[LISNews] The LISNews For February 2nd 2010
The LISNews Librarian News By Email
lisnews at lishost.net
Tue Feb 2 10:51:31 CST 2010
On Tuesdays we take a look at the stories that got the most comments in the last week.
-[1] - Coming Out Now...the iPad (aka the Apple Tablet)
http://lisnews.org/node/35773/
-[2] - Amazon Has a Hissy Fit
http://lisnews.org/node/35788/
-[3] - Print Is Dead: Books in Our Digital Age
http://lisnews.org/node/35797/
-[4] - Charges Dropped Against Librarian Charged With Sex with a Student
http://lisnews.org/node/35762/
-[5] - Henderson NV libraries become Redbox locations
http://lisnews.org/node/35817/
And here's the latest from LISNews:
--Deer checks in, checks out of school library
- http://lisnews.org/node/35824/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Tuesday February 2nd at 11:49 AM
-Read 11 times - 0 Comments
Deer checks in, checks out of school library Whether it was to do research or check out the latest Dr. Seuss book, a deer
broke through a back-door window and into the library at Graham A. Barden Elementary School Tuesday morning. “He said he
didn’t see the deer’s head,” Covert said of Becton. “He saw the back of it, and he was a small.”
--The only perfect reference work Nelsons Perpetual Loose-Leaf Encyclopaedia
- http://lisnews.org/node/35823/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Tuesday February 2nd at 10:55 AM
-Read 79 times - 0 Comments
"The only perfect reference work" Nelson's Perpetual Loose-Leaf Encyclopaedia From Popular Mechanics from 1910 comes this
advertisement for Nelson's Perpetual Loose-Leaf Encyclopaedia. Nelson's was still going strong in 1930 where a set cost
$99.50 plus $6/year for updates -- buy a set, get a free bookcase -- Nelson's stopped publishing updates sometime in the
1930s. Thomas Nelson & Sons is still around today, the world's largest Christian publisher, but their company history
curiously makes no mention of their innovative encyclopaedia.
--You won't believe what people leave in Erie library books
- http://lisnews.org/node/35822/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Tuesday February 2nd at 10:53 AM
-Read 77 times - 0 Comments
You won't believe what people leave in Erie library books They've drawn cards for birthdays and Valentine's Day. They've
saved baby portraits and grade school snapshots, including one of a curly-haired lass named Kitty Senger. They've collected
a ticket stub from a 1992 Michael Bolton concert and an autographed picture of Bobby Rydell. They've tried recipes for
meatloaf, streusel coffeecake and "sky high biscuits" and experimented with six flavors of Jell-O desserts from a 1934
pamphlet.
--LOC Explores Ways to Release Open Source Software
- http://lisnews.org/node/35821/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Tuesday February 2nd at 10:33 AM
-Read 85 times - 0 Comments
Library Explores Ways to Release Open Source Software In the spirit of transparency and community, the Library of Congress
has established an internal process to create open source software. This will make it easier for software developers and
sponsors within the Library to produce software that can be freely redistributed to users worldwide.
--Wall Of iPads Could Be Used In Libraries To Display iBooks
- http://lisnews.org/node/35820/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Tuesday February 2nd at 10:31 AM
-Read 131 times - 0 Comments
Wall Of iPads Could Be Used In Libraries To Display iBooks ClarkeHopkinsClarke, the Aussie architects who mocked up the
above concept wall, believe it'd be the perfect installation for a library, with hundreds of different ebooks displayed. But
that's not the end of this story—due to the size and weight of the iPad, Gizmodod could be seeing a lot of innovative uses
for them, as interactive wallpaper in clubs, teaching aides in schools, and so on. There's the small hurdle of cost, of
course.
--Five lessons from my e-book experiment
- http://lisnews.org/node/35819/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Tuesday February 2nd at 8:56 AM
-Read 173 times - 0 Comments
Five lessons from my e-book experiment 1. The weight is a nice advantage 2. Page turning is less irritating than you’d
think 3. Being able to search a book is very useful 4. Text formatting can be annoyingly sloppy 5. Availability of titles is
the biggest problem "The result of the experiment? I’m back to reading books on paper. I’ll explain why in a moment but here
are five things I learned from my e-reading experiment."
