From Brian Kenney’s editorial in SLJ this month: The message that has come through on blogs and discussion boards is loud and clear: we librarians know what’s best. Yes, before we build a branch we do our demographic research. If more families are moving into the neighborhood, we expand the children’s room. If local immigration patterns indicate a need, we purchase more Spanish or Chinese materials. But actually sit down with neighborhood residents and ask them what they want? I don’t think so. Keep Dewey or kill it? There are pros and cons to each approach, and what works in […]
Yearly Archives: 2007
564 posts
UNT Doctoral Hooding Ceremony August 10, 2007 Originally uploaded by mstephens7
Politeness Allowed at Your Library Originally uploaded by Buckham Memorial Library in Faribault We’re trying a new campaign, taking down all of our “No” signs and replacing them with one that explains “We promise not to shush you if you promise to be considerate of your fellow library users.” Thanks to Stephen Abram for the heads up!
Stephens, Michael, Modeling the role of blogging in librarianship. Doctor of Philosophy (Information Science), August 2007, 187 pp., 47 tables, 6 figures, 134 references. This phenomenological study examines the motivations and experiences of librarians who author professionally-focused Weblogs. The researcher constructed a model of librarianship based on Wilson and Buckland. The results show a close fit between librarian bloggers and the ideals of the field as expressed by two primary library and information science philosophers. A Web survey generated 239 responses to demographic and open-ended questions. Using the results of the survey, the researcher analyzed demographic data and performed a […]
Southwest Harbor Public Library Originally uploaded by Michael Casey Please see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelcasey/1017200275/
Loldogs @ your Library Originally uploaded by circulating Circulating posts at Flickr: We R ur community beggin fer access These pets spent most all of one day this week attempting and achieving entrance to the library. Seems their owner was busy inside but returning periodically to give them water in little cups. Some customers paused outside and waited to enter. Some children inside hurried to open the doors to let the dogs come right on inside. They could be heard barking from the second floor on occasion and were retrieved promptly when they scurried into the library’s Local and Family […]
Sharon Clapp from the Connecticut State Library comments on this post: https://tametheweb.com/2007/07/poor_new_mexico_state_library.html Right after I came aboard at the State Library in CT (just a couple of weeks before I ran my blogging workshop) last year, an edict came down from the higher-ups in state government reminding us that we may be monitored and that use of the computers and/or networks supplied by the state may not be used – even on breaks – to access personal email, to “surf” websites, etc. People who came to my blog workshop – having already been required to sign off on this internet […]
I keep coming back to this post “I didn’t get an MLS to do that.” http://blogaboutlibraries.com/2007/02/i-didnt-get-mls-to-do-that.html Professions do not stand still. Have you ever met a plumber who doesn’t work with PVC? An electrician who only uses knob and tube wiring? A firefighter who thinks those new fangled breathing masks are just too complicated? No, professionals who don’t keep up with the technologies that affect their work go out of business. Librarianship is not immune to that. We don’t have a choice. To me this is the most important reason. Even if we don’t like computers, our patrons do. Libraries […]
http://librariansmatter.com/blog/2007/07/31/gaming-in-my-academic-library/ Like many academic libraries, our library has just remodelled two floors to make a Learning Common. It is aimed at capitalising on the building as a social space – a place that creates a community of learners and provides a venue for students to hang out and (hopefully) do some self directed learning. We are opening part of it 24/7 and have soft drink vending machines, junkfood vending machines, comfy couches, a coffee shop… Is a gaming space really so far from that continuum? During mid semester break, we have PC labs that stand empty. Would a leisure reading […]