Libraries & Librarians Are Endangered Species: What You Can Do to Help

"Libraries & Librarians Are Endangered Species: What You Can Do to Help." The Huffington Post / Carol Fitzgerald.
New York: The Huffington Post Online, June 25th 2010.

"As petitions were signed, one opinion dominated --- not one person supported closing the library. People were united, a rarity in local politics; the library needed to stay open. The politicians couldn't miss that message, and so, on the subsequent council vote, only one councilman opposed keeping the library open.  In the end, there were negotiations with other municipal workers and give-and-take on many sides. The library remained open. The mayor said he had received an education on what a library means to people."

See Also:
Save Libraries

Checklist Manifesto for the Reference Desk

"Checklist Manifesto for the Reference Desk." Swiss Army Librarian / Brian Herzog.
Massachusetts: Swiss Army Librarian, June 29th 2010.

"Remember to show patrons how to do something, instead of just giving them answers. It’s also okay to think out loud when working on a question - explaining why you’re consulting the resources you are, or why books are in a certain spot in the library, will help the patron and possibly make you think of something you may have otherwise forgotten."

Keep Calm & Carry On / Now Panic & Freak Out

Fun variation!

See Also:
Ministry of Information
Keep Calm & Carry On
Merch

Libraries Have a Novel Idea

"Libraries Have a Novel Idea." The Wall Street Journal / Geoffrey A. Fowler.
New York: Wall Street Journal Online, June 29th 2010.

See Also:
Internet Archive

Opportunity & Access: The Power of Today's Public Libraries

"Opportunity & Access: The Power of Today's Public Libraries." The Huffington Post NY / Paul LeClerc.
New York: Huffington Post Online, June 24th 2010.

"Many factors are driving this unprecedented level of use of public libraries. But the study shows that principal among them is the work of library staff to meet the information needs of the communities they serve."

Happy 6th Birthday, Clancy!

Do the Thing You Think You Cannot Do

Summertime

Henry Madden Library, California State University

Cute!

What is a Public Library?

Neil Gaiman Says Closing Libraries Would be 'A Terrible Mistake'

"Neil Gaiman Says Closing Libraries Would be 'A Terrible Mistake'." The Telegraph / Stephen Adams.
London: The Telegraph Online, June 24th 2010.

"Accepting the award in London yesterday, Gaiman said: "Libraries are our future – to close them would be a terrible, terrible mistake – it would be stealing from the future to pay for today which is what got us into the mess we’re in now.  In this austerity world it's incredibly easy if you are a local authority and you are looking for cuts, to say 'Let's cut libraries'. But that's borrowing from the future." 

I Like Clouds

"A Break in The Weather" Weather Network / Dave the Square Dancer.
Ottawa: 2010.

Top 25 Library Blogs 2009

"The Top 25 Library Blogs." Online Degrees / Alexis.
America: Online Degrees.com, May 29th 2010.

4 Reasons Why the Library Should Affect Your College Choice

"4 Reasons Why the Library Should Affect Your College Choice." US News & World Report / Jeff Greer.
Washington: US News.com, June 17th 2010.

"Bring a book or some schoolwork, sit down, and soak up the environment. Can you see yourself there for four years?"

Air Pollution in Libraries

"Air Pollution in Libraries." Health Watch: Keeping Watch Over Librarians' Health Issues / Edith Arbach.
Toronto: Library Networking Group, June 23rd 2010.

The By-the-Book Librarian

"The By-the-Book Librarian." Astoria Charcters / Nancy Ruhling.

New York: Huffington Post Online, June 1st 2010.

"There's nothing like the smell of books," Laurel Hicklin says in delight. "It's so exciting to be surrounded by all kinds of books that are just waiting to be read."

Libraries Turn a New Page with Live Gigs

"Libraries Turn a New Page with Live Gigs." The Guardian / Anita Sethi.

Manchester: The Guardian Online, June 2nd 2010.

"A trip to the library can change your life. That is the founding philosophy of the Get it Loud in Libraries project, which challenges the stereotype of whisper only noise levels."

Stacked.

Stacked / Mercantile Library.
Cincinnati: WordPress, 200?.

Best. Blog. Name. Ever.
Good stuff on there, too.

