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Libraries Are 31337
Many people may hold the image of a librarian as a shushing school marm who does little more than stamp and shelve books because that's all they've seen librarians do. Well think again - that's about as inaccurate as believing that Alan Greenspan is nothing more than a glorified bank teller. The job titles may change but the mission of the profession remains the same: organize information and help people find it. Libraries have been around a lot longer than the Internet, and even library technology can hold its own with the best out there. For example, Google's savvy results ranking was hardly the birth of citation analysis (next up: metadata - cough, cataloging, cough), and there are enormous library systems that also predate the Internet.
Although library geeks and technology nerds may have contrary images, in today's world the boundary between the career of the librarian and the information technologist is disappearing. Librarians today not only administer Web servers and dynamic databases to help manage large digital collections and thousands of electronic resources, they teach people how to use library systems. And just as enlightened computer engineers are advocates of noncommercial software and campaign for online rights, the library profession has a long history of staunchly defending freedom - from book burnings to the FBI's Library Awareness Program to the latest copyright battles and almost all other current issues in intellectual freedom.
Check out LISNews.com (recognize the format?) and some library blogs if you're interested in reading more about real librarians.
Can someone summarize this in one sentence, I'm not going to read all that.
kthx
call them information broker, and the jobs sounds fancy again.
librarians are old-fashioned only as long as they stick to storing information on paper instead of creating networked, digital libraries. the first will protect there jobs, probably, the latter is going to save us researchers/users/customers more and more time.
Here in Houston, the public library system is on the cutting edge of rolling out free public 802.11b access in all their libraries. A guy from the library system regularly comes to our Houston Wireless user group meetings, and that alone speaks volumes, because I don't see any companies sending representatives.
What's your damage, Heather?
"Many people may hold the image of a librarian as a shushing school marm who does little more than stamp and shelve books because that's all they've seen librarians do"
I'm obviously not many people, because whenever I think of a librarian, I keep seeing Britney Spears in various stages of undress while surrounded by books...and wearing glasses. You know, *those* glasses.. the ones that say "I'm the HEAD librarian."
Yeah, those...
Librarians are people?
I thought they were all weird and stuff.
Hmm, appears I am wrong.
Sent from your iPad.
Coming from a guy that works in a library, Librarians are abuot as l337 as the people that feel is cool to type in l337.
Am I the only one who still has the image of the librarian from the movie Tomcats in their mind?
... script kiddies love using them to launch attacks from ...
I instantly flashbacked to the Ghostbuster's scene with the chick and she turns into a monster, but seriously libraries are great resource. Mine has a pretty good selection of computer books that I normally would have to pay $50 for (no cisco though), as well as a lot of new DVDs and VHS tapes. I go there and check out anime all the time, compare that to fighting for a tape at Hollywood Video or Blockbuster and paying $4.00 for it. I plan on donating some money to my area library this year, I hope you will too.
Sitting at one of the tables in the library is Bob Dole himself, looking at Brittany the Librarian, asking his dog to quit barking.
the freedom to take a digital copy of the book, leaving the original on the shelf for someone who is not able to use a digital copy.
In modern day life every town/city library could present the books electronically for the benefit of it's citizens, or indeed the world.
But because of copyright this will never be allowed to happen to the majority of books.
People in this communitity have only recently (in the last five to ten years) started to wake up and realise that technology is not a limiting factor anymore, the legal system is. Librarians probably knew this all along and have not been worried about becoming redundant.
If anything the Internet and libraries can probably learn more from each other than you realise.
Librarians may be depicted in a less than flattering way in the media, but how many people actually visit libraries outside of schooling these days? I myself visit Borders book store, browse, listen to music, have a coffee and chat with my friends most saturdays, but in a library I wouldn't be able to find the latest titles or enjoy myself. Compared to retail a library is a staid boring authoritarian place, which is why the staff of these valuable institutions are depicted in this way.
If they want to change their perception let's encourgage them to change their work place.
--
Sadly, whilst we value knowledge, it will be limited, rationed and paid for. When we cease to value knowledge we will have no use for it.
