LISNews Librarian And Information Science News

A Funny Little Image post from the Speak Quietly blog on one possible (distopian) future vision of libraries.

Columnist Don Corrigan of the South County (MO) Times warns us point blank:

"Beware local librarians. They look innocent enough – checking out your books; charging you 25 cents for late tomes you return at the counter. Look again. Look closely. There's a lot more going on behind those wire-rimmed glasses than you might think."

"So, where is J. Edgar Hoover when you need him? (Probably rolling over in his grave in Roy Cohn's tutu.) None of this is my fault! For years, I have labored under illusions that librarians are all like Marian in the movie, "The Music Man;" or, at least, no worse than librarian Mary in "Party Girl."

"But what was I thinking? These are all Hollywood images. Hollywood is a player in this insidious plot – putting up a smoke screen to cover librarians' attempts to fray and then unravel the very moral fabric of a nation."

The editors of Shelf Awareness bring us a creepy flash forward to January 21, 2009 . . .

In her first official act, Vice President Sarah Palin has asked for the resignation of Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.

After a little distraction as Dick Cheney's staff received new business cards and stationery reflecting their transition to Palin's staff, the Vice President's Office issued the following statement this morning over Palin's signature:

"President McCain and I came to the nation's capital with a mandate for change, and I am pleased to begin that process right in the heart of Washington. When I took that oath or whatever yesterday, I looked over at the Library of Congress building and immediately had several questions.

"First, what is it with all the books? Isn't it enough to have our Declaration of Independence on display at the National Archives? Luckily the Archives have room for the upcoming Alaskan Declaration of Independence. Second, aren't books basically elitist? Most real Americans are too busy to read. So let's clear the books out and make use of this prime bit of real estate."

Read on at the bottom of this page...

Here's a video clip demonstrating why it is a good thing that online catalogs have replaced printed book.

I have watched some of both conventions and I have made some very important observations.

The Republicans seem to have more attractive women in attendance.

The Democrats can dance much better than the Republicans.

Meg Whitman cannot clap her hands in time to music.

The guy dressed as Lincoln must have an agent to get that much air time on C-SPAN.

A lot of the Republicans look like uptight old men. I fit right in.

I saw my cousin on TV, but I'm not telling at which one.

If you want Republicans to shut up, start praying.

Well, at least you can say someone is having a good time at the library...

After all, just because you're amongst all those books, doesn't mean it has to be boring. So next time you feel the onset of yawning and fatigue, remember the patron in the video. You too, can get on down @ your library.

Tech pundit John C. Dvorak posted at his blog about an interesting problem in automated keyword replacement. This seems to fit the law of unintended consequences perhaps?

This one from the good folks over at Boing Boing:

"When I was in fifth grade, Mississippi Public Broadcasting decided to introduce a series of short films to educate children on how to use the library. For some godforsaken reason, the people at MPB decided that the best way to do this would be through a post-apocalyptic science fiction serial with children roaming the blasted earth in a… bookmobile… like a cross between 'Reading Rainbow' and 'Damnation Alley.' Confused? So was I. I loved the library and post-apocalyptic movies and television programs, and even I was completely nonplussed. Apparently someone has uploaded the entire run onto YouTube. The music still gives me the creeps!"

The adventure begins!

Story on NPR:

Matt Harding has gained a cult following for making and posting YouTube videos of himself in various exotic locales — dancing badly. Listen to full NPR story here.

Video on YouTube
High def version on Vimeo.