LISNews - Librarian And Information Science News

Fake Movie Trailer For a Real Book

Great Western Dragon — Tue, 13 May 2008 19:15:13 -0500

You know, for any other author, it'd be strange to make a movie trailer for a movie mentioned in the book. Then again, you could accuse Chuck Palahniuk of many things and normalcy really isn't one of them.

To promote his new book, Snuff, the author of Choke and Fight Club, Chuck had some folks make a trailer for a movie the character stars in. Now then, it should be noted that the character involved is an aging porn star so this trailer, while clean enough for YouTube, is so insanely not safe for work you'd be far better off watching it at home.

So pour a glass of cheap bubbly and viddy the trailer for The Wizard of Ass starring Cassie Wright, the vixen we know (not really) from such classics as Chitty Chitty Gang Bang and The Twilight Bone.

DailyLit and Wikipedia

zzshupinga — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:39:11 -0500

DailyLit, which offers up chunks of books on a daily basis, is now offering information from Wikipedia on various topics and bits of information.

From the Wilson Presidential Library to the Streets of the Nation's Capital

birdie — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:12:22 -0500

Not exactly a library story, but here goes:

President Woodrow Wilson’s 1919 Pierce-Arrow limousine will be featured in the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Dedication Ceremony near Washington, D.C. on Thursday. Eric J. Vettel, Executive Director of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton, Virginia, says, “The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library is honored that the Pierce-Arrow limousine will be featured in this significant ceremony. The original bridge was named to honor President Wilson, and we are pleased that he will continue to be remembered on the new bridge.” Story from WHSV.

Arson at Whitby Library

birdie — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:29:27 -0500

Police are hunting for an arsonist after a fire set at a Whitby (ON) library caused $10,000 damage last night.

Fire crews were called to the library on Rossland Rd. E. around 10 p.m. after a fire was set inside the building. The fire was put out, but not before ruining books and damaging part of the building.

The Ontario Fire Marshal confirmed the fire was deliberately set, police said. Story from The Star

LISWire - The Librarian's News Wire

Blake — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:31:59 -0500

Robin K. Blum (aka Birdie) and I started a new site a few week ago, LISWire - The Librarian's News Wire (http://liswire.com), and I'm doing my best to spread the word (again, you may have already seen this). I'll keep this as short as possible, since you can probably guess what the site is all about from the name.

We also have 2 mailing lists, and a bunch of RSS feeds.

We are looking for press releases and other news items of interest to librarians to get things going. You can sign up for an account and submit things you'd like to announce to the library world.

It's just out of beta, so there might still be some bugs floating around. Let me know if you spot something that needs fixing! I'd love any and all feedback you can provide.

Publishers consider dropping old standby: the paper catalog

Blake — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:20:12 -0500

A publishing institution, faithfully mailed at least twice a year to thousands of stores and libraries for about as long as the industry has existed, may be on its way out: The paper catalog.

HarperCollins announced Monday that it was planning to make their listings of upcoming releases available only online, calling the current system both economically and environmentally indefensible.

"I think we are overdue. We produce thousands and thousands of catalogs, many of which go right into the wastebaskets," HarperCollins President Jane Friedman, who said the switch would likely begin by summer 2009, told The Associated Press. "It's such a waste of paper and so inefficient."

Rhymes with Orange and books...

zzshupinga — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:17:52 -0500

No it's not Friday, but didn't think that I should hold onto this until then...

The comic strip "Rhymes with Orange" ran an interesting strip about a couple undergoing counseling and they use an interesting analogy, check it out.

Charlie Brown and his authenticity

zzshupinga — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:57:10 -0500

Everyone loves Charlie Brown worldwide. Take a listen to this NPR weekend edition on just why people have fallen in love with lovable hero.

You Can’t Be Anonymous Online If You…

Blake — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:06:22 -0500

You Can’t Be Anonymous Online If You…
1. Join virtually any social network
2. Post a photo of yourself anywhere online
3. Share key identifying information about yourself
4. Use the same pseudonym or email address as your identity on multiple communities
5. Sign a guestbook or add a Facebook application to your profile.

