Thinking about collection building on the job

The library I work for is in the process of acquiring a new branch on a very limited budget. For the past eight months, or so, we’ve been pilfering through book donations given to the main branch to create the collection at our new location. It is really incredible to watch how we are all working together on this project. There are four or five of us who contribute our literary strengths each morning, pulling the books we know and love to add to this project. Some of us are most knowledgeable about mysteries; some know which best sellers to pull. I take some time out each morning to see which classics and children’s books I think this small rural library might need. Thinking about the kinds of patrons we’ll have and what they’d be interested in checking out has been a huge part of this. Likewise, thinking about the books that every library “should” have has also been a major part of the process. So far, we have created a fairly decent sized collection just based on donations. It’s really pretty incredible.

Creativity and Learning Through Copyright Infringement, chapter 2

I thought I'd share a very old-fashioned and quaint way of doing what I had mentioned in the last post. One of my favorite blogs posted a bit about her daughter often "copying" favorite books, and adding herself into the mix, or even a sibling. Please checkout the link, it's really phenomenal.

I think about how incredible a learning tool this type of self-expression is all the time. Being able to take something you love and make it your own is only one part to this. Being able to look at something (in this case, an illustration) and spend time 1) figuring out how it's done, and 2) figuring out how to manipulate it to your liking (in this case, drawing it for yourself and adding a sibling) is mind-blowing stuff for someone of any age, let alone a child. I can't imagine the brilliance we'd see if kids were taught to do this kind of thing. I would also argue that it is incredibly self-building. Even though you are taking something from someone else, it is typically something you love, so being able to apply yourself to it is really significant on a personal level.

This girl is incredibly lucky to be doing something so important.

Creativity and Learning Through Copyright Infringement, chapter 1

As I noted previously, Remix is giving me quite a bit of food for thought about what is right and wrong and how my generation and generations after mine see big concepts like access, art, culture, education, among other things, in relation to the law.

In Remix, Lessig mentions Girl Talk. I am familiar with this one-man-band. My husband and I were at a party in the fall that we probably shouldn't have been at. We were definitely the oldest people there. Anyway, at that party, we got a good listen to what Girl Talk has to offer. As the evening wore on and we were several hours into Girl Talk's catalog, my husband finally spoke up. I remember it distinctly: "What is this? Music for the ADD generation?"

On the whole, it is really good stuff. I know what Lessig is talking about when he calls it art. It's very well-crafted and it really does speak to the pop culture iconography embedded in us all. Girl Talk weaves a web of cultural references beautifully. It is something that is very important and I think it will continue to be a very necessary and intriguing part of our pop culture as technology progresses. This is one very creative and unique way to process and come to terms with the world around you. Girl Talk's music likely facilitates in the processing and synthesizing of others, which is a very meaningful service. What happens if people push to ban this kind of self-expression and culture-processing? What happens to generations who need this to deal with the world around them but have to face the fact that by doing so, they are criminals? I think that will have more of a negative effect on future generations than the act itself.

Is it okay?

I'm reading Remix by Lawrence Lessig and it just dawned on me that it might not be okay to post that clip of Mitch and Webb. I'm not sure what the policy is. Every blog I read does it. Also, I would not have found out about the show if I hadn't seen a youtube clip on someone else's blog (knew about the comedy duo from seeing Peepshow on British tv, but didn't know they were an English comedy machine! Score.). By the way, you can watch That Mitchell and Webb Look on Netflix's Watch Instantly.

How is it not obvious that this kind of technology increases exposure, which leads to more exposure which inevitably leads to profit? I would totally buy some Sir Digby Chicken Caesar products. We're living in a small world. British comedy should be at our fingertips. If they don't play it on our tvs, we should be able to have access to it through other means. Has anyone seen the Australian show The Librarians? It is brilliant and very topical. I haven't been able to find any viable source for it state-side, though. I think an episode of The Librarians and some pizza once a month would be a great staff bonding ritual at my work, but I'm not about to suggest something illicit. Why is it hard to find? Nothing should be, these days.

For your viewing pleasure

This is from one of my favorite shows: That Mitchell and Webb Look.

