Friday, May 28, 2010
Where?
An Orthodox Jewish woman came in looking to reserve a book; her address was on Church Street. Just a curiosity.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Chapter and verse on e-Bookstores
As books go digital, much of the focus has been on which gadgets offer the best approximation of old-fashioned paper and ink on a screen. But there's another choice that's just as important for readers to weigh before they make the leap to e-books: which e-bookstore to frequent. Reading devices like the iPad, Kindle and Nook will come and go, but you'll likely want your e-book collection to stick around. Yet unlike music, commercial e-books from the leading online stores come with restrictions that complicate your ability to move your collection from one device to the next. It's as if old-fashioned books were designed to fit on one particular style of bookshelves. What happens when you remodel?
Come and go? It is a valid point, at any rate.
The e-bookstores share in the blame. Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Barnes & Noble Inc. and Sony Corp. all want you to buy their own gadgets and to continue buying e-books from their stores. For example, purchases from Apple's new iBooks store can be read only on Apple's own iPad (and soon the iPhone). Even though Apple said it would support an industry standard format called ePub for iBooks, in practice your iBooks purchases remain locked on Apple's virtual bookshelf.
These vendors are in the business of selling hardware.
For now, the e-bookstore choice comes down to which compromises readers are willing to accept. Anybody who just wants a simple way to carry digital books around might be happy with an app-based approach. But readers intent on building an e-library may want to either invest in an ePub-based collection, or hold off until the industry figures out a better solution.
Many of the biggest e-book providers fall short of putting readers fully in charge of their own digital-book collections, but they have begun to unveil their own solutions for moving your e-books around.
Come and go? It is a valid point, at any rate.
The e-bookstores share in the blame. Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Barnes & Noble Inc. and Sony Corp. all want you to buy their own gadgets and to continue buying e-books from their stores. For example, purchases from Apple's new iBooks store can be read only on Apple's own iPad (and soon the iPhone). Even though Apple said it would support an industry standard format called ePub for iBooks, in practice your iBooks purchases remain locked on Apple's virtual bookshelf.
These vendors are in the business of selling hardware.
For now, the e-bookstore choice comes down to which compromises readers are willing to accept. Anybody who just wants a simple way to carry digital books around might be happy with an app-based approach. But readers intent on building an e-library may want to either invest in an ePub-based collection, or hold off until the industry figures out a better solution.
Many of the biggest e-book providers fall short of putting readers fully in charge of their own digital-book collections, but they have begun to unveil their own solutions for moving your e-books around.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Amazon targets real readers
By Geoffrey A. Fowler
Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said the company's strategy for competing with Apple Inc.'s iPad was to keep its own Kindle e-reader focused on reading. He also said a reflective color screen for the Kindle e-reader was a ways off.
A ways off?
Speaking at the company's annual shareholders meeting Tuesday in Seattle, Mr. Bezos said Amazon's approach to digital reading was focused on two fronts: devices and being an e-book retailer. For the device business, he said Amazon would focus on building a Kindle that appealed to serious readers, as opposed to devices like the iPad that try to serve several different purposes.
"There are always ways to do the job better if you are willing to focus in on one arena," Mr. Bezos said. He also conceded that "90% of households are not serious reading households."
10% of households are serious readers.
The comments were the CEO's first about the Kindle strategy in about six months, during which the landscape for e-book readers and e-bookstores has changed with the introduction of the iPad and a shift in the system for pricing e-books.
Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said the company's strategy for competing with Apple Inc.'s iPad was to keep its own Kindle e-reader focused on reading. He also said a reflective color screen for the Kindle e-reader was a ways off.
A ways off?
Speaking at the company's annual shareholders meeting Tuesday in Seattle, Mr. Bezos said Amazon's approach to digital reading was focused on two fronts: devices and being an e-book retailer. For the device business, he said Amazon would focus on building a Kindle that appealed to serious readers, as opposed to devices like the iPad that try to serve several different purposes.
"There are always ways to do the job better if you are willing to focus in on one arena," Mr. Bezos said. He also conceded that "90% of households are not serious reading households."
10% of households are serious readers.
The comments were the CEO's first about the Kindle strategy in about six months, during which the landscape for e-book readers and e-bookstores has changed with the introduction of the iPad and a shift in the system for pricing e-books.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Follow the hyperlink
A fascinating article in the current issue of the New York Review of Books on three books about the Dreyfus Affair, by Robert Gildea. In the Contributors page, he is identified as Professor of Modern History at Oxford University. Indeed.
Four of his books are in the OPAC:
Barricades and borders : Europe 1800-1914. Oxford [Oxfordshire] ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1987.
Children of the Revolution : the French, 1799-1914. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2008.
France since 1945. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2002.
