Just a quick bib note, now that I have your attention. I finished The Inner Circle. Even with the prurience factor, I found it kind of flat. Completely lacking in humor (or did I not get the jokes?). Boyle usually does amuse me; Budding prospects : a pastoral is laugh-out-loud funny. By the way, I heart the Worldcat subject headings on both of these--someone had fun classifying these.
In any case, the offspring and I really liked Kinsey, so my interest was piqued. Boyle makes the point that Kinsey (the person), for all his interest in sex, left love out of his equations. But it is there in human interactions, whether sex is involved or not. This is as close as I am coming to a Stephanie Klein post. You can find my comment. Sigh. I am in favor of both sex and love, but you are not getting many details here!
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Whole Lot A Shakin' Goin' On
Yesterday, I tendered my resignation at MPOW. I am "following my bliss" and moving to San Diego to live with the boyfriend. My last day at MPOW will be August 19. Then I am taking 2 weeks to pack up and go to Wildwood Crest (a dry-as-in-no-alcohol Jersey Shore town) with family for three nights. The boyfriend is arriving to help with packing and to go "down the shore", as we say hereabouts. Then we will come back to Philly for a quick clean-up, and then head west in a rental car with the dog (who will never fly cargo).
The offspring has decided to stay in Philadelphia. She will be living with my co-ex-wife (a very close bond) and her little sister, while attending community college, assuming she learns how to drive by then!
I am putting my condo on the market. I met with the realtor who sold me the condo Monday night. He is recommending I list it for over $300,000. This blows my mind. Let's hope the bubble doesn't suddenly burst! I don't have a job yet in San Diego, but I have an interview next week. Cross your fingers and toes.
It is weird telling people via my blog. Seems harsh. Even though I won't be moving in blog terms. But it has been killing me not to talk about this. I predict that I will not be posting as often for a bit. As it is, we've been having connectivity issues here, plus there will be some electronic migration.
If any of you know a place in San Diego near the beach that takes dogs, please let me know ASAP! Or of job openings or people willing to network. Or friends wanting to make new friends. I am kind of terrified taking this big a plunge off a cliff, but at the same time, I am excited. Tempus fugit, no time like the present, etc.
The offspring has decided to stay in Philadelphia. She will be living with my co-ex-wife (a very close bond) and her little sister, while attending community college, assuming she learns how to drive by then!
I am putting my condo on the market. I met with the realtor who sold me the condo Monday night. He is recommending I list it for over $300,000. This blows my mind. Let's hope the bubble doesn't suddenly burst! I don't have a job yet in San Diego, but I have an interview next week. Cross your fingers and toes.
It is weird telling people via my blog. Seems harsh. Even though I won't be moving in blog terms. But it has been killing me not to talk about this. I predict that I will not be posting as often for a bit. As it is, we've been having connectivity issues here, plus there will be some electronic migration.
If any of you know a place in San Diego near the beach that takes dogs, please let me know ASAP! Or of job openings or people willing to network. Or friends wanting to make new friends. I am kind of terrified taking this big a plunge off a cliff, but at the same time, I am excited. Tempus fugit, no time like the present, etc.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Do you remember Patti?
I am going to the WXPN All About the Music Festival tomorrow. I have been looking forward to it for months. It is one of the great, good things in life. $5 a ticket. I've gone most of the years I have lived in Philly. Tomorrow, I will see/hear some of my favorite locals, including Mutlu, and the big acts, Indigo Girls and Patti Smith and her band to close.
Strangely enough, I found a poem today that I wrote around November 1980. It talks about Patti Smith in a rather oblique way. It is about a friend of mine who was murdered in November 1979. We used to listen to a lot of Patti together. Anyway, I typed up a copy to give to her tomorrow. There is a members meet-and-greet thing with XPN, and I am willing to stand in line. I had planned to say hello anyway. I don't want her to sign anything or anything, but she has been very important in my life. So I will give her this poem:
Do You Remember Patti?
In the apartment of mushroom-colored doors,
Swing back and forth incessantly
Ushering in Swedes, gossip and baked dishes
The room with one too many windows
Elves swayed and talked about the movies
The leaves fell and the wind would rush up from the river
Telling horror stories about New Jersey
Until Linda would protest
All light not meant to be taken that way.
The frog in the silver shrieking radiator
The magic wand near the rabbit on the bed
He would wake her up early on a morning to be slept late
Let's make cookies on the counter, watch something on TV
Do something wild as long as it is late
Escape into albums near the middle of the afternoon
Soft kisses in the living room before the doors swung open again
He never did return the albums.
So much for poetry
No more old hymns
he died in a room at one-ninety Claremont
A great place for parties
Athena making John and John making piss
Now another year is over
Tossed up bricks in the snow
Read Auden in green grass
Black thoughts can rest assured
Faint pink marks on the upper arm
and bruises around the neck killed Russell
They buried him in Florida
And I won't go to any more parties, but I do.
Strangely enough, I found a poem today that I wrote around November 1980. It talks about Patti Smith in a rather oblique way. It is about a friend of mine who was murdered in November 1979. We used to listen to a lot of Patti together. Anyway, I typed up a copy to give to her tomorrow. There is a members meet-and-greet thing with XPN, and I am willing to stand in line. I had planned to say hello anyway. I don't want her to sign anything or anything, but she has been very important in my life. So I will give her this poem:
Do You Remember Patti?
In the apartment of mushroom-colored doors,
Swing back and forth incessantly
Ushering in Swedes, gossip and baked dishes
The room with one too many windows
Elves swayed and talked about the movies
The leaves fell and the wind would rush up from the river
Telling horror stories about New Jersey
Until Linda would protest
All light not meant to be taken that way.
The frog in the silver shrieking radiator
The magic wand near the rabbit on the bed
He would wake her up early on a morning to be slept late
Let's make cookies on the counter, watch something on TV
Do something wild as long as it is late
Escape into albums near the middle of the afternoon
Soft kisses in the living room before the doors swung open again
He never did return the albums.
