Book Calendar

Daily Thoughts 01/28/2012

2012-01-28T07:09:00.000-08:00

Harper's Magazine cover by Edward Penfield, June, 1896

Daily Thoughts 01/28/2012

I had a chance to update the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library this morning. On a more personal note, I went and got a haircut which has nothing to do with this blog.

29% of US Adults Own a Tablet or an E-reader
http://mashable.com/2012/01/23/19-percent-adults-tablet/
E-reader software is also available for the PC and Personal Digital Assistants (another word for Smart Phones). This means that anyone with access to a computer or laptop probably has access to E-reader software.

The Mount Vernon Writers Network has updated their website with biographies and pictures. http://www.mvwn.org It is looking excellent.

Unpopular Mount Vernon LIbrary Director Leaves
http://www.lohud.com/article/20120127/NEWS02/301270018/Unpopular-Mount-Vernon-library-director-leaves-confidential-deal
I can only hope that we find someone positive who will be good for both the community and the library.

Web Bits

J.R.R. Tolkien and George Orwell Removed from the Public Domain
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/j-r-r-tolkien-george-orwell-removed-from-public-domain_b45725

Moore's Law Publishing And Why Michael Fraser is right about generation Y.
http://blog.publishingtechnology.com/digital-solutions/moores-law-publishing/#.TyQaxj9uAkM.facebook

How Will Social Media Effect the E-book
http://socialtimes.com/how-will-social-media-affect-the-ebook_b88288

Daily Thoughts 01/27/2012

2012-01-27T08:25:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-26T08:44:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-25T10:24:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-24T08:46:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-23T05:11:00.000-08:00

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

Daily Thoughts 01/22/2012

2012-01-22T12:04:00.000-08:00

Daily Thoughts 01/22/2012

I finished reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. The book is quite elegant. It is both lovely and tragic. The ending was very different than what I expected.

I also started reading Debt The First 5000 Years by David Graeber. David Graeber is an activist and anthropologist. He views the current system of debt as unsustainable and unjust.

The book, Clark Howard's Living Large in Lean Times came in for me to get from the Westchester Library System Digital Media Catalog. It is a book of tips on how to save money.

Someone suggested that I take a look at http://www.obooko.com which is a site which allows people to create free ebooks. There are a lot of creative commons titles on the site.

Daily Thoughts 01/21/2012

2012-01-21T07:31:00.000-08:00

Conan Doyle Forward Facing Photograph

Daily Thoughts 01/21/2012

I read some more of The Night Circus last night. I like that there are so many different types of magic and showmanship in this book. There are illusionists, contortionists, clock makers, fortune tellers, and even a few real magicians. There is a thin line between trickery and magic in this book.

I spent some time looking at the Programming Librarian Blog. There is both a section on grants and a generic calendar for library events. http://www.programminglibrarian.org

ALA Midwinter 2012: Adding Kindle Compatibility Expanded OverDrive’s U.S. Library Network by 36 Percent

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/01/industry-news/adding-kindle-compatibility-expanded-overdrives-u-s-library-network-by-36-percent/

I am very glad that I purchased a Kindle Touch. It has been very useful for my job and I have found it entertaining to read books on it as well.

ALA Midwinter 2012: Better World Books and Ingram Team Up to Create Library Revenue

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/01/funding/ala-midwinter-2012-better-world-books-and-ingram-team-up-to-create-library-revenue/

We use Better World Books for some of our discarded items.

I put The Librarians Guide to Micro Publishing on request through interlibrary loan.
http://books.infotoday.com/books/Librarians-Guide-To-Micropublishing.shtml

I also placed holds on The price of civilization : reawakening American virtue and prosperity
by Jeffrey Sachs and The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

We are having more people coming in with self published books. We also have the Mount Vernon Writers Network which has quite a few people with self published books.

Daily Thoughts 01/20/2012

2012-01-20T07:11:00.000-08:00

[Students in the Reading Room of the Library of Congress with the Librarian of Congress, Herbert Putnam, watching] Date Created/Published: [1899?]

Daily Thoughts 01/20/2012

I read some more of A Nation Rising by Kenneth C. Davis on the way to work. I am reading about the the Monroe Doctrine and how it affected Native Americans. The author is writing about the wars with the Seminoles in the 1830s in Florida. He is describing how African Americans allied with the Seminoles in Florida to fight United States troops. It is an interesting account.

I checked the displays this morning and updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts. I also worked a bit on the flyers for programs as well. I read the latest Booklist to see what was new. We are going to put up a new display next week for February. February is Black History Month.

The book, Who's In Charge? Free Will and the Brain by Michael S. Gazzaniga has come in for me to read.

I worked on a few flyers for upcoming author events. I met with William Bowden this morning to get a copy of his photograph and a picture of the front cover of his new book. We are having William Bowden coming on February 14, 2012 to read from his book, Soul Sister Sister Sonnets II. We are also having Bimpe Fageyinbo on March 13, 2012 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. reading from her memoir, "So Maybe, That's the Bee's Weakness."

I also had a chance to look at The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow by Cory Doctorow. It is a science fiction novel licensed under Creative Commons.
http://craphound.com/gbbt/Cory_Doctorow_-_The_Great_Big_Beautiful_Tomorrow.pdf

There is going to be a staff party tonight which should be entertaining.

I had a chance to finish reading A Nation Rising while I was waiting for my ride to the staff party. It was very enjoyable reading. Kenneth Davis was seeking to expose parts of our history that were not well covered in standard history books.

The staff party went very well. It was very much a reminder that we are looking forward to a brighter future. The library I work at currently is seeking a new director. We are in a transitional phase where we are working with tbe board of directors while they are seeking a new director. The food was good and the music was excellent. I had a chance to talk to a few people I had not seen in a little while.

Daily Thoughts 01/19/2012

2012-01-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

Trinity College Library: the "Long Room" in the 18th Century, Watercolor of James Malton

Daily Thoughts 01/19/2012

On the way to work, I read some of A Nation Rising by Kenneth Davis. Kenneth Davis is writing about Aaron Burr and his trial for treason for which he was acquitted. Aaron Burr was accused of trying to create his own empire in Mexico and the southwest in the 1800s.

This morning, I updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts as well as provided some statistics on my programs. I am thinking about doing a sign up sheet for the computer lab.

I spent some time talking about the website with a colleague.

We have the Computer Lab for Academic Use today from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. I spent some time helping people look for jobs, print out resumes, sign up for email accounts, search the Lexis database for company information and use the teaching programs in the lab like Professor Teaches Excel, Mavis Beacon Typing Tutor and Learning Express Software Tutorials.

We also have the Mount Vernon Writers Network from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. tonight.The Mount Vernon Writers Network worked very well tonight. The attendance is slowly growing. It has been a full year that this program has been running as of tonight. The Mount Vernon Writers Network now has a new logo, some marketing materials, and a few more new members. We will be having William Bowden reading from his new book, Soul Sister Sonnets II on February 14, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.. I am hoping that this will go very well.

On the way home, I read some more of A Nation Rising Untold Tales from America's Hidden History. Kenneth C. Davis is writing about slave revolts. He specifically writes about the Creole and the Amistad, two ships where the slaves revolted aboard the ships. He also describes many accounts of how the Native Americans allied with run away slaves to fight settlers.