(me)
/usr/bin/awake/too/long
... a while back. Right from their site:
"Although the general public often seems surprised when librarians don't fit their pre-conceived image, the profession has celebrated its own differences for years. Librarians are funny, irreverent, interesting, and often radical people. Though popular culture includes considerable library material, it often ignores those on the fringe."
PDHoss
======================================
Writers get in shape by pumping irony.
Librarians can access information more efficiently since they know how to search.
As these special searching mechanisms are made into algorithms, I think librarians will become tenders of technology and book shelvers (unless that's automated as well), not the guides that they were years ago and, to some extent, are today. This situation kinda resembles the Kramnik/Fritz thing...
Librarians do one heck of a lot more than we, as patrons, see them do. I never really appreciated how much until my mother got a job as a school librarian. She spends long hours working on catalogues, organizing book fairs, and doing research to help teachers find the best supplementary material for their classes.
Not only that, she is frequently coopted to help with IT problems, since the IT manager doesn't have a staff. One time, she had to manually recover three days worth of circulation info when some moron from the school district turned off the server without shutting everything down properly.
It scares me when she talks about how much she loves cataloguing, though.
Librarians use photocopiers, and help others to do likewise. Photocopiers can copy whole books, which is in breach of copyright laws.
Stop the pirate rings! Gaol all librarians!
OLPC Australia
I have a library degree.
In "library school" things I learned about included information architecture, web design, HTML, XML, Javascript and CSS, metadata, authentication and authenticity, network and information security, databases (Access, mySQL) how to install and run Linux, and most importantly how to organize and present information. It was library school that introduced me to Open Source adn Free Software. The basic fuctions and principles of libraries and librarians are probably the most useful of the bunch, even in my current tech job.
- SMJ - (It's not just a name: it's a bad aftertaste.)
There is a online radio show, called "Tales from the Afternow" which is being told by a Librarian from the future, where everything is copyrighted by mega corps, and he (the librarian) is a criminal for sharing info freely.
www.theafternow.com
Give a listen, all the episodes are free and in MP3 format.
That bloody orang-utan is just about the 133735t librarian that exists. Masters of knowledge they are, yesss preciousss! Jynx
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it well worth the effort.
be reminded of this image. Wouldn't want to mess with her cataloguing skillz.
N4st0r, trixx0r h0bb1tz0rz! Th3y st0l3 0ur pr3c10uzz!
A good thing about the American Library Assocition, there are against DMCA and other potential laws that reduce fair use. That is a good thing for open source.
I wonder if anyone has read the Foundation series of
books. Maybe a little too old-fashioned. Also the computers are quite funny.
These primary historical documents reflect the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of different times. The Library of Congress does not endorse the views expressed in these collections, which may contain materials offensive to some readers.
I think they cut and pasted this from a PrOn site!
(Score:6, unfuckingbelievable)
From excellent karma to terible karma with a single +5 funny post...
...for the same reason serious Linux users don't use Linux to be cool.
Every dollar spent on technology is a dollar that doesn't go toward buying another book. It pained me to hear librarians who, when asked on a local radio show what they would do with $100,000, would spend it all on IT when their book collections are so modest.
Sharing the Internet with the public is a worthy goal, but for most avenues of knowledge, books and periodicals are still the way to go. When authors decide to spend the years it takes to create a great book, they publish it on paper so they can make money, not on the web. Librarians realize this and focus their efforts on creating collections of printed works that are carefully catalogued and chosen for their intellectual value.
Sharing local collections with the world is being undertaken by the Library of Congress in two separate projects. National works of art are at http://memory.loc.gov/, and the LOC is helping other countries with putting their materials online at http://international.loc.gov/.
You seem to be missing a step. In the libraries that deploy technology effectively, it's not the librarians who are responsible for the technology: it's the library technician. The position can have many titles: Systems Support, Electronic Support, Computer Manager, All Powerful Guru, etc. These are the people who make effective technology in the libraries.
You can send your kudos to the local LIBRARY for their "3733t" tech, but take it from one who is there: give the props to the library tech staff.
Most libraries don't have techs, and those libraries tend to be little but spam relays and porno repositories. Would be nice to convince all those libraries they need a tech. That's a lot of jobs out there, if you're wondering.
