Karen Schneider Tribute

A Tribute to Karen Schneider:  outgoing co-moderator of PubLib

On Sat Jun 18 2011 Publib co-moderator Karen Schneider  announced two major Upcoming changes to the PUBLIB list :

1. Migration of the  listserve hosting from Webjunction to OCLC.

2. Her departure as co-moderator of the PubLib listserve after 15 years of service to the growing Publib community.

Co-moderator Sara Weissman provided Publib with a an overview of some of the many intellectual/  administrative contributions Karen Schneider has made to help develop this dynamic Publib community :

1. PubLib postings by and about Karen Schneider  number over 6000

2. Karen Schneider’s numerous insights include her “Internet Reference Success Stories, job announcements, policy questions  galore, using the Internet for fun and benefit, announcements from ALA and  its many divisions, humorous reference questions, patrons and accompanying  animals, skylights, cafes in public libraries, the homeless, etc., etc., etc. “

3. PubLib subscribers grew from 2,700 to 10,458 strong. 

Nann Blaine Hilyard – Director of the Zion-Benton Library has suggested a fitting, colorful tribute to Karen for her generous contributions to the PubLib community:

To thank Karen Schneider for her years as co-moderator of PubLib, we are going to give her a bookshelf quilt.   If all 10,000 PubLibbers contribute, so much the better—she’ll have a library-filled quilt!  

 By July 31, 2011, PubLibbers are asked to create signature blocks.

Here is how:

  Cut a piece of woven cotton fabric  2.5”  x  5”. 

Any color.

Must be woven.   If there are no sewists in your household or among your colleagues, consider using a a piece from a shirt or a sheet.

No knits.   No textures (no terrycloth or corduroy).

  On that piece of fabric write your name and library or town – however you want to be identified.  (If you use a pseudonym, that’s fine.)

 ♦ If possible use a Pigma brand pen.  (Scrapbookers, quilters, and artists in other media use them.)

Alternatives:  a gel pen, a fine-tip Sharpie, India ink are all okay.

 ♦ Any color of ink is okay.

*DO NOT USE* a Flair, a fountain pen, or a ballpoint pen.

Signature block with margins

Keep a 1/4 to 1/2- inch margin all around the block.   Do not write in the margin (that’s the seam allowance). 

Send the signature block to: Nann Blaine Hilyard, Zion-Benton Public Library, 2400 Gabriel Ave.,Zion, IL  60099 BY JULY 31, 2011.  

If you want to enclose a couple of bucks to defray the cost of fabric, thread, and batting that Nann will use create the quilt, that would be great. 

  Note:  Nann will bring Pigma pens and pre-cut 2.5” x 5” fabric to ALA Annual, so if you’ll be there, find her!   

Nann Blaine Hilyard, director
Zion-Benton Public Library
2400 Gabriel Ave.
Zion, IL  60099
847-872-4680x 110
847-872-4942 fax
www.zblibrary.org.

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A Tribute to Karen Schneider 

World Book Day and Google Book Search

 World Book Day, Copyright, and Google Book Search

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On March 22nd the Southern District Court of New York rejected the Google Books Settlement.  One of the central issues of the Google Books Settlement was the burden on Copyright holders to opt out of having their works digitized by Google.  Instead, the burden is put on Google to obtain rights by having Copyright holders opt in. What does this mean for the extraordinary database Google has constructed of digitized works?  What contents are already available in Google Books?

 On March 16th the World Book Day game was reposted from Facebook to the PubLib Listserve:

  • “It’s that time again – World Book Day. Grab the book closest to you right now. Open to page 56 and choose the 5th sentence. Publish it as your status and write these rules as a comment. Don’t choose – PICK UP the CLOSEST BOOK. Don’t say what the book is about.”

The World Book Day game on Facebook is apparently a derivation of World Book Day as explained here by Judy Turner   :

  • Briefly, the day’s official name is World Book and Copyright Day (also known as International Day of the Book or World Book Days. It is celebrated yearly,except in the UK and the Republic of Ireland where the first Thursday in March was chosen as the date. The commemoration was organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and copyright and was first observed in 1995.

Many PubLib subscribers posted the fifth sentence on the 56th page of the book closest to them on PubLib.    Running the sentences through Google Book Search yielded many of the titles.  Google sells many of these titles through the eBookstore, so it stands to reason that many of the copyright holders would have given permission to digitize.  Do the searches that do not appear represent opting out?  It also stands to reason if the 56th page of a book is available through Google Book search, the rest of the book would also be available.  Does this mechanism of being able to search a book in its entirety still represent fair use?  And, what are the books that were closest to the PubLib readers who participated in the game?

The 56th page fifth sentences follow. The sentences do not necessarily correspond to the 56th page of the edition scanned, but each sentence was available in its entirety:

This is only a test

By similar reasoning, it was held in U.S. v. Jacobsen (1984) that field testing of a white powder uncovered by a private search was no search, as it would only reveal whether the powder was an illegal substance.” ~ Robert Balliot  – Criminal Procedure Constitutional Limitations – Jerold H. Israel and Wayne R. LaFave -2006  – ( Editor: this was not in Google Book Search – is this an example of opting out by Thomson West?)

