Episode 901: Foundations!

This week we will start with one of the required topics in the series of ten offered by ALA: Foundations of Library Services. “These competencies are fundamental to understanding the mission and roles of libraries. These competencies cover the ethics, values, and governance of libraries, and the basic knowledge needed for all positions in a library.” Check out our full show notes here, for all the information, links, and other ideas. It doesn’t matter what you do in a library - it all contributes to the overall mission of service. Understanding a few fundamentals will help you to be clear on not only what you are doing, but why it is important and how it fits into the work all the libraries do to serve their communities.   Let’s take a look at each of the twelve different components the ALA has identified as important here, and talk about a little information on each one.

Om Podcasten

Libraries are amazing places! The work library people do is so wide-ranging, it can be hard to keep up on the latest news. We are here to help. Each episode, we focus on one area of library work, discuss library news stories, recommend some books, and share a Spotlight Library that is doing some interesting work. If your image of libraries is dominated by crabby old women who shush you, or places where they scowl when you take books home - you are in for a big surprise. Libraries are the jewels of their communities, and doing all sorts of amazing things every day! Books are the backbone of any library, and there is so much more to do and to use. Service to every member of their community means searching out and connecting with the needs of a lot of different groups. No matter what your interests, there is a library out there for you! Listen to us talk about some of the great things happening in libraries today!