Have to attend for the purposes of work conventions of librarians. Specificlaly, there are the Medical Library Association and Science Library association. They are by far, outside the the technical IT etc. community the most technically proficient binch around. They are often os "up" on technology as i am.
I also worked IT support for a large university for a while, and can further attest to the technical proficiency of librarians with the following: Not only were the professional librarians some of the easiest customers to work with they had difficulties, they rarely, if ever had the same problem twice, if the problem in question was something that could be resolved by simpl having watched and asked me about what I was doing. Made for easy library server maintenance. They wanted them down less than I did.
...by the number of references (a.k.a links) in the text.
check out the New York Public Library Desk Reference. from the foreword: "the 82 branch libraries of the NY public Library answer more than 5 million reference questions each year. " i didn't realize that you can call up a library and ask them questions - sort of a poor man's google :)
amazon - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0786868465/ qid=1035121055/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-7596475-97742 49
ALL HAIL SEAN K and CIMMERIAN, for they shall lead us to the promise land. TFtAN is a great show and unfortunately SeanKTFM had to stop making them for a while b/c like most of us he's too broke to put in the time and effort required to make them as kick ass as they are. Maybe a few good slashdot posts linking them will inspire.
-=sNake
This is my sig. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
As soon as I saw "Libraries are 31337", I was immediately reminded of The Crimson Permanent Assurance.
Ahh - My eye!
The doctor said I'm not supposed to get Slashdot in it!
The biggest impediment to the type of access you describe nowadays isn't the technology, it's capitalism and all its derivatives, such as copyright.
Case in point: A few years ago, the ebook vendor netLibrary offered an offline reader. This product was removed due to publisher paranoia. Currently you can only view netLibrary titles one page at a time while connected to the Internet. Furthermore, despite the medium, only one patron per purchasing library can check out a book at any given time. But never fear, now they're offering - for an extra fee - the ability to use a (somewhat) DRM crippled offline reader.
Publishers are about as up to date with technology and new pricing models as the RIAA. Copyrights disputes have been cited as the reason several publishers have pulled their titles from full-text databases. So instead of moving towards the single search box method for library resources, we now have hundreds of competing library database vendors, each with different coverage and search interfaces. It is the most difficulty time in history to do library research (and the slack that Google is picking up is a detriment to research skills) not just because of varying library materials formats, but because of copyright.
Libraries Are 31337
Same went for other impressive efforts to rename things: PE -> LLW Life Long Wellness, Admissions Office -> Welcome Center, etc.
A true professional should know how to position themselves so the public can find them. Confusing, euphemistic titles are as bad as Political Correctness in my book. If anyone thinks otherwise, try running a bond issue on a ballot for something other than Library and see how many votes it nets you.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I prefer librarians that are orange and go 'OOK".
-- main(s){printf(s="main(s){printf(s=%c%s%c,34,s,34
"Many people may hold the image of a librarian as a shushing school marm who does little more than stamp and shelve books because that's all they've seen librarians do"
Seriously, who have they been talking to? Any geek worth his (or her) salt should, upon hearing the word "Librarian" immediately think "simian". (Not, note, monkey. That would be a very painful thought) Why this has not caught on among the general populace is a mystery. Perhaps they have simply not ventured deeply enough into the more obscure sections of their "local" library...
The most current programming books in our university library are those I donated 20 years ago. Bah. This is an engineering school. The EEs, MEs, CEs have the same complaint.
OTOH, I've just gotten into Heinlein, Hemmingway, and Huxley. I'm the first to check them out in 30 years (they use that stamped slip in the back). Nice for them to archive classics. You really should read "Chrome Yellow."
http://library.fictionwise.com/fll/
that was the plan..
oops!
It is clear that just as computer geeks naturally select themselves as computer people, librarians do the same. They like books, research, and then tend to be very rigid in their outlook on work and life.
In addition to their natural tendancies, the American Library Association has not helped matters. It is controlled by a bunch of introspective, vision-less, and rigid nay-sayers. Go to the ALA web site and see what kinds of literature they are currently offering! See anything about how to design cataloging systems? See much about information management? nope. Then, beyond that, ALA's been very successful locking up big chunks of their corner of the world with locking up job descriptions to ALA accreditation which requires a visionless curriculum.
