All the Lonley Acronyms, Where Do They All Belong?*

The library blogs I read are all useful to me in a myriad of ways, whether it’s informative about the current state of librarianship or just to provide some humor to keep from getting bogged down. Regardless of purpose, however, I’ve noticed that there is a disparate mixture of spelling out acronyms vs. letting acronyms stand on their own.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m OK with acronyms on principle. I did my undergrad at a university that had an acronym for absolutely everything; if something had more than one word, it was abbreviated. The problem was, particularly as an incoming freshman, I was wading through an alphabet soup of nonsense-words with no context. It only added to the natural jitters that came with starting at a new school in a completely new environment. It’s funny how life parallels itself sometimes. Now that I’m entering another new environment and experiencing online education for the first time with my MLIS, I’m feeling a bit of the same freshman jitters that accompany the excitement of starting a new chapter in life. And I’m again in the position to become familiar with a horde of new acronyms.

Now, if I didn’t have the wherewithal to use my resources to find out what the acronym stands for, I have no business trying to be a librarian. For the most part, Google is at least a quick fix. Plus the AmericanLibrary Association (ALA) has a great glossary of acronyms that I’ve found useful as well. But when I come across an acronym I’m unfamiliar with, those old jitters creep up and incite a feeling that is in stark contrast with everything else I’ve encountered in my steps toward a career change. 

Everyone I’ve spoken to about getting into Library Science has been nothing but encouraging and welcoming to me, which is why it’s so surprising when I come across an acronym without much context. I realize that there is a certain level in any career where acronyms just come naturally (10 years later, I still use the acronyms of my alma mater) but for those of us entering the field, it can give an air of exclusivity. In a field that is adapting to changing times, getting broader in scope and is trying to become more user-friendly, it’s always helpful to have an acronym spelled out on its first use just to get everyone on the same page. After that, feel free to abbreviate away for the rest of the post. (Or, if you’d prefer to save word space, Gava Libraria has used an elegant solution.) This is particularly useful when (as I’ve found on Google) some acronyms can have more than one meaning. While context usually eliminates the outlandish possibilities, a newbie can harbor a fair amount of lingering doubt as to whether he/she is using a term properly. 

So I offer this as a plea to all the librarian bloggers to be your encouraging, welcoming and educating selves and help out the newbies. Please explain your acronyms. It helps clarify any misunderstandings plus offers those of us unfamiliar with your terms another way into your awesome field. Once we learn the lingo, we can only be more helpful to you! Plus, for any non-librarians who may read blogs or articles because they are trying to understand just what the library is good for nowadays (for funding purposes, perhaps?), it’s helpful to wipe away some of the opaqueness that can shroud the profession in the eyes of the general public. Spelling out acronyms is a simple yet profound way of letting people in and I think letting people in is a good way to keep libraries accessible to all.

If you have any other resources for acronym translations, please post it in the comments. If you have a preferred way of explaining an acronym, or if there’s an industry standard I’m unaware of, let me know that, too!

*Adapted from “Eleanor Rigby,” with, of course, greatest deference to The Beatles.

There's a Giraffe at the Library!! *

This is the first of what I’m sure will be many posts that begin with me exclaiming, “Libraries are awesome!” mostly because, well, they are. I love their thinking-out-of-the-box approach to community engagement and I’m lucky enough to have more than one in my area taking this approach. The impetus for this particular exclamation occurred on what would otherwise have been a fairly mundane Monday.  As I drove to the Peabody Institute Library in Danvers, I saw that its entire front lawn had been turned into a sculpture garden. There must have been a dozen or so sculptures dotting the landscape in front of the building giving the entire area the feeling of a casual, modern art museum. 

It turns out this library is pairing with the Barn Workshop Gallery for a limited-time presentation of sculptures. It’s a fantastic way to meld community and culture and the location is perfect. Where else do community and culture come together on a regular basis? At the library, of course! 

I must have been too deep in my reverential musings about the natural pairing of libraries and culture because what I saw next nearly made me drive off the road. As I turned the corner to enter the parking lot I was greeted with this:

Surprise!

This detailed sculpture is an unexpected contrast to the mostly abstract collection leading up to the entrance. The giraffe is so lively it looks like it’s simply passing through on its way to downtown, pausing briefly to look both ways before crossing the street (safety first, naturally).  If the appearance of a life-sized giraffe in suburban Massachusetts wasn’t enough make the average onlooker gawk, the perfect positioning of the sculpture will. As you’re driving by, the giraffe’s head is tilted so it looks directly into the car, as though it’s curiously examining you while you’re taking in the sculpture (or, in my case, regaining control of the car).  I don’t know precisely who worked on placement, but whoever did is a diabolical genius. Not only was I startled out of my post-work haze, but once I regained my senses, I felt like, just for a moment, I was transported to a wild animal park, suddenly on safari instead of my errands. 

Since I’m an animal lover at heart, it may be that this sculpture spoke to me more than it will to other people, despite its brilliant placement. The sculpture that looks like a double-sided slide might be the one that makes other passers-by slam on their brakes in astonishment. But I won’t forget that feeling, a mixture of awe, delight and “holy crap!” anytime soon. 

The feeling may have been triggered by seeing the art piece, but it was brought to me by the library. Without the library’s collaboration with the gallery, I would never have known any of the pieces I saw existed and I would have been deprived of the experience of a giraffe greeting me at the end of my day. It’s easy to forget how much of an impact libraries can make on our lives, offering intangible, but nevertheless important encounters beyond the physical housing and distribution of materials. I sometimes forget that when I simply search the catalog online for a specific title to borrow. But because of this library, I have a picture and a memory that will make me smile for a long time. This curious, copper giraffe is my reminder of how libraries can offer great experiences to their patrons. 

More information about “Celebrating the Art of Sculpture” can be found at:

www.danverslibrary.org

www.barnworkshop.com

*Doesn’t that sound like a children’s book title?