So much for poetry
No more old hymns
he died in a room at one-ninety Claremont
A great place for parties
Athena making John and John making piss
Now another year is over
Tossed up bricks in the snow
Read Auden in green grass
Black thoughts can rest assured
Faint pink marks on the upper arm
and bruises around the neck killed Russell
They buried him in Florida
And I won't go to any more parties, but I do.
ProQuest to Offer RSS Feeds
The Shifted Librarian: ProQuest to Offer RSS Feeds
More coolness! Thank you, Jenny <3
Why didn't my ProQuest rep tell me this last week? Nevermind.
Now, thinking cap on, how do I get to LITA Forum? May have to be long-term goal...
More coolness! Thank you, Jenny <3
Why didn't my ProQuest rep tell me this last week? Nevermind.
Now, thinking cap on, how do I get to LITA Forum? May have to be long-term goal...
Eastman House and ICP collaboration
Amassing a Treasury of Photography - New York Times
"...an ambitious project to create one of the largest freely accessible databases of masterwork photography anywhere on the Web..." Coolness.
"...an ambitious project to create one of the largest freely accessible databases of masterwork photography anywhere on the Web..." Coolness.
Dar Al Hayat
Dar Al Hayat
I found this site when I was looking around for Arabic language newspapers for a display. It's pan-Arab and published in London. This happens to be a letter to the editor discussing the author's recent censorship by a different publication. (Reading between the lines, a Saudi newspaper.) I found it interesting, particularly the note about history and truth being hidden in the British document archives.
I think Westerners have difficulty understanding many things about the Arab world. That is not meant to be an apology or rationale or anything for terrorism. But think about how different our thinking would be if the first time we had access to unfettered news information about our world was in what, 1990? 1995? I wish I was at work and had better access to statistical databases. But we can guess that there has probably been little over a decade of widespread access to news media that is not heavily censored by government. The only subscription I had that was not heavily censored the last time I lived in Saudi Arabia (1979, and I understand censorship is much more stringent now) was the Times Book Review. Even that failed to arrive at times, or had articles blacked out.
I found this site when I was looking around for Arabic language newspapers for a display. It's pan-Arab and published in London. This happens to be a letter to the editor discussing the author's recent censorship by a different publication. (Reading between the lines, a Saudi newspaper.) I found it interesting, particularly the note about history and truth being hidden in the British document archives.
I think Westerners have difficulty understanding many things about the Arab world. That is not meant to be an apology or rationale or anything for terrorism. But think about how different our thinking would be if the first time we had access to unfettered news information about our world was in what, 1990? 1995? I wish I was at work and had better access to statistical databases. But we can guess that there has probably been little over a decade of widespread access to news media that is not heavily censored by government. The only subscription I had that was not heavily censored the last time I lived in Saudi Arabia (1979, and I understand censorship is much more stringent now) was the Times Book Review. Even that failed to arrive at times, or had articles blacked out.
Thus, the major challenge faced by the written media today is to present an attracting material to face this massive competition. We all know that the chief satellite media breakthrough was achieved by the US CNN channel, in providing live news to the Arab citizen, who was absent during Gulf War I. It succeeded in delivering a real image to an individual, for whom truth was not part of his daily life, except when the British documents archives were opened 30 years after the event.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Please do not cease/non-drivel reflections
...the thoughts are broken...
Wow, the link to Mark's book in Open Worldcat took me to the ebook! Am going to dabble--chapter heading "To classify is human" lured me in.
Of course, the whole "what am I, invisible?" thing hooked me as well. I dunno. I have been reading Status Anxiety by Alan de Botton. De Botton is about my level in reading about philosophy. The parts about how others view us and why it is so important to us, on so many different levels--I am really hoping I can become more philosophical without becoming a misanthrope. Better men than me, and all.
Wow, the link to Mark's book in Open Worldcat took me to the ebook! Am going to dabble--chapter heading "To classify is human" lured me in.
Of course, the whole "what am I, invisible?" thing hooked me as well. I dunno. I have been reading Status Anxiety by Alan de Botton. De Botton is about my level in reading about philosophy. The parts about how others view us and why it is so important to us, on so many different levels--I am really hoping I can become more philosophical without becoming a misanthrope. Better men than me, and all.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
[Web4lib] RE: library automation vendors
Apologies in advance for how icky these email posts look. You know I'm really into the content when I sacrifice looks this much.
Web4Lib has just been burning up the last few days. First there was an incredible Google thread (where does Google "end"?), now a one that rocks on library automation in the largest sense. If either of these things floats your boat the teensiest bit, you really need to hit the archives (http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/) then subscribe already!
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Walker <dwalker@csusm.edu>
Date: Jul 19, 2005 3:07 PM
Subject: RE: [Web4lib] RE: library automation vendors
To: "Suzanne M. Gray" < sgray@umich.edu>
Cc: web4lib@webjunction.org
>> So I wonder what is it that libraries
>> are going to stop doing to invest in
>> usability testing and interface development?
I don't think we really need to *stop* doing things to invest in
usability testing and interface development. We just need to scale-back
our activities in other areas.
I would also perhaps put that question on its head and ask: How are we
already underutilizing our collections and resources in reference and
instruction precisely *because* we are not putting resources into web
development.
Let me explain:
>> It seems that a lot of this work is being
>> done on an ad hoc basis by committees.
This is a great observation on so many levels, and true in many places.
I know several libraries where the library web site and all the new
systems, like link resolvers and federated search systems, are being
worked on and managed by committees of librarians.
In too many libraries, we're pulling non-technical people off of the
reverence desk, out of cataloging, and out of instructional sessions to
assist with the interface and roll out of these systems. These are
people who don't have the expertise to really do those tasks well, and
committee structures make that doubly ineffective.
And so here's the real kicker -- You can't escape the rapid growth and
increasing reliance on web technology in libraries, or the fact that our
users regularly struggle with it every day.
If we don't hire talented, tech-savvy people to do programming,
interface design, and usability testing, then we have to pull
non-technical people away from what they do well to work on these tasks
-- tasks for which they usually have no training or expertise, thus
hurting both the usability of these systems *and* those areas they
normally work in.
