The Perks of Being a Librarian

Are books and e books really at war?

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:51:00 +0000

See full article here.

Librarians as __________: Shapeshifting at the periphery.

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:17:00 +0000

Tremendous post by Char Booth from in The Library with the Lead Pipe.Librarians as __________: Shapeshifting at the periphery.If you haven't added in the library to your RSS feed/Google Reader you should, they are pretty awesome.

Libraries bigger than cupcakes?

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:00:00 +0000

According to an NPR article, libraries are quickly becoming the new crazy. Once upon a time, there was the rebirth of knitting, then, a surge of ironic t-shirts and tattoos, next, a love of hyper-decorated cupcakes, and now, finally, libraries? Perhaps I have noticed it because I am studying to be a librarian, but libraries are in the public eye more often lately. From protests of impending budget cuts to quirky videos like Mr. New Spice here: libraries are cool (again).

For the full NPR article, click here.

In case you were wondering:

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:00:00 +0000

Click to enlarge.

See the full article here.

Good news for Brooklyn Libraries

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:49:00 +0000

Amid much concerned over the proposed $20 million cut in library spending there is some good news. Read the article here.

Metadata standards

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:50:00 +0000

For the truly nerdy (obsessive?) librarians in my reader base, here is the best article/chart/explanation of metadata standards I have ever seen. I actually got goose bumps. Click here for the full article and high res versions of the image.

Nerdy stereotypes

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:43:00 +0000

This is not entirely library related, but I found it fascinating. A group of seventh graders were asked to draw what they thought a typical scientist looked like. Then they were taken on a field trip...see the results here.

The eBook problem in libraries

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:16:00 +0000

Ebooks borrowed from libraries? It sounds intuitive, right? I can stream video online at Hulu and Netflix, so it should be a given that I could borrow digital content from my library. The concept is solid and perfectly executable. The problem? Vendors. Read a great blog post about Overdrive frustration by David Lee King here.

The technology behind preservation

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:00:00 +0000

Ever wonder what the librarians at the Library of Congress do to keep Jefferson's books in tip top shape? Well, find the inside scoop here!!

What happens when old librarians retire?

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:20:00 +0000

Here is an interesting article about the age demographics of librarians. This truly is an aging profession.

Visual Information

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:52:00 +0000

I have found another amazing example of visual information (a concept known to the nerdy as data visualization). Doug McCune has created a map that shows crime in San Francisco as elevation. The higher the peak, the greater the rate of that particular crime. You can see for yourself at his blog.

Besides being generally awesome, why is this so important?

Human beings process visual information faster than they process any other method of communication. How often do you look at the icons on your desktop and actually read what program they open? Probably rarely. Your brain attaches meaning to the image and acts accordingly. Companies have long understood this and work hard to establish a distinct logo that represents and becomes synonymous with their product. Think about the Starbucks siren, the Nike whoosh, the Apple apple, or the BMW propellers. Even if you didn’t know that the woman on the Starbucks logo is a siren, you know exactly what she looks like, what she represents, and, probably, what her coffee tastes like.

If this is the way our brain works, why do information professionals not take advantage of this more regularly? As providers of information, we should probably be doing more. However, as traditionalists, we do not know how. When we think of information whether on your computer screen or on physical paper, we think of words first. This bias is why I have a traditional blog format and not a visual one such as tumblr. In a world where those who can get the most information the fastest are the most productive and most powerful, I think our profession should embrace visual information. Unfortunately, we have no idea how and partnerships with the business world will be vital in moving us along.

I leave you with my favorite use of visual information--a pie chart of bars and a bar graph of pies via How I Met Your Mother:

QR Codes in books...could this be the future of publishing?

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:06:00 +0000

A new version of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days has been published, complete with QR codes that take the reader to websites that provide sidenotes or historical information. Could this be the future of publishing? Is context as important as content in fiction works? Nonfiction?

Read the Gizmodo article here.

Thumb prints to check out library books?

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:49:00 +0000

Amazing technological innovation or unnecessary invasion of privacy?

Read the article here.

Interactive World Map!

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:35:00 +0000

This website is not exactly library related, but it presents fascinating visual representations of information about the world, including GDP, illiteracy, religion, and barbecue festivals. Have fun!

Show: Mapping Worlds

A world without books?

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Sun, 30 May 2010 18:36:00 +0000

As a follow up to my recent posts about the growing need of the library profession to embrace new knowledge media, I thought I would post something about the downside of losing books. Aside from their longevity, books provide a tangibility and personality that cannot be mimicked by technology.

A note about personal notes by the New York Times.

A library without books?

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Sun, 30 May 2010 16:39:00 +0000

I first encountered Cushing Academy while researching the use and effect of e-readers in public and academic libraries. This private school has embraced new technology, by requiring e-readers for their students, and consequently put books, an "outdated technology," on the back burner. Since the inception of this idea, the Cushing Academy Library has cut its book inventory by more than half and plans to diminish the collection even further. This begs the question: Are books such an outdated technology that we don't need them in secondary schools?

See the latest Boston Globe article here.

Librarians do Lady Gaga!

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Fri, 28 May 2010 19:50:00 +0000

Don't forget the databases!

Miss Manners' choice words to cranky librarians

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Thu, 27 May 2010 15:01:00 +0000

Today, while I was reading the American Libraries Direct, the e-newsletter from the American Library Association I came across a link to this article by Miss Manners in Mercury News.

