[LISNews] The LISNews For December 31st 2008

Wed Dec 31 13:36:50 CST 2008

It's Wednesday and time to highlight the most popular LISNews user blog posts from the past week. 
Everyone gets a blog @LISNews.org!

-[1] - Netflix "Watch Instantly" quality
   http://lisnews.org/node/32315/
-[2] - Koyaanisqatsi
   http://lisnews.org/node/32308/
-[3] - Your tax dollars at work.... for something useful finally.  Track Santa
   http://lisnews.org/node/32307/
-[4] - 60 F in Buffalo?
   http://lisnews.org/node/32323/
-[5] - I effing-published a book; so should you!
   http://lisnews.org/node/32340/

And here's the latest from LISNews:

--Terry Pratchett Knighted
- http://lisnews.org/node/32341/
-Front Page Story by StephenK Posted Wednesday December 31st at 2:31 PM
-Read 10 times - 0 Comments
The USENET News group alt.sysadmin.recovery brought word this morning that apparently English author Terry Pratchett has
been knighted at the rank of Knight Bachelor.  More details can be found in this year's honours list.

--I effing-published a book; so should you!
- http://lisnews.org/node/32340/
-Blog Entry by effinglibrarian Posted Wednesday December 31st at 11:17 AM
-Read 19 times - 0 Comments
I think every library blogger should resolve in 2009 to publish a book.  With POD publishing like lulu and createspace,
it's "mostly" free and incredibly easy.  Edit your blog and republish in print.  And buying (I used createspace) copies of
my book was really cheap, so I was able to give all my friends copies (that's 3 copies for my 3 friends, not counting
cats!).  Maybe if enough bloggers become publishers, we can create a whole genre of blog publishing,... or not.  But get
off your lazy ass and do it.  Or sit on your busy ass and do it, whatever gets it done.  Now if Stephen would only add my
story that I recorded for him to one of his podcasts, you can hear about how/why I did it (which is basically what I just
wrote here).

--How About a Daily Dose (of New Books)?
- http://lisnews.org/node/32339/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Wednesday December 31st at 9:13 AM
-Read 96 times - 0 Comments
Via promotional emails from Powells.com (at least they haven't gone under yet)...  How The Dose Works--Seven days a week,
the Daily Dose brings a reader's review to your Inbox — along with a chance to win free books!  Each day shortly after
midnight we post the day's featured item on our web site and in our email to Daily Dose subscribers. The reader whose
comments we use has until day's end (11:59 p.m. Pacific Time) to visit our special contest page and claim the prize. Each
day we add $20 credit to the available total — until someone wins free books. Then the next day it all starts again.  To
enter, write a short review of any item on Powells.com that you think we should tell Daily Dose subscribers about.  Click
here to read the complete and official Daily Dose contest rules. 

--The  First Lady's Memoir is -Not- a Hot Ticket
- http://lisnews.org/node/32338/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Wednesday December 31st at 9:02 AM
-Read 126 times - 1 Comments
The last story of 2008 on First Lady Laura Bush.  From The New Yorker:  "According to Mrs. Bush’s spokeswoman, Sally
McDonough, “She’s going to write a book about the people she met and her life in the White House. It’s not going to be an
‘I grew up in Midland’ type of book.”  The reception to Mrs. Bush’s pitch has been mixed so far. “She was not forthcoming
about anything that I would consider controversial,” the [unnamed] publisher who met with her said. “We questioned her
rigorously, but it was one-word answers. I considered it the worst, or the most frustrating, meeting of its sort that I’ve
ever had.” He added, “But she really couldn’t have been nicer.”   “I chose not to meet with her,” a publisher at another
[unnamed] company said. “I got the impression that everyone was totally underwhelmed by her. That’s why there’s so little
buzz.”

--Reprieve for Philadelphia Libraries
- http://lisnews.org/node/32337/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Wednesday December 31st at 8:56 AM
-Read 113 times - 1 Comments
Update: Mayor Nutter and the Free Library of Philadelphia will halt their plans to shut down 11 branch libraries Wednesday
after 5:00 p.m after a judge from the Court of Common Pleas ruled against the closures, as reported by MSNBC and
Philly.com.

--Setting the record straight on libraries
- http://lisnews.org/node/32336/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Tuesday December 30th at 9:33 PM
-Read 190 times - 0 Comments
Here are 10 myths about libraries and librarians, by Carol Petrowski is a La Crosse County Library System staff member at
the Onalaska Public Library.  1. Librarians have lots of time to read on the job. FALSE. Our while-at-work reading is
usually job related n publisher’s catalogs, professional journals, software manuals, work-related e-mails, etc. We do,
however, have to know what’s going on in the world in order to provide better serve you, so I consider People magazine an
essential tool for good reference service. Found over at Stephen's Lighthouse.