I think it is hopeless until most current library managers a retired and a new crop that is not afraid of innovation and change come to the fore front.
So do I wish Librarians would come to the information party in a contemporary way? Absolutely! Alas I have very little hope that it will happen anytime in the near future.
-- Multics
P.S. at a recent conference I attended, one of the speakers argued "partner with a librarian!" (for research projects, not p0rn) Several of us talked with him after his presentation and said that we'd tried, but they were too far out-of-touch and he replied that his experience was clearly the exception.
The laws allow for personal use of all material. It is the DMCA that is causing problems by removing the personal use clause.
Quite frankly it had never occurred to me to borrow books from the library for my son. Just as well. At the age of 8 months, his favourite form of information processing was to chew on the books. I shudder to think of the fines I would have had to pay if those were library books.
There is no such thing as luck. Luck is nothing but an absence of bad luck.
Curmudgeon take on libraries and technology:n fo-commons.ht ml
http://www.cs.unm.edu/~bap/library-i
Although I'm not a librarian I think people sometimes lose sight of the fact that libraries are in many ways a foundation of democracy and freedom.
A bit over the top, you say? Well, libraries go hand-in-hand with free education, which most people consider a basic right. They also provide free access to information, often information critical of government or other establishments. Libraries provide uninhibited access to information for rich or poor, white or black. Many of us take for granted the ability to buy a $20 book and read it at our leisure, but just because we're largely a rich society does not magically make your local Barnes & Noble a "noble" enterprise. But your local library is.
In fact, readers of Slashdot who believe in freedom of information should be vehemently in support of libraries as the original source of the concept that information should be freely available to the populace. Recent copyright laws attack the library establishment as much as they do individuals. While the concept of rows of dust-covered tomes my be getting a bit outdated, libraries are actually about education and access to information, not just books...
One of the first things I did when I took on the responsibility of managing a dev team was to hire a librarian. (A real, trained librarian, not a "code librarian".)
It was the best investment I ever made. It didn't take long before virtually everyone's first stop with a question was the library/librarian. Reference material, competitive info, standards, you name it... the librarian knew how to take piles of information in whatever form and organize it, make it accessible, and make it far more usable to everyone.
If you have a dev group of more than 15-20, your dev group is wasting time and money by not having a professional librarian on the team. It's a job that's part administrivia, part science, and part art. I have yet to find any other discipline that blends those parts as effectively as library science.
(I have to admit I've always had a soft spot for librarians, probably because I spent so much time in libraries. I have also been extremely impressed by librarians understanding of applying technology for information management, and the very progressive ideas that came out of library sciences. That doesn't always translate to high tech libraries or systems, but that's more often than not a funding issue.)
I work as a Library Asst III for the state of Nevada. I'm soon to be a Library Technican I. The time I spend on the reference desk answering questions is only some of what I do, although what I do there is also very important. I'm expected to know how to use a large variety of specialized subject databases to help patrons find information. I'm expected to know how to use a large variety of paper indexes to help people find information that predates the PC age. I am my department's technical writer. I will shortly maintain several in-house databases for collections that have no cataloging. I also write and maintain webpages. I am also the co-expert on the university's microforms collection. I have to know which collections are cataloged, which aren't, and what finding tools are avalible. Though I have my areas of specialization, I'm also expected to be something of a polymath and know enough about all subjects to get *anybody* started on research. And I don't even have the MLS or MLIS. A lot more is expected from those who do. And even in the pre internet age, library staff did a lot behind the scenes to make their collections as accessable as possible to people.
OS X:*nix for the real world.
Because before I had a computer of my own, Libraries were by and large my *only* source of porn.
;)
Of course, they didn't have a lot of pictures of Nekkid Wimmin, but like a certain magazine likes to say, they have "Porn for nerds. Babes that matter."
Authors like Anais Nin, Henry Miller, D.H. Lawrence, Camille Paglia, and Nancy Friday are the ones I can remember right off the top of my head, and I've also found a whole host of compilations of erotic short stories by a vast number of authors.
