is still there. All the links still work. The main navigation menu under my big mug is exactly the same. It just gets rid of the more static front page.

To be honest it’s not as pretty as my former layout and the home page is not as good in highlight projects and presentations (sell those books!).

So why the change? Well the main issue was a hack that would repeatedly put links to viagra and college essay writing sites into my old theme. I got tired of trying to track down the injected code. Also, the previous site had a management overhead in making highlights and such. Now that I have, you know, a real job time is tight.

When I looked at my traffic it was coming from social media that sent out direct links (to say a presentation or blog post) or it was coming via a search engine to a direct page. So I did some simple user-based design.

If you hate it, let me know. Enough voices that actually care and I will put in the effort to spruce it up again. For now, enjoy the content.

Also, thanks to Jessamyn West I decided to throw up a couple of “hero” pictures that randomly rotate at the top. Yes, some of them are older pics of me, but either they’re fun (keep an eye out for “Freaked Out Dave”), or I just like them.

Finally, I apologize if you landed on this page looking for viagra or good sites to write your college essay.

Posted on

Thank You for Making a Difference

This past week I spent some time in social media and here asking folks to give blood. This was the 6th year in a row that we’ve been part of an Annual Lankes Family Blood Drive in Central New York. We began (though my amazing wife Anna Maria deserves all the credit) the event after my first stem cell/bone marrow transplant. We wanted to use our experience for something positive. People giving blood saved my life and we wanted to give back.

Even though we’ve moved to South Carolina amazing volunteers like Michele McIntyre and Blythe Bennet and the congregation of the Holy Cross Church have kept it going.

We received the following email from Katie Stepanian, our amazing contact with the American Red Cross, and it shows just how many people you can help with your donation.

Thank you for all of your time and efforts with the blood drive this year at Holy Cross Church. Without your personal asks, your volunteer time before and after the drive,  and the support from Holy Cross Church, we would not have been able to meet our goal for this drive and the demand this month. 

From where I sit the event went perfectly, though I would love any feedback you have for me. Below are the stats:

  • Goal- 53 units
  • 43 scheduled
  • 56 registered
  • 8 deferrals
  • 2 turnaways (could have been self deferrals or walkins who could not wait)
  • 43 whole blood donations
  • 5 power red donations
  • 53 units collected (100% to goal!)

There were 7 first time donors!  I will put on my calendar to pull the list of presenting donors for you once it comes through which will be next week. 

I can’t thank you each enough for continuing to help the Red Cross connect with donors in the community. David’s drive is one of the highest producing drives in my territory.  Year after year it yields a significant contribution, and with the addition of these 53 units now totals 374 donations! This brings your total in potential lives saved to 1,122!  WOOO HOOO!!!  Most importantly, you are a reminder to the community about the importance of taking time to donate blood and the why behind our mission.

1,122 people benefited from your generosity. Thank you thank you thank you.

Please give blood if you can: American Red Cross.

Posted on

Farewell to My Dear Friend Nicolette

Nicolette Sosulski

Today the world lost a great librarian and I lost a great friend. Nicolette Sosulski passed away from a long and brave journey with cancer. 

She was an advocate for the profession and a great teacher. She cared deeply about serving those in need. She was also a tireless advocate for librarians with a belief that we could all get better. 

I have no higher praise to give than to say she was my librarian. If I had a hard question or wanted to check a crazy idea she was there. Beyond professional, she was dogged, passionate, and a genius navigating sources and working with people. When I talk about librarians advocating for our communities she is the face I see. 

We began this latest road with cancer together. She was always there checking in and sharing. Even as her options dimmed, she was there cheering me on. She was clear eyed about what was coming and had a strength I cannot fathom. 

Today I miss my friend.

UPDATE: her family has posted this obituary:

On May 15, 2019, Nicolette Marie Warisse Sosulski, loving daughter, sister and mother of two children, Peter and Nicholas, passed away from a year-long battle with lung cancer at the age of 56.

Nicolette was born on March 20, 1963 in Louisville, KY to Nicholas and Doris Warisse. She grew up in St. Martha’s parish and graduated from Sacred Heart Academy. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from Georgetown University, Washington, DC and her Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Nicolette found her passion in librarianship.  The American Librarian Association, in their memorial resolution to her said, “She was a motivated information professional: relentless about investigating a research question, had a gift for connecting people to information, had a real knack for identifying areas of need and developing plans, Nicolette was all that a 21st century librarian should be.”  Nicolette loved all things Southern which included cooking, literature, and big floppy hats.  She had a passion for animals, rescuing over a dozen dogs and cats, either finding them homes elsewhere or taking them in and loving them herself. Nicolette was an award winning author, a witty and phenomenal online communicator – she took online messaging and managing connections to a whole new level.  Nicolette was enthusiastic, mindful, continuously curious, loved and WAY smarter than anyone else in her family.