Marianne in chains : everyday life in the French heartland under the German occupation. New York: Henry Holt, 2003.
HW owns the 2nd and 4th; I'm going to take a look.
Four of his books are in the OPAC:
Barricades and borders : Europe 1800-1914. Oxford [Oxfordshire] ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1987.
Children of the Revolution : the French, 1799-1914. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2008.
France since 1945. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2002.
Marianne in chains : everyday life in the French heartland under the German occupation. New York: Henry Holt, 2003.
HW owns the 2nd and 4th; I'm going to take a look.
Kissinger dissertation
Came back from lunch to a question of finding Henry Kissinger's doctoral dissertation. Googling the term Kissinger Elena Kagan (I recalled some news item to that effect – which turned out to be a Daily Beast quiz Is Elena Kagan a Socialist and was about their senior theses) eventually led me to Henry Kissinger - Conservapedia. Therein I saw reference to his dissertation: "A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh and the Problems of Peace 1812-22," a study praising how the conservative diplomats of the era built a stable and peaceful international system after the Napoleonic wars.
The dissertation was published in 1957 by Houghton Mifflin [940.57 K].As the father, who had asked the question, said his son attends Yale, I went to Yale.edu, found a link to the library, entered the title, and got a record back:
The first link in searching on Google scholar was Kissinger: A Biography, by Walter Isaacson.
Wrote the kid an email, and closed the case (sorta).
The dissertation was published in 1957 by Houghton Mifflin [940.57 K].As the father, who had asked the question, said his son attends Yale, I went to Yale.edu, found a link to the library, entered the title, and got a record back:
A world restored; Metternich, Castlereagh and the problems of peace, 1812-22.
| Author: | Kissinger, Henry, 1923- |
|---|---|
| Title: | A world restored; Metternich, Castlereagh and the problems of peace, 1812-22. |
| Published: | Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1957. |
| Description: | 354 p. illus. 23 cm. |
| Location: | SML, Stacks, Yale Classification |
| Call Number: | Bi43 957K |
| Status: | Not Checked Out |
| Subjects (Library of Congress): | Metternich, Clemens Wenzel Lothar, Fürst von, 1773-1859. |
| Castlereagh, Robert Stewart, Viscount, 1769-1822. | |
| Europe --Politics and government --1815-1848. | |
| Database: | Yale University Library |
The first link in searching on Google scholar was Kissinger: A Biography, by Walter Isaacson.
Wrote the kid an email, and closed the case (sorta).
Friday, May 21, 2010
Bookless library
Stanford University prepares for 'bookless library'
One chapter is closing — and another is opening — as Stanford University moves toward the creation of its first "bookless library." Box by box, decades of past scholarship are being packed up and emptied from two old libraries, Physics and Engineering, to make way for the future: a smaller but more efficient and largely electronic library that can accommodate the vast, expanding and interrelated literature of Physics, Computer Science and Engineering.
"The role of this new library is less to do with shelving and checking out books — and much more about research and discovery," said Andrew Herkovic, director of communications and development at Stanford Libraries.
Well put, indeed.
Libraries are the very heart of the research university, the center for scholarship. But the accumulation of information online is shifting their sense of identity. For 40 years, the metal shelves of the modest Physics and Engineering libraries were magnets to thousands of students and faculty, including Nobel Prize winners Douglas Osheroff, Robert Laughlin and Steven Chu, who now directs the U.S. Department of Energy. On the wall of the Physics Library are 16 original prints by photographer Ansel Adams, dedicated to pioneering physicist Russell Varian. A cardboard cutout of a cheerful Albert Einstein greets visitors. A playful collection of clocks — illustrating the randomness of time — decorate a wall.
The future library — on the second floor of "The Octagon," the centerpiece of the university's new science and engineering quad that opens later this year — will offer a stark contrast. It is only half the size of the current Engineering Library, but saves its space for people, not things. It features soft seating, "brainstorm islands," a digital bulletin board and group event space. There are few shelves and it will feature a self-checkout system.
It is developing a completely electronic reference desk, and there will be four Kindle 2 e-readers on site. Its online journal search tool, called xSearch, can scan 28 online databases, a grant directory and more than 12,000 scientific journals.
Several factors are driving the shift. Stanford is running out of room, restricted by an agreement with Santa Clara County that limits how much it can grow. Increasingly, the university seeks to preserve precious square footage. Adding to its pressures is the steady flow of books. Stanford buys 100,000 volumes a year — or 273 every day.
"Most of the libraries on campus are approaching saturation," Herkovic said. "For every book that comes in, we've got to find another book to send off." This fierce competition for space on campus means that many, perhaps most, books will be shipped 38 miles away to a Livermore storage facility.