“Locally crafted of walnut, mahogany, and sometimes cypress, these knobs are identical to examples made in the eastern United States and continued to appear on both bench-made and factory-made furniture through the nineteenth century.”~ Audrey Jo DeVillier – na

“Paul knew that if he meant to make it in show business he had to go ‘down south’, even though southerners had a reputation for being unfriendly and condescending to northerners such as himself.” ~ Mark P. Hasskarl – Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney – Page 56 – Howard Sounes – 2010 – 634 pages

“Mainly a place for jewelers to pick up stock, ordinary mortals, too, can rummage the sparklers and invest in either loose gems or unique pieces of fine jewelry.”~ Gair Helfrich – na

“”The double hit of having a tendency to form clots combined with an additional element that causes clots can lead to serious problems.” ~ Viccy Kemp – 100 Questions and Answers about Stroke: A Lahey Clinic Guide – Page 56 – Kinan K. Hreib – 2008 – 185 pages

“Like her he scanned the shadows, the deep pits of dark.” ~ Patrice Matujec – na

“And later, after her gentle care, she could see the trusting look in his eyes”. ~ Deb Yoder – A Moment in Time – Judith Gould – 2001 – 323 pages

“What these men had to eat and drink Is what we say and what we think.” ~ Myers, Leigh – Selected poems John Crowe Ransom – 1969 – 159 pages – More editions

“I can do without the snake’s help this time.” ~ Charli Osborne – na

“Like its rival Laphroaig, this [Lagavulin] is a very distinctive malt.” ~ Diane Swint Levin

“Is she awake yet?” ~ Darla Wegener – na

“”We won’t be doing that, Sheriff Barnett.'” ~ Glenda Pate – na

“It’s my mother.” ~ Betsy Cherednik – na

After agreeing to the new, harsher terms, Johnston surrendered his once-great army on April 26, 1865. ~ Melissa Davidson – Insiders’ Guide to Civil War Sites in the Southern States- John McKay – 2005 – 384 pages

When the poet Claude McKay reviewed Shuffle Along for The Liberator magazine, he made a point of praising its all-black production because some black radicals ‘were always hard on Negro comedy…hating to see themselves as a clowning race.’ ~ Kathleen Stipek – Anything Goes: A Biography of the Roaring Twenties- Lucy Moore – 2010 – 352 pages

“Malcolm Usrey called the book ‘a powerful and moving story, made poignant by [O’Dell’s] restraint and simplicity, reflecting the stoic, proud, and quiet or passive strength of Bright Morning.'” ~ Donna Olson – Biography Today Author Series: Profiles of People of Interest to … Laurie Lanzen Harris, Cherie D. Abbey – 1996 – 190 pages

The nation’s first nonpartisan African American summit convenes April 21-23. ~ Melodie M. Franklin – The African American almanac L. Mpho Mabunda – 1997 – 1270 page

Glue and clamp together four pieces of 3/4″ x 3-1/4″ x 4-1/4″ stock to form the cab block (B). ~ Michael May – The great all-American wooden toy book Norman Marshall – 1999 – 211 pages

“4 1/2 cups water” ~ Ami Kreider – too many hits – na

“I went to Sedona’, Brenda Answered ~ Carolyn in Glasgow, MT – Fatal Error – Judith A. Jance – 2011 – 368 pages

“It’s true that I may have looked a bit New Agey, but I didn’t really need this.” ~ Margaret M. Neill – One of Our Thursdays Is Missing – Jasper Fforde – 2011 – 384 pages

Beigeschmack m (-[e]/no pl.) slight flavor; smack (of)(a. fig.) ~ Fred Beisser – The Oxford-Duden German dictionary: German-English, English-German – Page 1538  Olaf  Thyen, Michael Clark, Werner Scholze-Stubenrecht – 1999 – 1728 pages

Since then, staff have followed up and worked with them to identify things they will do. ~ Carolyn Rawles-Heiser – na

“”Eileen, achora, I hear someone come tapping.” ~ Cindy Rosser – na

Install A-B-C fire extinguishers in the home and teach family members how to use them. ~ Dianne Harmon – It’s a disaster! … and what are you gonna do about it?: a … – Page 56  Bill Liebsch, Janet Liebsch – 2006 – 268 pages

Finally Ethel walked out on him and went to perform at a Black club called Egg Harbor, then landed at Rafe’s Paradise where the patrons were white. ~ Judy Turner – na

“Dorothy showed him no respect at all.” ~ Erin – Wringer – Jerry Spinelli – 2004 – 227 pages

It was characteristic of not only the Platonic but the Xenophonic Socrates. ~ Bill Manson – na

The very worst poetry of all perished with it creator Paula Nancy millstone Jennings of Greenbridge, Essex, England in the destruction of the planet Earth. ~ Diane Doty – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Page 58 Douglas Adams – 1997 – 208 pages

Those to whom the power of election is transferred must observe the provisions of law concerning an election and, for the validity of the election, they must observe the conditions attached to the compromise, unless these conditions are contrary to the law. Conditions which are contrary to the law are to be regarded as non-existent. ~ Paula Laurita – The code of canon law: new revised English translation  Catholic Church, Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Canon Law Society of Australia and New  Zealand – 1997 – 508 pages

“The boy wondered and grieved that she could not eat; and when, putting his arms around her neck, he tried to wedge some his cake into her mouth, it seemed to her that the rising in her throat would choke her.” ~ Brad Leifer – Uncle Tom’s cabin, or, Life among the lowly – Harriet Beecher Stowe – 1852

“Then he heard a rustling sound coming from the kitchen.” ~ Meegan Tosh – – na

“The brigand’s sword withdrew to strike, and Friar Lorenzo sank to his knees in submission, clutching the rosary and waiting for the slash that would cut short his prayer.” ~ Heather Murray – Juliet – Page 56 Anne Fortier – 2010 – 464 pages

The Wee Tods cooried in close, their nebs twiggin, their een skinklin like stars. ~ Gail Roberts – na

“The rep was described as what we termed “UK-6 Aristocracy Dapper-12,” which meant that he had a fine pencil mustache and spoke as though he were from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.” ~ Catherine McCullough Les –  One of Our Thursdays Is Missing –  Jasper Fforde – 2011 – 384 pages

“All the same, she saw him go with regret.”  Betty Neels, The Awakened Heart. ! ~ Carrie Braaten (Editor: not in Google Books but  the line partially repeats – A Good Wife – Page 32 Betty Neels – 2009 – 192 pages – Shall I go up?’ Serena gave him a tired ‘Hello.’She was both tired and very worried, her hair hanging down herback … be along presently,’ he told her, ‘ and I’m sure your brothers will see to everything.’ She saw him go with regret. ..) – na.