Likewise, too many instructional and reference encounters these days
simply involve interface explanations. In order to even make sense out
of the dizzying array of databases and disconnected local systems in an
academic library, you have to focus a fair amount of your time helping
users with mechanics -- click here, look there, select this, don't click
on that because that's not what you want, etc.
If we spent more resources making our systems easier to use in the first
place, we wouldn't need to do that. We could focus our reference and
instruction services more on helping users with the really challenging
aspects of research. Right now, we're doing a lot of (unnecessary)
bad-interface explanation, and loosing whole groups of users because of
it.
Investing in the right people in the right places can let everyone do
their jobs more effectively, even allowing libraries to do more with
less people. Sound utopian? I don't think it is. We've made these
type of decisions here, and are already reaping the rewards.
--Dave
=================
David Walker
Web Development Librarian
Library
Cal State San Marcos
760-750-4379
=================
_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4lib@webjunction.org
http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
Web4Lib has just been burning up the last few days. First there was an incredible Google thread (where does Google "end"?), now a one that rocks on library automation in the largest sense. If either of these things floats your boat the teensiest bit, you really need to hit the archives (http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/) then subscribe already!
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Walker <dwalker@csusm.edu>
Date: Jul 19, 2005 3:07 PM
Subject: RE: [Web4lib] RE: library automation vendors
To: "Suzanne M. Gray" < sgray@umich.edu>
Cc: web4lib@webjunction.org
>> So I wonder what is it that libraries
>> are going to stop doing to invest in
>> usability testing and interface development?
I don't think we really need to *stop* doing things to invest in
usability testing and interface development. We just need to scale-back
our activities in other areas.
I would also perhaps put that question on its head and ask: How are we
already underutilizing our collections and resources in reference and
instruction precisely *because* we are not putting resources into web
development.
Let me explain:
>> It seems that a lot of this work is being
>> done on an ad hoc basis by committees.
This is a great observation on so many levels, and true in many places.
I know several libraries where the library web site and all the new
systems, like link resolvers and federated search systems, are being
worked on and managed by committees of librarians.
In too many libraries, we're pulling non-technical people off of the
reverence desk, out of cataloging, and out of instructional sessions to
assist with the interface and roll out of these systems. These are
people who don't have the expertise to really do those tasks well, and
committee structures make that doubly ineffective.
And so here's the real kicker -- You can't escape the rapid growth and
increasing reliance on web technology in libraries, or the fact that our
users regularly struggle with it every day.
If we don't hire talented, tech-savvy people to do programming,
interface design, and usability testing, then we have to pull
non-technical people away from what they do well to work on these tasks
-- tasks for which they usually have no training or expertise, thus
hurting both the usability of these systems *and* those areas they
normally work in.
Likewise, too many instructional and reference encounters these days
simply involve interface explanations. In order to even make sense out
of the dizzying array of databases and disconnected local systems in an
academic library, you have to focus a fair amount of your time helping
users with mechanics -- click here, look there, select this, don't click
on that because that's not what you want, etc.
If we spent more resources making our systems easier to use in the first
place, we wouldn't need to do that. We could focus our reference and
instruction services more on helping users with the really challenging
aspects of research. Right now, we're doing a lot of (unnecessary)
bad-interface explanation, and loosing whole groups of users because of
it.
Investing in the right people in the right places can let everyone do
their jobs more effectively, even allowing libraries to do more with
less people. Sound utopian? I don't think it is. We've made these
type of decisions here, and are already reaping the rewards.
--Dave
=================
David Walker
Web Development Librarian
Library
Cal State San Marcos
760-750-4379
=================
_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4lib@webjunction.org
http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
Monday, July 18, 2005
Amazing. Adventures. Chabon. Heart.
I spent a good bit of the last week in New York City, 1939. I was on the top floor of the Empire State Building scanning the skies for the Luftwaffe. I was trying to get my young brother out of Prague by any means possible. Comic books. Antarctica. Houdini. The Automat. I was deep in the pages of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (which Open Worldcat doesn't think MPOW owns--WTF?).
When I thought about blogging this book, I thought I should make it challenging. Three sentences, including age level? (A typical library school assignment, circa 1989.)
New York 1939: two young Jewish comic book artists create the Escapist, a superhero. The Escapist comic line is incredibly successful, earning enough money to bring a younger brother out of Nazi Prague and to the United States. This Pulitzer Prize winner is an engrossing read: you will laugh, you will cry.
Gevult. Go find a real review. It just hummed along. Wish I could spend another afternoon lying in the shade reading it.
Completely unrelated blather:
Yesterday morning, I pruned my rose bush. I don't know what kind of rose it is. It was almost dead when I moved in. Bone meal and humus brought it back and it blooms profusely each year from May through June and again in October. This year, I even got a second wave of blooms in July. After it blooms, it loses most of its leaves and looks extremely raggedy. I never pruned the dead wood from winter this spring. So it was time. I know there is some documented science to pruning roses. Me, I just take out the dead stuff.
Very loose relationship to libraryland? You have to be very careful pruning roses. Long sleeves, pants, and heavy gloves even if it is 95% humidity. Once you've gotten all the completely dead canes free of the bush and dead-headed the spent blooms, you have to still exercise great caution. You cannot just toss rose canes in a big old trash bag and heft it to the curb. Brutally thorny canes make mincemeat out of bags unless you trim down each piece to around 6 inches long. Plus, you really do not want to hurt those other public servants, the trash collectors.
So I sat down and started whittling down the canes with the Fiskar pruners. It took a while. But in a battle where the rose had all the natural advantages, I was victorious. Not a scratch. Much rose in trash bag without tearing bag to shreds.
I guess the parallels with weeding and knowledge and tools and all are kind of obvious. Still, I sat and thought about what, and why, and how I was doing what I was doing. Reflecting while using care, to end up with a happier bush and no pain.