Stanford's plight is not unique. Four miles off its Durham, N.C., campus, Duke University has a high-density storage facility, with shelves 30 feet high, to hold 15 million books. Harvard's repository is 35 miles away in the rural town of Southborough, Mass.
"You just get to the point where you're busting at the seams," said Lori Goetsch, president of the Association of College and Research Libraries and dean of libraries at Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan. — which stores its books more than 80 miles away, in Lawrence.
The sciences are the perfect place to test bookless libraries, librarians say. In math, online books tend to render formulas badly. And those in the humanities, arts and social sciences still embrace the serendipitous discoveries made while browsing. Johanna Drucker, UCLA professor of information studies, asks: "What version of a work should be digitized as representative? Leo Tolstoy's original Russian text? Or the Maude translation? Should we digitize the sanitized version of Mark Twain's classics, or the originals?"
That serendipity can also work in the sciences, no?
But technical information is readily and conveniently accessed online. "Physics was one of the first disciplines to really develop a strong electronic presence," Goetsch said. Science and engineering students agree, saying there is little nostalgia for paper.
"As far as research articles go, physics publication is already essentially entirely online," said physics graduate student Daniel Weissman. "And old journal editions from before the Internet era have largely been digitized, so you can get those articles online too. So that just leaves reference books — and yeah, you're starting to see more and more of those in online versions, too."
But the transition is tougher for Physics librarian Stella Ota, who is responsible for the fate of thousands of old books as she prepares for the June 9 closure. "It is challenging — I'll look at a book and say, 'This is important work, but not currently used,' " she said. So the 1937 edition of Webel's Technical Dictionary, German-English, is moving to Livermore. So is the huge and heavy Carnegie Atlas of Galaxies, with glossy photos. "Or perhaps it is worn, or damaged, or food was spilled," so it will be given away, she said. That is the fate of the 1970-79 Bibliography of Astronomy, as well as the decrepit Selected Physical Constants. A lucky few will be selected for the few shelves at the new library.
"When I look back, then there is a certain sadness for me. Any change is hard. And there are moments of joy, when I see bookplates of former faculty who owned and donated the book, and sometimes made notes on the side," Ota said. "But looking forward, I see an opportunity to create something new."
One chapter is closing — and another is opening — as Stanford University moves toward the creation of its first "bookless library." Box by box, decades of past scholarship are being packed up and emptied from two old libraries, Physics and Engineering, to make way for the future: a smaller but more efficient and largely electronic library that can accommodate the vast, expanding and interrelated literature of Physics, Computer Science and Engineering.
"The role of this new library is less to do with shelving and checking out books — and much more about research and discovery," said Andrew Herkovic, director of communications and development at Stanford Libraries.
Well put, indeed.
Libraries are the very heart of the research university, the center for scholarship. But the accumulation of information online is shifting their sense of identity. For 40 years, the metal shelves of the modest Physics and Engineering libraries were magnets to thousands of students and faculty, including Nobel Prize winners Douglas Osheroff, Robert Laughlin and Steven Chu, who now directs the U.S. Department of Energy. On the wall of the Physics Library are 16 original prints by photographer Ansel Adams, dedicated to pioneering physicist Russell Varian. A cardboard cutout of a cheerful Albert Einstein greets visitors. A playful collection of clocks — illustrating the randomness of time — decorate a wall.
The future library — on the second floor of "The Octagon," the centerpiece of the university's new science and engineering quad that opens later this year — will offer a stark contrast. It is only half the size of the current Engineering Library, but saves its space for people, not things. It features soft seating, "brainstorm islands," a digital bulletin board and group event space. There are few shelves and it will feature a self-checkout system.
It is developing a completely electronic reference desk, and there will be four Kindle 2 e-readers on site. Its online journal search tool, called xSearch, can scan 28 online databases, a grant directory and more than 12,000 scientific journals.
Several factors are driving the shift. Stanford is running out of room, restricted by an agreement with Santa Clara County that limits how much it can grow. Increasingly, the university seeks to preserve precious square footage. Adding to its pressures is the steady flow of books. Stanford buys 100,000 volumes a year — or 273 every day.
"Most of the libraries on campus are approaching saturation," Herkovic said. "For every book that comes in, we've got to find another book to send off." This fierce competition for space on campus means that many, perhaps most, books will be shipped 38 miles away to a Livermore storage facility.
Stanford's plight is not unique. Four miles off its Durham, N.C., campus, Duke University has a high-density storage facility, with shelves 30 feet high, to hold 15 million books. Harvard's repository is 35 miles away in the rural town of Southborough, Mass.
"You just get to the point where you're busting at the seams," said Lori Goetsch, president of the Association of College and Research Libraries and dean of libraries at Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan. — which stores its books more than 80 miles away, in Lawrence.