Web Bits

P. Craig Russell has a Kickstarter project teaching graphic storytelling. I very much like his artwork.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/251462428/p-craig-russells-guide-to-graphic-storytelling

Creating The Library of Tomorrow From the Ground Up
http://mindshift.kqed.org/2012/01/creating-the-library-of-tomorrow-from-the-ground-up/

A Bit More Occupy Stuff Because I am Interested

Occupy Cal Protests with library Sit-In
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/education&id=8511925

Occupy Detroit Update on Library Fight
http://occupydetroitfrontline.blogspot.com/2012/01/update-on-library-fight-victory-for.html

Occupy Wall Street Library Update
http://killingthebuddha.com/ktblog/ows-library-update/

Occupy Comics: Art + Stories Inspired by Occupy Wall Street
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1817933359/occupy-comics-art-stories-inspired-by-occupy-wall

Daily Thoughts 01/18/2012

2012-01-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

[Thomas Jefferson, 1743, 1826, reading rough draft of Declaration of Independence to Benjamin Franklin] Date Created/Published: 1897.
Daily Thoughts 01/18/2012

On the train to work, I finished reading Tony Wheeler's Badlands A Tourist on the Axis of Evil. The last section is on Saudi Arabia. I was surprised at the degree of separation between men and women in this society. I also read some more of The Night Circus. The imagery is fantastic. I like the idea that real magic is hidden as illusion in this story.

I have still been thinking about possibly getting an iPad. I am looking at iPad The Missing Manual. I just read the latest Publishers Weekly. Gail Carriger has her new book, Timeless coming out in March. I rather like the Parasol Protector series. This is the final book in the series.

I checked out the book Debt The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber.

This morning, I updated the Twitter and Facebook page for the library.

I joined the email mailing list for Gluejar which is a new idea for ebooks. http://www.gluejar.com/

We had the Computer Lab today from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. I spent some time helping people look for jobs and helping people print documents. Some of the applications online can take several hours to fill out.

I also synched the wireless network so I could get some books from the Westchester Library System Digital Media Catalog. I now have This Changes Everything on my Kindle Touch. In addition, I downloaded a few free titles from the Kindle Store including Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider.

I have noticed that there are a number of sites that have gone dark in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). When I was in the computer lab, we could not get to Craigs List for example.

Web Bits

Why SOPA Still Needs Work
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/18/opinion/mcdiarmid-sopa-legislation/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

Daily Thoughts 01/17/2012

2012-01-17T07:05:00.001-08:00

Herbert Putnam in his office. Librarian of Congress Date Created/Published: [between 1890 and 1910]

Daily Thoughts 01/17/2012

This morning, I read some of Tony Wheeler's Bad Lands A Tourist on the Axis of Evil. Tony Wheeler is the founder of Lonely Planet travel guides. He travels to a variety of places as a tourist that are somewhat closed to westerners. The book is entertaining. So far, I have read about visiting Afghanistan, Albania, Burma, Cuba, Iran, and Iraq. There are constant little reminders that these places are potentially dangerous and one has to watch what one is doing carefully. However, the people are also friendly and interesting.

I updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library. We are also working on the website and the e-blast. I gave a colleague my collection of monthly calendars so she could check what we had done during the year.

We had the Biography Book Club today. I talked about the book The Life and Legend of Jay Gould. We also talked about the book The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration. One of our patrons suggested we might want to change the focus of the book club to books on current events.

I spent some time making calls to people about the Mount Vernon Writers Network http://www.mvwn.org to confirm their attendance. I also showed another colleague Tumblebooks which are E-books for children.

I spent some time at the beginning of the Intermediate Computer Class this evening talking about the E-readers. I showed the Kindle and the Sony E-readers to the people at the class. I am going to be going over the Nook with the career counselor who comes to visit on Tuesdays next week. It should be interesting.

On the way home, I read some more of Tony Wheeler's Badlands. In both North Korea and Libya, Tony Wheeler had to travel as part of a group of people with a guide who directed what they could see. Everything was well planned beforehand. There is quite a bit of historical commentary thrown in with his experiences visiting these countries.

Web Bits

20 Heroic Librarians Who Save the World
http://io9.com/5671047/20-heroic-librarians-who-save-the-world

Book Clubbing: On Living and Learning In Bookstores
http://www.tinhouse.com/blog/11965/book-clubbing-sonya-chung-on-living-learning-in-bookstores.html

Daily Thoughts 01/16/2012

2012-01-16T07:04:00.000-08:00

Portrait of French poet, journalist and writer, Anatole France, 1906 [picture] / Anders Zorn
1906.

Daily Thoughts 01/16/2012

I spent some time updating the Twitter and Facebook accounts of the Mount Vernon Public Library.

I also finished reading Distrust That Particular Flavor by William Gibson. William Gibson is known for having coined the term cyberspace. This makes him very influential with all things internet. He often writes about how people interact with computers. This includes digital film and virtual reality. He has a wonderfully cosmopolitan feel to his wirting. The essays are set in Vancouver, San Francisco, San Diego, Singapore, and other cities. This makes the writing sophisticated. The essays in this book are very short two to three pages. For me this is just the right length.

Today is Martin Luther King Jr's Day of Service. Many people today are doing service to help others in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

Day of Service Honors Martin Luther King Jr. from CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/16/us/mlk-day/index.html

My first hold came in for an electonic book. I downloaded it to my Kindle for PC program. For some reason, I had a little bit of trouble transferring it to my Kindle Touch, I have an older PC which did not recognize the new device.

The electronic book was This Changes Everything Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement, Edited by Sarah Van Gelder of Yes! Magazine. The book is quite short 88 pages. I also believe it does not quite represent the different viewpoints of Occupy Wall Street. It is more like a snapshot of parts of the movement. There were definite exaggerations with figures.

We learn that Adbusters planned the first protest as a protest against Wall Street involvement with government on September 17, 2011. I question Sarah Van Gelder's statement that Adbusters is anti-capitalist, they are more focused on being against large publicly traded businesses, not against small business. The initial protests seemed to be focused on separating big business from big government.

I also found Sarah Van Gelder's focus on drawing from foreign sources for the cause of the movement to be not completely accurate. Saying that the protest came out of the Arab Spring and European economic protests is only part of the story. 2600 which is a hacker movement provided large amounts of computing power to Occupy Wall Street. Also the forclosure crisis drove large parts of the movement.

I am not a huge fan of the general assembly idea. I think Occupy Wall Street has moved well beyond the 1960s. I think that some of the traditions being described are not just anarchist, they are about more recent movements focsued on participatory government. This was not even touched on in This Changes Everything. If you take the time, the reader will find a strong Brazilian influence in Occupy Wall Street, especially emanating from places like Porto Alegre in Brazil. Another element which is glossed over is the concept of the "electronic commons" or shared civic spaces available through the use of computers. The people who are runing the Occupy Wall Street sites seem to have a very strong grasp of this. They also seem to be able to use social media to reinforce this very well.

The one thing I found to be very interesting was the end of the book which focused on describing solutions to the problems of housing, economic contraction, and jobs. Before this book, I had heard very little about how to solve the United States economic problems from Occupy Wall Street. This book writes about solutions. It reminds us that the United States belongs to its citizens. It also reminds us that there are limits to speculation and tax havens.

I liked reading the book, but found it to be much too short, not inclusive enough, and too slanted. There should have been more about the different groups that participated including unions, church groups, and nonprofit groups. I also think it did not discuss many of the issues deeply enough. There was not enough about the forclosure crisis, the student loan crisis, the bank bailouts, and environmental issues that drove many people to come support the movement.

There is a clear message that we need to reinvest in communities. Part of this is asking people to put their money in local banks, buy from local businesses, and fund community investment in local government. There are also demands for less outsourcing of jobs overseas, closing overseas tax havens, and breakup of monopoly businesses. This is what was good about this book.

