Category: News

Posted on

Another (Better) Note About My Health

Last November I posted a not about my failing health. Since August I was struggling with some unknown ailment that was causing constant fatigue (sleeping 16 and 18 hours a day), shaking, headaches, and a general lack of energy. Things hit a peak in October with multiple emergency room visits when I temporarily lost the ability to coherently speak. It was bad, and I had to cancel speaking engagements, and greatly curtail all of my efforts. Over this period I lost 30 pounds (actually, let’s face it, that I could use). The next few months were better on anti-seizure medication, but as I learned, these drugs can be very debilitating in and of themselves. Imagine slowing your brain down by 10%, constant tremors, and still lots of fatigue.

The good news is after some intensive testing at the Cleveland Clinic, and with the persistent work of my primary care doctor, today I have a clean bill of health and I am just about back to 100%. Now I am playing catch up on projects and deferred responsibilities. I am also starting to slowly take on new speaking engagements and travel obligations.

While this post is to let those who expressed such kind concern know the good news, I would also like to thank the many many people who helped me through this tough time. From Jill who took on a heavy load at work, to Kathryn whose kind words of encouragement let me see light at a the end of a very bleak tunnel. I would like to thank everyone who expressed concern, and certainly the conference organizers who understood and either let me graciously bow out of an obligation, or let me do my work remotely.

Lastly I would like to thank my wife who was an amazing companion throughout everything. When you marry and promise to stay together in sickness and in health you never really think of what a large promise that can be. She simply amazed me with her patient help, her unbelievable advocacy, and her optimism in the face of very dark times.

I am lucky. My condition passed. But I know there are still too many people facing chronic debilitating illnesses. You have my respect and admiration.

Thank you all for your patience. Now, back to changing the world!

Posted on

A Note About my Health

Normally I don’t use this blog for personal news and announcements. However, recently my medical life has come crashing into my professional life and I wanted to let you know what is going on.

For the past three months I have not been feeling well. This has lead to courses of antibiotics, a ton of blood tests, and several stays in the hospital. I seem to be on the mend, but I still am not allowed to drive or travel and I sleep a lot. Also, we have not discovered the root cause of all of this (if there even is one).

Due to my illness I have canceled my trips and speaking engagements through the end of 2012 or switched them to virtual presentations where possible. Thank you again conference and event organizers for your understanding and patience. I owe you a debt (and my son a trip to England).

Right now I am concentrating on catching up. I owe many of you emails, some papers, and many more responses. I’m working on it. Please be patient with me, but also feel free to send me a poke or a prod if you need something soon.

To my class I apologize for being behind in grading. I’m fixing that over turkey I hope.

For all who have sent me good wishes, thank you. I hope to be up, around, and a pain in the ass real soon. I still have some fun projects on tap for 2013 so stay tuned.

Posted on

Site Go Boom

Had a technical glitch with my homepage. It is back up, but I’m working to fix the look and feel issues…looks like it is time for a new design.

Posted on

Travel and News for the Upcoming Year

This year I will need to stay off the road again this spring to take care of my wife as she has surgery on her other foot (the good news here is that she only has two feet so this should do it). That said if you are looking for a speaker via the Internet (Skype, Adobe Connect, FaceTime, iChat) I’m your man (and at greatly reduced honoraria). I appreciate your patience.

Here is my confirmed speaking for the Summer and Fall.

June:

  • ALSC Division Leadership Session

July:

  • The 4th Annual Connecticut Library Leadership Institute (http://ctlibraryassociation.org/meetinginfo.php?id=49&ts=1339707904)

August:

  • Ticer International Summer School 2012 (http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/research/institutes-and-research-groups/ticer/2012/)
  • Master Class for de Library School in Amsterdam (http://www.libraryschool.nl/LibrarySchool/Home.html)

October:

  • AASL 2012 Fall Forum (http://www.ala.org/aasl/conferencesandevents/fallforum/fallforum)
  • Internet Librarian International Keynote (http://www.internet-librarian.com/2012/)

November:

  • LYRASIS eGathering 2012 (https://mylyrasis.lyrasis.org/AnnualMeeting/AnnualMeeting.aspx)
  • Ohio Library Council
Posted on

IMLS Funds Next Phase of ILEAD U: ILEAD USA!

I am thrilled to once again head up the instructor corps for ILEAD U – now ILEAD USA expanding to multiple states.

The ILEAD USA project, sponsored by the Illinois State Library, seeks to help librarians develop new technology skills by meeting a specific community need, all the while being supported by peer learners in a network of collaborating teams. Building on a successful statewide project in Illinois, the 18-month continuing education immersion initiative is designed to expand librarians’ leadership abilities while also helping them build their participatory technology skills to effectively engage their constituents. Twenty-eight five-member teams in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, and Utah will attend three three-day, in-person sessions over the course of nine months. The sessions will be held simultaneously in each of the five states with plenary sessions broadcast live on streaming video. Between in-person sessions, virtual meetings and activities will allow participants to hone their newly acquired skills; experiment with participatory technology tools; and continue communication with the ILEAD USA network of participants

The Atlas of New Librarianship is the text for the program and new librarianship ideas are turned into reality by the amazing teams.

