Off The Shelves: Libraries

Tue, 13 May 2003 15:36:59 GMT

What's a Library? What's a Librarian?: An articl .... What's a Library? What's a Librarian?:

An article at First Monday takes on these questions and their evolving answers. The thesis: "Libraries in the future will undertake local control, especially for long-term preservation and accessibility of digital as well as analog collections. Failure to embrace that role would cause libraries and librarians rapidly to lose relevance and value as Internet and other digital resources develop. Local control of collections is critical both to assure permanence and to provide a key degree of selectivity, which -- contrary to the irrational exuberance of making everything available to everybody -- is vital to providing service to communities of readers." via Library Link of the Day [WPL: waterboro lib blog]

Tue, 13 May 2003 15:28:33 GMT

Libraries are cool again [LISNews.com]

dkowalcz shared This One from the May 12th Edmonton Journal that says The Internet was actually supposed to make libraries obsolete. It didn't
Wendy Newman, president of the Canadian Library Association, blames seniors, kids and everyone in between. Modern retirees, says Newman, are healthy, energetic and actively engaged in the pursuit of hobbies, many of which require considerable knowledge. The library, says Newman, is where many do their research.

Mon, 03 Mar 2003 19:28:54 GMT

So Far - So Good --- Let's hope this passes in the House and Senate. Libraries across the country depend on this money to provide a wide variety of servies to their patrons.

LSTA Bill Passes House Committee [LISNews.com]

"The reauthorization of federal Library Services and Technology Act funding, contained in the Museum and Library Services Act of 2003, has moved a step closer to reality with the passage of the bill in House Education and the Workforce Committee. H.R. 13 would reauthorize the 1996 bill that provides federal support to libraries. The bill authorizes $215 million for libraries in fiscal year 2004, and "such sums" for fiscal years 2005-2009." (from Library Journal)

Fri, 21 Feb 2003 21:40:26 GMT

Bill Gates pushes investing in libraries [LISNews.com]

Ron Force writes "In a guest editorial in the Seattle Times, Bill Gates says, "Investing in libraries connects us to the future.

"America's public libraries are making a tremendous difference. Today, more than 95 percent of community libraries offer free Internet access, up from 73 percent just four years ago. For many people who cannot afford computers or do not have Internet access at school or at work, the public library is the only place to go.

"Here in Seattle, the public library offers classes on computer basics, e-mail and using the Internet for job searches. The main library also provides Spanish-language courses and several tailored for senior citizens. The library's traveling laptop lab offers training in the branch libraries in as many as nine foreign languages, including Chinese and Vietnamese.

"I am excited about what's happening in my hometown and in libraries across the country. But I worry about whether our society will support public libraries so they can sustain this critical community service. In my view, investing in public libraries is an investment in the nation's future."

Fri, 31 Jan 2003 19:09:02 GMT

Museum and Library Services Act of 2003 Introduced in Senate on January 29.

The Museum and Library Services Act of 2003 (S. 238) would re-authorize the Library Services and Technology Act. The bill includes state library grant programs and national leadership grants (with the same basic four purposes, education and recruitment; research and demonstration projects relating to library improvement; preservation or digitization of library materials and resources; and model programs demonstration cooperative efforts between museums and libraries). ALA asks you to call your senators and ask them to sign on to S. 238 by contacting Elyse Wasch, staff to Senator Jack Reed, at (202) 224-4642.

[nsls.info]

This is the source of the grants La Grange Park Library receives through the Illinois State Library. In past years, we have used grant funds to present programming for our residents, such as e-readersâ, last year's "You and Your Government" series of programs and this year's "Enriching Livesä with Ancestral Ties" genealogy programs. Please help keep this extra source of funds available to all libraries by contacting your senator.

Fri, 24 Jan 2003 20:04:36 GMT

- "President Bush will ask Congress for 15 percent .... - "President Bush will ask Congress for 15 percent more federal money for libraries and museums next year than he requested for this year."

"Bush's federal spending request, to be presented to lawmakers next month, will include $242 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which dispenses federal dollars to the nation's 122,000 libraries and 15,000 museums."

"The announcement was made Thursday by first lady Laura Bush, a former librarian who has made books and reading her special cause. (from AP) [Library Stuff - Updated daily by Steven M. Cohen]

Sat, 18 Jan 2003 16:11:07 GMT

Libraries Preserving Our Past.

