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The Book’s The Thing

July 23, 2008

Libraries on the cutting edge of architecture and technology.

The 25 Most Modern Libraries in the World

posted by Lisa at 11:34 am | Comments (0)

Do you want the good news first or the bad news?

07/23/2008

At 100, librarian’s life is an open book

By Rachael Scarborough King , Register Staff

 

GUILFORD — Surrounded by friends, family and colleagues, Edith Nettleton celebrated her 100th birthday Tuesday at the place where she has spent much of her adult life — the Guilford Free Library. Read more …   From The New Zealand Herald: Delving into the darkness within 5:00AM Tuesday July 22, 2008 In the new series The Librarians, Australian comedian Robyn Butler has written a lead role for herself that is among the most unflattering of recent times. She plays Frances O’Brien, head librarian of Middleton Interactive Centre and a middle-class “passive-aggressive control freak” extraordinaire. Not only is Frances (pictured) intolerant of her Muslim, Asian and gay patrons but, as revealed in the first episode this Friday, she is also capable of causing extreme bodily harm to employees through her casual cruelty. Her life unravels when she is forced to employ her ex-best friend, Christine Grimwood (Roz Hammond) - now a drug dealer - as the children’s librarian. Read more …

posted by Lisa at 11:00 am | Comments (0)

June 26, 2008

Referential treatment

Who knew the reference desk was so much fun? Seasoned librarians are probably laughing their heads off thinking “You are SUCH a virgin!” But to me, the neophyte who’s only been on the desk a handful of times, it’s really an interesting change from working in the staff room. Back there it’s a rare thing seeing a non-librarian. When they occasionally do wander in we figure they’re aliens - or terrorists - and taser them. Then we check their i.d.s

Another big change working on the reference desk is the temperature. The staff room at our library could be used as a meat storage locker in the summer. I think the temperature in there hangs out at around 34 F - at least that’s how it feels. There are people who bring in quilts to keep warm, if that tells you something. Out in the library it’s comfortable and sometimes even a little warm. I come out to the library to defrost sometimes, trailing a puddle of melting ice behind me.

For the past almost three years I’ve worked at the library I’ve heard stories about patrons, some good, some a little weird. Now I’m getting to meet these people. As time goes on I’m sure I’ll grow to recognize them and tell the nice from the scary. For now they’re all a blur of non-librarian humanity, but these I can’t taser - as much as I may find I yearn to.

A big minus of sitting at the desk is how loud the lobby/foyer area is, and how children’s screams can be multiplied by about a thousand when you put them in an acoustically perfect environment. Through it all you gotta smile. Smile and look ready to help, pretending there isn’t blood trickling out your ears from your broken eardrums.

Today I was so happy I got to use my RA skills to help a patron. She was a sweet elderly woman who said she was looking for either fiction set in WW II or something about Henry VIII, but without so much of that head-chopping stuff. Now there’s a request you don’t get every day. I sent her home with one book she wanted, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, and one I recommended, The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George, a book I’ve read and enjoyed. It’s inevitable she’ll get to the head-chopping part eventually, but maybe it won’t be so upsetting from Henry’s point of view. But she left smiling, and that’s the point.

Ask me in a few months if I’m still feeling cheery about the reference desk. Or better yet, I’ll just tell you. That’ll save you the trouble.

posted by Lisa at 11:17 pm | Comments (0)

June 24, 2008

Summer reading challenges for border line ADD sufferers

Okay, I’ve signed up for summer reading and not just because I lust after the book bag that’s the final prize for turning in my completed form. I’ve also felt like such a loser not signing up before, especially since I work here.

Now, what the heck do I read? A burning question that’s driving me near madness. I refuse to watch DVDs, count CD books or magazines, all allowable materials that count toward the six total items required to finish. That goes against my grain. Why call it “Summer Reading Program” if you aren’t required to actually read? Sorry, but that irritates me.

I know the point is to get people into the library, partly so they’ll look around in shock and see, “Wow they do have books here!” Dear uninformed patrons, “DUH.”

Six books in eleven weeks. But WHICH SIX BOOKS?!

The practical side of me says I should break out of my literary fiction, bio/auto bio, nonfiction and memoir mold and read popular mysteries, romance and other genre fiction. The vain/uptight part of me would be embarrassed in the worst way to list six romances as the books I’ve read over the summer. You can see my dilemma.

