Living in More Than One World

Jorge Luis Borges was born 118 years ago today, on August 24, 1899. The Borges Boom shows no signs of decline: his literary influence remains strong, he is quoted and referenced in a variety of contexts, and books by and about him continue to be published. Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the Argentine author’s death. On December 7, 2016, the Library of Congress presented a fascinating conversation, now available on video, with Borges’ widow María Kodama and University of Maryland professor and longtime Borges scholar Saúl Sosnowski. (I wrote about my connection to Saúl, author of Borges y La Cábala: En búsqueda del verbo, in the 2010 post 111 Years of Jorge Luis Borges.)

In the spirit of my 2013 post 7 Self-Management Secrets of Jorge Luis Borges, consider these strategies, which I contend were crucial to Borges’ success (during his life and beyond); even if he may not have considered them to be strategies!

Despite all the changes and challenges facing librarians and information professionals, there are many opportunities to make a difference within organizations and society at large. That was one of the major takeaways from the 20th Special Libraries Symposium, held on July 27th, at The Catholic University of America Department of Library and Information Science. I produce the Symposium each semester I teach as an adjunct professor at the school, for the students in my class, LSC 888, The Special Library/Information Center, and invited guests.

{All photos courtesy of SLA}

The most recent year I wrote about the symposium was in 2012.

Last week, my summer teaching semester ended for LSC 888, the Special Library/Information Center, at the Catholic University of America Department of Library and Information Science. It was an intensive experience: two classes a week for six weeks (other than July 4th); each for three hours and ten minutes. Although there were only four students, it was a lively and engaged group. Each student brought a varied set of work and educational experience to the class, and they developed a strong rapport with the guest lecturers who joined us throughout the semester: James King, National Institutes of Health Library; Marie Kaddell of LexisNexis; Kimberly Ferguson, Library of Congress; Amanda J.

If you’d like to make your mark on the world during your lifetime, with the hope that your influence extends beyond your death, a perfect role model is Jane Jacobs. Perhaps best known for her classic 1961 book The Death and Life of Great American Cities, she was a major urban activist over a long period of time (she died in 2006, at 89). Her influence reached beyond urban affairs to economics and more, and continues to grow. Last week, in my post about Tom Butler-Bowdon’s new book 50 Economics Classics, I noted that Jacobs was included, even though she was not an economist, for her book The Economy of Cities.

Tom Butler-Bowdon has recently added another title, 50 Economics Classics, to his long-running and super-effective 50 Classics series.

Part of the genius of this book is broadening the content beyond the people we normally associate with Economics as a discipline and field of study (Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Joseph Schumpeter and so on), to those from other disciplines who have had impact on the field, such as Michael Lewis, Eric Brynjolfsson & Andrew McAfee, Jane Jacobs and John C. Bogle. The centrality of people, as well as institutions and disciplines, shines throughout, especially in the entries on such titles as Gary Becker’s Human Capital and Elinor Ostrom’s Governing the Commons.

This summer marks the 25th birthday of Berrett-Koehler, the extraordinary company that published my first book, Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker’s Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life, in 2009.

BK is unique, for many reasons. Publishers Weekly recently ran a feature story that captures some of the magic, while outlining some of BK’s new releases and initiatives. Steve Piersanti, the founder/President/Publisher, has posted an informative “Letter from the Publisher: On Berrett-Koehler’s 25th Anniversary.” On Steve’s BK site page, the company is described as a “leading independent publisher of progressive books on current affairs, personal growth, and business and management.” For an idea of just how progressive and unique BK is, read the new  Berrett-Koehler Constitution.

On July 5, 2002, USA TODAY published my interview/feature story on Peter Drucker, “Scandals Nothing New to Business Guru.” He and I were both in Los Angeles for the SLA/Special Libraries Association annual conference; I was an attendee and he was one of the keynote speakers. (Last week I wrote about the 2017 SLA annual conference in Phoenix.)  It was the first time I had interviewed him in person; I’d interviewed him on earlier occasions for USA TODAY, by trading faxes.

The success of that interview, conducted over four hours the night before his keynote, and the subsequent article, emboldened me a couple of months later to finally start on an idea I’d had for quite some time, to write a book about Drucker and the individual, as opposed to Drucker and the organization.

The recently-concluded 2017 SLA/Special Libraries Association annual conference was a goldmine of networking, learning and socializing opportunities. And despite the well over 100 degree temperatures each day, the Phoenix Convention Center was a comfortable, easy-to-navigate place.

The conference was inherently future-focused. Information professionals (whether librarians or otherwise) were searching for networking, professional growth and learning opportunities to further their careers and improve their lives. The conference’s exhibitors were there to make new contacts, pitch their new products and services, and ideally book new business for the future.

Photo Credit: Bigstock

Here is a brief overview of my conference experience:

Keynotes. Both speakers, Lulu Miller of NPR on Sunday and Moriba K.

It’s time for one of my favorite yearly rituals, curating a list of some of the best summer reading lists from a wide variety of sources. Although this compilation has considerable coverage of business/leadership/management books, there are also many other nonfiction and fiction titles. One of the things I like about some of the lists is that they include older titles along with newer ones. There is also a good mixture of books from both major and independent  presses.

Business Insider: JPMorgan says everyone should read these 11 books this summer

Chicago Tribune: The Ultimate Summer Reading List

Forbes.com: Recommended Creative Leadership Reading List For Summer 2017

gatesnotes: 5 Good Summer Reads, by Bill Gates

Heleo.com: 7 Must-Read Books to Change Your Life This Summer, by Emma Seppälä

Huffington Post: 24 Incredible Books You Should Read This Summer

Inc.com: Need Some Summer Reading?

The world is a much different place than in 1974, the year of publication for Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, Robert M. Pirsig’s surprise hit philosophical novel. But the outpouring and variety of articles and posts in the wake of Pirsig’s death in April, at 88, show how relevant the quirky and unusual book remains, and will remain for years to come.

Examples:

Life Advice From the Late Robert M. Pirsig, by Emily Temple, Literary Hub
Putting off the important things? It’s not for the reasons you think; by Oliver Burkeman, theguardian.com
Remembering Robert M.