Justin Brasher, The Brash Librarian

Hey Friends!

So I had my first week of classes for the summer, and let me tell you…it was like getting punched in the face with candy, fun and rainbows! This semester, I’m taking:

Storytelling: Yes, I actually get to tell stories for class credit. Other majors, be jealous. I haven’t acted in quite some time, and it kills me! Classes that run week nights kind of make it difficult to attend rehearsals, so I can get a bit of my actor out and perform for my class. Thank you Dr. Koontz for asking me to take her class at the FLA convention!

Foundations of Information Professionals: A very friendly and fun class! Learn about the roots of professions in the information field – good if you’re not sure where you want to land after your MLS.

Management of Information Organizations: Given that I want to go into management such as a library director or branch manager, this is a great class for getting some of those skills!

Whoa up, I’m getting ahead of myself! What about my spring grades? Oh yeah:

When your car breaks down, call on AAA. Or A-A-A. Ka-POW!

So…yeah, I’m on a pretty good streak. Whoo-hoo!

As for my 15 minutes of fame this week, I was having a stressful Friday. My good friend Emma was having a stressful week, I took my 3rd library assessment test for Alachua County Library District’s Page position (fingers crossed!), and I just felt burned out. My super awesome friend Jovon (creator of my totally sweet banner) offered to take me out for Mochi yogurt, and it was delicious! On my way to Mochi, a got a call from another friend, Devon. Turns out he was rolling into town with a moving truck and unloading it with nobody to help – yikes! Given my superhero complex and urge to help people, I promised him I’d be right over. After yogurt, of course.

After some delicious Mochi, some deep conversation with Jovon and a hug from a man dressed as Jesus in the downtown plaza, I set out to help Devon unload his truck! Devon thanked me profusely, and I told him it was no problem at all. I was certainly flattered, but not nearly as much as what came next: “So how your Brash Librarian blog? Do you plan on working for the CIA or any of those other jobs you mentioned?” FLATTERY, ENGAGED.

“You actually read my blog?”

“Oh yeah, I like keeping tabs on my friends and knowing what’s going on in their lives. Your stuff is actually fun to read, too. Well-written, entertaining…better than most of the blog stuff out there.”

I was in shock. People actually read the nonsense I put up here? And they LIKE it?!? This makes my work worth it. Helping people makes me feel better, too. We worked and organized the stuff into the storage unit until well after the sun went down, but we got it all in! He promised to thank me with pizza and beer, but knowing he was reading my blog was thanks enough. I wonder who else reads my blog that I don’t know about…

Coming up: got another Unusual Librarian who rocks and other goodies.

Stay classy, kids!

Justin Brasher, Brash Librarian

AVENGERS, ASSEMBLE!!!

Hey Friends!

So last week, I went to the midnight premiere of Marvel’s newest superhero movie, The Avengers. The midnight crowds are always a blast – fans in costumes, kids bouncing up and down in excitement, me wearing my “What Would Batman Do?” shirt, as did my friend Crissy. (Literally, it says “WW(Bat logo)D?” on the front.) Let me just say that it was awesome. As much as I’d like to rant and rave about how great the action was, the non-action was just as stellar.

As an actor, director and writer, I’ve really grown to despise bad acting and even worse plots; however, it’s also helped me recognize greatness when I see it. Let me tell you, people: the dialogue was incredible. Seriously, the movie should get the Oscar for Best Screenplay. Not a single line was thrown away, every piece of talking meant something and it was refreshing to see character interactions that weren’t completely useless to the plot.

What brought all these great things together? Firstly, it was co-written and directed by famed comic nerd Joss Whedon; you may recognize him for writing and directing Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Firefly, Serenity, and Dollhouse. He also wrote Cabin in the Woods, Toy Story and Roseanne. In a nutshell, he gives the people what they want in a show. Add in fantastic actors like Oscar winners Jeremy Renner and Gwyneth Paltrow, Oscar nominees Robert Downey, Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson, and you’ve got people who can carry the movie from start to finish. Comic fan or not, I’d recommend this movie to anyone.

If you’re unacquainted with the movie or the franchise, have a look at the trailer:

“WOW! This movie looks awesome, Justin. I don’t understand what this has to do with librarians though.”

