Today I happened to run across a post that my friend Karen Schneider wrote over two years ago on “How to Be ‘Famous’.” Famous is in quotes, of course, since she is referring to librarian-famous not society-famous. She fully realizes, as do I, that famous in librarianship, unless you are Nancy Pearl, means you are a nobody outside of librarianship.
Since her points mostly ran toward how to handle yourself as a “famous” person, I thought I might try to give some advice on how to become so, for anyone aspiring to be better known. I must begin with a caveat, however, lest any of my half-a-dozen readers think that I am a walking advertisement for any of these. Keep in mind that fame can also be achieved by doing evil, as many a criminal has discovered. Just sayin’.
Also, some of you may be wondering “why become famous?” It sure isn’t for the groupies (I mean, where the heck are you?), but there may be any number of reasons why: the ability to augment your income, the ability to make an impact in the profession at large, and well, just plain ego. You must decide whether any of those reasons, or your own, are compelling enough to make the attempt.
Prepare to fully commit. Many of the things I will advise you to do take time. More than this, they take time that will likely not come from your day job. Therefore, if you are the kind of person who prefers to leave the profession at your desk when you head home, then you can stop reading right here. But if you are willing to allow your professional life to take up some of your free time, then you have passed the initial test. You will write at night, after the kids go to bed. You will prepare slides on an airplane taking you to where you will use them. You will burn some of your vacation so that you can take a paying gig. Am I suggesting that your life no longer becomes your own? Of course not — you can control how much you take on. I’m just saying that creating a major professional reputation will take a significant chunk of your life outside of your job, so either commit to this or give it up.
Find or create a bully pulpit. To become well-known, you first must be discovered. And being discovered means being where people can find you. Today that means being in Twitter, blogs, and other social media tools more than in the print literature — which tended to be yesteryear’s path to stardom. Heck, I could have been a poster child for print-based notoriety. A workshop on the Internet that turned into a book just as the Internet began taking off in the field of librarianship was what initially launched my name into the broader consciousness. Not long thereafter I pitched a “digital libraries” column to the editorial staff at Library Journal, and much to my surprise, they accepted it. Key lesson — don’t wait for someone to hand you a forum — create it. Another example is my friend Meredith Farkas, who through her personal blog quickly became known for substantive, insightful, thoughtful, and astonishingly well-written blog posts (does my envy show?). Since then she has been popular as a speaker, a columnist for American Libraries, and the author of a wonderful book.
Be thoughtfully opportunistic. As you begin to get more well-known, various opportunities may cross your path. Some of these you would be wise to jump on. A few you may wish to put aside for another time. And others you should run from. How do you tell them apart? Some you may know right away are not right for you, and the better you know yourself the easier this will be. Others may require more thought and consultation, and this is what trusted friends and colleagues can assist with.
Consistently provide value. Fame can be fleeting, as many have discovered — often to their chagrin and too late. I can think of several people who were quite well known a number of years ago and then they disappeared. Why? They stopped doing what they had been doing to create value for people — whether by choice or happenstance. Even if you don’t stop entirely, people can lose interest if what you are providing isn’t all that useful to them anymore.
Make connections. No one becomes famous alone. Well, almost no one. Becoming famous can be a long, winding road that includes fellow travelers. Lend them a hand when you can and they will do the same. Some of these connections will grow into trusted life-long friends.
Seek out a mentor. I have been very lucky to have many mentors in my career, and one that happened to (almost inadvertently) launch my career into the stratosphere. Mentors can offer much more than advice — they can offer opportunities and connections (see above), both of which are absolutely essential. Look for someone you admire, is well-known, and has a proven track record similar to one you hope to have one day. Most people I’ve asked about this would welcome the opportunity to mentor an up-and-coming librarian.
Being famous, even in this little backwater we call librarianship, is most definitely not for everyone. Only you can figure out if it is for you or not. Even if circumstances thrust you into the limelight without your cooperation, if you don’t work to stay there you will sink back into obscurity fast enough. Becoming famous can be relatively easy in some ways. It’s staying that way that takes the real and ongoing effort.
Photo courtesy Christian Haugen, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
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And if “famous” is just a bit too lofty for you, take it from me: “sometimes tolerable” is hard enough to attain. Just ask me. Or Roy.
Mike: Indeed. Most days I’d settle for “not smelly.”
