Daily Thoughts 11/19/2009

Gregg Arlington, Works Project Administration, 1940

Daily Thoughts 11/19/2009

Working With Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman was not what I expected. There was very little on how to improve your emotional intelligence. There were many examples of how emotional intelligence affected the workplace.

I was hoping when I picked up this book, it would give me exercises on how to think and act about emotions in the workplace. It did not do this at all. I found a single suggestion that was practical; write down how you feel things are happening at work. There was nothing else.

If you want a book on how teamwork, leadership, self-mastery, and self-regulation are more important at the managerial level than specific technical skills, this book is for you. Daniel Goleman gives many specifics on why someone who is more outgoing and socially capable will advance quicker than someone with exceptional technical skills but little social ability.

I found the argument persuasive, but would have liked some better details on how to address this issue in the work environment.

The writing was very heavy and was slow to read. It felt very intellectual. There are extensive notes and an index. I do not think that it met my purpose, but other people may find it useful.

I finished up reading the Wiki from Essential Twitter for Libraries Workshop run by Jaon Kucsma and Kathryn Shaughnessy. It gave me enough to have an idea on how to properly set up a twitter account for a public library:
1) Include your library name. 2) Include a logo or picture. 3) Include a link to your libraries homepage. 4) Use your logo or picture as the background for your page on twitter. 5) Include a statement about what you can do for people. 6) Announce new materials. 7) Announce events. 8) Announce important local news. 9) Provide links to interesting subjects. 10) Interact with your patrons. 11) Add relevant research sources like the Library of Congress and CQ Researcher. 12) Add local contacts like the city and county government.

I have been reading more of Smart Networking by Liz Lynch. It is asking me to stretch a little bit and try a few new things. Right now, I am a member of American Library Association and the Westchester Library Association. I am thinking about joining New York Library Association. I have never really done anything with these groups other than go to the conferences. Recently, I joined the American Library Association Connect social networking site which is interesting. I also am on Linked In. Facebook for some reason does not hold my attention that well. There is also my Alma Mater, University of Pittsburgh, but I am not sure that I want to spend money to join the Alumni Association. All of these places want a bit from you.

I always found conferences that deal directly with books like Book Expo America and Tools For Change In Publishing more interesting than library specific conferences. These are more industry conferences than professional conferences though. I am looking forward to the 2010 Day of Dialog between Libraries and Publishers. Again this is where libraries meet publishing, not purely a professional association conference.