The sciences are the perfect place to test bookless libraries, librarians say. In math, online books tend to render formulas badly. And those in the humanities, arts and social sciences still embrace the serendipitous discoveries made while browsing. Johanna Drucker, UCLA professor of information studies, asks: "What version of a work should be digitized as representative? Leo Tolstoy's original Russian text? Or the Maude translation? Should we digitize the sanitized version of Mark Twain's classics, or the originals?"
That serendipity can also work in the sciences, no?
But technical information is readily and conveniently accessed online. "Physics was one of the first disciplines to really develop a strong electronic presence," Goetsch said. Science and engineering students agree, saying there is little nostalgia for paper.
"As far as research articles go, physics publication is already essentially entirely online," said physics graduate student Daniel Weissman. "And old journal editions from before the Internet era have largely been digitized, so you can get those articles online too. So that just leaves reference books — and yeah, you're starting to see more and more of those in online versions, too."
But the transition is tougher for Physics librarian Stella Ota, who is responsible for the fate of thousands of old books as she prepares for the June 9 closure. "It is challenging — I'll look at a book and say, 'This is important work, but not currently used,' " she said. So the 1937 edition of Webel's Technical Dictionary, German-English, is moving to Livermore. So is the huge and heavy Carnegie Atlas of Galaxies, with glossy photos. "Or perhaps it is worn, or damaged, or food was spilled," so it will be given away, she said. That is the fate of the 1970-79 Bibliography of Astronomy, as well as the decrepit Selected Physical Constants. A lucky few will be selected for the few shelves at the new library.
"When I look back, then there is a certain sadness for me. Any change is hard. And there are moments of joy, when I see bookplates of former faculty who owned and donated the book, and sometimes made notes on the side," Ota said. "But looking forward, I see an opportunity to create something new."
Boost for Army library
Saw this article in the ALA newsletter. The newspaper is from Petersburg, VA.
FORT LEE - The Army Logistics University Library officially accepted one of the most comprehensive collections of logistical documentation ever donated to an Army professional development school. Retired Lt. Gen. William "Gus" Pagonis donated a collection he has had in his possession since the end of the Persian Gulf War. The documents, reports and videos detail the logistics behind the war effort known as Operation Desert Storm.
"Every briefing, every interview was taped," Pagonis said during the ceremony yesterday. "I was hoping that by doing that, we wouldn't make the same mistakes twice."
Pagonis said that in his role as the chief logistician under Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, he asked several historians within the National Guard and Army Reserve to document the operations. Those operations in 1990 and 1991 included bringing equipment to the area, moving two divisions behind enemy lines and setting up logistics stations. The moves were some of the largest ever accomplished by an Army. Pagonis said he even drew on history to make the moves possible with the logistics stations. The inspiration for that came from antiquity.
"Alexander the Great would leave logistics camps as he conquered the known world at that time so that he didn't have to go very far back for supplies," Pagonis said.
He added that Schwarzkopf asked if there were more modern examples, to which Pagonis cited the British in the North African campaign of World War II. Pagonis said that while the British faced defeat through most of that campaign, they kept their supplies close at hand. German Gen. Edwin Rommell did not and ended up losing the campaign. For the U.S. in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, there was a seven-month buildup to the 100-hour war.
"It was one of the greatest coups in history," Pagonis said. "Logistics is what made it work."
One of Napoleon's great mistakes was moving into territories with no supply planning; bad logistics.
He added that of all the casualties suffered, approximately two-thirds were logisticians. Pagonis said that the records were never his. "I was just holding on to them," he said of the documents, maps and tapes.
John Shields, research librarian at Army Logistics University, said that because Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield were such important operations, it's good to have primary documents. "In these operations, he really made logistics come together," Shields said. Shields added that the Army Logistics Library has never had anything like this donated or added to its collection before. "We're very excited about it."
Maj. Gen. James E. Chambers said that he's hopeful the library will soon have other important document collections added to it, perhaps from other wars such as World War II. Shields said that the library is still formulating how the documents will be added to the catalog. As part of the special collections, all the items will be able to be used by students at the Army Logistics University and members of the public who wish to do research.
"We won't let it circulate though," Shields said.
FORT LEE - The Army Logistics University Library officially accepted one of the most comprehensive collections of logistical documentation ever donated to an Army professional development school. Retired Lt. Gen. William "Gus" Pagonis donated a collection he has had in his possession since the end of the Persian Gulf War. The documents, reports and videos detail the logistics behind the war effort known as Operation Desert Storm.
"Every briefing, every interview was taped," Pagonis said during the ceremony yesterday. "I was hoping that by doing that, we wouldn't make the same mistakes twice."
