OK, so I failed AGAIN with the photo post. Well, not failed exactly, but I just want to have drafts and test them...if Hello keeps posting direct, I don't know if I will use it. Not that I know of something else to use. I keep thinking I'm missing something obvious, besides another pedicure.
I was less displeased with the test email posting, aka kafibble. That maybe useful. I received an email via my longtime email list love Web4Lib that I wanted to post, but didn't know how. Now I know! I will take away kafibble and replace it with something interesting. Web4Lib is supposed to change servers very soon, but I don't have the new address yet. If this link doesn't work, and learning everything and anything about the web for libraries interests you (and you are not list-challenged), email me.
But instead of spending most of the day in bed as I should be, I decded to change my template. Three hours later, I am fairly pleased. A little blue is far superior to much large orange. My html skills are getting less unpleasant. Enough blog navel gazing, at least for a while.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Thursday, April 28, 2005
ALA Chicago Wiki
ALA Chicago 2005 Main Page - ALA Chicago Wiki
Wow. Thank you, Meredith, (Information Wants to Be Free). Until we have an ALA sponsored conference wiki (which may just be never), here's a wonderful unofficial wiki. I added a little myself to the conference tips. God, I wish someone had told me ANY of this before I went to ALA the first few/five times.
Wow. Thank you, Meredith, (Information Wants to Be Free). Until we have an ALA sponsored conference wiki (which may just be never), here's a wonderful unofficial wiki. I added a little myself to the conference tips. God, I wish someone had told me ANY of this before I went to ALA the first few/five times.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Blogger, hello, good-bye (well, toodles), and beasts
The charming beasties formerly pictured on this blog were there by mistake. Neither is Satan's spawn. I will have to take some time to figure out Hello and how to post pix more appropriately. Those were the significant others with whom I live. However, neither had signed a photo release. I know there's some way to reduce red eye, but I haven't yet figured that out either. More challenges to surmount!
At least my html skills have improved since December. I did used to know html pretty well, but it was classic "use or lose" computer savvy syndrome. MPOW doesn't think any but the chosen few should use html. Sillies. They lose.
In any case, somewhere in here I'm trying to work in that I'm going to be away for a few days in the land of dial-up. It is unlikely that I'll be posting until Friday, at the earliest. So, while I'm away, y'all can read up on the Oxford comma and decide whether it's use in the headline above resolves or creates ambiguity. Ciao for now.
At least my html skills have improved since December. I did used to know html pretty well, but it was classic "use or lose" computer savvy syndrome. MPOW doesn't think any but the chosen few should use html. Sillies. They lose.
In any case, somewhere in here I'm trying to work in that I'm going to be away for a few days in the land of dial-up. It is unlikely that I'll be posting until Friday, at the earliest. So, while I'm away, y'all can read up on the Oxford comma and decide whether it's use in the headline above resolves or creates ambiguity. Ciao for now.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Time for some color besides orange here :D
I just need images. I have Bloglines feeds (I will stop endlessly promoting Bloglines eventually, I promise--but they have given me SOOO much, props to Karen for getting me started) for both Boondocks and Doonesbury. They are my little presents to myself before I start reading my "business" blogs.
OK, I get enough laughs out of Caveat Lector and Diary of a Subversive Librarian and Walt At Random and LISnews, among others, that reading my library blogs is not the worst part of my work day. Explains why I'm reading and posting about them on my "free" day (MPOW's term for the day you get off during the week when you work Saturday--send good thoughts my way tomorrow.)
I'm planning to try some photo blogging soon via hello and Picasa. But I promise, no cats!
Thursday, April 21, 2005
We Don't Serve Your Kind Here--Worse than Shushing
The Shifted Librarian: We Don't Serve Your Kind Here
Well, my MPOW comes up short on this one. I wasn't allowed to download IM for use with my ALA committee for virtual meetings. More pain and embarassment. This was before I knew about AIM Express.
The official objection from our IT department is security. In everything I've read about IM reference (see IM Me) there's been bupkis about security concerns. When I suggested to the head of the Central Library that the 11 reference desks in the building could use IM to communicate, he was all for it. But noooo! I certainly do not see us offering IM reference any time soon.
Dave's Blog has some additional insights here. He does mention security, but does not see it as a no-can-do situation.
I hear that many of MPOW's agencies do not allow kids and teens to use even the web-based flavors of chat. Our Homework Help Online (via tutor.com) utilizes chat technology.
I know that for many teens, not being allowed IM in the library is just cruel. It's the communication style of choice. Especially for kids in an urban area--many of their friends go to different high schools. Plus some teachers require students to work together in groups. IM is the obvious solution. They can share screens, send files, debate, etc.
Talking with your friends SILENTLY, even with giggles, should not be something we discourage. We can talk to kids and teens about safe chatting, just like we talk about safe surfing. But not while we are punishing them because we perceive their behavior is wrong, is inappropriate in a library. It's worse than shushing, for godsakes. They should hate us.
Well, my MPOW comes up short on this one. I wasn't allowed to download IM for use with my ALA committee for virtual meetings. More pain and embarassment. This was before I knew about AIM Express.
The official objection from our IT department is security. In everything I've read about IM reference (see IM Me) there's been bupkis about security concerns. When I suggested to the head of the Central Library that the 11 reference desks in the building could use IM to communicate, he was all for it. But noooo! I certainly do not see us offering IM reference any time soon.
Dave's Blog has some additional insights here. He does mention security, but does not see it as a no-can-do situation.
I hear that many of MPOW's agencies do not allow kids and teens to use even the web-based flavors of chat. Our Homework Help Online (via tutor.com) utilizes chat technology.
I know that for many teens, not being allowed IM in the library is just cruel. It's the communication style of choice. Especially for kids in an urban area--many of their friends go to different high schools. Plus some teachers require students to work together in groups. IM is the obvious solution. They can share screens, send files, debate, etc.
Talking with your friends SILENTLY, even with giggles, should not be something we discourage. We can talk to kids and teens about safe chatting, just like we talk about safe surfing. But not while we are punishing them because we perceive their behavior is wrong, is inappropriate in a library. It's worse than shushing, for godsakes. They should hate us.
Sense & Sensibility Here I Come
My Word's Worth - Important Books
OK, S&S as a book to "live" wasn't taken in 1997. My high school French teacher, M. Vincent Barone of sainted memory, made us copy out one chapter of Le Rouge et le Noir when I was a senior. Much grumbling. After we did it, he told us it was to make us see how hard it was--what hard physical labor it was, is--to write anything.