An excellent point, naysayer! Firstly, I wanted to continue my relentless pursuit of breaking down librarian stereotypes. Yes, library people do midnight shows and go crazy for superheroes. Yes, we even stay up past 8pm. Surely, I’m going to tie this into library science, right? Of course! My good friend (and sidekick at this point) Katy let me know that Marvel comics is currently hiring for an Inventory Specialist Intern! The description reads,

You’ll think you’ve died and gone to comic book heaven as you lovingly pour over Marvel’s stockpile of comics, trades, and hard covers while cataloging them into a magnificent Excel spreadsheet. But, wait! There’s more! You’ll also assist with the delivery of incoming packages, prepare bundles containing new comics hot off the presses, and sort packages of comics to be mailed to our stable of freelancers. Candidates should be detail-oriented and able to work independently. Knowledge of our comics is helpful, but not required.

That’s right, comic fans! They even make comic book libraries! If you’ve read this far and tolerated my comic book yammering, I’ll reward you with a photo of me as Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man.

I actually had the Tony Stark goatee for about half my undergrad. It was awesome.

COMING UP: I’ll discuss my new classes and my grades (which were top notch, BTW). Till next time!

Justin Brasher, Brash Librarian

Hey Friends!

This week, our unusual librarian is NOT fictional! That doesn’t happen often. Thank you Katy for sending this my way, BTW. Say hello to Andy Burkhardt, who helped bring dogs into his library to help kids during finals! Petting animals has been proven to reduce stress and lower blood pressure, so this was a public service to students everywhere! Many students started posting on Twitter and Facebook about the joys of puppies being in the library. Soon, the small room they had for petting had to be moved to a much larger room to accommodate all the students!

PUPPY!!! OHMYGODSOCUTE.

You can read his article here for all the details. I salute you, Andy! Way to help the patrons! You rock, sir. You rock my socks.

Now let’s all get out there and help those patrons the best we can!

Justin Brasher, Brash Librarian

WHOA PEOPLE!

Before I do anything else…can we all just take a moment and bask in that new banner? Ahhhhhhhh. Indy taking a stack of books pretty much sums my life up. Especially the whole “running from boulders” thing. A thousand thanks go to my good friend Jovon!

Also, a quick shout out to my friend Emma who had her birthday last week. Happy birthday, E!

So I’ve been buried in finals and other brouhaha for quite some time! I know you’ve all been anxiously awaiting to hear from me, so let me be *brash* and jump right in! (I couldn’t resist.)

The Florida Library Association (FLA) meeting was about two weeks ago, I was there from April 17th-20th and had an amazing time! You can see all the goodies and links here. FSU held a mixer the first night and I had a great time meeting professors and making friends. I had the pleasure to speak with Professor Christie Koontz, mostly about how the Brash Librarian can help FSU get more kids into the MLS program. I’ll also be taking her Storytelling class in the summer! Anyone who has ever seen me tell a joke knows I will rock that class up and down the street.

Me with Christie Koontz! If she had anymore FSU gear on, she'd have war paint and feathers on! That girl behind us looks lost.

Other new friends I’ve made include Meredith Myers, the Stand-Up Librarian! She too has a totally sweet blog loaded with videos, adventures and her own clothing line! Check out her blog here.

The Stand-Up Librarian, Meredith Myers! She's a cutie, buy her clothing!

Meredith did some great stand-up comedy at the FLA showcase which you can see below!  Other acts included songs, dancing, storytelling, science theater, even a break dancing gecko…let’s take a look!

So this lady inflates a giant balloon, crawls into it and pops it. Awesomeness!

If a clown missing pants can't teach you about the solar system, nobody can.

A break dancing gecko. No, literally. The dude wiggles his tail and spins around on his head like a boss.

The other presentations, lectures and demonstrations were everywhere ranging from all over…emerging technologies, finding employment, children’s reading programs, virtual reference, legal research, library partnerships, open source resources, film making, senior reader advocacy,  social media and demographics, E-Books…even folk tales! For the degree that can take you anywhere, there were certainly enough venues to show you where and how you can take that degree.

