What IT professionals can learn from librarians
Ann All writes: “I never would have considered IT professionals and librarians kindred spirits if I hadn’t interviewed Steven Zink, then vice president of information technology and dean of university libraries at the University of Nevada, Reno. Zink told me the university’s IT help desk is combined with the reference desk in the main university library so librarians and IT staffers work side by side. Still, I couldn’t see how the roles complemented each other. I assumed the shared quarters were due to space or budget limitations. But that wasn’t it at all.”...
ITBusinessEdge, Jan. 11, Sept. 1

Integrating IT security in your library
Blake Carver writes: “This is part six in my multi-part series on IT Security in Libraries. Today’s post is long on theory. I’ll argue that most any library can be a target and present some ideas on how to make things more secure. Chances are your library is now, or will be at some point, a target. Don’t think you are safe just because you’re just a small library, because when it comes to getting hacked, size doesn’t matter. The average web-based application (small or large) is hit by some type of attack once every two minutes.”...
LIS News, Aug. 30

Library Media Box and other vending machines
Brian Herzog writes: “The Strongsville branch of the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Public Library has installed a vending machine that vends the library’s DVDs. Some libraries do have a Redbox, but that approach never sat well with me—it seemed like an uncomfortable competitive fit. But an easy-access vending machine that distributes library materials? Great. I contacted CCPL for more information, and here’s what I learned.”...
Swiss Army Librarian, Sept. 1; WEWS-TV, Cleveland, Aug. 30; Las Vegas (Nev.) Sun, Jan. 27, 2010

Image-recognition apps
Steven Leckart writes: “Although image-recognition software is still in its infancy, a number of mobile apps are already translating signs, naming landmarks, and providing a running commentary on your world. Google Goggles, which appeared on Android phones in late 2009 and on the iPhone in 2010, is best at deciphering landmarks, text, book and DVD covers, artwork, logos, bar codes, and wine labels. You start the app—it’s part of Google’s search app for the iPhone—and peer at the object through the camera lens. It takes a stab at identifying it.”...
New York Times, Aug. 31

Skype now works with any home phone
Eric Mack writes: “Skype just got so easy your great-grandmother could use it without having to know anything about a sound card or any other input/output doohickeys. Actually, there is one doohickey, but once it’s all hooked up it looks an awful lot like a regular old cordless phone—with VoIP hidden inside. It’s the Freetalk Connect•Me home phone adapter for Skype, which connects to any regular home phone. You will need to connect your PC to set things up the first time, but after that, you’ll just need to make sure your broadband connection and phone are hooked into the adapter.”...
CNET News: Crave, Aug. 31; The Big Blog, Aug. 30

Tumblr vs. WordPress: An appraisal
Gregory C. writes: “Blogs are an important part of content marketing both for folks interested in the business end of blogging and for people looking to run a personal blog about their life. Recently, two platforms have emerged as the most dominant on the scene: WordPress, a longstanding CMS platform; and Tumblr, a strictly self-hosted blog platform that mixes in social networking aspects and focuses on shorter posts (tumblog). Each platform offers distinct advantages, but there are certain aspects where one platform is going to be better than the other.”...
I Love Tumblr, Sept. 7

10 internet technologies for educators: 2011 update
Kelly Walsh writes: “The start of the new school year is the perfect time to refresh the earlier ‘10 Internet Technologies That Educators Should be Informed About’ article from April 2009, given the fast-paced evolution of technology. Here’s an update on five technologies from the original posting, as well as five new technologies that have earned their rightful place in the list (displacing five others that, while still worthy, are not quite as relevant today).”...
EmergingEdTech, Sept. 4

Reading Rockets: Launching young readers
Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help. The project is an educational initiative of WETA, the Washington, D.C., public television and radio station, and its resources include PBS programs, online services, and professional development opportunities. Here are its top 12 resources for librarians. Watch the video (2:38)....
Reading Rockets

New York City spots for book lovers
Christopher Reynolds writes: “These are dire days for old-fashioned books. The 48 bookshops that once lined Manhattan’s Book Row on 4th Avenue are gone or relocated. So, old-fashioned book people, hit literary Manhattan soon and hard. Even if you have only three days, as I did earlier this year, you can squeeze in an eight-stop tour, complete with thinking, drinking, Bibles, tote bags, and a certain pair of municipal mascots. Here’s how my circuit went.” Watch the video (1:55)....
Los Angeles Times, Sept. 4

The Greenwich Village Bookshop Door exhibition
In the early 1920s, noteworthy visitors to Frank Shay’s bookshop at 4 Christopher Street in New York City began autographing the narrow door that opened onto the shop’s office. Signed by 242 artists, writers, publishers, and other notable habitués of Greenwich Village, this unusual artifact is now housed at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. A literal portal to the past, the door reveals the rich mix of innovators—from anarchist poets to major commercial publishers—that defined this slice of Bohemia from 1920 to 1925. This virtual exhibition reconstructs the bookshop and its community. Three librarians’ signatures are on the door, including Edmund Lester Pearson’s....
Harry Ransom Center; New York Times, Sept. 4