“The amount of material on reserve for a course should be reasonable in relation to the total amount of reading assigned for the course;” ~ Kim Rutter – The librarian’s copyright companion – Page 56 James S. Heller – 2004 – 257 pages

“She is not for sale,” the father answered. ~ Marla – na

However, Sebastiano gained his greatest fame after moving to Rome in 1511. ~ Jessica Rogoz – The World Book Encyclopedia: Volume 1  World Book, Inc – 2007 – 22 pages

Most teams don’t have such a complete back; they’re more likely to have one of each, so defenses can take their next cues from the formation. ~ Sandra Ferguson – na

“Provides training and educational assistance to build a productive workforce.” ~ James B. Casey – Illinois handbook of government Illinois. Office of Secretary of State – 2001

I will continue to nurse, ride on her ody, and sleep in her nest for more than six years. ~ Judi Bugniazet – na

box of W’s. ~ Jane Carle – na

“There’ll be lots of little things like this, won’t there?” he says, sliding into the right-hand side of the bed. ~ Meredith Crosby – The Poison Tree – Erin Kelly – 2011 – 336 pages

“Eventually runners, if they survive to their eighteenth birthday, can become more of a liability than an asset.” ~ Carol Sheffer – Channel Surfing with God – Page 56 – Gary Fisher – 2009 – 267 pages

La negligencia en la otorgación del permiso de la minera San José, la falta de control respecto a situaciones precedentes y la inexistent supervisión de sus labores, se mantiene como el principal argumento del gobierno del presidente Sebastián Piñera ante los cuestionamientos opositores por el despido de Alejandro Vio, ex director del Sernageomin y responsable administrativo del desastre. ~ Kathi Kemp – Vivos Bajo Tierra/ Alive Underground: La historia verdadera de los …Manuel Pino, Manuel Pino Toro – 2011 – 272 pages

The child needs to get a job as well, which intensifies time pressure when it comes to studying. ~ Robert E. Perone – Ten minute guide – stress management – Page 91 – Jeff Davidson – 2001 – 192 pages

“And now,” said Susan, “what do we do next?” ~ Deborah Shepherd – The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe – Page 55 Clive Staples Lewis, Pauline Baynes – 2000 – 189 pages

All the lanterns were shuttered halfway so that a cool twilight suffused the air, lending an ethereal feel to the event. ~ Laurenne Teachout -Eldest – Page 56 – Christopher Paolini – 2007 – 704 pages

Boothe Homestead Museum gives tours Tuesday through Friday and weekend afternoons. ~ Cheryl Marriage – Off the beaten path: a travel guide to more than 1,000 scenic and … – Page 56 – Reader’s Digest – 2003 – 384 pages

“An evil prophecy is always fulfilled, if you put no time limit upon it; fulfilled quite readily, too, if you are a child counting little misfortunes as disasters.” ~ Ramona Lucius – The searchers – Alan Le May – 1954 – 272 pages

“Barbara came in bearing a tray of cups and saucers and a pot of hot chocolate.” ~ Deborah McLaughlin – American Taliban: A Novel – Page 56 – Pearl Abraham – 2010 – 258 pages

A rubber imitation softball, for instance, at something over 3″ in diameter, has it uses. ~ Judy Anderson – Musical instrument design: practical information for instrument making – Page 56 Bart Hopkin – 1996 – 181 pages

“In my experience there are three reasons why a boy will want to take out a book on poetry: 1. to impress a girl 2.for a class assignment 3.to impress a girl.” ~ Beth Dailey Kenneth – Bruiser – Page 56 Neal Shusterman – 2010 – 336 pages

“Until it receives a determination letter, the organization is required to file income tax returns and pay the applicable tax.” ~ John Richmond – na

“Some people set up routines or choose cues in order to build these moments of mindfulness into their day.” ~ Joanne Cronin – na

“The fall of communism was the result of a much longer process, and the popular protests were just its most visible, but not necessarily most important, component.”  ~ R.  C. Rybnikar  – na

I just need to know that nobody’s reading over my shoulder, about to ask me what I’m writing. ~ Sarah Howison – Messenger of Truth: A Maisie Dobbs Novel –  Jacqueline Winspear – 2007 – 336 pages

“I waited for another crack of thunder, thinking one surely had to follow a statement like that.” ~ Liz A. Vagani – na

In the was a brick oven carrying a large pan; beside it stood a rattan basket filled to the brim with pieces of charcoal. ~ sherry hupp – Judge Dee at Work: Eight Chinese Detective Stories – Page 56 – Robert Hans van Gulik – 2007 – 184 pages

“She didn’t know the real Eddie.” ~ Janet – na

What he needed was to dull his senses as much as he could, staying just sober enough not to be completely tongue-tied. ~ Connie Jo Ozinga – na

From the beer bottles strewn about like passed out drunks, and the cheese doodle dust coating his chest and face, it was pretty clear what he’d been up to. ~ David Faulkner – Red-Headed Stepchild – Jaye Wells – 2009 – 342 pages

“Or at least buy you a book on tactics to bolster your metaphors.” ~ Mary Wilkes Towner – – The Orchid Affair – Lauren Willig – 2011 – 405 pages

“An indoor botanical conservatory, two wedding chapels, and the Spa Tower complete the extravagant picture.” ~ Daniela Yew – Fodor’s Las Vegas 2010 – Page 56 –  Fodor’s – 2009 – 392 pages

“Later Longie Zwillman, the so-called ‘Al Capone of New Jersey’ , took Doc’s place.” ~ Michael Gregory – Encyclopedia of world crime: criminal justice, criminology, and …: Volume 1
– Jay Robert Nash – 1990 – 4500 pages

