Friday, December 24, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Web-Scale Discovery
From ALA magazine.
Connecting users with the information they seek is one of the central pillars of our profession. Web-scale discovery services for libraries are those services capable of searching quickly and seamlessly across a vast range of local and remote preharvested and indexed content, providing relevancy-ranked results in an intuitive interface expected by today’s information seekers. First debuting in late 2007, these rapidly evolving tools are more important today than ever to understand.
Great theory, and, perhaps, a reality in some libraries, but nothing I've seen. An example of the divide in the library world between the reality of the mundane and commonplace, and the theoretical academic writing.
Connecting users with the information they seek is one of the central pillars of our profession. Web-scale discovery services for libraries are those services capable of searching quickly and seamlessly across a vast range of local and remote preharvested and indexed content, providing relevancy-ranked results in an intuitive interface expected by today’s information seekers. First debuting in late 2007, these rapidly evolving tools are more important today than ever to understand.
Great theory, and, perhaps, a reality in some libraries, but nothing I've seen. An example of the divide in the library world between the reality of the mundane and commonplace, and the theoretical academic writing.
Akedah secular source
12/22, 4pm
A young man, university-age, approached the Reference Desk, and asked for information on the akedah. At first I thought he meant Acadia, but he explained that it is Isaac's binding (the binding that Abraham used to bind Isaac before the sacrifice). He wanted a "secular source," he explained when I suggested the Encyclopedia Judaica, which he had at his table. He also has a Christian source he got from the Internet; when I asked him if he thought it a reliable source he pointed out that he'll explain in his paper that it is an electronic source, and, indeed, it is that sort of source that he needs. Makes sense.
OPAC searches revealed that HW's book on it was gone and billed; his deadline is tonight ("I like to leave papers for the last minute."). I suggested database searches, and gave him 296.14 as the call number of the book that is not there, the religion call number (actually 296 is Judaism). He thanked me, and went back to his table, laptop and assignment.
Remembering Tikkun, I went to to the site and searched; plenty of results. I searched ProQuest and also found many results (Galenet gave 4 results).
Walked over to the table where he's sitting, and told him about Tikkun, "it's a liberal Jewish publication." As soon as I said the word Jewish the Orthodox Jew sitting at the next table turned around to look at me.
O, and the students first name is Solomon; I told him mine is Salomon.
A young man, university-age, approached the Reference Desk, and asked for information on the akedah. At first I thought he meant Acadia, but he explained that it is Isaac's binding (the binding that Abraham used to bind Isaac before the sacrifice). He wanted a "secular source," he explained when I suggested the Encyclopedia Judaica, which he had at his table. He also has a Christian source he got from the Internet; when I asked him if he thought it a reliable source he pointed out that he'll explain in his paper that it is an electronic source, and, indeed, it is that sort of source that he needs. Makes sense.
OPAC searches revealed that HW's book on it was gone and billed; his deadline is tonight ("I like to leave papers for the last minute."). I suggested database searches, and gave him 296.14 as the call number of the book that is not there, the religion call number (actually 296 is Judaism). He thanked me, and went back to his table, laptop and assignment.
Remembering Tikkun, I went to to the site and searched; plenty of results. I searched ProQuest and also found many results (Galenet gave 4 results).
Walked over to the table where he's sitting, and told him about Tikkun, "it's a liberal Jewish publication." As soon as I said the word Jewish the Orthodox Jew sitting at the next table turned around to look at me.
O, and the students first name is Solomon; I told him mine is Salomon.
Someone knows my name [electronic resource]
A patron asked for this book, and, curious, I went to take a look. Searching the title, I saw that the OPAC contains a record for an electronic resource: an excerpt from the book is read, and can be accessed through a hyperlink. Whew, libraries racing into the future (well, the present, but, still).
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Google Launches New Book Database
A Google-backed project allows centuries of books to be scanned for specific words and phrases, equipping the humanities with a new method of cultural analysis.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Can't wait; gotta have it
A regular patron reserved two Clive Cussler books due to be published next year, 2011: The Jungle (2011/03/08), and The Kingdom (2011/06/07)
Friday, December 3, 2010
Narcissus leaves the pool
One of the beauties of working with people is that they bring ideas and topics to my attention that I do not know. A perfect example is this book, asked for by Dr. Evans, a regular patron who is in the Library just about every single day.
Epstein, Joseph. (1999). Narcissus leaves the pool: familiar essays. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Booklist Reviews: Epstein is one of the premier contemporary American essayists, and his status is reaffirmed in his latest collection, which, as the title indicates, is about himself. But there is nothing wrong with such egotism, because he happens to be an interesting fellow.