Little Loud

After All, It is Smart

The Internet: Everything You Ever Need to Know

"The Internet: Everything You Ever Need to Know." The Guardian / John Naughton.

Manchester: The Guardian Online, June 20th 2010.

"A funny thing happened to us on the way to the future. The internet went from being something exotic to being boring utility, like mains electricity or running water – and we never really noticed. So we wound up being totally dependent on a system about which we are terminally incurious."

HAVES Ignore HAVE-NOTS & Always Will

"The HAVES Ignore the HAVE-NOTS & Always Will." The Effing Librarian / The.Effing.Librarian.

Florida: The.Effing.Librarian, June 23rd 2010.

"And this again, do I have to say it, is the essential role of the public library. No, of the fucking public library. We fill that gap between mandated public education and expensive post-education and then on and on until you or I die. (Yes, I hope I die first, too.) ... Training someone to be an educated digital citizen takes real time. You can't solve it with a slide show or a widget.

I can't even guess which skills we'll need for tomorrow's internet. But as long as someone pays for me to be a librarian, I'll continue to care and to teach it to whomever needs to know. And if no one wants to pay me, I won't teach it, but I'll still care."

Osteospermum Flower Power Spider White Purple

Rabi Kahn

Sunset in Ottawa Valley / Rabi Kahn. Digital Art.

Toronto: 2010.

See Also:

Rabi Khan

Enter the Kobo.

I caved. I bought it. I had to. Furthermore, it's sweeet.

To be clear: my usual reading habits are not replaced, but expanded.

See Also:
Ebook
Ereaders
Kobo

How to Use a Semicolon

"How to Use a Semicolon." The Oatmeal / Matthew Inman.
Seattle: 2010.

See Also:
The Oatmeal

Effing Brilliant!

Happy Birthday, My Love

Hysteric for Intellectual Freedom

See Also:

ALA Intellectual Freedom button

Mega Light Years

Librarians By the Numbers

"Librarians By the Numbers." Agnostic, Maybe / Andy W.

New Jersey: Agnostic, Maybe, June 10th 2010.

"There are 72 million baby boomers, 11,000 Americans turn 50 every day, 4.6 adults turn 65 each minute, and almost 60% of librarians are 45 or older. There is little balance: only 7% of the library work force is age 20-29!"

See Also:

ALA F act Sheets

Closing the Digital Frontier

"Closing the Digital Frontier." The Atlantic / Michael Hirschorn.

Washington: The Atlantic Online, July-August 2010.

"...Information wants to be free was never meant to be the rallying cry it turned into. It was first uttered by Stewart Brand at a hacker conference in 1984, and it came with a significant disclaimer: that information also wants to be expensive, because it can be so important (see “Information Wants to Be Paid For,” in this issue). ... IWTBF [has been] dissected, debated, reconstituted as a global democratic rallying cry against monsters of the political, business, and media elites—became perhaps the most powerful meme of the past quarter century; so powerful, in fact, that multibillion-dollar corporations destroyed their own businesses at its altar."

See Also:

Information Wants to Be Free

An Architect's Rendering

Do.

NYC Read-In

"24-Hour Read-In Protests Cuts to Libraries." N.Y. Region / Michael M. Grynbaum.

New York: New York Times, June 13th 2010.

It was the literary equivalent of a filibuster, a bookworm’s take on 1960s-style protest.

A 24-hour stream of sentences and stories, spanning the canon from George Eliot to “Gossip Girl,” flowed from dozens of book-loving New Yorkers this weekend who were concerned about austere budget cuts to libraries proposed by City Hall.

Not typically ones to raise their voices, librarians staged an overnight read-in on the steps of the Brooklyn Public Library on Grand Army Plaza to criticize the city’s plan to close 40 branches by month’s end, and to reduce hours and employees at those that remain.

The event’s slogan: “We Will Not Be Shushed.”

I Like Clouds

Read & Recommended

Nikolski / Nicolas Dickner.

Quebec: Editions Alto, 2005.

Translated by Lazer Lederhendler for Knopf Canada 2008.

See Also:

Montreal Review of Books

Nicolas Dickner

Canada Reads 2010

Nikolski, Alaska

Library Funding Bulletin

Library Funding Bulletin II / British Columbia Library Trustees Association.

