July 2013

Respect your library, and public restrooms: “Potty talk, or What They Don’t Teach Us in Library School” is a topic on which I’ve lectured several times at librarian conferences, and I was able to point to Noel Wien Library’s restrooms as models of improved design. Several years ago we brightened the restroom lighting considerably, replaced old, dark wall tiles with lighter ones, added timers to the toilets, urinals, and faucets, as well as stainless steel dividers, and new air blade hand dryers. Old-style blower dryers, for example, were used by those bathing in the sinks, and thereby flooding the whole room, to dry body parts other than their hands; that’s impossible with the blades, which are also quieter and use far less electricity.

YIKES!
The Wapello County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the explosion of small bomb in a library book drop in the small southeast Iowa community of Blakesburg.

Librarian Rebecca Brittain says the “homemade bomb” was found in the Blakesburg Public Library’s book drop on Wednesday morning.

Wapello County Chief Deputy Don Phillips says the explosion was caused by a chemical reaction inside a Gatorade bottle.

http://acrlog.org/2013/07/29/todays-computer-commons-is-tomorrows-card-catalog/
Perhaps the best thing we can do, in planning for onsite library computing today, is to aim for maximum flexibility. Students may express a demand for desktops today, but it’s hard to imagine that will be our future. When we gaze out upon our fields of computers we should, in our mind’s eye, envisions it as a room that holds nothing but an enormous, as far-as-the-eye-can see card catalog. Because, ultimately, as the next generations of students make it to our doors, it is less likely they will expect us to provide them with computers, and it may be that they would consider such amenities laughable and a waste of their tuition dollars. It is a bit premature perhaps, but not unreasonable, for us to begin thinking about how we will use all the space currently devoted to desktop and laptop-loan computers. My crystal ball is less clear on this matter, although I suspect we can always improve things by expanding the café.

Amazon appears to have slashed the prices of its books, thanks to an Overstock.com promo in which it priced all of its books at least 10 percent below Amazon.

The aggressive pricing strategy has been enough to see Bezos & Co. cut the prices of hardcover book by between 50 percent and 65 percent compared to the usual cover price. Those kinds of discounts have never been seen on Amazon before; typically, it knocks around 40 to 50 percent off as a maximum.
http://gizmodo.com/an-unexpected-price-war-is-making-amazon-book-prices-lo-948777676

Digital Repositories workshop at the NYLA Annual Conference, Wednesday, September 25, 2013, Niagara Falls, NY

Sponsor: Academic and Special Libraries Section
Half Day PM Program 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
This workshop addresses key issues surrounding the creation, maintenance, and cultivation of digital repositories. Drawing on the latest literature, case studies, and personal experiences, speakers lead a discussion that covers planning the digital repository, selecting a methodology for its establishment, populating it with content, marketing it to the library’s constituencies, and meeting the various challenges and questions along the way. Participants have the opportunity to bring their own experiences to bear, as well as engage in group discussions regarding how to get the most out of a digital repository.

Presenters:
Jim DelRosso is the Digital Projects Coordinator for Cornell University’s Hospitality, Labor, and Management Library, where he is responsible for such projects as DigitalCommons@ILR, the digital repository for Cornell’s ILR School. A digital librarian since 2009, Jim is also the President for the Upstate New York Chapter of the Special Libraries Association, and has served as the Communication & Social Media Chair for the SLA’s Academic Division.

Amy Buckland is the eScholarship, ePublishing & Digitization Coordinator at McGill University Library, where she is responsible for scholarly communication, publishing initiatives, and making rare items from special collections available to the world through digitization. She loves information almost as much as Fluevog shoes, and thinks academic libraryland is ripe for a revolution. You can find her online at informingthoughts.com and in most social networks as Jambina.

Digital Repositories workshop at the NYLA Annual Conference, Wednesday, September 25, 2013, Niagara Falls, NY

Sponsor: Academic and Special Libraries Section
Half Day PM Program 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
This workshop addresses key issues surrounding the creation, maintenance, and cultivation of digital repositories. Drawing on the latest literature, case studies, and personal experiences, speakers lead a discussion that covers planning the digital repository, selecting a methodology for its establishment, populating it with content, marketing it to the library’s constituencies, and meeting the various challenges and questions along the way. Participants have the opportunity to bring their own experiences to bear, as well as engage in group discussions regarding how to get the most out of a digital repository.

Presenters:
Jim DelRosso is the Digital Projects Coordinator for Cornell University’s Hospitality, Labor, and Management Library, where he is responsible for such projects as DigitalCommons@ILR, the digital repository for Cornell’s ILR School. A digital librarian since 2009, Jim is also the President for the Upstate New York Chapter of the Special Libraries Association, and has served as the Communication & Social Media Chair for the SLA’s Academic Division.

Amy Buckland is the eScholarship, ePublishing & Digitization Coordinator at McGill University Library, where she is responsible for scholarly communication, publishing initiatives, and making rare items from special collections available to the world through digitization. She loves information almost as much as Fluevog shoes, and thinks academic libraryland is ripe for a revolution. You can find her online at informingthoughts.com and in most social networks as Jambina.

The New York Library Association 2013 Conference and Trade Show is the largest state library association conference held on the East Coast. The Pre-Conference on Wednesday, September 25, 2013 provides an opportunity to learn about topics that require more time and attention than is possible in the standard conference program format. We believe you will find the programs offered to be enticing and exciting. Immerse yourself in a full day presentation or enjoy a half day program in the morning and/or afternoon. The 2013 conference will take place in Niagara Falls at the Conference and Event Center.
Information on additional workshops can be found at http://www.nyla.org/max/4DCGI/cms/review.html?Action=CMS_Document&DocID=783&MenuKey=conf_info

T-shirt that references Wikipedia citations that I think many librarians will enjoy.

Groups representing the movie, music and photography industry testified before Congress on Thursday, and called on the government to consider changing laws to do more to address piracy and file-sharing.

The testimony, which took place before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, is part of a larger review by Congress of America’s copyright policy. The review is significant because it will help shape the rules for culture and creativity on the internet in coming decades.

http://gigaom.com/2013/07/26/content-owners-warn-congress-of-fair-use-creep-draw-ridicule/

Sources close to print, the method of applying ink to paper in order to convey information to a mass audience, have confirmed that the declining medium passed away early Thursday morning.

The influential means of communication was 1,803.

Print, which had for nearly two millennia worked tirelessly to spread knowledge around the globe in the form of books, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, and numerous other textual materials, reportedly succumbed to its long battle with ill health, leaving behind legions of readers who had for years benefited from the dissemination of ideas made possible by the advent of printed materials.

Pop-Up Library Serves The Needs Of Book Worms On The Beach
Beaches are usually loaded with ice cream stands, bars for cold drinks and parasol rental services, but buying or renting a book on the beach can be though. To fill this gap, French architect Matali Crasset came up with this pop-up beach library. The simple structure, that consists of tarpaulin draped over a steel frame, offers beach-goers a collection of over 350 books that are selected by Crasset herself.

Read more