Pagonis said that in his role as the chief logistician under Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, he asked several historians within the National Guard and Army Reserve to document the operations. Those operations in 1990 and 1991 included bringing equipment to the area, moving two divisions behind enemy lines and setting up logistics stations. The moves were some of the largest ever accomplished by an Army. Pagonis said he even drew on history to make the moves possible with the logistics stations. The inspiration for that came from antiquity.
"Alexander the Great would leave logistics camps as he conquered the known world at that time so that he didn't have to go very far back for supplies," Pagonis said.
He added that Schwarzkopf asked if there were more modern examples, to which Pagonis cited the British in the North African campaign of World War II. Pagonis said that while the British faced defeat through most of that campaign, they kept their supplies close at hand. German Gen. Edwin Rommell did not and ended up losing the campaign. For the U.S. in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, there was a seven-month buildup to the 100-hour war.
"It was one of the greatest coups in history," Pagonis said. "Logistics is what made it work."
One of Napoleon's great mistakes was moving into territories with no supply planning; bad logistics.
He added that of all the casualties suffered, approximately two-thirds were logisticians. Pagonis said that the records were never his. "I was just holding on to them," he said of the documents, maps and tapes.
John Shields, research librarian at Army Logistics University, said that because Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield were such important operations, it's good to have primary documents. "In these operations, he really made logistics come together," Shields said. Shields added that the Army Logistics Library has never had anything like this donated or added to its collection before. "We're very excited about it."
Maj. Gen. James E. Chambers said that he's hopeful the library will soon have other important document collections added to it, perhaps from other wars such as World War II. Shields said that the library is still formulating how the documents will be added to the catalog. As part of the special collections, all the items will be able to be used by students at the Army Logistics University and members of the public who wish to do research.
"We won't let it circulate though," Shields said.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Nella Larsen
Came across her name in reading biography of Federico García Lorca; when he was in New York, in 1929-30, he met Larsen.
In 1919, Larsen married Elmer Samuel Imes, a prominent physicist, the second African American to receive a Ph.D in physics. They moved to Harlem, where Larsen took a job at the 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library (NYPL). In the year after her marriage, she began to write and published her first pieces in 1920.
Well, I don't find an NYPL branch on 135th Street. There is the Arthur Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which seems to be on 135th; and the Countee Cullen Library, which is at 104 West 136th Street (near Lenox Ave).
Certified in 1923 by the NYPL's library school, she transferred to a children's librarian's position in Manhattan's Lower East Side. In 1926, having made friends with important figures in the Negro Awakening that became the Harlem Renaissance, Larsen gave up her work as a librarian and began to work as a writer active in the literary community. In 1928, she published Quicksand (ISBN 0-14-118127-3), a largely autobiographical novel, which received significant critical acclaim, if not great financial success.
In 1919, Larsen married Elmer Samuel Imes, a prominent physicist, the second African American to receive a Ph.D in physics. They moved to Harlem, where Larsen took a job at the 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library (NYPL). In the year after her marriage, she began to write and published her first pieces in 1920.
Well, I don't find an NYPL branch on 135th Street. There is the Arthur Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which seems to be on 135th; and the Countee Cullen Library, which is at 104 West 136th Street (near Lenox Ave).
Certified in 1923 by the NYPL's library school, she transferred to a children's librarian's position in Manhattan's Lower East Side. In 1926, having made friends with important figures in the Negro Awakening that became the Harlem Renaissance, Larsen gave up her work as a librarian and began to work as a writer active in the literary community. In 1928, she published Quicksand (ISBN 0-14-118127-3), a largely autobiographical novel, which received significant critical acclaim, if not great financial success.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Today
Started at Reference at 1 in the afternoon.
Man returned Newsday.
Woman patron put three books on reserve:
George, Elizabeth. This body of death
Clark, Mary Higgins. The shadow of your smile.
Deliver us from evil Baldacci, David.
Woman called, looking for It's complicated on DVD. Our three copies are out, overdue; she asked if they could be in the back. Told her they are out of the library. She said thanks you and hung up.
Woman patron requested Song of Solomon. Morrison, Toni.
Woman patron asked for The bedwetter : stories of courage, redemption, and pee / Sarah Silverman.to be placed on hold.
A patron called and asked to have Game change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the race of a lifetime / John Heilemann. placed on hold.
A woman asked for 1022 Evergreen Place. Macomber, Debbie (not due out until August)
A patron asked if Nine parts of desire: the hidden world of Islamic women / Geraldine Brooks. is on CD. It is not.
Man returned Newsday.
Woman called, and asked for today's movie. Asked her to hold on, and she kept talking. Turns out, no movie today.
Dr. Sheen returned the headphones (sank you bery much; he's not Latino, no.)
People came out of the group study room.
Man looking for Swimming in Auschwitz. Survival stories of six women [DVD]., and his library card expired two years ago.