Nicolette is survived by her father, Nicholas and her mother Doris, her two children Nicholas and Peter, her sisters Jeanine and Michelle, and her cousins, nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Portage District Library, 300 Library Lane, Portage, MI 49002.  

A mass celebrating her life will be held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 936 Lake Street, Kalamazoo, MI, 49001 at 1:00 in the afternoon on Thursday, May 16, 2019 with a reception immediately following. The family is also planning a celebration in Louisville, Kentucky that will take place over Fourth of July weekend. 

Posted on

CUBISS Documentary on Community Library

cubiss logo

The folks at CUBISS in the Netherlands have put together a great video on libraries and communities. It is in Dutch with English subtitles. They were generous enough to include me.

I’ve been working with CUBISS for a few years now on preparing librarians to engage the public and put communities at the center of their work.

Here’s what they say about why they made the video (via Google Translate:

Community Library: a search for the new library
In a world that is changing, the library is looking for a new role. Cubiss asked documentary maker Joep de Boer to portray this search. In the documentary, directors, people from the field and library innovator David Lankes share their vision.


The documentary is intended for library directors. It helps them to tell the story of library in transition. Both internally, to their own employees. But also externally, to partners in the social field and local politics.


Land locally 
The documentary does not provide clear answers. It is primarily a means of entering into dialogue with each other.How can you land the library’s new course locally?


Continue talking 
The film is not isolated. We organize a number of meet-ups to discuss this further with each other. The first is in Tilburg on April 10, then another on April 13 in Haarlem.

Posted on

Expect More Now Available in French (Exigeons de meilleures bibliothèques)

Book CoverI am proud to announce the availability of Expect More in French (Exigeons de meilleures bibliothèques). Published under the Creative Commons by Ateliers de [sens public] it is free to download and is also available in print for a small cost. You can access the book here: http://ateliers.sens-public.org/exigeons-de-meilleures-bibliotheques/index.html

The translation under the direction of Jean-Michel Lapointe, librarian at the University of Quebec at Montreal, was the result of an amazing effort of volunteers. As Jean-Michel said

“Without their passionate commiment, this book would not exist. This is volunteer work they did on their free time because they believed in the importance of your ideas to our profession. Add to this that the project was done very quickly : 6 months in total, from its inception to the publication. A million deeply-felt thanks to them. Merci, merci, merci.

Ateliers de [sens public], a brand new subproject of Sens public, is an innovative open access monograph publisher runned by Servanne Monjour and Nicolas Sauret. Exigeons de meilleures bibliothèques is one of the three initial publications of Ateliers de [sens public]. Marcello Vitali-Rosati, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Digital Textualities, initiated the project with Sens Public – a peer-review open access journal of which he is the editor in chief — and was of great help throughout the editorial process. Marcello, through his chair, gave vital financial support to carry out the publication, including the meticulous proof reading work of Margot Mellet. Many grateful thanks to them.”

So very special thanks to those who contributed to the translation:

  • Isabelle Bastien, bibliothécaire à l’Université de Montréal
  • Lilen Colombino, étudiante à l’École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l’information de l’Université de Montréal
  • Marie D. Martel, professeure adjointe à l’École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l’information de l’Université de Montréal
  • Pascale Félizat-Chartier, directrice générale de la Corporation des bibliothécaires professionnels du Québec (CBPQ)
  • Adèle Flannery, bibliothécaire à l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
  • Catherine Forget, bibliothécaire à l’École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) de Montréal
  • Jean-Michel Lapointe, bibliothécaire à l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
  • Michael David Miller, bibliothécaire à l’Université McGill
  • Réjean Savard, professeur honoraire à l’École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l’information de l’Université de Montréal et président de l’Asted
  • Louise Struthers, bibliothécaire à la bibliothèque publique de Saint- Lambert
  • Ekaterina Valkova-Damova, bibliothécaire en chef, Montreal West Children’s Library

And thanks to Marcello Vitali-Rosati and Margot Mellet.

The translation is part of lead up to Congrès des professionnels de l’information in Montréal. And more is planned for the future, so stay tuned.

Expect More is now available in English, Portuguese, German, and now French! It demonstrates the power of open access and librarianship.

Interested in translating Expect More or the Atlas of New Librarianship? Please let me know how I can help.

Posted on

German Edition of Expect More Named 2017 Book of the Year

Germaqn Language Cover of the Expect More Book

PASSWORD-Online, the German online magazine, has chosen the German Edition of David Lankes Expect More as the “book of the year 2017.”

