It’s Not You, It’s Me: Breaking Up With Books
For me, abandoning a book often has little to do with the book’s “objective quality,” and much more to do with the nature of my reading appetite at that moment. As a writer, there are books that you need during certain seasons of your own work, and others that must be held at bay, for the time being, or perhaps, but hopefully not, forever (oh, how the Bitch Goddess Time precludes so many returns to books we’d like to try again):
Sometimes the Internet is just not big enough for me
This social focus has lead to a new trial service from the OCLC Innovation Lab. For those who have friended or followed one of our team on Twitter, you may have noticed some strange looking posts in our social networks. Some of you have even figured it out and tried it for yourself. Well, here’s what’s been going on.
#Ask4Stuff is a new, Twitter-based service that returns a WorldCat search when you send a tweet with the tag #Ask4Stuff. So if you send the following tweet:
Libraries turn a new page with live gigs
Get it Loud in Libraries is a five-year project that aims to increase access to libraries while developing youth talent
Parsons hopes that the scheme is changing the way people view libraries: “My big beef is that libraries trail behind slightly; they shouldn’t. This is about bringing libraries up to date. The beautiful thing is that people are reconnecting with the library in a way they hadn’t done before.”
Astoria Characters: The By-The-Book Librarian
“I love librarianship,” Laurel says. “Someday, I’d like to manage my own Queens Library branch. I could easily see myself staying in the Queens system my entire career. If and when I leave the Steinway branch, I’ll miss the people the most.”
Libraries fading as school budget crisis deepens
Students who wished their school librarians a nice summer on the last day of school may be surprised this fall when they’re no longer around to recommend a good book or help with homework. No one will know exactly how many jobs are lost until fall, but the American Association of School Administrators projects 19 percent of the nation’s school districts will have fewer librarians next year, based on a survey this spring. Ten percent said they cut library staff for the 2009-2010 school year.
Rather than traveling the galaxy defending the universe from dark forces, Superman may soon arrive in your hometown in a very pedestrian way.
As part of the Grounded story line that kicks off in July with issue No. 700 of DC Comics’ Superman series, the Man of Steel will walk across the USA to reconnect with the everyday people he is committed to protecting.
The story may be fictional, but many of the places and people that Superman will visit are real. DC Comics is asking readers to write in and campaign for their towns and residents to be depicted in the 13-issue Superman series.
Series writer J. Michael Straczynski and DC’s editorial team will select the featured locations.
“Because Superman is a symbol of hope, I wanted folks to have a chance to bring Superman into their town, into their neighborhood, in the pages of the book,” Straczynski says.
Facing the Facts: University Presses in the Digital Age
In response, Matt Nauman, head of publisher relations at Blackwell, noted that “the mission of libraries is changing from collection building to providing access.” There will still be “a small core of must-have titles,” that will be ordered automatically, he said, but for publishers, Nauman went on, this means smaller and less predictable frontlist sales, and emphasizes the need to accommodate the growing demand for more cost-effective e-books.
If passed, New York’s Gov. Paterson’s proposed budget cuts would bring state funding to libraries down to just $84.5 million.
In the Westchester Library System (WLS), half of the 38 public libraries have cut back their hours due to budget cuts just since 2008, and 50 full-time jobs have been eliminated in only the past year.
“Given the state’s fiscal woes, reductions in state spending are unfortunately unavoidable – yet funding for our libraries cannot be further compromised,” said State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer.
Calling the library system a “great equalizer” she noted that libraries serve the greater community in a way so few organizations do: “They are places where individuals of any means can find answers to their questions in a very calm sanctuary.”
Dave Donelson, a Trustee of the WLS, slammed the proposed budget, and juxtaposed the need and demand for public libraries to ticket sales of major-league baseball. ” There were over 8 million visits to Westchester libraries in 2009,” said Donelson. “That’s more than a full season attendance at Yankee Stadium.”
“Libraries are not just a depository of books; libraries are places where teenagers gather after school, where seniors come for help navigating the maze of our health insurance system, and where thousands of people come for help finding a job,” he said.
Photos and story of the protest from Chappaqua Patch.
the HAVES ignore the HAVE-NOTS and always will.
The problem with all the people who are using the internet successfully is that they have no time left for those who can’t. The digital world isn’t like giving your spare change to a guy on the corner. Training someone to be an educated digital citizen takes real time. You can’t solve it with a slide show or a widget.
I can’t even guess which skills we’ll need for tomorrow’s internet. But as long as someone pays for me to be a librarian, I’ll continue to care and to teach it to whomever needs to know. And if no one wants to pay me, I won’t teach it, but I’ll still care.
Missed Spellings in Searches
Besides inadvertent misspellings, people look for ways to do things right. Here now, a few spelling Questions posed to the Yahoo! search box from the past 30 days.
•“how do u spell dule” (duel or dual, depending on the meaning)
•“how do u spell err” (or is it heir)
•“how do you spell martyr”
•“how do you spell appreciate”
•“how do you spell congratulations”
•“how do you spell cancelled”
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