Michael Stephens

Next Library 2019 in Aarhus, Denmark was just as engaging and enjoyable as the first time I attended in 2017. In fact, it has become one of my favorite learning opportunities, informing my teaching and research. A conference that demands active participation, requires outside the box thinking, and reserves “the right to alterations and surprises” is an enjoyable challenge.

Library tourism has long been a thing, but a new website devoted to highlighting libraries worldwide offers a chance to tour some far-flung institutions from wherever you happen to be. Launched just a few months ago, Library Planet (libraryplanet.net) is a “crowdsourced travel guide for libraries” created by Christian Lauersen of Roskilde Libraries and Marie Engberg Eiriksson of Gladsaxe Libraries, Denmark.

In my last column, I shared a conversation I had with Sally Pewhairangi, a New Zealand librarian working on a new website called The Library Boss. We explored how confidence in our abilities is just as important as competence. We finish our discussion this time with a deep dive into qualities that should be part of the information professional’s skill set.