What I'm reading this summer

Often at conferences there is that "what are you reading?" moment, when people talk about what they are reading for work or for pleasure. (Beth Tribe is a good one for starting that conversation.) Since that conversation didn't happen at my conferences so far this year, I thought I'd start the conversation here.  This is what's on my table or device this summer...

First, Dave Lankes has created a MOOC (massive open online course) on new librarianship that opened on July 8 and I'm one of the instructors. (Details) The book being used for the MOOC is Expect More: Demanding Better Libraries For Today's Complex World, which is available in digital and paper formats.  This is a very readable book geared primarily for library supporters and the communities that libraries serve.  Library staff, who read it, should recognize the challenge that they are being given.  That challenge?  Meet the expectations of your communities, because they expect more than what you are likely offering.

To go along with  Expect More, I've also got Dave's The Atlas of New Librarianship  in front of me.  I'm not reading it from cover to cover, but doing as many others have...referring to it as we talk about "new librarianship."  [BTW Ruth Kneale and I wrote the agreement on special libraries that is in the book.]

The avid gardener is me is reading - slowly -  Mike McGrath's Book of Compost.  This is actually a quick, short read, but I'm stretching it out and thinking about the sections as I deal with my own compost.

On the audio front, I've been listening to podcasts by RN Future Tense as I walk from my car to campus, which is much further distance than you can imagine. Future Tense covers a wide range of topics and I find the format engaging.  I often refer people to specific podcasts because of their excellent content.

I'm also got Testimony queued up on my iPhone.  This is the first album that I've purchased purely in digital format, which is a huge move for me.  (Remember when we would intently read album covers, and marvel at their cover and label art?)  Mayo - composer, arranger, singer, saxophonist - has produced a nice companion for those long walks back to my car after a full day at work.

So...your turn!  What content - books, podcasts, etc. - are you consuming?