Happy New Year from the Nude Librarian!

Some Thoughts, Ancient Passing, Modern Celebration, What We Vow, What We Accomplished When We Vowed, Vocalizing, On Childish Customs, Why What You Eat at 12:01 AM Counts ...

Every year my neighbors clear out for a night of what they defend as their earned privilege to drink and party the new calendar in. I too have done my best to keep French wineries in business in the past, and despite my current preferences for a good book and a nice cup of tea will still reach for a glass of champagne.

But what does this holiday mean from past to present? How much of the history of this most ancient of holidays do you know about?

Here are a few historical facts, and traditions for you to consider as you step out in the next few days to carry on the tradition of all traditions.

Origins:

Originally observed on March 15 in the old Roman Calendar, New Year's Day first came to be fixed at January 1 in 153 BC, when the two Roman consuls, after whom - in the Roman calendar - years were named and numbered, began to be chosen on that date, for military reasons. However in AD 525, Dionysius Exiguus set the start of the Julian calendar at March 25 to commemorate the Annunciation of Jesus; a variety of Christian feast dates were used throughout the Middle Ages to mark the New Year, while calendars often continued to display the months in columns running from January to December in the Roman fashion.

Among the 7th-century druidic pagans of Flanders and the Netherlands it was the custom to exchange gifts at the New Year, a pagan custom deplored by Saint Eligius (died 659 or 660), who warned the Flemings and Dutchmen, "[Do not] make vetulas, [little figures of the Old Woman], little deer or iotticos or set tables [for the house-elf, compare Puck] at night or exchange New Year gifts or supply superfluous drinks [another Yule custom]." The quote is from the vita of Eligius written by his companion Ouen.

Most countries in Western Europe officially adopted January 1 as New Year's Day somewhat before they adopted the Gregorian calendar. This is sometimes called Circumcision Style, because this was the date of the Feast of the Circumcision, being the eighth day counting from 25 December.

Further information: Julian calendar#New Year's Day, Lunisolar calendar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year

How To Sing:

Auld Lang Syne

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne.

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I'll be mine,
And we'll tak a cup o kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pou'd the gowans fine,
But we've wander'd monie a weary fit,
Sin auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin auld lang syne.

And there's a hand my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o thine,
And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/newyearcelebrations.html

Juvenile:

European New Year Celebrations -->

In France, for the New Year (Peille Fete) the children write New Years letters and send them to their mother with good wishes and apologies for any wrongdoings during the past year.

In Great Britain, part of the festivities includes the “burning of the bush,” or burning up the past year. Also, there are the “first footers,” the persons who are first to cross the threshold in the New Year. They should arrive bearing gifts, usually food. At midnight, on the first stroke the back door is opened to release the Old Year. Then the door is locked to keep in the luck and the front door is opened at the twelfth stroke to let in the New Year.

In Greece and Scotland first visitors on New Years are important. And in Scotland, the first footers should bring gifts of bread, salt, and coal.

In Denmark, this is a night of pranks and jokes for young people. Children ring the doorbell and run. Finally, at the end of the evening the children are “caught” and brought indoors for treats.

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/new-years/resource/8456.html

Traditions and Cultures/New Year's Bibliography:

The following link is to a great bibliography I found from McCain Library of the Agnes Scott College...

http://library.agnesscott.edu/about/exhibits/2006%20New%20Year%20Traditions-%20Bibliography.htm

Hoppin' John:

Each year I start off with an authentic dish of Hoppin' John. Tradition has that it brings good luck. For my own experience, I find that it just tastes great.

Hoppin' John History

Hoppin' John is found in most states of the South, but it is mainly associated with the Carolinas. Gullah or Low Country cuisine reflects the cooking of the Carolinas, especially the Sea islands (a cluster of islands stretching along the coats of south Carolina and northern Georgia). Black-eyed peas, also called cow peas, are thought to have been introduced to America by African slaves who worked the rice plantations. Hoppin' John is a rich bean dish made of black-eyed peas simmered with spicy sausages, ham hocks, or fat pork, rice, and tomato sauce.

This African-American dish is traditionally a high point of New Year's Day, when a shiny dime is often buried among the black-eyed peas before serving. whoever get the coin in his or her portion is assured good luck throughout the year. For maximum good luck in the new year, the first thing that should be eaten on New year's Day is Hoppin' John. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, many southern families toast each other with Champagne and a bowl of Hoppin' John. If it is served with collard greens you might, or might not, get rich during the coming year.

There are many variations to traditional Hoppin' John. Some cook the peas and rice in one pot, while others insist on simmering them separately.

Most food historians generally agree that "Hopping John" is an American dish with African/French/Caribbean roots. There are many tales or legends that explain how Hoppin' John got its name:

It was the custom for children to gather in the dining room as the dish was brought forth and hop around the table before sitting down to eat.

A man named John came "a-hoppin" when his wife took the dish from the stove.
An obscure South Carolina custom was inviting a guest to eat by saying, "Hop in, John."
The dish goes back at least as far as 1841, when, according to tradition, it was hawked in the streets of Charleston, South Carolina by a crippled black man who was know as Hoppin' John.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HoppinJohn.htm

The Recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound dried black-eyed peas
2 small smoked ham hocks or meaty ham bone
2 medium onions, divided
3 large cloves garlic, halved
1 bay leaf
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 can (10 to 14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with chile peppers, juices reserved
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, minced
2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 green onions, sliced

PREPARATION:
In a large Dutch oven or kettle, combine the black-eyed peas, ham bone or ham hocks, and 6 cups water. Cut 1 of the onions in half and add it to the pot along with the garlic and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently until the beans are tender but not mushy, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Remove the ham bone or hocks, cut off the meat; dice and set aside. Drain the peas and set aside. Remove and discard the bay leaf, onion pieces, and garlic.

Add 2 1/2 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the rice, cover, and simmer until the rice is almost tender, about 10 to 12 minutes.

Mince the remaining onion then add to the rice along with the peas, tomatoes, and their juices, red and green bell pepper, celery, jalapeno pepper, Creole seasoning, thyme, cumin, and salt. Cook until the rice is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the sliced green onions and the reserved diced ham. Serve with hot sauce and freshly baked cornbread.

http://southernfood.about.com/od/blackeyedpeas/r/bl80308c.htm

Finally:

Consider the celebration of ancient Rome. The first day of the New Year honored Janus - the god of gates and doors and beginnings and endings. The month of January was named after this god. Janus had two faces. One looked ahead to see what the new year will bring and the other looked backward to see what happened during the past year. So this is how the Romans celebrated. They also gave their friends gifts. Often gifts were given to Senators in exchange for favors.

