Creativity for Library Career Advancement: Perspectives, Techniques and Eureka Moments

by Vera Gubnitskaia (Editor), Carol Smallwood (Editor)

Overview

"Creativity is just connecting things," observed Steve Jobs. In today's diverse, ever-changing job market, creativity is more necessary than ever. In a profession offering a broad range of job opportunities, librarians are surrounded by myriad connections to be made. They are trained to recognize them.

This collection of new essays covers a wide spectrum of methods for cultivating creativity. Topics include learning through role-playing games, libraries as publishers, setting up and using makerspaces, developing in-house support for early-career staff, creating travelling exhibits, creative problem solving, and organizing no-cost conferences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476674018
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	06/18/2019
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.53(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Vera Gubnitskaia has worked as a library manager, consultant, and reference librarian in public and academic libraries in Russia and the United States. She has contributed chapters to several professional publications, edited multiple anthologies, and published book reviews. She is currently an art fellow at Crealde School in Winter Park, Florida. A Michigan resident, Carol Smallwood has practiced in school, public and special libraries. Her primary interest is practical librarianship, and she is the author of journal articles and editor of numerous books.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Foreword (Deb Biggs Tenbusch)
Preface
Part I. Nurture Your Mind
The Power of Incubation: Slowing Down to Speed Up Creativity (Jim Jipson and Kellie Sparks)
Two Worlds, One Outlet: Zine Making and Critical Reflection for Professional and Personal Development (Silvia Vong)
It’s in the Cards: Using Tarot Reading to Access Professional Creativity (Laura Wimberley)
Part II. Out of Comfort Zone
What Is Your Quest? Learning Through ­Role-Playing Games (Michael P. Buono)
Growth Lessons Learned from a ­One-Year Fellowship in a Nontraditional Library Environment (Dana E. Thimons)
Applying Improvisation in Libraries and Librarianship (Anthony Stamatoplos)
Let Your Voice Be Heard: Libraries as Publishers (Kathleen Christy)
Part III. Exercising Imagination Muscles The Art of ­Pseudo-Archives and Its Role in Advocacy (Anastasia S. ­Varnalis-Weigle)
Reinvention Through Necessity: One Librarian’s Evolution from ­One-Shots to ­For-Credit Teaching (Mary Todd Chesnut)
The Library as Laboratory: Using Makerspaces to Cultivate Organizational and Personal Creativity (Courtney McAllister and Christine R. Elliott)
Firing Up Personal Growth with the Spark of Creativity: How to Start a Creativity Group for Library Staff (Leslie A. Wagner)
Part IV. Writing and Publishing
Following in the Footprints of the Master (Detective) (Robert Perret)
Poets and Scholars: Foregrounding Librarians’ Creative Writing
and Out of the University Classroom (Rochelle Smith)
The ­Tenure-Track Librarian as a Scholarly Researcher (Rachel K. Fischer)
The Writerly Librarian: Creativity and Writing (Addison Lucchi)
The Process of Research and Publication as a Tool for Personal
and Professional Growth (Astrid Oliver)
Part V. Innovative Business Practices
Small Steps, Big Impact: Professional and Personal Growth
and Development (Robin R. Breault, Brooke McDonald Shelton and James Ritter)
Transparency and Subterfuge: Encouraging Creativity in Academic Libraries (Jack Maness, Erin Elzi and Shannon Tharp)
Creative Accommodations: Finding the Best Solution for Library Employees with Invisible Disabilities (Joy M. Perrin and Carrye Kay Syma)
Contagious Creativity: Leveraging Staff Talents and Interest
to Find Career Satisfaction (Shelia Gaines and Casey Parkman)
Developing ­In-House Support for Early Career Staff (Paula Archey, Maggie Nunley and Erin E. Pappas)
Part VI. Visual and Performing Arts Music to My Ears: Using Amateur ­Music-Making as a Means of Vocational Specialty (Bruce R. Schueneman )174
A Shutterbug in a World of Bookworms: Photography as a Creative Outlet in Academic Librarianship (Michelle P. McKinney)
Artful Information: Lessons for Librarians from Visual Artists (Tim Gorichanaz)
Arts Enrichment for a Working Artist Librarian (Yolanda Poston)
Part VII. Partnerships, Collaborations and Networking
Finding Your Librarian Voice: Creative Ways to Get Involved
and Share Ideas (Holly Mills and Sharon Holderman)
Collective Creativity (Amy Gay and Kelsey George)
Around the State in Postcards: Creating Traveling Exhibits (Ruth Elder and Jana Slay)
Part VIII. Budget Matters
Creative Problem Solving in Libraries: Budgets, Staff and the Lack Thereof (Nora Franco and Marla Lobley)
Beyond the Boot Camp: ­No-Cost Conferences (Heather C. Seminelli)
About the Contributors
Index

Editorial Reviews

An insightful collection...expertly organized and presented...an extraordinary, informative, comprehensive, and insightful contribution that is very highly recommended”—Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher