Challenges

Brad Parks, Guest Blogger

"Brad Parks, Guest Blogger." Lesa's Book Critiques / Brad Parks.
Arizona: Lesa's Book Critiques, Monday January 1st 2011.

"I’m here to say to all you library scientists out there: 

Don’t give up.

Don’t let it get to you.

Don’t be discouraged.

We need you. Now more than ever."

Librarian Art

Librarians Are Awesome

"Librarians Are Awesome." WWdN: In Exile / Wil Wheaton.
California: WWdN: In Exile, January 29th 2011.

"She was friendly and helpful, and when she reached out to that nerdy little kid, she changed his life. If you’re a librarian today, you probably don’t hear this very often, but thank you. Thank you for making a difference in people’s lives."

Leave The Libraries Alone. You Don’t Understand Their Value

"Leave The Libraries Alone. You Don’t Understand Their Value."  False Economy / Philip Pullman.
UK: False Economy, January 25th 2011.

"I still remember the first library ticket I ever had. It must have been about 1957. My mother took me to the public library just off Battersea Park Road and enrolled me. I was thrilled. All those books, and I was allowed to borrow whichever I wanted! And I remember some of the first books I borrowed and fell in love with: the Moomin books by Tove Jansson; a French novel for children called A Hundred Million Francs; why did I like that? Why did I read it over and over again, and borrow it many times? I don’t know. But what a gift to give a child, this chance to discover that you can love a book and the characters in it, you can become their friend and share their adventures in your own imagination."

CRTC Urges Second Look At Ban Of Dire Straits Song

"CRTC Urges Second Look At Ban Of Dire Straits Song." The Globe & Mail / Guy Dixon.
Toronto: The Globe & Mail Online, January 21st 2011.


Watch Dire Straits - Money for Nothing in Music  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

I want my... I want my... I want my MTV

Lessons For Grown-Ups From Story Time

"Lessons For Grown-Ups From Story Time." Your Ottawa Region / Charles Gordon.
Ottawa: Your Ottawa Region Online, January 27th 2011.

"For one thing, this would give children an opportunity to see librarians in action, and notice what heroes they are."

Stop. Do Nothing.

Do Nothing for 2 Minutes

Damn You Internet & Your Lack of Provenance

New Years Resolutions

Post-Script-
discovered these charming 'Resolutions', but not the originating source.

Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context & Community

Perceptions of Libraries, 2010: Context & Community / OCLC.
Ohio: OCLC, 2011.

"Americans see and appreciate the value of librarians. The vast majority (83%) of Americans who have used a librarian agree librarians add value to the search process, even more so than in 2005 (76%). Respondents who had experienced a negative job impact rate librarians even higher, with 88% indicating the librarian adds value to the search process.  Information consumers continue to be highly satisfied with the library and librarian experience. Survey results show a growth in the number of respondents who agree libraries provide the personnel, technology, information resources and physical environment that meet their needs. In fact, we see a 25% increase in those who indicated that they are very satisfied with the overall search experience with the librarian."

Read

Book Weeding, Changes Stir Debate at Central Library

"Book Weeding, Changes Stir Debate at Central Library." Boston News / Mark Sommer.
Boston: Boston News Online, January 21st 2011.

"Librarians say the Central Library is moving away from its commitment as a research library, hastily discarding thousands of books and degrading their professional roles within an increasingly demoralized workplace. ...

The cash-strapped Buffalo and Erie County Public Library system currently has a nearly $4 million budget gap that is being covered by a rainy day fund, reductions in hours and elimination of 36 1/2 full-time equivalent positions across four unions. That has affected 76 people, including 35 librarians, who have been laid off, seen a reduction in hours or changes to their job. ...

The removal of so many library books has become a flash point for some librarians.

Both librarians and administrators say libraries must weed their collections for books that are in bad shape, contain outdated material or are rarely checked out. The library maintains a “dusty book list” for books that have not circulated in five years.

But what has happened since October goes far beyond that, with thousands of books winding up in bins marked Metro Waste Paper Recovery (now owned by recycler Cascades Recovery), said a librarian who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal."

Temperaments: Not Just for Dogs

Hippocrates' 4 Humours {Blood, Yellow Bile, Black Bile, & Phlegm} begat the 4 Temperaments {Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholy, & Phlegmatic}.

Knowing yourself makes knowing others simpler.

Give Yourself a Temperament Test!

See Also:
Table of Similar Systems of Comparison of Temperaments
Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator

The Value of Library Services in Development

The Value of Library Services in Development / United Nations Economic Social Council Economic Commission for Africa.
Ethiopia: Committee on Development Information, 2003.