Hawaii Library Reinforces Time To Read With Your Children

birdie — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:43:09 -0500

Even in this island paradise, it's important to make time for reading...and turn off the TV sometimes.

More than 250 parents and children crowded into Kualapu’u Elementary School’s cafeteria to participate in the final session of the Read Aloud Program (RAP) on Thursday. Jed Gaines, founder of Read Aloud America in Hawaii, hosted the event. This is RAP’s second year on Molokai; the program consisted of six sessions and has helped to improve the quality of family life in the community.

Claudette Ka’ahanui regularly attended RAP and said her children have started reading much more. “It’s unbelievable what this program has done for my kids,” she said.

Ka’ahanui said RAP has encouraged her to read to her children. “I never did,” she said, adding she often found herself too busy with work. “This has really brought me to realize that I need to make time. You have to fit it into your schedule, whether you’re working or not. It’s only to benefit the kids,” she said.

Another parent, Amethyst Tuisamatatele, brings seven of her children to RAP sessions. Tuisamatatele said she hardly went to the library, but because of RAP, she now pays a visit at least once a week. She said a big change in her family is the recent restriction of the television, which has resulted in her children finding more productive activities to participate in.

Community libraries enhancing democracy in Malawi

Blake — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:56:16 -0500

“Nice believe that by introducing citizens to the basic rules and institutional features of a democratic political system, through democratic managed community libraries, helps in building the people’s trust in the system.

“The community must democratically elect people who will oversee the library, and then they should come with a constitution which will regulate the operation of the library. If all these seemingly small things are properly followed, democracy becomes institutionalised at the grassroots,” says Chikafutwa.

Cuts may add layer of dust to library shelves

Blake — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:53:21 -0500

Cuts may add layer of dust to library shelves : Just four years ago, Clearwater demonstrated one more time its long-standing devotion to libraries by opening a new $20.2-million Main Library overlooking Clearwater Harbor. It offers everything a library user could want, and in a beautiful setting.

But if a proposed deep cut to the library system's budget is approved, no one will be able to enter that great building on weekends. It will be closed. And it will be open only one evening a week, and then only until 8 p.m.

Check it out: Libraries that will lend you fishing gear

Blake — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:50:07 -0500

It might be the best-kept secret in the state (Providence,RI). And you can check it out at the public library; that is, the public libraries in Coventry, Lincoln and Scituate –– just in time for fishing season.

Tucked in among the stacks of books are cabinets stuffed with fishing equipment: rods, reels, tackle boxes, hooks, lures, sinkers and floats. If you fancy taking a youngster or two out for a leisurely day of fishing without an outlay of money to get started, here’s your chance.

All you need is a library card

Bibliofuture Author Spotlight: Bruce Catton

Bibliofuture — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:22:37 -0500

I have a reference work called "World Authors 1900-1950". Each week I am going to spotlight one author from this work. Serendipity is working well so far. I opened volume one and selected the first author I saw.

Author: Bruce Catton

Bruce was one of the four founders of "American Heritage" magazine and was a notable civil war historian.

Bruce Catton (October 9, 1899 — August 28, 1978) was a journalist and a notable historian of the American Civil War. He won a Pulitzer Prize for history in 1954 for A Stillness at Appomattox, his study of the final campaign of the war in Virginia.

Catton was known as a narrative historian who specialized in popular histories that emphasized the colorful characters and vignettes of history, in addition to the simple dates, facts, and analyses. His works, although well-researched, were generally not presented in a rigorous academic style, supported by footnotes. In the long line of Civil War historians, Catton is arguably the most prolific and popular of all, with Shelby Foote his only conceivable rival. Oliver Jensen, who succeeded him as editor of American Heritage magazine, wrote: "There is a near-magic power of imagination in Catton's work that seemed to project him physically into the battlefields, along the dusty roads and to the campfires of another age."