Between 1 and 3 there was quite a bit of activity; these are just the some of the ones I handled. Took a coffee break at 3, returned to ID until 4. Light activity. Went to dinner.
Down to Reference at 5. Started off with a student looking for a critical study of The dream of the red chamber. Found one owned by East Meadow and Manhasset libraries; as it turns out, his father owns a business in Manhasset. Had Manhasset Library put it on hold for him. Also showed him how to use databases to do research on his topic.
Man returned Newsday.
Woman patron put three books on reserve:
Woman called, looking for It's complicated on DVD. Our three copies are out, overdue; she asked if they could be in the back. Told her they are out of the library. She said thanks you and hung up.
Woman patron requested Song of Solomon. Morrison, Toni.
Woman patron asked for The bedwetter : stories of courage, redemption, and pee / Sarah Silverman.to be placed on hold.
A patron called and asked to have Game change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the race of a lifetime / John Heilemann. placed on hold.
A woman asked for 1022 Evergreen Place. Macomber, Debbie (not due out until August)
A patron asked if Nine parts of desire: the hidden world of Islamic women / Geraldine Brooks. is on CD. It is not.
Man returned Newsday.
Woman called, and asked for today's movie. Asked her to hold on, and she kept talking. Turns out, no movie today.
Dr. Sheen returned the headphones (sank you bery much; he's not Latino, no.)
People came out of the group study room.
Man looking for Swimming in Auschwitz. Survival stories of six women [DVD]., and his library card expired two years ago.
Between 1 and 3 there was quite a bit of activity; these are just the some of the ones I handled. Took a coffee break at 3, returned to ID until 4. Light activity. Went to dinner.
Down to Reference at 5. Started off with a student looking for a critical study of The dream of the red chamber. Found one owned by East Meadow and Manhasset libraries; as it turns out, his father owns a business in Manhasset. Had Manhasset Library put it on hold for him. Also showed him how to use databases to do research on his topic.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Filtering allowed
WASHINGTON STATE: High Court Rules Libraries Can Use Internet Filters
The state's Supreme Court ruled that public libraries can use Internet filters to block content.
In a 6-3 ruling Thursday, the court said public libraries have discretion about which Internet content to allow, just as they decide which magazines and books to offer.
The majority said libraries don't need to completely remove Internet filters and can provide access to websites containing constitutionally protected speech if requested by an adult.
But a blistering dissent by Justice Tom Chambers argues that the ruling restricts constitutionally protected speech.
—Associated Press
The state's Supreme Court ruled that public libraries can use Internet filters to block content.
In a 6-3 ruling Thursday, the court said public libraries have discretion about which Internet content to allow, just as they decide which magazines and books to offer.
The majority said libraries don't need to completely remove Internet filters and can provide access to websites containing constitutionally protected speech if requested by an adult.
But a blistering dissent by Justice Tom Chambers argues that the ruling restricts constitutionally protected speech.
—Associated Press
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Weeding Grows the Garden
Well I recall discussions in the Collection Development class on weeding. Once I started working, I was assigned to weed certain parts of the collection, areas in which I had some specialty: business, history, biographies, sports. Now I am weeding at my second library job. This article resonates with me.
Weeding Grows the Garden: Removing worn-out and outdated material is a surprisingly effective circulation booster.
Michael Sawyer takes pride in weeding books. In fact, he estimates that over the past 30 years he has overseen the removal of more than 500,000 items across eight library systems. As you can imagine, this has not been without controversy. “Many librarians have an emotional attachment to their collections,” Sawyer observes. “They think of the books as a literal part of the library, as part of their family.” Sawyer takes a more utilitarian view of library materials by believing that most items in the average library will eventually fulfill their purpose and need to be discarded.
As director of the Calcasieu Parish Public Library in Louisiana, Sawyer feels that weeding the collection is one of the most essential practices that a library can do. While there are many benefits, the main reason is that it helps to improve circulation. “When the library gets rid of those ragged, smudged, damaged, and unattractive rebound books, circulation increases every time,” Sawyer maintains.
He believes that public libraries in particular have a responsibility to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information possible. Weeding not only allows for this, but also presents the library as a more credible source for information and enables patrons to find what they need more easily. However, routine weeding has not always been an easy task, and Sawyer has shown his dedication through leading by example. With the CREW weeding manual in hand, he has personally trained staff on the subtle art of weeding. “It is one thing to have a philosophical conversation about removing materials, but when you are out in the stacks handling books that are damaged or that have outdated information, people start to understand why we need to do this.”
