Empowerment

Designing and Being Brave

/ dwakimoto

Happy Friday, dear readers! I hope your week has gone well and you have a wonderful weekend planned. I can hardly believe we’ll be in April next week. The time really does pass quickly, even if the spring days are getting longer here in the Bay Area. Today I just want to share a few links and thoughts about designing and being brave. I’ve been doing a lot of graphic design work this week so these two topics are on the forefront of my mind.

We’re getting ready for a week of National Library Week events at my library and I volunteered to take the lead on designing flyers, posters, and handouts for our events, so I’ve been doing a lot of graphic design work this week. And I love it, but it does take a significant amount of time, which I don’t mind because designing is one of the most fun tasks, outside of teaching and research, that I get to do. But it does mean that I have to be brave because when the posters go up and the handouts get given away, my designs are out there for potential criticism, which can be scary, even if you’re not designing something for some major campaign.

So I re-read this Lifehacker post on How to be braver in your everyday life and wanted to share it because I’m thinking a lot about being braver in everyday life, especially when it comes to sharing out my work and designs. Creating is super-fun, but sharing those creations can be a fear-producing thing because then it is in the public and not everyone will always like what you do. But I figure if I can handle the barbs (and sometimes incredibly unprofessional comments) from anonymous peer reviewers of my research, I can handle criticism of my designs. So that’s my baby way of being a bit braver and sharing out a bit more. I have to give a shout-out to Online Northwest because my presentation on graphic design there went over well, which has given me a lot more confidence to be brave about volunteering for design work and suggesting things at work.

I love hearing from artists about their work processes and what they love about what they do, so I obviously loved James White in this short video, How professional designers create their posters. I love how enthusiastic graphic designer, James White, is about his work and it looks awesome. If only all our library posters could look so cool and have such thought put into their designs.

One great way to make awesome posters or other designs for the library, or really for anything, is to start with a great photograph. So I had to share this lovely video on nine tips for photography composition, which uses amazing photographs by Steve McCurry to illustrate the tips. Watch and learn, or if it is all review for you, just admire the beautiful photographs.

I hope these videos and articles have pushed you, maybe, just a bit, into thinking about how you can be a little bit braver in your life and/or your library. Maybe they’ve inspired you, just a bit, to take a second look at a sign in your library or a flyer or a handout and think about how you might be able to improve it, just a bit. Or maybe you’re inspired to go out and capture some moments from you weekend. In any case, I hope you have a fantastic weekend and I’ll be back soon with more news and notes. Allons-y!

Projects, Projects, and More Projects

/ dwakimoto

Happy Friday, dear readers! Also, happy first day of spring! I don’t have much to say on the spring front other than I wish we’d get more rain in the Bay Area so that gardening can be a thing this year. But one thing that spring does make me think of is starting projects, both at home and at work, so I thought I’d share a few thoughts on projects today.

Although it should be self-evident, I like the reminder from Lifehacker that you can’t make time for more new projects without changing your priorities. Time really is the one non-negotiable constant in our lives and you can’t just cram more stuff in each day without something giving. It is really important, whether at work or at home, to determine what you can actually get done before taking on something new. No one wants to be the person that drops the ball on a project or is so stressed that they make others around them stressed. I think being mindful about your priorities and what you take on is key for maintaining (or creating) a balanced life that is challenging and rewarding.

Also, on that note, it is said a lot, but is worth repeating that stressing yourself out by running around like a chicken with your head cut off doing too much is not helping anyone. There should be no guilt attached to actually prioritizing time to rest, to recharge, and to read something that isn’t related to work. I always think it is sad when my fellow librarians are too busy and tired to read for fun, something that probably led us into the world of working with books in the first place.

This new year has been a year of many projects, especially research projects for me. It has seemed like all opportunities got dropped in my lap at once so I’m having to be very disciplined about timelines and deadlines for each project. Could I take on another one at this point? Not without seriously compromising the quality on the other projects I’m doing. I have to remind myself, and I’m sure others do too, that it’s okay to say no. Better say no than not be able to follow through for your project team.

To me the topic of projects is always tied to creativity because I think we can be creative in most of our work. I wanted to share this other article from Lifehacker on five creativity myths. While I don’t agree with everything in the article, overall it is a good reminder that creative people aren’t just born that way and the rest of us are out of luck. We can all do things to up our creative minds so we can add new twists and ideas to our projects. I think about this all the time when working on graphic design projects at work or when I’m trying to figure out how to best conduct a study for a research project. Have fun and don’t let the naysayers of the creative world get you down.