I also found that there was not enough about the intellectual underpinnings of the Occupy Wall Street movement. There was nothing on the Occupy Wall Street Library, Cornel West, or the various writers, poets, and artists that supported the movement.

Hopefully, there will be a more complete book coming out soon on Occupy Wall Street.

Web Bits

The Coming War on General Computation by Cory Doctorow
https://github.com/jwise/28c3-doctorow/blob/master/transcript.md

Daily Thoughts 01/15/2012

2012-01-15T08:07:00.000-08:00

Daily Thoughts 01/15/2012

I finished reading The Ecotechnic Future Envisioning A Post Peak World by John Michael Greer. He writes about how over several generations our society will collapse because of loss of access to critical resources like petroleum. In his view fossil fuels will not be replaceable. I disgree with this. He outlines how our society will start to lose its culture, faith in science, and people will actually have to start preserving many of our ideas for future generations because of an eminient decline over several generations.

There is quite a bit on how cultures failed then declined. John Michael Greer talks about the cultural losses when Rome fell. He describes which knowledge was saved and which knowledge was lost. I found it very interesting.

I think there are new solutions coming into play based on systems thinking which will solve many of our current environmental and energy problems. For example, there are new forms of ocean based energy which are only minimally tapped. The Pelamis Wave Power is an excellent example of this. http://www.pelamiswave.com/aboutus/about-us There is also high altitude solar energy and wind energy.

A solid example of high altitude wind energy generation are energy kites. http://europe.theoildrum.com/node/5538 Another example of high altitude solar power is Stratosolar. http://www.stratosolar.com/ This has a number of advantages over space based solar power systems. High altitude solar energy can be repaired more easily and doesn't have to be launched into orbit which is a tremendous expense.

I think there is more than enough energy, it is just from more diverse sources than people previously used.

Solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass are mapped for the United States with potential resources http://www.nrel.gov/gis/biomass.html. High altitude wind energy, ocean energy (wave, tidal, and otec) is not included in the equation. Also, there is not enough discussion of small scale hydroelectric or distributed hydroelectric that does not block rivers. If you go to the fringes, there are questions about solar power satellites as well.

In a similar way, I think people are starting the process of rethinking manufacturing around much more localized venues. There is a real desire to bring manufacturing back home to the United States.. http://makerfaire.com/ The Maker movement is very much geared towards this. Also, 3D printing technology is advancing rapidly. http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/jamais-cascio/open-future/material-issue
This has reintroduced more local centers of innovation that are not necessarily that mainstream. People are building spaces like Techshops, Hacker Spaces, and Fab Labs. There is tremendous potential for innovation. http://www.fabathome.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

As an afterthought, I would like to say there is quite a bit of interest in sustainability in the library community. I recently joined the Linked In Group for Sustainability Librarians and am following the blog Sustainable Libraries http://sustainablelibraries.org/

I have started reading Distrust That Particular Flavor by William Gibson. William Gibson has a wonderful ability to make sentences. This is one of the reasons I have liked his writing so much. Occasionally he comes up with incomparable ones. Here is an example from P. 45 of this book. "It indicates a kind of maturity, an understanding that every future is someone else's past, every present, someone else's future." You have to love this ability to weave words. It is why I liked reading his science fiction novels so much.

I read some more of Distrust That Particular Flavor. William Gibson makes the statement that he is going to meet Alberto Manguel in Spain and that Alberto Manguel new Jorge Luis Borges personally. This sets my mind wandering. There is something wonderful about William Gibson, Alberto Manguel and Jorge Luis Borges connected together through even the most tenuous of threads.

Congressional Quarterly Researcher has a Research Report on the Occupy Wall Street Movement. It should be interesting reading. Katel, Peter. “‘Occupy’ Movement.” CQ Researcher 22, no. 2 (January 13, 2012): 25-52.

Web Bits

Mountains of Books Become Mountains
http://www.visualnews.com/2011/12/22/mountains-of-books-become-mountains/

Daily Thoughts 01/14/2012

2012-01-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

Ein Stillleben mit einer Korbflasche, einem aufgeschlagenen Buch, Karten und einer Tonpfeife, Öl auf Leinwand, 30 x 20 cm, 1840
Daily Thoughts 01/14/2012

I updated the Twitter and Facebook announcements for the library.

I also read some more of The Ecotechnic Future. I do not agree with the author about his statements on hydroponics. I think there are some very promising hydroponics systems being developed for urban settings like the one used by Gotham Greens http://gothamgreens.com/our-philosophy/ I however agree with some of his statements. It is absolutely true that in some cases, organic farming is cheaper than conventional farming because it does not use as much chemicals or petroleum. For example, I can go to my local supermarket and buy Greenway generic organic products; apple juice, tomato based pasta sauce, pasta, and canned green beans cheaper than the conventionally produced similar products. I also enjoy going to local farmers markets which have very high quality produce, often better than I can get at the supermarket. Organic greenhouses ultimately allow urban agriculture to be cheaper in many ways than conventional farming because they cost less for transportation, require less chemicals, and produce a higher quality product. This is also true of urban aquaculture.

I spent a little time playing with my Kindle Touch. We have 7 day checkout or 14 day checkout for E-books. This means the book expires in 7 days or 14 days. E-books are not designed to be returned early. If you are number 5 on a holds list, there are four people ahead of you. This means you would have to wait at least 28 days. It means there is more of a wait for electronic content. It is also very easy to put yourself on waiting lists for material I have four E-books on hold right now. We also have Tumblebooks through the Westchester Library System which is a set of online kids books.

Daily Thoughts 01/13/2012

2012-01-13T10:58:00.000-08:00

[North Reading Room, west wall. Detail of mural by Ezra Winter illustrating the characters in the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. Library of Congress John Adams Building, Washington, D.C.] Photograph shows right half of the mural. According to the inscription, this mural on the west wall shows (left to right): '... the clerk of Oxenford, reading his beloved classics; the manciple; the sailor; the prioress; the nun; and three priests.' (Source: On These Walls by John Y. Cole. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1995, p. 79). Date Created/Published: 2007.

Daily Thoughts 01/13/2012

On the train to work, I read some more of The Ecotechnic Future. John Michael Greer is describing how as we move into the future with dwindling fossil fuel supplies, travel and energy sources will become much more local. People will work much closer to home, commute shorter distances, rely on more urban agriculture and gardening, and be much more efficient with energy and resources. This is something that I am seeing happening more. It is much easier to recycle, find farmers markets, and get more energy efficient products.

This morning I checked the displays and gift books. I also spent some time scheduling author visits. We are having some poets come. Also, on May 8, 2012 we are having Ellen Datlow coming to talk about editing her anthology, Poe: 19 New Tales Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. It should be quite interesting.

I did not have any computer labs today so I spent some time reading Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. Nothing stood out as far as articles.

I also spent some time talking about grants and computers.

The book, Distrust That Particular Flavor by William Gibson came in for me to read. It should be very entertaining. It is William Gibson's first nonfiction book.

Historian and Famous Author Kenneth C. Davis Speaks at Mount Vernon Public Library
http://www.mvinquirer.com/kenneth_c%20davis.htm

On the way home, I read some more of The Ecotechnic Future. The author correctly tells us that there is no example of a green society right now. It is a process which people are trying to create. He is correct, alternative energy is an experiment that sometimes works, but often does not. I like the idea that we should experiment as much as possible and try different ways to create green technology, the solutions are not here yet. I also like John Michael Greer's statement that capitalism and socialism are both based on consumption and production and have little to do with ecology.