Room in the bag for another round against the pernicious, evil, English (mais, oui) ivy. The ivy also came with the place. Hack it back to near death twice a year, with haircuts in between, and still it thrives. Freeing the rose from the ivy is key to the rose's happiness. Freeing the garden for other perennials is key to mine. (Oh, I moved yet another bloody columbine volunteer, too, since I was already good and sweaty.)
Gorman on Potter on NewsHour
I was sort of half falling asleep during the NewsHour on PBS this evening, though I was interested in Gaza. Then they started talking about Harry Potter towards the end, and suddenly I heard the name Michael Gorman. There he was, talking about how the magical world of Harry Potter was drawing young teens to reading. The Offspring and I instantly at the very same time started yelling at the TV, and she didn't even know who he was. Wrinkle in Time, I said. Narnia, she said. I didn't find a transcript, but the other "literary analyst" said just about the same thing we did, even mentioning the same titles, and talking about Rowling's humor. Though The Offspring had issues with the humor of Peter Rabbit. Defaming one of my first loves, sniff.
Gorman went on about how older teens stop reading (more indignance from the Offspring), but that Harry may save them later. The Offspring thinks Pottermania is a fad; people like us will still read it in twenty years, but we also read Wind in the Willows, and Mary Poppins, and Doctor Doolittle. And no one reads Harry out of order, or will.
I kept waiting for Gorman to say something about "the habit of sustained reading of complex texts," but I guess Harry does not stack up that way.
Here's a link that I can't play because it would interfere with the Offspring's ability to listen to mp3s while reading Half Blood.
Harry Pottermania Continues to Impact Popular Culture
Gorman went on about how older teens stop reading (more indignance from the Offspring), but that Harry may save them later. The Offspring thinks Pottermania is a fad; people like us will still read it in twenty years, but we also read Wind in the Willows, and Mary Poppins, and Doctor Doolittle. And no one reads Harry out of order, or will.
I kept waiting for Gorman to say something about "the habit of sustained reading of complex texts," but I guess Harry does not stack up that way.
Here's a link that I can't play because it would interfere with the Offspring's ability to listen to mp3s while reading Half Blood.
Harry Pottermania Continues to Impact Popular Culture
Friday, July 15, 2005
More great unreads
Continuing reports on things I just couldn't finish:
The World Is Flat Kind of fascinating. One of my favorite T-shirts says "Citizen of the World." (I wore it today, my free day, somewhat in honor of the storming of the Bastille--vive la France!) Friedman makes a pretty good case that borders are becoming irrelevant. However, I do not think he has ever spent a lot of time on the phone with a certain four-letter PC-maker's call center in Bangalore. I spent I think 35 hours connected there last summer, helping a friend with PC problems. It was completely excruciating. Ban outsourcing, I say, just on that basis.
Riven Rock. Don't know what I thought it was about. Schizophrenia. Hatred of women. Violence. After 100 pages, I decided it just was not going to improve for me. So I went and picked up the Kinsey one instead. My favorite Boyle remains Budding Prospects.
Bit of blathering: I keep on hitting posts about what library blogs should be, and how posts should be written. I do read them.
Posit: Library blogs should have a focus. You should write about things you are expert in.
Now, the title of this blog includes the term "blather." It could be argued that I am a specialist in blather :). I had a moment when I thought, "it's not a library blog; it's just by a librarian." Nevermind. Then I thought about my checkered career: I have shelved, typed catalog cards, inventoried, checked out, checked in, fined, waived, searched, questioned, answered, catalogued, bibliographed, digitized, microfilmed, committeed, selected, annotated, reviewed, budgeted, scheduled, managed, maintained, preserved.
I have some expertise in all of those things. Give me two weeks and I will learn more. Wait! There are whole other sides of me. I can bake, grow things, sing, dance, act, direct, write, edit, proofread, counsel. I used to do pre-press magazine production. I have read and critiqued thousands of resumes. I know more than most doctors about patent foramen ovales. I not only cannot get rid of most of my 46 years of baggage, I will not. That renaissance woman thing.
Posit: Posts should have a structure. Present points in an orderly manner. Do not present too many points...
What is the point? This blog is first and foremost for me. I doubt I am hurting anybody's feelings there. I started it to keep track of what I was reading. It works ok for that, though I have developed this weird sidetrack about what I am not reading. I like weird sidetracks. Serendipity. Coinkydinces. (But honestly, there are no coincidences. Every grain of sand is fore-ordained.) Bumbling around and tripping over things. Physical comedy. Ruminating just is not orderly for me--think goat. Tinfoil and raccoon (thank you, Rochelle). Hummingbirds. There is enough OCD stuff in my life. I need the non-OCD right next to it. Eek--woul you look at the time!
The World Is Flat Kind of fascinating. One of my favorite T-shirts says "Citizen of the World." (I wore it today, my free day, somewhat in honor of the storming of the Bastille--vive la France!) Friedman makes a pretty good case that borders are becoming irrelevant. However, I do not think he has ever spent a lot of time on the phone with a certain four-letter PC-maker's call center in Bangalore. I spent I think 35 hours connected there last summer, helping a friend with PC problems. It was completely excruciating. Ban outsourcing, I say, just on that basis.
Riven Rock. Don't know what I thought it was about. Schizophrenia. Hatred of women. Violence. After 100 pages, I decided it just was not going to improve for me. So I went and picked up the Kinsey one instead. My favorite Boyle remains Budding Prospects.
Bit of blathering: I keep on hitting posts about what library blogs should be, and how posts should be written. I do read them.
Posit: Library blogs should have a focus. You should write about things you are expert in.
Now, the title of this blog includes the term "blather." It could be argued that I am a specialist in blather :). I had a moment when I thought, "it's not a library blog; it's just by a librarian." Nevermind. Then I thought about my checkered career: I have shelved, typed catalog cards, inventoried, checked out, checked in, fined, waived, searched, questioned, answered, catalogued, bibliographed, digitized, microfilmed, committeed, selected, annotated, reviewed, budgeted, scheduled, managed, maintained, preserved.