And because it is the first day of spring, I had to share a Joy the Baker recipe that says spring to me: classic lemon bars! I made these a few weeks ago and they were delicious. Her cream cheese pound cake recipe is also fantastic with some homemade jam as a spring time tea treat.

I hope you have a wonderful day and weekend, dear readers! I’ll be back soon with some more news and notes.

Learn by Finishing Things

/ dwakimoto

Hello, dear readers! I hope you have had a lovely week and a wonderful weekend planned. Today, I just want to share one thought on learning today and that is the importance of finishing things. So let’s get to it.

If you’ve never had the chance to hear Neil Gaiman talk in person, I do hope that you’ll get the chance at some point. He is a fantastic speaker and it is always wonderful to hear him reading his work and sharing his thoughts about writing and creativity and life. While not as good as a talk in person, this video of Neil Gaiman talking about the importance of finishing things is almost the next best thing:

I love this advice, along with his 8 tips for writing, and believe that it is incredibly important advice to remember no matter what type of project you are creating. There is always enthusiasm in the beginning, then the hard work sets in and a lot of people let a lot of projects go when they get to the middle bit. The middle bit, of basically any big project, is not the fun part. It isn’t the beginning when you are energetic and everything seems lovely and wonderful. And, they’re not the end bit where you can see the light and time for a nap. The middle is hard, but the middle is where you put on your big girl panties and deal with it, as my momma would say. You keep going and then you finish your project. And you learn.

I try to help my students see that finishing their work, even if they don’t want to and even if it is more difficult than checking their texts, is important. That they will learn and feel accomplished by finishing projects, even if they seem audacious or impossible. In a 10-week quarter, this might mean tackling a research question they actually care about, rather than one that is easy. In their lives, it means whatever they want it to mean.

For me, finishing things makes me smile. The journey might be important, but if you never get to the destination the journey isn’t so hot either. In research, I’m not finished until I’ve written up the article, submitted it, revised it, and (with any luck) seen it published. I’d love to stop with just my research sometimes, but then I haven’t finished.

Just like with a blog post, nothing writes itself. It is up to us, always, to actually finish what we’ve started.

This is going to be the last blog post on The Waki Librarian for a while. I’m going on hiatus through the beginning of December while I try to finish a few other things and then see where I want this blog to go next. Have a lovely weekend, dear readers. Allons-y!

Blog Action Day 2014: Inequality

/ dwakimoto / 2 Comments

Happy Thursday, dear readers! Today is Blog Action Day 2014 and this year’s theme/cause is inequality. I recommend checking out the Blog Action Day website to see a list of all the sites posting on the theme today as I know there will be some really excellent posts. Today I just wanted to write a bit about inequality and libraries to share some thoughts with you.

It is almost too overwhelming to know where to begin writing about inequality, so I’m going to zoom in a bit to libraries. Most of us have heard or seen the horrible statistics that show just how unequal the division of income and goods and medicine and opportunities are spread around the world. I’m sure some of us have contributed to charities, non-profits, and other organizations dedicated to helping fight inequality, in its many forms, in many places around the world. And I know some of us have volunteered time working with organizations whose missions are to help others. Trying to rectify inequality can seem like an impossible task and I know that it causes some people to give up hope, to throw up their hands, and to let others take point. But that isn’t the way to make the world better, but I understand the feeling of desperation and hopelessness and cynicism. So today, I’m not going to reiterate statistics or offer a way to fix the world (not to mention, I’m not sure how to do that), but I do want to talk about libraries and why I truly believe our work is vital in helping individuals succeed.

I work at an academic library on a campus of around 14,500 students. We have an incredibly diverse student population with many students who are immigrants and/or the first in their families to go to university. Many of our students come from what is termed “disadvantaged economic” backgrounds. Most of our students work, some work to support their extended family. We aren’t an Ivy League school and we don’t have the huge endowments, but we do have a fantastic community of students and we, at the library, are here to help them succeed.

