Mid-March. The time when much of the nation is looking forward to NCAA basketball’s March Madness, and when library blogger nerds look forward to Library Journal’s Movers and Shakers. There is always a contingent of librarians in M&S who are prominent online presences as well; this overlaps to some degree with the group that Jane Dysart would call the ITI discoveries, though I prefer to think of them as Iris Jastram does: these are the representatives from the Library Society of the World.

I’m pleased to be personally acquainted with several of those folks, and am thrilled particularly to see Dorothea Salo’s profile, as I seconded Laura Crossett‘s nomination of Dorothea. Thinking about what such different personalities as Dorothea, Jenica Rogers-Urbanek, Jason Griffey, Michael Porter, and Sarah Houghton-Jan have in common, I realized that it is generosity. They are all trying to share what they know (or what they don’t know and are wondering about) through their writing and presentations, and they have all been personally generous to me through their kindness, thoughtfulness, and considerable brain power.

The people on that list whom I know less well but have chatted with online or exchanged a blog comment or two (like Dave Pattern, Rachel Walden, Lauren Pressley, Karen Coombs) have the same quality of wanting to share their ideas and expertise. I expect if we asked the friends and coworkers of all the Movers and Shakers, they’d say the same thing.

This is one of the things that makes me happy to be working in libraries. Hoarding information and keeping secrets isn’t a legitimate way to get ahead in libraries. We aren’t competing with one another, so there’s no real reason not to share or be helpful. I’m proud to know these particular Movers and Shakers, but I’m more proud to be part of a profession that values openness and sharing.

Next week, the Library Society of the World will kick off the Shovers and Makers awards, which promises more sharing and openness. I hope you’ll all be able to join us for that.