An audit prompted in part by the loss of the Wright Brothers’ original patent and maps for atomic bomb missions in Japan finds some of the nation’s prized historical documents are in danger of being lost for good.
Nearly 80 percent of U.S. government agencies are at risk of illegally destroying public records and the National Archives is backlogged with hefty volumes of records needing preservation care, the audit by the Government Accountability Office found.
A marketing experiment where transit riders can access e-books and more by using a smartphone to scan a poster on the wall.
From Fast Company Design:
The defining decorative element of a library has always been the books themselves. But now that institutions ranging from the University of Texas at Austin to ultra-traditional Cushing Academy are tossing their stacks in favor of digital collections, the question arises: How do you design a library when print books are no longer its core business?
At the University of Amsterdam, Dutch designers Studio Roelof Mulder and Bureau Ira Koers converted an existing 27,000-square-foot library into a massive study hall — without any visible books — to accommodate the 1,500 to 2,000 students who visit daily.
It’s a clever way to adapt to the post-print era. Libraries are expensive to operate. As books increasingly go digital, it makes sense for libraries to either downsize or, in the case of the University of Amsterdam, shift the focus of operations from books to people.
Check out the link for photos.
As we quickly march toward the end of 2010, the pressure is mounting to produce the annual list of blogs to read in the coming year. We’ll consider any blogs that might be of interest to librarians. They need not be famous or long lived, in fact we’re always looking for NEW sites and new writers doing interesting work.
Our past lists:
10 Blogs To Read in 2006
http://www.lisnews.org/node/17775
10 Blogs To Read In 2007
http://www.lisnews.org/node/20341
10 Blogs To Read In 2008
https://lisnews.org/node/28830
10 Blogs To Read In 2009
http://www.lisnews.org/10_librarian_blogs_read_2009
10 Blogs To Read in 2010
http://www.lisnews.org/10_librarian_blogs_read_2010
It’s out. The autobiography of Keith Richards, the would-be librarian is called Life (Little, Brown & Co.) and there’s a lot of Life (and drugs and mom and music and women and Mick, etc.) inside.
Review from Head Butler:
Fame. When it comes, there’s no way out; you need it to do your work. The Stones at least brought a new look to it; they pissed on the press, didn’t care what the record company wanted. Only the music mattered. As Berry Gordy liked to say, “It’s what’s in the grooves that counts.”
and the New York Times:
By turns earnest and wicked, sweet and sarcastic and unsparing, Mr. Richards, now 66, writes with uncommon candor and immediacy. He’s decided that he’s going to tell it as he remembers it, and helped along with notebooks, letters and a diary he once kept, he remembers almost everything. He gives us an indelible, time-capsule feel for the madness that was life on the road with the Stones.
Science-fiction author Cory Doctorow has spent the past year tracking how much money he’s spent and made by self-publishing his book With a Little Help and giving it away for free on the Internet.
I was just letting my Wisconsin-bred, serials-acqusitions heart be warmed by the debut of a regional literary journal (Lakeland College’s Stoneboat). Then I discovered the news of the temporary closure of the Virginia Quarterly Review due to possible workplace harassment.
The New York Times reports that an audit of the workplace culture is now out.
[edited to fix link]
From Roy Tennant:
Didn’t make it to Internet Librarian 2010 in person? Watch Internet Librarian Keynote Address online.
New Library Technologies Dispense With Librarians
Faced with layoffs and budget cuts, or simply looking for ways to expand their reach, libraries around the country are replacing traditional, full-service institutions with devices and approaches that may be redefining what it means to have a library.
On a book website I visit, a person had the following story. I contacted the writer and asked if I could post on LISNEWS. Posting at the other site was titled: What a mean, mean librarian.
—–
I took my niece to the library today to work on a school project. When
we were finished, she asked me about getting a library card. I told
her I couldn’t get her one, and that her mom or dad would have to
bring her back to get one. And then I told her they may not be able to
since they just moved to that city and haven’t changed their addresses
on their licenses yet, but that i’d ask about that for her. So, I went
up to the librarian and this is how it went:
“Hi, can I ask a question about getting a library card?”
“Is it for you or the girl?”
“Well, it’s for “the girl”, my niece, Olivia”
“You can’t get one for her”
“I know that, but I just had a question”
Well, I was fingering and looking at a library card application on the
counter, so she felt the need to say:
“And don’t think about taking that home and filling it out and coming
back with it. I won’t take it. Her parents have to bring her in and
fill it out in front of me. That form doesn’t leave my counter”
I was so frustrated at this point, that I said,
“Well, sorry for taking up your time. Thank you for that nasty and
unnecessary speech that had nothing to do with my question, and for
also not even taking the opportunity to see what my question was. Oh,
and also thank you for turning what was just a minute ago an exciting
On a book website I visit, a person had the following story. I contacted the writer and asked if I could post on LISNEWS. Posting at the other site was titled: What a mean, mean librarian.
—–
I took my niece to the library today to work on a school project. When
we were finished, she asked me about getting a library card. I told
her I couldn’t get her one, and that her mom or dad would have to
bring her back to get one. And then I told her they may not be able to
since they just moved to that city and haven’t changed their addresses
on their licenses yet, but that i’d ask about that for her. So, I went
up to the librarian and this is how it went:
“Hi, can I ask a question about getting a library card?”
“Is it for you or the girl?”
“Well, it’s for “the girl”, my niece, Olivia”
“You can’t get one for her”
“I know that, but I just had a question”
Well, I was fingering and looking at a library card application on the
counter, so she felt the need to say:
“And don’t think about taking that home and filling it out and coming
back with it. I won’t take it. Her parents have to bring her in and
fill it out in front of me. That form doesn’t leave my counter”
I was so frustrated at this point, that I said,
“Well, sorry for taking up your time. Thank you for that nasty and
unnecessary speech that had nothing to do with my question, and for
also not even taking the opportunity to see what my question was. Oh,
and also thank you for turning what was just a minute ago an exciting
experience for a 9-year old into something completely unpleasant. I
hope you have a fantastic evening.” I get sarcastic when I’m mad.
But, leave it to Libby to cheer me up always. As we were walking out,
she says “Aunt Cassie, you wanted to call that lady a bad word didn’t
you?”. I had to laugh, lol.
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