--Tauranga NZ mulls user-pays libraries
- http://lisnews.org/node/35818/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Tuesday February 2nd at 8:55 AM
-Read 77 times - 0 Comments
Tauranga mulls user-pays libraries Council revenue gathering is reaching new heights in Tauranga with plans to start
charging for library book loans. The charges are proposals at this stage, but the idea is attracting the interest of bigger
city councils. A great proportion of the cost of a public library service is supported from rates. But Tauranga City
Council wants to head the user-pays way. "(The) council has asked us to reduce the total cost of the libraries to the
ratepayer and we're trying to do that by a mixture of charges and making savings," says Jill Best from Tauranga City Council
Libraries.
--Henderson NV libraries become Redbox locations
- http://lisnews.org/node/35817/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Tuesday February 2nd at 8:54 AM
-Read 203 times - 2 Comments
Henderson libraries become Redbox locations Two Henderson libraries now house Redbox movie kiosks as part of a nationwide
trial by the company. Gayle Hornaday, assistant director for Henderson District Public Libraries, said waiting lists for
movies is a chronic problem for Henderson libraries. The Redboxes are expected to alleviate the problem by providing more
copies of popular films. “We can’t really up our expenditures, but by teaming up with this vendor we can provide access to
more current movies,” she said.
--No silence at the library suits me just fine
- http://lisnews.org/node/35816/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Tuesday February 2nd at 8:51 AM
-Read 123 times - 0 Comments
No silence at the library suits me just fine Books are being pushed to the sidefiguratively and literally. Children's
space, teen areas and computers have filled that space. With the diminished role of actual books, libraries have been
reinvented as community hubs. I have no problem with this change. Libraries need to be vibrant, welcoming places...
--New Site and Book From Peter Morville Search Patterns Design for Discovery
- http://lisnews.org/node/35815/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Tuesday February 2nd at 7:53 AM
-Read 138 times - 0 Comments
You may know Peter Morville from such books as Information Architecture for the World Wide Web or Ambient Findability, or
from any number of library conferences, or his sites semanticstudios.com and findability.org. Well, he's back with a new
book and site, http://searchpatterns.org/ , and Search Patterns: Design for Discovery. "Search is among the most disruptive
innovations of our time. It influences what we buy and where we go. It shapes how we learn and what we believe. This
provocative and inspiring book explores design patterns that apply across the categories of web, e-commerce, enterprise,
desktop, mobile, social, and real time search and discovery. Using colorful illustrations and examples, the authors bring
modern information retrieval to life, covering such diverse topics as relevance ranking, faceted navigation, multi-touch,
and mixed reality. Search Patterns challenges us to invent the future of discovery while serving as a practical guide to
help us make search applications better today."
--Re: Nothing is the Future
- http://lisnews.org/node/35814/
-Blog Entry by AndyW Posted Tuesday February 2nd at 1:46 AM
-Read 206 times - 0 Comments
This is a reaction post of “Nothing is the Future” by Wayne Bivens-Tatum (Academic Librarian). While my astute
professional peer makes excellent points concerning the hyperbole in library technology trends, I feel that there is an
excellent lesson to his post: while librarians can and should act as leaders for their patrons, they should also be
followers and listeners. I see librarians as bridging the gap between the past and future, interacting on a medium of the
patron’s choosing. While we should have an eye to emerging technologies to gauge their development and adoption by society
as a whole, it behooves us to remain mindful of the established and accepted communication mediums. Yes, there are marvels
of the digital age and certainly things that librarians should be aware of[1], but it is folly to set sights constantly on
the horizon to the detriment of what currently exists and works. In following, it is not for our patrons to take us to a
brand new technologies, but to remind us of the merits of existing ones. As Mr. Bivens-Tatum simply states, people still
interact with the library using letters, telephone, and other last established technologies. There should be no rush to
usher to declare these mediums dead in the favor of what holds the current fancy of the technological vanguard. In listening
to what patrons want and use, we are performing the most basic function of the library: giving people what they actually
asking for. Simply put, it is the act of matching the demand that the patrons have articulated to us as a wanted and desired
material or service. To this end, my take on Mr. Bivens-Tatum’s blog title would change it to “People are the Future”. In
the greater picture, our existence is constantly in their hands. At the local level, they will always (hopefully) tell us
what can be done to meet their needs. Whether this is a mobile app or extended weekend hours, only the community that we
serve can answer that question. People are the future for libraries, for they are the ones who dictate our services,
programs, collections, and, ultimately, our fates.   [1] Personally, I don’t take all of the Library 101 RTK list
literally. I don’t think that librarians need to know how Hulu works (to use the most infamous example), but the important
takeaway is that this presents a trend of television on demand via the internet (something very worthy of notice as all
forms of television and movie content make their way to online). Same goes for a lot of the named products, sites, and items
on that list. The 101 RTK list gives an excellent heads-up to some of the emerging trends in information and communication.