We thus all have been personally motivated to make sacrifices in the hope of possible rewards and good fortune in the coming year. Be it a bribe to a highly placed government official or the simple resolution to lose weight or read more or work harder, we are vying with fortune for happiness.

What are your resolutions? What do you expect in the coming year? As you go out and party, are you secretly cutting a deal with the powers that be? Or like the spirit which drives this annual celebration, are you in all of its youthful excess celebrating the success which you enjoy or has passed?

Any thoughts?

Merry Christmas from the Nude Librarian!

HO HO HO!/JINGLE BELLS....BATMAN SMELLS/I'M DREAMING OF A [SANE] CHRISTMAS...You Know the Drill

So what is Christmas? Here is a list of links answering the basics of Christmas history and origin:

Christmas Defined – A basic explanation of Christmas that explores the divinity of Jesus Christ and why he is not only central to the celebration of Christmas but was also instrumental in the establishment of Christmas as an observance long before his birth in this world.

Christmas Before Christ — Christmas was celebrate before Jesus was born. This article explores the history of Christmas from the beginning of time using scripture and prophetic revelation. This history not only provides proper context when considering the day we call Christmas it serves as a reminder of our purpose in this life.

The Real First Christmas — Many mistakenly think of the Nativity as the first Christmas. The real first Christmas was an event that took place long before Christ was born. In this expanded explanation of Christmas origins we remember a Christmas in which every soul that has or ever will live on the face of the earth took part.

Two Christmas Babies — The Nativity didn’t feature the birth of just one Child. There were two. This is a fascinating look at the more human side of the Christmas story featuring an extraordinary child who would grow up to be called the Greatest Prophet of them all and another child who would be known as The Savior.

The Women of Christmas — Mary & Elizabeth, central characters in the Christmas story, are examples of extraordinary faith, devotion and miracles.

********************************************************

Under the Messy Tree List of Books:

HISTORY:

"Inventing Christmas: How Our Holiday Came to Be" Jack Elliot, University of California Press: 2007

"All About Christmas" Maymie R. Krthye, Harper Collins: 1955

"The Book of Christmas Folklore" Tristram Coffin, Seabury Press: 1973

"The Truth About Santa Clause" James Cross Giblin,T.Y. Crowell: 1985

"Christmas Around the World" Mary D. Lankford, Harper Trophy: 1998

"Just Say Noel: a History of Christmas from the Nativity to the Nineties" David Comfort, Simon and Schuster Inc: 1995

ANTHOLOGY

"Christmas Stories" ed. Diana Secker Tesdell, Everyman Library: 2007

I wish a happy holiday season to all library lovers. AND AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here are some cool links:

http://www.boulder.lib.co.us/youth/holidays/christmas/christmas1.html

http://www.realchristmas.com/christmas-library/

So You Want to be a Rock Star, And Wear Wigs?

Surgeons Who Play

Bang Bang! The Doctor Says: You're Not Dead!

Surgeons who play video games more skilled - U.S. study
19 Feb 2007 21:00:22 GMT19 Feb 2007 21:00:22 GMT

Source: Reuters

By Andrew Stern


CHICAGO, Feb 19 (Reuters Life!) - Playing video games appears to help surgeons with skills that truly count: how well they operate using a precise technique, a study said on Monday.
There was a strong correlation between video game skills and a surgeon's capabilities performing laparoscopic surgery in the study published in the February issue of Archives of Surgery

You will have heard of this study by now.


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From Scientific America:

Action-Packed Video Games a Sight for Sore Eyes
New study shows that an adult brain's visual cortex can be retrained, which could help people with "lazy" eye see crowded letters more clearly.
By Lisa Stein

EYE CANDY: New study finds that playing action video games may actually be sweet for vision.— REDLINK/CORBIS

Could it be? Could playing video games, long blamed by parents for turning their teens into fat, lazy bums, be good for something? Studies have linked nonstop video gaming to such ills as carpal tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow, not to mention the current obesity epidemic plaguing this nation's young.On the positive side, some research has shown that playing video games can improve eye-hand coordination and visual attention—the ability to search for a target in a jungle of objects, to monitor several items at once, and to keep track of a steady stream of objects zipping swiftly by.And now comes more good news for video game aficionados. A new study, set to be published in the journal Psychological Science, shows that playing fast-paced, action-filled video games significantly sharpens vision, enabling gamers to see tiny, tightly packed letters more clearly.The reason? "Action video game play changes the way our brains process visual information," says study author Daphne Bavelier, noting that after just 30 hours, video gamers showed "a substantial increase in the spatial resolution of their vision." Translation: "They could see figures like those way down on an eye chart more clearly," she says, "even when other symbols crowded in."Bavelier, an associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester, says the findings are helping scientists design a way to aid people with amblyopic or "lazy" eye. Amblyopic patients often have trouble discerning normal-size font in a clutter of other letters (such as in newspapers) in much the same way that others might have difficulty reading the fine print in ads and on pill packaging (because the letters seem to collide or run into one another)."We think action video game playing trains the same part of the visual cortex (located in the back of the brain) as that which has a dysfunction in people with lazy eye," Bavelier says. "This is showing us a new path forward for rehabilitation. By combining more traditional methods for doing rehabilitation with these games, we should be in a better position to reopen the visual cortex to learning."

Which shows some of its suggested medical benefits.

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

Also:

From an article from the Minnesota Daily:

Assistant professor of psychology and computer science Paul Schrater said he has been interested in perceptual motor skills, such as hand-eye coordination, for over a decade.

Tyler McKeanFirst-year students Andy Fischer, right, and David Reimann play “Halo 3” on Tuesday in Territorial Hall. “I’ve been playing video games for a long time, and I’m still awkward and clumsy,” Fischer said.

Schrater said a video game's virtual environment can help players improve these skills, and not just those needed to beat the game.

"This is one of the interesting things that seem to be true," he said. "The excitement and fun that we see in action video games engages learning in a way that other things don't."

Practicing certain skills will improve them, Schrater said. The excitement of playing an action game helps this more than many other activities.

In his studies, Schrater found that violent video games actually work better to improve motor skills than nonviolent games, like Tetris.

"There's something a little bit mysterious about that," he said.

Tyler McKean University professor of psychology and computer science Paul Schrater claims playing video games can increase perceptual motor skills.

