A Month in the Library Life

I haven't been posting much on blogger, but I have on Instagram! Here's a month of work in a few pictures. Enjoy!

Good morning @fiuinstagram

A photo posted by Christopher Jimenez (@cjmnz8) on May 18, 2016 at 5:06am PDT

Not the best shot...but still, see the paw, fear the claw, #amiright

A photo posted by Christopher Jimenez (@cjmnz8) on May 19, 2016 at 1:13pm PDT

Just playing a little with #adobespark

A video posted by Christopher Jimenez (@cjmnz8) on May 19, 2016 at 7:03pm PDT

A New Job!!

Moving Along

I have an old announcement to make: I have taken a new position with the Florida International University Libraries. I am the new Web Services Librarian with the Information & Research Services Department.

I say this is an old announcement because if you know me personally, you already know this info. It has also been updated on all my Social Media profiles, so if you're following me then this might be old news. But it is news I am still super excited about.

Here's a picture of my office decor:

A few tchotchkes have been set up in the office. I might be official now... #fiulibraries #librarylife

A photo posted by Christopher Jimenez (@cjmnz8) on May 16, 2016 at 1:33pm PDT

Here's an interesting little factoid: FIU was recently named the second-best place to work in Florida behind Publix by Forbes Magazine.

A History Lesson

While I am new to the position, I am not new to FIU Libraries.

My first gig was in a computer lab in the Reference department (before its name was changed to I&RS). I also worked in the Juvenile Collection/Curriculum Lab. After a few organizational changes I ended up working full-time for the Division of IT at FIU—that's how I was able to put myself through graduate school (that & my wife who also worked at FIU which brought income and a discount for Family health coverage).

It was at FIU that I decided to become a librarian. I observed the librarians in Reference. I was impressed with their vast knowledge (especially at the age of 19, but still, it's vast). I knew that this was something I wanted to do some day.

All in all, I spent nine (9) working years at FIU before leaving for Fort Myers. And now I am back! And FIU has welcomed me back with wide open arms. (In my two weeks on the job, I've been officially welcomed 3 times in front of various groups and countless times on a personal level.)

Where I Was

By definition, no two places could possibly be exactly the same. There are a lot of differences between the Fort Myers Beach Free Public Library and the Florida International University Libraries. In fact, they are completely different from one another. Just the sheer size of each institution can account for these differences.

Please note that I do not intend to disparage FMBPL. Though I am not happy with how I was treated on the way out, I am grateful for the opportunity they afforded me when nobody else offered me employment. I worked hard for them and feel like my contributions both technically and pedagogically left the place better and more enriched than when I started. I certainly am a better librarian today than I was on day 1.

I suppose the takeaway here is that work environment is a critical part of the job search. You can make more money, but if the environment does not suit your disposition then it may not be a good fit. You may not be happy if going to work is a drag. When I took the position at FMB, I knew the Public library was not my first choice. I respect the public library. I believe it is a critical component of civic health. I also now know that it is not somewhere that I fit in, personally.

Where I Am Headed

I will be taking the year to get acclimated to my new position. It is new on many levels, not the least of which being university faculty as opposed to staff and the different responsibilities related to that position. During this period of time, I will be welcoming my third child into this world.

Sometime in 2017, I plan to begin my Ph.D. That will probably keep me occupied well into 2019/2020. By then, I'll have to figure out my future once again.

Of course, these are my plans and they are always subject to change...

Announcement: Got a Job #librarylife

This is my announcement that I have taken the position of Electronic Systems Librarian at the Fort Myers Beach Public Library. I'll be taking care of the technology at this library and providing reference assistance among other duties as assigned. My family has been moved out to the area and I am ready to work in my profession. I have been here for a week already and everything is pretty awesome.

I'm excited to see where the next chapter in my journey leads me.

A short list of things I have done in the past week:

• Web Design
• Photo Editing
• Video Editing
• Book Return Cleaning
• Malware Removal
• Wireless Troubleshooting
• Hardware Repair
• Media Presentation Setup
• Social Media Management

Book Review - The 4-Hour Workweek

The Book

The 4-Hour Workweek
Timothy Ferriss

I was introduced to this book by my colleagues at Florida International University. They were raving about his other book, The 4-Hour Chef, so I decided to look him up. Of course, I did not buy the book. Instead, I borrowed this book from my local library for free. Go libraries! Yay, free!

Technical Merit

As mentioned, I borrowed this book from the library. What I did not mention was the fact that I borrowed an audio-book. As such, I did not get a good feel for the layout of the book. Nor did I really get a chance to analyze the writer's technical merit. What I can say if that it made for a good audio-book which leads me to say that Timothy writes using a very smooth, colloquial approach. The 4-Hour Workweek was not written for pleasure reading, the author is trying to convey a message in the most efficient way possible.