Kirkus Reviews: Vintage Epstein, for those who don't mind a faint bouquet of self-absorption.
Epstein, Joseph. (1999). Narcissus leaves the pool: familiar essays. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Booklist Reviews: Epstein is one of the premier contemporary American essayists, and his status is reaffirmed in his latest collection, which, as the title indicates, is about himself. But there is nothing wrong with such egotism, because he happens to be an interesting fellow.
Kirkus Reviews: Vintage Epstein, for those who don't mind a faint bouquet of self-absorption.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Remote viewing
Mayer, Elizabeth Lloyd. (2007). Extraordinary knowing: science, skepticism, and the inexplicable powers of the human mind. New York : Bantam Books. 133.8 M
Friday, November 5, 2010
Morris Louis
A patron was seeking books about this artist. Morris Louis (born Morris Louis Bernstein, 28 November 1912 – 7 September 1962) was an American abstract expressionist painter. During the 1950s he became one of the earliest exponents of Color Field painting. Living in Washington, DC. Louis, along with Kenneth Noland and other Washington painters formed an art movement that is known today as the Washington Color School.
Morris Louis, Where, 252 x 362 cm. magna on canvas, 1960, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Olive: Voters approve library funding
Published: Tuesday, November 02, 2010
OLIVE — Town voters on Tuesday approved, 1,280-419, a plan to support the Olive Free Library with $129,000 in annual town funding. The approval of the ballot proposition allows the library to receive $129,000 annually until the amount is changed through a future ballot proposition.
The library currently receives $43,000 from the town and another $54,000 from the library’s Bishop Trust.
Library board President Mary Ann Shepard has said funding cuts over the past several years had hurt basic services in a rural community where the library serves as a cultural center, educational resource, and job search facility.
OLIVE — Town voters on Tuesday approved, 1,280-419, a plan to support the Olive Free Library with $129,000 in annual town funding. The approval of the ballot proposition allows the library to receive $129,000 annually until the amount is changed through a future ballot proposition.
The library currently receives $43,000 from the town and another $54,000 from the library’s Bishop Trust.
Library board President Mary Ann Shepard has said funding cuts over the past several years had hurt basic services in a rural community where the library serves as a cultural center, educational resource, and job search facility.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Halloween at the Library
Starting today at the Children's Room.
A man came in asking for Dear Mr. Henshaw / Beverly Cleary ; illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky.
A mother with her two daughters were looking for a PG-rated DVD; they looked at Home Alone 4, but Mum nixed it. The violence was okay, but the plot includes a relationship that clearly she did not approve of.
A father with his son, Joseph, who is in the third grade, asked for a book; recommended Cam Jansen.
It has gotten busy, and I can't keep up, but I've recommended, and as wasked about, Patricia Giff, Barbara Cohen, Robert Munsch. Books on Thanksgiving (on Halloween Day), Magic school bus.
At 3, I repaired upstairs to Reference. Decidedly different in Reference than in Children's. A few people studyuing, 6 Internet PCs in use. A patron I know came over and asked for three books:
Men of Silk: The Hasidic Conquest of Polish Jewish Society, by Glenn Dynner. An associate professor of religion at Sarah Lawrence College. Growth and development of Hasidic movement in Eastern and East Central Europe. Glenn Dynner draws upon newly discovered Polish archival material and neglected Hebrew testimonies to illuminate Hasidism's dramatic ascendancy in the region of Central Poland during the early nineteenth century. (from Oxford Press)
Blind jump: the story of Shaike Dan, by Amos Ettinger. Found it in Suffolk.
Blind Jump is the story of the amazing exploits of Shaike Dan. During World War II, Shaike Dan volunteered to parachute behind enemy lines in Romania on behalf of British Intelligence. His jump had two objectives: to locate the prison camp where 1,400 Allied Air Force crewman, downed when bombing the Ploesti oil fields in Romania, were being held, and also to find ways to get them out of Romania so that they could go back into action and resume their contribution to the war effort. The second objective was to try to rescue Jews from Eastern Europe and get them to Palestine.
Rome and Jerusalem: the clash of ancient civilizations. Martin Goodman. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 2007.
933.05 G
Clearly there is a theme running through his requests. He is one of the more interesting patrons I encounter here.
A man came in asking for Dear Mr. Henshaw / Beverly Cleary ; illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky.
A mother with her two daughters were looking for a PG-rated DVD; they looked at Home Alone 4, but Mum nixed it. The violence was okay, but the plot includes a relationship that clearly she did not approve of.