A very special note of thanks to Prof. Dr. Hans-Christoph Hobohm and his team of translators. He and his team went well beyond simply translating words, but did an amazing job translating and promotion the spirit of Expect More and pushing for transformed libraries in Germany.

Posted on

Website Updating

I’ve been having some tech problems with my site for a while now (sorry if it has been slow to load). It seems I’ve figured them out, so a lot of changes I made to try and workaround the site (like a new theme with way too big a picture of me on the homepage) can now be done away with. So I’ll be updating the look to the site in the next few days. All the content will stay in place and links won’t break. Let me know if you see problems.

Posted on

The University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science is Hiring Four Faculty

Come join the team at the University of South Carolina changing the world! We are looking for four positions this year.

Augusta Baker Chair (https://uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/21265)

The College of Information and Communications at the University of South Carolina seeks an outstanding candidate to fill the Augusta Baker Endowed Chair in Childhood Literacy, the first academic chair at the University of South Carolina honoring an African-American woman. Augusta Baker was the first African-American Director of Children’s Services at the New York Public Library and former Storyteller-in-Residence at the University of South Carolina.

The College of Information and Communications is seeking a candidate that will build on Augusta Baker’s legacy by advancing our knowledge of youth literacy and services in traditional and digital environments. The successful candidate will provide national and state leadership in the teaching, research, and service missions of the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS). The Chair will be actively involved with the South Carolina Center for Children’s Books and Literacy, an initiative dedicated to research, development, and community involvement to eliminate illiteracy in South Carolina and across the country.

The SLIS-MLIS program is fully accredited by the American Library Association (ALA), and its school librarianship preparation program is approved by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). In addition to the MLIS degree, SLIS offers the Ph.D. and two other post-master’s degrees. The School also offers an undergraduate degree in information science. The University of South Carolina is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer committed to building a culturally diverse faculty, staff, and student body, and is responsive to the needs of dual career couples.

Associate/Full Professor (https://uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/19787)

The University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science in Columbia invites applications and nominations for a tenured faculty position at the Associate or Full Professor level to begin fall 2018.

Shape the future of library and information science. Pursue your interests in a diverse, intellectually stimulating, and multi-disciplinary environment that provides support and encouragement as part of a collaborative work culture. Be a strong voice in the shaping of a growing information science undergraduate program. An earned doctorate in library and information science or a related field is preferred. This position requires a clearly articulated research agenda and enthusiasm for and excellence in teaching in both online and face-to-face formats.

The School is particularly interested in a candidate with specializations in one or more of the following areas:

Information Science
Academic Libraries
Research Methodologies
Information Retrieval
Archives
Digital Repositories

Selected candidates will be expected to help with the school’s commitment to diversity through research, teaching, and service.

Responsibilities:
Instruct undergraduate and graduate courses in both face-to-face as well as online environments
Mentor and advise undergraduate and graduate students
Participate in instruction, research, publication, grant writing, and other scholarly activities
Provide service to the department, college, university, profession, and community

Instructor (https://uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/19718)

The University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science in Columbia invites applications for a non-tenure track 11-month instructor position.

Shape the future of library and information science. Pursue your interests in a diverse, intellectually stimulating, and multi-disciplinary environment that provides support and encouragement as part of a collaborative work culture. Those with an earned master in library and information science, information technology, or a related field are encouraged to apply. This position requires experience and enthusiasm for teaching in both online and face-to-face formats. Non-tenure track faculty at The University of South Carolina are engaged in instruction, service, administration, and research.

Responsibilities:
Instruct undergraduate and graduate courses in both face-to-face as well as online environments
Remain current in developments and trends in subject and research areas
Mentor and advise undergraduate and graduate students
Support the mission of the South Carolina Center for Children’s Books and Literacy including Cocky’s Reading Express, this could include fundraising and grant writing
Provide service to the department, college, university, profession, and community
The School is particularly interested in candidates with a specialization in one or more of the following:
Young Adult Services
Digital Literacy
Children’s and Teen Literature
School Libraries

Selected candidates will be expected to help with the school’s commitment to diversity through research, teaching, and service.

Visiting Professor (https://uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/21262)

The School of Library and Information Science invites applications from exceptional candidates for a visiting position for the fall and spring terms of the 2018-19 academic year. Specifically, we are looking for a visiting professor to collaborate with a faculty dedicated to social impact through information, knowledge, and librarianship. Rank will be determined commensurate with the candidate’s qualifications and experience.

The School of Library and Information Science faculty is accomplished and engaging. It is a vibrant intellectual culture at the flagship campus of the University of South Carolina. With our colleagues in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications we make up the College of Information and Communications. The successful candidate will be working with a school with extensive regional and international ties

Minimum Qualification is a Master’s Degree