"Research has produced hard facts that libraries pay fully for their existence, and even produce positive returns on the investments made on them. For example, long-term studies of technical libraries using return on investment analysis (ROI) established that in monetary terms libraries produce 515% annual return on investment, that is five times more than what is invested on them per annum (Keyes, 1995; Griffiths  and King, 1993). Cost-benefit analysis also showed that the benefits derived from library services outweigh the cost of providing them. (McClure et al, 2000)." 

If

Too Long/Steam Machine / Daft Punk

Make It A Masterpiece

Crafting The User Centered Library

Crafting The User Centered Library

View more presentations from Cliff Landis.

Trust the Process

Library 2.0: User-Centered Change & User-Centered Technologies

Library 2.0: User-Centered Change & User-Centered Technologies

As It Should

Ebooks & Libraries: A Stream of Concerns

"Ebooks & Libraries: A Stream of Concerns." Information Wants to Be Free / Meredith Farkas.
Vermont: Information Wants To Be Free, January 18th 2011.

"And how do you browse a shelf of eBooks?

Browsing is still an important part of the discovery experience. Every time I am helping a student find books on a specific topic, I will suggest that they look to the left and right of the books they are specifically looking for on the shelf to see if there’s something that didn’t come up in our search that would be a great fit for their research. There’s nothing like serendipity, and serendipitous browsing is still not replicated well online. And this becomes even more difficult to imagine replicating when you have a mix of ebook collections and print books. The collection becomes even more fragmented, even more difficult to browse."

Pearls Before Swine

Voices For the Library

Support UK Librarians!  Voices for the Library is "inviting everybody who uses, loves or needs the services UK public libraries and librarians provide to join us, share your stories of why you want to save the services, explain what they mean to you, your friends and your families". Check-out the Closures Map -- shocking!

Librarian Assisting Elderly Women

Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries

Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries / ALA Office for Research & Statistics.
America: ALA, 2008.

"There are 21 million people in America who speak little or no English -- one of every 15 persons."

See Also:
Resources for Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries

Proctorville Public Library Began As Hot Dog Stand

Taxonomy Doesn't Have To Be Taxing

"Taxonomy Doesn't Have To Be Taxing." Quercus Blog / Quercus.
London: Quercus Blog, December 8th 2010.

"Once upon an earlier time there were folk called Librarians. Librarians had two main jobs 1) only they were allowed to say the magic word shush in the hallowed churches they commanded (known as libraries) and 2) only they were allowed to organize books into categories. Librarians were a sub-species of the magical creatures known as Taxonomists."

Virtues: The Gifts Within

Virtues: The Gifts Within / VirtuesProject.

"Gratitude »  Freely expressing thankfulness and appreciation to others &  for the gifts of life."

Grace Bonney’s ‘Design By The Book’ Makes Library Trips Cool Again

"Grace Bonney’s ‘Design By The Book’ Makes Library Trips Cool Again." Tube Filter / Julie Wolfson.
Los Angeles: Tube Filter News Online, February 4th 2009.

"Everyday on design*sponge, Grace Bonney introduces her readers to talented and innovative artists, offers sneak peaks into amazing houses and studios, and inspires people to get creative. In her new web series, Design By the Book, she documents the collaboration process of five Brooklyn artists with the New York Public Library. The show chronicles the artists’ introduction to the library collection and documents the projects they make inspired by the research they find there. Through it all, Grace reminds us that not all librarians are bespectacled old ladies who shush everyone in the building. She uncovers the hip underbelly of the library and what treasure we can find there."

This episode features Isaac Mizrahi!

I Like Clouds

This is siiick.

Bruno 64days

Practice Patience

Makes Me Laugh

Shush Gets A Nod

Librarians' Blog on Librarian Planet.

Thanks, Librarian Planet!

Libraries Seen As Easy Touch When It Comes To Balancing The Books

"Libraries Seen As Easy Touch When It Comes To Balancing The Books." The Guardian / Alexandra Topping & Benedicte Page.
London: The Guardian Online, January 7th 2011.

"Brent is one of hundreds of councils planning to close public libraries in an attempt to meet huge cuts imposed by central government. Nearly 400 are threatened with closure, and with half of councils yet to announce their plans, the final number could be as many as 800 – a fifth of all libraries. One of those earmarked is Kensal Rise library. Housed in a comfortingly solid Victorian building, near a primary school on a quiet residential street, it was opened in 1900 by Mark Twain.

