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About
I am Laurie the Librarian and yes, I’m a real librarian and a real Laurie.
Contact
Email address: prangeresearch (at) gmail (dot) com
Blog: lauriethelibrarian.ca
Ezine: electrified.ca
Produced materials such as presentations and publications: Output
LibraryThing profile: http://www.librarything.com/profile/LaurieLibrarian
LibraryThing catalogue: http://www.librarything.com/profile/LaurieLibrarian
One-Line Bio
Self-proclaimed Super Enthusiastic e-Librarian
About Me
Hi! Thanks for stopping by!
My name is Laurie and I’m a Reference Librarian at an Institution of Higher Learning (IHL) in Canada. I chose not to identify my employer because not everyone is a supporter of the academic freedom of blogging and they believe that if I identify them, I give them right to have power over what I can and cannot write even though I do this on my own time and dime. I also work at other libraries in town when the opportunity arises. It’s been a great way for me to expand my library work experience, which goes back to when I was a child because my Mom, Lesley the Retired Librarian, roped my sister and I into working in her library and those of her friends. I can thank all those Saturday mornings, after swimming lessons, spent shelving books at my Mom’s school library for teaching me to speed read!
I live in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. And it’s not what you’re picturing. The southern Yukon region isn’t the Arctic, it is sub-arctic and the winters are better here than in southern Ontario where I grew-up. The summers are so absolutely spectacular that I’d rather not tell you too many details so more people don’t move up here and ruin it.
I am a member of the Canadian Library Association (CLA) and the British Columbia Library Association (BCLA) because the Yukon Library Association (YLA) is rather inactive, unless you count meeting for breakfast once a year.
In my free time, I am either cycling, hiking, canoeing, or doing some other outdoor activity with friends, or I’m curled up with a good book or some art project I’m currently working on. It all depends upon my energy level. I chose to live a vehicle-free lifestyle because I see this as one way I can help reduce climate change, but there is also the added benefits of helping me to maintain a healthy weight, the relaxing nature of walking, and how nice it is on my wallet only to have to buy a bus pass each month in the winter and bike all summer rewards me in many ways.
Being Electrified
Being electrified is about being both enthusiastic and full of energy and a little scared, just like getting an electric shock. An Electrified Librarian is someone who works with technology, this is where the electricity comes from, but isn’t necessarily limited to the digital world. The analog world has a lot to it too and who knows where the next realm of electronic production may come from? It doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to the current choices, therefore an electrified librarian wouldn’t limit her or himself to just the online world. Being electrified means always thinking, always reflecting, always questioning, always looking forwards to the myriad of possibilities arising in librarianship. The profession of librarianship is changing and expanding at an exponential rate right now and anyone who is electrified is riding the wave.
My Online Presence
Many of people have asked me why I have several different online and professional personae. The easy answer I can give you is that my employer requires me to draw boundaries. For things related to work, I am more than happy to have my full name and employment status associated with what I produce. For things not related to work but to my professional status of librarian, I prefer to separate it out into either my blog or my publishing persona in order to retain my copyright and control over what I produce. My blog persona, Laurie the Librarian, is often personal thoughts and opinions that aren’t fully formed. My publishing persona, The Electrified Librarian, is one of more developed thought and craftsmanship. The idea of The Electrified Librarian arose from the popular publishing series The Accidental Librarian and I envision one day sharing the title of Electrified Librarian with others. Who knows, one day it could even be someone’s job title! For right now, The Electrified Librarian is someone who produces reports for distribution and a column in my ezine Electrified.ca
It wasn’t always this way so if you see older things produced by me not following my current boundaries, please note that this has been an evolutionary process for me and I never envisioned the need to separate out things like this.
Education
- Currently working on my thesis in order to complete my Master of Education (Information Technology) from the Memorial University of Newfoundland.
- Graduated summer 2001 from The University of Western Ontario with a Master of Library and Information Science.
- Graduated summer 2000 from The University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Language and Literature.
- From Vancouver Community College, the School of Instructor Education, I have taken the following courses from their Provincial Instructor Diploma program:
- Instructional Techniques
- Instructional Media
- Evaluation of Learning
- From the Justice Institute of British Columbia, I have taken the following courses from their Conflict Resolution program:
- Conflict Resolution
- Building Your Communication Toolbox
Speaking, Teaching, and Consulting
I am always interested in sharing my knowledge with others. I have presented at several conferences since becoming a professional librarian and always welcome the opportunity to do more. Much of my job is teaching-based and I am available to work as an Instructor, specialty being in information literacy. I have also worked as an editor proof-reading bibliographies and theses, in addition to editing articles in the field of librarianship and online education. My future career goal is to go back to school and get my PhD in library and information science and become a Professor. However, that is a long time off.
Upcoming Engagements
- Nothing right now. Hey! It’s the summer in the Yukon. It only lasts 3 months and I’m not going to waste it!
Award
Excellence in Service Award. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. 2001.
Publications and Presentations
To see a list of my publications, presentations, and other such things I’ve produced, see the Output webpage.
Journals I Peer-Review For…
Partnership: The Canadian journal of library and information practice and research
http://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj/
Communications in Information Literacy
http://www.comminfolit.org
The Northern Review
http://www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/review/index.php
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