The idea of memorizing even a chapter brought that back. Think I'll just reread it, again. ;)
OK, S&S as a book to "live" wasn't taken in 1997. My high school French teacher, M. Vincent Barone of sainted memory, made us copy out one chapter of Le Rouge et le Noir when I was a senior. Much grumbling. After we did it, he told us it was to make us see how hard it was--what hard physical labor it was, is--to write anything.
The idea of memorizing even a chapter brought that back. Think I'll just reread it, again. ;)
A library existential crisis not involving Google
Librarians face existential crisis
I don't think they are using the term "existential crisis" quite correctly. Have they read Camus, Sartre? Existentialism's main inquiry is not "do I/should I exist?", let alone should librarians or librarians exist. Ok, off the French literature soapbox, for now!
The question of whether government documents should exist in print form is a very big one. Sharper minds than mine have expressed "concerns about the credibility and archiving of electronic documents."
I still haven't gotten over the study that showed that online citations aren't aging well. There's all kinds of electronic resource issues. My favorite example is the City Directories electronic resource that used to be available from Primary Source. It was a genealogist's wet dream. Gale bought Primary Source, and discontinued the electronic resource. Good thing MPOW didn't throw away the Philadelphia City Directories on microfiche!
Of course, we are now being told that we can toss bound volumes and microfilm that are covered by JSTOR. (I do try not to let the words "independent self-sustaining not-for-profit organization" strike too much fear in my heart, really.)
GOVPUBs are a scarier concern all around in these United States. Librarians sort of won this round, that is that "GPO officials said they would continue printing the current list of tangible titles at least through 2006." Expect I'll be posting more on this.
I don't think they are using the term "existential crisis" quite correctly. Have they read Camus, Sartre? Existentialism's main inquiry is not "do I/should I exist?", let alone should librarians or librarians exist. Ok, off the French literature soapbox, for now!
The question of whether government documents should exist in print form is a very big one. Sharper minds than mine have expressed "concerns about the credibility and archiving of electronic documents."
I still haven't gotten over the study that showed that online citations aren't aging well. There's all kinds of electronic resource issues. My favorite example is the City Directories electronic resource that used to be available from Primary Source. It was a genealogist's wet dream. Gale bought Primary Source, and discontinued the electronic resource. Good thing MPOW didn't throw away the Philadelphia City Directories on microfiche!
Of course, we are now being told that we can toss bound volumes and microfilm that are covered by JSTOR. (I do try not to let the words "independent self-sustaining not-for-profit organization" strike too much fear in my heart, really.)
GOVPUBs are a scarier concern all around in these United States. Librarians sort of won this round, that is that "GPO officials said they would continue printing the current list of tangible titles at least through 2006." Expect I'll be posting more on this.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Book meme
I don't plan to offer memes often, but I couldn't resist this one. Via LISnews:
Books
Kathleen de la Pena McCook writes "There's a book meme bouncing about wherein bloggers answer these questions about books and reading and then send it on.
You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be? Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen. I figure P&P was already taken. :)
Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Many many. Mr. Darcy, for one.
What are you currently reading? Wicked by Gregory Maguire; The Cluetrain Manfesto; The Popol Vuh; and Perfect Madness.
The last book you bought is: An art book by a colleague. Generally I borrow! :D
The last book you read: The Known World No, I forgot! Amend that to The Night Gardener (There may have been something after that, and there has now been something since both :D. Keeping track of reading resolution violated again this year!)
Five books you would take to a deserted island: Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon (Pirate=another crush); Philosophies of Art and Beauty by Hofstadter & Kuhns; The Rememberance of Things Past by Marcel Proust; War and Peace by Leo Tolstoi; and Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. Wait, I'm not going! Not without more books!
I apologize for the links to Amazon. Open Worldcat is so limited, sigh, just a slice of data to make me salivate. I want it all! GDI, I work at a member library, but nooooo, I can't "see" Worldcat. You are not to go to Amazon and buy them. Go to your local public library and borrow them!
I hope this isn't too oft-putting a list. I generally read 4 books at once, not at great speed. And I mostly chose long books that I always meant to read again for the island because I would go apeshit. Truly, take away my free, easy access to millions of books and watch me cry. Does anyone ever list that as "why I became a librarian"?
There's something to explore about "ambient reading". Karen Schneider started me thinking about it with this post. It's not quite the meaning it has for me. What else I'm reading at the time often impacts my experience of a book. Believe it or not, I'm finding convergence between Cluetrain and Perfect Madness. Then there's the "what else is happening in my life" factor. My love for Terry Pratchett is no doubt due to his brilliance, but also because I really needed the laughs/escapism at the time I was reading him.
I'd love to see other people's responses, or at least pointers to them...hint, not-so-subtle hint.
Books
Kathleen de la Pena McCook writes "There's a book meme bouncing about wherein bloggers answer these questions about books and reading and then send it on.
You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451, which book do you want to be? Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen. I figure P&P was already taken. :)
Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Many many. Mr. Darcy, for one.
What are you currently reading? Wicked by Gregory Maguire; The Cluetrain Manfesto; The Popol Vuh; and Perfect Madness.
The last book you bought is: An art book by a colleague. Generally I borrow! :D
The last book you read: The Known World No, I forgot! Amend that to The Night Gardener (There may have been something after that, and there has now been something since both :D. Keeping track of reading resolution violated again this year!)
Five books you would take to a deserted island: Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon (Pirate=another crush); Philosophies of Art and Beauty by Hofstadter & Kuhns; The Rememberance of Things Past by Marcel Proust; War and Peace by Leo Tolstoi; and Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. Wait, I'm not going! Not without more books!
I apologize for the links to Amazon. Open Worldcat is so limited, sigh, just a slice of data to make me salivate. I want it all! GDI, I work at a member library, but nooooo, I can't "see" Worldcat. You are not to go to Amazon and buy them. Go to your local public library and borrow them!
I hope this isn't too oft-putting a list. I generally read 4 books at once, not at great speed. And I mostly chose long books that I always meant to read again for the island because I would go apeshit. Truly, take away my free, easy access to millions of books and watch me cry. Does anyone ever list that as "why I became a librarian"?
There's something to explore about "ambient reading". Karen Schneider started me thinking about it with this post. It's not quite the meaning it has for me. What else I'm reading at the time often impacts my experience of a book. Believe it or not, I'm finding convergence between Cluetrain and Perfect Madness. Then there's the "what else is happening in my life" factor. My love for Terry Pratchett is no doubt due to his brilliance, but also because I really needed the laughs/escapism at the time I was reading him.
I'd love to see other people's responses, or at least pointers to them...hint, not-so-subtle hint.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
New jewelry
If you actually look at the blog, you will notice a large new accummulation of jewelry on the side bar. This began with the invite to join the alt.librarians web ring. It only seemed polite to add the Bloglines and Blogger tschotkes. The Feedburner calculator was sheer hubris. Hopefully, it won't stay at 0 forever. I found out last night that 13 wonderful souls have subscribed through LiveJournal. I didn't even know I had a feed there. I believe it is thanks to the lovely sarasusa. My offspring, the lovely bakashoujiki, found it. She is all things LJ (not Library Journal) to me. Maybe I'll figure out how to get LJ jewelry soon! Hint hint.
Classical "holy grail"
They like us--they really do!
Ancestry.com - In Praise of Library Personnel: "There seems to be an observance of some sort every week throughout the year. Many of them are, to me, yawners. However, this past week has been one of those sparking observances at which every genealogist should sit up and take notice. This is National Library Week and, without all those great library personnel, we would be hard-pressed to locate many of the resources that help advance our research."
Wow, a paean from Ancestry.com, no less. He didn't actually mention indexing. But other than that, he got just about everything.
Every family historian who comes in seems to ask "do you have any later indexes?" We don't have the staffing to create death notice indexes for Philadelphia for the last century. We, too, would like it if someone came along to do it. But even the idea of coordinating such a project throws me. Anyone know anyone with a lot of spare time who REALLY likes microfilm?
It is incrediby nice to get praise, even though George has probably never used the resources at MPOW. Must remember to share with co-workers!
Wow, a paean from Ancestry.com, no less. He didn't actually mention indexing. But other than that, he got just about everything.
Every family historian who comes in seems to ask "do you have any later indexes?" We don't have the staffing to create death notice indexes for Philadelphia for the last century. We, too, would like it if someone came along to do it. But even the idea of coordinating such a project throws me. Anyone know anyone with a lot of spare time who REALLY likes microfilm?
It is incrediby nice to get praise, even though George has probably never used the resources at MPOW. Must remember to share with co-workers!
Going, going...
Boing Boing: In decline: TV, radio, newspapers, books, mags
"Newspapers: circulation peaked in 1987, and the decline is accelerating"
via BoingBoing
"Newspapers: circulation peaked in 1987, and the decline is accelerating"
via BoingBoing
Monday, April 18, 2005
OMG--we fed the monster!
Sci Fi Wire -- The News Service of the Sci Fi Channel
I'm convinced the high ratings were mainly due to the many ALA members who tuned in. Via LISNews.
I'm convinced the high ratings were mainly due to the many ALA members who tuned in. Via LISNews.
The challenge delivered
Library Journal - Meet the Gamers
There are gamer librarians now--have been for some time (not that I am one). LJ does not seem to be aware of that. The tone is all "look, new pagans we can convert!"
There are gamer librarians now--have been for some time (not that I am one). LJ does not seem to be aware of that. The tone is all "look, new pagans we can convert!"
Teleconference on Orphan Works: Issues and Legislative Strategies
Digitization 101: Orphan Works: Issues and Legislative Strategies
I can't print at my desk, so I'm blogging stuff I don't want to lose.
Later: It really is just a conference call. I am getting spoiled. I may register anyway, in order to get the suggested readings. I HATE orphan works. I even commented "officially"...
I can't print at my desk, so I'm blogging stuff I don't want to lose.
Later: It really is just a conference call. I am getting spoiled. I may register anyway, in order to get the suggested readings. I HATE orphan works. I even commented "officially"...
Sunday, April 17, 2005
In living pixels!
I mentioned a while ago that I'd been enjoying a lot of webcasts, virtual classes, etc., this year. They've varied in content and quality. Let me ruminate on a few:
1) The Vanishing Newspaper: Survival and Public Service in the Age of We Media from the Media Center.
The Vanishing Newspaper addressed a current topic of fascination for me. Of course, if/when the newspaper vanishes, what will I have in my department? We already see dead people (too much obit searching does that to you). Tombstones made of microfilm boxes? Nevermind. The "audience" included a lot of journalism students--in class I'd have to guess from some of the chat sidebar. There were some technical difficulties: slides didn't show until speaker completed them; chat space got v-e-r-y narrow then w-i-d-e requiring a LOT of scrolling or just giving up. I did pretest the software, which seemed ok--the weirdness was during the "broadcast". I really mean to go back and read the transcript again--my wetware multi-tasking, (i.e., see, hear, read, type, understand) abilities seem rather limited. I am soooo last gen.
2) the ACRL 12th Virtual National Conference kick-off webcast (regstration required) featuring Clifford Lynch and Michael Keller, sponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), ProQuest and LearningTimes.
The ACRL webcast had the best all around software in terms of connectedness. It had the speakers' voices, PowerPoints on a whiteboard, and a chat function on the side. The chat function almost stole the show. Of course, I always find Clifford Lynch interesting, but he was almost just a bonus. I see elluminate provided the software/courseware. Wonder if they are publicly traded? Don't think so. (Don't have investment $ anyhow, but if y'all do?) Canadians, aye yuh!
3) the Peace Not Poverty online write-in from Faith Voices for the Common Good which used an online writing tool called Synanim.
I did not realize I had signed up to spend two hours writing collectively. (Must read more carefully!) It was fascinating and really, really hard. Hard to describe. Six of us, completely unknown, wrote responses to queries. Then we had to vote on which of the 6 responses in our group were the most representative of a consensus. Then we had to elaborate on the one we chose. Then we had to choose which of those represented consensus. Then we got to refine the one we chose. Then another query. Lather, rinse, repeat. My disparate group really did move to consensus! For that part alone, Synanim deserves kudos. Even though my brain (not my head) ACHED afterwards.
The consensus leader read the final statement at Riverside Church on April 3. Now there's a national bus tour. They already hit Philly, but check for appearances near you. I was kind of perturbed however, to see something describing this as the first time religious leaders have condemmed the war in Iraq. They haven't been going to the right rallies.
