Shush-Free Zone - Where librarians get loud!

Episode 13: BONUS! Season 1 Recap - Twelve Loud Librarians Later...

Season 1 of The Shush-Free Zone is officially wrapped and in this special bonus episode, host Dawn Brushammar looks back at the conversations, career journeys, and unexpected paths that shaped the first season. When Dawn started the podcast, the goal was simple: challenge the outdated stereotype of librarians as quiet people who only work with books. Librarianship has always been about solving problems, connecting people with knowledge, organizing complexity, and helping others find what they need. Over 12 episodes, Dawn spoke with librarians and information professionals working across communities, knowledge management, leadership, coaching, AI, semantics, ontology, public health, technology, and beyond. In this season finale, Dawn reflects on the common thread she discovered across all of these stories: Information professionals have always been doing future-facing work. Dawn also shares her own year in review — from building her independent consulting business and navigating Swedish bureaucracy, to working on semantic modelling projects, hosting and chairing KMWorld Europe, facilitating knowledge communities, mentoring, and exploring what comes next. Plus, because every guest had to answer Dawn's lightning round questions, she finally turns the tables and answers them herself.

Episode 12: Marydee Ojala - From Story Hour to Enterprise AI: The Enduring Value of Librarianship

In this episode of Shush-Free Zone, host Dawn Brushammar sits down with Marydee Ojala, Editor-in-Chief of KMWorld magazine, writer, researcher, speaker, and longtime observer of the information and knowledge management profession. Marydee shares her journey from shelving books as a teenager to working in corporate libraries, and ultimately becoming one of the most influential voices covering knowledge management, search, enterprise information, and AI. Along the way, she reflects on the evolution of information work from paper indexes and Dialog searches to semantic layers, agentic AI, and today's rapidly changing knowledge landscape. The conversation explores why reference interviewing has surprising similarities to prompt engineering, how information literacy has become even more critical in the age of generative AI, and why librarians, taxonomists, and knowledge managers may be more relevant than ever. Marydee also offers practical advice for early-career professionals, discusses the decline of corporate libraries, and reminds us that technology is only part of the story. Plus, in the lightning round, as usual, an array of eclectic topics surface, such as Marydee's affection for conference pens and why the topic of theoretical physics fascinates her. About Marydee: Marydee Ojala is Editor-in-Chief for KMWorld magazine and co-editor of Enterprise AI World magazine. She also edits and writes for the Online Searcher section within the Computers in Libraries magazine. In addition to writing about libraries, online searching, and knowledge management, she speaks frequently at technology conferences. She plans conference programs for Enterprise Search & Discovery, Data Summit, and Searchers Academy. She contributes to conference planning for KMWorld and Enterprise AI World. Her information professional career began at BankAmerica Corporation, San Francisco, directing a worldwide program of library research, knowledge, and information services. Her undergraduate degree is from Brown University and her MLS was earned at the University of Pittsburgh. Related Links: Marydee Ojala | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marydee-ojala-98479/] Linked In profile www.infotoday.com/cilmag [http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag] Online Searcher section in Computers in Libraries www.kmworld.com [http://www.kmworld.com/]  KMWorld magazine and conference www.infotoday.eu [http://www.infotoday.eu/] ILI365 eNews (free monthly newsletter for librarians and occasional blog posts) www.enterpriseaiworld.com [http://www.enterpriseaiworld.com/] Enterprise AI World magazine and conference www.computersinlibraries.infotoday.com [http://www.computersinlibraries.infotoday.com/] Computers in Libraries conference

Episode 11: Nicole Buckenwolf - From Rare Books to Ontologies: A Librarian Inside Spotify