Getting ready for Hispanic Heritage Month
Jessica Pryde writes: “National Hispanic Heritage Month is coming up (September 15–October 15). What are you doing to get ready for it? About a third of my student patron base is Latino/a, and I want them to be reading this month (well, every month). Here are a few things that are going to be on my ‘Featured’ shelf starting September 15 (and some of them will double nicely as Banned Books Week features as well).”...
YALSA The Hub, Sept. 6

From scroll to screen
Lev Grossman writes: “Something very important and very weird is happening to the book right now: It’s shedding its papery corpus and transmigrating into a bodiless digital form, right before our eyes. We’re witnessing the bibliographical equivalent of the rapture. If anything, we may be lowballing the weirdness of it all. The last time a change of this magnitude occurred was circa 1450, when Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type. But if you go back further, there’s a more helpful precedent for what’s going on.”...
New York Times: The Mechanic Muse, Sept. 2

The five worst workers in literature
Gabe Habash writes: “Labor Day—the unofficial end of summer—has passed. Which means it’s time to get back to work. To celebrate the return of 9-to-5, we’ve picked out five bad workers we love from literature. And really, we all secretly wish we could be a little bit more like them.” Bad Worker no. 1 is Ignatius J. Reilly (right) from A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole...
PWxyz, Sept. 6

11 classics of Existentialism
Kathleen Massara writes: “Alexander Maksik’s new novel, You Deserve Nothing, is set in Paris and involves a dashing, charismatic teacher of romantic and existentialist authors who ends up starting a forbidden affair with one of his students. We thought he would be the perfect candidate to curate a list of 10 existential novels and one easily guessable play. He considers the biblical Book of Job to be the first great work of Existentialist fiction.”...
Flavorwire, Sept. 6

15 novels set in real-life colleges
Emily Temple writes: “College is an inspirational time, particularly for novelists. There is an entire genre based on the campus novel, which includes books about professors, students, and anyone else who spends a serious amount of time on the hallowed university grounds. In honor of the new school year, we’ve put together a list of great novels set at real-life colleges, whether explicitly stated or thinly veiled in their fictional forms.”...
Flavorwire, Sept. 4

Cartoonists turned picture book authors
Betsy Bird writes: “Used to be that a kid who ‘didn’t like to read’ could be found perusing the newspaper every Sunday for the colored comic pages come rain or shine. Now thanks to a host of different factors, the comics page is no longer the go-to place for kids to get their comic fixes. That honor now belongs to the world of webcomics. Out of curiosity, I thought I might round up a few cartoonists who have made bold stabs at also conquering the world of small-fry book publishing to (as you shall see) varying degrees of success.”...
School Library Journal: A Fuse #8 Production, Sept. 2

The AbeBooks Weird Book Room
Welcome to AbeBooks’ Weird Book Room, heralded as the finest source of everything that’s bizarre, odd, and downright weird in books. They now have an excellent selection of crazy and strange titles listed for sale by their booksellers about every oddball aspect of life you could possibly imagine (and a few things you couldn’t possibly imagine). They invite you to revel in their collection of literary oddities and send them your suggestions....
AbeBooks

New Jersey libraries respond to Hurricane Irene
Gary Cooper writes: “When disaster strikes, where do you go? In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene many New Jersey residents went to their local library, because, as one Princetonian put it: ‘I just knew they’d be open.’ Unless under water or without power, New Jersey libraries (like the Monmouth County Library shown at right) were open and were the place residents flocked to the morning after Irene passed.” Princeton Public Library hosted Plug In and Power Up Day, providing a place where residents could charge devices and get online. Watch the video (3:17)....
New Jersey State Library, Sept. 2

Caitlin McGurk, cartoon librarian
Caitlin McGurk is the librarian at the Schulz Library serving the Center for Cartoon Studies and the surrounding community of White River Junction, Vermont. In late August, the Schulz Library faced a potential collection-destroying crisis due to flooding caused by Hurricane Irene. Although all the books were saved, McGurk and her staff must now set up a working library and eventually move the collection to a permanent location. Tom Spurgeon interviewed her for The Comics Reporter....
The Comics Reporter, Sept. 4

Piers Cawley’s library-closing protest song
U.K. programmer and singer Piers Cawley found out in February that his boyhood library was one of 14 in his borough that was threatened with closure. In July, he told attendees at the O’Reilly Open Source Convention in Portland, Oregon: “So I did what any privileged, white, middle-class male is going to do. I wrote a protest song” (5:54). He urges people to share “Child of the Library” as far and as wide as you can. The lyrics and an explanation of what some of the references mean are found on his blog....
YouTube, Aug. 30; Just a Summary, Feb. 8, Sept. 1