4) Camtasia Studio online course/demo
Some of the people I'm on an ALA committee with talked a lot about this product. So when I was invited to an online "class", I decided to give it a whirl. We called (about 5 librarians) via telephone, the logged into a website with chat, a powerpoint, and a demo space. I think Camtasia is very cool. If I were still doing training, I would be pushing to buy it. It would be so great to create some tutorials. Reading Greg Schwartz's Open Stacks, I see they have 30-day trial. Maybe I'll refine my ideas for the newspaper screencast and do the trial already.
Learning is fundamental. More to come!
1) The Vanishing Newspaper: Survival and Public Service in the Age of We Media from the Media Center.
The Vanishing Newspaper addressed a current topic of fascination for me. Of course, if/when the newspaper vanishes, what will I have in my department? We already see dead people (too much obit searching does that to you). Tombstones made of microfilm boxes? Nevermind. The "audience" included a lot of journalism students--in class I'd have to guess from some of the chat sidebar. There were some technical difficulties: slides didn't show until speaker completed them; chat space got v-e-r-y narrow then w-i-d-e requiring a LOT of scrolling or just giving up. I did pretest the software, which seemed ok--the weirdness was during the "broadcast". I really mean to go back and read the transcript again--my wetware multi-tasking, (i.e., see, hear, read, type, understand) abilities seem rather limited. I am soooo last gen.
2) the ACRL 12th Virtual National Conference kick-off webcast (regstration required) featuring Clifford Lynch and Michael Keller, sponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), ProQuest and LearningTimes.
The ACRL webcast had the best all around software in terms of connectedness. It had the speakers' voices, PowerPoints on a whiteboard, and a chat function on the side. The chat function almost stole the show. Of course, I always find Clifford Lynch interesting, but he was almost just a bonus. I see elluminate provided the software/courseware. Wonder if they are publicly traded? Don't think so. (Don't have investment $ anyhow, but if y'all do?) Canadians, aye yuh!
3) the Peace Not Poverty online write-in from Faith Voices for the Common Good which used an online writing tool called Synanim.
I did not realize I had signed up to spend two hours writing collectively. (Must read more carefully!) It was fascinating and really, really hard. Hard to describe. Six of us, completely unknown, wrote responses to queries. Then we had to vote on which of the 6 responses in our group were the most representative of a consensus. Then we had to elaborate on the one we chose. Then we had to choose which of those represented consensus. Then we got to refine the one we chose. Then another query. Lather, rinse, repeat. My disparate group really did move to consensus! For that part alone, Synanim deserves kudos. Even though my brain (not my head) ACHED afterwards.
The consensus leader read the final statement at Riverside Church on April 3. Now there's a national bus tour. They already hit Philly, but check for appearances near you. I was kind of perturbed however, to see something describing this as the first time religious leaders have condemmed the war in Iraq. They haven't been going to the right rallies.
4) Camtasia Studio online course/demo
Some of the people I'm on an ALA committee with talked a lot about this product. So when I was invited to an online "class", I decided to give it a whirl. We called (about 5 librarians) via telephone, the logged into a website with chat, a powerpoint, and a demo space. I think Camtasia is very cool. If I were still doing training, I would be pushing to buy it. It would be so great to create some tutorials. Reading Greg Schwartz's Open Stacks, I see they have 30-day trial. Maybe I'll refine my ideas for the newspaper screencast and do the trial already.
Learning is fundamental. More to come!
Friday, April 15, 2005
Cope-ing (music)
I've decided I get to post about music once a week. I'll try to put something in the subject line so you can just push past it in your aggregator (plug for Bloglines!) if hearing about what I'm hearing is not your cup of tea...I promise no pictures of cats.
So, I took a long lunch (using comp time) and went to the XPN Free At Noon concert at World Cafe Live (another plug). It was Citizen Cope and it was transcendant, inspiring, awesome, incredible, many other superlatives. OMG. It was standing room only and I bopped along and then went down and up underground trolley stairs and now my legs aren't speaking to me at all and I don't care.
I just need to get down some of it because I want to remember it for a long, long time. There was the usual warm and fuzzy XPN audience (I could tell you LOTS about everyone around me because we all stood around talking our heads off before the show, and none of us knew each other). But there were also MANY little kids there. More than ten. Age range 1.5-7? The venue had moved out all of the chairs. There was a line of tables against the stage. So the people with kids camped there. So did I, as I could place bags on the table, and my lunch, and sit or lean against it. Have I mentioned that my extremities and I have a strange relationship?
Cutting to the chase already, all the little kids were sitting on the table and when the band started, the stage lights lit the kids and they were bopping along...it was so twee but at the same time such a juxtaposition to the grittiness of Cope and we were in a nightclub but it was noon and it was so much fun, even when the kidlings got tired. I've been to Free At Noon concerts before. The band usually plays 30-40 minutes. Cope played 80 minutes, full throttle, every song I hoped to hear and more. I had to buy the CD. Only $15 bucks and no middleman. I bought a hoodie, too. I did need one, it was only $20, and now I can walk around saying "COPE" all the time. I was late getting back to work, but wasn't on the desk the rest of the afternoon.
I'm still such a groupie. I love hearing live music. And I love musicians who want to connect with their audiences. Cope asked for Contact
Now I'm waiting on the day
When we can all bring
Like Martin Luther King
This is why I sing
I want some contact contact
Me, too.
So, I took a long lunch (using comp time) and went to the XPN Free At Noon concert at World Cafe Live (another plug). It was Citizen Cope and it was transcendant, inspiring, awesome, incredible, many other superlatives. OMG. It was standing room only and I bopped along and then went down and up underground trolley stairs and now my legs aren't speaking to me at all and I don't care.
I just need to get down some of it because I want to remember it for a long, long time. There was the usual warm and fuzzy XPN audience (I could tell you LOTS about everyone around me because we all stood around talking our heads off before the show, and none of us knew each other). But there were also MANY little kids there. More than ten. Age range 1.5-7? The venue had moved out all of the chairs. There was a line of tables against the stage. So the people with kids camped there. So did I, as I could place bags on the table, and my lunch, and sit or lean against it. Have I mentioned that my extremities and I have a strange relationship?
