Two things

1. There is another group specifically for young and new librarians on Ning. As they've been around longer and have more traction, I'll happily cede the field to them, but I'll keep my space open if anyone feels the need. The other group is at: http://youngnewlibrarians.ning.com/

2. ALA-APA is looking for volunteers for researching "Loan Forgiveness Programs". Here's the e-mail sent out by Jenifer Grady on Newlib.

I'm looking for volunteers who will research Loan Forgiveness Programs so that I can present a report to the ALA-APA Board (same people as the ALA Board) to find out if this is something ALA-APA or ALA can pursue or has pursued. As you know ALA-APA can only work with the help of others, and this would be a wonderful service. You also may have immediate access to government documents that I don't have here. The Board is meeting mid-April, so I'd need what you find by April 6 so that I can synthesize what you sent me. The questions I have are under the umbrella of "What is the history of the Loan Forgiveness Programs?" and I'm sure there are more. Do I have any volunteers?

Who initiated it the Teachers Federal Loan Forgiveness Programs?
When?
Who was involved along the way?
What evidence did they give to convince the government to pass this?
Which government agencies were involved and how?
What barriers were there to its acceptance?
Who were the main supporters and detractors?
What was asked for initially and was the request limited before acceptance?
How has the program changed?
Are there programs for other professions? e.g. http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/downloads/lrap/lrapfinalreport.pdf
What state level programs are there for loan forgiveness and what are the parameters?

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Non-MLS and Librarian Salary Surveys available now! Order Now! For more information: http://www.alastore.ala.org or 866-746-7252
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ARE YOU CONTRIBUTING TO ALA-APA? http://www.ala-apa.org/donate.html
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Jenifer Grady, Director, MSLS, MBA
ALA-APA: the Organization for the Advancement of Library Employees
50 E. Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
312-280-2424
800-545-2433, x-2424
312-280-5013 fax
jgrady@ala.org
www.ala-apa.org
Library Worklife newsletter
http://www.ala-apa.org/newsletter/newsletter.html

99% of my best ideas come when I'm in the shower

While I was brainstorming for what I want to say in an upcoming post about my life with Library 2.0, it came to me. "It" is a new area for young librarians. I've been active since the end of last week on the Library 2.0 group on Ning. Over the weekend, I was reading a recent Blatant Berry blog entry. It brought back an idea that I thought about and discarded when I first started tYL: a forum for young librarians. Back then, I didn't have the time to muck around with a bulletin board program and NexGenLib and Newlib were going strong. They still are, but NexGenLib has moved to a new service and new management, and I didn't stick around for the brouhaha that caused the shift. Newlib has recently been the setting of a series of highly negative discussions, hence the Blatant Berry post. Two comments in that post are what struck a chord with me. The commenters wanted the positive elements of NexGen and Newlib without the overwhelming negativity. There needs to be a new area for young librarians. The problem with listservs, and frankly with any electronic communication tool, is that it's easy to turn it off and forget what usefulness it has when it's being inundated with negativity. I'm in no way trying to supplant NexGenLib or Newlib because I do feel they both have value, and they both have developed communities over the years. Plus, what works for one person is not going to work for all. So, with all of that background, I am unveiling the Young Librarians space on Ning.

http://younglibrarians.ning.com

I'm saying this now, I will not tolerate trolls or extended negative discussions. I'm not denying your opinion or your right to have it, just the ability to burden this space with it. The lot of new librarians is rarely a walk in the park, but downward spiraling discussions over your inability to find a job or furor over the party line of the "Great Librarian Shortage" helps no one. If you join the group and want to complain about not being able to find a job, be prepared to post your resume and/or cover letters and have them critiqued.

Anyone can join, but only members will be able to get beyond the first page. I will not be moderating photos and videos, so please use your best judgment. However, I am asking that everyone share a little about yourself when you join. There are some positives and negatives about Ning that I've come across.

PROS:

• Ability to concentrate your own little social network


• Purpose to the social network


• Forums for threading discussions


• RSS capability for virtually everything you'd want an RSS feed of

CONS:

• Can take a while to load, even on fast connections.


• Cannot see member profiles of those not in a network with you (if anyone knows how to do this, please let me know)


• You can't immediately go to the newest posts to a discussion from the website