Book Review Archive: How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit on a Plane?: Answers to Your Most Clever Math Questions

This review was originally published online as part of SLJ’s August 2017 Xpress Reviews.

How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit on a Plane?: Answers to Your Most Clever Math Questions by Laura Overdeck

Continue reading “Book Review Archive: How Many Guinea Pigs Can Fit on a Plane?: Answers to Your Most Clever Math Questions”

My 2016 ALA Ignite Session, “Tricks of the Trade: Tips for Collecting Comics and Manga”

Backstory: In 2016, I attended my first full ALA Annual Conference as a librarian. I had been to the exhibits in 2011, but that was when the conference was in New Orleans in a convention center I knew pretty well. Adding to the excitement, I had submitted a proposal to present an Ignite session (a five-minute talk on a topic) and it had been accepted. My talk was at 11:50 AM on Saturday morning. At 11:20, I started trying to find the location where I’d be speaking, got a bit lost, and ended up making it to the room at 11:40. I got there and immediately noticed two things: 1. The room was a lot larger than I expected it to be, with a lot of people in it, and 2. There was a stage set up at the front of the room with five people up on stage and an empty chair for me. I was so embarrassed that I was late, apparently I should have been there before the first person was due to speak at 11:30, but I couldn’t do anything about it at that point. I made my way to the front of the room and when the next person got up to speak at 11:45, I slipped into my spot with 5 minutes to spare. At least I didn’t have too long to get nervous.

Here is a slightly edited version of the speech I gave that day with some of my original slides:

Continue reading “My 2016 ALA Ignite Session, “Tricks of the Trade: Tips for Collecting Comics and Manga””

Productivity in a time of uncertainty

Or welcome to my new website.

In 2014, I was finishing up my M.L.I.S. by taking a course in digital libraries, learning about designing websites and databases among other skills. For my birthday that year, my spouse gifted me with my own domain, and has renewed it every year since. Now, in this hopefully specific and finite moment of self-isolation and social distancing, I have finally taken the time to get this set up.

I’m going to use this platform to post book reviews, highlight some of my favorite collection development resources, and maybe talk about my experiences in the library world.