Cutting to the chase already, all the little kids were sitting on the table and when the band started, the stage lights lit the kids and they were bopping along...it was so twee but at the same time such a juxtaposition to the grittiness of Cope and we were in a nightclub but it was noon and it was so much fun, even when the kidlings got tired. I've been to Free At Noon concerts before. The band usually plays 30-40 minutes. Cope played 80 minutes, full throttle, every song I hoped to hear and more. I had to buy the CD. Only $15 bucks and no middleman. I bought a hoodie, too. I did need one, it was only $20, and now I can walk around saying "COPE" all the time. I was late getting back to work, but wasn't on the desk the rest of the afternoon.
I'm still such a groupie. I love hearing live music. And I love musicians who want to connect with their audiences. Cope asked for Contact
Now I'm waiting on the day
When we can all bring
Like Martin Luther King
This is why I sing
I want some contact contact
Me, too.
That asylum and church...
Carnegie Reporter, Vol. 3, No. 2 | Do Libraries Still Matter?, page 4
via misseli at Confessions of a Mad Librarian
Interesting take on "the problem of purpose" for public libraries. It goes way back. I have long-standing issues with Andrew Carnegie, but I do like Carnegie libraries. And at least Carnegie Corp still cares, resting on their billions.
Had to snip this bit, because it it is so close to home:
"Famed author and critic Alfred Kazin is a good example. While inhaling an entire century of American literary culture (thanks to days and nights at the public library, where he read not just books but yellowing pamphlets and early magazines), he couldn’t help noticing the motley users who seem to come and go at libraries generally. Libraries, he wrote, were “that asylum and church of the unemployed; of crazy ideologists and equally crazy Bible students doggedly writing ‘you lie!’ in the reference books on the open shelves; of puzzle fans searching every encyclopedia; of commission salesmen secretly tearing address lists out of city directories.”
Tiny bit of searching: looks like he wrote that in 1978 about the 1940s. Found via Not Just a Library, an Oasis of Civilization by Susan Jacoby, an essay on New York Public (how's that for a nice url?) after 9/11. I'm glad I found/read it again.
via misseli at Confessions of a Mad Librarian
Interesting take on "the problem of purpose" for public libraries. It goes way back. I have long-standing issues with Andrew Carnegie, but I do like Carnegie libraries. And at least Carnegie Corp still cares, resting on their billions.
Had to snip this bit, because it it is so close to home:
"Famed author and critic Alfred Kazin is a good example. While inhaling an entire century of American literary culture (thanks to days and nights at the public library, where he read not just books but yellowing pamphlets and early magazines), he couldn’t help noticing the motley users who seem to come and go at libraries generally. Libraries, he wrote, were “that asylum and church of the unemployed; of crazy ideologists and equally crazy Bible students doggedly writing ‘you lie!’ in the reference books on the open shelves; of puzzle fans searching every encyclopedia; of commission salesmen secretly tearing address lists out of city directories.”
Tiny bit of searching: looks like he wrote that in 1978 about the 1940s. Found via Not Just a Library, an Oasis of Civilization by Susan Jacoby, an essay on New York Public (how's that for a nice url?) after 9/11. I'm glad I found/read it again.
what library, where??
You can try this at home! Go to Google Mobile and ask it to find a library in 19103. Ok, we like the Horticultural Society, but what's this? University of the Sciences has a library at 21st & Race? Wait, U of P library is on the other side of the Schuykill River. We have to go all the way down to I to get to the Free Library--West Oak Lane branch? The big one is missing. One of the ten largest public libraries in the country, 3 million volumes, is not listed. Not if you put in "free library" or "public library" or anything. I know this is because of the incredible error (?) Verizon made when publishing this year's Philadelphia telephone directory, but shouldn't Google be hitting the Central Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia from somewhere else? Wha?
Maybe smartphones aren't all that common yet in Philly, but I had a punter at the desk yesterday asking where he could find a place with wireless access for his Palm. And I had to send him outside to the Parkway in the direction of Love Park. Mortification. Waaaaaa!
Maybe smartphones aren't all that common yet in Philly, but I had a punter at the desk yesterday asking where he could find a place with wireless access for his Palm. And I had to send him outside to the Parkway in the direction of Love Park. Mortification. Waaaaaa!
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
It's epic
ols-master
This is a flash movie. Sound is essential. Worth watching. I first saw it last November, I think. Of course, I was interested in it from a newspaper librarian's point of view, but it's pretty interesting even without that. I think I may even have let part of it enter my dreamscape...that or there really is Googlezon.
This is a flash movie. Sound is essential. Worth watching. I first saw it last November, I think. Of course, I was interested in it from a newspaper librarian's point of view, but it's pretty interesting even without that. I think I may even have let part of it enter my dreamscape...that or there really is Googlezon.
Who am I? Does it matter?
Diary of a Subversive Librarian: Anon and Non-Anon Blogging
I think about my anonymity, or lack thereof, a bit, in general and related to blogging. To the best of my knowledge, no one can find my home phone number or address through the Internet. I pay extra for this privilege. I've been stalked. So has someone with whom I live. I don't want to be found that way. I feel pretty strongly about it.
I find it not very shocking how much I can find if I Google my name. I find it more shocking how many dots one can connect using my most common username. There are bits of me from long ago and far away out there. If you know me, then you will easily be able to figure out Lislemck's "real" name. If you really wanted to poke around a bit, you could probably connect the dots, even if you don't know me. Of course, I doubt anyone would bother.
In the case of this blog and MPOW, there is a strong culture of not rocking the boat there. Saying anything at all publicly, for instance speaking in meetings, is seen as not good. Long ago when I worked in a special library, I used to tell myself to "insert sock in mouth" before going to meetings. I never thought that would be good advice for my entire professional life. At some point in the last few years, I have taken that advice less and less. I had a little life-changing event. So I now have made a few waves. I believe that my take on things has some value.
Should I go back and try to mask out all my MPOW references? Make it so my profile doesn't say my city, there being only one large public library in this town?!? This seems silly. I am not ashamed of anything I have written. I am afraid of "the man". It is hard to say on how many levels. I know I was taught to respect my elders and people in authority as a child. But there was also some fear instilled in me. Stay quiet, don't let them notice you, hide in plain sight stuff.
I am currently reading a whole bunch of good books. So many, and so good, that they may get their own entry soon. One of them is Cluetrain Manifesto.I thought it was a business book. It was mentioned on two blogs I have been reading. (I am still trying to figure out why it classes in our Social Science and History department. I am actually going to go look up the number in the Dewey schedules.)
