Daily Thoughts 01/27/2012

The love letter. Oil on canvas, framed as oval. 61 x 51 cm, August Leopold Egg, by 1863.  It has a nice romantic flair to it.

Daily Thoughts 01/27/2012

This morning I read some more of Clark Howard's Living Large In Lean Times.  He is writing about insurance and mortgages.  I am finding it very easy to read on the Kindle Touch.

I spent some time updating the Facebook and Twitter accounts.  I also spent some time checking the displays.  I am putting together a display for writing and publishing.  A colleague is working on a display for Black History Month which includes books and dvds.

The book, Leviathan Wakes came in for me to read by James S.A. Corey.

I am looking at the Penguin Speakers Bureau http://www.penguinspeakersbureau.com/  I found it because of a catalog sent to my library from Penguin books.

I also am reading through Publishers Weekly right now.  I found a science fiction book I am planning to read.  The book Exogene by T.C. McCarthy should be interesting.  It is the sequel to Germline which is a military science fiction novel.  Another book which caught my eye is Too Much Magic: Wishful Thinking, Technology, and the Fate of the Nation by James Howard Kunstler.  It is coming out in June of 2012.  James Howard Kunstler is the author of The Long Emergency which is a book about how America will systematically decline because of peak oil and excessive resource use.  In my view, this does not have to happen, there are solutions to our problems both social and technical.

I spent some time talking to a gentleman who works with Shen Yun Performing Arts.  They are doing a presentation on classical Chinese arts on Saturday, February 4, 2012 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the community room.  It is Chinese New Years right now, the Year of the Dragon.

I spent some more time looking through Publishers Weekly.  There is a new book by A. Lee Martinez who writes humorous fantasy and science fiction that verges on slapstick at times, Emperor Mollusk versus The Sinister Brain.  A. Lee Martinez reminds me a bit of Robert Asprin.  Another book which caught my attention is Local Dollars Local Sense How To Shift Your Money From Wall Street to Main Street and Achieve Real Prosperity by Michael H. Shuman.  This is a very timely book.

On the way home, I finished reading Howard Clark's Living Large in Lean Times.  What it basically does is show you different places where you can save money from a variety of different sources by either coupons, bidding, or special deals.  The one drawback to this kind of book is that immerses you in advertising to get the special deals.

I am feeling a bit of relief.  Today, many people where I work got their pay reinstated after a challenge to a reduction in force including myself.  I feel as if I have my position back.  This makes me feel much more motivated.  I am still sad for the people who were let go.  I think things are getting a bit better for some people.

Web Bits

Joining a Noble Profession From the Bell Tower
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/01/opinion/steven-bell/joining-a-noble-profession-from-the-bell-tower/

Occupy 2.0 Changes Tack
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/1/27/occupy-protest-libraries-walk/
It is interesting that the Occupy Harvard group is supporting the library against layoffs.

 Occupy Cal Protesters Claim Victory in Reinstating UC Berkeley Library Hours
http://dougoakley.blogspot.com/2012/01/occupy-protesters-claim-victory-in.html

Daily Thoughts 01/26/2012

Daily Thoughts 01/26/2012

This morning, I read some of Clark Howard's Living Large in Lean Times on my Kindle Touch.  I am very much enjoying reading on the Kindle, it is very easy to do.  This book is about how to save money on all kinds of things; everything from health care to electronics to groceries.

The Mount Vernon Writers Network is doing a membership drive.  We currently have fifteen members and are seeking more members to join our network.  We especially are looking to add published authors from the Mount Vernon, New York area.  http://www.mvwn.org/

I spent a little time this morning updating the Twitter and Facebook pages for the library.  A colleague has started working on the email blasts for events as well which should help us get out more publicity.

I also spent a little bit of time checking the displays.  We had the Computer Lab for Academic Use today from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  I spent some time helping people get some pictures from the internet and search for jobs.

This evening we had a play, The Trageday of Ethalia by Kabiru Mohammed which was an amateur production.  It was a different crowd than I originally expected.  The crowd was very much intergenerational with children, teenagers, and adults.  The play was in a medieval setting.  It was a play about tragic love and royalty.

Web Bits

In One Community, Residents Challenge Library Spending on Ebooks
http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/01/ebooks/in-one-community-residents-challenge-library-spending-on-ebooks/
This is another article on the challenge to ebook spending.  I think there is still a lot that needs to be considered when purchasing ebooks.

Daily Thoughts 01/25/2012

Horatius reads before Maecenas, 1863, Fyodor Bronnikov

Daily Thoughts 01/25/2012

On the train to work, I read some more of Debt The First 5,000 Years.  I am reading about how debt obligations sometimes lead to enslavement.  There is a bit on the African slave trade and how many of the people on the Atlantic slave trade were enslaved as debtors then sold to be brought to America.

This morning, I updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library.  I also spent some time working on flyers and the eblasts.  I have an issue of Publishers Weekly and the latest issue of the New York Times Book Review to read.  I also picked out some graphic novels for the Graphic Novels Club this afternoon.