Schrater said while people can learn in boring ways, it could take them thousands of times to show a significant improvement in whatever they are learning. When people do things they find fun, like video games, the process is sped up.

"If the only thing you do is shoot free throws over and over again, it stops being fun, and you stop learning," Schrater said. "There is a deep relationship between things that are challenging and things that are fun."

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

Clearly we are at the forefront of important discoveries. In 2006 I seem to recall reading a conflicting study that suggested gaming did nothing to improve eye/hand coordination. When I was a kid video games were played mostly on an Atari. We had games like: Missile Command, Pong, and later on the lord of all games, Donkey Kong. I don't know if we were learning. I do know that my folks thought it a colossal waste of time.

My biggest worry as a librarian is that some of the more "violent" games would offend many parents. In a public library we may have issues of graphic violence that could be unsuitable to have in a public sphere.

In the classroom, again, there may be battles over tax dollars being used for games that would be offensive to some. Would the less engaging games supply the said development. Or would students lose interest and get bored? What kind of games can be used in a classroom setting? Would they need contain graphic and violent content to keep its player in a mode of learning skills needed later? Can they teach them better than more traditional methods?

I am not an educator. I am not out there in the field like many of teachers today. I would enjoy a dialog with teachers. Their futures are our futures.

Lots of interesting questions raised here.

Any thoughts?

Here are the links for the stories I borrowed from:


http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N2J303978.htm

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=action-packed-video-games

And the Survey Says....

Most Thought of Service


Kentucky public libraries most regarded local government service in survey

Kentucky public libraries are the most highly regarded local government service, according to a recent independent survey of Kentuckians.

In addition, more than 95 percent of Kentuckians surveyed agree that public libraries are a good investment of tax dollars.

A survey of 600 Kentuckians by the University of Kentucky Survey Research Center sponsored by the Kentucky Public Library Association indicates that Kentuckians place a high value on local public libraries.

The research shows that nine out of 10 people view Kentucky's public libraries as a key educational asset in the community, while more than eight out of 10 agree that public libraries improve communities.

Among six services provided by local government, Kentucky's public libraries rank at the top with nearly 86 percent giving public libraries an A or B grade when asked to rate the quality of libraries' services. The second highest ranking is police services at 75 percent.

This is good news. People need libraries. This is especially true in rural and urban arears where lower income families need access to the services we can offer.

Here is a link to the full article:

http://www.newsdemocratleader.com/articles/2007/12/18/news/news09.txt

Jam Session

Scan Baby Scan?

Google-Scan-Book/Google-Scan-Book/Google-Scan-Book

Columbia University Libraries Joins Google Scan Plan
RELATED ARTICLES

Andrew Albanese -- Library Journal, 12/17/2007

The Columbia University Libraries announced last week that it is the 28th library to sign an agreement with Google to digitize library books in the public domain and make them available online. Under the agreement, librarians and Google will select "hundreds of thousands" of volumes from Columbia's 25 distinct libraries, including its rarest holdings. Digital copies of the books from Columbia will be fully searchable through Google. Because the books scanned will be in the public domain, users will be able to view the full text of the books and download them for leisure reading, research, or printing. As part of the deal, Columbia will also receive a "library" copy of every book scanned, which library officials said it will use both for preservation and instruction purposes. Library officials said they expect eventually to "integrate digital copies" into its extensive digital library program "to extend their utility for research and teaching." Columbia University Libraries is one of the top academic library systems in the nation, with 9.2 million volumes. James Neal, VP for information services and university librarian, said Columbia's participation in the Google plan will make available "significant portions" of the university's collections "in ways that will ultimately change the nature of scholarship."

Hmmm...The times are a changing. While this is old news it is a continuation of the trend to what many call a democratization of scholarly information and its exchange. But what if the libraries, on scanning there content, decide they can no longer house and care for certain documents? Supporters of Google want us to believe that problems of storage and retrieval in the e world will be solved. Maybe. But what of one corporation then controlling the content of millions of files that were once available in most cases for free. Will Google keep them free? Will the quality of information be stored and index in a way that searchers can find it? Will Google take care of the library like librarians? Will librarians be working for Google? You can see I have lots of questions. What are the answers?

When Google bought You Tube it was promised that not much would change. It was also promised that service would be improved. However, nearly a year later there seem to be more problems in the service. Despite new options and flashy buttons there have been cut backs in file storage and more adds and commercialization. A site which was once the haven of the unknown is being shaped into monster of the known. What was once a free for all is more like the attempts of other corporations to tame and own the most sacred of e places, the Internet itself. Corporate control of what belongs to all people is something we must fight.

I see opportunities and deep concerns in this scanning of so much library contents. I hope librarians across America will be ready for what is ahead

Any thoughts?

Here is a link to the story above:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6513347.html

The Hobbit, or Two is Better than One

Once upon a Time There Was a Hole In the Ground


Michael Rogers -- Library Journal, 12/19/2007 6:06:00 AM
Jackson and New Line Cinema settle legal dispute
Hobbit being shot as two films, sequel leads to Rings
Set for 2010 release

It’s half a miracle: Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema finally have settled their legal differences and agreed jointly to produce The Hobbit, with MGM as distributor. The Hobbit will be presented as two films: one based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s material, and a sequel bridging the 60 years leading to the action of The Lord of the Rings. The films will be shot simultaneously, with pre-production beginning ASAP; Hobbit will be released in 2010.

For Lord of the Rings fans this will be good news. For librarians too. Peter Jackson is known for his success in translating classic literary works to film. This is great for libraries too. Anything to get video centered public to turn to books may in turn lead to a library and its resources.

Any Jackson fans out there who would like share their enthusiasm?

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6514085.html?desc=topstory

Google Government Gaps

Show Offs!

Is your search engine finding the government information you need?
Posted December 17th, 2007 by Blake
Government Docs
Internet

Freegov pointed the way to an OMB Watch report [PDF] that highlights "a critical gap in online access to vital government information." In an examination of Google, Yahoo, Microsoft Live and Ask and the search function provided by USA.gov, they confirmed that many of these searches miss critical information simply because of the manner in which the government agency has published the information.For example:• A search for “New York radiation” does not find basic FEMA and DHS information about current conditions and monitoring.

A search to help grandparents with a question about visitation of their grandchildren in any search engine does not turn up an article of the same title located on the Web site of the Administration for Children & Families.

They have several recommendations for the federal government. Each of these would encourage greater accessibility of government information by making it more searchable.

