An Interview With Steven Cohen

Steven Cohen, author of Librarystuff, graciously agreed to be interviewed by me for Suite101. Steven was recently named one of the Top Librarian Personalities on the Web. Below is part one of a two part series.

GD: Please tell us a bit about yourself -- your education, work experience, interests, etc.

SC: I obtaind a B.A. in psychology from the University at Stony Brook in June of 1995. From there, I went directly to graduate school at Long Island University majoring in Mental Health Counseling. I obtained an M.A. and went to work for the Long Island Association for AIDS care, where I was a case manager working with people with HIV/AIDS. It was a strenuous and stressful job, and I didn't last very long. After only 6 months on the job, I realized that I was getting burned out very quickly, and realized that I shouldn't be in the mental health profession (although I do use the degree everyday in my current position. All librarians are counselors in some way).

I then turned to library science, as I had worked in my local public library from 10th grade through college. I had always felt comfortable at the library, always wanting to help in any way possible, working not only as a page, but as a circulation clerk, janitor, or summer reading club helper, so becoming a librarian seemed to be a natural following.

I started working as a librarian trainee while attending library school at Queens College. While working as a reference trainee, I became involved in teaching Internet classes to patrons and starting a monthly Internet Newsletter called the CPL Internet Gazette (even though I am not working there anymore, the newsletter has continued, and flourished).

I currently work as a reference librarian at a large law firm on Long Island. It was a tough choice leaving the public sector (see http://marylaine.com/exlibris/xlib122.ht... for full details), but I am glad I did. The work is challenging and rewarding.

GD: Most Suite readers will of course know you from Library Stuff. When did you decide to start Library Stuff, and why?

SC: Library Stuff began one Saturday morning in August of 2000. I was playing around the web looking for stories to post to LISnews, and I took a look at Librarian.net (the 'rarin librarian). She was my inspiration to start my own weblog. I had always wanted to learn html and have my own library-related site, but I never had any ideas as to what to put on it. So, I started Library Stuff, a daily posting of....well...."stuff" I find.

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