In this episode of the Shush-Free Zone, host Dawn Brushammar sits down with Nicole Buckenwolf, Senior Staff Ontologist at Spotify, to unpack the invisible knowledge systems shaping how millions of people discover music and audiobooks every day. Nicole’s journey is anything but linear. From growing up in rural Ohio and falling in love with a single encyclopedia volume, to studying medieval history, working in rare book preservation, and eventually finding the way into taxonomy and ontology, Nicole's story is a perfect example of how librarian skill sets show up in the most unexpected places. We explore what it actually means to be an ontologist at Spotify (spoiler: it’s deeply librarian work), how you structure something as subjective and emotional as music, and why ambiguity—yes, even the dreaded “Other” category—is where the real magic happens. We also get into the realities of building knowledge systems at massive scale, the tension between speed and thoughtful knowledge work in the age of AI, and why librarians might finally be having their moment… even if the hard parts of the work haven’t changed. If you’ve ever wondered how your Spotify Wrapped comes together, or how machines make sense of something as human as music, this episode is for you. About Nicole: Nicole Buckenwolf | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-buckenwolf/] Nicole Buckenwolf is a Senior Staff Ontologist at Spotify, where she works on a small central team responsible for ontology/taxonomy and domain modeling across the company's media catalog. The team serves as an expert resource for groups across the organization, helping teams improve interoperability, align their models to best practices, and extend them to new use cases.  Specializing in knowledge representation for subjective and emotionally resonant domains, she builds the frameworks that make concepts like genre, mood, and format structured enough for production systems without losing the human meaning that makes them useful. Her interdisciplinary background spans music, history, linguistics, and the non-profit sector, informing an approach attentive to cultural context and inclusive practice. At Spotify, her work has included building the audiobooks genre classification system and leading genre alignment across teams and platforms. She is drawn to the gaps between how humans experience content and how systems are asked to represent it.

Episode 10: Heather Johnson - Information to Impact: Saving Lives in Public Health

In this episode of Shush Free Zone, host Dawn Brushammar sits down with Heather Johnson - a public health professional working at the intersection of evidence synthesis, health communication, and implementation science. Heather’s career is a powerful example of what this podcast is all about: taking core library and information science skills such as organizing knowledge, evaluating evidence, translating complexity and applying them in ways that go far beyond traditional roles. From systematic reviews to patient education to community health programming, Heather shows how getting the right information to the right people at the right time isn’t just good practice… it’s life-changing. Heather holds both an MLIS and an MPH and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), continuing to bridge librarianship and public health in meaningful, scalable ways. About Heather Johnson: Heather Johnson is a public health professional specializing in evidence synthesis, cancer screening initiatives, and implementation science. In her work within cancer diagnostics, she focuses on understanding what drives (or prevents) colorectal cancer screening, using systematic reviews and data-driven insights to inform real-world interventions. Heather's work also encompasses: Aydel Health - Where she is developing tailored patient education tools that improve understanding and reduce friction in healthcare. Sonoran Evidence Partners - Supporting libraries in designing and evaluating community health programs with measurable impact. Relevant Links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherjohnson-publichealth/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherjohnson-publichealth/] Aydel Health: https://www.aydelhealth.com/ [https://www.aydelhealth.com/] Sonoran Evidence Partners: http [https://www.sonoranevidencepartners.com/]s://www.sonoranevidencepartners.com/ [https://www.sonoranevidencepartners.com/]

Episode 9: Angela Pashia - Empowering Library Leaders Through Coaching and Curiosity

In this episode of the Shush Free Zone, host Dawn Brushammar speaks with Angela Pashia, a leadership and career development coach, about her journey from academic librarian to coaching library professionals. They discuss the importance of curiosity in coaching, the challenges of leadership, and how librarians can translate their skills into new contexts. Angela shares insights on handling difficult conversations, the difference between coaching and advising, and the future of librarianship in a rapidly changing world. The conversation also touches on Angela's personal experiences moving to a new country and her coaching programs designed to empower library leaders. About Angela: Angela Pashia helps library leaders confidently manage change and conflict in their libraries. As an ICF-certified (ACC) leadership coach, Angela offers confidential individual coaching to navigate challenging team dynamics in a way that is aligned with your values. Angela also teaches Lead With Curiosity: Coaching skills for library leaders, adapting professional coaching skills to the complex practicalities of managing a team. Angela was an academic librarian for 12 years, focusing on teaching critical information literacy, working against structural oppression within libraries, and growing as a collaborative leader. In addition to leading a team within the library, Angela led change across campus through roles like chairing the Faculty Senate Diversity and Internationalization Committee, co-chairing the campus General Education Redesign Committee, and serving a term as President of the campus AAUP chapter. Related Links: Lead With Curiosity - https://leadwithcuriosity.org [https://leadwithcuriosity.org/]  Individual coaching - https://angelapashia.com/coaching/ [https://angelapashia.com/coaching/]  Coaching Librarian Newsletter (free!) - https://angelapashia.com/newsletter/ [https://angelapashia.com/newsletter/]