As budgets shrink in libraries, depository institutions are hit hard by a need to supply information and still deal with cutbacks. In my last term in library school I had the privilege of sitting in on a government docs class. The instructor was first class teacher and vet of many years experience. During that term, (he worked at another library too) he lost his entire staff and was then demoted. The truth was it was shattering to watch. He is a guy with a great attitude and passion for his work. After leaving the class he invited some of the students to work on a project based on the work in our class. But I will never forget how even as a pro, it can cut you in half when the plug is pulled.

I think the question here gets back to some of the limits of giant search engines. Most can spit out tons of info, but the quality is generally uneven. Most searchers are rather unschooled in evaluating material and know little about search techniques.

This is a chance for librarians to get back into the game. Why not building search engines better than Google? Why not lead the information boom? I know there are a lot of points between here and there, but it is worth talking about? Right?

Any thoughts?


Here is the link to the story:

No Show, No Problem?

What do You Think?

By BY Michal Lumsden Times Herald-Record December 15, 2007

Liberty — Fired Liberty school librarian Angela Page filed a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court against the Liberty School District, alleging disability discrimination and violation of the district's contract with the teachers union. Page is seeking $2 million in damages, plus legal fees.
The suit comes a day after Liberty's school board voted 6-1, with 2 abstentions, to fire Page because she has been too ill to work in the school since June 2004.

Page developed multiple chemical sensitivity from the toxic gases released by mold in the middle school library, where she worked from 1991 to 2004.

She won the workers' compensation claim she brought against the school district, but that decision is being appealed.

The complaint filed by Page's lawyer, Michael Sussman, says that the Liberty Faculty Association's contract with the district ensures faculty members will remain employed while on workers' compensation.

The suit also claims that Page's requests to be assigned different duties and a clean work environment "were dishonored in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act."

A state arbitrator last month agreed with former Liberty Superintendent Lawrence Clarke's assessment that creating a new position for Page or allowing her to carry out library duties virtually from her home "would place an undue hardship on the district."

I don't know where to go with this one. While I feel sympathy for this woman's plight, it smacks of greediness by my way of thinking.



mlumsden@th-record.com

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071215/NEWS/712150334

I Have One Word for You: Bean

What the !@#$%?

Sound Familiar?


Libraries facing budget challenges
'We've cut as much as we can'
Don Lajoie, The Windsor StarPublished: Saturday, December 15, 2007

Taxpayers, library staff and management have reacted with dismay to news that city council has ordered the Windsor Public Library Board to make $800,000 more in budget cuts next year, without reducing hours or eliminating any of 10 local branches.

Brian Bell, chief executive officer of the library, said management is at a loss on how to achieve the goal, stating that the directive gives the cash-strapped institution next to no room to maneuver. He noted that a half million dollar cut had to be absorbed in 2005 even as the system grew from nine to 10 branches.

"How we can achieve those cuts and still keep 10 open will be difficult," he said, adding that there are 91 full-time staff and about 80 part-timers. "We've cut as much as we can.... If you don't have the staff to keep buildings open, well, you can't have one without the other."

Jacqueline Mathurin studies with Chris Parton (not pictured) at the central library branch in Windsor on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2007. The city is planning to cut $800,000 from the library's budget and it is unclear at this point where that money will come from.

He noted that up 12 to 14 staff cuts might have to be made to cover part of the $800,000 shortfall but some branches currently only have two employees working. Operating with as few as one, he said, may not even be possible under current labour agreements.

He said there are 13 professional librarians in the system, earning between $45,000 and $50,000. Clerical and library services staff earn about $30,000 to $40,000. Moving people around to fill the holes, he added, will cause "a ripple effect" throughout the system, ultimately leading to chronic staff shortages.

--The Windsor Star 2007

I remember in school presenting discussions on fundraising and noting the disconnection in my classmates as I spoke about what seemed like a big "Duh!" to them. Well, if it is "Duh!", then why do professional librarians get caught with their pants down so much?

Part of the very complex subject of budgets and fundraising can be addressed in the way we think of money. Ask yourself some questions. Do you think you are responsible for your budget or is that the province of high ups? Do you expect that city of officials or governing boards are acting in a way that will protect your job, or to just get by? Is it reasonable that the ones building the factory should be responsible for paying its bills?

It sounds like I am kicking dirt into the eyes of my fellow librarians. This is not the case. I am asking, how active are you in fundraising, and have you been a trail blazer? Don't assume last years sources of money will meet tomorrows demands. Don't assume they will be there. Assume they are never enough.

A good example of how to think of fundraising is to think of your library as a business who is responsible for its own financial matters exclusively. Be greedy about finding money. Think large. Think in unexpected ways. Have fundraising events year round. Have money coming in everyday if you can. Have foundation money waiting just in case. Network and cultivate a warm and working relationship with important and valuable advocates that matter. Start with a governing board. How well do you know the people who sit on this board? Get to know them, and let them know how much you love the library and its mission. Make them understand why the library needs professional librarians, not paraprofessionals. Participate in all fundraising events. Volunteer to help on days off. Building long term relations with the public and advocates will lead to solutions during lean times.

I know of a great example north of Chicago. Evanston Public Library has a strong leader in its directorship and a board who is passionate about making the Evanston Public Library System a successful one. Although the system is connected to the city's payroll they have developed a large foundation and have active year round fundraising campaigns. They prepare for lean times. They not only work on finding money, but build advocacy for the library.

This is exactly what every professional should do for their library. They must be an active and public advocate for not only the mission of their institution, but for its fiscal success. Libraries fail because of poor advocacy planning and a lack of its employees to see that they have a key role in controlling weather or not the doors stay open.

No one likes to be told they don't care, or they are clueless. But money talks and...well you know the rest.

I would love to make this an open dialog...any takers? Any money making thoughts?


Here is the link for the full story:



http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/story.html?id=a573f059-e92a-4c3d-a6db-a78b59fdea08

A Blast from Library Past

In the Know: Wiki Building, Some Advice

Wikis Are Fun! Go Ahead! Build One!

Here is great advice I found at the Web Junction on Wiki building.

You So Want to Build a Wiki?

Ready to build a library wiki? Here's a list of points to consider as you evaluate how to proceed.
By Meredith Farkas

So you’ve decided that you want to implement a wiki at your library. Fantastic! Now you’ve got some decisions to make. While a wiki is free and democratic, that does not mean you can just throw it up online without some sort of planning and structure. You need to think about your audience, your wiki’s focus, the level of control you wish to exert over the wiki, and the software you wish to use.

Wiki building is fun and a great classroom project. Try one out.

Any suggestions you would like to add?

