I love Daniel Boone Regional Library. I love their third floor reading room. I love that I can drink Lakota coffee from their Lakota coffee booth in the lobby. I particularly am fond of their wireless access right now as it is allowing me to update my LiveJournal properly.
Beyond the building of delight, I love their collections - CDs and Videos and DVDs... and of course a collection that is a great deal of fun to browse through.
This morning's task? Quilting books - My Mother would like to make me a Christmas quilt and she has some books at home, but I'm going to take a peek and see what else might have fun patterns.
26 June, 2006
22 June, 2006
Final Musings
Ten hour drive tomorrow - that'll be all sorts of fun.
Yesterday we spent the entire day touring parts of the Chattanooga area. We visited a Railway library, rode the Tennessee Valley railroad and visited the public library as well as some other museums and such. It was a lovely, if somewhat long day. This morning I ended up being so tired and in need of gathering wedding presents and the like that I couldn't get up so I slept and then ran to get the presents taken care of and then came back for the afternoon.
Today was my busy day. I was moderator for the afternoon session, kept things moving, introduced people, etc. I also had to give the publicity report and tonight was the ever present resolutions committee. Different people are elected to the resolutions committee every year - and it's not a bad thing to do. I actually had fun with it and don't really mind. Basically it's amusing notes that happen during the conference and so forth.
I'll probably type up more later, but really should get myself to bed. So, this is all for the moment. I can't wait to have internet again.
Yesterday we spent the entire day touring parts of the Chattanooga area. We visited a Railway library, rode the Tennessee Valley railroad and visited the public library as well as some other museums and such. It was a lovely, if somewhat long day. This morning I ended up being so tired and in need of gathering wedding presents and the like that I couldn't get up so I slept and then ran to get the presents taken care of and then came back for the afternoon.
Today was my busy day. I was moderator for the afternoon session, kept things moving, introduced people, etc. I also had to give the publicity report and tonight was the ever present resolutions committee. Different people are elected to the resolutions committee every year - and it's not a bad thing to do. I actually had fun with it and don't really mind. Basically it's amusing notes that happen during the conference and so forth.
I'll probably type up more later, but really should get myself to bed. So, this is all for the moment. I can't wait to have internet again.
20 June, 2006
Conferences...
Tennessee is absolutely beautiful. I've driven through it before, but I've never actually spent any time in the state - none of any consequence, at least. After all, driving through on your way to Florida does not add up to any amount of time spent in a particular state. I'm not certain I'll be able to say that I've spent any time in the state after this conference either, but I'll have spent a bit more at least.
There are so many trees, and the mountains or hills, if you will, are absolutely beautiful. It's humid and warm and I love bumblebees and fireflies in the evening. It feels much more like home to me - although I realise that it is technically south not Midwest - than Washington can fill. Ah well.
Conferences themselves are always an interesting mixture of being about ready to fall asleep (when one is three time zones earlier than one is used to and on a non-caffeinated campus it tends to make one want to fall asleep) and being inspired to work with all types of things.
My main interests right now deal with electronic ways of instruction. Podcasts, library blogs, and Camtasia based tutorials really intrigue me and I think along with my bibliography project this summer, these are things on which I need to spend time working later this summer. In the meantime I'm going to enjoy having a Target, Ann Taylor Loft, Panera Bread, Steak N' Shake, and Fazoli's within about fifteen minutes of me, and of course, the conference.
There are so many trees, and the mountains or hills, if you will, are absolutely beautiful. It's humid and warm and I love bumblebees and fireflies in the evening. It feels much more like home to me - although I realise that it is technically south not Midwest - than Washington can fill. Ah well.
Conferences themselves are always an interesting mixture of being about ready to fall asleep (when one is three time zones earlier than one is used to and on a non-caffeinated campus it tends to make one want to fall asleep) and being inspired to work with all types of things.
My main interests right now deal with electronic ways of instruction. Podcasts, library blogs, and Camtasia based tutorials really intrigue me and I think along with my bibliography project this summer, these are things on which I need to spend time working later this summer. In the meantime I'm going to enjoy having a Target, Ann Taylor Loft, Panera Bread, Steak N' Shake, and Fazoli's within about fifteen minutes of me, and of course, the conference.
14 June, 2006
Nothing like a cute cat with brilliant books
Now here's a documentary I really must see.
