LISNews: Librarian News

GregS* writes 'From PW's Soapbox section: "Women make wonderful bosses. We should know -between the two of us we have more than 30 years of experience in the publishing business and have reported exclusively to women. In our observations, female bosses often become more mentors than managers, nurturing the careers of those who report to them more than their male counterparts. Working for women can be amazing and inspiring. But..." I've worked for good and bad, some guilty of all listed, some a few. But all were women so I can't compare except in how I see my own actions. How about you?'

As we're well aware, Valentine's Day is fast approaching (did you cast your vote in the poll yet?), and for that occasion, the librarians of the Salt Lake City Public Library System (with its glorious facility) have chosen a few romantic selections for their readers.

Among their choices, works by Rainer Maria Rilke, Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare and Edna St. Vincent Millay. More from the Salt Lake Tribune .

LISNews readers, care to add your own selections?

Karen Writes: "I am just a citizen concerned about the mis-classification of James Frey's "non-fiction novel" A Million Little Pieces. I feel the author and publisher should not be the authority over where the book is positioned in our nation's libraries. I feel it should be re-classified and moved to the fiction shelves. I have written to the American Library Association, but have not received any response. Please tell me if this is a valid endeavor? Am I the only one who cares about the integrity of book classifications in our libraries?

I just feel strongly that unsuspecting library patrons in future years will be mislead by this book if it remains in the non-fiction stacks. The author initially wrote this book and pitched to publishers as a novel and has admitted fabricating key portions. I am saddened that major opinion makers such as Oprah Winfrey say it is no big deal to pass off fiction as fact. I am amazed that librarians have not spoken out in this public debate. But maybe I am alone in my concerns."

I've been running LISHost for 3 years now, and what started out as a fun hobby has grown into a fun part time job. It's never been a big money maker, and I've never done any advertising, but I'm considering doing some next year. Last year was the first year I made more than I spent, and it wouldn't be a bad thing if that trend continued. Up till now, 100% of new folks have come via word of mouth. So maybe it's time to try and grow this little business a bit more, so I'm thinking of buying a list and sending out some postcards.

Has anyone done any direct mail marketing using a list available from librarian specific lists? I'm curious what the response rate was. I'm assuming it's rather low, but I'd love to hear from anyone with some experience in this area.

We've all been on the receiving end, I'm curious if you feel like you get too much junk mail. If a postcard from LISHost showed up in you mail box, would it bother you? Am I wrong to think about buying your name from someone you might not want selling it?

Update: 12/15 21:45 GMT by B :Note: This is about LISHost, not LISNews. LISHost is a web host I run over Here