I have some expertise in all of those things. Give me two weeks and I will learn more. Wait! There are whole other sides of me. I can bake, grow things, sing, dance, act, direct, write, edit, proofread, counsel. I used to do pre-press magazine production. I have read and critiqued thousands of resumes. I know more than most doctors about patent foramen ovales. I not only cannot get rid of most of my 46 years of baggage, I will not. That renaissance woman thing.
Posit: Posts should have a structure. Present points in an orderly manner. Do not present too many points...
What is the point? This blog is first and foremost for me. I doubt I am hurting anybody's feelings there. I started it to keep track of what I was reading. It works ok for that, though I have developed this weird sidetrack about what I am not reading. I like weird sidetracks. Serendipity. Coinkydinces. (But honestly, there are no coincidences. Every grain of sand is fore-ordained.) Bumbling around and tripping over things. Physical comedy. Ruminating just is not orderly for me--think goat. Tinfoil and raccoon (thank you, Rochelle). Hummingbirds. There is enough OCD stuff in my life. I need the non-OCD right next to it. Eek--woul you look at the time!
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Counting and making it count
panlibus: Measuring the real impact of libraries
I do not like numbers. It is mutual. We have pretty much worked out a compromise. However, I still refer to statistics as sadistics. Even while subscribing to the accountant's dictum, "if you don't count it, it doesn't count."
My experience with library statistics has been, from the get-go (circa 1973?)--hmm, can't find words. Dodgy? Scary? Full of subjectivity? Works of fiction?
I have seen a five-librarian subject collection staff unable to agree on what "counts" as a reference transaction. I have seen more than a few bald-faced lies in more than a few places. I once made an error that was off by a power of 10 (Yes, that much. I am BAD with numbers). When I tried to report the error and change it, I was told it didn't matter. It made me wonder why I was spending eight hours a month (I said BAD--also painfully slow--but I do try) compiling a monthly statistical report.
I have also been involved in a multi-state project measuring reference interactions involving computers. That was nightmarish--many, many strictures, confusion, arguing. By the time the study was published, MPOW had completed changed the nature of computer interactions at our institution with new policies and procedures. What was it we were counting again?
I am completely convinced libraries have real impact, and are cost-effective to boot. I think the area for improvement lies more along the lines of making anecdotal evidence less anecdotal or more acceptable, but I have no idea how. Maybe librarians should mimic birders, and keep lifetime counts of the people who have told them how important libraries have been to them. (My count must be in the hundreds.) Did Monty Hall ever give anyone $500 dollars if they had a library card in their wallet? We need to do something like that. And we have to keep doing it. We do not need a one-shot fix or study followed by pilot followed by study ad absurdum.
I do not know how to keep up with the pace of technological change and its impact on libraries, let alone express it statistically. I just showed a vendor another vendor's really cool new widget. The vendor was thrilled because he can't keep up with it all, either.
I took a political science course in college that was popularly called "how to lie with numbers." I took it to meet the statistical analysis requirement. I learned a lot in it, including not to ever trust bar graphs. I also worked one summer for a firm doing telemarketing for a prominent political pollster. Do not to believe the poll numbers are in any sense factual. So, our political system is using a very questionable (dare I say corrupt?) system to guide some of their decisions.
Libraries are using a questionable system to guide and justify their decisions. How can we fix that? Reforming the social sciences research methodology is a tall order. But I know people who say that "anything that needs the word science after it to describe it is not a science." In other words, chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, et al.: sciences. Scientific method. Library _______. (No, I don't mean to start that argument here.) I am not saying we throw away any babies with the bath water. Nor do I want to use a ouija board in my decision-making tree. Some things are observable and recordable. But there are lots of things that are hard to count. We need to make sure they count.
I do not like numbers. It is mutual. We have pretty much worked out a compromise. However, I still refer to statistics as sadistics. Even while subscribing to the accountant's dictum, "if you don't count it, it doesn't count."
My experience with library statistics has been, from the get-go (circa 1973?)--hmm, can't find words. Dodgy? Scary? Full of subjectivity? Works of fiction?
I have seen a five-librarian subject collection staff unable to agree on what "counts" as a reference transaction. I have seen more than a few bald-faced lies in more than a few places. I once made an error that was off by a power of 10 (Yes, that much. I am BAD with numbers). When I tried to report the error and change it, I was told it didn't matter. It made me wonder why I was spending eight hours a month (I said BAD--also painfully slow--but I do try) compiling a monthly statistical report.
I have also been involved in a multi-state project measuring reference interactions involving computers. That was nightmarish--many, many strictures, confusion, arguing. By the time the study was published, MPOW had completed changed the nature of computer interactions at our institution with new policies and procedures. What was it we were counting again?
I am completely convinced libraries have real impact, and are cost-effective to boot. I think the area for improvement lies more along the lines of making anecdotal evidence less anecdotal or more acceptable, but I have no idea how. Maybe librarians should mimic birders, and keep lifetime counts of the people who have told them how important libraries have been to them. (My count must be in the hundreds.) Did Monty Hall ever give anyone $500 dollars if they had a library card in their wallet? We need to do something like that. And we have to keep doing it. We do not need a one-shot fix or study followed by pilot followed by study ad absurdum.
I do not know how to keep up with the pace of technological change and its impact on libraries, let alone express it statistically. I just showed a vendor another vendor's really cool new widget. The vendor was thrilled because he can't keep up with it all, either.
I took a political science course in college that was popularly called "how to lie with numbers." I took it to meet the statistical analysis requirement. I learned a lot in it, including not to ever trust bar graphs. I also worked one summer for a firm doing telemarketing for a prominent political pollster. Do not to believe the poll numbers are in any sense factual. So, our political system is using a very questionable (dare I say corrupt?) system to guide some of their decisions.
Libraries are using a questionable system to guide and justify their decisions. How can we fix that? Reforming the social sciences research methodology is a tall order. But I know people who say that "anything that needs the word science after it to describe it is not a science." In other words, chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy, et al.: sciences. Scientific method. Library _______. (No, I don't mean to start that argument here.) I am not saying we throw away any babies with the bath water. Nor do I want to use a ouija board in my decision-making tree. Some things are observable and recordable. But there are lots of things that are hard to count. We need to make sure they count.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Fwd: [Web4lib] Search engine song - Humor intended
Unbelievable--really good laugh!