It's about how the Internet has brought about "the end of business as usual." It's also about conversation and the human voice: "The word that's passing like a spark from keyboard to screen, from heart to mind, is the permission we're giving ourselves and each other: to be human and to speak as humans." That doesn't sound that revolutionary. But it is.
Why don't I just blog under my name? I like having a veil, even though very sheer. It seems safer, freer, to give me a little distance. "Every thing looks perfect from far away"... to channel a little Postal Service. Many, many, many years ago, I did theater. I made that discovery so many have made, that assuming a character allowed me to more easily express myself. In the same way, I think my anon/non-anon (it can be slash, not versus) blogging gives me a greater sense of perspective while allowing me to use--and hear--my own voice.
I think about my anonymity, or lack thereof, a bit, in general and related to blogging. To the best of my knowledge, no one can find my home phone number or address through the Internet. I pay extra for this privilege. I've been stalked. So has someone with whom I live. I don't want to be found that way. I feel pretty strongly about it.
I find it not very shocking how much I can find if I Google my name. I find it more shocking how many dots one can connect using my most common username. There are bits of me from long ago and far away out there. If you know me, then you will easily be able to figure out Lislemck's "real" name. If you really wanted to poke around a bit, you could probably connect the dots, even if you don't know me. Of course, I doubt anyone would bother.
In the case of this blog and MPOW, there is a strong culture of not rocking the boat there. Saying anything at all publicly, for instance speaking in meetings, is seen as not good. Long ago when I worked in a special library, I used to tell myself to "insert sock in mouth" before going to meetings. I never thought that would be good advice for my entire professional life. At some point in the last few years, I have taken that advice less and less. I had a little life-changing event. So I now have made a few waves. I believe that my take on things has some value.
Should I go back and try to mask out all my MPOW references? Make it so my profile doesn't say my city, there being only one large public library in this town?!? This seems silly. I am not ashamed of anything I have written. I am afraid of "the man". It is hard to say on how many levels. I know I was taught to respect my elders and people in authority as a child. But there was also some fear instilled in me. Stay quiet, don't let them notice you, hide in plain sight stuff.
I am currently reading a whole bunch of good books. So many, and so good, that they may get their own entry soon. One of them is Cluetrain Manifesto.I thought it was a business book. It was mentioned on two blogs I have been reading. (I am still trying to figure out why it classes in our Social Science and History department. I am actually going to go look up the number in the Dewey schedules.)
It's about how the Internet has brought about "the end of business as usual." It's also about conversation and the human voice: "The word that's passing like a spark from keyboard to screen, from heart to mind, is the permission we're giving ourselves and each other: to be human and to speak as humans." That doesn't sound that revolutionary. But it is.
Why don't I just blog under my name? I like having a veil, even though very sheer. It seems safer, freer, to give me a little distance. "Every thing looks perfect from far away"... to channel a little Postal Service. Many, many, many years ago, I did theater. I made that discovery so many have made, that assuming a character allowed me to more easily express myself. In the same way, I think my anon/non-anon (it can be slash, not versus) blogging gives me a greater sense of perspective while allowing me to use--and hear--my own voice.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
My muse--or at least one of them
~Calliope~
Your muse is Calliope, the Fair Voiced, Chief muse
and the muse of Epic Poetry. Her symbol is the
writing tablet.
Very appropriate if an ibook counts as a tablet. I think I had as good a chance at Euterpe, Terpsichore, and Thalia! Maybe Polyhymnia? I used to be a quadruple threat, really.
Which of the Nine Muses is your muse?
brought to you by Quizilla
via http://www.livejournal.com/
Monday, April 11, 2005
2x2=4 search engines at once
Search The 4
By way of LibrarianInBlack channeling Dave...shows results of searches on Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, and MSN on on screen divided into 4--perfect way to show how different engines yield different results. Or you can switch and do A9, Mamma, altavista and alltheweb. Time for bed.
By way of LibrarianInBlack channeling Dave...shows results of searches on Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, and MSN on on screen divided into 4--perfect way to show how different engines yield different results. Or you can switch and do A9, Mamma, altavista and alltheweb. Time for bed.
Who you callin' stupid?
WebFeat: In Defense of Stupid Users
I think I may have posted this earlier (on my Bloglines blog?), but at the time, I think I was unaware that it was by Todd Miller of WebFeat. I remain the librarian that doesn't remember authors, titles, call numbers, phone numbers, etc. TG I know how to look for them!
MPOW used WebFeat originally--I think we were one of their first big library users. As an alpha geek/trainer, I got to meet with the WebFeat team, including Todd. I still have good memories, even if they did steal the "flying pig" theme from our conference room. Last time I talked to them, they complained about how we implemented their product. Then pouf, we changed to MuseGlobal. Guess what--almost identical user interface...I'm left still not knowing if the product is any good or what. But I do have a soft spot for WebFeat--and they always have good giveaways at ALA--head's up ye swag seekers in Chicago.
I like the graphic on the related article Federated Searching: Put it in it's Place, though I haven't read it yet. More for the to-read list...
I think I may have posted this earlier (on my Bloglines blog?), but at the time, I think I was unaware that it was by Todd Miller of WebFeat. I remain the librarian that doesn't remember authors, titles, call numbers, phone numbers, etc. TG I know how to look for them!
MPOW used WebFeat originally--I think we were one of their first big library users. As an alpha geek/trainer, I got to meet with the WebFeat team, including Todd. I still have good memories, even if they did steal the "flying pig" theme from our conference room. Last time I talked to them, they complained about how we implemented their product. Then pouf, we changed to MuseGlobal. Guess what--almost identical user interface...I'm left still not knowing if the product is any good or what. But I do have a soft spot for WebFeat--and they always have good giveaways at ALA--head's up ye swag seekers in Chicago.
I like the graphic on the related article Federated Searching: Put it in it's Place, though I haven't read it yet. More for the to-read list...
Shut up! No, you shut up! No, you!
Caveat Lector: Can we shut up about Google a minute, please?
"We let our stupid bloody OPACs rot, acknowledging sheepishly that the last fifteen or so years’ worth of systems-design research has never made it into them, while we ask each other stupid bloody simplistic questions about whether Google is good or bad."
Thank you, Dorothea. I wish I were an information architect, or at least in a position to get our IT department to recognize that our "web catalog" is seriously weird. Daft split for author/title/subject versus keyword search is still there. Where is my eye supposed to light on this page? I can't really look at it as a new user, but I suspect it's the "all locations" box on the left. But even the words "all locations" confuse me a little.
