Opinion

My ability to make strong arguments about how our academic libraries should navigate the new ecosystem of digital books (e-books & audiobooks) seems to be inversely related to the amount of time I spend engaging the library community on these issues.

Many of you may think that this post is going to be about the different stages of professional maturity as academics progress in their careers, but no, this is not what I intend to write. My point will be the about the personal maturity of academics and the way it affects how they handle both their social and professional lives.

I’ve been reading a lot of reactions to the way the Occupy Wall Street library was removed from Zuccotti Park when the Occupy Wall Street encampment was broken up. It’s a situation charged with symbolic meaning. The initial reports that the library’s 5,000 plus books had been destroyed by the police was countered by a chirpy tweet from the mayor’s office with a picture of books safe and sound in a sanitation department garage. Many tweets later, it turned out that around half the library was missing and much of what was salvaged was damaged.

Will Amazon's new Kindle Fire be a hit on college campuses? Is it the next hot new educational tablet?

Since I will not be writing for Inside Higher Ed this time next week, I thought I would take some time this week to reflect on some of the things I am thankful for at this time of the year. I am sure that everyone could add to such a list from their own lives.

A few years ago, as I was contemplating a step from provost to president, I asked a college president how he managed the demands of the job with young children who were just then entering high school. He replied that he had never found a satisfactory answer to the question but that ensuring daily conversations with his children, no matter where he was in the world, and building time into the schedule, were key.

Graduate assistantships often dictate the pathways for a student affairs professional. Our experience during our masters program can have long-lasting impacts on our functional area choice post-grad school. Oftentimes, our assistantship department is able to send us to at least one professional association conference. Usually, we choose the association and its conference based on the job that we’re doing in exchange for a tuition remission / stipend. However, how many people in their student affairs graduate program learn about what I like to call “the student affairs association acronym soup”?

The computer club had a bake sale on campus. As I neared the table, one of the students called out “Save a nerd! Buy a cookie!” Impressed, I complied.