While Sawyer’s passion is weeding, he also focuses on public relations. One of the library’s most successful programs, the Yard Sign Project, almost didn’t get off the ground due to staff reluctance. The project was inspired by Louisville (Ky.) Free Public Library and rewarded kids who read 10 books over the summer with a yard sign that proudly stated: “A library champion lives here.” The response was phenomenal. Sawyer said that the initiative demonstrated in a very visual manner how much support there is for the library. In addition, it created a sense of positive peer-pressure that generated excitement for children and their parents. Sawyer’s persistence paid off; staff embraced the project and the library earned the 2010 Public Library Association’s Highsmith Innovation Award from the American Library Association.
Sawyer strives to make his library the heart of the community, but in order to do so he knows that he has to appeal to its mind. In 2009 his parish was set to vote on a tax renewal to cover library funding for the next 10 years. Knowing that the majority of the money would be collected by local businesses, Sawyer circulated a white paper that outlined the economic benefits of the library for the community. In addition to digital billboards and television ads, he developed a series of talking points that distilled funding into relatable terms. A homeowner with a house valued at $100,000 would pay a tax equal to about two candy bars a month. A business owner with property valued at $600,000 would pay a rate equal to a monthly home internet connection. The community responded emphatically by passing the tax with a 91% approval rate.
While a strong vision and managerial prowess are important qualities of leadership, perhaps one of the most critical aspects is the ability to generate buy-in. Whether it is building trust among staff, convincing the board to embrace a new project, or presenting the value of the organization to the community, developing support is essential to success. Having a great idea is one thing, but convincing others to collaborate, implement it and make it their own is the key step in the process.
Brian Mathews is a librarian at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the author of Marketing Today’s Academic Library, from ALA Editions, 2009. This column spotlights leadership strategies that produce inspirational libraries.
Weeding Grows the Garden: Removing worn-out and outdated material is a surprisingly effective circulation booster.
Michael Sawyer takes pride in weeding books. In fact, he estimates that over the past 30 years he has overseen the removal of more than 500,000 items across eight library systems. As you can imagine, this has not been without controversy. “Many librarians have an emotional attachment to their collections,” Sawyer observes. “They think of the books as a literal part of the library, as part of their family.” Sawyer takes a more utilitarian view of library materials by believing that most items in the average library will eventually fulfill their purpose and need to be discarded.
As director of the Calcasieu Parish Public Library in Louisiana, Sawyer feels that weeding the collection is one of the most essential practices that a library can do. While there are many benefits, the main reason is that it helps to improve circulation. “When the library gets rid of those ragged, smudged, damaged, and unattractive rebound books, circulation increases every time,” Sawyer maintains.
He believes that public libraries in particular have a responsibility to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information possible. Weeding not only allows for this, but also presents the library as a more credible source for information and enables patrons to find what they need more easily. However, routine weeding has not always been an easy task, and Sawyer has shown his dedication through leading by example. With the CREW weeding manual in hand, he has personally trained staff on the subtle art of weeding. “It is one thing to have a philosophical conversation about removing materials, but when you are out in the stacks handling books that are damaged or that have outdated information, people start to understand why we need to do this.”
While Sawyer’s passion is weeding, he also focuses on public relations. One of the library’s most successful programs, the Yard Sign Project, almost didn’t get off the ground due to staff reluctance. The project was inspired by Louisville (Ky.) Free Public Library and rewarded kids who read 10 books over the summer with a yard sign that proudly stated: “A library champion lives here.” The response was phenomenal. Sawyer said that the initiative demonstrated in a very visual manner how much support there is for the library. In addition, it created a sense of positive peer-pressure that generated excitement for children and their parents. Sawyer’s persistence paid off; staff embraced the project and the library earned the 2010 Public Library Association’s Highsmith Innovation Award from the American Library Association.
Sawyer strives to make his library the heart of the community, but in order to do so he knows that he has to appeal to its mind. In 2009 his parish was set to vote on a tax renewal to cover library funding for the next 10 years. Knowing that the majority of the money would be collected by local businesses, Sawyer circulated a white paper that outlined the economic benefits of the library for the community. In addition to digital billboards and television ads, he developed a series of talking points that distilled funding into relatable terms. A homeowner with a house valued at $100,000 would pay a tax equal to about two candy bars a month. A business owner with property valued at $600,000 would pay a rate equal to a monthly home internet connection. The community responded emphatically by passing the tax with a 91% approval rate.
While a strong vision and managerial prowess are important qualities of leadership, perhaps one of the most critical aspects is the ability to generate buy-in. Whether it is building trust among staff, convincing the board to embrace a new project, or presenting the value of the organization to the community, developing support is essential to success. Having a great idea is one thing, but convincing others to collaborate, implement it and make it their own is the key step in the process.
Brian Mathews is a librarian at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the author of Marketing Today’s Academic Library, from ALA Editions, 2009. This column spotlights leadership strategies that produce inspirational libraries.