9/11, ten years later
As part of the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s commemoration of the 10-year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL) has been publishing blog posts on how the American experience has changed significantly or been affected by the events. The HSDL is the nation’s premier research collection for open-source resources related to homeland security policy, strategy, and organizational management....
Homeland Security Digital Library

Cincinnati birth and death records now online
The City of Cincinnati Birth and Death Records from 1865 to 1912 are now fully online and available for research and study. The 524,360 records, part of the Local Government Records Collection of the University of Cincinnati’s Archives and Rare Books Library, are of great historical and genealogical importance. The birth and death records also hold significant research value to historians, sociologists, epidemiologists, public health researchers, and other researchers worldwide....
University of Cincinnati, Aug. 31

Louisiana State University SLIS remains open
Dean Beth Paskoff writes: “We appreciate the hundreds of letters of support we received from our alumni and friends during the past year. You did a wonderful job of demonstrating how important it is to continue the MLIS program at Louisiana State University. The good news is that the proposal to close SLIS was never sent to the Board of Supervisors,” and in August Chancellor Mike Martin announced that the school would remain open. Enrollment in the fall semester, despite the threat of closure, was only 18% lower than normal....
Louisiana State University School of Library and Information Science

How I learned to stop worrying and love library school
Alyssa Vincent writes: “So, you’ve subscribed to your library blogs, bought your textbooks, stocked up on highlighters, and are ready for your new life as a library school student/future superstar librarian. Every child will love reading because of you! Students will have unprecedented information literacy skills thanks to your trailblazing instruction. Yes, but first you have to get over all of this self-doubting, second-guessing, and generalized loathing of library school and librarianship.”...
Hack Library School, Sept. 6

Wikipedia is not wicked
Gwyneth Anne Jones writes: “My name is Gwyneth and I use Wikipedia every day. There, I said it. Somehow that’s pretty freeing! Wikipedia is not a dirty word. We’re doing a disservice by not teaching our kids how to use it and how to cite it selectively and with forethought. Much like the internet in general, many educators look upon Wikipedia with suspicion, sometimes derision, and occasionally with fear. But who are we kidding? It isn’t going away, folks!”...
Washington Post: The Answer Sheet, Sept. 7

Lighthouse libraries
Larry Nix writes: “On occasion my interest in library history and my wife’s interest in lighthouse history overlap. This is the case with the traveling libraries of the United States Light House Establishment, a predecessor to the U.S. Lighthouse Service and the U.S. Coast Guard. I first became aware of these libraries while visiting the Raspberry Island Lighthouse in Wisconsin’s beautiful Apostle Islands. That lighthouse has one of the original traveling library bookcases (right).”...
Library History Buff Blog, Sept. 4

Some Shakespeare research tips from the Folger
Jim Kuhn writes: “This is the first in a series of tooltips about accessing and utilizing online resources for research at (or away from) the Folger Shakespeare Library. New bibliographic records, finding aids, and new tools for researchers are continually in the works. Some of our collection descriptions and digital toolsets are created in-house, such as the bibliographic records describing 82 First Folios (and fragments). Others draw on descriptive records or software platforms developed elsewhere, such as our Digital Image Collection.”...
The Collation, Sept. 1

What is Automatic Entity Recognition?
Jeffrey Beall writes: “I am trying to understand Automatic Entity Recognition and its connections to libraries and to metadata. The basic concept is simple, I think: A computer processes documents or text and recognizes all the entities that are mentioned in it and marks them up semantically. Entities are anything that can be named as a noun: mayonnaise, radio antennas, Kentucky, the Super Bowl, epistemology, etc. I see two problems—or perhaps hurdles—to this approach.”...
Metadata, Sept. 4

Google Book Search, LCCN, and OCLC number
Jonathan Rochkind writes: “Google Book Search officially supports search by ISBN using a field search, either in the HTML interface, or the API. But you sometimes have a book you’re interested in that does not have an ISBN, because it’s old or you just don’t know it. It would be useful to search on LCCN or OCLC number. At first this would appear impossible, but in fact although undocumented, Google often does know these numbers for certain items and does index them.”...
Bibliographic Wilderness, Aug. 30

Tips on searching scientific literature
Rachel Borchardt writes: “Looking for some ways to find reliable scientific information, but not sure where to start? I decided to share a few tips for using American University’s scientific databases, in the hope that will help School of Communications students interested in science research to find and access good articles this semester. Here is my list of five useful scientific databases (available at many university libraries), with tips and a few images included.”...
Communication Librarian, Sept. 2

