[LISNews] The LISNews For February 10th 2010
The LISNews Librarian News By Email
lisnews at lishost.net
Wed Feb 10 12:04:34 CST 2010
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] - "I can quit Googling anytime, man!"
http://lisnews.org/node/35855/
-[2] - The Body of Information
http://lisnews.org/node/35840/
-[3] - The iPad’s Closed System: Sometimes I Hate Being Right
http://lisnews.org/node/35871/
-[4] - Revenge of the Miscellany
http://lisnews.org/node/35900/
-[5] - Life Under Don't Ask Don't Tell
http://lisnews.org/node/35897/
And here's the latest from LISNews:
--Casper the Commuting Cat to be Immortalised in New Children's Book
- http://lisnews.org/node/35910/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Wednesday February 10th at 12:26 PM
-Read 34 times - 0 Comments
Dewey was a great one, but he will not be the only cat to be remembered in a book. Such a fellow was Plymouth U.K.'s
Casper, who sadly was run over by a car while crossing the road to queue up for his daily bus ride last month. Casper was
an amazing cat who fancied himself a daily commuter. His life on the buses came to international attention last year. It
turned out that for four years he had been riding the no 3 bus, passing the Devon city's historic dockyard and naval base,
en route. He tended to curl up on a seat or sometimes purr around fellow passengers' legs, all the way to the final stop,
stay on and make the return journey. Drivers got used to letting him off at the correct stop. Owner Susan Finden, 65, said
she would be donating any money she makes from the book to animal charities. She said: 'It's lovely to think he will go on
in memories - and with this book his story will live on forever. The book will be published by Simon & Schuster next
summer. More on Casper in The Guardian and The Bookseller UK.
--Getting the Stats on Connecticut's Libraries
- http://lisnews.org/node/35908/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Wednesday February 10th at 8:43 AM
-Read 132 times - 0 Comments
Stamford Times: The libraries are always keeping records. They know how many books go out, how many are returned and which
ones are overdue. They know how many people come to their programs, and they know how many people walk through their doors.
But how many people use the public library on a single day? On Feb. 18, the state's libraries will find out. Next Thursday,
150 of the state's 285 public and academic libraries will closely monitor their activities for one day. The event is called
Snapshot Day. "It's like a slice of life," said Linda Avellar, spokeswoman for both Stamford's Ferguson Library and for the
Connecticut Library Association's publicity committee. "[We want to] get a sense of how heavily our libraries are used."
Snapshot Day -- a joint project of the CLA, the Connecticut State Library, and the Connecticut Library Consortium -- is
meant to collect specific data.
--Heat Up Your Kindle With a Free Penny-Dreadful
- http://lisnews.org/node/35906/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Wednesday February 10th at 7:18 AM
-Read 197 times - 0 Comments
It's a red-hot, red letter day for Amazon Kindle owners. The British Library has announced that 65,000 rare 19th century
literary first editions will be offered as free downloads to owners of the device beginning in Spring of 2010. Thanks to a
joint venture with Microsoft, the no-cost titles will reproduce the original type-face and illustrations from such classic
works as Charles Dickens's Bleak House, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge.
While having an electronic facsimile of a valuable first edition is a treat for fans of highbrow literature, what about
readers seeking the pleasure that comes from biting into a nice, juicy, raw, piece of pulp? Can kinky Kindle owners looking
for graphic kicks with a side of sensationalism find anything to sate their savage appetites from the staid British Library?
Happily, along with the high class fiction, the UK library's freebies will also include the world's finest collection of
cheap, tawdry, lowdown, lowbrow, Victorian trash. Get ready to heat up your cold Kindle with a torrid "Penny Dreadful."
>From Seatle PI's Nancy Mattoon of Book Patrol.