Some days just feel like this.

the quiz

So, the quiz. What can I say? It was an ordeal. I deserve ice cream. Tests really make me nervous in general. I freeze up, my hands shake, I lose words, I watch the clock to the point of distraction. I think I had the main questions down pretty good. I spent the last few days reciting functions of what Dr. T had talked about in last week's class over and over until I had it down. I even made a little song to help me remember, but let's not get into that.

There were some questions from left field, and I won't lie: I might have done some serious educated guesswork a couple of times. I just wasn't prepared to answer some of them. I don't blame myself: there is a lot of terminology in this class that is new to me; not knowing that I had to focus on certain topics basically meant not memorizing their meanings. How could I memorize everything? How can I internalize every name of every function of computers that we've learned so far? I can't, and that's all there is to it. I am letting go of a lot of undergraduate habits in this program...I have come to realize - and this quiz was confirmation - that there are some things I'm just going to not know/not do my best on. Whereas in undergrad, I felt like I was in control of what I internalized, here it's just too much information to make efforts to internalize all of it.

Maybe I'm way smarter than I could ever know and my answers were actually correct, but I'm really not so sure of that. I tired to at least sound intelligent, but I'm sure it came out foolish.

Also, there was a major grammatical error in the extra credit question which left me momentarily stunned, but I think I managed to pick myself up and actually produce a somewhat coherent answer. Thanks for the extra credit. I have a feeling I'll need it.

The World's Tiniest Open-Source Violin

Here is a comic that someone emailed to me. It makes light of certain things that some may find offensive, so beware. Anyway, before taking these classes, I wouldn't have gotten any of it. I get it now! I get geek humor. I actually laughed out loud at a joke about infrastructures. What is happening to me?!

Magazine experiment

I heard about magazine barcoding on the radio this morning and promptly Googled. Here is an article about it. The gist:

Readers simply scan the barcodes and a menu on their phone will open with several options, including the choice to instantly purchase the product. Users will also be able to find retailers carrying the item or learn more about how to style the products.

I think this is a really interesting use of technology already out there. I often read magazines and won't hop to the back to see where I can purchase a product I'm interested in...I'll just sigh and dream. If I were the type to be inclined to carry a smartphone, I might make a lot more impulse purchases with this service! I imagine we will be seeing a lot more of this in many different aspects of our lives. Just scan the barcode on a restaurant door and up pops the Zagat review. Scan the barcode on fast food and up pops the nutrition information. Scan the barcode on a library book and useful information will pop up. I don't really know that I like that it will be easy to determine what magazines you're interested in, which pages grab you, what you choose to buy as a result. However, that information is likely already out there.

Zotero

Here is my tutorial on how to install and configure Zotero!

Boy, Google has changed

Still thinking on that RefWorks assignment. The last time a librarian showed me how to use Google Scholar it was 2006 and things were a bit more rough. It was a little bleak and I didn't use a whole lot of reference from my searches. It was still fun to play with, but not what I needed for a paper. But the RefWorks assignment really gave me an idea of how much it has changed in just a few years. It's like night and day. There is so much on it that it kind of made me afraid for libraries, I have to say. Not everything you need is there, but a good deal of the sources were identical to the Scopus searches I did. It's very impressive.

Amazon Searches

My previous blog post about library catalogs, along with the fact that I’m reading Everything is Miscellaneous by David Weinberger got me thinking about how I search for material to use for work. I do a lot of community services work, which means I do a good deal of children’s programming. I am always on the look out for good children’s books and educational activities for various age groups. This is not always easy and sometimes it can take a good deal of time finding something worthwhile.

Weinberger put into words why I usually start my quest for books with a quick scan through Amazon.com. He writes that “it is in Amazon’s interest to introduce you quickly to books you didn’t know you wanted” (Weinberger, 59). There are so many “related” books that pop up based on many different factors (Weinberger, 61), that, by the end of a search for picture books about bumblebees, you’ll have more than enough leads for your bumblebee-themed program, and likely stumble across interesting prospects for future ventures. I haven’t noticed whether or not this method is faster than going to the catalog first, but it sure feels faster. It certainly feels more productive.

I usually take the information I find on Amazon and then search our library catalog to see if we have the books I’ve become interested in. I have found some of my best resources using this method, but it doesn’t say much for our current library catalog system, unfortunately.