As much as I would like to think public perception of librarians is changing, I must reluctantly admit that many current librarians are actively enforcing the stereotype of the dour, cranky woman behind the reference or circulation desk. The official ALA interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights includes a section on the importance of patron privacy, stating that “Privacy is essential to the exercise of free speech, free thought, and free association.” Since 1939, the ALA has recognized that protecting patron privacy is an integral mission of libraries. That is, patrons must know that the questions they ask, the books they check out, and the information they pursue will not be a matter of public record or scrutiny. This nosy librarian, in addition to perpetuating an unflattering stereotype, is actually violating a core principle of the American Library Association.

Miss Manners’ response, however, provides a glimmer of hope. She recognizes that the library profession is one that increasingly requires technological skills and the ability to ferret out information regardless of medium. However, in her own glib way the maven of etiquette tells her reader that librarians (or at least this one in particular) don’t fit their market. They are still dowdy, cranky, nosy, and inhibited. If the public perception of the librarian profession has changed enough so that a Miss Manners in San Jose, California has recognized its need for technologically savvy professionals, when will the perceptions of librarians change? Moreover, when will the librarian who perpetuate these stereotypes change?

Beyond Web 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy Johnston) — Wed, 26 May 2010 13:49:00 +0000

As an addition to my previous post, a discussion on where technologies and libraries are headed. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, Web 2.0 means internet-based technologies that facilitate user interaction and user publication of information. That is, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and any site where a user can leave comments about an article, video, or other posts.

Plan C: Tech Trends Beyond Social Networking and Web 2.0 by Analog Divide

Why loving books isn't enough

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy May) — Mon, 24 May 2010 16:35:00 +0000

Over the past few weeks, I have encountered a spectrum of opinions on the future of libraries and librarians.

Much to my surprise, many people newly entering the profession are doing so because “they love books.” Some have chosen the path of the librarian because of a love of knowledge. However, precious few entered the field because of the changes imminent in the library world.

Why, you may ask, am I surprised that so many people enter the world because of a love of the written word? After all, working in a library is every 14-year-old bookworms dream--to be surrounded by the quiet, but faithful friends, one’s favorite books. However, in 2010, this is a romantic ideal. The library still holds books but they are no longer the primary source for information. The internet is brimming with useful (and useless) information. A website can be updated instantly, whereas the information in a book can become outdated the minute it is published. Fiction and philosophy aside, books have lost their status as the primary medium of information.

Because of this shift, those who have chosen the library field because of their love of knowledge are better suited to the profession than those who profess a love of books. Books were, generally, safe information. That is, if a manuscript made it through the screening, editing, and printing stage, the information it contained had a high chance of being accurate. Obviously, this was not always the case, but 40 years ago, a librarian could hand a patron a book with relative confidence in the content without having read it prior. Now, since the internet has become a primary medium of information, a librarian must know how to determine accuracy and reliability of a source. Those who love knowledge have the motivation and drive to become information guides--people whose primary job is not to catalog information, but to determine its reliability.

Increasingly, however, this role as an information guide requires technological skills not currently taught in many information and library science institutions. In order to determine reliability, accuracy, and relevance, one must be able to investigate the source of the information as well as analyze the information itself. Sooner than many people realize, this skill will involve understanding basic coding. As the population becomes more dependent on computers for all media consumption, the language of computers will become increasingly important to librarians. While librarians may not need to write code fluently for a while (if ever), very soon they will need to be able to read code. Currently, only the nerdiest of librarians (yes, there are some librarians even nerdier than average) will be able to fill this role.

Digitally born information is the future of libraries and both librarians and the schools training them need to recognize this. The role of librarians as organizers of and guides to information resources will never become obsolete. However, unless the profession embraces technology and all its languages and components, librarians, as we know them, might become a thing of the past.

George Washington forgot to return his library books...

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy May) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 17:15:00 +0000

Technically, the first President of the United States owes Manhattan libraries $300,000. Currently, they are not actively pursuing the late fees.

Book themed furniture

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy May) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:16:00 +0000

I want them in my size....Big Cozy Books

Library of Congress acquires archive of all public tweets

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy May) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:14:00 +0000

As the closest institution our country has to a national library, the Library of Congress has collected, preserved and protected much of the information the people of our nation has produced. Now that includes tweets. Read more.

Internet access...the role of the library

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy May) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 22:13:00 +0000

Nearly a third of the Americans use their public library for internet access. If you consider how disproportionate access is across class lines, you won't be surprised that 44% of Americans below the poverty line access the internet at the public library. This use extends to all age groups with teenagers being the most active user demographic.

In the age of the internet, where nearly 76% of cell phone users over the age of 13 subscribe to smartphones, Google is a verb, and the little girls who live below me nearly fainted when I told them that the internet didn't exist (as we know it) when I was born, this statistic is both alarming and encouraging.

Alarming because the probability that the population using the library on a regular basis has overlap with the population who own smartphones (or a plethora of other internet capable devices) is slim. Yes, I realize that more people own cell phones than personal computers, but one can infer from the demographics that technology and, by extension, information access is still strongly divided along class lines. Many of those who use the computers regularly at their local library do so not because of the environment or aesthetic appeal, but because they have no other recourse. As more and more information is becoming born-digital, is our society excluding people of certain demographics from information access?

Encouraging because libraries have stepped up and are trying to prevent this inclusion. The library still remains an amazing asset to its community. Providing access is allowing the democratization of information. However, as internet access becomes a primary service at many libraries, these institutions are struggling to keep up with demand. Computers are expensive and taxpayer funds are being cut. Facing these obstacles, what can the little library do to prevent access to information from becoming available to only the elite?

The power of the librarian. In zero words or less.

noreply@blogger.com (Izzy May) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:46:00 +0000

Found this at my new favorite site. http://www.unshelved.com