--The Library Reloaded: Library Cards
- http://lisnews.org/node/35904/
-Blog Entry by AndyW Posted Wednesday February 10th at 4:34 AM
-Read 114 times - 2 Comments
While I was taking a break working on a blog entry, this post by Patrick Sweeney about getting rid of library cards showed
up in my Google Reader. He talks about replacing library cards with user names and passwords, with authentication control
happening at the library locations. I thought this was such a different take on the one traditional part of the library
experience that I started to write a reply. What I wrote grew beyond what felt like a simple note so I decided to drop my
current post and craft this one. So,  with the spirit of Patrick’s post in mind (getting rid of library cards), I
started to think about what existing technology that we have now that could be adopted to fit this ultimate goal. In leaning
back in my desk chair and rolling the puzzle around in my head, I brought it down to a few requirements: provide the same
level of authentication (for privacy), provide the same level of permissions on and off site (for access), and be arguably
easier and cheaper than the process it replaces (issuing library cards). Under those guidelines, I’d like to propose some
additional alternatives to the library card (with varying degrees of viability). 1.) Cell phone wallet: Popular in the
countries like Japan and South Korea, your library card information is stored on your mobile device. Simply by swiping your
phone on a signal reader, you can use it for all of your library business (e.g. checking your account, borrowing materials).
Computers in the library could be fitted with readers. For offsite authentication (such as remote account and database
access), the user could simply retrieve their stored card number from the phone. The major con for this is that not
everyone has a cell phone, whether they are too young (think babies, toddlers, kindergarten through whenever their parents
want to five them phones) or they cannot afford one with cell phone wallet capability. While the technology is popular in
other countries, it has not taken off in the United States. In addition, this could also pose account management issues with
people wanting to lend their card to others to check out materials, use computers, and other situations of permissible card
lending. Unlike a card, a cell phone does not lend itself as well to lending. 2.) Fingerprint Scanner: No need to carry a
card when you are using your fingerprint for authentication. Fingerprint scanners have come down in price to being under
$100, a figure that is relatively easy to reach. Just scan your thumb or forefinger at the circulation desk or computer lab
to prove your identity. It’s more reliable and secure than a library card since fingerprints are a unique biometric. The
patron’s privacy is secure behind the fingerprint; it also completely removes the need to remember a library card while
providing an accurate way of identifying patrons. As nifty as this would be, it completely fails the off site
authentication test. It would have to rely on a supplemental piece of material so that people could remotely access accounts
and databases. However, for libraries where the materials and databases are not generally reached offsite (think of certain
types of special libraries), this might be the right approach to securing access to sensitive materials. Like the cell phone
wallet, it also creates the same issues for lending of library cards or allowing multiple people to use a card. Also, it
does not address the issue of the small number of people who are without hands. (My next suggestion doesn’t get rid of the
library card, per se. However, I think it does present another possibility to the alternative of the library card.) 3.) A
hybrid RFID card/’one button’ authenticator: Ok, so this device doesn’t exist, but it does take two types of existing
technologies that would not work for the purposes of this idea experiment and put them together. Yes, it’s still something
people would need to carry, but I think it could have broader implications and aspirations for a simple library card. The
RFID provides the on site identification for materials. Swipe the card past a reader, do your library business, done. I
think the potential for RFID in libraries goes further by acting as a library card in multiple locations. The idea of a
single card being able to access multiple locations (for example, your library, your state’s library, and the Library of
Congress) would be the ideal; a single library card to access everything. The one button authenticator provides the off
side identification. Pressing the button provides a unique and time sensitive series of numbers to be entered into the
interface to provide access. This is used currently in the private sector for secure computer networks (including the
largest massively multiplayer online roleplaying game, World of Warcraft, with over 13 million players) Within a combined
system, it could provide remote access to accounts and subscription materials for a spectrum of libraries. While it solves
the problems of remote access that are shared by the cell phone wallet and fingerprinting, each technology carries its own
baggage. RFID has privacy and security implications that make it a vulnerable means while the ‘one button’ authenticator has
the chance of failing like any other computer chip. In addition, there is the additional cost this would incur in the form
of cards, readers, and staff training. I will admit that it is a bit of technology overkill for solving a simpler problem,
but it was still fun to imagine. I really liked Patrick’s post because it was bold in its questioning of a status quo.