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bess Reynolds <Bess.Reynolds@cwt.com >
Date: Jul 12, 2005 10:13 AM
Subject: [Web4lib] Search engine song - Humor intended
To: web4lib@webjunction.org
For those of you who have not seen this, be prepared for a little Flash and
a little Motown.
This is really worth getting all of those Out of Office replies:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~pcxee/google_flash.htm
Bess Reynolds
Technical Services Librarian
At a Prestigious Unnamed Law Firm for the purposes of this missive
Bess.Reynolds at cwt.com
-----------------------
IRS Circular 230 Legend: Any advice contained herein was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding U.S. federal, state, or local tax penalties. Unless otherwise specifically indicated above, you should assume that any statement in this email relating to any U.S. federal, state, or local tax matter was written in connection with the promotion or marketing by other parties of the transaction(s) or matter(s) addressed in this email. Each taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayer's particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.
==============================================================================
NOTE: The information in this email is confidential and may be legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not read, use or disseminate the information; please advise the sender immediately by reply email and delete this message and any attachments without
retaining a copy. Although this email and any attachments are believed to be free of any virus or other defect that may affect any computer system into which it is received and opened, it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that it is virus free and no responsibility is accepted by Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP for any loss or damage arising in any way from its use.
==============================================================================
_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4lib@webjunction.org
http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bess Reynolds <Bess.Reynolds@cwt.com >
Date: Jul 12, 2005 10:13 AM
Subject: [Web4lib] Search engine song - Humor intended
To: web4lib@webjunction.org
For those of you who have not seen this, be prepared for a little Flash and
a little Motown.
This is really worth getting all of those Out of Office replies:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~pcxee/google_flash.htm
Bess Reynolds
Technical Services Librarian
At a Prestigious Unnamed Law Firm for the purposes of this missive
Bess.Reynolds at cwt.com
-----------------------
IRS Circular 230 Legend: Any advice contained herein was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding U.S. federal, state, or local tax penalties. Unless otherwise specifically indicated above, you should assume that any statement in this email relating to any U.S. federal, state, or local tax matter was written in connection with the promotion or marketing by other parties of the transaction(s) or matter(s) addressed in this email. Each taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayer's particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.
==============================================================================
NOTE: The information in this email is confidential and may be legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not read, use or disseminate the information; please advise the sender immediately by reply email and delete this message and any attachments without
retaining a copy. Although this email and any attachments are believed to be free of any virus or other defect that may affect any computer system into which it is received and opened, it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that it is virus free and no responsibility is accepted by Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP for any loss or damage arising in any way from its use.
==============================================================================
_______________________________________________
Web4lib mailing list
Web4lib@webjunction.org
http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
Monday, July 11, 2005
How to Spot Arial
Articles: Arial Sidebar 1
Great sidebar to an article on the Scourge of Arial. Found via A Capital Idea: A copy-editing blog covering grammar and newspapers like they're going out of style. Gotta love that tagline!
Personally, I really like Futura for sans serif; Book Antiqua for serif. But not on the same page!
Great sidebar to an article on the Scourge of Arial. Found via A Capital Idea: A copy-editing blog covering grammar and newspapers like they're going out of style. Gotta love that tagline!
Personally, I really like Futura for sans serif; Book Antiqua for serif. But not on the same page!
Friday, July 08, 2005
Wisdom, shortchanged?
dailypennsylvanian.com - Guest Column: Wisdom, shortchanged
Obviously, I have been thinking about these issues a lot, and for some time. If you have been watching closely, a recent post was deleted after reflection. Blogging about the job has been covered recently by Rochelle (twice) and Meredith.
I do like the voice I have found here, and I don't want to lose my "moxie" as Meredith says. It is a difficult line to draw. I have always felt the strictures placed on librarians at the Free Library of Philadelphia impact my free speech. I do understand that we are a government agency, and must always represent the City government to the public. Some of the requirements, about politics, are in place due to abuse in the past by other divisions of City government. You need to look at many of the civil service rules in light of history.
The injunction about not speaking to the press has been in place for ten years at least. It applies to all staff, not just librarians. I think people get confused because union shop stewards do speak to the press. But they are "protected" from demotion, forced transfer, and the like. In any case, that's about as much commenting as I am going to do on this article.
Obviously, I have been thinking about these issues a lot, and for some time. If you have been watching closely, a recent post was deleted after reflection. Blogging about the job has been covered recently by Rochelle (twice) and Meredith.
I do like the voice I have found here, and I don't want to lose my "moxie" as Meredith says. It is a difficult line to draw. I have always felt the strictures placed on librarians at the Free Library of Philadelphia impact my free speech. I do understand that we are a government agency, and must always represent the City government to the public. Some of the requirements, about politics, are in place due to abuse in the past by other divisions of City government. You need to look at many of the civil service rules in light of history.
The injunction about not speaking to the press has been in place for ten years at least. It applies to all staff, not just librarians. I think people get confused because union shop stewards do speak to the press. But they are "protected" from demotion, forced transfer, and the like. In any case, that's about as much commenting as I am going to do on this article.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
To Success: Library Success Wiki!
Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki
All hail Meredith! All talk about your successes! I am planning to move over to the wiki all the really great library posts I have marked "keep as new" in Bloglines so I don't lose them. Bloglines is wonderful, but it's a terrible storage system. And I can't blog everything I see. I'm very excited about a different method.
I am also very happy to see something emphasizing the positive. I have seen and heard wonderful things in my years in libraryland; too many went unheralded or unremarked. So, let's change that. I also really would like to see some public library content--I know it's out there, hiding it's light under a basket...let it shine.
All hail Meredith! All talk about your successes! I am planning to move over to the wiki all the really great library posts I have marked "keep as new" in Bloglines so I don't lose them. Bloglines is wonderful, but it's a terrible storage system. And I can't blog everything I see. I'm very excited about a different method.