See full Wikipedia entry on Catton

Once shunned by academics, Wikipedia now a teaching tool

Blake — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:43:05 -0500

Wikipedia, the upstart Internet encyclopedia that most universities forbid students to use, has suddenly become a teaching tool for professors. Recently, university teachers have swapped student term papers for assignments to write entries for the free online encyclopedia. "Sometimes it's a disaster," said Beasley-Murray. "But in some ways it's good news ... this was a great learning experience for students."

Luxury Hotel Beats Out Library in DC

birdie — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:22:10 -0500

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty announced today that the city will not build a new downtown library on the site of the old convention center and instead has reached an agreement with a developer to construct a four-star, 400-room hotel on the prime downtown parcel.

Fenty's predecessor, Anthony A. Williams, proposed a grand new library at the convention center site during his tenure, saying a state-of-the-art facility would draw crowds to the heart of downtown and boost civic and cultural pride.

But community reaction was divided, with some advocates reluctant to abandon the existing central library, designed by the noted German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe but poorly maintained by the city over the past 36 years. Story from the Washington Post.

The Bush's "Read All About It" Panned by the New York Times

birdie — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:16:47 -0500

"The belief that books aren’t “real” is exactly what keeps many kids from preferring to read, but while the first lady, Laura Bush, and daughter Jenna Bush are on target with their diagnosis in “Read All About It!” their course of recommended treatment is hard to follow, let alone swallow" says NYT reviewer Roger Sutton about this new title.

On the subject of "Read All About It" (oops, watch out, when you click this link you hear the authors speaking about their book)... Sutton asks "Whom is this book supposed to convince, and of what?" The main character, Tyrone Brown, (“professional student and class clown”) would say, (according to Sutton) "it’s not real. The point is laboriously made, the teachers’ names are dorky, the plot is hectic and the suspense and dialogue are artificial. What child today says “pesky”? (And anyone who has ever shelved books for minimum wage is likely to feel insulted by Tyrone’s aggrieved dismissal of the library: “All I will meet there are stinky pages.”)

Jenna's away on her honeymoon; maybe she won't get a chance to read the review.

Librarians show off their moves

Anonymous Patron — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:25:22 -0500

Here's an Article in the Cape Cod Times about the Book Cart Drill Team competition at the Mass. Library Association annual conference in Falmouth.

The stereotypes that pester librarians — that they wear their hair in a bun, don tennis shoes, wear frugal sweaters and go around "shushing" everyone all the time — were shattered immediately when the ladies from Plymouth came out dressed as Rockettes wearing little black dresses and fishnet stockings.

Bone Marrow Donor Drive To Honor MN School Librarian

birdie — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:13:47 -0500

One card reads "Sick or not, you'll always be my favorite librarian". So many cards and gifts have been sent to Kay Trapp, who has been the librarian at Turtle Lake Elementary in Shoreview MN for 25 years. Reports from Twin Cities and wcco-cbs.

Friend Michelle Morse said "We call the library the heart of the school and she's kind of the heart of the library." The school is organizing a donor drive in her name and has been making signs to get people to the event today. "That's the message we want to get out, is that you might be the only person that matches someone, but they're not going to know that, unless you're on the registry," said Morse.

Trapp knows the need is great. She's living proof. She continues her medical struggles and is finding time to write "thank you's" to those who've helped her.

This is a disease that can be cured, hopefully Trapp will find a match today.

Chicago Tribune selects Quiet, Please as this weeks editor's choice selection

Anonymous Patron — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:24:23 -0500

Chicago Tribune selects Quiet, Please as this weeks editor's choice selection:
With this week's summer reading recommendations from librarians, one wonders: Who are these characters? In this cleverly written book—a set of stories, really—drawn from his perspective as a California librarian, Scott Douglas brings us into the stacks. "Libraries were the place where people of diverse backgrounds and cultures could come together for the common pursuit of discovering something new," writes Douglas. "Librarians were the people who helped them find this discovery."