Blogging Librarian

Robert Darnton recently wrote in the New York Review of Books (12 June issue) about “The Library in the New Age”. It is definitely a very intriguing read. In the first chapter, he asked the question of “what will become of research libraries in the face of the technological marvels such as Google?”

Talking about libraries, for those who have yet to watch the Sex & The City - The Movie, the New York Public Library was featured quite prominently in the movie as Carrie Bradshaw borrowed a romantic poetry book as well as the wedding venue of Carrie and Mr Big. Unfortunately, the marriage didn’t happen because Mr Big got cold feet on the morning of the wedding. I’m sure it raised the profile of the New York Public Library a little. Hmmm … I didn’t remember seeing any librarians though.

And on the topic of librarians, an American writer and professor, Junot Diaz, wrote an opinion piece in the Syndey Morning Herald on 25 May about how a librarian may have played a part in keeping him on the straight and narrow by introducing books for him to read. I think I heard something similar at the recent Library Association of Singapore Conference at the keynote by Mr. Kishore Mahbubani. Junot Diaz won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Call No.: English DIA).

Books … the latest hip, new book is about James Bond, Devil May Care. Written by Sebastian Faulk as Ian Fleming, it is to commemorate the 100th birthday of Ian Fleming, who was born on 28 May 1908. Anyway, the book is not available at MPOW yet. If you are interested in getting the book, MPOW is currently running a “Devil May Care” promotion where you can win yourself a copy of the book. All you have to do is borrow 4 books at any of our public libraries, get a contest form from the counters, answer a very simple question and drop it into the contest box. The contest runs till the end of June. We’ll be awarding one book to a lucky winner at every one of our public libraries.

- Teachers ‘Not Reading Children’s Books’
Research by the Centre for Literacy and Primary Education (CLPE) in the States has found that many teachers do not regularly read children’s literature. In addition, they tend to choose books from a narrow band of authors. I wonder if it’s true for teachers in Singapore as well.
(via LISNews)

- Report: Women Increasingly Choosing Dead-End Careers Over Dead-End Relationships
Although on the surface the report seems to have nothing to do with the library, there is a part in the report and I quote “… an overall increase in those settling for absolutely futureless secretarial or librarian positions …”. Hmmm … I wonder how many of my colleagues will agree with that. However, there is a need to take this article with a big pinch of salt as The Onion is a satirical news website.
(via LISNews)

- Kirby: A cemetery is like a library full of stories
Though it seems a little morbid, I do find cemeteries to be wonderful resources to look for things in the past. Unfortunately in Singapore, given our scarce land area, most of the cemeteries have been demolished though there are still a few left such as the ones at Kranji War Cemetery, Bidadari Cemetery and Choa Chu Kang Cemetry.
(via LISNews)

- This is not your parents’ library, or yours either
The Toronto Public Library has opened the first of several planned KidsStops - an indoor interactive literacy playground - to promote literacy development in children up to age 5. Hmmm … wondering if any colleagues will be going to Toronto after the IFLA Annual Conference in Quebec.
(via LISNews)

A wonderful opinion piece on the work librarians actually do in the New Zealand Herald.

Sometimes we forget what the true calling of a librarian is with our constant chase for KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators.

- Ginger Spice renounces singing to become author
Geri Halliwell, or better known as Ginger Spice of the Spice Girls, seems to have given up her singing career to concentrate fully on her writing career as a children’s author. Her first of six books is officially published today by Macmillian. The series of books revolve around a small, vivacious, ginger-haired girl called Ugenia Lavender. Do check it out when it arrives in either your local public library or bookstore.

- Anti-terror threat to librarian role
Apparently, police in the UK and US have requested for librarians to release information of persons under surveillance of their borrowing records as well as records of internet sites visited. Do you face such issues in your libraries?
(via LISNews)

- 21st Century Library Design: A Thought Provoking Program
A summary of the presentations done at the recent panel discussion at the Public Library Association 2008 conference in Minneapolis. Useful for those who are planning new libraries.
(via LISNews)

Really funny comic! So far, I’m not aware of any parent leaving their children in our libraries as punishment though I’m sure there will definitely be some that we are not aware of.

So, librarians out there, do you get kids your libraries that their parents have left them there as punishment?

- 100 books every child should read
A pretty long article that has been broken up into 4 parts. This first part is just an introduction into the joys of reading, particularly when you start at an early age. The other three list the books according to the age of the child: early years, middle years and early teens.

- Kerpoof
What’s this you ask? Well, this is the children’s version of Facebook without the deluge of ignoring application invites. The site is for children to communicate and collaborate with each other online. And the site only allows kids that know each other to interact online. Interestingly, the company that runs Kerpoof says that more and more schools are using it in the US. I guess teachers are also making of online tools as much as librarians in engaging kids.
(via Techcrunch)

- Bookchase®
Ever wanted to run your own little bookshop, but without laying out the actual capital? Well, now you can! A company in the UK has developed the world’s first board game about books. And it does look really interesting. The price is a little steep for a board game at S$90 before shipping, but I know who would be interested in playing it.
(via LibrarianInBlack)

- Gaming, School Libraries and Curriculum
Next time anyone asks you why you are playing so much video games, point them to this article. Just don’t quote me on it. Alternatively, you might also want to read Paul Waelchli’s article on the skills used to play popular videogames.
(via The Shifted Librarian)

- MCL Learning 2.0
Chance upon this site when I was doing some search on Web 2.0 usage in libraries. Very interesting and I’m sure we can use some of this to encourage more staff to dip their toes into the giant pool of Web 2.0 tools and technologies. I think I’ll also be using this to prepare for my talks to teachers on the use of Web 2.0 tools for schools.

