Sonic Youth’s inspirational noise
January 5th, 2009More on the new book at Jacket Copy.
SC State Library Launches My State Library Campaign
January 5th, 2009Curtis Rogers - “The South Carolina State Library has launched a new campaign to let state agencies and their employees know more about the host of free services it offers.”
What’s in a name?
January 5th, 2009Infomancy - “According to the results of the 2008 School Library Journal Job Satisfaction Survey, at least $10,000.”
China Targets Google in Pornography Crackdown
January 5th, 2009NYTimes - “China warned Google and other popular Web portals Monday that they must do more to block pornographic material from reaching Chinese users, the latest in a series of government crackdowns targeting Internet content.”
Managing my Twitter existence
January 5th, 2009CNET News - “I’ve not traditionally been much of a Twitter fan, once deriding it as “Wonder Bread.”
I managed my Twitter existence by deleting my account. 
Detainee IDs can be secret
January 5th, 2009How Appealing - “Another month, and another Freedom of Information Act loss for The Associated Press before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.”
It’s now one website for all Hennepin County libraries
January 5th, 2009Star Tribune - “One of the last remaining remnants of the former Minneapolis Public Library system disappears today as that system’s web site goes off line and users are directed to a single web site operated by the Hennepin County Library system.”
Libraries closed on Sundays to offset budget shortfall, U of L library open to public
January 5th, 2009WHAS11.com - “The city of Louisville is tightening its purse strings to offset a $20 million budget shortfall. That means some library services have been cut but the University of Louisville is trying to help fill the gap.”
Public Domain Day - 2009
January 5th, 2009When is a published work not a publication?
January 5th, 2009LibraryLaw Blog - “It is easy for court decisions that are issued in December to get overlooked in the holiday crush.” (via)
Online tools such as Facebook and Skype help parents stalk student children
January 5th, 2009Guardian - “Helicopter parents who hover over their children’s lives long after they leave home are now turning to social networking sites to keep in touch with their offspring and meddle in their university life from afar, a new survey has found.”
Internet Skyrockets as a News Source
January 5th, 2009NYTimes - “The Internet overtook print newspapers as a news source this year, according to a report by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, which asked more than a thousand people where they got “most of” their national and international news. (Respondents were allowed to name more than one medium.)”
When my wife and I watch the news, she sometimes says, “I wish they would talk about (fill in the hot news item here)”. I always say, “just open your computer”. And she does.
New content-forwarding capabilities on the LII site
January 5th, 2009LII Announce - [W]e are thinking very hard about the relationship between legal information and Web 2.0 applications — particularly around questions of crowdsourcing, authority, and expert participation.”
On Being a Book “Slut”
January 5th, 2009Jessa Crispin - “I named this website when I was 23, and it’s true, if I had thought it would be anything other than a time killer read only by my sisters and a few friends, I may have named it something else. But the only people to confuse the fact that “slut” describes my reading habits and not my defining characteristic as a human being are divorced/recently separated(/still married) men in their 50s. Funny, that.”
Queens Library to Begin Construction on Kids Center
January 5th, 20091010 WINS - “The Queens Library is slated to formally begin construction on a $38 million children’s center that will feature interactive exhibits and multilingual resources. Elected officials are expected to attend a groundbreaking ceremony Monday in the Jamaica neighborhood where the children’s center will be constructed next to the central library.”
Review of the Year 2008 and Trends Watch—Part 1
January 5th, 2009Paula Hane - “It’s hard not to be discouraged when we see the belt-tightening going on across all sectors in reaction to the tough economic conditions—cost cutting, layoffs, closures, loss of advertising, scaled back growth plans, etc. … But we’re a tough and resilient lot. Things are bound to improve. And, as one of my more optimistic-minded colleagues pointed out, the tough times forced his company to re-examine how it was doing things and to implement some cost-cutting changes that should have been made earlier.”
Core skills: Curiosity
January 5th, 2009Jenica Rogers-Urbanek - “Over the last month, as I contemplated our three open staff positions, and thought about all the December graduates from library programs, and then faced down finals week, I thought about what the core skills and competencies are for academic librarians. Do we know?”
Keen meets Godwin
January 5th, 2009Michael Sauers, The Travelin’ Librarian (and an all around great guy), has some tough words, for Andrew Keene. And he is absolutely on point. Go Michael!
Editorials : Private investment aids public libraries
January 5th, 2009Reading Eagle - “The Issue: Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter finds private investors to help keep some library branches open. Our Opinion: Almost any alternative is better than closing library branches.”
Orestimba High School’s book ban is up for debate
January 5th, 2009The Modesto Bee - “Trustees will meet tonight to discuss the banning of “Bless Me, Ultima” from Orestimba High School’s English classes. The Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District community has been quarreling over Superintendent Rick Fauss’ decision to yank the book in October after a parent complaint. Some argue the book is profane and anti-Catholic. Others contend it’s a coming-of-age story Orestimba’s students can relate to.”
Philadelphia Libraries Could Use a Dr. Pepper!
January 5th, 2009Philadelphia History Examiner - “I should add that at the time of this writing, a judge has ruled that Mayor Nutter may not close the 11 Free Library branches. But who knew that the mayor would somehow conjure up images of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 411, where firemen were actually paid to START fires and burn down any establishment that housed books? Book burnings at City Hall? Say it ain’t so Mike!”
Scribner to publish first lady Laura Bush’s memoir
January 5th, 2009Associated Press - “First lady Laura Bush has sealed a deal with Scribner to publish a memoir that will encompass her recollections of personal and historical moments, including her eight years in the White House.”
Google Hopes to Open a Trove of Little-Seen Books
January 4th, 2009NYTimes - “Ever since Google began scanning printed books four years ago, scholars and others with specialized interests have been able to tap a trove of information that had been locked away on the dusty shelves of libraries and in antiquarian bookstores.”
Banished Words of 2009
January 4th, 2009Daily Writing Tips09 - “Every January Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie publishes a list of 15 Words to Be Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.”
If You Feed Them, They Will Come
January 4th, 2009Wendy Reynolds - “In mid-December, I put a call out to my library colleagues, asking how they use food to promote library services. The responses were varied and imaginative.” (via)
Libraries Build Communities
January 4th, 2009Congrats to Chrystie Hill on the publication of her book. When I dropped out of the project, I was really bummed, but I knew that Chrystie would complete it in the high quality way that she always does things.
L’chaim Chrystie!
Connecting Families
January 4th, 2009
Using the webcams and Skype, military service families can contact a member of the military either overseas or in the U.S. that are registered with Skype. Skype registration is also free.
Twitter reveals mundane lifestyles of celebrities
January 4th, 2009Telegraph - “Stars using Twitter to post minute-to-minute updates for fans have given an inadvertent insight into their surprisingly mundane lives.”
geek washing machine sends techie reminders
January 4th, 2009technabob - “If you’re the type to put clothes into the wash and then forget to take them out again, there may just be a solution. Too busy mucking about in the living room to remember your clothes? No problem; there’s an alarm that sounds, annoyingly, as a reminder. Can’t tear yourself away from the computer? No problem; the machine sends messages to Twitter, too.”
OMG, We’re Not BFFs Anymore? Getting ‘Unfriended’ Online Stings
January 4th, 2009WSJ - “Users of Social-Networking Sites Delete Friends Who Don’t Keep in Touch, Misbehave”