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I would first like to welcome all the new and returned
students at UWO and I hope everyone has a great term! I volunteered to write a
blog post for the CLA blog for two reasons. First, I’m very excited to be apart
of the UWO’s student chapter as well as serving on the executive this term and
thought this would be a great opportunity. Secondly, I’ve been assigned to
create a personal blog for one of my classes and this seemed like a great way
to ease my way into the blogging world. Until this week I did not imagine
myself to be a blog writer; however, I see enormous benefits to keeping up on
all areas of the social media world. Especially when it comes to librarians. We
have an ENORMOUS presence across all forms of social media. Whether you prefer
quick 140 character tweets, or getting into the nitty-gritty details of the
information world through blogs, WE ARE EVERYWHERE. Before starting my MLIS I
subscribed to several librarian blogger sites and Twitter accounts, and read as
much as I could about what was happening in the field. I didn't always
understand the issues being discussed (and I still don't), but it's a great
starting point. And if serious information issues aren't your thing, then there
are plenty of other ways that librarians get involved online. There are
hilarious librarian blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr pages...you name it and
we're there covering the world of books. We also cover exciting topics such as
what we're reading, funny and inspiring library stories, and pictures of our
cats. I encourage anyone interested in the profession, working on their MLIS,
or already working in the field to get online and see what librarians are
posting. It's a great way to make connections, stay up to date on issues, and
stay ahead of the game by finding job postings almost as soon as their made
public. So I encourage you to explore the librarian presence on the web, and
hey if you’re brave enough, maybe start your own blog. Happy social media-ing!
