Blogging about Professional Blogs

I spent quite a bit of time choosing blogs to follow for this post and was surprised by how difficult it was to find bloggers working in museum libraries. Archivists are a bit easier to find, but the majority of blogs still seem to be about school libraries, public libraries, and academic libraries.

Overall, it was interesting to see the different approaches people take to blogging about librarianship. Some strictly stick to issues surrounding librarianship, some mix in current events and personal feelings, and others include posts about completely unrelated topics. There seem to be as many blogging styles as there are types of librarians. 

The first blog that I followed is Archivist Rising. Marian Matyn has been an archivist for over 20 years and currently works at Central Michigan University's Clarke Historical Library. She updates her blog quite frequently and most of her posts are about news articles that relate to archives/libraries in some way. Some posts are about documents that have recently surfaced or been authenticated, others are about privacy, and a few are about exhibits or auctions that have taken place. It is a nice assortment of articles that might not make the nightly news, but are still worth reading about. This shows how important it is to keep up with current events, even if it isn't about advances in technology. I particularly appreciate when this blog, and many others, post job openings. Jobs can be hard to track down because they are posted in so many different places, it is nice to see that bloggers are looking out for their fellow professionals.


Instead of focusing on a single blog for this next part, I'm going to share a few individual posts that directly relate to museum librarianship.

The post So, You Want to be a Museum Librarian? on the blog Letters to a Young Librarian is a particularly great post that concisely sums up some key points to consider. (And it's written by Detroiter!) Many of the points that Kristin makes directly relate back to things that I learned while doing my library visits earlier this semester. The idea of one-person libraries comes up again, with a reminder that in that situation a librarian has to do everything. Kristin does a great job of explaining all the hard work that goes into being a museum librarian, but she still makes it sound fun and rewarding.

The blog Hack Library School has a great post about preparing for a degree in art librarianship. It discusses organizations that are worth joining, schools that offer dual-degree programs and what to do if your school doesn't. The post is very general, but it can be a good jumping off point.

Finally, the blog Future Art Librarian is written by a student with the aspirations of working in a museum library. While she isn't a professional with that type of experience to share, it is nice to read about someone who is on a similar path.