And on top of the porn there's also tons of truly informative stuff on human sexuality in public libraries. "The New Kinsey Report," "Female sexual awareness," and "The Erotic Mind," are books that helped enlighten me, and there are now literally hundreds of newer titles can be found just by using my library's web page search engine.
Perhaps the library doesn't have *as much* porn as the Internet does, but 99% of what's on the net is crap, and what the library has is all the truly worthwhile stuff. No credit card required!
"No problem. I have the capacity to do infinite work so long as you don't mind that my quality approaches zero."-Dilbert
Between Memepool, obscurestore.com, and slashdot, i frequently can find the same information in three places. Mostly between obscurestore and memepool.
Kind of supports the whole idea of memes.
To get back ON TOPIC: I found the Rockland County, NY library system to be a fabulous wealth of fringe information. Everything from great cyberpunk ("storming the reality studio" is the collection that all should own) and just plain wierd ("High wierdness by mail"- SOOO outof date now, but a great and entertaining book!) for those who can read and like to think the library can offer a great opportunity for having a good time and learning about cool stuff.
Yeah, I guess that makes me El Primo Geeko, #1.
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
I worked as a copier technician (a fun job, gears chains, and electronics. All in one little box) and we were trained in fair use and regularly provided instruction in fair use to customers. Fair use is, in simple terms, the rules under which one can make copies of copyrighted materials.
This might be slightly offtopic, but did anyone else notice the lack of quotes around this story's italicized parts?
Libertarians: We're Not What You Think...
I've always respected librarians. They dedicate their lives to sharing information with people as freely as possible. I cheer the American Library Associationprotect individual's privacy and confidentiality, and fight against free limiting legislation like the Children's Internet Protection Act, the DMCA (PDF), and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998. They've been fighting to keep information free longer than the internet has been around. Democracy requires an educated citizenry, and libraries make it their mission to spread knowledge to everyone, regardless of race, social status, or wealth. Library's are a geek's best friend.
Search 2010 Gen Con events
$ ls -lA /usr/lib|wc -l
2641
...is libc *rolling eyes* ok, so much for your spelling crew...
My daughter earned an MLS (Masters of Library Science) degree a few years ago and is now finishing up a doctorate in Cognitive/Information Science. Until she entered the field I had no idea how different the Library Science curriculam of today is from what the "school-marmishish" librarians of the past were taught.
My first reaction to my daughter's decision on an MLS was "What? Why?" She had a shiny new BS in microbiology and has always been a computer freak; most of her friends are programmers/sysadmins. Once she entered the MLS program (at Rutgers) I realized just how technology-oriented the field has become. A number of her courses required the design of web sites as part the grade, and she worked as a TA teaching an undergrad course in web searching.
Still, some of today's older MLS students don't have a clue about the uses of technology. Worse, they don't want to know anything about it. The libraries in which they work aren't using any modern tools and don't have plans to use any. Sad, but true.
Look at all the happy creatures dancing on the lawn...
If you want a reason to go to a library, do it for the online databases they subscribe to. Most impressive to me were the image databases, specifically the art museums and the AP photo archive (you can even search by predominant hue of the photo).
:-)
:-) (a reader of this comment, nothing more)
Check out www.libraries.rutgers.edu for an example of how much stuff is out there. Some of them are subscription-only, so see if there is a large school near you that has the same services. They have remote access capabilities, but I'll leave that up to the reader to figure out.
I'm not afraid to say it, librarians can be quite l33t. If you look at it from a pseudo-hacker perspective, they have access and control over massive massive amounts of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom. They can help you find what you are loking for, too! Can it get bettter than that? Well, uh... Don't answer that one.
Although it is amusing to see what happens to be filed under "throbbing elbow" on google, it can't always compete with all the specialized databases out there that your library might subscribe to. Give it a shot, worst thing that happens is that someone things you are a geek for going to the library. But hey, you are reading this comment, so what does that make you?
fair.org counterpunch.com truthout.com indymedia.org salon.com
eff.org guerrilla.net debian.org gentoo.org
Man, I thought they were talking about code libraries! (*.a *.so)
The thing about librarians is they are not just trained to check books out and in. What you learn in library school is what are the different types of information and to organize it. It's like CS school -- you aren't just learning particular applications but the basic principles. So when you ask a reference librarian a question, he or she knows where to look to find the answer.