For the full article click on the link below:

http://www.webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=11262

The ABC's: Overview of Social Software

Review of Social Software

Social networking sites: Getting friendly with our usersC&RL News,

December 2007Vol. 68, No. 11
by Cliff Landis

Social networking sites have grown in popularity over the last few years, particularly among teenagers and young adults. These are often the populations that academic institutions reach out to for both recruitment and retention. It is not surprising, then, that academic libraries and librarians have joined the movement to include social networking sites in library marketing, outreach, instruction, and reference efforts.

Any thoughts?

For the complete article click on the following link:

http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/crlnews/backissues2007/december07/socialnetwrkg.cfm

And the Envelope Please

Who Do You Think Is Tops?

First annual LSJ Emerging Leaders special issue
Posted December 13th, 2007 by Blake

Announcements
Library Student Journal believes that in many ways the average LIS student today understands the average user better than does the average LIS professional. We have new and exciting ideas. We see information needs in new places (and new worlds). We can, and should, make a vital contribution to the LIS field while we are still students.

Do you have a colleague who is doing innovative research? Have you met someone at a conference whose blog you read daily because it inspires you to think in new ways? Has a classmate come up with a creative new way to address a current problem in your local library?
If so, we want to hear about these people!

To nominate an emerging leader, please send us the following:

1. Full name, school affiliation and email address, of nominee.

2. Reason for nomination. Try to be as specific as possible - which project, event, concept makes this person an emerging leader.

3. Your full name, affiliation and email address.Send your nomination to librarystudentjournal [at] gmail [dot] com, and be sure to put "Nomination" in the subject line.

The special issue will appear in April 2008.If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at the email below.Check out the journal at:

http://www.librarystudentjournal.org/.

Any nominations?

Source Link:

http://www.lisnews.org/node/28529

Wow, Not Bad for a Muggle

Mega Selling Author J. K. Rowling Auction

J.K. Rowling Fairy Tales Sell for $4M
By THOMAS WAGNER – 1 day ago
LONDON (AP) — A book of fairy tales created, handwritten and illustrated by J.K. Rowling sold for nearly $4 million at auction Thursday. The buyer, Web retailer Amazon.com Inc., now owns one of only seven copies of "The Tales of Beedle the Bard," which is leather bound with silver mounts.

We all look back fondly on those halcyon days of Hogwarts and the little boy who lived.

This auction was to benefit The Children's Voice, a charity co-founded in 2005 by Rowling and Baroness Nicholson, a member of Britain's House of Lords.

I have great respect for the author and her efforts in raising money for children's causes.

Any thoughts?

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g4tnQ0Bx8HAfoNUdvUc27vb5QZ7gD8TGTC180

Towards a Better Image

Library of Congress

Check it Out

December 10, 2007

Poet Laureate Charles Simic and Other Noted Poets to be Featured in "The Poet and the Poem" Radio Series

U.S. Poet Laureate Charles Simic and 19 other noted poets will be featured in the winter 2008 season of "The Poet and the Poem from the Library of Congress." The radio series is available to all public radio stations through Public Radio Satellite Service via National Public Radio distribution.

I am a huge Charles Simic fan.

Enjoy.

Any thoughts?





http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2007/07-247.html

Duh!

To Use or Not to Use: Confessions of Guilty Education

"To err is human, to forgive divine..." blah blah blah... I am sure everyone is tired of the Wikipedia debate. I am also certain anyone reading this blog (may that be the case) has used Wiki articles now and then, if not for genuine research then for settling barroom bets.

I recall fondly the messy debates in library school over the big question. Students are using Wiki sources in papers and when they need a quick answer anything Google spits out is good enough for them.

It is still an important issue, putting aside that 10 page paper that is due tomorrow. How do we qualitatively consume information? The Internet has transformed what was once the province of English professors and dower looking librarians into the pulp fodder of Google and money lenders. Its pretty damn scary stuff for almost anyone teaching or in librarianship.

When I began my first term as a library student the doors were closed to Mr. Wales. However, by the time I was on my way out there was and still is a link to Wikipedia.org on the library's page.

It seems more like a game of attrition, at this point. If teachers and librarians can at least implant some critical skills in the average student then half the battle is won.

1. Wikipedia is a starting point in research. It is not a source list. I would make it a stop on the list of possibilities, but would press the user to consider in house print and subscription based peer reviewed sources as their primary focus.

2. What makes an authoritative source needs to be taught in schoolrooms as early as possible. Teach grade schoolers what is good and how to find it. At the very latest middle school kids should know which side of the bread is buttered. Librarians should be going into the classroom for English classes and teaching research skills.

3. Make information users smart consumers on the Internet. User instruction is ongoing. Certainly the Internet and the tools that bring it home change day to day. We are in the words of the time: in a "beta" mode continuously.

4. Admit there are good things about Wikipedia. First: its free. For people who do not have access to better quality information sources it is better than nothing. Second it does have good information on it on some topics. Although better control methods should be in place. I am sure most scholars would love to share their work for free. It is why they got in the game in the first place, to discover and educate in a democratic fashion. Copyright issues are important. We must not forget that taking with out acknowledging is called plagiarism.

Any thoughts?

Here is a link to the story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7130325.stm

Critical Eye on Critics

National Books Critic's Circle Surveyed on Ethics of Reviewing Books: A Time Out Chair?

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Ethics in Book Reviewing Survey: The Results
Dear NBCC Members and "Critical Mass"

Readers:68.5 percent of book reviewers think anyone mentioned in a book's acknowledgements should be barred from reviewing it.

64.9 percent think anyone who has written an unpaid blurb for a book should also be banned from writing a fuller review.

76.5 percent think it's never ethical to review a book without reading the whole thing.And 52 percent think it's not okay for a book-review editor, in assigning books for review, to favor books by writers who also review regularly for that editor's book section.

Here is a focal point of some interest (from a similar survey in 1987):

I believe a conclusion in my comment on the 1987 survey remains valid -- book reviewers are largely divided between those who believe in something you might call the "objective" book review, and those who don't -- attitudes toward specific practices in the field follow almost syllogistically from one premise or the other.

It is reasonable to assume there are a lot of favors being extended. It is hellish to get a book published to a large market. Even then, in modern superstores like Borders an author is competing against thousands of new titles each season.

I want folks to be honest. Why is this important? I think the answer is in damage control. Rampant nepotism is something that no profession can afford if it wishes to be treated seriously...

Hmmm....

SERIOUSLY....