Web Bits

Libraries Succeed by Constantly Evolving
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-h-hildreth/the-future-of-libraries_b_1204446.html

Daily Thoughts 01/12/2012

2012-01-12T09:52:00.000-08:00

Gerard ter Borch the Younger, The Reading Lesson, 17th Century

Daily Thoughts 01/12/2012

I read a bit of The Night Circus on the way to work. The writing is elegant and stylish, not something you often see in a fantasy novel. The magicians don't throw fire, they exist in dinner parties, salons, shows, circuses, and other entertainments.

I also started The Ecotechnic Future. The author is talking about the end of oil and how our civilization is not quite ready for it. He claims that oil is not replaceable with current technology. I disagree with him in some ways. I think that we have not exploited ocean based energy that well as well as high altitude wind energy. There is a lot more that can be done.

In addition, I started reading Don't Know Much About Mythology by Kenneth C. Davis. I am enjoying it. Kenneth C. Davis has already mentioned the writers George Frazier and Joseph Campbell.

This morning, I updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library.

Kenneth Davis is coming to do an author talk tonight. He write this article in the Westchester Journal News http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012301120016 Library 'shaped me,' author says. Writer to speak, sign books in Mount Vernon. He will be here at 6:00 p.m.

There is another budget meeting for the City Council tonight, but I'm working tonight. Please support the library. http://cmvny.com/2012/01/11/special-city-council-meeting-to-adopt-2012-budget/

Kenneth Davis came to read tonight. It went well. Kenneth talked about his childhood in Mount Vernon and the importance of the library and reading. He also talked about the start of his writing career. His first book which was a bestseller was Don't Know Much About History. He also showed us some of his new children's books. He took questions from the audience about history. His focus was on the presidential elections this time. There were different questions about Eleanor Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt, the great depression, primary source material, and hidden history.

I bought A Nation Rising which I had signed. Mobile Libris which is a mobile bookseller sold quite a few books to the people who attended.

Web Bits

Harper Launches Digital to Print at Retail Today
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/50166-harper-launches-digital-to-print-at-retail-today.html

Daily Thoughts 01/11/2012

2012-01-11T09:49:00.000-08:00

[Owl above door to center reading room on fifth floor. Library of Congress John Adams Building, Washington, D.C.] Date Created/Published: 2007.
Daily Thoughts 01/11/2012

On the way to work, I finished reading Boomerang by Michael Lewis. The last chapter is about economic failure in California. It has bits on Arnold Schwarzenegger as well as some thoughts on the bankrupt city of Vallejo, California. The book shows how the financial crisis in Europe has come back to haunt the United States.

I also read a little bit more on the Kindle Touch. I decided to pass on the ebook Practically Radical by William C. Taylor.

I started reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It is a fantasy with a lot of style to it.

The book Tony Wheeler's Badlands A Tourist on the Axis of Evil came in for me to read.

This morning, I updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library. I also sent some emails out to people who might be interested in doing readings at the library.

The Computer Lab is open from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 pm. today. I downloaded a few more ebooks for the Kindle that are free, The Art of War by Sun Zi, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Wired to Care How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy by Dev Patnaik, and Don't Know Much About Mythology by Kenneth C. Davis. Kenneth C. Davis will be at our library on December 12, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. http://www.mountvernonpubliclibrary.org/KenDavis

The book, The Ecotechnic Future by John Michael Greer came in for me to read. It should be quite interesting. I also helped another person on the Kindle Fire today to show them how to download ebooks from the Digital Media Catalog. More people are coming in to ask about this.
There is a City Council Hearing on the Budget going on right now on January 11, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. If I was not working I would be there right now. http://cmvny.com/2012/01/09/adopted-budget-2012/

Daily Thoughts 01/10/2012

2012-01-10T08:17:00.000-08:00

1973 U.S. Postal Service stamp in honor of Robinson Jeffers

Daily Thoughts 01/10/2012

This morning, I read some of Michael Lewis Boomerang Travels in the New Third World. This book is a tour guide to national financial collapse. The author visits different countries and describes how their economies collapsed. So far as a reader I have visited Finland where banking speculation crushed the economy, Greece where excessive civil service positions and not paying taxes destroyed the economy, and Ireland where speculation in real estate created a giant housing bubble which collapsed. It is interesting reading.

I also read some more of Disrupt Think The Unthinkable on the way to work on my Kindle Touch. The author is writing about the nine minute business pitch made to clients to sell ideas.

This morning, I checked the Facebook and Twitter accounts. I also talked to a colleague about central library district funds. The displays and flyers are in order right now.

I also spent some time sending a few queries to local authors about doing author talks at our library.

I got another call about how to use the Kindle Fire to download free library books.

I put the book, Distrust That Particular Flavor by William Gibson on hold. It was reviewed in the New York Times Bestseller List. Seth Godin has a new book We Are All Weird which has gotten very little coverage. It was released in September of 2011.

On the way home, I finished reading Disrupt on the the Kindle Touch. A constant theme was that it was a good idea to look for everyday activities to improve that most people don't even think about. I am beginnning to like the Kindle Touch. I even tried out a free word game called Jigsaw Words.

I also read a little bit more of Boomerang. Michael Lewis is writing about how German banks helped create the economic mess in Greece, Ireland, and Finland.

Daily Thoughts 01/09/2012

2012-01-09T07:00:00.001-08:00

Reading Boy, Eastman Johnson 1863

Daily Thoughts 01/09/2012

I finished reading The Nook Book this morning. I learned a little bit more about the Nook. You can use Barnes and Noble as a publishing platform with PubIt. PubIt converts your documents into Epub format so you can sell them. http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=pi_reg_home

I lent The Nook Book to a colleague this morning.

I also read some more of Disrupt this morning. The author reminds us that you need to test your products with the real people who will use them. He also compares prototyping to Mr. Potato Head which is an apt description.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern came in form me to read. It is a fantasy title.

I checked the displays this morning and printed up some more flyers for events. I also spent some time checking on supplies which we have; cups, napkins, coffee, etc.

I spent a little bit of time showing a person how to download books from the Westchester Library System Digital Media Catalog to their Kindle today. A lot more people seem to be coming in with Ereaders lately.

I am looking at Readers' Advisory Service in North American Public Libraries, 1870-2005 right now. I think people will still want recommendations whether or not the books are ebooks or print books.

I am looking at the city budget. http://cmvny.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Adopted-Budget-2012.pdf The library has been offered $3.6 million this year in 2012. There was a $3.5 million budget in 2011. In $2010 there was a budget of $4.1 million. It is something to think about.

Daily Thoughts 01/08/2012

2012-01-08T07:03:00.000-08:00

Daily Thoughts 01/08/2012

I updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library. I like to read the local papers and see if there is anybody worth connecting to or friending from the standpoint of the library.

I have been reading a a little more of Disrupt. There is a nice reminder that an opportunity is not a solution. Nothing is executed yet.

I read some more of The Nook Book an Unofficial Guide. It got me to look at Pandora which is a way to make personal radio channels on the internet. I also spent a bit of time trying to get the Nook for PC program to work to no avail. It is a bit buggy. I learned that Nook has separate applications for textbooks (the Nook Study), and children (Nook Kids). They appear to be quite different than the regular reader. I also learned that the Nook is the only E-reader directly attached to a physical storefront. While the user of the Nook is in Barnes and Noble, special deals are offered and the Nook functions and Barnes and Noble functions as a Wifi hotspot.

Next week is crunch time for the budget. I am as always hoping for good things to happen for the library budget. Hopefully, the city will have it ready so they can pay civil servants by the end of the week.

I also put the book Tony Wheeler's Badlands: A Tourist on the Axis of Evil on hold.