In the library, we have the only open computer lab for students on campus. Some of our students don’t have internet access at their houses, so having a place to use our high speed internet is vital for them to succeed in their classes. We help everyone who comes into the library and access to information, I believe, is one of the key ways that we can fight inequality. Gaining knowledge, being able to make connections while in school gives our students the chance of succeeding, of “making it” in our incredibly competitive, individualistic, and income-centric society. We know that we can, in the library, help students succeed, even if for that day it just means being able to get their textbook on reserve instead of buying one or being able to find an article so they don’t think they have to pay for journal article access. While the cost of university is straining our ideals of public education here in the United States and contributing to a rising inequality, at least the libraries are still a place where people can come and get help and resources for free.

Because we are fortunate to have an information literacy course that is required of our first-year undergraduates, we have more of an opportunity to impart information and skills and resources that can help them with their schoolwork and with their lives. I take seriously my duty to teach them not only how to research and evaluate sources, but also how to use their new skills and knowledge to help others in their family do the same and to question the status quo so that they have a chance to create what they want in their lives. Their goals and mine for our lives might be different, but we can work together to see each other succeed.

Librarians, no matter where they work, have the ability to use their talents and knowledge to help obliterate the inequality of access to information. This is not some impersonal task, but one that is deeply personal and helps us work together on an individual level that I think makes the task seem manageable. I may no be able to change the world, but I can help someone today.

So while we may complain internally and externally that librarians don’t get the credit or respect that we deserve, we do get the thanks of those we help. And, in our small way, in our quiet way, we take a stand every day to do our part in going against the tide that says everything has to be a monetary transaction, that there always has to be those who have and those who do not have. Libraries gird us with the knowledge that allows us to reshape the world. And, I hope we reshape it to be more equal, more just, and more merciful.

So, dear readers, I leave you with John Oliver on Last Week Tonight talking about the Wealth Gap in the United States, and hope that you have a good day, a productive day, and hopefully a day that leaves the world a bit better than when you awoke. I’ll be back soon with more news and notes. Allons-y!

Play and Work

/ dwakimoto

Happy Friday, dear readers! I hope your week has gone well and you have a relaxing weekend planned. I’m looking forward to relaxing this weekend after spending last week moving and unpacking in our new home. It is hard to believe we are already through the first week of September. It is inching closer to the start of the quarter here on campus and I feel the usual combination of excitement and panic at the start of another academic year. It seems appropriate at the close of the summer (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere) to talk a bit about play and work as it seems like the being of another school year the balance seems to flip back to work as opposed to play. So let’s discuss a bit.

The idea for this post came courtesy of this post at tiny buddha: benefits of bringing more play into your work. I enjoyed reading about how play became infused into the work day and professionalism and productivity didn’t suffer. And, happiness increased. That is just great and it is always nice to have these kind of stories because I think they help to persuade management and administration that having fun and working don’t have to be polar opposite forces, opposing each other. And I think that is something that more of us need to keep in mind, whether we work in a library, archives, or wherever.

My first publication as a librarian was titled, “Seriously, play!” so obviously this concept of integrating work and play is near and dear to my heart. (It can still be read here). What I found interesting then, and still interesting now, is that while some people acknowledge the importance of play in learning and in work, others don’t and/or won’t see that play is important to work. While I don’t think we can change everyone’s mind to seeing the value of play in work, I would suggest that we can use this knowledge to our own advantage as we try to increase engagement and happiness at work.

Being open to play at work doesn’t mean we are going to be having water balloon fights in the stacks (that would be horrible for the books), but that we can be open to trying new things and being a bit silly at times. And that makes for a more comfortable environment and closer teams so that when we do have to tackle tough deadlines and projects, we actually have the reserves and desire to do so.

I think being able to see and experience play and work as supporting each other instead of battling each other is another way to combat the ongoing fight of creating a balanced life. If we aren’t enjoying our work and being engaged at work, I don’t see how we can ever have a balanced or fulfilling life. Then each workday is just a slog and that is no way to live. Finding moments to test out new things, to try new things without judgement and to support each other in these goals is what makes my workdays better. Also, let’s face it, it is almost impossible not to smile when someone else is smiling and not to catch some excitement or happiness when someone else is obviously enjoying their playful work and invites you to join in.

