Thursday, July 31, 2014

Daily Thoughts 07/31/2014

Woman Reading in a Cashmere Shawl, John Singer Sargent, 1909

Daily Thoughts 07/31/2014

I checked the Twitter and Facebook this morning.

I checked the displays and the gifts.  I also did  a bit more work with the planned library survey.

I have to do a little bit of work with the oversize books today.  I spent some time talking to a colleague about training.

I found out that in addition to Stan Lee being the honorary chair of National Library Card Sign Up Month in September, the theme for banned books week on September 21-27 is graphic novels.
http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/node/2076

I put the book, Born Reading Bringing Up Bookworms in the Digital Age by Jason Boog on hold.  Jason Boog wrote for Galleycat.  I also placed the young adult novel Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafon on hold.  These were in the August edition of Bookpages which I put out today for patrons to look through.

I put in an interlibrary loan request for Customer Based Collection Development by Karl Bridges.  This is something that interests me considerably.

Web Bits



ALA applauds presidential signing of workforce bill

The 2013 Public Library Data Service Statistical Report: Characteristics and Trends

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Daily Thoughts 07/30/2014

Book of Wisdom, 1924, Nicholas Roerich

Daily Thoughts 07/30/2014

I checked the library Twitter and Facebook page.  I checked the displays this morning and spent some time working on the survey.  I did a little bit of work in the oversize section.  I am updating some of the Bookletters pages with new material.

I spent some time discussing training with colleagues.  There is a Microsoft Access class from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. tonight in the computer lab.

I found a book called The Library Beyond the Book by Jeffrey T. Schnapp and Matthew Battles.  There was a bit of it in an article here The Accumulibrary Forget the Dewey Decimal System.  Libraries Should be Lawless. http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2014/07/the_accumulibrary_modern_libraries_should_be_as_big_and_chaotic_as_amazon.html
A little bit of scrambled thinking.

Web Bits



Librarians, Media React to Launch of Kindle Unlimited

Get a Read on How Much You Can Save Using the Library

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Daily Thoughts 07/29/2014

Historia, 1892, Nikolaos Gyzis

Daily Thoughts 07/29/2014

This morning I checked the Twitter and Facebook for the library.

I checked the displays and the gift books.  Someone bought a large chunk of paperbacks from the Friends of the Library Book Sale last night.  I printed up some more flyers for programs.  I also ordered a few books from the Smart Guide to the Bible nonfiction set.

The Brown Bag Nonfiction Book Club is today from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Trustees Room.  We are reading The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto.  There is a Mystery Panel tonight from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. featuring Rosemary Harris, Jane Cleland, and Jonathan Santlofer in the Community Room.  A colleague is leading the introduction.  Hopefully it should turn out well.  There are two books which were suggested for next time, Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky, and I Forgot to Remember: A Memoir of Amnesia by Su Meck.

We had the planning committee meeting today.  We spent time discussing a survey for the library.

We also have some beginning computer classes, a Microsoft Word class from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and a Fundamentals of Computer Operations class from 6:35 p.m. to 7:35 p.m.

I have a copy of the Times Literary Supplement to read.

Web Bits

Libraries, already helping job seekers, get government recognition and funding.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/libraries-already-helping-job-seekers-get-government-recognition-and-funding-1.1058655

Monday, July 28, 2014

Daily Thoughts 07/28/2014

Nicolae Tonitza (1886 - 1940) - Natură moartă.
Daily Thoughts 07/28/2014

This morning, I checked the Twitter and Facebook for the library.

I spent some time going through a sample box sent to us from Baker and Taylor of new items covering adult, teen, and children's books.  I also looked through the Poulin Project Distributtion to Underserved Communities grant box of books.  There were a lot of high quality poetry, literary journals, and literary fiction books which were donated to us.

I also summarized the results for some questions I had asked staff about training this morning.  I placed an order for new books and bestsellers.

I have the Brown Bag Nonfiction Book Club tomorrow from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m..  We are discussing The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto.

I checked out the graphic novel version of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. P. Craig Russell is the primary illustrator who is one of my favorite comic book artists.

I spent a little more time looking at grants.

Web Bits



George Bernard Shaw In Defense of Public Libraries

Daily Thoughts 07/28/2014


Daily Thoughts 07/28/2014

I checked the library Facebook and Twitter this morning.


Web Bits

The Public Library Documenting an Endangered Species by Robert Dawson-- Talk 92nd Y
http://www.92y.org/Event/The-Public-Library.aspx

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Daily Thoughts 07/27/2014

Still Life With Orange and Book, Raphaelle Peale, 1774-1825

Daily Thoughts 07/27/2014

This morning I checked the Twitter and Facebook for the library.

I also watched a training video from Lynda.com.

I read an advanced reading copy, A Tale of Light and Shadow by Jacob Gowans.  It is a young adult fantasy novel coming out in September.  I rather liked it because of the themes in the novel.  It was a tale of conflict involving marriage, concubinage, intrigue, and love.  The theme of love, trust, and friendship was different than most fantasy novels I have read.  The heroes were not black and white cutouts.  They were deeply flawed.  This made the story deep and intriguing.

Last night, I watched Matilda which is a children's film based on the book by Roald Dahl.  It was very dark humor.  I also Ben Ten cartoon  which was light entertainment.

Web Bits

What does Hathitrust Decision Mean for Libraries?

http://www.llrx.com/features/hathitrust.htm

Cell Phone Book Clubs, A New Way for Libraries to Promote Literacy, Technology, Family and Community.
http://www.llrx.com/features/cellphonebookclubs.htm
With the rise of phablets (a cross between a cell phone and a tablet) something like this is inevitable.


Saturday, July 26, 2014

Daily Thoughts 07/26/2014

Coverage of the Original Print, 1893, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
 
Daily Thoughts 07/26/2014

I checked the library Twitter and Facebook pages.

I also looked through Writing Successful Technology Grant Proposals.

I watched a one hour webinar on library surveys.


Library Surveys for Succes


Friday, July 25, 2014

Daily Thoughts 07/25/2014

The Letter, 1900, Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Daily Thoughts 07/25/2014


On the way to work, I read some more of House of Outrageous Fortune.   Michael Gross on numerous occasions describes the differences in the way high end cooperatives and condominiums choose people to buy units.  In cooperatives, the board determines who will live in a building and is usually very exclusionary.  In condominiums there are many less restrictions.  Condominiums are more based on how much people can pay.  This makes for a very different clientele in expensive condominiums, more international, more new money, and more mixed households.

I checked the library Twitter and Facebook accounts this morning.  I checked the gift books and displays this morning.

There was a management meeting this morning.  We discussed a variety of issues including the different committees.  I handed in reports for the Grants Committee and the Planning Committee.  I try to make things short and to the point.  Other people discussed the Job Center Committee and the Local History Committee.  It was an interesting morning.

I was also asked to ask people what kind of training they wanted from the library.

I spent some time working on Passbooks for the career section.  Most of it was replacing older material.

The book, Writing Successful Technology Grant Proposals: A LITA Guide by Pamela H. MacKellar came in.

On the way home, I finished reading House of Outrageous Fortune. It was a very interesting book about real estate.  I also read some more of Dataclysm.  The book reminded me of how easily social media can get out of hand.  Big data analysis can reveal many things about you based on who you are connected to including your sexual proclivities, what you buy, and what you watch.  Social media can also go viral revealing things you have said and done with a slip of a keyboard.

Web Bits



Metro Job Bank is now free of charge to the Tristate area.

Stories Live in Libraries, But How to Share Them

‘Hidden’ Photos Reveal  Cambridge University Library Build