Ah, the heck with it. I’m reading what I want to read. I’ll just read six authors I’ve never read before. That’s counts as breaking out of my mold.

Time to do some serious catalog and soul searching. When I pick number one I’ll let you know how it goes and what I think about it, too. You’re welcome!

If anyone else out there wants to share what you’re reading for your own Summer Reading Programs leave me a comment. If you have suggestions for what I could read I’d love to know those, too. Believe me, I can use all the help I can get.

posted by Lisa at 11:55 am | Comments (0)

June 23, 2008

Guybrarians: Check ‘em Out!

Loved this article about the new generation of male librarians trying desperately to break out of the traditional librarian mold. I’m not sure what the male equivalent of “frumpy” is, maybe “geeky” or “nerdy”?

Whatever you call it, these guys are sick of it. And about time, too. These guybrarians are fighting back. I say, more power to them!

From http://www.theledger.com/:

” These are exactly the stereotypes today’s librarians would like to get rid of, especially one new class of librarians - “guybrarians,” or male librarians who are daring to take their careers where previous generations of men rarely did. Using 1990 and 2000 Census data (the most current available), an American Library Association study found that men make up 18 percent of all credentialed librarians. There was a 4.6 percent decrease in male librarians between 1990 and 2000. But as the library profession becomes more and more high-tech, those numbers may be changing. Meet some younger, hipper male librarians. ”

Read more …

posted by Lisa at 4:37 pm | Comments (0)

June 13, 2008

Ironically, I was just looking at the glorious catalogues sent by Harper …

Personally, I love the smell of all the book catalogs publishers send me. It gives me a better high than sniffing modelling glue (not that I’ve ever DONE that, mind you). Like the smell of books, mostly new but a few old ones that aren’t too disgustingly moldy, I find it one of my favorite things.

I get most of them at home, for the purposes of requesting books for review, but ironically I just received a load of them from Harper and its subsidiaries this morning. That was before I saw this post on the blog Kash’s Book Corner:

“Buying new books for the store, the crux of my job, can be an exercise in absurdity and futility. It’s an antiquated, inefficient system that hardly takes into account the invention of the personal computer and completely ignores the existence of the internet. ”

Read more …

posted by Lisa at 12:55 pm | Comments (0)

Summer Reading!, or, Pimp My Library

Our library looks positively kick butt after all the staff spent the morning decorating it with various and sundry “Get in the Game” graphics. I wish I could show the actual motif but I was too lazy (Read: forgetful) to bring in my camera this morning. Just trust me on this one. It looks totally awesome (I can’t believe I just used that phrase, my children are wearing off on me - please send HELP).

So, are we all psyched? Everyone ready for the deluge? I thought so.

Maybe I’ll sign up for the staff version of summer reading this year. I never have before. I always say to myself, “Oh, I’ll do it next week,” or “It’s not really fair to everyone else considering how quickly I read…”

Lame, I know.

My two boys signed up last year. They got through the first couple prize levels before my youngest got all bummed out one of the prizes (a pen or something?) didn’t work. Since mom’s too scatter-brained to have remembered to bring it back and exchange it for him (NOTE: I work upstairs, and the Children’s Dept. is all the way downstairs) he promptly lost interest. Plus, we went on vacation around that time. I’m sure that’s what really did it, not the cool, flashing and very dead pen (or whatever thingie it was).

Enjoy pimping your libraries, gearing up for the festivities. Just don’t get jealous when I report completing my summer reading requirements the first week. That’s just not the librarian spirit, now, is it?

posted by Lisa at 12:40 pm | Comments (0)

November 20, 2007

HarperTeen Writing Contest

Please pass this along to any teen writers you know:

HarperTeen Writing Challenge

Share your story for a chance to win a $5000 cash prize!

Submit your original writing (a short story, poem, or song) between now and January 7, 2008 and you will be entered for a chance to win. A panel of HarperTeen judges will select the 10 most original and creative pieces, but it will be up to the MySpace community to decide who wins!

Need help? Check out HarperTeen’s MySpace blog and forums for writing tips and advice from authors and editors.

posted by Lisa at 9:33 am | Comments (0)