“To be sure, unlike Dana, the movement’s advocates were not attempting to democratize taste.” ~ Malakia Oglesby – na

“Wishing for my leg back.” ~ Susan Riley – na

“At one end of the bar the television set was on, but the sound had been muted.” ~ Celia Bandelier – P is for peril – Sue Grafton – 2001 – 352 pages

“A robot is already a spare part.” ~ Brock Peoples – na

“He furnished himself with shirts and all the other things he could, following the advice the innkeeper had given him; and when this had been accomplished and completed, without Panza taking leave of his children and wife, or Don Quixote of his housekeeper and niece, they rode out of the village one night, and no one saw them, and they traveled so far that by dawn they were certain they would not be found even if anyone came looking for them.” ~ Lisa Guidarini –  The First Part of the Delightful History of the Most Ingenious … –  Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra – 1909

“Other patrons push their chairs back; the front door opens and shuts, then opens but doesn’t shut as Hattie steels herself to explain about radon, and about how the cancer had already spread by the time they found it – to his liver and brain before anyone knew a thing. “ ~ Laura Carroll – World and Town – Page 56 – Gish Jen – 2010 – 386 pages

Badawi scratched his chin thoughtfully. ~ Ann Perrigo – na

“Frey and others such as Versaci are part of a growing number of educators encouraging read3ers to see comics as a legitimate literary form.” ~ Joann D. Verostko – na

“An old and inconvenient term still used to designate a color mixed with black.” ~ Teresa – na

Swaz si des uber Rin mit ir zen Hiunen brahte, daz muose gar zergeben sin. ~ Lucy Roehrig – Deutsche Grammatik: Volume 1; Volume 4 – Gustav Roethe, Edward Schröder – 1989

“We’re authorized by the Department of Extraordinary Affairs to take you into custody for the possible murder of Professor Mason Redfield.” ~ Pat Mathews – Dead Waters- Anton Strout – 2011 – 335 pages

“Aren’t you forgetting something else?” said Katie acidly. “Like, um, the vents?” ~ Terry Ann Lawler – na

“The very nicest.” ~ Cheryl Schubert – na

World Book Day sentence results

Word Map of Results

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The Google Generation and Library Skills

What the Google Generation Doesn’t Know or 

Get off of my Lawn!

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How has Google affected research skills?  Are library patrons getting the facts?  Are the facts they are getting ‘real’?   Do they know how to find information or what questions to ask? How is the technological immediacy of information balanced against quality?  Do rolling stones still gather no moss?  Many opinions were offered on these subjects and more when  Kevin O’Kelly of the Somerville Public Library asked Publib members:

         “is ignorance of the skills of the pre-Internet age limiting their (high school students) ability to function in the Internet age? ”

To which the Publib Chorus responds:

Thy cnt spl.  Vowels are a thing of the past. Seriously, they can’t spell. They can’t find things, sometimes even on Google because even Google can’t make heads or tails of what they are trying to say.   ~ Dusty Gres – Ohoopee Regional Library System  (editor:   SMS language avoids vowels)

Ay?

I was assisting a middle-schooler with her homework when I noticed she had written that the two official languages of Canada were English and Sumerian. I pointed out her mistake, but even if she had turned the homework in and gotten it wrong she would probably still have discovered that Yahoo Answers isn’t the best resource. And I don’t know about others in my generation, but I rarely find myself’ following the shiny blue hyper-links all over the place in some sort of internet-induced ADD rapture (unless it’s Wikipedia, in which case all bets are off – that site is an easy time-suck). ~ Theresa McNutt – Red Oak Library 

The truly disturbing thing is that back in the day, patrons who couldn’t use the book resources got no information and came to us for help.  Now they will actually get something with their poorly constructed search strategies and they’ll be happy about it.  It’s hard to educate someone who thinks they know what they’re doing. ~ emilie smart – East Baton Rouge Parish Library

. . .Often they finally do come to me, and the only thing left to do is to employ the backhoe method to help them.  I ask ‘what piece of information do you need to have when you leave that you don’t have now?’  … They are entirely too trusting.  They will believe anything if a search engine produces it.  They need to have that talk about not all is gold that glisters and not every search engine is righteous in its presentations.  They don’t know the difference between a site that is there to sell something and one that is there to provide information.  …  They are willing to show others–including librarians–how to manipulate the technology in exchange for being shown how to manipulate information.  Together, we have possibilities. ~ Kathleen Stipek –  Alachua County Library District   

As a member of “generation Google” I respectfully disagree.  It’s a vast  generalization to say that an entire generation (or all young people,  etc.) don’t know how to search online, use an index in a book, or any number of other assumptions. Some younger people don’t know how to do these things; that’s for certain. But neither do some adults. It’s unfair to say that, just because I grew up using computers and the  Internet, I don’t know how to use a library in the traditional sense; or  that I don’t know how to correctly and successfully search for
information online. ~ Amanda Dias – Rodman Public Library

I find that just as many middle aged and older adults have basic book finding and research questions as younger ones. ~ Jesse Ephraim – Roanoke Public Library

I have found that fewer young people have an understanding and appreciation of the Dewey Decimal system.  As we migrate to eBooks and other things digital, I also think about children reading about this strange system (Dewey) that was used to arrange an old technology (books) a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…. Which leaves me to wonder if Dewey will ever have a place in a completely digital world? … are the same basic skill(s) needed to find, use and evaluate information changing?