Perhaps libraries won’t replace cards, but it doesn’t hurt to go back and examine practices to either reaffirm, renovate, or
remove them. It is this kind of inquiry that tests the boundaries and makes the occupation and practice more interesting to
me. Overall, I think there are alternatives to library cards, but it is on a location and library type basis. There are
enough nuances to this that, in the right situation, a library could replace their cards with something else. Perhaps it is
on this micro scale that card alternatives could be considered, so long as it is a true replacement and capable of
community-wide acceptance. In any case, I wouldn’t think it would be a daring statement to say that anything that eases the
patron-library interaction would be possible welcome addition.   Previous Library Reloaded post: Collections AndyW
--City Council bans smoking in front of library. Are city parks next?
- http://lisnews.org/node/35903/
-Front Page Story by Bibliofuture Posted Tuesday February 9th at 6:38 PM
-Read 181 times - 0 Comments
Smoke 'em if you got 'em: The Eugene City Council unanimously approved a plan to ban smoking outside the Eugene Public
Library and other city buildings that serve children. The ban takes effect in 30 days. The ban "makes it more pleasant for
a lot of people using the library," Mayor Kitty Piercy said, "and certainly healthier." Piercy said she would eventually
like to take the ban a step further and outlaw smoking in public parks. However, she said such a proposal will require
extensive study. Library staff initiated the drive to ban smoking outside the building in an effort to clear the air for
patrons. Full article
--Cites & Insights for March 2010
- http://lisnews.org/node/35902/
-Blog Entry by Walt Posted Tuesday February 9th at 5:50 PM
-Read 42 times - 0 Comments
Cites & Insights 10:3 (March 2010) is now available. The 26-page issue, PDF as usual (with HTML separates for each
essay), includes two essays: Making it Work: Philosophy and Future (pp. 1-22) Two clusters--one on the philosophy and values
of libraries and the other on high-profile statements on libraries and their future. Perspective: Writing about Reading 5:
Going Down Slow (pp. 22-26) Slow reading and related topics.
--South Africans Torch Library Outside Johannesburg
- http://lisnews.org/node/35901/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Tuesday February 9th at 3:34 PM
-Read 262 times - 0 Comments
Dateline JOHANNESBURG: Here's an update from News 24 about the burning of the Balfour Library. Protesters have torched a
library in an impoverished area of South Africa in what began as a march to call for more jobs. The South African Press
Association says Tuesday's attack came on the third day of violent protests in Siyathemba, some 50 miles (80 kilometers)
southeast of Johannesburg. Story from AP. This article from Spero News lends some detail to the situation in South
Africa, where refugees and immigrants, particularly Ethiopians, are the object of attack by the local population.
--Revenge of the Miscellany
- http://lisnews.org/node/35900/
-Blog Entry by StephenK Posted Tuesday February 9th at 2:27 PM
-Read 161 times - 0 Comments
As it was suggested might happen, this is another one of the columns being posted.Revenge of the MiscellanyBy Stephen
Michael KellatWhy Kiwis Get Airtime So MuchIt might be an interesting question to ponder why the Library Association of New
Zealand, LIANZA, gets so much airtime on LISTen while the American Library Association and its myriad components do not.