Do we actually have professional colleagues who think strategically about the steps they will take to become “famous”? If so, I’m not sure what to make of it. If you work hard, publish (have a voice and ideas that resonate with others) and take the right risks, you can emerge as someone with ideas that might influence others and gain some attention in the profession. But I guess my feeling is that if it happens, it happens. If you are taking steps and plotting a course to make it happen – that just strikes me as a bit – I don’t know. Off putting. Creepy. Narcissistic. Maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps it’s better to make it known that you want to be famous. I guess I’m from the old school where it goes something like – you don’t need to tell people you’re good, if you’re are they’ll know it. At least that’s the advice I gave my kids. Maybe it doesn’t work that way anymore and you have to more aggressive about seeking fame.
Steven, unfortunately “fame” is a convenient shorthand for the kinds of things you are describing. For a blog title, and even in the flow of the post itself, it’s difficult to succinctly state “contributing deeply to an ongoing professional dialog”.
But I realize I have not been honest about some of my own motivations. When I pitched the digital libraries column to Library Journal it wasn’t because I wanted to pursue fame. It wasn’t even because I wanted to “contribute deeply to an ongoing professional dialog.” No, it was much more mundane, personal, and crass than that. I had two young children at home (twins) and needed to augment my income on a more regular basis than speaking engagements afforded. So despite laying out my advice as if someone might pursue such a state, in reality nearly all of us back into it, fall into it, or (the rare case) have it thrust upon us. In those cases, the above advice might serve to help someone remain such.
From close personal observation, let me say that the point about being prepared to fully commit doesn’t do justice to the level of commitment that is required nor the impact it can have on the other aspects of one’s life.
[...] the end of last week, Roy Tennant posted on his Library Journal blog an entry about “How to Become (and Stay) Famous”. He’s got some great advice for those getting notice (or looking to get notice) within the [...]
Good points as always, Roy. Steven, I don’t think it’s terrible that some librarians want to be better-known. Most of the time it’s for a reason. When Internet censorship was my focus, I really, REALLY wanted to get some attention-share on behalf of this issue.
Thanks Roy and Karen for your thoughts. I know what you both are talking about in your posts, and there’s no getting around that some folks do want to be well known – and your advice will help them to avoid making mistakes.
When I first started the Blended Librarian concept with my colleague John Shank, I guess there was a part of me that wanted to have the idea widely adopted so I’d be recognized as the innovator. But when I shared the idea with an older and wiser colleague (from a non-library organization) he said “if you want to do this and you want my support just make sure you are doing it for the people it can benefit – not for yourself”. Since then I’ve tried to keep that thought at the forefront of any initiative in my library or for the larger library community. So that is what Karen is referring to – wanting others to share in the ideas so they can make it their own, add to it and help it evolve.
I am now seeing very similar advice coming out of the leadership literature. Again and again we are hearing about the importance of humility and putting others before yourself (why are you doing this). The research is showing (e.g., Jim Collins) that the number one downfall of CEOs and their companies is when they believe it is all about themselves and their public image – and forget it is really about the employees and the people they serve.
[...] The best part of Roy Tennant’s new post on Library Journal, How to Become (and Stay) Famous? [...]
For some of us, “fame,” as Roy defines it here, is somewhat required for job performance and retention. I’m a tenure track academic librarian–and I believe firmly in academic librarians being tenure track–and one of our criteria documents states that we are to strive to achieve national and/or international recognition. We also get more credit for participation in associations and presenting at conferences at the nationally, and to get involved at that level does require a bit of extra oomph. All of this said, I couldn’t agree more with StevenB: I want to be really good at what I do, but more importantly, I want what I do to be really, really, useful to my colleagues and my profession.
Thanks Karen, Roy, and everyone for this discussion!
Nina, I agree that “fame” is not really “fame” as it might be characterized for someone like Lady Gaga, but more like it might be characterized for my friends Michael Giarlo, Steven Bell, Cecilia Preston, Karen Schneider, and Nina McHale. In other words, it is “notoriety” gained through useful, appreciated contributions to the professional literature and/or discussion, which each of you has achieved and continue to do so. I’d rather not get bogged down on the word “fame,” but rather the early and ongoing activities that any aspiring professional might wish to engage in to achieve the kind of professional recognition and success that I am certain you all have, and continue to merit.
[...] to Roy Tennant, Nancy Pearl is the only librarian star, which makes for a pretty lame competition. But a campaign to get her on Dancing with the Stars [...]
[...] was a huge buzz going on last week about becoming “famous” in the library world. Roy Tennant’s blog for Library Journal kinda kicked the whole thing off, followed quickly by posts from David Lee [...]