How would our ancient predecessors have handled a change in information technology?  It would be interesting to consider how the Roman era librarians of Alexandria would have handled the change from housing half a million papyrus scrolls to a lesser number of paper books.  What changes in society and technology would have effected them?  (And we all know how the changes in society, politics and history of their times influenced the end result of the Great Library of Alexandria.) ~  Dana L. Brumbelow – Alachua County Library District

 many people of ALL ages now just turn to Google and don’t go any further when looking for information. For me it’s really a question of reminding people that unlike the web, a book doesn’t just suddenly disappear, the way a website will if the internet connection is severed. ~ Teresa Eckford

Pretty much anything off the Internet, regardless of source, if it sounds remotely plausible, will satisfy many questioners. Certainly no one wants to wait the few minutes for a librarian to find the correct information in an actual reference book – just take whatever Wikipedia offers.  And it seems that many teachers, having grown up with the same attitudes, don’t have the sense to demand authoritative sources.  Or, perhaps, even to be aware that they exist.

One of my favorite books, “The Franchise Affair” by Josephine Tey rightly skewers the tabloid press of the 40s.  The crazy tabloids my grandmother subscribed to have move comfortably to the web. Batboy lives!  And I’m having a Martian love child next month!  
. . .  Often research skills are taught in school, but patrons want to take the easy way and have you hand them information.  I’ve encountered this often as a K-8 school librarian.  Several teachers complained to the principal that the students didn’t know how to find information or use the library.  This was after years of being taught how to do both.

I asked the teachers to bring classes in to see what the problem was.  The teacher would ask, “Where would you find information on XYZ?”  A room full of shrugged shoulders and vacant stares.I responded, “Really?  Where is the first place you would look for the information?”  Miraculously hands would go up and they suddenly remembered they would use the index to the encyclopedia and then locate the volumes indicated.  They would explain about the different Dewey classifications and using the OPAC. ~ Paula Laurita – Athens-Limestone Public Library 

 
Yellow Journalsim

Yellow Journalism

“Yellow journalism” goes back to the beginning of journalism! So do highly-regarded books that contained errors, slanted viewpoints, careful omission of important facts, etc.No matter what the medium, “logical fallacies” will always be common. Politics in general relies heavily on them, as do many other factors in life. Critical thinking can be taught, but the emotional and social variables that undermine the process can never be fully overcome.

 I would even suggest that the concept of “authoritative sources” in general tends to downplay critical thinking while appealing to emotion and social pressures.  😉  Knowing how to manipulate the technology is an integral part of librarianship today.  Librarians should know more than the students in that regard, and should work hard to keep their knowledge current.  In most cases, that means studying on your own time for no pay, just as folks in other professions do.

. . . There are some simple ways to improve Google searches dramatically – when I have trouble finding things via Google, it’s usually because the information simply isn’t online, or it’s so obscure that it takes a lot of extra work (which is true of old style print searching, as well).  Though indexes are more precise, they are inherently much more limited. ~ Jesse Ephraim – Roanoke Public Library

The Pew Research Center [somewhere] discovered that, really, under-twenty-somethings aren’t really all that net-savvy. They found it a misconception that next-genners can fix a computer in their sleep. Stroll through any public library’s teen area and watch them actually try to find info by Googling – it’s laughable, sad even. I’m not sure Google gets enough credit in terms of info. organization. Its services just get a bad rep because of its users. ~ Michael Schofield

 
As professionals we should be aware of, and keep up to date on, both library(research) methods _and_ current information technologies. ~ Carl William Long –   Reading Public Library
 
 I think some patrons would love a drive through window! I my case as a public law library – “one divorce packet, no children, to go please.” ~ Virginia Eldridge  Grayson County Law Library

 What really gets to me about these kids-these-days-and-their-darn-computer-boxes discussions is the knee-jerk assumption that a different skill set is an inferior skill set. Lately I’ve enjoyed pointing people to Socrates’ Phaedrus, written around 370 B.C., in which he rails against the new technology of the printed word and its deleterious effect on the mental habits of future generations. David Malki, author of Wondermark, has a really good blog post about it here: http://bit.ly/fnDHxu     

Socrates

I assume that a listserv full of librarians isn’t going to side with Plato in condemning the written word, but he’s not entirely wrong. A dialogue with a knowledgeable person can be much more illuminating that reading a book written by that same person. Plato’s error is his failure to see that the written word has its own strengths to offset the ways in which it is inferior to the spoken word and his refusal to seek out and exploit those strengths rather than lamenting those inferiorities.

Computers have produced a cultural upheaval to rival that wrought by writing and we’re well the point of no return. We’ll better serve ourselves and our patrons by looking to fuse our competencies with those of the Googleites than by grousing about what the kids don’t know. ~ Andrew Fuerste-Henry – Carnegie-Stout Public Library

. . . this ability to synthesize information into thoughts (especially written thoughts) that young people seem increasingly to be missing. I’m not sure if it has to do with how, or where they are getting their information; whether the inability to use an index or to structure a good online search is part of the problem. But I do know it’s a very real problem. I see it all the time, both at work and when I serve as a judge for local debate tournaments.  ~ Tom Cooper – Webster Groves Public Library

I think this is probably the most significant point to be made on this topic, and gets to the heart of the matter. How to help patrons who don’t know they need help? ~  Mark Hudson  East Baton Rouge Parish Library

And teachers and the Internet and their assignments for children…. I can’t figure out if it’s Google-era teachers or old, seasoned veterans who apparently give assignments and say, broadly, “You need information from a book, from a magazine article, and something from the Internet.”  Period.  I used to think it was older teachers who really were backward and knew nothing of the Internet, but thought it was something that everyone was “doing,” so his/her students should “do” the Internet for an assignment, too.  But I’m not so sure.  Then again, having had experience as a parent, I’m not always sure if kids who say, “The teacher said I need something from the Internet,” and then volunteer no further info, despite the best reference interview I can muster, are telling the truth.  Maybe the teacher gave precise directions and exact websites to try.  (That does happen, in about 10% of the cases, or some ridiculously low percentage like that there one.)  Maybe the teacher spoke intelligently and well about How to Find Good, Accurate Information on the Internet.  Or not.  Or has never been in the public library.  Or perhaps has.