Tutor.com launches service for math teachers
Online tutoring service Tutor.com has launched MyLivePD, a professional development model for math teachers that provides on-demand access to live coaches online. Funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this pilot program will be used by more than 200 middle and high school algebra teachers in seven school districts across the United States. Watch the video (4:09)....
Tutor.com, Sept. 7; YouTube, Aug. 15

Hill Museum and Manuscript Library receives $3-million digitization grant
A $3-million grant from the Arcadia Fund of London has been awarded to the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. According to the Rev. Columba Stewart, executive director of HMML, the award will support the library’s digitization, archiving, and cataloging of newly identified endangered manuscript collections for a period of five years. Photographic manuscript preservation is the library’s core mission....
Hill Museum and Manuscript Library, Sept. 7

Take a survey on public library digitization projects
Public library directors are encouraged to participate in an online survey about their accomplishments and future needs in the area of digitization. A limited number of survey respondents will be invited to participate (with travel expenses paid) in the conference, “Creating a Blueprint for a National Digital Library,” to be held at Los Angeles Public Library, November 15–17. The survey closes September 9....
Los Angeles Public Library, Aug. 31

15 tips to get the most out of Google Docs
Paul Sawers writes: “Google Docs was released to Google Apps users in February 2007, presentations were added into the mix in September that year, and then Google Docs, alongside other Google Apps, left beta mode in July 2009. That should at least jog your memory as to the path Google Docs has taken to where it is today. We’ve dug around, pooled our knowledge, and compiled a list of tips and tricks to help you get the most out of Google Docs. Some of these you may know already, others maybe not.”...
TNW Google, Sept. 2

Playing chess at the library
Mary Voors writes: “For over 15 years, the Allen County (Ind.) Public Library has hosted a children’s Chess Tournament at the end of the summer. Supported by research that shows a correlation between chess and enhanced concentration and reading skills, and financially supported by our Friends group, this just-for-fun, all-day activity gives kids the opportunity to play chess in a tournament structure. The day starts with a players’ meeting at which everyone is told the basic rules of the day.”...
ALSC Blog, Sept. 3

Teaching Facebook at the library
Jackie Cohen writes: “Classes on how to use Facebook are very popular among senior citizens in the United States, who say that social networking reduces depression and fights memory loss. Senior centers, assisted-living facilities, and retirement homes across the country are offering a wide range of computer classes, but ones focusing on social networking are gaining in popularity, according to a recent article in The Atlantic.”...
All Facebook Blog, Apr. 14, Sept. 2; The Atlantic, Aug. 31

How to know what you don’t know
Linda Braun writes: “Whenever I read an article about a topic that I’m not very well-versed in I ask myself: How do I know, since I’m not knowledgeable about this topic, that what I’m reading is actually accurate or even of value? As librarians working with teens, we are always helping young adults figure out how to evaluate information that they access. I think there’s another component of this (for both teens and librarians) that goes beyond knowing whether or not something is accurate. That’s knowing how to find out about whether or not something is worth learning about.”...
YALSA Blog, Sept. 5

Rethinking the “never unsubscribe” spam rule
David Pogue writes: “When it comes to junk mail, the rule, for 15 years, has been: Never respond. Don’t even try to unsubscribe, even if they give you instructions for doing so. Well, I think it’s time to revisit that advice. A couple of months ago, I decided to try an experiment: I’d violate the old rule. I’d deliberately try to unsubscribe from every spam list. And I’d report on my findings. First, the good news: It worked.”...
New York Times: Pogue’s Posts, Sept. 1

Watch free documentaries
Richard Byrne writes: “Documentary Heaven is a free site that has organized more than 1,600 documentary films found across the internet. You can find documentaries covering all kinds of topics in science, history, politics, business, and many more categories. The videos are sourced from a variety of services including, but not limited to, YouTube. It does have some videos in the lifestyle category that might not be appropriate for K–12.”...
Free Technology for Teachers, Sept. 6

Ugly casino carpets encourage gambling
David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Library, writes: “Casino carpet is known as an exercise in deliberate bad taste that somehow encourages people to gamble. In a strange way, though, it’s a sublime work of art, rivaling any expressionist canvas of the past century. Note the regal tones of Caesars Palace or the bountiful bouquet of Mandalay Place, all whispering, ‘gamble, gamble’ just out of the range of consciousness as people walk to the nearest slot machine.” Schwartz has created a gallery of bad casino carpets to prove his point....
David G. Schwartz: The Die Is Cast

Anchorage flash mob goes Bollywood
A flash mob descended on a reception for an art exhibit opening at the Z. J. Loussac Library in Anchorage, Alaska, September 1. It was all part of the events to mark the 25th anniversary of the library. The dance (4:17), choreographed by Leslie Kimiko Ward, was inspired by Indian Bollywood movies and aimed to bring the unexpected to the event....
KTUU-TV, Anchorage, Alaska, Sept. 1

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