AndyW
--President’s FY2011 budget proposals calls for cuts to school library funding
- http://lisnews.org/node/35813/
-Front Page Story by AndyW Posted Monday February 1st at 11:21 PM
-Read 203 times - 0 Comments
>From the AASL Blog: "WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Obama’s FY2011 Budget Proposal to Congress released today included a
$400 billion investment into education but did not include specific funds for school libraries. Additionally, the budget
called for a consolidation of the funds for the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program, which takes the funds
out of reach for most school libraries." Full entry
--Available February 2
- http://lisnews.org/node/35812/
-Front Page Story by Bibliofuture Posted Monday February 1st at 10:53 PM
-Read 186 times - 0 Comments
This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All Book is available on February 2, 2010 Author's
website. Browse inside the book at Harper Collins
--Bondi beach bookshelves
- http://lisnews.org/node/35811/
-Front Page Story by Bibliofuture Posted Monday February 1st at 10:26 PM
-Read 219 times - 0 Comments
Full story here.
--First Black Librarian in Clearwater Florida Writes Her Memoirs
- http://lisnews.org/node/35810/
-Blog Entry by Anonymous Patron Posted Monday February 1st at 3:51 PM
-Read 232 times - 1 Comments
>From Bay 9 News reports: Christine Wigfall Morris, known as Mrs. Chris, and now retired at age 88 is in the process of
writing her memoirs, expected out next summer. She is believed to be the first African-American librarian in Clearwater FL.
Mrs. Chris started working as a librarian in 1949 and had never stepped foot in one of the city's libraries before
accepting the position. "It was a bad segregated area cause very few people went to the library," said Morris, now 88 years
old. "If they went to the main library, it was to return books from people they had worked for or from hotels." She worked
at what was called the "Negro library," where she even taught her white co-workers a lesson. "The employees never touched a
black hand or touched black hair," Morris said. "Because, I can remember very vividly one of the ladies said, 'Is it alright
if I touch your hair?'" She says she'll never forget another vivid moment in the 1960s. "A little white girl walked in the
library and she said to me, she says, 'Is this the library for me too?,'" Morris said. "I said, 'Yes, it's for all races.' I
said, 'Come and join us." Video and story here.
--Salinger Was Not a Recluse Says the Town Librarian
- http://lisnews.org/node/35809/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Monday February 1st at 1:40 PM
-Read 392 times - 0 Comments
Story from the NY Times about how the recently deceased author was perceived by his fellow townspeople. They called him
Jerry, and enjoyed his company at church suppers and ran into him at the general store. Nancy Norwalk, a librarian at the
Philip Read Memorial Library in Plainfield, which Mr. Salinger would frequent said that "he was not a recluse; he was a
towns- person."
--Their College Library Is In Lock-Up
- http://lisnews.org/node/35808/
-Blog Entry by stevenj Posted Monday February 1st at 1:07 PM
-Read 116 times - 0 Comments
In her nearly three years at Lincoln University, Amelia Sherwood has only been able to access the campus library for a few
months. The junior education major has done most of her studying in a computer lab since the Langston Hughes Memorial
Library closed in 2008 for $17 million in renovations. The building, surrounded completely by a chain-link fence, is not
scheduled to reopen until 2011. "It looks like it's in a jail," Sherwood said of the library. "They've locked up learning."
"Everything the students need, except the grandeur of the large library, is available," said Grant D. Venerable II, vice
president for academic affairs. Read more at:
--LISNews Librarian Essay Contest Starts Today!
- http://lisnews.org/node/35806/
-Front Page Story by Blake Posted Monday February 1st at 11:23 AM
-Read 316 times - 0 Comments
The first ever LISNews Librarian Essay Contest invites librarians to write an original essay about issues that impact
librarianship. The contest will run for the entire month of February, 2010, with the fabulous prizes awarded sometime in
March. Winning essayists will receive one of several prizes including Amazon or Borders gift cards, and a year of hosting
from LISHost.org. All Essays Must Be Submitted Here! You can view only essay entries at http://lisnews.org/essays/ OR
Subscribe to the Essay Contest Entries RSS Feed Here: http://lisnews.org/essays/rss Below the break you'll see answers to
your questions. What did you mean "issues", what should I write about? ANYTHING that ties into libraries, librarianship or
librarians and all those that we deal with. There are over 10 years of stories we've posted here, take a look in the
archives to see what interests us. Personally, I'm looking forward to reading about everything and anything that people
decide to write about, as long as it comes back to libraries somehow. I'm looking to be surprised, challenged, I want to
learn a thing or two, and maybe have good laugh. What about format? You're writing for librarians, on the web. HTML is
welcome, links, short paragraphs, images, and so on… There are a million sites out there that will tell you about the best
way to write for the web. How many words? I'm hesitant to set a hard limit, so let's just say "essay length." How will
judging be done? Well, judging writing isn't exactly easy is it? It's very subjective, that's why there will be somewhere
between 5 and 10 judges. We'll all pick our favorites and base the winners on that. What are the prizes? $25 from Amazon,
$50 from Borders, and a year of hosting from LISHost. What about deadlines? Anything entered in the month of February.