As an example, I approach every teaching experience as one part stand-up comedy routine, one part experiment, and one part serious academic. This balance works for me and has been working for my students for the last six years. Humor is a great way to break tension, especially when students are learning difficult concepts and struggling, as they should as they grow as learners. A sense of experimentation is necessary as not every group, student, or class learns the same or responds to the same material or delivery or exercise or whatever. And being a serious academic is necessary to lead the class, to facilitate learning, to guide the students, and to make sure that respect goes both ways in creating a positive, supportive space. I’m passionate about my teaching, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun with it. If anything, if I stopped having fun and having a playful attitude around it, I think I’d probably be the most boring, horrible teacher for my students, if not just a bad model for what it is like to be a professional or academic.

So, I just wanted to say that I think we can all infuse a little more play with our work and gain a lot for our working lives from our play. So remember to enjoy. Life is too short to have people tell you that you need to be serious all the time or that play and work go together like oil and water. It’s all a process, this life and work, so make it a fun one.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend full of play. I’ll be back soon with more news and notes. Allons-y!

Don't Be A Flake!

/ dwakimoto

Happy Friday, dear readers! I hope you had a lovely week and are looking forward to a great weekend. If you are in the United States, then you probably are looking forward to the long weekend of Labor Day as I know I am. But before we get to the weekend, I want to take this post to write about something I’ve been thinking about for a while as I’m wrapping up summer projects. I want to share a very important and simple tip for getting ahead at work, getting respect, and actually getting things done: don’t be a flake! Let me explain.

We all know what a flake is or what flaking behavior is, right? Well, just to make sure we are all on the same page, flaking is not holding up your end of the deal, canceling plans at the last minute, or not coming through on a promise. At work, this means not getting your assignment done on time and therefore holding up the team’s work, forgetting to send in a report that you said you would, or dropping a project at the last minute because suddenly you are too busy to actually get the work done. While no one is perfect and everyone (and I mean everyone) forgets something occasionally, repeatedly flaking is bad both in personal life and at work.

The best solution? Don’t be a flake! It’s like Yoda said, “Do or do not. There is no try.” You don’t try not to flake on people, you just don’t do it.

If this means you have to keep multiple calendars, to-do lists, and set reminders for yourself, then you do it. If it means that you have to actually take a moment and think about committing to an extra project, task, or committee, you do it before you say yes. It isn’t complicated, but it can be hard to change a behavior, especially if it has become your default setting. But if you do, I bet you’ll see huge benefits as you become known as a person whose word can be trusted and who always gets their work done, no excuses.

The great thing about becoming someone whose word is trusted is that you find that you get more opportunities. People want to work with you and come to you with interesting things. They know they can count on you to help out, pull your weight, and that they won’t be left scrambling to put out fires at the last minute when you’re not around to do the work. It may take a while to rebuild that kind of trust if you’ve been flaking for some time at work, but it can be done.

This is especially important in the library world, which is small and word can get around if you are prone to flaking on work, even if everyone swears you are the nicest person ever. I don’t really care if you are nice if I can’t depend on you to get things done after you’ve promised.

The wonderful thing to is that when you have your fallible human moment, as we all do, and something slips by or something comes up and you didn’t get something done or simply can’t and need to ask for help, you’ll be amazed at how many people are willing to help you. This is because you’ve helped them and it’s a virtuous cycle. Stopping flaky behavior doesn’t mean you have to be perfect; it means you have to keep your word and when life happens, you let people know so your network can help you, just like you’ve helped them.

Remember flakiness is only good in biscuits and pie crusts, not in the workplace.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, dear readers. I’ll be back soon with more news and notes. Allons-y!

Working Better

/ dwakimoto

Happy Friday, dear readers! I hope your week has gone well and you have a lovely weekend planned. I’m looking forward to some relaxation this weekend. But before we get to the weekend, we have to get through Friday. I’ve always found Fridays to be both a great day to get a lot of things done (nothing like an impending weekend to fire up the desire to get as many things off one’s plate as possible) and a day that requires a constant fight of inertia (because, really who wants to work when it is almost the weekend?). So I thought it fitting to share some articles about how to work better so we can get done what we need to and enjoy our weekend free from worrying about work. So let’s get to it.

I think we can all agree that sometimes email can be overwhelming. I know I’m not a fan of having a full inbox of emails. So I was happy to see this post on Lifehacker about the key to better work? Email less, flow more. I am a total convert to not having my email on all day long and only checking email a few times a day. I’ve told my colleagues that I don’t have email on all the time so if it is an emergency, or if they just need a really quick answer, they should call me. I love having less interruptions from the constantly updating inbox and also feel like a huge productivity pro when I can quickly run through all my emails when I do log in instead of breaking up my workflow on my other work. How do you like to manage your email, dear readers, and how do you manage to get into your flow state at work?

