#gpolj

I would like to present my successor, who will be taking up the LJ Tumblr around August 26: Liz French! Here's what she has to say about herself:

I hail from Indiana, where it's practically a law that you like basketball. I do like basketball, also watching old movies, collecting — and wearing — vintage clothing, reading voraciously (but of course!), and hanging out with my adorable rat terrier mix, Pitzi. Oh, and the boyfriend, Otto the artist.

Yes! In case you haven't heard, I'm heading off to grad school this August to get my MFA in fiction at UMass Amherst. (What? Yes.) You can read more about it here.

A World of New Titles: Editor’s Picks | BEA 2013

An ALAMYFACE Introduction

Hello. Your LJ tumblrer, pictured above, is the person in the middle. (Erin "Laser Fingers" Shea, of Darien Library, is to my left; Henrietta Thornton-Verma, editor of the LJ Book Review, is to my right.) I may or may not be holding a white board if/when you see me, but yes my glasses are that big. My name is Molly. You can also find me on Twitter.

Here are places I will be during ALA:

Set Phasers to Internet: A Tumblarian Meet Up. 7pm Saturday. Internet friends IRL. Free drinks, raffle, space playlist.

Tumblarian 101: Tumblr for Libraries and Librarians. 8am Monday. Talk Tumblr with Rachel Fershleiser, Erin Shea, Kate Tkacik, and yours truly.

Any of the sessions I mention here.

Probably also Kate's dance party, LJ's Library of the Year reception, LJ's reviewers reception, the Que(e)ry party? We will see.

I will have these things:

Also libbananas (but only at SET PHASERS TO INTERNET).

Farewell LJ, Hello NYPL

Josh is leaving us, and LJ will be the poorer for it, but as recompense he does give us all a look at his LJ origin story:

When I think back on how I’ve gotten to this point, I end up going back to my first job out of college, at a gossip magazine (you’ve definitely flipped through it while on line at the grocery store).

I started as a copy editor but quickly moved over to and up through the ranks of the research department (yes, gossip magazines have research departments—usually good ones, because they constantly walk the litigation line). I loved the fun, fast-paced environment, filled with carefree twentysomethings who reveled in the irony of using a liberal arts education to set the bar for lowbrow.

That is, until the job stopped being ironic. I realized after a few years that the shallow enjoyment of the irony had worn off, and though I had a knack for the research, I wanted something more. That’s when I went to library school, as I wrote in my admission essay, “to use my powers for good.”

I never thought the experience would aid me in my search for a job related to libraries. Fortunately, I was wrong. The magazine experience helped get me an interview at LJ, and the background I gained during my LIS education, including the basics of a variety of technology skills, were enough to convince them to give me a chance (though the variety of grueling edit tests surely played a role as well).

Gender Struggles | What We’re Reading