Way too many words, says this text-based character. I hate having author for the default search (last name first idiot! this is a library page!). I am so much more likely to remember a title. Maybe that's just me? I've always hated the red instructions about boolean searches on the keyword side, but if we're going to do that, can't we tell the poor punters that it first name last for author and no initial articles on titles (with helpful examples?). Howabout layering a help screen one click under?
Why am I venting on you, poor reader? I was at a recent training on our new ILS, and they said the web catalog interface would not be changing. I almost wept. I'm pretty well known at MPOW for offering my opinions loudly. MPOW talks the talk about getting user feedback, but they don't do any usability testing at all, as far as I know. When I've been on tech task forces, I've been told our ideas would be implemented, and then seen them completely disregarded. I do not mean in this blog to air dirty laundry, or to just post negative thoughts "publicly". I want to make things better. I want to think about things. For me, to do that, I need to try them out in my mind and bring together other people's ideas and even get some feedback maybe. I don't have a good way to do that at work, so I'm muttering over it here.
"We let our stupid bloody OPACs rot, acknowledging sheepishly that the last fifteen or so years’ worth of systems-design research has never made it into them, while we ask each other stupid bloody simplistic questions about whether Google is good or bad."
Thank you, Dorothea. I wish I were an information architect, or at least in a position to get our IT department to recognize that our "web catalog" is seriously weird. Daft split for author/title/subject versus keyword search is still there. Where is my eye supposed to light on this page? I can't really look at it as a new user, but I suspect it's the "all locations" box on the left. But even the words "all locations" confuse me a little.
Way too many words, says this text-based character. I hate having author for the default search (last name first idiot! this is a library page!). I am so much more likely to remember a title. Maybe that's just me? I've always hated the red instructions about boolean searches on the keyword side, but if we're going to do that, can't we tell the poor punters that it first name last for author and no initial articles on titles (with helpful examples?). Howabout layering a help screen one click under?
Why am I venting on you, poor reader? I was at a recent training on our new ILS, and they said the web catalog interface would not be changing. I almost wept. I'm pretty well known at MPOW for offering my opinions loudly. MPOW talks the talk about getting user feedback, but they don't do any usability testing at all, as far as I know. When I've been on tech task forces, I've been told our ideas would be implemented, and then seen them completely disregarded. I do not mean in this blog to air dirty laundry, or to just post negative thoughts "publicly". I want to make things better. I want to think about things. For me, to do that, I need to try them out in my mind and bring together other people's ideas and even get some feedback maybe. I don't have a good way to do that at work, so I'm muttering over it here.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Mea maxima culpa!
I'm so pathetic, but at least not lonely! Though I continue to want comments. Now they are properly enabled, I think. Someone prove me right? I hadn't understood the lingo on the Blogger settings. I commented myself to test, which worked, but only because I was the owner! Comments are now enabled in every shape and form, I hope!
The image link I put in of Homer smacking his head and saying Doh! keeps breaking. So away it goes...I leave it to your fertile imaginations.
The image link I put in of Homer smacking his head and saying Doh! keeps breaking. So away it goes...I leave it to your fertile imaginations.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
O'Reilly Network: Movies of Software
O'Reilly Network: Movies of Software
So, I can try Windows Media Encoder (for free) for my screencast of "when the paper isn't paper". I first heard of Jon Udell when I tried out his excellent Google Maps screencast. You need the sound on to really "get it"--a well worthwhile use of sound. I used to oppose all sound on computers (and I still HATE IM noises) and I think it's still very problematic in public libraries. I don't feel comfortable wearing headphones in the workroom even--too many bosses who said headphones=slacking. But I digress.
I really do want to try out this technology. The trainer in me wants PowerPoints that talk and move and show how to move around screens. We'll see where I get with it.
So, I can try Windows Media Encoder (for free) for my screencast of "when the paper isn't paper". I first heard of Jon Udell when I tried out his excellent Google Maps screencast. You need the sound on to really "get it"--a well worthwhile use of sound. I used to oppose all sound on computers (and I still HATE IM noises) and I think it's still very problematic in public libraries. I don't feel comfortable wearing headphones in the workroom even--too many bosses who said headphones=slacking. But I digress.
I really do want to try out this technology. The trainer in me wants PowerPoints that talk and move and show how to move around screens. We'll see where I get with it.
Nobody here but us chickens?
Various folk have commented to my actual ears or via email, so I know someone might be reading something here some time,but I still have received bupkis comments on this blog. Please, don't leave me all alone here! Say anything at all. Tell me if a link doesn't work, or if my logic is too mangled to follow, or if you disagree or agree with something, even WTF am I going on about?
Two of my favorite blogs, Free Range Librarian and It's All Good, have themes about information as conversation. It's why I like reading blogs. I'm completely addicted to comments. They rock me. So go ahead, make my day, week, year.
Hey--the spell-checker on Blogger doesn't recognize "blog" as a word. ROTFL.
Two of my favorite blogs, Free Range Librarian and It's All Good, have themes about information as conversation. It's why I like reading blogs. I'm completely addicted to comments. They rock me. So go ahead, make my day, week, year.
Hey--the spell-checker on Blogger doesn't recognize "blog" as a word. ROTFL.
Information Wants To Be Free � The Failure of Middleware, Part 3: How do we measure up?
Information Wants To Be Free � The Failure of Middleware, Part 3: How do we measure up?
Meredith get it right! The Thes (multiple of the--does anyone else remember The The?) strike again/still. This is part of a very interesting series of posts.
Meredith get it right! The Thes (multiple of the--does anyone else remember The The?) strike again/still. This is part of a very interesting series of posts.
04/06/05 Trustees Approved "Express Library" Plan After the Fact (Ed Goppelt)
04/06/05 Trustees Approved "Express Library" Plan After the Fact (Ed Goppelt)
Does the term "oversight" apply here at all?
Does the term "oversight" apply here at all?
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Library Journal - Ranganathan Online
Library Journal - Ranganathan Online
Every electronic resource, its reader. Yes, Proquest Newspapers and PressDisplay and NewsBank and JSTOR and Ethnic NewsWatch--they can all be read and useful and even enjoyed. Don't tell me "no." Don't say there are too many (god, I'm channeling Jude the Obscure a LOT lately). Don't tell me they are too confusing. OK, they are confusing. We are not broken. Our users do not need to be "fixed". We need clarity. I recently thought of doing a tutorial. Maybe a PowerPoint presentation: "When the paper isn't paper." Then I thought, a screencast!