We are doing the Computer Lab for Academic Use today from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon.  It has started to fill up very quickly.  A number of the people from the Tuesday computer classes come in to practice in the lab.

We discussed Kyle Baker at the Graphic Novels club who wrote Plastic Man on the Lam and How to draw stupid and other rules of cartooning.   Kyle Baker reminds me a little bit of Aaron MacGruder who wrote the comic strip Boondocks.

Two books came in for me to read, The Lean Startup by Eric Ries and The Price of Civilization by Jeffrey D. Sachs.

On the way home, I read the latest New York Times Book Review and the January 23, 2012 Publishers Weekly.  There were a lot of interesting books being announced.  I saw an advertisement for Paolo Bacigalupi's new book coming in May, The Drowned Cities.  Another book which caught my attention was Change Comes to Dinner:  How Vertical Farmers, Urban Growers, and Other Innovators Are Revolutionizing How Americans Eat by Katherine Gustafson coming out in April published by St. Martin's.  There is already a website for the book with a blog. http://www.changecomestodinner.com/Book/Home.html

Daily Thoughts 01/24/2012

Bookstore, Washington, D.C.  Date Created/Published: 1937 Nov. Part of: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)
Daily Thoughts 01/24/2012

I have been steadily reading more of Debt The First 5,000 Years.  Right now, the author is writing about religious debt in the terms of the bible.  He is describing how debt drove many people into slavery.  Part of this process is on occassion freeing people from debt slavery so they can go back to being peasants.

This morning, I updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts.  We are also working on the E-blast to announce programs.  Part of this process is working on a consistent brand and logo for all of our marketing materials; flyers, social media announcments, email notifications, and website.

I also checked the displays this morning.  I am going to be sitting with someone to discuss the Nook today.  It will be a learning experience.

I am working on a number of flyers for events that are coming up very soon.  We have the Computer Lab for Academic Use Today from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  We also have two computer classes one from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and one from 6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.

I spent some time today going over the Nook with a patron.  I also helped some colleagues with a display for African American history month.

The book, Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman came in for me to read.

On the way home, I read some more of Debt The First 5000 Years.  The author is writing about blood money and bride prices.  Both of these have greater social value than monetary value.  It is very hard to place a value on human life in purely monetary terms.

Web Bits

The Political Price of Austerity
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/books/review/the-age-of-austerity-how-scarcity-will-remake-american-politics-by-thomas-byrne-edsall-book-review.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
After reading this article it made me want to read The Age of Austerity.

People's Library Presentation at ALA (American Library Association) Midwinter conference
http://peopleslibrary.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/peoples-library-presentation-at-ala-midwinter/

Detroits Monteith Library Branch to Reopen in February
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/detroit-monteith-library-branch-to-reopen-in-february-20120120-ms
This was partially the result of Occupy Detroit protesting.

Daily Thoughts 01/23/2012

Yeats at Petitpas Scene depicts artist John Butler Yeats eating, drinking, and smoking with his friends at a long narrow table in an outdoor seating area of Petitpas restaurant in New York. Hanging over the table is a bright pendant lamp, which illuminates the faces of the artists, poets, writers, and actors seated around the table. In the background a Mlle. Celestine Petipas stands by the table, a bowl of apples and oranges held in her hands. Artist: Sloan, John, 1871-1951, painter. Medium: Oil on canvas.


Daily Thoughts 01/23/2012


I updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library.  I also spent a little time talking to people about the E-blast and the program tonight for preventing forclosure from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

I read a bit more of Debt the First 5,000 Years.  I rather like the idea that credit was invented before coinage.  The Egyptians and Sumerians would issue credit based on the silver bullion in their temples.  Coinage came later. There are also some interesting ideas about how taxation creates debt obligations to empires and states.  Debt is more than just money, there are also social and religious debts.

I put the book, Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey on hold.  It was part of the RUSA 2012 Reading List http://rusa.ala.org/blog/2012/01/22/2012-readinglist/

• Mount Vernon Inquirer Article about the Budget from January 13, 2012
• http://www.mvinquirer.com/2012_budget.htm
• The Mount Vernon Public Library got $3.6 million dollars for 2012 the budget which was $100,000 more in funding than last year.

Web Bits

Tablet and E-book reader Ownership Nearly Double Over Holidy Gift-Giving Period
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/E-readers-and-tablets.aspx
We are getting a lot more requests on how to download library E-books.

Low Income People Versus E-books Controversy Shows Why The DPLA (Digital Public Library of America) Library Should Care More About the Needs of the Nonelite
http://www.teleread.com/library/low-income-people-vs-e-books-controversy-shows-why-the-dpla-library-should-care-more-about-the-needs-of-the-nonelite/ 

Moving Towards A Hybrid Market E + P
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/50304-moving-toward-a-hybrid-market.html
In my view, there is a place for both.  I think I will always prefer graphic novels in print as well as heavily illustrated, art books, instructional books, and oversize books as print books.  I think plain fiction and books with not a lot of illustration are better as E-books.


What Future for Occupy Wall Street from the New York Review of Books
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/feb/09/what-future-occupy-wall-street/?page=1