Thinking Outside the Book: Essays for Innovative Librarians

by Carol Smallwood (Editor)

Professionals in all areas of librarianship will find inspiration in the essays collected here--each of them innovative tips for increasing circulation, enhancing collections, and improving flexibility. With extensive experience in the nation's top libraries and media centers, the 73 contributors describe what really works based on their real-world experiences. Organized by subject, the essays offer succinct and practical guidelines for dozens of tasks. Topics include preparing and delivering distinctive presentations; forming a successful grant proposal; hosting a traveling multimedia exhibition; organizing effective community partnerships; writing blogs; hosting authors; creating cybertorials; preserving local culture--and many others.

Genres: Nonfiction, Librarianship, Professional Development, Information Science

285 pages, Paperback

First published June 4, 2008

Reviews

[Heidi Wiechert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thinking Outside the Book is an excellent resource for public, academic, and school librarians. The essays contained within cover everything from dynamic presentations to blogging, how to increase teen participation to senior outreach. There are also practical essays about time management techniques for library staff, how to write professional reviews, and how to get articles published.

I particularly liked the instructive essays on blogging and how to increase community outreach. No matter how "A-game" any of us are, there's always room for improvement. Thinking Outside the Book gives tips and tricks from librarians on the front lines and, even more valuable, their own experiences and observations. Save yourself time and headaches when implementing new programming and management ideas at your library- read this book!

[Corey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of essays from librarians in all types of positions: academic, public, school, medical, etc. It's an interesting idea, but it loses itself a bit in translation. I found that many of the essays were outdated (especially in terms of "required technology" and broken links). Still, I focused on the topics that are of particular interest to me: publishing, blogging, and embedded librarianship. I just skimmed or skipped those that didn't relate to me.

A good option if you can get it via ILL or borrow from a friend.

[Eric Phetteplace · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of short (3-4 page) essays on new ideas for libraries. I would recommend this to any librarian who feels stuck in a rut and wants to incorporate something new and exciting into their routine. That being said, the essays are pretty low on detail and I didn't find much value in the collection because I already have plenty of ideas right now. Reading an essay on how to create a blog, for instance, is not too enlightening for me. For the ones that were interesting--like grant writing or publishing--I would rather read an in-depth treatment. Also, the editing for this collection must've been sort of lax: the essays vary widely in format, some heading heavy some without any headings, some lots of bullet points others none, few citations anywhere.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of this book is outdated; some is not. This collection of essays includes some really good ideas and introductions to several interesting projects. However, having just finished library school, I think that I am pretty good at "thinking outside the book." It does cover a wide range of services and programs though. So it is definitely worth checking out.

[Chade66 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to use the term "read" loosely here since I mostly skimmed this book. However, I did find some articles interesting enough that I would recommend this book to any librarian who might be looking to take things to another level.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wrote a chapter for this.

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers excellent tips for creative programming, and ways to explore alternative means of funding public libraries.