Kudos to Anne Craig and the amazing team at the Illinois State Library.

Posted on

Welcome to the New Site

NewsiteWelcome to my new home page. All the information, posts, and media from the old site are here. I’ve condensed from a homepage and blog, to just one site.
Let me know if you have any suggestions or comments to make it better.

Posted on

Barbara Stripling for ALA President

I have had the privilege of working with Barbara Stripling on projects likes KidsConnect, as a member of her dissertation committee, and now as a fellow faculty member. In all of those encounters I have been impressed by her thoughtfulness, dedication to the profession, and ability to lead. That is why I want to encourage my readers to vote for her to be the next ALA president.

Barbara sees deeply into issues and is dedicated to brining positive transformation to our profession and the communities we serve. She has shown a near superhuman ability to navigate a politically charged city government in her role as Director of School Library Services in New York City. She has shown an aptitude for scholarly research that is a welcome addition to my university. She has an unwavering passion for children and the role of school libraries in K-12 education.

I can think of no one better suited to head ALA. Please join me in supporting Barbara.

Visit Barbara’s Website: http://www.barbarastripling.org/

Posted on

Atlas Wins Award 2012 ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature

Immediate Release
Mon, 02/27/2012 – 09:48
Contact: Cheryl Malden

CHICAGO – “The Atlas of New Librarianship” by R. David Lankes has been named the winner of the 2012 ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature. The award, which is given annually by the American Library Association, will be presented at the association’s Annual Meeting in Anaheim, Calif., in June.

The book was co-published by the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of ALA, and The MIT Press. In his book, Lankes articulates a new purpose for librarianship: “The mission of librarians is to improve society through facilitating knowledge creation in their communities.” He envisions a profession based not on books and artifacts but on knowledge and learning which are created through conversations. The innovatively structured text, graphics and accompanying website are designed to stimulate further conversation about the field of librarianship.

The Award Committee praised the book for its unique visual map of ideas and their relationships to theory and practice. One committee member declared, “It made me think critically about our profession and our future…. I was taken out of my comfort zone and that was a good thing.” Other members praised the Atlas as “challenging,” “complex,” and “exciting both in its ideas and its design.”

Describing the book as “rich in optimism,” Kathryn Deiss, ACRL content strategist, said that “The Atlas of New Librarianship” creates “a platform for vital conversations about the future of librarianship.” The book’s unusual format presents more than 140 Agreements (statements on aspects of librarianship) and visually represents the threads that connect key ideas.

R. David Lankes, PhD, is a professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies and director of its library science program. He also directs the Information Institute of Syracuse (IIS), a research center and think tank. Lankes was the provocative speaker for the Midwinter Conversations at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas.

The members of the ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award jury were: Chair, Susan E. Searing, Library & Information Science Librarian, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; June L. DeWeese, head of access services, University of Missouri at Columbia; Jasmine Y. Posey, training services librarian, Greenwich (Conn.) Library; John C. Sandstrom, head of acquisitions, New Mexico State University; and William Newbold Schultz, Jr., catalog librarian, Appalachian State University.

About ACRL

ACRL is a division of the American Library Association (ALA), representing more than 12,000 academic and research librarians and interested individuals. ACRL is the only individual membership organization in North America that develops programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of academic and research librarians. Its initiatives enable the higher education community to understand the role that academic libraries play in the teaching, learning and research environments. ACRL is on the Web at http://www.acrl.org/, Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ala.acrl and Twitter at @ala_acrl

About MIT Press

The MIT Press is the only university press in the United States whose list is based in science and technology. This does not mean that science and engineering are all we publish, but it does mean that we are committed to the edges and frontiers of the world–to exploring new fields and new modes of inquiry. We are a major publishing presence in fields as diverse as architecture, social theory, economics, cognitive science, and computational science, and we have a long-term commitment to both design excellence and the efficient and creative use of new technologies. Our goal is to create books and journals that are challenging, creative, attractive, and yet affordable to individual readers.

THE MIT PRESS | 55 Hayward Street | Cambridge, MA 02142

About “The Atlas of New Librarianship”

For more information about “The Atlas of New Librarianship,” visit http://www.newlibrarianship.org.

To purchase “The Atlas of New Librarianship” visit http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=12560

The ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature Award will be presented at the ALA Award Ceremony and Reception, Sunday June 24 at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif.

More information about the ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature including how to submit a nomination is available on the ALA website.

Posted on

Lankes Elected to ALISE Board

I have just been elected the Director for Special Interest Groups for the Association for Library and Information Science Education. Thanks to all those who voted for me, and my fellow “electees.”