I am also very happy to see something emphasizing the positive. I have seen and heard wonderful things in my years in libraryland; too many went unheralded or unremarked. So, let's change that. I also really would like to see some public library content--I know it's out there, hiding it's light under a basket...let it shine.
I am a statistic--please join me!
This is a general social survey of the greater weblog community being conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Our goal is to help understand the way that weblogs are affecting the way we communicate with each other. Specifically we are interested in issues of demographics, communication behaviors, experience with weblogs and other technology, and the meaning of various types of social links within the blogosphere.
The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete, and we are asking anyone with a weblog to participate. The larger the sample of individuals we can get, the better our picture of the community will be.
MIT Media Lab stuff is always interesting, even if I don't always see things from the same perspective as they do. One helpful tip: you may need to have your buddy list open to complete. So if that's not work-safe for you, don't do it at work.
Have you ever had to think about how people got on your buddy list? I hadn't. I feel that I should have more family members on my buddy list...I also wanted to put in a disclaimer that meeting people last week at the OCLC bloggers soiree shouldn't really count or at least not that way...
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
OCLC with a groove on
At long last, I am taking a moment to reflect on the OCLC bloggers soiree at ALA Annual. I know practically everyone who was there has already posted about it. There are lots of pix. There's a wonderful take off on Sloop John B, with good notes on the original folk song from Rochelle.
Now, I know there are many people who go to ALA for the social aspects. Lunches and dinners with friends, library school reunions, committee and round table get-togethers, etc. I have never been one. For one thing, I have never known many people at ALA.
History: My first ALA, I went as a exhibitor for my employer. I stood in a booth on the exhibits floor for eight hours a day talking occasionally about taxonomies and more often about why we changed the color of our directories every year. I walked around the exhibits on my breaks. I was still in library school. I had never spent a night away from my four-year old and I had just found out my husband was having an affair...bad memories still.
My experiences of ALA have improved. (I am happily unmarried, too.) I do take pity on lonely looking vendors sometimes. (I ask them to tell me about their products even when I have no interest, and let them swipe my card.) I went to some good sessions at Midwinter in Philadelphia a few times, joined LIRT and CLENERT, got on a committee. My boyfriend could join me, so I have a roommate and someone to eat with...but still no real outside social interactions. I am not really a party animal, or very outgoing. The idea of going to ALA to meet people always seemed weird to me.
Then I saw the invite from It's All Good, one of my favorite blogs. Walt, Jenny, Alane, Steven, Michael, and Michael, Meredith, Aaron, Rochelle...it was like there was going to be an famous author event! I had to go just to tell these people how important they are to me.
Well, it turned out to be the most fun I've ever had at ALA. The OCLC suite on the 29th floor of the Hyatt was swanky, even without comparison to a certain other hotel. There were the promised pretzels, plus veggies and cheese, and beer and wine. I was too nervous to eat, so I drank wine. Eric Childress poured my wine. Since I had just seen him at the Newspaper Users Group, he and I immediately got into a discussion of USNP and USDNP and mapping to MARC. It was kind of mind blowing to be gabbing with him, on a subject so interesting to us, if not to others. But fun!
It was early yet, so I had a chance to say hello to Alane, Alice and George. I had my boyfriend in tow. He does not blog. I should say did not. The IAG team had a laptop where party goers could blog during the event. I was too intimidated, but boyfriend did post a comment. And admitted he had read Bcubed, at least a little.
Well, bloggers started to fall from the sky, or at least from the elevators. I can't even remember who all, but it was amazing. Everyone I've mentioned, plus more. I had a good chat with Mark about copyediting compulsions, Walt remembered me from meeting like six years ago (!), Roy Tennant (aka Web4Lib god) showed me his new PowerBook (lust for laptop, though Roy's not half bad either). Some of the LITA bloggers were there. It was so weird to be putting faces to names already on my buddy list.
Well, I drank more wine. I was not the only one having a high old time. Oh, Eli was there! And KGS. My rockstar worship babeling thing kicked in, but I think people just took it for the wine. The OCLC people had to kick us out of the suite. But we got Cathy to say there would be another bloggers bash at the next annual. New Orleans, watch out.
We talked about going to other ALA events we had invites for, but we were afraid all the food would be gone. So 13 of us ended up cabbing to a bar on Michigan Avenue. It was closed. So we ended up at Bennigan's, over boyfriend's vocal protests. He is very anti-chain eateries/drinkeries. He pouted for a bit, but Rochelle got him talking about patrons at the beach, and Steven and I discovered a common love of very long novels. I think we bored everyone at our end of the table. I still wish I could have spent time at the other end of the table, but chair-hopping was too much for my meager social skills.
Boyfriend claimed at the OCLC suite that he had never seen so many geeks having such a good time. It's true. It was such a nice mix of ages and passions. I think most of the people there were not usually social butterflies. But so many intelligent people who care about libraries in one place! Something will come of this, whether or not I am involved, mark my words.
I am thinking about Bcubed's place in the biblioblogosphere. It's still a handy way for me to keep track of ideas and sites. I am thinking of revising my blogroll. (I am thinking I need to stop picking the lint out of my navel!) I am thinking I need to think about blogs and their roll in the bibliosphere some more. Blogging for LITA and attending the blogger's soiree have made me consider many things. I am not going to give up the voice I have found here. But I am going to be changing a lot of the rest of my life in the near future. I am going to keep reading library blogs.
Side crabbing: I was awake most of the night due to the fireworks. Well, the crowd to see the fireworks. I live near the fireworks. At 9:00 a.m yesterday, there were already people on the street corner outside my apartment arguing about parking spots. I could see the edges of the fireworks down the street when I took the dog out at 11:00 p.m. They finished shortly thereafter, and then the car thing started. Heavy traffic on my little residential street. Horns honking. Pedestrians fighting. Kept up until around 1:00 a.m. People still setting off firecrackers at 2:30 a.m. Some other disturbance on the street at 4:08 a.m. I am very tired and cranky. Took an Administrative Leave day. Blather blather blathering.