See Also:

Bulletins

Sundays at the Library

What If

Being You

This Blog is Like Crack for Audiophiles

Songs From the Etc File / B.

Ottawa: 2010.

Library Pictograms from Sweden I

See Also:

Library Pictograms from Sweden

Library Pictograms from Sweden II

I must say: I do enjoy the owl.

See Also:

Library Pictograms from Sweden

Library Pictograms from Sweden III

See Also:

Library Pictograms from Sweden

Library Pictograms from Sweden IV

See Also:

Library Pictograms from Sweden

Library Pictograms from Sweden V

See Also:

Library Pictograms from Sweden

Library Pictograms from Sweden VI

See Also:

Library Pictograms from Sweden

Library Pictograms from Sweden VII

From a customer-driven service model wherein Librarian & Patron join forces to resolve an Information query, #105 speaks to me.

See Also:

Library Pictograms from Sweden

Change

Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library

Hmm. Not so bad, really.

Dewey Decimal System Pictograms

This is a great idea toward making the Library more usable for everyone. Good on ya, Oakland!

See Also:

Oakland Public Library DDC Pictograms

Alejandro

"Alejandro." The Fame Monster / Lady Gaga.

New York: 2009.

Wish in the Wind

See Also:

DeviantArt

Sustainable National Public Library of Kazakhstan

Wow.

See Also:

ECO Architecture: Sustainable Library in Kazakhstan

No Filtering

"Libraries Have Right to Filter Internet, But Maybe Shouldn't." Seattle Times / Bruce Ramsey.

Seattle: Seattle Times Online, May 11th 2010.

The Death of the Library: Read It & Weep

"The Death of the Library: Read It & Weep." Politics Daily / Delia Lloyd.

London: Politics Daily Online, June 6th 2010.

"...more than 25 million Americans reported using their public library more than 20 times in 2008, up from 20.3 million Americans in 2006. Particularly in the wake of the economic downturn, more and more Americans are turning to public libraries for such things as job hunting or to seek government services and continuing education -- not to mention free books, DVDs and CDs. And yet, according to this same study, a majority of states report cuts in library financing. In short -- much like the post office -- we seem to be losing these iconic communal institutions of our youth....My librarian friend reminds me that President Barack Obama obtained his first job after attending Columbia University by going to the New York Public Library.... In short, libraries are vital to creating an informed citizenry that is the hallmark of any democracy. So what do we lose when we lose libraries? We lose a lot."

I ❤ Libraries.

Monday

Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe

Find Your Own Light

So Now You Know

It's a Fact: New York Dolls bassist Arthur 'Killer' Kane became a mild-mannered Librarian at Los Angeles' Mormon Family History Center specializing in Genealogical research!

Utagawa Hiroshige

See Also:

Navaro Rapids

Utagawa Hiroshige

Katsushika Hokusai

See Also:

The Great Wave Off Kanagawa

Katsushika Hokusai

Attitude Adjustor!

Thoughts

Who Put the Public in the Library Anyway?

"Who Put the Public in the Library Anyway?." End Homelessness / Shannon Moriarty.

America: Change.org, December 28th 2008.

"Are public libraries meant to be more 'public' or more 'library'?"

Farting in the Library

Shhhh!

Library a Powerful Draw for Newcomers

"Library a Powerful Draw for Newcomers: Immigrant Program Expands Institution's Community Reach." Edmonton Journal / Richard Warnica.

Edmonton: Edmonton Journal Online, May 31st 2010.

The Coming Data Explosion

"The Coming Data Explosion." New York Times Technology / Richard Macmanus.

New York: New York Times Online, May 2010.

"Today, we measure the size of the Web in exabytes and are uploading to it 15 times more data than we were 3 years ago."

What They Didn't Teach Us in Library School

"What They Didn't Teach Us in Library School." Tomgram / Chip Ward.

Utah :Tomgram, April 2007.

Quiet in the Library

"Quiet in the Library; An Urban Dilemma." Edmonton Journal / Richard Warnica.

Edmonton: Edmonton Journal Online, May 30th 2010.

"Libraries exist in a state of conflict. They are public space. Their doors are open to anyone. But in downtowns, anyone usually means more than the normal share of the rough: both around the edges and all the way through."