LongShots Podcast

Sarah Long's podcast, "Longshots," explores the world of libraries through interviews with key library figures and commentary on issues that matter to libraries.

Longshots #237 A Love Letter to Librarians

Sarah talks with Marilyn Johnson, author of The Book is Overdue: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All. Johnson describes what motivated her to write this tribute to the new librarians that have guided her into the digital age. The book features librarians that are taking the profession out into the virtual and real communities they serve, including the Connecticut librarians that challenged the Patriot Act, the librarian that created Radical Reference, and the creators of Second Life.

Longshots #233 The Trend is Strong for Non-traditional Librarian Jobs

Sarah talks with Deborah Schwarz, president and CEO, Library Associates Companies (LAC). Contrary to reports, Schwarz sees a strong job market for librarians, as long as one is interested in less traditional library jobs, and LAC actually has more job listings than applicants. Scharwz stresses the positives on temporary positions for getting a foot in the door at libraries of all types.

Longshots #232: Rethinking Your Work

In this episode, Sarah talks with David Heinemeier Hansson, creator of Ruby on Rails, co-founder of 37signals, and co-author of Rework. They discuss how Rework can help organizations of all types rethink their work, the importance of working on an inspiration before the motivation fades, keeping policies fresh and updated, doing away with meetings, making small decisions and moving on rather than getting mired down in big decisions, and how ideas in the book can translate to non-profits and libraries.

Longshots #231: The Innovative Products of Gale-Cengage

Sarah talks with Nader Qaimari, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Gale-Cengage, about what they offer to the library world. Nader talks about some new products Gale has introduced, such as Powerspeak Languages, a tool that employs innovative methods to help users acquire a new language, and AccessMyLibrary, an iPhone app that identifies libraries in a user's area and connects them to the library's Gale resources. They also talk about Gale's award-winning offerings GREENR, Encyclopedia.com, and Grzimek.

Longshots #230: Is the Netflix Model the New Library Model?

Sarah talks with Sean Reinhart, director of the Hayward (CA) Public Library, about the launch of Hayward's Fines-Free Library Loan program. Based on the Netflix model, for a low monthly fee, library users have the benefit of unlimited loan periods and no fines. Reinhart believes that like the private sector, libraries must be responsive to changing expectations to ensure continued use and customer satisfaction.