Hittites in Love

And then there are all the official documents sent home for parental signatures at the beginning of the year, baddly ritten with pore grammer an speling an runonsentencez, and who produced *those*, I wonder.  Google-ites, or Troglodytes?  (Amorites, Hittites, Jebusites, Hivites–oops, now I’m getting carried away with names from the Bible, and am risking political incorrectness in public.  Or on publib.  Stop me now!) ~ John Richmond – Alpha Park Public Library

A brief summation of the Google Generation thread, with abject apologies to the Rolling Stones. 🙂 ~ Tongue firmly in cheek, ~ Sarah Howison  – New Richmond Branch Library 

(You! Kids!) Get off of My Lawn

They live on the Internet and they can’t read an analog clock
And they eat junky foods till you can hear all their arteries clog.
They trust Google way too much, and they don’t know how to use an index
They cite Wikis in their papers and good lord, I don’t know what’s next!

We say You! (You!) Kids! (Kids!)
Get off of my lawn!
You! (You!) Kids! (Kids!)
Get off of my lawn!
You! (You!) Kids! (Kids!)
Get off of my lawn!
Keep off the grass ’cause you’re not allowed
On my lawn!

Their phones are ringing Bieber in the library all of the time
They answer them out loud, ignoring all the posted “no cell phone” signs.
You say “Hang it up, kiddo, or I’ll have to ask you to depart.”
And they act as though you’ve stabbed them all the way down into the heart.

We say You! (You!) Kids! (Kids!)
Get off of my lawn!
You! (You!) Kids! (Kids!)
Get off of my lawn!
You! (You!) Kids! (Kids!)
Get off of my lawn!
Keep off the grass ’cause you’re not allowed
On my lawn!

They barely use a vowel, they communicate only in text-speak
And for all the sense it makes to us, they might as well be sending Greek.
We snoop around the stacks and assume that all their acts are obscene
No wonder they seem to think librarians are all kind of mean!

We say You! (You!) Kids! (Kids!)
Get off of my lawn!
You! (You!) Kids! (Kids!)
Get off of my lawn!
You! (You!) Kids! (Kids!)
Get off of my lawn!
Keep off the grass ’cause you’re not allowed
On my lawn!   ~ Sarah Howison  – New Richmond Branch Library

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Tea Parties and Terabytes : the Digital Library Revolution

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Tea Parties and  Terabytes  : the Digital Library Revolution

Tea Party

A few months ago on Publib , I entertained the idea of replacing a brick and mortar library with electronic book readers and subscriptions.

Our local free library had spent about $8,000,000 on a library renovation / reconstruction employing grants, local taxes, donations and state funds.  Notably, it had started out being about a 4 million dollar project.   What would 8 million dollars along with yearly operating funds  purchase now?  Could the needs of library users be met with electronic book readers and subscriptions?  Could accessibility be expanded?  

Asking those questions met with sharp disapproval from the librarian in Rhode Island who had overseen the project. She characterized me as a tea bagger – (derogatory slang meaning Tea Party member) for daring to bring up the idea.   At least I think that was what she meant.  The Urban Dictionary has some other definitions that are not very nice.

I'm late !

Why would entertaining a simple idea of how  8 million dollars could have been spent create such a visceral reaction? Public libraries represent the most efficient aspect of local government.  Hardly any library system is a  beneficiary of public largess.  The entire loosely affiliated public library system in the United States is efficient because of internalized ethics, highly trained personnel and sharing.  Sharing resources means everyone benefits.  Sharing is something other public services have never done as well as public libraries. Are public libraries in such precarious shape that civil discourse threatens libraries as the bastions of civil discourse?  Is time running out? Are we too late?

Imagine no brick and mortar library exists.  What sort of digital book access could an initial 8 million dollar investment and a yearly operating  budget of $480,000  afford?  …

$8,000,000  could buy:

 Amazon Kindle . . . . . . . . 57,553 units retail    at $139 each or
 Sony eBook Reader . . . .  62,015 units retail    at $129 each or
 Barnes & Noble Nook . . . 53,691 units retail    at $149 each 

 A $480,000 operating budget could purchase:

Lots of electronic books. The cost of many titles through Amazon’s Kindle program is $9.99 or less. So, yearly new ebook accession could be greater than or equal to 48,000 titles. That seems like a fairly small collection to support sixty thousand ebook readers

The 60,000 ebook readers could also be shared within households. With  2.59 people on average per household – 155,400 people would be sharing only 48,000 titles.  That is less than 1/3 of a book simultaneously available to all readers at once during the first year.

But wait, there’s more, terabytes more:

Amazon also provides Kindle Popular Classics with almost instantaneous free access to over 15,000 books.

Project Gutenberg provides Free eBooks with over 33,000  titles.

The Internet Archive provides free access to massive collections .

The Google Books project also provides free access to terabytes of text and images and is partnering with major libraries around the world.

Digital collections such as the Perseus Project   and Lincolniana at Brown offer a vast wealth of specialized subject matter.

The United States Government along with State and Local Governments are providing more and more public information in digital format.

So, what does that mean?

60,000 households could each have immediately access to hundreds of thousands of free books and articles and increasing access to new books and articles. 

But what about catalogs and reader services?  Doesn’t everyone need catalog help? These collections are HUGE!

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the United States.  The Library of Congress Catalog is massive and serves as the expert resource for copyright.  The Librarians who staff the Library of Congress are some of the most highly compensated in the US. 

Which catalog is intuitively better?

Library of Congress Catalog search:

Here is the output in basic search for the word balliot:   http://bit.ly/fCXAnh

Select item 2 –  CONVAL Report:  http://bit.ly/ijNORk

Using the same search strategy in Google Books:

Here is the output in basic search for the word balliot:    http://bit.ly/faHnAT

Select item 1 – CONVAL Report:  http://bit.ly/gUPu1v

It is even intuitively easier to search within  Library of Congress collections using Google Books full text.  LC requires a copy submitted to them when they formally copyright.  