Was the air staff bribed? Are there agents of New Zealand's intelligence services working on the air staff?What is going on
is a simple point in terms of media relations. Libraries where library staff cannot afford the benefit of having a media
relations officer stand to learn something here. When media people make an inquiry about setting up an interview or simply
request information there is normally a deadline involved. It is a very grave offense to the media member when you ignore
them entirely and act as if they do not exist. Timeliness is also a grave concern as taking over a week to even return a
call generally means that not only has the pending story died but the media member likely moved on to the next project.The
main reason why LIANZA gets the airtime they do is that Megan Button, the media relations contact for the association,
actually replies to our inquiries. After multiple repeated failed attempts to book guests from the ALA and OCLC since
December 2007, we gave up on them. There are often plenty of stories out there and we have a hard upper limit on program
length of thirty or so minutes anyhow. If we have to wait well over a week after the launch of a new product to even start
discussing an interview, the editorial thought processes kick into high gear questioning whether the release is actually all
that interesting if those making the release are so seemingly unenthusiastic spreading the word. If I had to choose between
a product release that has no seemingly enthusiastic backing and a feature on Linux in Libraries, I will definitely be
choosing Linux in Libraries when I put together the Order of Show.While LIANZA has had plenty of cool stories come up as of
late that have caught my eye, I do not doubt I have probably missed a few throughout the Anglosphere. Release FrequencyWhat
can I say? Frequency is a matter of concern to librarians. Librarians have such as an every day concern when it comes to
serials like magazines and journals. We sometimes forget, though, that online resources fall under the relevant cataloging
rules known as continuing resources that happen to be shared with serials.Just as a serial item has to meet or exceed a
minimum publication cycle to be considered an actual serial, so it may need to be with podcasts. At the barest elemental
level, all a podcast happens to be is a set of audio or video files with appropriate XML description. The problem with that
look at the barest level, though, is that it does not recognize distribution frequency.What do librarians call a serial
publication released only once per year? Our piece of jargon for that is annual. Such continues onward with weeklies,
dailies, and more existing. When there is not a normal pattern, we often see coded in the 362 tag in USMARC-based records a
notation of irregular frequency which recognizes leniency on the library's end when postal authorities might well decide the
publication is not quite a serial.When it comes to podcasts, though, cycles sometimes are ignored.CNET's flagship podcast
Buzz Out Loud is released weekdays with occasional special episodes. At LISNews you can find LISTen released weekly on
Mondays with special episodes released on-demand by the air staff. Far too many library-related podcasts take months or
years between making releases and do not follow any conformed release pattern. Podcasts are conventionally considered
regular programs on regular schedules that mimic magazines and journals.How could a cataloging record be best handled for a
podcast? How can the library world include teaching not only about the preservation of cultural expression but also how new
professionals can best create their own cultural expressions?Internal InsecurityIn the past couple months we had a post at
LISNews about a community in California having to choose between cutting the library budget and cutting the public safety
budget. At the time, it was only a hypothetical exercise that led to plenty of hyperventillation. Nobody ever thought such
could happen.Last week, the Board of County Commissioners here in Ashtabula County slashed the budget of Sheriff William
Johnson pretty severely. Ashtabula County is the largest county geographically in the state even though the local
population is barely above one hundred thousand. Over a county of slightly over seven hundred square miles in size, Sheriff
Johnson's staff policed about six hundred to six hundred fifty of those square miles as municipal forces covered their
municipalities. With the budget cuts the Sheriff was slapped with, there are now only two deputies on the road covering the
county. If you need a police response now for anything less than a fairly drastic felony or an outright capital crime like
murder, you will not be getting one. Many crimes will go undetected and potentially unpunished all for the lack of
greenbacks.Due to the byzantine complexity of budgeting for local government in Ohio with a system barely changed from that
imposed in the 19th century, the county commissioners could not burgle the library budget to shore up public safety.
Ashtabula County District Library will be safe. Kingsville Public Library, a separate library service district in which
Erie Looking Productions operates, is also similarly safe as the county would automatically trigger a fiscal emergency
situation if they tried to pillage Kingsville Public Library's tax revenue.This creates a bizarre situation within the
continental United States where a community has less of a policing presence than some Third World/Global South nations.