Since the author is trying to be efficient, he uses a sort of template in his writing. He begins with the goal: working less and playing more. Then he describes a method for doing so, like working more productively from home than you do at the office. Then he will show you how to initiate the process of getting to that goal. Finally, he gives homework—like go to the flea market and haggle three vendors down to half their asking price. Finally, he wraps up his chapter with a list of pertinent materials for further research.

I imagine this book (in written form) could be used as a reference book of sorts. Each chapter can stand alone and be re-read when facing certain challenges. Timothy would seem to endorse this approach. He is not enthusiastic of the gathered information for information's sake approach to life and prefers a gather information pertinent to an immediate decision model instead.

In all, I give this book four stars for technical merit. It seems to achieve the purpose it was designed for extremely well. I was able to finish it in two days (without completing the homework).

The Review

This book seeks to help the entrepreneur to establish themselves in what Timothy Ferriss describes as the "New Rich." The New Rich (NR) is a group of individuals that seek to enjoy the things that are typically reserved for the traditional rich while not necessarily having the capital that goes along with it. He argues that by working efficiently, one can complete the typical 40-hour workweek in a fraction of the time. Therefore, they will earn more on a per-hour basis while still having the free-time to enjoy things like extensive travel and fine dining. The NR will also have the time to open new businesses that add to their revenue streams, increasing their ability to live.

The key is that the NR is not waiting to retire in order to enjoy life. The NR works hard and plays hard now. By working efficiently and cutting out superfluous things that gobble up time and capital, the NR can enjoy their preferred lifestyle while they are still young and spry.

This book goes into detail on several topics which include:

• How to get your boss to agree to let you work from home.
• How to train your colleagues to stop slowing you down.
• How to plan for extensive travel.
• What to look for in a virtual assistant.
• How to become an expert at something.

Personally, I find his ideas on information interesting. Ferriss clearly believes that there is way too much information at our fingertips. In fact, he recommends absolutely no reading except when the information has a clear application in the short-term future. This rule only applies to non-fiction, pleasure reading is always ok. Ferriss even recommends zero news consumption under the premise that if something catastrophic happens that you need to know, someone is going to tell you about it.

Conclusion

This is an interesting read. I doubt that the tactics described in The 4-Hour Workweek are applicable on a widespread level, but some of his points are key to personal development and can be implemented for success within one's organization. For instance, Ferriss makes a lot of the 80-20 principle and applies it to every situation, both professional and personal. This could easily be applied in any situation. He also refers to Tom Rath's Strengthsfinder when noting that we sometimes spend too much energy improving weaknesses when we should be highlighting strengths.

I recommend this book for the ambitious who are able to take the principles and recommendations of this book and find creative ways to apply them in their lives.

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Libraries > Pi / Pie

Did Someone Say Pie?

This is a delicious statistic that I came across on twitter. Well, I came across a tweet promoting this article which I then retweeted. Anyways, here's the good stuff. (And the source link is not too shabby either!)

The Atlantic actually attempted to answer that very question [What is the public approval rating for libraries?] and found that libraries beat the approval ratings of Congress (easy), President Obama (a bit harder), baseball (seriously?), and apple pie(!).

—So You Want My Job: Librarian, The Art of Manliness

Tell your mental taste buds I say, "You're welcome, come on back any time."

It's Hard to Call it Quits

A slight exaggeration, but how I feel

When to hang it up

So. It turns out I was unable to write the next great American novel during the month of November in the year 2012. I got thrown off a week ago & have not been able to recover. I plan to continue plodding through it at my own pace & definitely learned a lot about the creative process--but it wasn't to be.

I was able to push myself to creative places that I had never been before. I explored dialog & music & tension between characters that I had only heard or read of, but never wrote before. I began chapters with an intention & ended with something totally different because my main character simply had a mind of his own & thought his own thoughts or did his own thing. I was telling a story that was formed in my mind about someone totally different. It was at once completely me, yet outside of me.

This may sound strange. That would be because it is strange. I don't know if this is the normal writing process. From what I hear, everyone has their own writing process. What I do know is that I will likely not finish 50,000 words by December 1. Not when I have to write 3,700+ words per day until the end of the month to finish on time.

Back to Grad School

I have been working on school projects in addition to this creative one. I've been putting together instructional media & a full-fledged research proposal. I am enjoying it a lot. I am also pleased to report that I have been doing well in these projects & expect to finish well academically this semester.

I am well past the middle of my Grad School career & have been casting a wandering eye at my spring/summer coarse load, Fall internship & potential job market in 2014. Ahh!! 2014?!? Can't we finish 2012 first?!? I wish we could. But that's not the world we live in.