Full- text of the Copyright Catalog available within Google and not within the LC catalog:  http://bit.ly/gzJf7S  provides reference pointers to LC’s collection.

The HELIN  Library Catalog employs  III encore software and includes: Brown University, Bryant University, Community College of Rhode Island, Dominican House of Studies, Hospital Libraries of Rhode Island, Johnson & Wales University, Providence College, Rhode Island College, Roger Williams University, Salve Regina University, University of Rhode Island, and Wheaton College holdings.

Which catalog is more helpful? 

Here is  HELIN‘s output searching for the phrase Windows Forensic Analysis DVD Toolkit, Second Edition:   http://bit.ly/g8mOa0

Here is Amazon‘s output searching for the phrase Windows Forensic Analysis DVD Toolkit, Second Edition: http://amzn.to/gBpxkZ

Encore tells us that we should use other words and check our spelling. It offers no leads to additional material.  Amazon provided the book, the electronic version, reviews, shots of inside pages and related works.  Some library catalogs intergrate similar features in the user interface, but they are not leading the way.  They are merely following the examples of successful for-profit library catalogs that only recently began to market books.

The Digital Library Revolution

 $8,ooo,ooo in construction expenditures and a $480,000 yearly budget represents the real-world costs of operating a public library in a community with about 22,000 residents and a fairly small collection.  Using the revolutionary digital library model presented here, the same funds would support 155,400  people in 60,000 households while providing instant access to terabytes of digitized collections.
 
The digital library revolution is a radical departure from the way that library materials are contained, published and distributed. Instead of allowing public libraries to disappear from the conversation,  civil discourse should continue that includes public libraries as significant partners and facilitators in the evolution of this digital library revolution.  It is not too late.
 

 “But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.” ~ Lewis Carroll

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Kindles and Android and Nooks (oh my!)

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Update May 19, 2011:   Amazon announced that they are now selling more Kindle books than print books – 5%  more – after dropping the price on the Kindle with advertising to $114.   

Update April 20, 2011:   Amazon announced they will be introducing a Kindle Program for Libraries later this year.     This is significant news for the Library market and quite a game-changer. How will this affect the Overdrive market and the future purchase of hand-held e-book readers by libraries?

According to MediaPost.com  Kindles represent 59% of e-readers shipped.  So, if Overdrive is able to deliver as represented, this would mean 59% more potential e-reader patrons for Libraries that have e-book collections.  Is making the most popular e-reader compatible with 11,000 library collections a positive thing for Libraries?  Is making the devices interactive with the books positive for patrons?  I think it is.
 
It is also potentially *great* for Kindle sales, Kindle book sales, Kindle book authors/publishers (70% royalities in US/UK)  and Overdrive.  The marketplace responded very positively to Amazon’s April 20th news release: http://www.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=NASDAQ:AMZN

Since Overdrive, Inc. is not publicly traded, it is hard to tell what immediate impact this has on the value of their company. But, given Amazon’s extraordinary success in customer satisfaction and their huge IT infrastructure, it stands to reason that the partnership would serve to enhance Library customer satisfaction with Overdrive too.

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Scary new road for Librarians

Many of the  Publib and Web4Lib conversations in 2010 centered on the effects of handheld media devices and applications in the world of libraries.  The mainstream use of handheld media and the proliferation of machines that effectively recreate the reading experience of traditional books struck home for many librarians.

The codex certainly has many iterations, but after 500 years it did become standardized.  With the exception of oversized and miniature books, most are close in size and operate essentially the same way. Librarians are comfortable with and comforted by collections of nice squared chunks of paper, cloth and leather neatly arranged on metal and wooden shelves.   We were comfortable with card catalogs and eventually became comfortable with online catalogs.  The online catalogs certainly did not have the same feel, the same look, the same smell as the old catalogs, but eventually they took hold as  standard library features. Yet, unlike most traditional library catalogs, the intellectual authority over catalog software was outsourced to vendors.  Librarians essentially gave up ownership of their catalogs, while providing broader access to more collections for their patrons through shared resources, databases and inter-library loan.

Slowly, a new path of accessibility began to blend in with the online catalogs. Digital books and digital audio became popular. Massive digitization and storage of public domain works projects were undertaken.  Computer memory, speed, and storage increased while size, cost and energy needs decreased.   Smart-phones and wireless networking became common. 3G and 4G networks proliferated. The convergence of networks, digitization, and hardware improvements meant book contents requiring hundreds of metal and wooden shelves are now available on devices weighing under a pound. And, those same devices have access to enormous digitized collections at far greater speed than even the most efficient traditional library services. 

The youthful progression of 18-20 somethings forced  Academic Librarians to become early adopters of hand-held media technology. Academic in-house computing power and talent lent themselves to solving problems of accommodating information delivery in the manner prefered by their gen x and gen y patrons .  Public Librarians trended towards becoming late adopters.  Many had no budget for electronic book collection development.  Others, inhibited by vendor controlled delivery and electronic book access looked for ways around what appeared to be a system without standards.  Some of the better funded public libraries have been able to develop electronic book collections, purchase electronic readers, and effectively respond to the demand by their patrons for this new information medium. 