"The New York Public Library's Image Gate is currently in Beta. However 80,000 images so far out of 600,000 isn't too shabby. Of remarkable interest are the collections (also some here) they have put up so far for your browsing pleasure. Anna Atkins cyanotypes are beautiful, and the Art of the Cigarette Card is joyously quirky. Be sure to check back in 2004 when its all done."[MetaFilter]

Photographs from the Chicago Daily News: 1902-1933
"The Library of Congress in collaboration with the Chicago Historical Society has added to their American Memory Web site over 55,000 images of urban life taken between 1902 and 1933 by photographers employed by the Chicago Daily News. Search by keyword or browse by subject." [What's GNU]

[The Shifted Librarian]

Thu, 02 Jan 2003 20:06:26 GMT

- Dear Abby and her readers have some nice things .... - Dear Abby and her readers have some nice things to say about libraries... [Library Stuff - Updated daily by Steven M. Cohen]

Thu, 19 Dec 2002 15:41:28 GMT

National Film Registry

The National Film Registry - a part of the Library of Congress - has announced this years films to be preserved. The list of 25 include Alien, Sabrina (1954), Beauty and the Beast and Spinal Tap. There are now 350 films on the list to be preserved for all time.

Thu, 12 Dec 2002 17:29:34 GMT

You have to try this one!!

This is a really cool bookmarklet. To use it, click on the Library Lookup link, find La Grange Park Library (or any of the Suburban Library System libraries), drag the link to your browser's toolbar. That's it!

Now, when you're shopping at Amazon, you can quickly check to see if your library owns the book. Just click on the link and another box pops up with the SWAN catalog. Since you're in the SWAN catalog, why don't you just request the book online from the library and save yourself some money.

More on Jon Udell's LibraryLookup Bookmarklet.

An update on Jon Udell's LibraryLookup project to create bookmarklets for searching Innovative catalogs. It totally rocks!

Jon has added a couple of screenshots to help illustrate what the bookmarklets actually do. There are 900 libraries listed on the page now! Phil Windley, the Utah's CIO (for a little while longer, anyway), is already highlighting its use for Salt Lake City Public Library.

Of course, the next question is can this be done with other ILS vendor catalogs. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about this stuff to answer that question, but I have to think the answer is yes. As Jon said in an email, "This feels HUGE to me. A Web service that could be useful to millions of people, *deployed on a blog page*. Wonders never cease..." Major ditto on that one!

I'm also still thinking about library catalog toolbars that can be installed within the browser (much like Google's toolbar). What if a patron could download a library's toolbar for direct searching of the OPAC, and it included Jon's LibraryLookup bookmarklet with it? How can I make this a reality for SWAN?

Of course, from there, we could start combining library reference portal projects and start our own librarian pagerank project for use within the toolbar. World domination - it's only a cilck away! Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

[The Shifted Librarian]

Tue, 19 Nov 2002 20:30:40 GMT

Biggest Online Children's Library to Debut Tomorrow [LISNews.com]

the Institute of Museum and Library Services Says they have a five-year, $4.4 million plan to build a digital library freely available for children worldwide. The library will consist of 10,000 children's books drawn from 100 cultures. The International Children's Digital Library, developed by the Internet Archive and the University of Maryland, is part of a larger research project to develop new technology to serve young readers.

Tue, 19 Nov 2002 16:13:24 GMT

Political cloud over Lincoln library [LISNews.com]

The Chicago Sun Times has a Story on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, opening soon in the heart of the state capital.
But even before Gov. Ryan cuts a ribbon to dedicate the library today, there could be tension brewing over who will run one of the lame-duck governor's most prized building projects after he leaves office in January.
There is a problem with one of the people thought to be the one named to be the director for the $115 million library and museum.

Sat, 16 Nov 2002 20:04:53 GMT

- "Ireland's oldest university said Tuesday it is .... -

"Ireland's oldest university said Tuesday it is taking legal advice on whether Star Wars director George Lucas used an image of its famous library without its permission."

"The Long Room of Trinity College's library was built in 1732 and houses a number of treasures including the Book of Kells, which dates from the ninth century and is today one of Ireland's top tourist attractions."

"The impressive two-storey galleried library is 64 metres long by 12 metres broad (about 210 feet by 690 feet) and contains about 200,000 of the university's oldest books."

"Librarian Robin Adams said similarities with the image of the Jedi Temple Archive Library in "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" had been brought to his attention by someone who have learned about it on an Internet discussion page." (from Middle East Times) [Library Stuff - Updated daily by Steven M. Cohen]

Thu, 31 Oct 2002 20:44:40 GMT

In the Spirit of Halloween - A Haunted Library

Boo Who?.

A reminder that if you're not in or near a haunted building, you can keep tabs on the Willard Library's Ghost Cam and try to spot one of theirs.