Mount Vernon Hopes to Finalize Budget by Mid January Plan Contains 4.9% Tax Hike, No Layoffs
http://www.lohud.com/article/20120106/NEWS02/301060018/Mount-Vernon-hopes-finalize-budget-by-mid-January-plan-contains-4-9-tax-hike-no-layoffs

Web Bits
Take This Book: The People's Library at Occupy Wall Street by Melissa Gira Grant
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/melissagiragrant/take-this-book-the-peoples-library-at-occupy-wall
This was successfully funded. I did not buy a copy. Maybe I will get a chance to look at it one day.

Occupy Wall Street Library Adds Hundreds of Books
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/occupy-wall-street-library-adds-hundreds-of-books_b45088
The Occupy Wall Street Library now has more books than when it was removed from Zucotti park. I am also going to guess that soon the occupy movement will have more money because of all the free speech lawsuits.

Daily Thoughts 01/07/2012

2012-01-07T02:41:00.000-08:00

Keeping up with science Poster promoting the study of science, showing a microscope, open book, and an eye. Date Created/Published: Ill. : Federal Art Project, WPA, [between 1936 and 1939]
Daily Thoughts 01/07/2012

I have been reading Disrupt Think The Unthinkable To Speak Transformation In Your Business by Luke Williams. I got it free from the Kindle Store. I am reading it on both the Kindle Touch and the Kindle for PC program. It is the nice advantage of synching. The book is about innovation and ideas. I like the description of using post it notes to make thoughts physical. Paper makes thoughts physical more so than computers.

This morning, I spent some time going over the Kindle Fire tablet. It is the second Kindle Fire I have been asked about how they work. It was quite interesting and quite a bit more than the Kindle Touch. The manual was 548 pages long. There were all kinds of things which you could do on it that were content focused. I am thinking right now about the Apple Ipad.

The book Boomerang Travels In the New Third World by Michael Lewis came in for me to read.

I am working at the library this Saturday, January 7, 2012. The library has started opening the first Saturday of each month. Hopefully with better funding we will be able to open every Saturday. Money is very tight right now.

William Gibson has a new set of essays out called Distrust That Particular Flavor which I put on hold. It is his first collection of nonfiction essays.

I am taking a few minutes to apply for the reviews center Beta from Library Journal.
http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/reviews-center/reviews-center-login/

On the way home, I read some more of The Nook Book. Nook has an easily rhyming name, Look, look there is a nook, it is not quite a book I also read some more of the book, Disrupt. Much of the book is about design and the ideas behind innovation in design, not just business.

I have been thinking about buying an Ipad. There are some very personal reasons for me to do this. I may be getting one quite soon.

Web Bits

Occupy This: Graphic Novels About Economic Justice, Social Movements & Historical Revolutions
http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2011/12/collection-development/occupy-this-graphic-novels-about-economic-justice-social-movements-historical-revolutions/

Daily Thoughts 01/06/2012

2012-01-06T09:31:00.000-08:00

Daily Thoughts 01/06/2012

I spent some more time getting used to the Kindle this morning. I downloaded a few games for the Kindle. There are some lightweight apps available to the Kindle Touch. It also includes an experimental internet browser, MP3 player, and Audiobook player built into the Kindle. I also tried logging into the Overdrive catalog directly from the Kindle and found it quite difficult. I might have to sync the library books from the Kindle for PC program in order to get library ebooks.

I also spent some time playing with the Wifi at a small cafe in our neighborhood. It was interesting. In order to use Kindle you have to open an account with Amazon which includes credit card information. I checked for free ebooks in the Kindle store. There are over 45,000 of them. Some of them are quite current. There is a lot of erotica in the free ebooks. I downloaded 30 free ebooks to my Kindle.

Right now, I am sitting in my local branch library on their computer.

I am at home, I just finished synching my home computer with my Kindle. I now have 35 books on my home computer and 35 books on my Kindle. The Kindle also has two games on it. A few of the titles are Endgame The End of the Debt Supercycle and How It Changes Everything by John Mauldin and Jonathan Tepper and Saving For Retirement Without Living Like A Pauper or Winning the Lottery by Gail Marks Jarvis.

I went to Barnes and Noble and picked up the book, The Nook Book An Unoffical Guide, Second Edition by Patrick Kanouse.

Daily Thoughts 01/05/2012

2012-01-05T04:01:00.000-08:00

In the gallery of reading room, Library of Congress, Photograph showing portrait statues of Moses by Charles Henry Niehaus and Isaac Newton by Cyrus E. Dallin on balustrades in main reading room. Date Created/Published: 1900

Daily Thoughts 01/05/2012

Everyone has new years resolutions. I resolve to read a graphic novel every week. I read Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim yesterday. It is a beautifully drawn black and white comic in the slice of life tradition. The book won the Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz awards which is quite an accomplishment.

The characters were wonderfully done. I especially liked the main character Simon's romantic interest in a blind girl in high school. There was also some excellent lighthearted humor. The story was very much about growing up as well. There were some photographs of real places in the back of the book which Derek Kirk Kim used to draw the comic from.

Derek Kirk Kim describes how he was drawing from his own life to draw this comic in an essay at the back of the book as well. There is a little bit of strong language, but it is not in bad taste. It is more humorous than anything else. Derek Kirk Kim has a blog at: http://derekkirkkim.blogspot.com/

I requested the book, The Ecotechnic Future: Envisioning A Post-Peak World by John Michael Greer. I rather like reading this kind of material. It makes me realize people are thinking of solutions which are much longer term than what is currently happening.

There is now a circulating museum pass for the Children's Museum in Manhattan which can be checked out from the Reference Desk.

I finally did it. I went out and bought a Kindle Simple Touch today for my own use. It is a first step towards moving into the 21st century. They had a special at Target for $99 reduced from $139. It is sitting on the computer table right now charging. I am contemplating purchasing an Ipad and an android cell phone. I think it was the right move for me to do. It was quite frankly a bit of a nervous thing to do.

I sat down and read the users manual from front to back for the Kindle Touch. It is fairly straightforward.
A lot of it is very similar to the Sony E-reader.

I am going to make sure that there are a few computers with Kindle for PC in the Computer Lab.

Web Bits

Occupy Poetry! Starting the New Year With Inspiring Words
http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2012/01/in-the-bookroom/occupy-poetry-starting-the-new-year-with-inspiring-words/

Daily Thoughts 1/4/2012

2012-01-04T12:07:00.000-08:00

Yallourn Public Library bookplate [picture] / Allan Jordan

Daily Thoughts 1/4/2012

I finished reading The Life and Legend of Jay Gould in the morning. I am definitely prepared for the Biography Book Club on January 17, 2012 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. A few of the Friends of the Library go to the book club.

This morning I checked the Twitter and Facebook accounts. I also opened the Computer Lab from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Right now, I have the Sony E-reader charging. I also spent some time with a colleague discussing the Kindle and how it worked. Her Kindle does not have Wifi so she has to sync it with her Kindle application on the pc. Tomorrow we are going to spend some time looking over the Nook tablet. I rather like the Nook tablet.

During the last few minutes of my shift, I showed someone how to download books for the Kindle Fire tablet. It was much easier than I thought. Kindle does not require the user to download a separate app to use Overdrive. Also all their new devices have wifi.

I finished reading World On the Edge How To Prevent Economic and Environmental Collapse by Lester R. Brown on the train home. It is a very pure left of center vision of how to solve the worlds problems. I found it to be too idealistic at points. I agree with his ideas on planting trees, reducing poverty, promoting local agriculture, family planning, and stabilizing failing states. It is idealism at its finest. I am not sure his descriptions on how to make the ideas work seem practical.

Web Bits

Biblios
http://www.guylaramee.com/index.php?/biblios/text-1/

This is a video on how to use Adobe Digital Editions for the Nook. Adobe Digital Editions is used for the Westchester Library System Digital Media Catalog.
http://nooktalk.net/news/loading-books-with-adobe-digital-editions-on-your-nook

Which ebooks are most borrowed from libraries and why?
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-which-e-books-are-most-borrowed-from-libraries-and-why/

Daily Thoughts 1/3/2012

2012-01-03T09:59:00.000-08:00

[Reading room, University of Pennsylvania Library, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]
Date Created/Published: [ca.1900] I rather like the sepia tones to the photograph.

Daily Thoughts 1/3/2012

This morning, I read some more of World On Edge. The author was writing about alternative energy, his focus was on the growth of wind, solar, and geothermal energy. There was nothing about biofuels. It was a very purist vision of there being no carbon emissions of any kind.

The graphic novel, Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim came in for me to read.

This morning, I checked the gifts and the displays. We are working on expanding our email list for publicity. I dug out a few names for the list. Also, we are expanding the Computer Lab hours for Academic Use. The new hours will be on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. I spent some time showing someone how to set up the computer lab today. I also did a one on one session helping someone with Ereaders and downloading books. It was my first time doing this.

We are also having the Computer Training today in the evening. The classes are going very well.

I spent some time looking through Forecast and reading the New York Times Book Review. I also added a few cookbooks from the gift books.

On the way home, I read a bit more of World On Edge. Lester R. Brown is writing about doing massive reforestation projects. This would be for commercial tree farms separate from old growth forests. He argues this would help with climate change and protect our environment. Earlier he wrote about trains and how we should have a system of bullet trains. One of my personal dreams would be to ride a bullet train in the United States from New York to San Francisco. I also read some more of The Life and Legend of Jay Gould. At this point, Jay Gould has become an ill person obsessed with his railroad empire slowly working hmself to death.

I am still following what is happening with the Board of Estimate. They look to still be at an impasse. The old mayor will be leaving the budget hearings and the new mayor will be coming in to replace him during the budget talks. Hopefully, this should change things for the better for the library. I hope things will get better. Maybe if I show up at the meetings to listen it will make a difference. Woody Allen said "Eighty percent of success is showing up."

Daily Thoughts 01/02/2012

2012-01-02T07:33:00.000-08:00

Girl reading. Signed G.JAKOBIDES. Oil on canvas, 53 x 40 cm, 1882

Daily Thoughts 01/02/2012

I spent some time looking at E-readers reviews this morning. There are a number of color readers listed for about $100 with very bad reviews. This indicates in the near future, it will be possible to get a good color reader for that price. I am also seeing the Nook Tablet for about $250 and the Kindle Tablet for $200. There are a lot of E-readers which I had not even heard about. Google has an E-reader called the iRiver. There are also a number of E-readers based on the Android operating system.

I also finished reading The Filter Bubble. Eli Pariser reminds us that our personal information is valuable and should be protected. Advertisers are there to sell your information so that people can sell you things. It is actually quite a bit more than this in my experience; companies want your resume, your opinion, your money, and your time all of which are valuable.

This afternoon, I was at Target looking at the Ereaders. I also was looking at the digital cameras. I am thinking that I might want to get an Android based phone with a built in camera. I found that I very much liked the Nook Tablet more than the other devices. It is not as expensive as the Apple, is a solid E-reader and has applications which look interesting. I was not that impressed with Kindle Fire. A lot of this is about patience and learning more about devices.

This evening, I read a bit more of The Life and Legend of Jay Gould. I also started reading World On The Edge how to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse by Lester R. Brown. He writes about LED lighting. I think this is nowhere near enough. There needs to be a lot more done about energy efficiency and alternative energy than is being done now.

Web Bits

Wilton Library Monster Clash
http://www.wiltonlibrary.org/monster-clash/

Daily Thoughts 1/1/2012

2012-01-01T08:41:00.000-08:00

Daily Thoughts 1/1/2012

I read a bit more of The Filter Bubble this morning. I also updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts.

I went to Barnes and Nobles today to look at the Nook. In the higher end Nook, it has basically become a tablet device for $249 with apps, color books, magazines, and internet access. I spent some time looking at the Cat In Hat App for the Nook. It was fun to look at. I talked to the salesperson for a while on how it work. I also played around with the Nook until the alarm went off and they asked me to stop playing with it.

I read some more of The Filter Bubble in the laundromat. The author is wrting about how geeks sometimes have technological determinism where they say it is inevitable the way technology develops. I disagree with this completely. We all make choices in what technology we buy and use. Technology should support people, it was created by people not some magic hand.

Daily Thoughts 12/31/2011

2011-12-31T08:03:00.000-08:00

Howard Pyle (1853-1911) and his daughter Phoebe. Photographer: Frances Benjamin Johnston

Daily Thoughts 12/31/2011

I spent some time looking at different versions of E-reader software on my desktop computer. I have the Kindle, Kobo, Sony, and Nook reader software on my computer. They are not that different. There are some differences in font faces, but the navigation is very similar. Most of them have a variety of sample books. Some are only short excerpts of the whole book like This Will Make You Smarter: New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking by John Brockman which is a 24 page excerpt from the book. It is not hard to download books. I downloaded The True Benjamin Franklin by Sydney George Fisher onto the Kindle software. None of it is particularly difficult. I also spent a little bit of time reading The Prince by Machiavelli on the Nook. Most of it is very similar.

I put the book This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement by Sarah Roth Van Gelder as an electronic hold. I also downloaded Overdrive Media Console to my home computer so I could read ebooks on my computer at home. It is practice for an upcoming project.

Web Bits

Occupy Vancouver Library, The People'sLovely Library

http://www.peopleslovelylibrary.net/index.php/Occupy_Vancouver_People%27s_Library

Occupy Your Sidewalk with a MicroLibrary

http://www.good.is/post/occupy-your-sidewalk-with-a-micro-library/

A little odd. Not quite librarianish.

Take This Book: The People's Library atOccupy Wall Street

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/melissagiragrant/take-this-book-the-peoples-library-at-occupy-wall

$40 for a personal copy. A bit expensive for my tastes.

Another Kickstarter Book Project
Saving Our Public Libraries: Why We Should: How We Can
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1094941765/book-saving-our-public-libraries-why-we-should-how

Daily Thoughts 12/30/2011

2011-12-30T19:53:00.000-08:00

Gottfried Hensel: Europa Polyglotta. Multilingual Europe, showing the genealogy of the languages, together with the alphabets and modes of writing of all peoples. 1730.

Daily Thoughts 12/30/2011

I have been reading some more of The Filter Bubble. Eli Pariser is describing how personalization can end up damaging a person by stereotyping them. Internet tracking cookies are used to profile a person and a person can be misinterpreted easily. There are also some rather scary things which he is saying like personalization can attempt to predict a persons politics, whether or not they own a gun, and their ethnicity. It is the exact opposite of anonymity.

This morning, I updated the Twitter and Facebook pages for the library and checked the displays. I also took some time to print some flyers for programs. I try and do this at the beginning of the month for the months programs.

I also spent quite a bit of time figuring out how to translate my schedule into Google Calendar. I put in two months worth of programs. It probably needs some editing and clean up. It is my first time doing this. I like the layout of the calendar.

Daily Thoughts 12/29/2011

2011-12-29T09:01:00.000-08:00

Susan Brownell Anthony, 1820-1906 Seated portrait, reading.