--Ten Stories That Shaped 2008
- http://lisnews.org/node/32335/
-Front Page Story by John Posted Tuesday December 30th at 7:23 PM
-Read 2158 times - 1 Comments
It's that time again! Read on for some highlights from this year's library news.  10. OCLC Claims Ownership of Data In
OPACs  As if charging libraries to provide it cataloging records wasn't enough... what's next? Suing a library-themed
hotel?  9. Annoyed Librarian Joins Library Journal  Though some love to hate her, everyone's favorite snarky semi-anonymous
blogger continues to garner attention.  8. Censorship Roundup  Penguins continue to make intellectual freedom headlines, as
does violence, homosexuality, and sex. Even Sarah Palin made some of the papers she reads with a story about her dealings
with the city librarian while mayor of Wasilla.  7. Wikipedia Marches Ever On  Truthiness issues aside, Wikipedia and other
user-generated sites continue to grow. If you haven't already familiarized yourself with such sites as Wikipedia, Digg, and
Facebook, turn in your library degree now.  6. Book Technology  Kindle, e-paper, and related gizmos made further inroads
and advances this year, but mainstream adoption is perennially a few years away.  5. Lawsuits Aplenty  Notable publishing
lawsuits this year involved Jerry Seinfeld, Harry Potter, and Electronic Reserve.  4. California Librarian Fired for
Reporting Man Viewing Child Porn  Yes, sadly, you read it right. There's more to the story than that, but it remains a
reminder that some libraries are short of a full deck.  3. Google Books Settlement  This fall, a payment system was worked
out between Google, authors, and publishers, including a subscription model that left some libraries feeling shorted.  2.
Gaming Takes Off  Video games in libraries are nothing new, but this year saw incredible growth in the use of video games
by libraries to meet patron demands.  1. Can You Spare A Dime?  Those "Recession Boosts Library Use" stories were common
this year, but the real news is how hard hit libraries have been in this terribad economy, as typified by the Philadelphia
Free Library closings.  What was your favorite story of the year?

--Viewing Filtering From The Outside
- http://lisnews.org/node/32334/
-Front Page Story by Great Western Dragon Posted Tuesday December 30th at 12:45 PM
-Read 350 times - 5 Comments
When library professionals get together and talk internet filtering, we often forget something vitally important. Sure we
talk about freedom of access, how filtering supposedly coincides with collection development policies, and how to protect
our patrons and such like.  One thing that seldom gets brought up, at least in conversations I've been privy to is "So,
what do our patrons actually think about our filtering?" And it's kind of rare to see any input from the outside, you know,
from the people we're actually supposed to be serving.  Twanna Hines is not a librarian. She's a Funky Brown Chick. She's a
writer, an occupation I think we can all say we know something about. She lives in New York City and writes about dating,
sex, and relationships. And as a patron, she was appalled to find out that the New York Public Library filters her site.  I
have to wonder, how many of us can access the above links at work? And does it say anything about filtering when some of us
might have to go home to read about what people think about filtering?

--Reading Into Bush's Book List
- http://lisnews.org/node/32333/
-Blog Entry by Lee Hadden Posted Wednesday December 31st at 2:50 AM
-Read 12 times - 0 Comments
There is an interesting editorial in today's Washington Post about the list of books George Bush has read recently.
"Reading Into Bush's Book List" By Richard Cohen, washington Post, Tuesday, December 30, 2008; Page A15.   In what without
a doubt is the most astounding op-ed piece of the year, Karl Rove reveals that his friend and former boss, George W. Bush,
has read probably hundreds of books over the course of his presidency. One of them was Albert Camus' "The Stranger," with
its unforgettable opening lines: "Mother died today. Or perhaps it was yesterday, I don't know." After reading Rove's Wall
Street Journal column (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123025595706634689.html), it's clear there's much we all don't
know...  ...My hat is off to Bush for the sheer volume and, often, high quality of his reading. But his books reflect a man
who is seeking to learn what he already knows. The caricature of Bush as unread died today -- or was it yesterday? But the
reality of the intellectually insulated man endures.   See:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/29/AR2008122901896.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 

--Teen Librarian Goes the Distance for Young Adult Readers
- http://lisnews.org/node/32332/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Tuesday December 30th at 8:47 AM
-Read 230 times - 0 Comments
"It was crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside," she said. "They take the stinger out, because they're poisonous." 
What's that?  A scorpion, encased in a lolipop, gladly eaten by Aubri Keleman, teen services and web coordinator for the
Whatcom (WA) County Library System.    What led to the downing of the crunchy/chewy scorpion?  Read all about it in the
Bellingham Herald.

-------------------------
If you need to take yourself off the LISNews email you can hit this page: 
 http://lishost.net/mailman/listinfo/lisnews 
 Or, just send an email to lisnews-request at lishost.net and make the subject unsubscribe.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

LISNews is powered by LISHost.org, the librarian web services company
http://lishost.org

-----------------------------------------------------------------