Now, I know there are many people who go to ALA for the social aspects. Lunches and dinners with friends, library school reunions, committee and round table get-togethers, etc. I have never been one. For one thing, I have never known many people at ALA.
History: My first ALA, I went as a exhibitor for my employer. I stood in a booth on the exhibits floor for eight hours a day talking occasionally about taxonomies and more often about why we changed the color of our directories every year. I walked around the exhibits on my breaks. I was still in library school. I had never spent a night away from my four-year old and I had just found out my husband was having an affair...bad memories still.
My experiences of ALA have improved. (I am happily unmarried, too.) I do take pity on lonely looking vendors sometimes. (I ask them to tell me about their products even when I have no interest, and let them swipe my card.) I went to some good sessions at Midwinter in Philadelphia a few times, joined LIRT and CLENERT, got on a committee. My boyfriend could join me, so I have a roommate and someone to eat with...but still no real outside social interactions. I am not really a party animal, or very outgoing. The idea of going to ALA to meet people always seemed weird to me.
Then I saw the invite from It's All Good, one of my favorite blogs. Walt, Jenny, Alane, Steven, Michael, and Michael, Meredith, Aaron, Rochelle...it was like there was going to be an famous author event! I had to go just to tell these people how important they are to me.
Well, it turned out to be the most fun I've ever had at ALA. The OCLC suite on the 29th floor of the Hyatt was swanky, even without comparison to a certain other hotel. There were the promised pretzels, plus veggies and cheese, and beer and wine. I was too nervous to eat, so I drank wine. Eric Childress poured my wine. Since I had just seen him at the Newspaper Users Group, he and I immediately got into a discussion of USNP and USDNP and mapping to MARC. It was kind of mind blowing to be gabbing with him, on a subject so interesting to us, if not to others. But fun!
It was early yet, so I had a chance to say hello to Alane, Alice and George. I had my boyfriend in tow. He does not blog. I should say did not. The IAG team had a laptop where party goers could blog during the event. I was too intimidated, but boyfriend did post a comment. And admitted he had read Bcubed, at least a little.
Well, bloggers started to fall from the sky, or at least from the elevators. I can't even remember who all, but it was amazing. Everyone I've mentioned, plus more. I had a good chat with Mark about copyediting compulsions, Walt remembered me from meeting like six years ago (!), Roy Tennant (aka Web4Lib god) showed me his new PowerBook (lust for laptop, though Roy's not half bad either). Some of the LITA bloggers were there. It was so weird to be putting faces to names already on my buddy list.
Well, I drank more wine. I was not the only one having a high old time. Oh, Eli was there! And KGS. My rockstar worship babeling thing kicked in, but I think people just took it for the wine. The OCLC people had to kick us out of the suite. But we got Cathy to say there would be another bloggers bash at the next annual. New Orleans, watch out.
We talked about going to other ALA events we had invites for, but we were afraid all the food would be gone. So 13 of us ended up cabbing to a bar on Michigan Avenue. It was closed. So we ended up at Bennigan's, over boyfriend's vocal protests. He is very anti-chain eateries/drinkeries. He pouted for a bit, but Rochelle got him talking about patrons at the beach, and Steven and I discovered a common love of very long novels. I think we bored everyone at our end of the table. I still wish I could have spent time at the other end of the table, but chair-hopping was too much for my meager social skills.
Boyfriend claimed at the OCLC suite that he had never seen so many geeks having such a good time. It's true. It was such a nice mix of ages and passions. I think most of the people there were not usually social butterflies. But so many intelligent people who care about libraries in one place! Something will come of this, whether or not I am involved, mark my words.
I am thinking about Bcubed's place in the biblioblogosphere. It's still a handy way for me to keep track of ideas and sites. I am thinking of revising my blogroll. (I am thinking I need to stop picking the lint out of my navel!) I am thinking I need to think about blogs and their roll in the bibliosphere some more. Blogging for LITA and attending the blogger's soiree have made me consider many things. I am not going to give up the voice I have found here. But I am going to be changing a lot of the rest of my life in the near future. I am going to keep reading library blogs.
Side crabbing: I was awake most of the night due to the fireworks. Well, the crowd to see the fireworks. I live near the fireworks. At 9:00 a.m yesterday, there were already people on the street corner outside my apartment arguing about parking spots. I could see the edges of the fireworks down the street when I took the dog out at 11:00 p.m. They finished shortly thereafter, and then the car thing started. Heavy traffic on my little residential street. Horns honking. Pedestrians fighting. Kept up until around 1:00 a.m. People still setting off firecrackers at 2:30 a.m. Some other disturbance on the street at 4:08 a.m. I am very tired and cranky. Took an Administrative Leave day. Blather blather blathering.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Swag bag
The all-time, best ever swag bag. Thank you, OCLC!Another post not appropriate for LITA Blog :)
I was going to try to list all the contents, but they've already been dispersed a bit. I did check it on US Airways. I wonder how many they saw? I didn't really have time to get to the exhibits until Tuesday morning, so much of the really good swag was gone. However, as I recall, contents included a lovely blue tote bag from Demco; 12 pens on strings from Sirsi (for my staff, since we are transitioning from DRA this summer); three really nice pens from Swets, with matching notepads, for the folk who endlessly claim international papers for me; one manga magazine; a CMX DC Comics pure manga button; a cloisonne Dark Horse lapel pin for the resident expert; two jokey reference booklets from Gale; Alamo crackers (from San Antonio Public's recruitment booth); and Yorkshire tea bags. I was a model of restraint, only picking up two advance reading copies: E.L. Doctorow and a time travel romance. I also bought one book: Alain de Botton's Status Anxiety, plus a gift book on Samurai cats for a family member. Besides the OCLC bag, the best swag I got was a $10 gas card I won from Demco, which I gave to a friend from Southern California. And that's my swag report from ALA Annual Chicago 2005. I really will post about the OCLC blogger salon soon!
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