Oh right, I don't have Camtasia, or a place to host it. I am no longer in the training biz. Most of the people around me are so freaked by layoffs and "reorganization", rightly so, that learning something a) new b) optional is just crazy talk. And like I have time. But maybe I'll map it out a little in my brain--just to keep the voices muted.
Every electronic resource, its reader. Yes, Proquest Newspapers and PressDisplay and NewsBank and JSTOR and Ethnic NewsWatch--they can all be read and useful and even enjoyed. Don't tell me "no." Don't say there are too many (god, I'm channeling Jude the Obscure a LOT lately). Don't tell me they are too confusing. OK, they are confusing. We are not broken. Our users do not need to be "fixed". We need clarity. I recently thought of doing a tutorial. Maybe a PowerPoint presentation: "When the paper isn't paper." Then I thought, a screencast!
Oh right, I don't have Camtasia, or a place to host it. I am no longer in the training biz. Most of the people around me are so freaked by layoffs and "reorganization", rightly so, that learning something a) new b) optional is just crazy talk. And like I have time. But maybe I'll map it out a little in my brain--just to keep the voices muted.
The whole future of computing at stake? Sounds like a movie
Guardian Unlimited | Columnists | John Naughton: The Networker
John Naughton hits the nail on the head regarding The Supremes hearing MGM vs. Grokster.
John Naughton hits the nail on the head regarding The Supremes hearing MGM vs. Grokster.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
The Digital Librarian: R.I.P 2005 - Federated Search
The Digital Librarian: R.I.P 2005 - Federated Search
I promised I would collect some of the other less-than-thrilled on federated searching posts I've encountered. You may see some more of these, without comment.
I promised I would collect some of the other less-than-thrilled on federated searching posts I've encountered. You may see some more of these, without comment.
Post-Tasini Class Action Case Settling for Up to $18 Million
Post-Tasini Class Action Case Settling for Up to $18 Million: "One set of parties remains without remedy. Consumers still turn to databases expecting comprehensive coverage and do not receive it, since articles have been removed or were never entered into the files. Murray hoped that the settlement would encourage authors to allow publishers and database firms to incorporate missing material into their databases. Since failure to grant future electronic rights permission knocks 35 percent off the fees paid to claimants, the authors should have sufficient motivation."
"Now, if we could only guarantee that publisher and database firms would rise to the occasion." Thank you, Barbara Quint!
I see that there are two sets of parties remaining: consumers and libraries! OK, libraries are consumers, but we're also gateways, and I've never felt like I could adequately explain to patrons that the databases do not provide comprehensive coverage. Of course, what percentage of our electronic resource patrons ever even speak to a librarian?
"Self-service" for our PC Reservation system has drastically reduced the amount of interaction between librarians and patrons. This is "all to the good" in the minds of many, but I worry about the baby and the bath water. Many patrons are more apologetic than ever approaching me for assistance. Though I don't wear a "Disturb Me!" T-shirt, I'm very approachable. (Downright friendly. Sometimes lonely. Saved from boredom by reading blogs and blogging.)
So how to convey the continuing incompleteness and inexactness of electronic databases? I'm back on my hobby horse. My LAs (Library Assistants in MPOW parlance) had a meeting yesterday and expressed much confusion between the ProQuest Historical New York Times and the ProQuest Newspapers and PressDisplay. I have to extrapolate that if LAs in the Newspapers can't understand the differences in these products, which are confusing (!), then there is little chance that people who don't work in the department understand them. Big sigh.
I do want to mention that I found this article via a Google News Alert--a great good thing. So even though I worry that Google has confounded our business on many levels, I thank them.
Monday, April 04, 2005
Librarians and Tigers (Ftrain.com)
Librarians and Tigers (Ftrain.com) via LISnews
With tigers at their behest, no library budget would be cut again...
With tigers at their behest, no library budget would be cut again...
Sunday, April 03, 2005
On the Theory of Library Catalogs and Search Engines / Eversberg, Bernhard
On the Theory of Library Catalogs and Search Engines / Eversberg, Bernhard
OK, I'm probably over the top now, blogging on a paper on cataloguing from the German Librarian's Annual Conference! But I think librarians have to think about "why our catalogs suck" and Google vs. Libraries. Plus I posted about Patti Smith yesterday, which had nothing to do with libraries, unless we want to talk about librarian stereotypes! Whee.
OK, I'm probably over the top now, blogging on a paper on cataloguing from the German Librarian's Annual Conference! But I think librarians have to think about "why our catalogs suck" and Google vs. Libraries. Plus I posted about Patti Smith yesterday, which had nothing to do with libraries, unless we want to talk about librarian stereotypes! Whee.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
MSNBC - High Priestess of Punk
MSNBC - High Priestess of Punk
Xeni Jardin at BoingBoing claims she is the world's greatest Patti Smith fan. I protest. She doesn't know me and I don't know her so we have no way to tell which of us is the greater Patti Smith fan.
I do know that for me the closing of CBGBs is a death in the family.
Xeni Jardin at BoingBoing claims she is the world's greatest Patti Smith fan. I protest. She doesn't know me and I don't know her so we have no way to tell which of us is the greater Patti Smith fan.
I do know that for me the closing of CBGBs is a death in the family.
Friday, April 01, 2005
Confessions of a Mad Librarian: Digital preservation and newspaper archives
Confessions of a Mad Librarian: Digital preservation and newspaper archives: "Digital preservation and newspaper archives"
We are already losing stuff that isn't 10 years old. I keep thinking about the City Directories electronic resource that disappeared when PSM was purchased by Thomson Gale. And that wasn't even a compatibility issue, I don't think. But the 1835 newspaper in my office isn't even yellowed. I don't guess Nicholson Baker will be screaming when we lose databases and files en masse, though now is when the screaming should be happening.
We are already losing stuff that isn't 10 years old. I keep thinking about the City Directories electronic resource that disappeared when PSM was purchased by Thomson Gale. And that wasn't even a compatibility issue, I don't think. But the 1835 newspaper in my office isn't even yellowed. I don't guess Nicholson Baker will be screaming when we lose databases and files en masse, though now is when the screaming should be happening.
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