-- The Undercover Shelf --
How Not To Be A Dick To A Librarian
http://www.xojane.com/issues/how-not-to-be-a-dick-to-a-librarian
I’m a bit late in posting this to my own blog, but here it is. Written in a flurry of inspiration after reading Michael Rosenblum’s fire starter HuffPo piece, What Is a Library?. Comments were overwhelming positive and in support of libraries, which was very heartwarming. There was only one jerk face who seemed to misunderstand both Rosenblum’s and my own post. Oh, well, you can’t win ‘em all, right?
Please feel free to reblog, and I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts here, too. Libraries FTW!
Making a Digital Impact with Timeline JS, a Show Me the Awesome: 30 Days of Self-Promotion post
I like to think of myself as the creative cataloger because, let’s face it, catalogers often don’t have the best reputation in that department. One of several ways I’m trying to change that is by making timelines with an online program called Timeline JS, http://timeline.verite.co/
To give you a little background, my somewhat official title is Cataloging and Metadata Librarian. Yes, this means I work with the Dewey Decimal System and Library of Congress Subject Headings on a daily basis, but that’s only part of my job. Most librarians wear at least a few different hats (I prefer a cloche or a beanie), and so the other part of my job is working with uploading digital archival images (photographs, maps, books, architectural drawings, postcards, etc.) and metadata to my library’s website through CONTENTdm (which is a digital collection management system/software).
Recently, I wanted to come up with a may to make this content more interactive and meaningful. Thankfully, I attended a conference where another librarian presented about Timeline JS, and a lightbulb went off for me: we had so many images already online that were perfect for this format!
So I gave Timeline JS a try and found it to be really easy and fun to use. Yay! All you need is some online content (existing is easiest, of course, but you can scan and upload new images) and a Google Drive spreadsheet. I also created this short Prezi that explains the process a bit further: http://goo.gl/8RLKk
I really love creating these timelines and telling the fascinating stories and histories of the materials in our collection. Timeline JS enables me to connect images together in a more interactive way than CONTENTdm allows, and feedback from visitors to our website and my co-workers has been very positive. The timelines are also further enhanced by the efforts of my co-worker, Caroline, who has been making amazing clips of our oral history interviews.
I hope to inspire other librarians and archivists to work creatively with their digital materials and, even more than that, I want people to be engaged with history in new and exciting ways whether they simply visit our website or come see us in person.
You can see all of the timelines I’ve created at http://digital.houstonlibrary.org/timeline/index.html/ My favorites are When Camelot Came to Houston and The Astrodome. And I’m also working on a longer, step-by-step by tutorial for creating timelines with Timeline JS for a book called More Library Mashups that will be published next year.
What are some of the creative things you’ve been doing with digital materials? I’d love to hear about it!
—Claire
@clairesayswhat
Show me the Awesome Artwork by John LeMasney, lemasney.com.
White Plains Public Library director Brian Kenney in his essay “So You Think You Want To Be a Librarian?”
Great, snark-laced illuminations for anyone in the profession who needs a reality check or those looking to jump into it. Pair with Meredith Schwartz’s “How To Become a 21st-Century Librarian,” and one night at the bar with me, and you’re set.
(via cloudunbound)
Since reading Kenney’s article yesterday, I’ve been trying to figure out just how I feel about it. It’s not that I think he’s wrong, obviously, or disagree with any of his points, but I guess what I want to say is I’m kind of tired of reading articles like that.
Yes, being a librarian in the 21st century is all about customer service and technology whether you’re in front of the desk or behind one. But that’s just the thing—many of us are still, in fact, behind the desk. I’m a cataloger (and proud of it). I don’t work with our customers on a daily, face-to-face basis. But that doesn’t mean what I do is any less important or valid. And while I do agree that we should always stress the customer service aspect to anyone going into librarianship, I also don’t think we should discourage anyone from training for and seeking out their ideal position in the library world.
I kind of think of myself as the “accidental cataloger” since that’s not why I went to library school and certainly not the job I thought I’d end up taking. I wanted to be an archivist, and nobody in library school discouraged me from going down that path. Thank goodness.
So, if you ask me, if we want to keep promoting libraries and information science and encourage more people to become librarians, then we must also remember to continue to promote the great variety of potential jobs and careers that are available within our field.
That’s all.
(via beyondherelies0)
Non-required reading display at the University of New Mexico library.
Definitely one of the best displays I’ve seen in awhile! I love everything about it.
STOP THE CENTRAL LIBRARY PLAN!
The Central Library Plan (CLP), at enormous cost to New York City and its taxpayers, would irreparably damage the 42nd Street Research Library – one of the world’s great reference libraries and a historic landmark. The CLP would demolish the library’s historic book stacks, install a circulating library in their stead, and displace 1.5 million books to central New Jersey. The new circulating library would replace the Mid-Manhattan Library (at 40th and 5th Avenue) and SIBL (Science, Industry and Business Library, at 34th and Madison), which would both be sold off.
• It will be hugely expensive, costing a minimum of $300 million (probably much more), of which $150 million will come from New York City taxpayers. There is great concern that the Library’s focus on a highly-complex construction project will absorb desperately-needed funds which might otherwise pay for renovations of branch libraries, and replenish slashed curatorial and acquisitions budgets.
• It will radically reduce the space available for the Mid-Manhattan and SIBL.
• It will threaten the 42nd Street Library’s status as one of the world’s great research libraries.
• It will threaten the architectural integrity of the landmarked 42nd Street building.
• It does not take into consideration more efficient and less destructive alternatives, such as combining SIBL and the Mid-Manhattan into a rehabilitated and expanded building on the Mid-Manhattan site.
Underlying the widespread concern is the closed process through which the Library administration has made its decisions. Despite the fact that the 42nd Street building is owned by the city and is one of our most iconic structures, the plan was formulated with minimal public notification and no public input. The $150 million that the city has earmarked for the project was awarded without oversight by the City Council and with no public hearings. If alternatives have been considered they have never been disclosed, and no cost-benefit analysis or detailed budget has ever been presented.
Sign the petition at http://signon.org/sign/save-new-york-city-libraries?source=c.em.mt&r_by=6817161
My thoughts are with the families and victims of the city of Boston.
c86:
National Library Week poster, c. 1968
Artwork by Tim Lewis
via MewDeep
It’s National Library Week!
Visit the ALA’s website for more resources!
http://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/natlibraryweek
This year’s theme: Communities matter @ your library
Have you visited your local library lately?
(via chapelkill)
Yup!
10 of the Coolest Librarians Alive, via flavorwire
Please allow a librarian a moment to gloat a bit….I have seen the file cabinet above in person. And also as a former zinester, it was pretty damn cool and pretty much left me speechless. It lives at the Fales Collection in the Bobst Library of NYU, which is one of the coolest special collections libraries EVER. Lisa Darms’ book will undoubtedly be amazing as well. Enjoy the rest of the article at the source link below.
Yes!
“The Volunteer Library Brigade is rolling out to the sidewalks, parks, and subway stations of New York City. These small teams will set up tiny mobile library carts in public spaces around the city and do on site volunteer library work. They will look stuff up, hand out books, do storytime for kids, offer directions, advocate for libraries, and more. The carts will have reference books, maps, giveaways, wifi, and free ebook downloads.”
This rules. Sign up to volunteer at the link.
What a great idea! I love it!!
(via jahnnasbrain)
Who knew the Dewey Decimal System could be so cute?
Poster design by Maggie Appleton, http://mappleton.co/
