S.S. Librarianship

After a longer hiatus than usual, we're back with an ALA recap and some book recommendations for you all - DISCLAIMER: we know the audio is wonky on this one - the audio setup at our guest's end wasn't the best, and we also neglected to ask him to wear headphones to prevent echo. Unfortunately the reverb is in the raw recording, so there's nothing we can do this time - but we thought this was such a great conversation, we wanted to bring it to you anyway. Listen to it on low volume and it shouldn't be too intrusive! Mind Grapes: Alli's jumped on the Divergent train; Jason's been rediscovering critical works on an old favourite, Lord Dunsany; Sam's been rooting for the girl supervillain in The Girl Who Would Be King. Class Z(ed): Our good friend Jason Korff attended this year's American Library Association Conference in Las Vegas, which included appearances by Lois Lowry, Lemony Snicket, and even Stan Lee! He's here to talk to us about his experiences as a new librarian attending our largest professional gathering.

Mind Grapes: Alli's been going down a podcast rabbit hole with Kevin Allison's Risk Podcast on the Max Fun network. Sam is cautiously optimistic about new Sci-Fi television in the form of Extant. Class Z(ed): We put together an oft-requested conversation about the job hunting process. Both Sam and Alli have had some leaps forward recently by scoring their first jobs out of library school. Moving from the search through to the interview, we give our tips and advice about what the process looked like for us. We would like to add the disclaimer that this is our extremely subjective view - things may be very different where you are - but we would love to hear what the job hunt looks like from all sides. So let us know what you think!

Mind Grapes: Sam saw Monty Python Live (Mostly); Jon's all about the Dying Earth this week; and Alli's been bingewatching lady coming-of-age stories. NERD ALERT!: Jon sits in for the inaugural edition of a new segment where we tackle issues in nerd culture - this week, a freewheeling, wide-ranging conversation about what it means to be a "fan", and why it is that we use fandom to define ourselves and create connections with each other.

Mind Grapes: Sam watches last year's Oscar winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom about the history and lives of back-up singers. Alli gets out and gets running with the app Zombies, RUN! - a combination storytelling, run tracking, and motivational running program. Where do we put this?: Alli had been using her plethora of free time to do a great bookshelf re-organization. We talk about how we've organized our (many) books and where that drive in us comes from. We also want to know - how do you organize your books? Special Segment: We answer some questions we got through a fan email! We've talked previously about how we survived the MLIS, but what do you do when it's a fully online program? We have a few ideas, but are also interested in hearing what you have to say.

Mind Grapes: We're all about the summer movies this week - Alli was touched by the just-sweet-enough Jon Favreau vehicle Chef, and Sam has sore ribs from giggling her way though 22 Jump Street. Where Do We Put This?: We jump in, finally, to the #ireadYA conversation, talking about the books that shaped us, and the ones we still see as important for adults to delve into.

This week with special guests Tamarack Hockin and Ashley Van Dijk... Mind Grapes: Alli is going back to vintage strategy games with Heroes of Might and Magic III: Restoration of Erathia. Ashley is following up on recommendations with Lev Grossman's The Magicians. Tamarack is reading catching up with teen land reading with the The Lunar Chronicals by Marissa Meyer and All our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill, both virtually visiting the Surrey Public Library Teen Reading Club this summer by online chat. Sam finally got on the Wicked bandwagon with the tour that swept through Vancouver this week. We also discuss video game difficulty, time travel mechanics, and the Diana Gabaldon Outlander series. Class Z(ed): Ashley and Tamarack are library technicians - a designation that many of us were unaware of before entering the library world. We discuss the differences between the MLIS and Lib Tech education and job duties. We also touch on the relationship between librarians and techs and how to build those relationships in more productive ways. Bottom line: we are all colleagues - let's make libraries awesome together. Love the show? Show your S.S. Librarianship pride! Buy a button!

This week, with very special guest Kate Tkacik... Mind Grapes: Sam has been utterly charmed by a certain fictional community radio host; Kate has embarked on a year of female authors, and has something old and something new to recommend; Alli's been enjoying a lighter American take on a supernatural British drama. Class Z(ed): We're honoured this week to have Kate Tkacik on board to talk to us about her path to librarianship - from building collections and programming for at-risk youth, to library school and Library Journal, to her current gig as a Research Analyst for the BMO group. We also discuss the genesis of the Tumblarians movement, and the importance of outreach, community-building, and putting a human face on your work in every library context.

Mind Grapes: Alli gets to the art-house cinema to get some vampire movie action with Only Lovers Left Alive. Sam has been seeing some improv comedy, but also binging on The Good Wife on NetFlix. Class Z: We talk about Sam's experience at the Research Commons at UBC. We talk about how we need these kinds of spaces to serve the graduate student and faculty communities in our universities - a user base that we often take for granted but can't any more. We hit on programming, workshops, and providing the space to get graduate students out of their lonely silos.

Mind Grapes: Sam's been listening to Sheezus, and finds it a little diluted by domestic bliss; David's been stepping out of his comfort zone with The Famished Road and World War Z, but also returning to an old favourite (House); Alli's been reading two very different books, both by boundary-pushing women - Mindy Kaling's memoir and Kathryn Boo's exploration of Indian slum life. Where Do We Put This?: David is here to engage us in conversation about the library as a vessel for the public imagination. Among other topics, our wide-ranging conversation touches on the reference interaction as teachable moment, the librarian as guide and listener, and the library as a space that needs to balance present needs and future potentials.

We're Alli & Sam. We met in a pub the night before our first day of library school, and since then we've been through a lot together - classes, jobs, weddings, D&D campaigns - always finding ourselves engrossed in wide-ranging conversations about television, film, books, technology, and what it means to be a young, nerdy, lady librarian in the 21st century. This podcast is our invitation to you to join our conversation. We hope you'll join us by sending in a question, comment, or topic for us to discuss on the show!