That is why a lot of web resource companies hire librarians, it is because they know how to help them get information, organize it, and put it up in a way that is easy for people to use and find what they want.
that reads "Masturbating is *not* allowed in a public library!" Well, *American* libraries apparently need such signs, since its not illegal to surf bestiality & child porn at the local library. Its even *illegal* for libraries to stop that sorta naughtiness (the surfing, not the wanking; its probably ok for a librarian to stop someone jacking off. In the library). Oh yeah and its Iraq, North Korea and Libya who are on the axis of evil isnt it? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
Right now the best way to access scholarly information (in those thousands of academic journals) is through full text databases such as Ebscohost, Proquest, and Infotrac. These databases contain millions of articles. A fraction of a percent of this informaiton is available on the free web. By comparison, the free web looks like crap.
You can not simply pay to use these databases as an individual user, either by subscription or on a pay-per-view basis (though there are a couple of minor exceptions to this). As a rule, access to these databases is through libraries. If you are a student, faculty or staff member at a university, you have access to dozens of these databases through the library. That's right, it's the library that enters into contracts to provide access to these databases to users. (And that access is usually remote, via passwords.)
There are versions of these databases that provide high-quality information for the general public, rather than specifically for acadmic use, and again it's mainly companies like ProQuest, Infotrac and EbscoHost who create these databases. The public-oriented versions of these databases are available for free at your public library. Again, they make the "free" web look like crap.
It's not only because these databases are paid for by libraries that they are part of the library world; it's also because these companies employ librarians, and also because they incorporate strong indexing according to standards developed in the library world to make the right information easily accessible.
Libraries are electronic to a much higher degree than most posters here seem to realize. It goes far beyond having internet access available at the library, though that is a good thing. It is to the point where a large and growing portion of the information that libraries pay for (using your tax money or tuition fees) IS electronic.
But I say this at the risk of discounting the present importance of books. While I think most written communication will "go electronic" eventually, librarians know that we are far from there now. What is valuable about books isn't the fact that they are on paper; it's the fact that they represent comprehensive intellectual effort and an investment of time that you don't find in journal and magazine articles. And at present, they are rarely published electronically. So, at present, it's incumbent upon librarians to provide information in book form.
I am a librarian (who uses linux at home).
I have a short manifesto about the value of libraries, at http://libr.org/Juice/manifesto.html.
I'd also like to direct your attention to an article from the journal Progressive Librarian which argues the importance of keeping paper, called "Why Do We Need to Keep This in Print? It's on the Web...": A Review of Electronic Archiving Issues and Problems, by Dorothy Warner: http://libr.org/PL/19-20_Warner.html. I'm sure that it could create a good discussion here in its own right, as many of you would disagree with it strongly. I post it here to point out that librarians who have not joined the "information party" they way that young techies have have reasons for their reluctance and are thoughtful in their criticism. But I can't say that without remarking that librarians are also a diverse group, which includes luddites and young techies alike.
My local library has a "book exchange", where people are free to give and take old books that would otherwise be thrown out. (No tax write-off, of course.) It's a good idea, even if it does sometimes fill up with non-book items like political leaflets and AOL CDs.
Guide to problematical Boston Public Library useg s.com/stories
Contents
href="http://GuideToProblematicalLibraryUse.WebLo
Updates
http://zork.net/~dsaklad
I know, I am a newbie! But what is 31337? It is not a valid zip and not in /etc/services so I am stumped.
Who are you? The new #2 Who is #1? You are #617565. I am not a number, I am a free man! Muhahaha.
completely fit the stereotype, as far as I could see. I don't expect SW movies to grapple with social issues, even trivial ones, but it would have been interesting to see Lucas fire another three neurons and come up with an idea there.
WWJD for a Klondike Bar?
Our Boston Public Library departments censor their very own documents like curatorial reports and consultants' studies reporting on collections for the purpose of long range development. BPLers have been for the most part adamant in violating the spirit of state FOI freedom of information and sunshine open meeting principles of intellectual freedom. BPL President Bernie Margolis delegated Assistant Director Ruth Kowal to provide accessibility but instead of removing red tape hurtles, additional punishing fees are extorted.
