Information Wants To Be Free | A librarian, writer and educator reflecting on the profession and the tools we use to serve our patrons Home About Speaking Writing Contact Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Skype RSS SEE FULL POST Drop the ball about me, librarianship, libraries, Work, Work-life balance by Meredith Farkas on 3/22/2021 with 4 comments When I visited my parents in December of 2019, they asked me to go through a box of old stuff they wanted to get rid of. My mother had kept basically all the art we did, the bajillion songs and poems I wrote, everything we did for school, etc. It was surprising how much she’d … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST In all the bad… some good things hi, libraries, Work, Work-life balance by Meredith Farkas on 12/29/2020 with 2 comments Wow, this has been a hard year. No one’s life has been untouched by 2020 between the pandemic and unrelenting proof that the social safety net has been dismantled by late-stage capitalism, the state-sanctioned murders of black and brown people and ensuing protests, the horrendous wildfires that felt like horsemen of the coming climate apocalypse, and a stressful election. It’s horrifying. … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST Making Customizable Interactive Tutorials with Google Forms free the information!, Higher Ed, instruction, librarianship, online education, reference, Work by Meredith Farkas on 11/5/2020 with 3 comments In September, I gave a talk at Oregon State University’s Instruction Librarian Get-Together about the interactive tutorials I built at PCC last year that have been integral to our remote instructional strategy. I thought I’d share my slides and notes here in case others are inspired by what I did and to share the amazing … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST The crushing expectations on working women and where’s my fucking village? career, libraries, management, Work, Work-life balance by Meredith Farkas on 8/3/2020 with 9 comments On Friday and Saturday, my Twitter feed was full of anger and frustration over a blog post on the ALSC (Association for Library Services to Children) Blog. Entitled “How Motherhood Has Influenced Me as a Children’s Librarian,” the post was problematic because it suggested (probably unintentionally) that childless children’s librarians could not connect with patrons as much or have … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST Recognition doesn’t have to be a zero sum game librarianship, libraries, management, speaking, Work by Meredith Farkas on 5/18/2020 with 1 comment As usual, the week the 2020 Library Journal Movers and Shakers were announced, I saw plenty of complaints about the award and, in some cases, awardees. I’ve been reading this sort of hurtful negativity since 2006 when I was named a Mover and Shaker (and a friend of mine wrote a blog comment calling us “the … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST Thoughts on work, well-being, solidarity, and advocacy in our current… situation ALA, hi, librarianship, libraries, management, Work, Work-life balance by Meredith Farkas on 4/8/2020 with 3 comments I have been wanting to blog for weeks. I have several blog posts I started that I just couldn’t get through. My attention span reminds me of my son’s at age 5 when his teacher delicately suggested we should have him assessed for ADHD. It rapidly jumps between various tasks at hand, my family, my … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST #LISMentalHealth: That time my brain and job tried to kill me about me, classic blunders, librarianship, Work, Work-life balance by Meredith Farkas on 2/18/2020 with 6 comments Happy LIS Mental Health Week friends! I want to start this post by recognizing someone who has done a great deal to support library workers’ mental health in the face of toxic workplaces, Kaetrena Davis Kendrick. Kaetrena has done some incredibly valuable research on low morale and toxic workplaces in librarianship and has created an awesome … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST My year in books (and podcasts) 2019 about me, hi by Meredith Farkas on 12/31/2019 with 3 comments This was a pretty good year for me. Nothing particularly amazing or wonderful or eventful happened to me, though my son has been such a source of pride and light for me that I sometimes can’t believe I’m his mom. I still live in the same messed up world we all do. My migraines have actually … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST When libraries and librarians pretend to be neutral, they often cause harm intellectual freedom, librarianship, libraries by Meredith Farkas on 11/4/2019 with 4 comments Two recent events made me think (again) about the toxic nature of “library neutrality” and the fact that, more often than not, neutrality is whiteness/patriarchy/cis-heteronormativity/ableism/etc. parading around as neutrality and causing harm to folks from historically marginalized groups. The insidious thing about whiteness and these other dominant paradigms is that they are largely invisible to … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST Thoughts at Mid-Career Part 5: Where to From Here? about me, librarianship, mid-career, social software, Work, Work-life balance by Meredith Farkas on 9/11/2019 with 9 comments This is the fifth in a series of essays. You can access the rest here, though it’s not necessary to read them all or in order. “To me, the only habit worth ‘designing for’ is the habit of questioning one’s habitual ways of seeing” -Jenny Odell, How to do Nothing “We have to fight for this world, but we … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST Thoughts at Mid-Career Part 4 – The Cult of Productivity: You’re Never Doing Enough about me, career, librarianship, mid-career, social software, Work, Work-life balance by Meredith Farkas on 8/28/2019 with 4 comments This is the fourth in a series of essays. You can access the rest here, though it’s not necessary to read them all or in order. “These days, I just want to slow down. I want to pull the shutters closed and block out the world… The more time I have, the more I realize that all that … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST Thoughts at Mid-Career Part 3 – Our Achievement Culture: What You’re Doing Will Never Be Enough career, librarianship, libraries, management, mid-career, MPOW, Work, Work-life balance by Meredith Farkas on 8/19/2019 with 2 comments This is the third in a series of essays. You can access the rest here, though it’s not necessary to read them all or in order. Of all my annoying qualities, my most self-destructive may be that if you put a ladder in front of me, I’ll try to climb it. Doesn’t matter if the entire premise … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST Thoughts at Mid-Career Part 2 – Ambition: You are Not Enough about me, career, gender, management, mid-career, Work, Work-life balance, writing by Meredith Farkas on 8/7/2019 with 4 comments This is the second in a series of essays. You can access the first here, though it’s not necessary to read them all or in order: “So maybe my great ambition, such as it is, is to refrain from engagement with systems that purport to tell me what I’m worth compared to anyone else. Maybe … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST Thoughts at Mid-Career Part 1 – Letting Go, Questioning, and Pathfinding about me, librarianship, mid-career, Work, Work-life balance by Meredith Farkas on 8/2/2019 with 9 comments This is the first in a (probably) five-part series of essays. For about two years, until January, I felt a disturbing lack of ambition. I felt directionless and passionless; devoid of my usual neverending energy and interest. I chalked it up to mid-career malaise, but it was more than that. Having only in the past … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST My year in books, 2018 hi by Meredith Farkas on 1/3/2019 with 2 comments I had such good intentions to blog more this year, but the second half of 2018 has thrown me a lot of curveballs emotionally and it’s pulled me away from a lot of the things that keep me engaged with others (funny how that seems to happen when you need people the most).Books are always a … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST “Devaluing” the MLS vs. respect for all library workers ALA, librarianship, libraries, library school, management, Work by Meredith Farkas on 6/28/2018 with 27 comments I’m sure some of you remember the big push last year and early this year to require the MLS for the Executive Director of the American Library Association (ALA) — if you don’t, here is an article, column, and blog post about it. One big argument I kept hearing was that we needed someone who understood and … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST We are atomized. We are monetized. We are ephemera. Do we deserve more online? our digital future, social software, tech trends by Meredith Farkas on 6/12/2018 with 5 comments In March and April, I took about 5 weeks off from social media. I didn’t post anything to or look at Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. I’d wondered if I’d feel disconnected or feel some irresistible pull like an addict to their drug of choice. To be honest, I didn’t really feel any of that. I didn’t … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST Wayfinding and balance at mid-career about me, gender, librarianship, management, tenure track, Work, Work-life balance by Meredith Farkas on 2/20/2018 with 9 comments It’s LIS Mental Health Week; a week focused on raising awareness of mental health. This post isn’t about mental health per se, but something that I think, for me, is very much exacerbated by anxiety and the constant negative self-appraisal that comes with it. Two blog posts really resonated with me recently. Sarah Houghton (who I believe … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST My year in books 2017 about me, ebooks, Work-life balance by Meredith Farkas on 12/27/2017 with 1 comment Reading this year has been so many things for me. An escape. A way to educate myself. A way to see my own struggles in a different way through another’s story. A way to understand the struggles of others. A way to better understand where I came from. This year I think I’ve read more than … continue reading ... SEE FULL POST Saying goodbye to the Library Success Wiki Wikis by Meredith Farkas on 11/6/2017 with 2 comments In July 2005, on the heels of the successful ALA Annual 2005 Wiki, I developed the Library Success Wiki. Here’s what I said about it then: “I would like this wiki to be a one-stop-shop for inspiration. All over the country, librarians are developing successful programs and doing innovative things with technology that no one … continue reading ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 » Last Meredith Farkas, Author, Information Wants to be Free Subscribe via RSS Subscribe to this blog From the Archives From the Archives Select Month March 2021 December 2020 November 2020 August 2020 May 2020 April 2020 February 2020 December 2019 November 2019 September 2019 August 2019 January 2019 June 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 July 2017 June 2017 March 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 March 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 June 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 November 2009 October 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 Categories about me ALA american libraries assessment blogging Book career classic blunders comment08 community college libraries community colleges ebooks election farce free the information! gender General hi Higher Ed Inspiring Stuff instruction intellectual freedom job search knowledge management librarianship libraries library school librarydayinthelife management mid-career MPOW online education open access open source our digital future random reference research RSS and Syndication screencasting search social bookmarking social software speaking tech trends tenure track Vermont Wikis Work Work-life balance writing Recent Comments Michelle on Drop the ball Michael on Drop the ball Ellen Hoffmann on Drop the ball Dee Dee Greene on Drop the ball Pbk - Customer Service | Pottery Barn Kids on Customer service problems with Pottery Barn Kids – Part Deux Most Popular Posts The essence of Library 2.0? 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