Caroline Bottomley, 49, has been going there for 12 years. "I walk down the road on my way home from the tube, and when I see those brass chandeliers twinkling in the windows, it feels like a homecoming," she said. "It's not just a library, it's such a big symbol of the community."

It is homely, with dark wood parquet floors, old-fashioned bookshelves, hushed voices. Students ploughing through their books, an older woman slowly turning pages of the Daily Mail.

Sara Levy, 39, sat with three-year-old Ella, colouring in Spot the Dog on a computer screen, with three-week-old Ava asleep on her chest. "It's the only local place you can come without spending money," she said. "It's local and friendly. And it's classless."

Walking Paper Shop

Walking Paper, a Library Design consultancy, shop, & blog by Aaron Schmidt, now offering delightful merch such as the "We Are Not Our Patrons" pencils pictured below.

Young, Hip Librarians Take Over

"Young, Hip Librarians Take Over." KPBS / Ana Tintocalis.
San Diego: KPBS Online, January 10th 2011.

"Meredith Myers, a librarian and stand-up comedian, says she knows the answer: hire younger, more hip librarians.

“I think we need cool librarians,” said Myers, who sports a stylish hat, bright red hair and black biker boots. “Image is important. (Younger patrons) are more likely to ask for help from people who they can identify with.”

Myers is part of a growing number of young librarians who are busting stereotypes of the “typical librarian” and forcing change within their own libraries.

They said it is not uncommon today to see librarians wearing Doc Martin boots, tattoos and dreadlocks. And some new librarians say they are more interested in pop culture than historical text.

Library advocates said it is all part of the 21st Century library – a place with cool technology and cool people." 

11 Answers for Libraries in 2011: Part One

"11 Answers for Libraries in 2011: Part One." Librarians Matter / Kathryn Greenhill Fremantle.
Australia: Librarians Matter, January 5th 2011.

"We love to talk, talk, talk in libraries.

This post was going to be “11 conversations we need to continue in libraries in 2011″ in a nod to Dave Lanke’s post The Librarian Militant, The Librarian Triumphant. He posits librarianship as not a building or a collection but “a conversation you are having” – that we must keep fresh and responsive."

Librarian: The Game App

From Speak Quietly, Librarian: The Game app for your i-device.

Something Else / Diamond Rings

Favourite Children's Books of 2010

"Favourite Children's Books of 2010." Only Connect / Alex Yarrow.
Ottawa: Only Connect, December 24th 2010.

See:
Only Connect: Musings About Libraries, Books, 2.0ish-ness & more

Antique Book

New Media & Literacies: Amateurs vs. Professionals

"New Media & Literacies: Amateurs vs. Professionals." First Monday / Tibor Koltay.
Chicago: First Monday 16 1-3, January 2011.

"New media are not supportive of critical thinking and conscious selection of information. Literacies of our age stress critical thinking and take many forms. Despite differences and similarities among information literacy, media literacy and digital literacy, all of them have to differentiate between amateur and professional contents produced in new media. Similarly to the traditional division of labor among libraries, the needs behind amateurism and professionalism have to be satisfied differently.  ...

There is no single literacy that is appropriate for all people or for one person over all their lifetime that would not require constant updating of concepts and competences in accordance with the changing circumstances of the information environment (Bawden, 2008). In the world of new media, literacies have to be different not only because they originate in different traditions and practices, but by the recognition of differences in the use of information. Instead of accepting without criticism that new media can change everything disregarding our needs, we have to try to differentiate and use the “old” example of work distribution between academic, special and public libraries."

Red Tara

Red Tārā, of fierce aspect associated with magnetizing all good things

Untitled / Interpol

Shush Gets a Nod

Featured Blog of the Month on Merlin: Maryland's Essential Resource for Library Information Networks.

Thanks, Merlin!

Values For Librarians In the Information Age

"Values For Librarians In the Information Age." Journal of Information Ethics / Wanda V. Cole & Jitka M. Hurych.
Minnesota: Journal of Information Ethics Online 10.2 38-50, 2001.

"The advent  of the Information Age has brought  other ethical issues to the attention of librarians.  Rapidly changing technology  is forcing the library profession  to  rethink  its mission  and  responsibilities.  Technology  has  and will continue  to have an enormous effect on how information  is accessed, retrieved, and  transformed  into knowledge.  Previously  accepted  values  are being  challenged."

Be An Agent of Change

Public Libraries & the Digital Divide

"Public Libraries & the Digital Divide." Information for Social Change / John Pateman.
International: Information for Social Change 26 52-55, c2009.

Library Marketing

Wishing You A Year of Good Reading