One of my favorites was Award Winning Elevator Speeches: Being ready to advocate your library anytime, anywhere. Honestly, they had me at “elevator speeches”. Having a background in business and theatre, I really enjoyed Chhh Chhhhanging: A Library Job Isn’t Always In a Library. During these tough economic times, librarians have to do whatever work they can; I feel this presentation showing other paradigms in how librarians can adapt to non-library jobs was vital to anyone in the field. Should there be no library jobs when I graduate, I want to know how else and where else I can use my skills to gain employment. As much as I’d like to use my skills to be Batman, I don’t think will happen. At least not for awhile.  I had an awesome time peeking in on an Ethnographic Assessment Techniques workshop given by my friend, Rachel Besara. (Sorry I couldn’t stop to say hi, Rachel!)

Out on the exhibition floor, I got to meet tons of great people. I was walking past a booth when a very pretty girl said those magic words…”Hi! Would you like to see our Zombie Dictionary?” WOULD I? Anyone who knows me knows how completely obsessed I am with zombies. I actually won The Black Theatre Network Young Scholar Essay competition in undergrad for my essay on George Romero’s use of zombies as a social commentary on racism in his 1968 film, Night of the Living Dead. Long story short, I really love zombies. Actually, I hate them – hence me trying to stop them from taking over the world. A fun chat and seven dollars later, I had the book and a new friend, Victoria!

I swear, I just can't away from zombies. It's all that cross country shambling they do.

Great times, great people, great everything! Well, my friend got this really salty margarita, but they gave her a new one.

BUT WAIT!

Just when you thought I was done, I throw even more at you! After coming back home on Friday, I ran in the Swamp Dash Marathon the following morning. That’s right, we’re talking a 5K obstacle course of high adventure! Mud slides! Barbed wire! High walls! Ropes! Nets! Underground tunnels! Pipes! Hay stacks! Bars! My shoes literally fell apart – the soles tore halfway off, so I ripped them off completely and kept running. Some scrapes, dings and cuts were well worth the medal and beer we got at the end of the race. Yes, they actually give you a can of beer if you can finish the race. An ice cold beer after nearly an hour and a half of slogging through mud is way more satisfying than I expected. I dedicated my run to my friend Garrison who recently passed, may he rest in peace. Many thanks to all the friends and family who helped us train for this!

Me with my running mate and lifelong friend, Dylan!

“So Justin, librarians do more than sit in a library? They go to conventions and stuff?”

Yes, condescending voice in my head, they do! We even run in marathons and drink beer on occasion! I considered running the Gator Gauntlet coming up in May, but I’ll probably be at the May-Hem Sci-Fi/Horror Convention in Orlando.

Conventions, marathons, all in a day’s work for the Brash Librarian.

Coming up! I’ll have a new Unusual Librarian Who Rocks this week along with other goodies. Have fun out there, everyone!

-Justin Brasher, Brash Librarian

Good day, friends!

I finished a final paper early, so I thought I’d goof off on Facebook AND be productive at the same time. Hence, The Brash Librarian is now on Facebook! Like it, love it, and feel free to add me as a friend, too.

http://www.facebook.com/brashlibrarian

Don’t forget to shoot me an email anytime at BrashLibrarian@gmail.com

More to come. WHEE!

JB, the BL

Props to Katy Harris for shooting this my way:

CHICAGO — How many times have you heard the words, “Tell me about yourself”?   Did you know that this interview question is a fantastic opportunity for you to distinguish yourself from other candidates?  Did you know that powerfully written accomplishment statements on your resume can help you make the cut and get that interview?

Join the ALA JobLIST Placement Center for the next in a series of online chats from noon – 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 26,  (Central Time) to discuss how you can make these opportunities work for you.  In this session you will discover the secrets of a well-written resume and the power of a compelling career story.  Bring along your resume and learn some strategies to enhance the way you present yourself. It doesn’t matter if you are a new graduate or someone who has years of experience.  This session will provide useful tips that almost everyone can use to improve job search strategies.

http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/ala/power-storytelling-your-job-search-free-online-chat

Get money, get paid!

Hey Everyone!

I know, I know, you’ve all been anxiously awaiting for my newest posts. It’s been an explosive week. FLA! SWAMP DASH! FINALS! VIKINGS! Okay, I made that last one up.