Daily Thoughts 12/29/2011

I read some more of The Filter Bubble this morning. The author is writing about the danger of receiving news that only reflects your own opinion. Filtered news would reinforce what you already believe and limit decision making by cutting off differences of opinion. This is one of the reasons I look at more than one news source on occasion. I like to see the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) news, Yahoo news, and CNN (Cable News Network). None of them are completely believable to me, but they sometimes are different.

There was another Special Board of Estimate Meeting this morning. At this point, it is more of a decision to be observed as the Board of Estimates discusses things. They met this morning at 8:30 a.m.
http://cmvny.com/2011/12/28/special-board-of-estimate-city-council-meeting-notice/

This morning, I updated the Twitter and Facebook account. I also checked the displays and the gift books. A book on Microsoft Excel 2003 and Microsoft Access 2003 was added to the collection. People still use this kind of material. Often when the stores stop selling the older computer books, the library is the only place to get them. We call this legacy computing.

We are discussing one on one training for downloading ebooks. It should be quite interesting.

I spent some time this afternoon looking at Purchase Alerts to see what people are placing holds on for the library.

Daily Thoughts 12/28/2011

2011-12-28T12:12:00.000-08:00

"Adversity is not without comforts & hopes" Illustrated Francis Bacon quotation. 1915

Daily Thoughts 12/28/2011

I went to Board of Estimate and Contract Special Meeting on Decmber 28, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. The meeting started at 10:05 a.m. There was no final decision on the 2012 Budget Estimate for the City of Mount Vernon. There were disagreements between the interested parties. I was there to listen and observe the meeting. At around 10:20 a.m. the meeting went into executive session ending the period of public discussion.
http://cmvny.com/2011/12/27/board-of-estimate-and-contract-special-meeting-notice/

This morning, I updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts. The library opened the Computer Lab for Academic Use between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. An adolescent pregnancy prevention group stopped in to use the lab for research. Today has been fairly quiet.

We also had the Graphic Novels Club from 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. We discussed a number of titles including V for Vendetta by Alan Moore. I also learned that the manga magazine Shonen Jump was moving to online only. We have several copies which will be giveaways at the Anime Club. We are planning to discuss graphic novel movie tie ins which should be interesting for the next Graphic Novels club.

The book, World On The Edge How To Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse by Lester R. Brown came in for me to read. It should be quite interesting. People need to receive suggestions for solutions even if they do not agree with them always.

I checked the displays this evening and updated the current events display with some books on what is in the news. I can hear the drums for the Kwanzaa event downstairs.

Daily Thoughts 12/27/2011

2011-12-27T08:43:00.000-08:00

Gerard Ter Borch The Younger, 1675, Portrait of a Man Reading

Daily Thoughts 12/27/2011

This morning, I looked through the gift books. There were a number of classics as well as several books on religion and mysticism like Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and The Essential Rumi. I also checked the displays and updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts.

We also some time discussing the logo for the library and the Jr. Trustees program for the library. http://www.mountvernonpubliclibrary.org/node/343 We also discussed the library newsletter which is here.
http://www.mountvernonpubliclibrary.org/node/228

I am looking at the From Earth to the Solar System Exhibit available from NASA. It is very interesting.
http://fettss.arc.nasa.gov/collection/

The computer classes are tonight. The teacher is working on opening a computer training center in Yonkers which is kind of interesting.

The book, The Filter Bubble What The Internet Is Hiding From You by Eli Pariser has come in for me to read. This book writes about how companies like Google and Facebook are personalizing their services to match individual users. While this helps block out unwanted information, it also can be excessive. One thing that occurs to me is that a person who has their web address and personal information filtered by a web company will have a more difficult time conducting research that is unbiased because the results are alredy filtered.

This is why I think it is often important to use more than one search engine to see different results and sometimes use desktop search applications like Webferret or Copernic which are not personalized.
I have been reading Forecast from Baker and Taylor. Two books which are coming out in February which look interesting are The End of Money: Counterfeiters, Preachers, Techies, Dreamers-- and the Coming Cashless Society by David Wolfman and Arctic Rising by Tobias Buckell.

Board of Estimate and Contract Special Meeting Notice for Decmber 28, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.
http://cmvny.com/2011/12/27/board-of-estimate-and-contract-special-meeting-notice/
The meeting on December 29, 2011 is canceled.

Web Bits

Occupy Wall Street Organizer to Speak at Larchmont Library
http://scarsdale.patch.com/announcements/occupy-wall-street-organizer-to-speak-at-larchmont-library
There are stronger ties than people may realize.

Daily Thoughts 12/26/2011

2011-12-26T13:08:00.000-08:00

Daily Thoughts 12/26/2011

I checked the Facebook account for the library. I listed a few events. I also updated the Twitter account. I am still thinking about the budget meeting on December 29, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. I am going to try and go.

I finished reading The End of Growth by Richard Heinberg. I placed the book World on the edge : how to prevent environmental and economic collapse by Lester R. Brown on hold. I enjoyed reading The End to Growth. I agree to the premise that the world will become much more local, but I think it will become much more local in a different way.

I think additive manufacturing or 3D Printing Technology which will change the world soon. There is a desktop manufacturing boom coming soon. Already, the basic machines are starting to be produced. I especially find things like Makerbot Industries fascinating. http://www.makerbot.com/ This is the tip of the iceberg. Desktop manufacturing will become systematically cheaper much like computers did. DIY Desktop CNC Machine http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/421256045/diy-desktop-cnc-machine?ref=live

There is tremendous promise in this kind of technology. It could lead to things like the Urbee becoming real http://www.urbee.net/vision/ This is the first model for a 3D printed car. This type of technology by nature is local.

This kind of thinking is tied in with the Maker movement. http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/11/dale-dougherty-make-white-house.html I think it has a wonderful almost science fiction feel to it. Cory Doctorow even wrote a science fiction book called Makers which is available to read as a Creative Commons book.
http://craphound.com/makers/Cory_Doctorow_-_Makers.html

Daily Thoughts 12/25/2011

2011-12-25T11:24:00.000-08:00

New Year's Day postcard mailed in 1909. It reads: "A New Year's Resolution / Jan. 1st / Good Resolution / Each resolution that I make / My conscience surely troubles / Because I find they always break / As easy as Soap bubbles" 1909

Daily Thoughts 12/25/2011

Happy Holidays!, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Years and all that. I hope you all have a wonderful new year with plenty of time for relaxation, family and friends.

I read a bit more of The End of Growth by Richard Heinberg. The author is writing about the different financial crises; the housing crisis, the financial crisis, and the near global meltdown of 2008. He also writes about different potential peaks; peak oil, peak food production, and peak mineral production.

Daily Thoughts 12/24/2011

2011-12-24T09:40:00.000-08:00

Daily Thoughts 12/24/2011

I have been steadily reading The End of Growth. Another idea is that we are running out of resources and because of this there can be no economic growth. The depletion of oil, mineral wealth, forests, and fisheries has caused a permanent downturn in the economy.

There is a missing element to this which is not being discussed. I wanted to take a break and just amuse myself a bit with the idea that there will be massive land reclamation projects in the near future. It will be a different type of growth with a different economic and political philosophy. I do not think growth will end. It will change.

Reclamation Economics

There will be a point in the near future where it will become viable to reclaim large areas of land for food production, biofuel production, and as a return to natural habitats.

There is another step in green economics which I have not seen explored very well. The economics of large scale land reclamation, pollution abatement, and using urban farming to reclaim abandoned buildings. This is just an idea.