Puss in Books: the Adventures of a Library Cat
And they include the Baker & Taylor cats - I see them in the Baker & Taylor advertisements all the time and think they're adorable and want to use their photos in icons.
When I return from conference and have time I shall have to check this out. As well as possibly the Library Cat Society. After all, if one is a librarian and one loves cats, one should combine the two whenever possible.
Puss in Books: the Adventures of a Library Cat
And they include the Baker & Taylor cats - I see them in the Baker & Taylor advertisements all the time and think they're adorable and want to use their photos in icons.
When I return from conference and have time I shall have to check this out. As well as possibly the Library Cat Society. After all, if one is a librarian and one loves cats, one should combine the two whenever possible.
12 June, 2006
MySpace and the library
The September 2006 issue of Library Journal has a number of fascinating articles. As I look at the situation at our library regarding the possibility of a sorely needed new library building in the near future as well as the students that I work with on a day to day basis, there is a seeming contradiction in needs. When we recently surveyed a selection of twenty students regarding changes we had made to the physical building as well as changes they would like to see occur, it was interesting to me that although we had the requests for changes and improvements in technology, they did not comprise the entirety of requests: Equally focused upon were more study areas.
So the modern library is in a quandary of how to best serve its users. The physical building and print materials contained within, supplanted in importance by many both by the misleading campaigns from computer and internet companies that "everything" is available online as well as equally misleading and sometimes inaccurate opinion pieces in the Chronicle of Higher Education, are clearly still important. This is also made clear in the number of students, books and laptops in front of them inside the library building itself throughout the quarter.
Libraries need to define what their services are, and while I believe in the importance of the print media - and it is clear these have not been supplanted by computer information (nor do I personally believe they will be) - I truly believe one of the biggest things that libraries can do for their patron is to promote an information community wherever it may occur. This may be in the physical building, it may be on a Social Networking Site.
Ironically this seems to come at a time when congress, obsessed with "deleting online predators" is trying to create and enforce a wide net that would supposedly "make the world a safer place". But similar to large fishing nets that may catch things other than their intended prey, these acts - supposedly making us safer - also serve to make it extremely difficult for some libraries to use these sites for what would be, without doubt, an extremely useful service. Ironic, that by "deleting" the bad we are also making access to the site easier for those who would use it well, without truly deleting those who mean ill will, something that will effectively restrict the very environment the fear mongers claim they are will help to create by their regulations.
The MySpace Gap editorial has some really interesting things to say about this.
And in the NextGen column, we have Priorities & Professionalism - an article that I can well relate to and seriously appreciate. Americans work a lot longer than many other countries and my generation is beginning to say, look - we want to spend time with our families and we want the flexibility to do so.
I concur.
And perhaps, what all of these are pointing to is the need to really create a MySpace account for our library - if users are there, it might just be worth it.
So the modern library is in a quandary of how to best serve its users. The physical building and print materials contained within, supplanted in importance by many both by the misleading campaigns from computer and internet companies that "everything" is available online as well as equally misleading and sometimes inaccurate opinion pieces in the Chronicle of Higher Education, are clearly still important. This is also made clear in the number of students, books and laptops in front of them inside the library building itself throughout the quarter.
Libraries need to define what their services are, and while I believe in the importance of the print media - and it is clear these have not been supplanted by computer information (nor do I personally believe they will be) - I truly believe one of the biggest things that libraries can do for their patron is to promote an information community wherever it may occur. This may be in the physical building, it may be on a Social Networking Site.
Social networks, Abram says, everything from MySpace and Facebook to blogs, to creating folksonomies and message boards, or even the simple act of letting users append reviews to the library catalog is the long-term trend. These represent a big opportunity for libraries.- From Google is not the Net
Yet, despite the site’s surging popularity, access to MySpace, often portrayed in the major media as little more than a haven for spammers, identity thieves, and predators, remains blocked in many libraries, schools, and workplaces. Library administrators, burdened by everything from endless task forces and preconceptions of what library service is to federal legislation like the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) or, potentially, the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) or even just the fear of facing disgruntled parents, have been slow to harness the power of social networks. The Internet, however, waits for no librarian.
“We’ll study things to death until death,” Abram says. Meanwhile, he notes, a generation of users go online, and libraries risk losing virtually uncontested a generation of potential library patrons to commercial ventures.
