A Look Behind the Scenes | From the Bell Tower

One year into this column, here's how I observe libraries and higher education

Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA -- Library Journal, 04/15/2010

One of the more interesting elements of a theatric experience comes when the actor breaks the fourth wall. By speaking directly to the audience the actors give the audience an insight into the inner workings of the production. We come to know what happens below the surface, which leads us to a deeper understanding or appreciation of the themes of the performance.

I’m deviating from the usual content to do a fourth wall experiment by taking you through the process that leads to a FTBT column. Writing a weekly column is for either the truly courageous or the deeply disturbed. Come on in and see which you think it is.

Some background
Why a column about the column? This week marks the first anniversary of From the Bell Tower. No big deal you may say, but it’s a considerable challenge to write a new column each week, and sustaining it for a year seems like an accomplishment worth mentioning. Of course there were those two weeks where LJ Academic Newswire didn’t publish over the holidays, but beyond that we’re talking a whole lot of writing.

The column was actually hatched at ACRL’s 2009 conference in Seattle, where a few LJ editors convinced me that writing a weekly column would be a breeze. Right. Actually, most weeks it does come easily enough, but it’s never easy. Between higher education and academic libraries there is just about always something to cover. Having juggled three blogs along with other writing projects over the last several years, I felt comfortable with what I was signing on for. Adding a weekly column has turned out much as expected, although the editing process each column goes through was something new but certainly welcomed.

The routine
Each column takes about two hours on average to write, from conception to completion, including research, writing, tracking down links and more re-writing.

They typically begin about a week prior to publication. I find it really critical to write on or close to a schedule. The goal is to finish a new column by Friday, submit it on Monday, go through editing by Wednesday for publication on Thursday—then start all over again. But maintaining a flow of subjects related to higher education requires a daily vigil. Nearly an hour a day is spent monitoring for news or ideas that might lead to columns. Potential future columns get saved to a file for future reference.

There’s no special trick for selecting topics. It’s usually just a matter of gut instinct for what might work, and one can only hope it works more often than it fails. Take the column on LJ’s Star Libraries; definitely not a typical topic for FTBT. But it seemed of interest, and I’d written a blog post before about paying attention to public libraries. It worked. If you’re an aspiring writer, blog, column or otherwise, try to develop a routine of scheduled writing and monitoring and then leave the rest up to intuition.

Hardest part
Columns are fairly easy to start. That’s when most of us have plenty of inspiration and drive. Then those middle sections come, a little less easily. But that’s where the meat of the column is, and with just enough facts and material the fabric of the column’s core is woven without too much difficulty. Where things always seem to bog down for me is the final section or two.

The challenge of a column, for me at least, is keeping it to a certain length. I aim for fewer than 1000 words because I know your time is valuable and you’ve got many other things to do than read this column. If I can’t say it with that much space then I need to do better. So it has to be wrapped up in a concise way. And when it’s a higher education topic I want to bring it back and connect it to academic libraries. Finishing a column on a meaningful note is definitely the hardest part.

Off to the editor
At FTBT there are three simple rules. Be different. No boredom. Good writing.

The first one isn’t too difficult. Just write about things that no other librarians are writing about. Avoiding boredom is a bit harder because what I think makes for an interesting column, like assessment or the pointlessness of rankings, may bore you to tears. I may have lost you at hello with this one. But then again, the next person might get hooked. Good writing is essential. It has to work and flow throughout.

The truth is that behind every good FTBT column is a hard working editor who knows how to put the polish on my best effort—and the editor makes it better. I am fortunate—actually you the readers are fortunate—that my column is edited by LJ’s Rebecca Miller. I try to give her something decent to work with, and then she works her magic. If you enjoy reading FTBT, thank Rebecca.

The final product
That pretty much tells you everything you need to know about FTBT—except what next week’s column is about. But I’m not sure I know either.

Early on I wrote, “Two things I’d like to achieve in this column are to help readers learn new things and keep them up-to-date with current developments in the field.” About 50 percent of the columns have focused on higher education, and another 40 percent on academic libraries. I hope between them all you are both more knowledgeable and conversant about the issues of the day.

I’m going to leave you with my five favorite columns from the first year of FTBT. I hope you had a chance to read them. If not, take a quick look now. If you’ve been a loyal reader since the start—much appreciated—I’d love to hear which FTBT most resonated with you. By the way, is writing a weekly column for the truly courageous or deeply disturbed? Yes—on both counts.

New Ideas for the New Year (Jan. 14, 2010)

The Stories Those Tour Guides Tell (Sept. 10, 2009)

Shift Your Paradigm and Drink the Koolaid (July 9, 2009)

Sacred Spaces on Campus: The Power of the Library (May 14, 2009)

Back to Fundamentals (April 2, 2009)

You will find a chronologically reverse ordered list of all the FTBT columns here:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/hotTopic/49103/From_the_Bell_Tower:_Steven_Bell.html

Steven Bell is Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.  For more from Steven visit his blogs, Kept-Up Academic Librarian, ACRLog and Designing Better Libraries or visit his web site.

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