 

Rise of the Machines

2010 Christmas season sales in the US accompanied a big price break and increase in quality for hand-held electronic book readers.  Nook, from Barnes & Noble, dropped its price to $149 and started offering a color screen.  Kindle  , from Amazon dropped in price to $139 and the Kindle became their top-selling item.  The Sony ebook Reader was more affordable at $129. The marketplace moved from early adopters willing to pay several hundreds of dollars to the mass market with prices under $200 for advanced electronic book readers.  Many librarians saw the trend and adapted to increased demand for e-books by their patrons.   Many other librarians worked on denying the viability of e-books and holding on to the comfortable idea that the codex was simply better.  But with massive profits driving the suppliers, each complaint about the viability of e-books is being addressed with solutions.  And, the suppliers of e-readers attempt to make their devices behave as well or better than the traditional book:

Librarians and readers complained that reading from a computer screen was not as enjoyable as reading a book. Nook now advertises its “just-like-paper screen” and Kindle and Sony employ the same electronic technology from E-Ink .  The electronic paper screens do not have the flicker of CRTs and glare of LCD panels.  They are not back-lit such as LCD / LED screens – so text does not disappear in direct sunlight.  Some reports link use of LCD and LED screens to insomnia , but the same effect is not apparent with the E-Ink electronic paper available from new electronic book readers.

Librarians and readers complained that sharing of downloaded materials was not possible because the license was for one device, one reader Nook and Kindle have begun to address sharing and are now offering options. Market demand and profit will determine future sharing options. With such an insignificant production / advertising / distribution cost compared to traditional books – electronic books potentially have more leeway in terms of maintaining profitability for publishers and authors.

Nook offers social media options and two million titles. Kindle offers text to speech, advanced pdf reader, and Whispersync links your personal library and the progress of your reading with other devices you might own.  Sony offers Readerstore, Googlebooks, and excellent cross-platform compatibility. Each device is moving towards becoming more and more multifunctional.

Librarians complained about the lack of standardization, instructions and cross-platform compatibility. Most of those problems were derived from vendors who had failed to create adequate instructions and quickly address the needs of libraries as fluid and dynamic information marketplaces.  Conversely, with each complaint about electronic book readers, the focus of the manufacturers and suppliers is to improve.  The complaints are heard as an  opportunity to improve and move a step ahead of their competition.  Are libraries competing?

As if Kindle and Nook and Sony did not create a big enough impact, Google’s Android operating system along with Apple’s iPad  / iPhone and PC applications paved the way for multi-use handheld devices.  3G access became widespread and smartphones are able to use Nook,  Sony and Kindle applications to increase personal library access.   Android equipped devices can quickly download a Kindle or Nook application. Every smartphone can now become an electronic book reader and a mobile library.

The electronic book is here and expanding and evolving without librarians a gatekeepers.  However, there is encouraging news from many public libraries showing patron excitement over electronic book collections.  Some are offering to purchase copies for libraries.  Multiple holds for electronic books demonstrate that sharing is still one of the most effective tool of libraries.   But, if libraries are going to rely solely of vendors for delivery,  vendors must improve and address libraries as valued and dynamic information markets. One of the most promising tools available to librarians who wish to take the intellectual leap of not being entirely vendor dependent is Calibre ebook management.    This “free and open source e-book library management application” offers many features of value to librarians and their patrons.

Librarians must address competition in the information market in order to remain viable. With massive budget cuts to all public services looming, the road ahead for libraries is unknown.  However, it looks like the Tin Man will be traveling with us.

Rise of the Machines

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Publib Discussion: Unnecessary censorship or necessary evil?

 What would Mark Twain do?

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Publib contributors weighed in on questions regarding the sanitation of language in a new edition of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn for the purpose of classroom instruction. Would Mark Twain approve? Should period works be sanitized for classroom instruction?  The general consensus appears to have been a resounding NO.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

♦  Appalled – Judy Jerome

♦  Awful, just awful. – Sally Tornow

♦  doubt that Mr. Clemens would have approved – Sharon Foster

♦  disgraceful – Mary Soucie

♦  Political correctness run so far amuck that it is changing history and literature – Fred Beisser

♦  outraged – Lisa Guidarini

♦  What good does that do? – Kathi Kemp

♦  outrageous and self-aggrandizing endeavor – Robin Orlandi

♦  bowdlerizing is misguided – should be considered/cataloged as a derivative work – John Beekman

♦  order some new copies of the Twain books with the original language so that we ensure that we have them around as needed in years to come… – Sharon Highler

♦  Hi Tech Bowdlerization, still pathetic. – Jeff Imparato

♦  UNBELIEVABLE – GiGi Bayne

♦  horrendous – Tom Cooper

♦  Is there similar outrage about versions of pop music that have selected words altered? – Brad Thomas

♦  The idea that the “new version” is specifically intended for the educational market i(s) disheartening.  – Paula Laurita

♦  Mr. Twain is no longer around to grant his permission. – Aleta Copeland

♦  If you think this edition is a bad idea, then fight for the original. – Jacob Browne

♦  Twain’s language reflects his times, not ours – Kathleen Stipek

There are certainly many different perspectives on race.  But, there really is only one race. We *all* began in Africa.  Folklore / religion / and ignorance of history create the illusion that we are different other than in extremely superficial characteristics.  Those superficial characteristics are simply tiny changes in the genetic markers that have occurred over many thousands of years.

National Geographic produced an excellent film – The Human Family Tree – that traces us back to scientific Adam and scientific Eve.  Worth collecting for any public or academic library:

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/human-family-tree-3706-interactive

The Genographic Project will let you trace your own history, our own history – way, way, way beyond Ancestry.com .

The Elbert County Library in Colorado sponsored a presentation on Genealogy DNA Testing: 

http://denver.yourhub.com/Franktown/Stories/News/General-News/Story%7E921172.aspx  

Think about what a program like that could do for your community.

What would Mark Twain do?

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Engaging your patrons

Re-thinking educational resources

This presentation at TED by PennState’s –  Ali Carr-Chellman – provides excellent insight for engaging potential patrons by rethinking the dynamics of education and information delivery. Highly recommended viewing for any children’s / young adult / reference librarians and library administrators seeking ways of making their collections and resources more viable.

How can this idea of engaging an alienated population be implemented in libraries? 

What methods that mirror these concepts are currently being employed?

Books by Alison A. Carr-Chellman:
https://bestofpublib.wordpress.com/category/library-profession/research/page/2/
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