- Librarians at the gates
Although this news article is about the striking library staff in Victoria, Canada, I particularly like the quote from one of the reference librarians, Peter Thompson, who says, “If you don’t like working with people, you won’t like librarianship.” How true!!! Read the article for more inspiring quotes from this same librarian.
(via LISNews)

- Public Transportation Meets Public Library
Very interesting concept to put book vending machines at BART stations (that’s like our MRT stations). However, the concept might not work in Singapore given that most libraries are at close proximity to the MRT stations. But maybe we can put it at, say, Changi Airport for travelers to pick up a book on their way out of the country.
(via Library Stuff)

QQ’Librarian did this short quiz on Pew Internet Project on “Typology of Information and Communication Technology Users“. And here are my results:

Where do you fit?

Your Results

Based on your answers to the questionnaire, you most closely resemble survey respondents within the Omnivores typology group. This does not mean that you necessarily fit every group characteristic.

Omnivores make up 8% of the American public.

Basic Description
Members of this group use their extensive suite of technology tools to do an enormous range of things online, on the go, and with their cell phones. Omnivores are highly engaged with video online and digital content. Between blogging, maintaining their Web pages, remixing digital content, or posting their creations to their websites, they are creative participants in cyberspace.

Defining Characteristics You might see them watching video on an iPod. They might talk about their video games or their participation in virtual worlds the way their parents talked about their favorite TV episode a generation ago. Much of this chatter will take place via instant messages, texting on a cell phone, or on personal blogs. Omnivores are particularly active in dealing with video content. Most have video or digital cameras, and most have tried watching TV on a non-television device, such as a laptop or a cell phone.

Omnivores embrace all this connectivity, feeling confident in how they manage information and their many devices. This puts information technology at the center of how they express themselves, do their jobs, and connect to their friends.

Who They Are
They are young, ethnically diverse, and mostly male (70%). The median age is 28; just more than half of them are under age 30, versus one in five in the general population. Over half are white (64%) and 11% are black (compared to 12% in the general population). English-speaking Hispanics make up 18% of this group. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many (42% versus the 13% average) of Omnivores are students.

Hmmm … I must say that the result is quite true about the use of technology tools, but I think I’m much older than 28 and am definitely not white. And I finished my degree course about 10 years ago.

- Hooked on books
An article on turning reluctant readers into enthusiastic ones. It also includes some book suggestions.
(via Library Stuff)

- ‘Google Generation’ is a myth, says new research
The research shows that although young people are familiar with using the computer and the Internet, they, however, do not possess the analytical and critical skills to assess the information that they find. I guess that’s where the role of librarians coming in to help these young people do the critical and analytical assessments.
(via LISNews)

- Evaluating Web Content in the 2.0 Era
Related to the previous link, some guidelines on how to evaluate web content has been put up by a couple of librarians from the University at Albany, SUNY.
(via Library 2.0)

- White bread for young minds, says university professor
A university professor of media studies, Tara Brabazon, has claimed that Google is “white bread for young minds” and more should be done to equip students with the skills that they’ll need to properly interpret and sift through the information readily available on the Internet.
(via LISNews)

- Library Arcade
Carnegie Mellon Libraries’ have created 2 games that are, at the same time, fun and educational. One of the games requires you to help students with their enquiries and the other game is to learn how to shelve books correctly according to the Library of Congress Classification System.
(via iLibrarian)

- Baghdad’s Brave Librarian
A intriguing interview with Dr. Saad Eskander, director of the Iraq National Library and Archive in Baghdad. Surprisingly, he also faces the same problems as other librarians around the world of people talking loudly in the library and lost books. The additional problems he face quite regularly are sniper fire and Kotyusha rocket attack or a car bomb attack on his library’s front door.
(via Library Stuff)

- More on the Brave Librarian in Baghdad
A bit more on Dr. Saad Eskander as well as an interview with him on BBC Radio 4 FM, which you can listen online.
(via LISNews)

- Drive-through window at Decatur Library?
I guess you would have already envision how a drive-through window at a library. Well, in this case, it was a car that drove through the window of the library. Thankfully, no one was hurt in this accident.
(via Library Stuff)

- The Apple Store - amazing customer service story
The librarian experienced a tremendous experience in terms of customer service at an Apple Store in the States when he went to buy a MacBook for Christmas. He was wondering if libraries can offer such a service. (Sidenote: Such experiences don’t happen in the Apple retailers in Singapore.)
(via Tame The Web)

Strip from today’s edition of Unshelved

Somehow, this comic seems to explain all our thoughts when we encounter children in the library without their parents anywhere within the library. What’s worse is if the children have been in the library since the opening hour till the closing hour. And what’s worst is when the parent is still not here at closing hour.