Shelf Talks is a series of interviews in which writer and librarian Oleg Kagan asks interesting people questions inspired by the contents of their bookshelves. The first interview was with Ezra Butler, a man of many talents based in Chicago. Oleg: I see Ray Dalio’s Principles on the top shelf, …
(This article was originally posted on my old website, lifeinoleg.com, on March 18th, 2011. A slightly modified version appears here.) As a librarian working in an area surrounded by educational institutions of all levels, I am often approached by students looking for help in beginning their research. It is …
(I delivered a slightly modified version of this essay as a speech to my Toastmasters Club on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009. I posted this transcript to my former website, lifeinoleg.com, the next day.) What took seven-and-a-half hours to extinguish with the aid of three-hundred fire fighters, eight rescue ambulances, …
(This article was originally published at my old website, lifeinoleg.com, on November 19, 2010. It was originally written for an audience of librarians — and subsequently re-published on my library’s internal staff blog — but upon rereading it, I realize that it could work for anyone interested in helping writers …
(This article was originally published at my old website, lifeinoleg.com, on January 21st, 2012.) One of the most difficult parts of the job for many librarians is to draw an audience for the programs they offer at their libraries. They seem to do everything right: schedule the program well in …