A father with his son, Joseph, who is in the third grade, asked for a book; recommended Cam Jansen.
It has gotten busy, and I can't keep up, but I've recommended, and as wasked about, Patricia Giff, Barbara Cohen, Robert Munsch. Books on Thanksgiving (on Halloween Day), Magic school bus.
At 3, I repaired upstairs to Reference. Decidedly different in Reference than in Children's. A few people studyuing, 6 Internet PCs in use. A patron I know came over and asked for three books:
Blind jump: the story of Shaike Dan, by Amos Ettinger. Found it in Suffolk.
Blind Jump is the story of the amazing exploits of Shaike Dan. During World War II, Shaike Dan volunteered to parachute behind enemy lines in Romania on behalf of British Intelligence. His jump had two objectives: to locate the prison camp where 1,400 Allied Air Force crewman, downed when bombing the Ploesti oil fields in Romania, were being held, and also to find ways to get them out of Romania so that they could go back into action and resume their contribution to the war effort. The second objective was to try to rescue Jews from Eastern Europe and get them to Palestine.
933.05 G
Clearly there is a theme running through his requests. He is one of the more interesting patrons I encounter here.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
I learned something today
She suggested I use Google Images, and when I did she recognized the cover of the DVD: Shakespeare in Love, with Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes
I learned something: image searching is indeed now possible to use as a librarian's tool to find requested material.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Making Ignorance Chic
Maureen Dowd takes note of librarians in her column.
The false choice between intellectualism and sexuality in women has persisted through the ages. There was no more poignant victim of it than Marilyn Monroe. She was smart enough to become the most famous Dumb Blonde in history. Photographers loved to get her to pose in tight shorts, a silk robe or a swimsuit with a come-hither look and a weighty book — a history of Goya or James Joyce’s “Ulysses” or Heinrich Heine’s poems. A high-brow bunny picture, a variation on the sexy librarian trope.
The false choice between intellectualism and sexuality in women has persisted through the ages. There was no more poignant victim of it than Marilyn Monroe. She was smart enough to become the most famous Dumb Blonde in history. Photographers loved to get her to pose in tight shorts, a silk robe or a swimsuit with a come-hither look and a weighty book — a history of Goya or James Joyce’s “Ulysses” or Heinrich Heine’s poems. A high-brow bunny picture, a variation on the sexy librarian trope.
Running the Books
Avi Steinberg. 399 pages. Nan A. Talese/Doubleday. $26.
[One library has it as Running the Books, another as a Biography.]
Fascinating review, or rather, review of a fascinating book written by a man who was a prison librarian for a couple of years.
Clinging to textbooks
They text their friends all day long. At night, they do research for their term papers on laptops and commune with their parents on Skype. But as they walk the paths of Hamilton College, a poster-perfect liberal arts school in this upstate village, students are still hauling around bulky, old-fashioned textbooks — and loving it.
Béatrice de Géa for The New York Times - Victoria Adesoba, a New York University student, said her decision to buy or rent textbooks depended on the course. She said e-texts tempted her to visit Facebook.
Smart of her; would that other youngsters, including young librarians, heed that. It is amazing just how addicted people become to electronic gadgets, something I well understand. But at work, one has to act professionally, and Facebooking all the time ain't that.
For all the talk that her generation is the most technologically adept in history, paper-and-ink textbooks do not seem destined for oblivion anytime soon According to the National Association of College Stores, digital books make up just under 3 percent of textbook sales, although the association expects that share to grow to 10 percent to 15 percent by 2012 as more titles are made available as e-books.
Béatrice de Géa for The New York Times - Victoria Adesoba, a New York University student, said her decision to buy or rent textbooks depended on the course. She said e-texts tempted her to visit Facebook.
Smart of her; would that other youngsters, including young librarians, heed that. It is amazing just how addicted people become to electronic gadgets, something I well understand. But at work, one has to act professionally, and Facebooking all the time ain't that.
For all the talk that her generation is the most technologically adept in history, paper-and-ink textbooks do not seem destined for oblivion anytime soon According to the National Association of College Stores, digital books make up just under 3 percent of textbook sales, although the association expects that share to grow to 10 percent to 15 percent by 2012 as more titles are made available as e-books.
Friday, October 15, 2010
He comes next
A man came over to the Information Desk and asked for the book. 3 libraries own it. After he left, I looked at the record a little more closely, noticing the cover and the subject headings more carefully.
Note the fruits; nothing lost or confusing there. The complete title is He comes next : the thinking woman's guide to pleasuring a man.
Subject headings:
Subject headings:
| Sex instruction for women. | |
| Oral sex. | |
| Male orgasm. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