/ stories
Our cities' public libraries should involve greater public participation in long range planning beginning with ensuring access to whatever legitimately public documentation there is on the very same institution.
See also
Weblog guide to problematical Boston Public Library use
Updates
http://zork.net/~dsaklad
Contents
http://GuideToProblematicalLibraryUse.WebLogs.com
"I went to my job today, and you think of a librarian and you think of some nice little old lady. No, man, library people are WEIRD!!!"
Being the son of two people with their MLS, I knew that already...
How to learn about our cities' public libraries backstage, behind the scenes...
Read the annual report and budget documents. Check out the long range plan of your city public library. Ask for department heads' reports and library consultants' studies and reports.
If necessary use your state FOI freedom of information public records and sunshine open meeting principles
http://nfoic.org
Visit your city public library board meetings.
At our Boston Public Library municipal government documents department , curator Gail Fithian fails to acquisition and accession Boston City Hall Departments' documents save the few representative specimens. Even the Boston Public Libraries Department of city government produces documentation that needs to be acquisitioned and accessioned as historic records. It's not entirely the curator's fault. Does City of Boston need a records management program?...
m
See also
http://www.state.ma.us/sec/arc/arcaac/aacintro.ht
but this sure had some great links to stereotypical busts!
did you guys check out those pornography links? oh man, i think i found a new fetish!
thank you benevolent librarian, thank you!
Did you even read what he posted? HE SAID THAT THEY TOOK THE BOOKS HE DONATED AND PUT THEM UP FOR SALE!! SHEESH YOURSELF! Either way those books were NOT going to be a PUBLIC RESOURCE.
If you lost the stereotypical stuffy demeanour, I couldn't enjoy porn like this:
http://www.riverofdata.com/librariana/porn/
http://pcblues.com - Digits and Wood
and she's got a blog. (and hates that term. I'm not fond of it myself.) And this item may come in very handy for her grad school paper on how libraries and librarians are changing with technical evolution. so, uh, thanks.
-- haaz.
Go ask Michael Moore what he thinks of librarians. Not only are we anti-censorship champions, but according to him, we are also subversive. You think they're just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They're like plotting the revolution, man. i'm not one to disagree.
and Neal Stephenson certainly had quite a different and powerful image in snowcrash.
love and peace,the librarian
salute to to all you librarian girls. ive always found them very cute. some were pretty cuddly too. Ooooooooo!!!
I read every word. The funds still helped the library. Therefore, it's still a good thing. Maybe the guy donated books the librarians deemed "unshelvable". I trust their judgment.
Steve Magruder, Metro Foodist
This person is a notorious fruitcake. Please disregard.
>
> Are you a parent?
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Yup, and we got to the library at least once a week. There's DVDs and VHS tapes that we can borrow free for a week (take that, Blockbuster & Mr. H. Wayne Huizenga!); there's PC's (feh) with software that I can use for try-before-you-buy; there's interlibrary loan for materials that'll _never_ be on the web (no matter how much I love Project Gutenberg, it still can't touch the stuff under copyright and some people will never OCR the WWII primary sources I'm looking for); there's free web access; there's copies of Consumer Reports (which geeks ought to read) that I can read without a subscription; there's passes for museums and the zoo that I can borrow for free to get reduced admission; and the annual used book sale -- it starts this Thursday! -- is a great source of books for a quarter each.
But before we had kids, did I still go to the library every week? Damn betcha I did, because there was *all this stuff* for free, in one place, and the people who ran it did their best to help me use every bit of it.
For example, I got a call on Sunday that I book I requested several weeks ago is now in; God knows where they scrounged up a copy, but I'm headed over tonight to pick it up. Three cheers for the Cumberland Library staff! I can even submit Reference Desk questions on the web at http://www.cumberlandlibrary.org/ !
Help him find one. K? thx.
I want tender love now!
Elkobim
FYI, TFT is active matrix. You're probably thinking HPA.
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
The POP3 server service depends on the SMTP server service, which
failed to start because of the following error:
The operation completed successfully.
-- Windows NT Server v3.51
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