You'll need to put it in the submissions queue and tag it with "essay". Don't email anything to me, use the queue. No, you
don't need to be a librarian. Yes, you can co-author an article. Yes, this essay should not be available elsewhere. No,
if you're a judge you're not eligible to win. Yes, if you've written for LISNews before you can still win, you just can't
be a judge. How many essays do you expect to receive? Not many.
--Connect The Dots
- http://lisnews.org/node/35804/
-Blog Entry by Merry-the-Librarian Posted Monday February 1st at 10:12 AM
-Read 123 times - 0 Comments
All right, I’ll say it. I better say it soon or it will no longer be true. I’m young. I’m what the library literature and
conferences call a “millennial.” One of those young adults born after 1980 with all that technology and social networks.
This means I work with faculty members who have children older than me. As you can imagine there is a bit of a culture gap
in many discussions: music, movies, tv, politics, back pain, medical procedures. I am also a librarian. One of those women
with the bun, glasses, and all those books. This means that those millennial students I see during my library instruction
sessions see me as a step beyond the loser category. So how do I connect those two dots of my life? Because to be truthful,
I don’t belong in either stereotype. Actually, I’m made up of more dots than that. I’m also a wife, mother, Midwest farmer’s
daughter, baker of pies, knitter, eater of chocolate, gopher in all house projects, keeper of the budget, fan of
inappropriate jokes, butt of inappropriate jokes, reader, researcher, lover of Christmas carols, and a million more quirks
depending on my mood and whether I’ve had enough sleep. I suppose that part of my life as a librarian is that I love to
organize. I want to see the connections, form the pattern, establish the bonds between information to discover truth. So
what do those isolated dots of my personality create? Perhaps the dots form a picture of a lovely Sunday picnic in the park
that all measures up to me, a millennial librarian who is “practically perfect in every way.” Perhaps, it just means that I
am one more person trying to do my best is my chosen career. As a librarian, I want to provide others with whatever
information they desire. As an instruction librarian, I want to teach students that accessing relevant information, while
seemingly complex, is one of the most important skills they will develop. I love showing students the information that is
available to them and helping them see themselves as part of something larger. I’ve had the chance to show students that
there is more to research than Google. There was one student who was researching the use of social networking especially
blogs in businesses. We ended up in the stacks and he noted, “I didn’t think the library would have books on stuff like
this.” A successful encounter. There have also been times where I’ve been less successful. Once after a week of class
sessions where I discussed different types of sources, one student commented in her course blog, “I don’t know what all
these books are for.” And of course there are those encounters that leave you wondering. I had a student who needed print
sources for a paper. She was researching graphic novels. Here was our discussion as I found some scholarly works. Me:
“Here’s an article discussing the portrayal of the Holocaust in two graphic novels.” Her: “Was that like during World War
II?” Me: “Yes.” Her: “Must have something to do with X-Men then.” I was quiet and it is at times like that when I let the
dots drift. Sometimes you don’t want to see the routes a line must travel in order to make two points connect. Yet,
somewhere in that path of graphic novels, the Holocaust, and X-Men, the library made a stopping point. And that creates a
beautiful picture.
--Amazon & Macmillan - Monday Update
- http://lisnews.org/node/35803/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Monday February 1st at 9:10 AM
-Read 321 times - 1 Comments
>From today's Shelf-Awareness: "The Macmillan ban went beyond Amazon's website: reportedly without notice to Kindle owners,
Amazon went into the devices and removed Macmillan titles from wish lists and removed sample chapters of Macmillan titles.
This move was reminiscent of the retailer's quiet pulling last year of some e-titles whose copyrights were in question
(Shelf Awareness, July 19, 2009)."
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