I think we can all agree that part of working better is knowing how to avoid burnout. I love this suggestion for doing what you love regularly and not having an existential crisis about trying to figure out what you really love to do. Great quick tip and pretty easy to implement, especially if you are not wasting all your time with email (see above).

Finally, I recommend this read on the biggest pitfalls of long term goals and how to beat them. We may be way past new year’s day, but that doesn’t mean we still don’t have long-term goals that we are working on. I really like these tips as they are concrete and I can relate to all the stages that the article outlines. Hopefully you find some good take-aways that will help you with your next long term goal.

I think the most important thing to remember to working better is to focus on your most important tasks and figure out how to optimize the other tasks you have to do (like email, for example) so they don’t take up the best, most productive hours of your day. For me, single tasking, batching emails, and writing down daily to do lists help me work better. Having lists of longer term goals and sitting down each month to determine what progress I’m making and where I need to go next, help me with my longer term goals. Finally, for me, figuring out how to fuse some of my non-library passions with the work I do in the library is re-energizing my passion for librarianship and scholarship more generally, which I think is a great thing.

So, dear readers, how do you work better?

I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing (and possibly even email-free weekend), dear readers. I’ll be back soon with more news and notes. Allons-y!

Summer and Focus

/ dwakimoto

Happy Friday, dear readers! For those readers in the United States, happy 4th of July! I’m excited to have a three weekend, do some celebrating and relaxing, and really feel like it is summer time. In honor of summer, let’s talk a bit about focusing and a bit about relaxing so we can enjoy the summer.

I know it might sound a bit counter-intuitive to want to talk about focusing and relaxing in the same post, but I really think they have a lot in common. I enjoyed reading this article from Lifehacker, why we brag about being busy and how to regain focus, which really resonated with me. It is so important to focus, especially when we have so many deadlines to meet and different things competing for our attention. In that vein, I love the idea of asking
yourself what you can let go every day. No one likes unending to do lists and it is always nice to be able to totally take something off one’s list.

And with better focus, hopefully we’ll have some more free time and can use it to build your summer manifesto. I love the idea of a summer manifesto and have started creating one for summer. I find that time flies by so quickly that if I don’t plan out some things to do, it will be fall and I won’t have done anything! On my summer manifesto: eating outside, planting some new flowers, and doing a lot of fun reading.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend, dear readers. I’ll be back soon with more news and notes. Allons-y!

Tips for Negotiations

/ dwakimoto

Happy Friday, dear readers! I hope you had a good week and that you are looking forward to a restful weekend. But before we get to the weekend, let’s talk about negotiation. I don’t know about you, but I sometimes find negotiating difficult. Because it is difficult, I like to arm myself with strategies and tools, and wanted to share some with you.

Did you just get promoted? If so, great job! Did you negotiate a raise? You should. You and I both know it, but it can be hard to ask for a raise. Luckily for us, Lifehacker as a good article on the right way to ask for a raise and get what you deserve. Yay for getting what we deserve!

I’m always interested in learning new negotiation techniques, so I thought I’d share this one: use the yes and negotiation technique to get better results.

Also, because really, who doesn’t like lists of three things? They are so easy to remember. I give you Lifehacker’s how to be a better negotiator with these three rules. Now go out there and create some winning outcomes in your negotiations!

And, because it is Friday, we should really end with something fun. So, go and check out these awesome Welcome to Night Vale glow shoes then check out the podcast, if you aren’t already a fan.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, dear readers. I’ll be off next week doing a bit of traveling, but then back in July for more news and notes. Allons-y!

My Brain is Dead, So Here's an Inspirational Video

/ dwakimoto

Happy Friday, dear readers! I don’t know about you, but this week has totally kicked my butt. I’m exhausted and it is the end of the quarter, which means lots of grading. So today, instead of writing a post that would probably be nonsensical, I just wanted to share a great video.

I really find Brené Brown’s work useful and she is an awesome speaker. This talk, “Why your critics aren’t the ones who count,” really resonated with me this week. I hope you find it useful and inspiring, too. My favorite quote, “If you’re not in the arena also getting your ass kicked, I’m not interested in your feedback.” Love it.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. I’ll be back soon with more news and notes. Allons-y!