Ironically this seems to come at a time when congress, obsessed with "deleting online predators" is trying to create and enforce a wide net that would supposedly "make the world a safer place". But similar to large fishing nets that may catch things other than their intended prey, these acts - supposedly making us safer - also serve to make it extremely difficult for some libraries to use these sites for what would be, without doubt, an extremely useful service. Ironic, that by "deleting" the bad we are also making access to the site easier for those who would use it well, without truly deleting those who mean ill will, something that will effectively restrict the very environment the fear mongers claim they are will help to create by their regulations.
The MySpace Gap editorial has some really interesting things to say about this.
And in the NextGen column, we have Priorities & Professionalism - an article that I can well relate to and seriously appreciate. Americans work a lot longer than many other countries and my generation is beginning to say, look - we want to spend time with our families and we want the flexibility to do so.
I concur.
And perhaps, what all of these are pointing to is the need to really create a MySpace account for our library - if users are there, it might just be worth it.
MySpace and the library
The September 2006 issue of Library Journal has a number of fascinating articles. As I look at the situation at our library regarding the possibility of a sorely needed new library building in the near future as well as the students that I work with on a day to day basis, there is a seeming contradiction in needs. When we recently surveyed a selection of twenty students regarding changes we had made to the physical building as well as changes they would like to see occur, it was interesting to me that although we had the requests for changes and improvements in technology, they did not comprise the entirety of requests: Equally focused upon were more study areas.
So the modern library is in a quandary of how to best serve its users. The physical building and print materials contained within, supplanted in importance by many both by the misleading campaigns from computer and internet companies that "everything" is available online as well as equally misleading and sometimes inaccurate opinion pieces in the Chronicle of Higher Education, are clearly still important. This is also made clear in the number of students, books and laptops in front of them inside the library building itself throughout the quarter.
Libraries need to define what their services are, and while I believe in the importance of the print media - and it is clear these have not been supplanted by computer information (nor do I personally believe they will be) - I truly believe one of the biggest things that libraries can do for their patron is to promote an information community wherever it may occur. This may be in the physical building, it may be on a Social Networking Site.
Ironically this seems to come at a time when congress, obsessed with "deleting online predators" is trying to create and enforce a wide net that would supposedly "make the world a safer place". But similar to large fishing nets that may catch things other than their intended prey, these acts - supposedly making us safer - also serve to make it extremely difficult for some libraries to use these sites for what would be, without doubt, an extremely useful service. Ironic, that by "deleting" the bad we are also making access to the site easier for those who would use it well, without truly deleting those who mean ill will, something that will effectively restrict the very environment the fear mongers claim they are will help to create by their regulations.
The MySpace Gap editorial has some really interesting things to say about this.
And in the NextGen column, we have Priorities & Professionalism - an article that I can well relate to and seriously appreciate. Americans work a lot longer than many other countries and my generation is beginning to say, look - we want to spend time with our families and we want the flexibility to do so.
I concur.
And perhaps, what all of these are pointing to is the need to really create a MySpace account for our library - if users are there, it might just be worth it.
So the modern library is in a quandary of how to best serve its users. The physical building and print materials contained within, supplanted in importance by many both by the misleading campaigns from computer and internet companies that "everything" is available online as well as equally misleading and sometimes inaccurate opinion pieces in the Chronicle of Higher Education, are clearly still important. This is also made clear in the number of students, books and laptops in front of them inside the library building itself throughout the quarter.
Libraries need to define what their services are, and while I believe in the importance of the print media - and it is clear these have not been supplanted by computer information (nor do I personally believe they will be) - I truly believe one of the biggest things that libraries can do for their patron is to promote an information community wherever it may occur. This may be in the physical building, it may be on a Social Networking Site.
Social networks, Abram says, everything from MySpace and Facebook to blogs, to creating folksonomies and message boards, or even the simple act of letting users append reviews to the library catalog is the long-term trend. These represent a big opportunity for libraries.- From Google is not the Net
Yet, despite the site’s surging popularity, access to MySpace, often portrayed in the major media as little more than a haven for spammers, identity thieves, and predators, remains blocked in many libraries, schools, and workplaces. Library administrators, burdened by everything from endless task forces and preconceptions of what library service is to federal legislation like the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) or, potentially, the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) or even just the fear of facing disgruntled parents, have been slow to harness the power of social networks. The Internet, however, waits for no librarian.
