One good book list deserves another. The UK Telegraph has already described their version of the "perfect library" (a far, far too conservative selection for many but worthwhile selections just the same), so now they weigh in with their votes for the "50 Best Cult Books." It’s an interesting list, considering what got in and…
No introduction I could possibly write would do justice to this great article by Joe Bageant, so I’m just going to post the first few paragraphs then provide a link: The Audacity of Depression By JOE BAGEANT One of the best things about the hundred or so book festivals in America is that, with luck,…
In the depths of my disgust at the news of the New York Public Library’s name change yesterday I completely missed this rather cool bit of news: Friday is gaming day at NYPL . The article in the time is called "Taking Play Seriously at the Public Library With Young Video Gamers," and it begins:…
A link to this op-ed in the Gainesville Sun has been making the rounds of the library grapevine, mostly on PUBLIB but also on TSLIBRARIANS, which is where I read it. It’s an anti-library rant, and not a very coherent one at that. Since it’s been a couple of years since I last gave an…
It’s been years since I edited anything more complex than a typed website column, but this article in Slate about documentary editors–meaning the folks who prepare original hand written manuscripts for the press rather than film makers–made for fascinating reading. Definitely worth a look if you have time today (or any day). And if the…
Tony Gill, Director of the Gruss Lipper Digital Laboratory at the Center for Jewish History posted this announcement on the METRO Digital Collections Special Interest Group mailing list: The Center for Jewish History recently completed a METRO-funded pilot project to digitize and make freely accessible online 40 Yiddish and Hebrew children’s books, many of which…
This came in this morning from Gary Price over at Resourcesshelf.com: "Google Generation" is a Myth, Says New ResearchGoogle is in the title but that’s an attention grabber. The primary focus of the report is about younger people and access to info. "A new report, commissioned by JISC and the British Library, counters the common…
First, the American Library Association Announces Literary Award Winners. That’s great. Second, SirsiDynix’s server access has been in and out all morning. A brief e-mail from the company says that the problem has to do with network issues on IBM’s end, which literally filter down to us peons at the circulation desk who merely rely…
I came across this tidbit while looking over Andy’s website this afternoon. I’m not a reference librarian by training and my days as an English major are long behind me, so I thought I’d toss this out there to see if anyone wanted to chime in. To wit: BEWARE THOSE WHO HAVE FOUND THE TRUTH…
I read something like this and I honestly don’t know whether to laugh or cry: LOS ANGELES – The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum can’t locate or account for tens of thousands of valuable mementos of Reagan’s White House years, according to a published report. An audit by the National Archives inspector general concluded…