"The Willard Library Ghost Cams were inspired by the question 'Is Willard Library Haunted?' It has become a fascinating, and somewhat credible, legend that drives thousands of people to search the library for remnants of lost spirits. The site is a virtual ghost hunting mecca. Take a virtual tour of the library with Greg Hager, Willard Library Director, and see if you can locate the cams hidden in the building. Libraryghost.com offers three cams for your ghost hunting pleasure. The Children's Room cam and the Research Room cam are both refreshed every thirty seconds. The newest cam, which is located in the basement, is virtually live - it refreshes every second!"

Totally cool, despite the truly awful implementation of frames. Who ya gonna call?

[The Shifted Librarian]

Wed, 30 Oct 2002 20:53:38 GMT

Vatican Apostolic Library.

Vatican Apostolic Library:

" The Vatican Apostolic Library is in the process of posting hundreds of thousands of historical manuscripts, previously accessible to a privileged few, on its Web page."

"Manuscripts of Emperor Justinian, love letters of King Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn, and missives of Lucrezia Borgia to her father, who had become Pope Alexander VI -- all may be consulted at www.vatican.va."

"The presentation of the new Internet resource was made today by Cardinal Jorge María Mejía, archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church."

"Cardinal Mejía said that on the Web page there will now be a special new site for the Apostolic Library, fully accessible to the public." (from Zenit) [Library Stuff - Updated daily by Steven M. Cohen]

There is a lot of information in this site, but the site has only been partially translated into languages other than Italian. Even so, for students of history or religion, this is a valuable resource.

[Chi Lib Rocks!]

Tue, 29 Oct 2002 19:21:26 GMT

Boston's loss is Chicago's gain [LISNews.com]

The cash-strapped Massachusetts Horticultural Society has sold its collection of rare books and journals to the Chicago Botanic Garden. This story in the Chicago Tribune (free registration may be required) was front-page news in the hard copy delivered to my curb this morning. The Botanic Garden (which isn't actually in Chicago) now needs a place to put the stuff, which includes a Latin "History of Plants" published in 1483. There's a fact sheet about the sale on the Chicago Botanic Garden's website.

Mon, 21 Oct 2002 19:36:16 GMT

Librarians: We're Not What You Think [LISNews.com]

Slashdot is running an Essay that says holding the image of a librarian as a shushing school marm who does little more than stamp and shelve books is about as inaccurate as believing that Alan Greenspan is nothing more than a glorified bank teller. He goes on to point out in today's world the boundary between the career of the librarian and the information technologist is disappearing, as we become more and more technologically adept.
It's a nice, short, essay chock full O'links to all the usual suspects in the web librarian world.

Tue, 17 Sep 2002 16:02:07 GMT

Library Edition of Morning Edition [LISNews.com]

NPR's Morning Edition today was a wealth of library and reading stories. Bob Edwards interviewed Laura Bush about the Second National Book Festival. Susan Stanburg spoke with Louis Sachar and Sharon Creech about their works and their craft. Member station WKSU contributed a story about the re-opening of the library at Alexandria.

Wed, 11 Sep 2002 20:06:07 GMT

Wired for Books - an educational project of the Ohio University Telecommunications Center - "We have now encoded over 100 famous author interview... [Library News Daily]

Wed, 04 Sep 2002 20:43:32 GMT

Illinois Periodicals Online.

Illinois Periodicals Online:

The Illinois State Library has announced "the addition of Illinois Periodicals Online (IPO) to the Articles & Etc. service of Find-It! Illinois. IPO is a project of the Northern Illinois University Libraries, DeKalb, Illinois. IPO start-up funding was provided by the Illinois State Library, a Division of the Office of the Secretary of State, using federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds awarded to them by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

To date, the IPO project has reached agreement with ten journals: Illinois Country Living, Illinois Heritage, Illinois History: A Magazine for Young People, Illinois History Teacher, Illinois Issues, Illinois Municipal Review, Illinois Parks & Recreation, Outdoor Illinois, Point of View, and Prairie Farmer. The digital imaging of these titles is an ongoing process. The goal is to scan a magazine's entire backrun up to the current time. The IPO Web page also has links to a number of related Illinois sites.

Go to http://finditillinois.org to access the services of Find-It! Illinois: Your source for Illinois information."

[Chi Lib Rocks!]

This is a great source for information on Illinois. The magazines are available in full text at no charge!

Mon, 26 Aug 2002 18:53:40 GMT

Leave no public library behind!.

Leave no public library behind:

This Christian Science Monitor article ran in the commentary section on August 23. It focuses on the good that public libraries have accomplished, particularly those in New York.

Thanks Joel! Articles like this one really help to let people know what libraries do for everyone in the United States.

[Chi Lib Rocks!]