I promise I’ll have all this and more in the coming days. In the meantime, enjoy this clip from The Bourne Ultimatum. It’s slow going at first, but check out 2:00-2:20. “Holy crap! Did he just beat that guy up with a book?” Yes he did! I understand Book Fighting is an elective at FSU.

Hope that kept everyone happy until I can turn all my final papers in.

Coming up this week: My FLA trip, another unusual librarian, my swamp dash race, and perhaps some things to vote on? I feel I need a slogan. Or at least a logo. We’ll see.

Till Next Post!

Justin Brasher, Brash Librarian

Howdy Howdy Hey!

Okay, so here’s the deal: I’ve been pulling people into the MLS program and really getting the ball rolling. I email out the details to each person, and I realized it would be much simpler to just make a post for them (and the world at large)! If you arrived here because I got you interested in the MLS program, I welcome you!

Now then! If you’re interested in FSU’s Information Science program, here’s where you start:

http://slis.fsu.edu/

Here’s the program I’m specifically in:

http://slis.fsu.edu/Graduate-Program/Master-of-Science-Degree

To answer your FAQs:

-It is only 36 hours, no thesis required. At three classes a semester (counting Summer A, B and C), you can be finished in a year.

-It can be done completely online, and Florida residents get instate tuition.

-All that is a required is a Bachelors in virtually any degree.

-The degree is what you make of it – it can literally take you anywhere you want to go.

-Other questions? Comments? Observations? Post in the comments below!

I’ll see you in grad school!

Justin Brasher, Brash Librarian

OH SNAP, WE GOTS ANOTHER!

So I hit the downtown arts festival the other day with my friends and had a great time looking at photos, paintings, carvings, sculptures, jewelry and all kinds of great stuff. On the way back through downtown, one of my friends stopped into her work to pick up her paycheck and didn’t want to go in alone; naturally, I went in with her to keep her company. Turns out she was working in the local theatre, my home away from home!

As we walked, she confided that she was losing her passion for theatre. “I just don’t feel into it anymore, like I’ve lost my passion, my fire…you know?” Of course I know! My double major in Theatre and Business? The guy who went out to California for acting and came back because he lost his fire? It was like looking at a younger female version of myself. I told her my story – as a guy who lost his fire for acting, I still love acting but I only do the roles I want. As I tell my friends, I’m not for hire.

After we got a chance to sit down and talk more, I learned that she’s wanted a change of pace and career. Like me, she loves being involved in the theatre but wants to do it for the love of it. At that point, I asked her what else she loves to do. “Well, my minor’s in Art History…I’d really enjoy something like a museum curator.” In my mind, a museum curator and a library director are both management positions that call for similar skills. I told her to check out the program, and she asked me to email her the details as soon as I could. WHEE!

Thanks, Chuck!

This is how it’s done, my fellow library people. Get people involved! People need to have their stereotypes smashed. Information and library sciences = totally rad.

Stay classy kids, get into the program!

-Justin Brasher, Brash Librarian

Hey friends!

So I was catching up with an old friend the other day over coffee. I asked her how work was going, and she told me her work woes: she’s under appreciated and underpaid at a dead end job she doesn’t like; she wants to quit, go back to school and find a better job, but she’s not sure what she wants to do. Does this sound like anyone you know? Maybe it sounds like you.

I started explaining the MLS program to her and all the potential routes it can take. She’s been wanting to go into graphic design and marketing so she can work in advertising. I told her the MLS program only requires a Bachelors, regardless of the field. (My Bachelors is in Theatre, come on.) She loves finding information, data mining, surveys, etc and has office experience to boot…Did I mention that all of these can be found in the MLS program? I brought up the idea of working for the public library system – health benefits, vision, dental, retirement, even tuition assistance!

“I’d like a nice quiet desk job, and I love to read!”

…AND BINGO WAS HIS NAME-O! I emailed her FSU’s MLS program website (along with a link to Brash Librarian!) and our county public library’s application website – which also happened to have an open library position!  She’s already applied for the library position, and is looking into the MLS program along with getting her Bachelors!

The Borat approves. He's probably an MLS, too.

And that’s how it’s done, children. Lowering the average age of MLS students, one recruit at a time. You stay classy kids!

Justin Brasher, Brash Librarian