Libraries See Opening as Bookstores Close; New York Times, 12/27/12

Karen Ann Cullotta, New York Times; Libraries See Opening as Bookstores Close: "As librarians across the nation struggle with the task of redefining their roles and responsibilities in a digital age, many public libraries are seeing an opportunity to fill the void created by the loss of traditional bookstores. Indeed, today’s libraries are increasingly adapting their collections and services based on the demands of library patrons, whom they now call customers. Today’s libraries are reinventing themselves as vibrant town squares, showcasing the latest best sellers, lending Kindles loaded with e-books, and offering grassroots technology training centers. Faced with the need to compete for shrinking municipal finances, libraries are determined to prove they can respond as quickly to the needs of the taxpayers as the police and fire department can. “I think public libraries used to seem intimidating to many people, but today, they are becoming much more user-friendly, and are no longer these big, impersonal mausoleums,” said Jeannette Woodward, a former librarian and author of “Creating the Customer-Driven Library: Building on the Bookstore Model.”"

Nine Ways Successful People Defeat Stress; Harvard Business Review, 12/13/12

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Harvard Business Review; Nine Ways Successful People Defeat Stress: "It is more or less impossible to be any kind of professional these days and not experience frequent bouts of intense stress. The difference between those who are successful and those who aren't is not whether or not you suffer from stress, but how you deal with it when you do. In the spirit of Nine Things Successful People Do Differently, here are nine scientifically-proven strategies for defeating stress whenever it strikes."

You Can Go Home for the Holidays; Chronicle of Higher Education, 12/20/12

David D. Perlmutter, Chronicle of Higher Education; You Can Go Home for the Holidays: "Being a graduate student or a professor is a peculiar profession by the standards of most others—with quirks that are hard to explain. When switching jobs academics may give nine months' notice. We may work hard for many months to produce an article for which we get no direct monetary profit. (A graduate student told me that her grandmother, incensed at such an outcome, threatened to call a journal's editor and demand they "pay up.") In a typical university system we achieve only two promotions in our lifetimes (administration is less advancement than another track altogether). People pursuing other careers—CIA agent, lobster fisherman, banker—can be mystified by our system, its nomenclature, demands, and rewards. A recent story in The Chronicle, "Here's Smarty-Pants, Home for the Holidays," explored the particular difficulties that doctoral students from working-class backgrounds undergo with their families during holiday gatherings. But returning home—and talking about just what it is that we do—can be culture shock for most academics. Certain frames of mind, coping mechanisms, and practical tactics, however, can alleviate your anxiety and lessen possible clashes with the natal clan."

‘I Love My Librarian’ Awards Honor Three School Librarians; School Library Journal, 12/19/12

Rocco Staino, School Library Journal; ‘I Love My Librarian’ Awards Honor Three School Librarians: "Robert Massie, author of Catherine the Great, Portrait of a Woman (Random House, 2011) and winner of the 2012 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, praised the work of librarians in a speech. Massie, former president of The Authors Guild, also asked that librarians fight to maintain copyright, saying, “without copyright, there won’t be authors.” Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, said, “Sandys come and go, but libraries always stand.” Each honoree received a $5,000 cash award, a plaque, and a $500 travel stipend to attend the awards reception in New York City. Nominees must be librarians with a master’s degree from an ALA-accredited MLIS program or a master’s specializing in school library media from an educational unit accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education."

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh gets healthier; ’13 budget up by 3%; Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 12/18/12

Bill Zlatos, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh gets healthier; ’13 budget up by 3% : "The Carnegie Library has kept all 19 regular branches open, started a “pop-up” branch in Allentown last month and expanded hours, thanks in large measure to a new library tax, gaming table revenues and improved fundraising. On Monday, the system‘s board approved a 2013 budget of $28.7 million, which is 3 percent more than this year‘s $27.9 million budget... “Between that and the gambling money, you‘re talking about $3.7 million that didn‘t exist. They‘ve been very successful at implementing the strategy they put in place,” he said."

After Criticism, Public Library Offers Peek at Renovation Plans; New York Times, 12/19/12

Robin Pogrebin, New York Times; After Criticism, Public Library Offers Peek at Renovation Plans: "In the 10 months since the New York Public Library announced plans for a $300 million renovation of its Fifth Avenue flagship building, scholars and writers have accused the library of abandoning its commitment to research and questioned how the circulating library across the street could be shoehorned into a treasured landmark. But something crucial has been missing from this debate: what the transformed library will actually look like. On Wednesday, that will become clear when the library unveils the design by the British architect Norman Foster...The renovation will leave the main reading room on the third floor untouched. Nevertheless, Mr. Marx appears prepared for those likely to construe any change to the Fifth Avenue building, with its lion sentries, as sacrilege. “Anytime you engage in a renovation of a building as beloved as this one,” Mr. Marx said, “there is going to be controversy.”"

A Good Mentor Never Tramples on Big Dreams; New York Times, 12/8/12

Adam Bryant, Corner Office, New York Times; A Good Mentor Never Tramples on Big Dreams: Interview with Tony Tjan, chief executive of Cue Ball, a venture capital firm based in Boston: "Q. You must do a lot of mentoring. Any advice? A. One of my partners, Mats Lederhausen, has developed a good framework for mentoring. It was inspired by Deepak Chopra, but Mats has evolved it over the years. There are five questions to pose to someone you’re trying to be a mentor to: What is it that you really want to be and do? What are you doing really well that is helping you get there? What are you not doing well that is preventing you from getting there? What will you do differently tomorrow to meet those challenges? How can I help, and where do you need the most help? The sequence is important. You have to understand the larger purpose; understand the person’s self-awareness around their strengths; understand external or intrinsic blocks to doing that; and understand the person’s plan and motivation to change before you just assume you can help. It’s just as important, for clarity and to reinforce self-awareness, to have the person play back to you after the meeting in an e-mail what they heard and said."