Any thoughts?

http://bookcriticscircle.blogspot.com/2007/12/ethics-in-book-reviewing-survey-results.html

Library 2.0

Publishers Seeking Web Controls

Censorship?

Publishers Seeking Web Controls
News Organizations Propose Tighter Search Engine Rules
By Anick Jesdanun Associated Press Friday, November 30, 2007; Page D02

The desire for greater control over how search engines index and display Web sites is driving an effort launched yesterday by leading news organizations and other publishers to revise a 13-year-old technology for restricting access.

Google, Yahoo and other top search companies voluntarily respect a Web site's wishes as declared in a text file known as robots.txt, which a search engine's indexing software, called a crawler, knows to look for on a site.

Tom Curley of the Associated Press said Automated Content Access Protocol will protect AP's news reports from being distributed without permission. (By Lawrence Jackson -- Associated Press)

Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging

But as search engines expanded to offer services for displaying news and scanning printed books, news organizations and book publishers began to complain.

News publishers said that Google was posting their news summaries, headlines and photos without permission. Google claimed that "fair use" provisions of copyright laws applied, though it eventually settled a lawsuit with Agence France-Presse and agreed to pay the Associated Press without a lawsuit filed. Financial terms haven't been disclosed.

The proposed extensions, known as Automated Content Access Protocol, partly grew out of those disputes. Leading the ACAP effort were groups representing publishers of newspapers, magazines, online databases, books and journals. The AP is one of dozens of organizations that have joined ACAP.

The new rules allow a site to block indexing of individual Web pages, specific directories or the entire site, though some search engines have added their own commands.

The proposal, unveiled by a consortium of publishers at the global headquarters of the AP, seeks to have those extra commands -- and more -- apply across the board. Sites could try to limit how long search engines may retain copies in their indexes, for instance, or tell the crawler not to follow any of the links that appear within a Web page.

"ACAP was born, in part at least, against a growing backdrop of mistrust," said Gavin O'Reilly, president of the World Association of Newspapers.

The current system doesn't give sites "enough flexibility to express our terms and conditions on access and use of content," said Angela Mills Wade, executive director of the European Publishers Council, one of the organizations behind the proposal. "That is not surprising. It was invented in the 1990s and things move on."

Tom Curley, the AP's chief executive, said the news cooperative spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually covering the world, and that its employees risk often their lives doing so. Technologies such as ACAP, he said, are important to protect AP's original news reports from sites that distribute them without permission.

"The free riding deprives AP of economic returns on its investments," he said.

Jessica Powell, a spokesman for Google, said the company supported all efforts to bring Web sites and search engines together but needed to evaluate ACAP to ensure it can meet the needs of millions of Web sites, not just those of a single community.

"Before you go and take something entirely on board, you need to make sure it works for everyone," Powell said.

The hairs on the back of my neck go up whenever I hear of censoring writing or speech. While anyone paying the bill has a right to object to content, how much control should be at any person's or groups whim?

Any thoughts?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/29/AR2007112902207.html

Cutting Out the Middle Man

OK, We Will Just Go Around It

Dec. 12
Pooling Scholars’ Digital Resources

The various and competing efforts to digitize university libraries’ vast holdings have no lack of ambition, but access to documents and copyright issues have been two factors slowing the development of online scholarly repositories. Now, an effort at George Mason University seeks to bypass libraries entirely and delve into scholars’ file cabinets instead.

Or at least, their hard drives. If many researchers have had to scan rare documents or books for their own perusal, there’s a potential treasure trove of material that exists among their combined efforts. Rather than let all that scholarship rot, or waste away in data files, the university’s Center for History and New Media sees an opportunity to create an open archive of scholarly resources in the public domain.

“What about this, what we call the ‘hidden archive’?” said Daniel Cohen, the director of the center. “That’s a scholarly resource that’s not really helping any other scholar.”

In partnership with the Internet Archive, and with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the center is creating a way for scholars to upload existing data files to be optically scanned (to make them text-searchable) and stored in a database available to the public. Since only works in the public domain can be made available in that way, scholars will have to complete an online form with legal assurances.

The vehicle for the new environment will be the Zotero plug-in for the Firebox browser, also developed by the center. The software stores Web pages, collects citations and lets scholars annotate and organize online documents. A new feature of the plug-in will allow people to collaborate and share materials through a dedicated server. Building on that functionality, according to Cohen, the system will allow scholars to drag and drop documents onto an icon in Zotero that essentially sends it to the Internet Archive for storage and free optical character recognition.

The eventual result of the project, called Zotero Commons, could be reduced need need for research trips, Cohen suggested. “I think it’s really going to have an impact on the way that scholarship is done.” Besides original source documents, scholars could upload their own annotations and finding aids to help other researchers, Cohen suggested.

Converting digital documents to an easily searchable and accessible format is not a trivial task for many scholars, and providing the OCR services for free will be a major draw, Cohen predicted. The Mellon grant lasts for two years, but Cohen said the archive’s longevity is guaranteed.

— Andy Guess

Any Thoughts?

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/12/12/zotero

Bibliographic Futures

The Library of Congress

The Library of Congress and the Future of Bibliographic Control: Working Group Report by Barbara Quint Posted On December 10, 2007
Last November, the Library of Congress (LC) established a Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control (www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future). It’s staffed by leading research librarians as well as executives from key private sector players, such as OCLC, Google, and Microsoft. The group’s goal was to “to examine the future of bibliographic description in the 21st century in light of advances in search engine technology, the popularity of the Internet, and the influx of electronic information resources.” On Nov. 30, 2007, the Report became available to the public for commentary (www.loc.gov/bibliographic-future/news/lcwg-report-draft-11-30-07-final.pdf). Despite the broad vision implied in the goal, the actual recommendations of the report seem predominantly focused on book cataloging and, in that regard, how to curtail LC’s role in the future.

Among priorities the following have been focused on:

1. Present findings on how bibliographic control and other descriptive practices can effectively support management of and access to library materials in the evolving information and technology environment

2. Recommend ways in which the library community can collectively move toward achieving this vision

3. Advise the Library of Congress on its role and priorities


The role of the Internet and it's influence on information storage and retrieval is of the highest priority.

Other priorities include:


1. “Increase the efficiency of bibliographic production for all libraries through increased cooperation and increased sharing of bibliographic records, and by maximizing the use of data produced throughout the entire ‘supply chain’ for information resources.”

2. “Transfer effort into higher-value activity. In particular, expand the possibilities for knowledge creation by ‘exposing’ rare and unique materials held by libraries that are currently hidden from view and, thus, underused.”