Reflections

But I am glad to pause & reflect on how far we've come. (I include my lovely wife with the we because I drag her through some interesting times with this whole graduate school thing.) I suppose that's another thing I can add to my Thanksgiving gratitude list.

So here's to life! Because it goes on.

Are Libraries Like Achillobators?

My First Quora

This question popped up in my inbox, since it is a hot topic in Library Science, I have pondered this question & read research ad nausea, so I decided to contribute. If you like it, please consider going to Quora and voting me up! (I already have 2 votes from people I don't even know.) Enjoy!
Read Quote of Christopher Jimenez's answer to Will public libraries become extinct? Why or why not? on Quora

Parks & Recreation

I don't have much time to write, but you must watch P&R, season 2 - episode 8. It features a run in with... The Library. "Whenever she laughs, an angel dies, but the worst part is she works for the library."

Ha!

Never Underestimate MS Word

The Challenge

I finally passed a Word & Excel test for a "Librarian" position that I applied for at Baptist Hospital. I failed both tests on Monday & studied my booty off all week to pass it today. (I ended up only getting one question wrong on each test.)

I was not surprised that I failed Excel. I never use Excel. Excel intimidates me. Given that, I was encouraged that if I'd gotten one more question right, I would have passed the exam. What surprised me was Word.

I performed miserably on the Intermediate Word skills test. Given that I spent 4(+) years in a University & hold a degree in English (which = many research/argumentative papers), never received a grade lower than an A in High School English & spent 3 years working in the IT department of the same University, I was baffled that I did that poorly on the MS Word portion of the exam. I wasn't even close to passing.

I guess my takeaway from this experience is to never underestimate any undertaking. It's always good to review & continue learning because there is always somewhere you can improve.

A Side Note

On a side note, there was someone else in the room which made things a bit awkward. She was in the same position that I was on Monday, a failure. Hopefully she studies & passes soon!

Important Stuff

I haven't posted much lately, mostly because I have been pissed with my professor who does not know how to communicate effectively.

I just read a chapter in my book for Library Administration. It was about the human resource frame of management. Basically it talks about how a lot of companies screw their employees over for the sake of short-term profits, then they lose out in the long run because their company has gone to hell in a hand-basket. Think outsourcing to a foreign country where you can pay little to less people, give them a couple crappy resources and then in a few years realize that your customer satisfaction levels are scraping the bottom of the barrel. That's an example of poor human resource investment.

The flip-side of that are examples of good human resource investment. This is when companies give their employees the tools to do their job efficiently. They are compensated for their work. They receive a certain psychological fulfillment in the workplace. This investment brings a return that is much greater than the chop-house method. In fact, when employees feel that the company backs them, they tend to respond by working harder and innovating more. This is what we saw in the post-war boom. What we are seeing now results from the late-90s / early-2000s.

The crux of what I read relied on the psychological fulfillment of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This theory basically states that man is always trying to find satisfaction of some kind. The quest begins with basic needs--like food--and gradually the needs become more aesthetic and ephemeral, until they self-actualize. The workplace can, and should, be a place where some of these needs are met. Certainly, food and shelter are met via salary, but a sense of purpose is also closely tied to work. Do you really think that what you are doing is important?

Maybe yes, maybe no...

Contacts

I received word from my professor regarding my Lib/Info Center Report. I got 5 points knocked off because I did not cite my interview. But other than that she loves my writing style, she loved my use of screen-shots to illustrate my points and she learned quite a bit from my report. That's always cool. Oh, and I lost five points when there are 130 points possible, so I get an A.

I just applied for a Library job in the Green Library Circulation department. It's not an administrative position and it does not require an MLIS degree, but it pays fairly well so we'll see.

Jobs for Grads

I was shocked and dismayed to find the ratio of Librarian to Student in the public school system to be 1 to 953 (Rubin, 193). According to the slides for the week, and confirmed by the ALA Fact Sheet (http://www.ala.org/ala/professionalresources/libfactsheets/alalibraryfactsheet01.cfm) the School Library is the most widespread type of library by far at 99,180 institutions. In an age where parents are concerned over class sizes that exceed 25 students per instructor, one would think that the proportions of Librarian to student would get some publicity.

The United States definitely has a culture that is motivated by fear. We see that in the public and academic school systems which only received funding because of Cold War conspiracies and Sputnik (Rubin, 200). Apparently, the prospect of one Librarian meeting the information needs of 953 students is not scary enough to fund a change.

Granted, class size seems more important for Teachers that are the primary educators and classroom managers for a group of students. However, I cannot believe that Librarians can effectively provide for the informational, educational and recreational needs of all those students alone.