That the budget cuts created a drastic enough change to where the fictional Mayberry of The Andy Griffith Show looks like a
fascist police state in contrast does not help either. With the question of the county defaulting financially becoming not
so much a matter of if but when, a new example for textbooks on failures in local government will soon be created.Big
questions arise from this. What good is it to have a library open when you have no legal way to eject ruffians and others
who disrupt the order of the library? Self-help by library staff in kicking out those who might be defacing materials could
potentially lead to lawsuits. Assuming good will on the part of all who may come is a nice ideal but as this is a fallen
world it must be remembered that there is evil out there. If you like the odds of nothing bad happening to your library in
such a degraded policing situation, there are casino owners who would love to take all your cash.Relocation, Relocation,
RelocationIt looks like economic pressures are forcing relocation of Erie Looking Productions by April. There is no plan
yet as to what may come. Stay tuned for more.###Kellat serves as the Head Writer of Erie Looking Productions.
--Sarah Palin follows the lead of Cliff Stoll
- http://lisnews.org/node/35899/
-Front Page Story by Bibliofuture Posted Tuesday February 9th at 1:45 PM
-Read 550 times - 6 Comments
Sarah Palin is taking cues form Cliff Stoll. See the first minute of this video. Pay special attention from the 40 second
to the 50 second mark in the video.
--Patron Expectations vs. Librarian Expectations in Library Service
- http://lisnews.org/node/35898/
-Blog Entry by effinglibrarian Posted Tuesday February 9th at 11:31 AM
-Read 343 times - 2 Comments
I work with the public. You know, those people who are the first to say that they pay my salary even though they haven't
paid taxes in years. But even though I serve the non-taxpaying public, they still represent the taxpayer. And more than
representing figuratively, they stand in for the taxpayer in the real way that allows the taxpayer to live the carefree
lifestyle that comes from knowing that most of the rest of the public is safely inside the library and not out on the
streets. But enough about my bosses... I think the general public are satisfied with library services. But I think the
librarians are convinced that services suck. To read what librarians are saying about libraries is to get an image of
libraries continually at the center of failure. The librarians say that libraries need new or more everything: more social
networking features, more e-services, more e-books, e-readers, 2.0, 1.0, open source software, koha (whatever-tee-eff that
is), iPhones, iPads, IM, SMS, Wii, virtual reality, real reality, Facebook, face punch, sustainability, sustainability???,
advocacy, political action, fundraising, programming, css, drupal, SEO,... it doesn't matter how much librarians know or do,
there always seem to be other librarians who demand that we know and do more. Like it's a personal offense to them when we
aren't up on the latest, ... whatever, whether it's a new author or a subject or a device or a philosophy. There seem to be
two schools of thought on librarian adaptation: that we do it for our customers or that we do it for our colleagues. We
work to provide for our patrons’ needs, but should we also master the accomplishments of other librarians? My patrons
just want to resize a 3000 pixel baby photo and print it, but I'm too busy because I'm retagging all of my Flickr photos
according to some new standard some librarian is pushing. So it's a continual battle of providing for the needs of our
patrons while mimicking the pursuits of our peers. Nobody wants to be the stupid librarian, but I also want to keep my job.