Librarian's Retirement Gift
Below pictures of celebrity women strutting in their low-cut, expensive dresses, all showing cleavage, a pout that is supposed to convey sexiness, or some such, sits this story of a woman, a person, who realizes that what matters is life isn't what can be bought, or doesn't have to be expensive.
Leslie Ogan never made more than $65,000 a year working for the Brooklyn Public Library and lived simply: She eschewed a television in favor of music and replaced shopping with volunteering. Now, she's retiring and giving $30,000 to the World Music Institute, a nonprofit that brings music and dance performances from around the world to New York.
Ms. Ogan, 67 years old, began volunteering for the World Music Institute 15 years ago after deciding she didn't have the $25 to $40 for tickets to see the shows. Since then she's seen more than 1,500 performances, filled her apartment with hundreds of CDs and spends 40 hours a week running the nonprofit's volunteer program and providing hospitality for visiting artists before and after shows. "Sometimes I spent more time volunteering at WMI than in my paid job…That's why I never bought a television," says Ms. Ogan, a soft-spoken woman who also spent some of her retirement money to get braces.
The organization plans to use Ms. Ogan's donation as a matching grant to raise $100,000 and keep its programs going, which range from its annual New York Flamenco Festival to globalFEST, a festival for emerging world music artists. Funding at the organization is down 30% over the past two years and ticket sales have sunk by a third. The organization lost $125,000 in foundation funding and $75,000 from a grant funded by Mayor Michael Bloomberg through the Carnegie Corp. of New York, a philanthropic trust.
In response, the nonprofit cut its programs from 60 to 40, canceled a touring component of its music program and instituted a 20% pay cut for staff. "It's a difficult time in the economy, particularly for arts organizations. Hopefully my donation can help carry WMI through the next year or so and ensure the future of the organization," Ms. Ogan says. An amateur flute player, Ms. Ogan says her near-obsession with the music institute started when she moved to New York from Holyoke, Mass. and saw the organization's fall show lineup, which included acts from as far away as Iran, Mali and Japan. She says she had never seen that kind of breadth and global reach of a music program before and immediately began penciling show times into her calendar.
The nonprofit gave her a chance to experience the world through music, including percussionist Zakir Hussain, an Indian tabla player, and Frankie Kennedy, an Irish flute and tin whistle player, who she counts among her favorites. "Librarians are poorly paid so I'm well read, but not well traveled," she says. "Music is really a gateway to culture."
Leslie Ogan never made more than $65,000 a year working for the Brooklyn Public Library and lived simply: She eschewed a television in favor of music and replaced shopping with volunteering. Now, she's retiring and giving $30,000 to the World Music Institute, a nonprofit that brings music and dance performances from around the world to New York.
Ms. Ogan, 67 years old, began volunteering for the World Music Institute 15 years ago after deciding she didn't have the $25 to $40 for tickets to see the shows. Since then she's seen more than 1,500 performances, filled her apartment with hundreds of CDs and spends 40 hours a week running the nonprofit's volunteer program and providing hospitality for visiting artists before and after shows. "Sometimes I spent more time volunteering at WMI than in my paid job…That's why I never bought a television," says Ms. Ogan, a soft-spoken woman who also spent some of her retirement money to get braces.
The organization plans to use Ms. Ogan's donation as a matching grant to raise $100,000 and keep its programs going, which range from its annual New York Flamenco Festival to globalFEST, a festival for emerging world music artists. Funding at the organization is down 30% over the past two years and ticket sales have sunk by a third. The organization lost $125,000 in foundation funding and $75,000 from a grant funded by Mayor Michael Bloomberg through the Carnegie Corp. of New York, a philanthropic trust.
In response, the nonprofit cut its programs from 60 to 40, canceled a touring component of its music program and instituted a 20% pay cut for staff. "It's a difficult time in the economy, particularly for arts organizations. Hopefully my donation can help carry WMI through the next year or so and ensure the future of the organization," Ms. Ogan says. An amateur flute player, Ms. Ogan says her near-obsession with the music institute started when she moved to New York from Holyoke, Mass. and saw the organization's fall show lineup, which included acts from as far away as Iran, Mali and Japan. She says she had never seen that kind of breadth and global reach of a music program before and immediately began penciling show times into her calendar.
The nonprofit gave her a chance to experience the world through music, including percussionist Zakir Hussain, an Indian tabla player, and Frankie Kennedy, an Irish flute and tin whistle player, who she counts among her favorites. "Librarians are poorly paid so I'm well read, but not well traveled," she says. "Music is really a gateway to culture."
NEW YORK MAY 4, 2010: Librarian's Retirement Gift
By SHELLY BANJO - Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A27
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