3. “Position our technology for the future by recognizing that the World Wide Web is both our technology platform and the appropriate platform for the delivery of our standards. Recognize that people are not the only users of the data we produce in the name of bibliographic control, but so too are machine applications that interact with those data over the network in a variety of ways.”

4. “Position our community for the future by facilitating the incorporation of evaluative and other user-supplied information into our resource descriptions. Work to realize the potential of the FRBR framework for revealing and capitalizing on the various relationships that exist among information resources.”

5. “Strengthen the library profession through education and the development of metrics that will inform decision-making now and in the future."

Behind all of these changes is the effort to close gaps in current methods of bibliographic control and the popularity of the Internet. Changes would be aimed at making librarian jobs easier to do and to meet the needs of their patrons.

For example: some public libraries have already converted to a book store classification system.

Any thoughts?

For a fuller description of this report try the link below:

http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbReader.asp?ArticleID=40394

EPA Budget Cuts

EPA Cuts: a Bad Sign of the Times

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials are proposing to cut funding by 80% for the agency's national library network, a system that supports the research needs of thousands of EPA staff scientists and enforcement personnel, environmental biologists and ecologists in academia and industry, and members of the general public. "The libraries are a good resource," said Fred Stoss, associate librarian for biological and environmental sciences and mathematics at the State University of New York at Buffalo. "Closing down the library network will have great ramifications for EPA staff scientists and policy analysts," he told The Scientist. "It concerns me a great deal," echoed Craig M. Schiffries, senior scientist at the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE). "EPA has identified reliance on sound science and credible data among the guiding principles to fulfill their mission to protect human health and the environment. It would appear that access to world-class library resources would be needed to fulfill those goals," he told The Scientist. EPA has proposed cutting $2.0 million from the library system's $2.5 million budget for Fiscal 2007, which begins Oct. 1, 2006. The network includes 27 libraries serving 10 regional offices, two research centers, and 12 research laboratories around the country. Combined holdings include more than half a million books and reports, 3,500 journal titles, 25,000 maps, and 3.6 million items on microfilm. Last year, EPA libraries handled more than 134,000 research requests and cataloged about 50,000 unique documents. Cutting $2 million from the budget could entail reducing operations at or even closing selected regional libraries, letting go of a third of contractor library staff, and shutting down the Online Library System (OLS), an electronic catalog of library holdings, according to an internal report prepared last year by the EPA Library Network Workgroup, a group of library officials who evaluated the proposed cuts. EPA spokesperson Suzanne Ackerman confirmed the agency wants to cut $2 million from the library budget but said details have not been worked out. "We have no intention of stopping providing important information to our scientists or doing away with library services," she told The Scientist. A statement she later provided to The Scientist said: "EPA is working to modernize an outdated system by streamlining our physical collections and making them available on-line to provide more information to a wider group of people -- including scientists." But many of EPA's reports and documents exist only in print and must be converted into digital format to be available on-line, a process for which no budget presently exists. "Virtually everything the agency had done before 1990, which is a considerable volume of work, is largely in hard-copy format," said Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a nonprofit whistleblower group that first drew attention to the library controversy. Members of EPA's Science Advisory Board may be questioned about the issue when the House Science Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards holds a hearing on EPA's R&D budget March 16, committee spokesman Joe Pouliot told The Scientist. For Fiscal 2007, EPA's overall budget would fall by $310 million -- or 4.1% -- to $7.3 billion. Research and development funding would decline by 7.1% to $528 million, according to an analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The largest portion of EPA's basic and applied research is in the life sciences, primarily biology and environmental biology. Nearly a third of EPA's R&D is conducted by colleges and universities, about half by the agency's own laboratories, and the balance by nonprofit institutions and state and local governments.

Ted Agres


I find it smacks of ignorance and cold play that the First Lady is herself a librarian. Is anyone else disgusted by this?

Any thoughts?

A Groundbreaking study finds...

Like You Never Think about It!

Workshops For All

Library 2.0 and Building Rockets: Man's Best Friend


One Inventor
One Dog
One Rocket
And a whole lot of cheese.

Everyone has seen Wallace and Gromit. So you know the story about how they run out of cheese and build a rocket to go to the moon, because everyone knows the moon is made of cheese. (If you haven't seen it, then go out to a Blockbuster or download it on Netflix.)

I thought here is a guy who goes into his workshop and builds a rocket ship to go on a picnic. In a way that is what a lot of folks are doing with their social software. At places like MySpace and YouTube, folks are building cyber bridges that are not only closing Internet gaps, but changing how they communicate, and the rules of communication too.

Right now, assuming everyone has a workshop, then it is a matter of having enough supplies to go around. But not everyone has a workshop. Some folks are poor, on a fixed income, elderly, or unable to use these tools in their homes on their own.

That's where libraries step in. The next wave is 2.0. It has been a buzz word in library circles for a couple of years, but most public libraries are moving slowly to reformat their spaces and development policies to reflect this wave. In the Internet it is yesterday already.

But what is 2.0? Well, to keep it simple, it is a rather elastic term used to describe a format where users more actively determine virtual and physical spaces, and the services in them. They include virtual and digital softwares and systems, web spaces that is, and real physical spaces for users to converge in. It includes social software, gaming, and other virtual options for users to personally build a rocket to travel into the deep space of the information universe out there. Information is such a large concept that it can no longer only have physical dimensions like books or other more traditional print routes.

It seems as librarians we must become designers of such possibilities. The tools are exactly what they are. Michael Stephens points this out eloquently. They are opportunities. He has a hard sell, too. Technology expands and grows so rapidly it can be rather daunting. As librarians we must think in far less fixed and far less habituated terms if we want to grow with technology and its trends.

So getting the materials, building the workshops for those who have no launching pads, and helping when help is needed, well, that is our duty? Right?

OK, everybody, say CHEESE!!!

Any thoughts?


Here are a few links:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6365200.html

http://www.techsource.ala.org/blog/2006/01/library-20-the-real-world.html

http://infoisland.org/

http://tametheweb.com/2006/01/defining_library_20_ii_is_it_m.html

Tech Trends

Get Your Geek On

The following is a link to a web log by Michael Stephens. This guy is a major tech guru in the library scene:

Check it out.

Ten Tech Trends for Librarians 2007
I wanted this post to be out on the day I spoke at the Ontario Library Association with Amanda Etches-Johnson and John Blyberg at the OLITA Top Tech Trends panel, but my dissertation, teaching and life intervene.

Each year about this time, TTW looks at "Ten Techie Things for Librarians." You'll find 2006 and 2005 in the archives.