Maybe it's a conflict between Arts and Sciences. Librarianship is a Science, but many librarians come from liberal arts
backgrounds. We want to discover, but we also desire to create. The artist says, "Lady Emilia has invented a word that
rhymes with orange!" And so everyone sits down to write a new poem using “florange” so they won't be left out. But the
scientist in us tells us to discover and classify that which already exists: "Wadsworth, look here at this edition of The
Register. Does that spell “florange”? In this sentence, it appears to be a contraction of the words florist and arranger,
but they clearly use the word florange. The more proper spelling should be floranger, but that is not what was used. I am
citing this usage. And tagging it as, ‘rhymes with orange.’" Like any profession, we should keep current with the new
shiny, to be aware of new tools and solutions, but we also need to know when to apply solutions. Do we create the
environment to use “florange” just because florange exists, or do we keep florange in the toolbox and apply it when it's the
right tool for the job? Everyone doesn't need to be a trailblazer, but when my library customer needs expertise on which
path to take, we should know enough to give good advice. How would you feel if you paid someone to do a job who didn't know
about advancements in the field, or used obsolete technologies? Isn't this the definition of a professional? Meaning that
we are obligated to maintain currency with advancements in the profession? The lowest common denominator of library
customer will always only need my help for getting the change machine to take his sweat-soaked dollar, so is that the only
skill I should ever master? No. As with any request for information, I need to be prepared take the search as far as the
customer needs to go. If she asks for cookbooks, I need to be prepared to direct her to cooking DVDs or recipe websites or
how to use Google for a recipe search. And no, I don't follow her around repeating all this information because that makes
me the creepy "rain man" librarian. But I need to be ready to answer if necessary. Most library patrons don't want deep
thought; they want free labor. So it's possible to coast through a library job knowing the bare minimum, like how to do a
Google search (or twenty) or how to print fifty free tax forms. But then, where is the professional curiosity? When I
got the degree, I wanted to learn all the new stuff I needed to learn to get my degree. But is that it? Does learning stop
with the diploma? Do some librarians think that what they learned in library school is all they will ever need to know?
And do some other librarians think that if you aren't using every new service or tool, then you just suck? I look at my
Twitter account and so many librarians are twittererering about so many new things that I can't possibly even read about
them all, let alone learn to use them. But I feel like I need to know about some of it. When I got my first librarian
job, I didn't know what to expect. I had never worked in a library; I had never answered questions or found stuff for
people. But I had a computer on my desk and I wasn't afraid to use it. And when I asked for a specific materials report,
the person who had been producing the daily reports decided to pass that duty to me, so I learned how to input commands into
the library computer system to run borrower and circulation reports, create user accounts, and to access the system remotely
to check files and run reports (so I could work at home in my pajamas). The point is that anyone could have been trained to
do that job. But management looked for someone who seemed ready to learn it. I've seen some online discussion about
whether the Boy Scouts of America are still relevant after 100 years and it made me think of the Scouting Motto: "Be
Prepared." How can librarians stay relevant? That simple answer seems to cover it, be prepared. But prepared for what? Be
prepared for whatever your customer or your colleague (and especially your boss) might want. Be aware of what other
libraries are doing to assist their customers. Be willing to learn. And be prepared for the next step.
--Life Under Don't Ask Don't Tell
- http://lisnews.org/node/35897/
-Blog Entry by birdie Posted Tuesday February 9th at 8:25 AM
-Read 118 times - 0 Comments
A retired Navy captain tells about her life in the military under "Don't Ask Don't Tell"...interesting reading, and proof
that this policy should be retracted. CNN.
--Books Gather Dust Without Librarian for Teens
- http://lisnews.org/node/35896/
-Front Page Story by birdie Posted Tuesday February 9th at 7:42 AM
-Read 383 times - 0 Comments
What do inner-city teens want and need in a public library? Boston.com's Lawrence Harmon talks about how teens are using
the new Mattapan Branch Library and how he thinks they will remember it when they look back at their childhood. Not a
single teen at the Mattapan library so much as touched a book on the shelves during a recent hour-long visit. Granted it’s
the digital age, and several kids were using the computers constructively for homework projects. But there is still
something off here: a city builds a $16 million library, designs it in such a brilliant way that kids come streaming through
the door, yet can’t staff it adequately to introduce the young people to the full range of library materials. Less is known
in the world of library science about how best to serve teenagers than adults or young children. The teens in Mattapan
appeared happy just to spend unstructured time with friends in the comfortable, well-lit space. But how does that experience
differ from a clubhouse or community center? Teen librarians make the difference, provided they have adequate time to do
their jobs. The library, a $16.7 million modern building with an airy mixture of wood, glass, and attention-grabbing color,
opened last year, despite a budget crisis that has imperiled many city projects, programs, and services.
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