“We’ll study things to death until death,” Abram says. Meanwhile, he notes, a generation of users go online, and libraries risk losing virtually uncontested a generation of potential library patrons to commercial ventures.
Ironically this seems to come at a time when congress, obsessed with "deleting online predators" is trying to create and enforce a wide net that would supposedly "make the world a safer place". But similar to large fishing nets that may catch things other than their intended prey, these acts - supposedly making us safer - also serve to make it extremely difficult for some libraries to use these sites for what would be, without doubt, an extremely useful service. Ironic, that by "deleting" the bad we are also making access to the site easier for those who would use it well, without truly deleting those who mean ill will, something that will effectively restrict the very environment the fear mongers claim they are will help to create by their regulations.
The MySpace Gap editorial has some really interesting things to say about this.
And in the NextGen column, we have Priorities & Professionalism - an article that I can well relate to and seriously appreciate. Americans work a lot longer than many other countries and my generation is beginning to say, look - we want to spend time with our families and we want the flexibility to do so.
I concur.
And perhaps, what all of these are pointing to is the need to really create a MySpace account for our library - if users are there, it might just be worth it.
03 June, 2006
The thing about public libraries...
I love working in an academic setting. I enjoy assisting students in finding information. I enjoy the more serious nature of requests you generally receive at the reference desk. However, I was reminded today of how nice public libraries are.
My first memories of libraries come from the small public library in Brunswick, Missouri - a town with a population of 925 compared with approximately 7,800 in the town I currently live in. It was a tiny library tucked away in a brick building right next to the city hall, but I remember it despite the fact that we moved from Brunswick when I was about six years of age. I remember how wonderful it was to go to the library, look at the books on the shelf, check them out, the delight of so many books on the shelf. I don't know how many hours the library was open each week, nor could I tell you the numbers of the collection, but I can tell you that in spite of the town's extremely small population, the town cared enough to make certain there was a library.
The thing about public libraries is that they have a different collection from academic libraries. An academic library, regardless of how open to community members it is - and many are not - are no replacement for public libraries. Public libraries focus on children's programs, on continuing education for adults who are out of school. They may offer a place for communities to come together for meetings or gatherings. They may offer internet access to those who might not otherwise afford it. They may offer ESL opportunities in communities where a high number of individuals speak other languages. Public libraries too, have an atmosphere that you come to learn what interests you. In an academic library, so often the focus is so narrow and on what someone else wants you to learn. A public library the books intrigue you because you are interested in what they speak about.
I feel sorry for towns without public libraries. I cringe at communities that do not care enough about being lifelong learners to support a public library. I despair at the lack of a place for children to learn to love reading - a place where the books on the shelf are to be read because they want to read them, not because a teacher is demanding it. I may work in an academic library, and I may enjoy it, but when I want to renew my love of books and learning, it's often a public library which will catch my eye.
Long live the public libraries!
My first memories of libraries come from the small public library in Brunswick, Missouri - a town with a population of 925 compared with approximately 7,800 in the town I currently live in. It was a tiny library tucked away in a brick building right next to the city hall, but I remember it despite the fact that we moved from Brunswick when I was about six years of age. I remember how wonderful it was to go to the library, look at the books on the shelf, check them out, the delight of so many books on the shelf. I don't know how many hours the library was open each week, nor could I tell you the numbers of the collection, but I can tell you that in spite of the town's extremely small population, the town cared enough to make certain there was a library.
The thing about public libraries is that they have a different collection from academic libraries. An academic library, regardless of how open to community members it is - and many are not - are no replacement for public libraries. Public libraries focus on children's programs, on continuing education for adults who are out of school. They may offer a place for communities to come together for meetings or gatherings. They may offer internet access to those who might not otherwise afford it. They may offer ESL opportunities in communities where a high number of individuals speak other languages. Public libraries too, have an atmosphere that you come to learn what interests you. In an academic library, so often the focus is so narrow and on what someone else wants you to learn. A public library the books intrigue you because you are interested in what they speak about.
I feel sorry for towns without public libraries. I cringe at communities that do not care enough about being lifelong learners to support a public library. I despair at the lack of a place for children to learn to love reading - a place where the books on the shelf are to be read because they want to read them, not because a teacher is demanding it. I may work in an academic library, and I may enjoy it, but when I want to renew my love of books and learning, it's often a public library which will catch my eye.
Long live the public libraries!
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