So here's this year's list, with a new name: "Trends" instead of "Things." Sure it puts a finer point on it but it also recognizes the changes in my thinking about the essential duties of librarians:

Learn to Learn
Adapt to Change
Scan the Horizon

As we carry out or essential mission of service, stewardship and access, I really want folks in libraries to be able to watch the horizon for trends -- and I told the group that in Toronto: "We can all be trendspotters. We can all watch for trends that impact not only the profession but our specfic communities and user groups." Please ponder these and let me know what you think.



http://tametheweb.com/2007/03/ten_tech_trends_for_librarians_1.html

Michael is a professor at Dominican University

Ready. Set. Go!

Any thoughts?

Print and E Burden

A Little of This/A Little of That

Andrew Albanese -- Library Journal

12/7/2007A new report by the Association of Research Libraries concludes that publishers and libraries are caught in "an extended transition zone" lasting at least five years between print-only and e-only journals. The report, "The E-only Tipping Point for Journals: What's Ahead in the Print-to-Electronic Transition Zone," authored by former SPARC executive director Richard K. Johnson and library consultant Judy Luther, asserts that the demands of "dual-format" publishing and the additional costs of keeping e-journals "operating within the bounds of the print publishing process" is taxing the status quo for all stakeholders: publishers, libraries, authors, and readers.

"The question of when dual-format journals will complete the transition to single-format (electronic) publishing is taking on increasing urgency," the authors note. Approximately 60 percent of some 20,000 active peer-reviewed journals are now available in electronic form, and the e-journal is now unquestionably the preferred format.

Economics, however, is not the only factor extending the transition, the reports concedes, noting preservation challenges, and the potential loss of key readers, especially by society publishers. The report is based on published resources as well as interviews conducted between June and August 2007 with two-dozen academic librarians and journal publishers. Commercial publishers, researchers, and students were not interviewed.

"The role of the printed journal in the institutional marketplace faces a steep decline in the coming five to10 years," the report notes. "Financial imperatives will draw libraries first—and ultimately publishers also—toward a tipping point where it no longer makes sense to subscribe to or publish printed versions of most journals."

Many libraries are so pressured by budgets that they do not have the means to meet the needs of print and e sources of information. With subscription rates soaring, and budgets shrinking, what are some good solutions for librarians?

Any thoughts?

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6510701.html

The New Dating Game

Will You Be My Friend?


The dynamics of Web-based social networks: Membership, relationships, and change
Jennifer Golbeck

Abstract
Social networks on the Web are growing dramatically in size and number. The huge popularity of sites like MySpace, Facebook, and others has drawn in hundreds of millions of users, and the attention of scientists and the media. The public accessibility of Web–based social networks offers great promise for researchers interested in studying the behavior of users and how to integrate social information into applications. However, to do that effectively, it is necessary to understand how networks grow and change. Over a two–year period we have collected data on every social network we could identify, and we also gathered daily information on thirteen networks over a 47–day period. In this article, we present the first comprehensive survey of Web–based social networks, followed by an analysis of membership and relationship dynamics within them. From our analysis of these data, we present several conclusions on how users behave in social networks, and what network features correlate with that behavior.

We all seem to have a YouTube account or a page on MySpace. How has your web social life changed your life in general?

Any dirty little thoughts to share?

http://www.firstmonday.org/

Collection Development: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Collection Development Policy

An Inconvenient Truth: Collection Development and How it is Really Influenced

Guarding against collective amnesia? Making significance problematic: an exploration of issues
Library Trends, Summer, 2007 by Annemaree Lloyd

ABSTRACT
A nation's collective consciousness relies on the traces of memory collected by institutions such as libraries, archives, and museums. Such institutions have a responsibility to preserve documents and objects that reflect individual and collective endeavors and that have had an impact on culture and society at national, regional, and local levels. Institutions need to assess documents and objects against criteria that, in effect, "name" these items as significant. Most institutions claim that this process is objective, failing to acknowledge that it is underpinned by ideological, political, economic, cultural, and social influences. The position adopted in this paper is that the process of naming a document or object as significant will always reflect the directions and consciousness of a society's dominant groups, and that this will shape interpretations and narratives of the past. Thus the voices of a community's minority or special interest groups will be silenced. This paper suggests that neither the concept of significance nor the process of assessing significance is benign; both should be seen as areas of tension and contestation.

This is a very interesting paper on policy development and the haves and have nots. I would love to hear other opinions on the topic.

Any thoughts?

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1387

Libraries and War

From a Fascinating Article in Library Trends' Winter 2007 Issue Learn About:


Papers [that] were invited on themes such as the following:

* Books and libraries as agents of cultural memory to be protected, appropriated, or obliterated
* Library collections and services as instruments of political power in providing or withholding access to information
* Libraries as places of refuge, solace, and practical help in times of war, revolution, and social change
* Libraries and their contents as cultural patrimony and as booty
* The nature of the revolutionary cultural and political regimes in which libraries are situated and the attitudes of the regimes to literacy and learning
* And the responsibilities of the international community in creating and enforcing policies and procedures for the protection, reconstitution, and restitution of cultural artifacts, including books and libraries

I sat and considered how as military spending increases during the Iraq War certain libraries, like the EPA suffered difficult cut backs.

Reflection on the above article is welcomed.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1387/is_3_55/ai_n19311164

The Market: What do You Want?

Close Your Eyes....


Imagine you are a deserted beach and the waves are crashing down...just kidding. Really the technique of imaging has a practical application for the purpose of my post.

Recently I interviewed at a public library and one of the most interesting questions was: "Describe your ideal library to work in." It didn't take long for me to find the answer. For years I pictured myself behind some reference desk or in meeting concerning collections or staff matters. I pictured myself assisting patrons. I was great at my job, and I worked with others that were great at their jobs. We all loved our jobs.

My point is that high aspirations, no matter how fantasy based are like a compass. But the compass needs to be used with a map. That map is based on survey of past jobs. What did you like about them, and what did they teach you about professionalism and what suited you best.

It might be a good idea to stop and think long and hard about every job you apply for. Can you really picture yourself in that position. And if so, what would be some of your career goals in that job? Try it out. Make a list. How far do you wish to advance?

These may seem like questions for later on but they are not. For many of us library science is a second or even third career. It may be important to know exactly why we go into it. The following link is for some general questions that any job seeker may wish to consider:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_30/b3944430.htm

At become a librarian.org there are also some useful bits of information:

http://www.becomealibrarian.org/