Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Floundering

I feel as though I am floundering a bit in my job. Sure, I'm getting stuff done - lately a lot of number and data crunching. But just that vague feeling that there has to be something more, some truly intriguing project that will make a difference. And it's only going to get worse as summer approaches.

Summer is downtime for librarians in academia. The spring semester is often quiet but summer is even quieter. Not nearly as many classes, very little instruction to be done, mostly self-guided projects. I find the transition to summer so difficult.

Any suggestions for how to self-motivate? Any ideas for cool library projects?

3 comments:

Brian said...

Hi Kate-

Lately I've been fascinated with QR codes, and it seems like a technology perfect for an academic library. You could spend the summer creating subject guides or pathfinders on pretty much any topic you like, and then put those QR codes in appropriate places around the library - or even around campus. But the success would all depend on students' interactivity, so it would be a judgment call based on your school.

reyn said...

I vote for a blanket fort spanning the entire building. That should take a few weeks, if you go all out, and put in a nacho bar.

Kate said...

Brian - there have been some discussions about QR codes on one of the listservs I subscribe to. I will have to check it out.

Reyn - that is an awesome idea. That's going to take a lot of blankets. Hmmm.