There is an idea called ecological engineering which is focused on reclaiming land and water. Eventually this will be a growth industry. Using things like Seawater Greenhouses http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/02/alternativeenergy.solarpower
there will be large land reclamation projects. There are other systems like living machines which are used for water treatment http://www.livingmachines.com/about/ Eventually there will be many more systems like this.

As land becomes more valuable, industrial lands will increasingly be reclaimed. Polluted areas will be remediated with cheaper forms of phytoremediation. http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20111009/SUB01/310099965/investors-have-faith-in-mustard-seed-farming-for-biofuel-brownfield-cleanup Investors have faith in Mustard Seed Farming for Biofuel Brownfield Cleanup.

Landfills will be gasified and reprocessed for their content. Less will be wasted. Maybe in the near future we will see large scale reclamation projects to turn desert back into farmland.

Another thing which is happening is that urban farming is growing. It often takes over and reclaims abandoned buildings. This is another area where cities will slowly be reclaimed. The Rise of Urban Aquaponics Farm Fresh In Wisconsin.
http://singularityhub.com/2010/06/17/the-rise-of-urban-aquaponics-farm-fresh-fish-in-wisconsin-video/

The next city budget hearing is on December 29, 2011. Hopefully, the library will do well.
http://cmvny.com/2011/12/23/notice-of-public-hearing-for-the-2012-budget/

The Turbine and The Battery (A Blue Sky Thinking Exercise)

2011-12-23T18:39:00.000-08:00

A little Blue Sky Thinking – TheTurbine and the Battery.

I am not an engineer. I just likethinking about these things sometimes. It is a way to daydream, relieve a little pressure and let my mind wander. I was reading The End to Growth and the book mentioned Peak Oil. There are definite solutions, the future is not fixed. This actually is a bit of thinking along the lines of an earlier post I wrote, A Turbine Powered Future. Blue sky thinking is an exercise in thinking without limits where you don't tell yourself something is impossible.

Peak Oil may not be as much of aproblem as people think. A transition to more alternative energy is already starting It is fundamentally about hybrid technologies. Aslithium ion batteries started they first appeared in cell phones,then they appeared in computers, then in appliances, then thebatteries transitioned into cars, now they are scaling to power plantsize batteries. A123 Systems is already producing electric gridscale batteries.http://www.a123systems.com/solutions-electric-grid.htm

At the same time as battery technologyis advancing, newer turbine engines and hybrid car engines are beingdeveloped. This is scaling to the level of power plants. GE has anew power plant which combines energy grid scale batteries and aturbine engine for burning natural gas.http://www.ge-flexibility.com/index.jsp Turbine engines are capable of burning almost any fuel includingbiofuels. They are very flexible in this regard.

Hybrid power plants would allow acombination of both liquid fuels and electrically generated powersources to join in a single place allowing for both natural gas orbiofuels and solar or wind power to be run out of the same plant. There is no reason if they are on coastlines or rivers that theywould not be attached to wave power plants like the Pelamishttp://blog.al.com/space-news/2011/12/stratolaunch_the_new_paul_alle.htmlor hydroelectric power.

Another aspect of hybridization is theuse of both and wind and solar power in the same plant or systemsthat combine wind and solar together with battery systems. This isgoing to happen more often.http://www.cleanenergyauthority.com/solar-energy-news/arista-and-helios-partner-hybrid-solar-wind-systems-070811/ This is an example of a combined solar and wind power system.

Hybridization also affects coal power plants. Many coal plants are burning biomass with coal to generate power. This reduces the amount of emissions. It is a transitional technology away from coal. Eventually, the plants could use biomass to generate steam and heat for power without coal.

As battery technology advances,batteries may eventually be powerful enough to power electric jets.The same advances used in creating the hybrid battery turbine powerplant could be carried over to create hybrid biofuel electric jetengines. http://www.txchnologist.com/2011/move-over-electric-car-the-electric-airplane-is-coming. This is another article, NASA and Boeing Look to Hybrid Jets forPossible Fuel Savings.http://www.hybridcars.com/news/nasa-and-boeing-look-hybrid-jets-possible-fuel-savings-28256.html

The future is not as bad as many peoplethink it will be. Part of my thinking comes from the ideas of LewisMumford. During the 1960s Lewis Mumford proposed that civilizationcould be powered by wind and wave power. I especially like Lewis Mumford's book Technics and Civilization. The basis of both wind andwave power is the turbine. He thought this way of powering the worldwould be quieter, cleaner, and more civilized. There is both a greater efficiency and elegrance in turbine engines than in internal combustion engines.

More Blue Sky Thinking-- InflatableSpace.

A while ago, I did a little blue skythinking about how to use inflatables in space. One idea is thatroccoons could be used to launch inflatable habitat modules intospace.

While this is not a roccoon, this alink to an article about the proposed Stratolaunch aircraft forlaunching satellites http://blog.al.com/space-news/2011/12/stratolaunch_the_new_paul_alle.htmlI thought it was quite interesting. It might be a way to launchinflatable habitat modules into space like the Bigelow Aerospace inflatable habitat modules. It looks like it might be a way to build an affordable space program.

Daily Thoughts 12/23/2011

2011-12-23T08:09:00.000-08:00

"Occupy Toronto" Library Yurt in St James Park, November 9, 2011 Photo taken by Anonymous00, Creative Commons 1.0, Universal Public Domain Designation

Daily Thoughts 12/23/2011

I have been reading more of The Life and Legend of Jay Gould. Murray Klein is writing about Jay Gould's financial takeover of the elevated train lines in Manhattan. There are still elevated tracks for the subway in Queens and Brooklyn. I sometimes like looking out the windows on the way back from work at the rooftops and trees while I am riding the subway.

This morning I updated the Twitter and Facebook page for the library. There will be as Special City Council meeting in Mount Vernon City Hall at 6:00 p.m on the budget. http://cmvny.com/2011/12/22/special-city-council-meeting-2/ . I am not going because of family obligations. I am hoping that other people do go.

I spent some watching the Chinese Archives of World Heritage Series Confucius, Confucianism, and Confucian Temple today. It was interesting learning about Master Kong. Confucius taught all classes of people.

I also started reading The End of Growth Adapting to Our New Economic Reality by Richard Heinberg. The author is arguing that the standard models of economic growth no longer work because of the cost of resource extraction and environmental damage. His argument is one of limits to growth.

Of course if you are future oriented like I am, you might see that in another fifty or sixty years from now when people start mining asteroids and bringing back helium-3 from the moon, the limits might change. But then, most likely I won't be around to see these things happen if they do happen.

Web Bits

Check an Ebook Out from the Library
http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Check_an_E-Book_Out_From_the_Library

Daily Thoughts 12/22/2011

2011-12-22T14:31:00.000-08:00

Illustration de la couverture de la revue Les Soirées littéraires du 25 avril 1880 Paris

Daily Thoughts 12/22/2011

This morning I went to the Board of Estimates Meeting in Mount Vernon, New York for the budget. It was at 10:00 a.m.. I was the only person there from the public. I stayed for about ten minutes. Then the Board of Estimate went into executive session. It was an interesting experience. http://cmvny.com/2011/12/21/boe-special-meeting-notice/

There is another Budget Meeting tomorrow, December 23 at 6:00 p.m. at Mount Vernon City Hall.
Please go.
http://cmvny.com/2011/12/22/special-city-council-meeting-2/

The night before, I was at the Mount Vernon Public Library Board of Trustees Meeting. There was a lot being discussed. The Amnesty has started out well. We have gotten $500 worth of lost material back so far. If you know anybody who has lost library material encourage them to come in and bring in their books.
http://www.mountvernonpubliclibrary.org/amnesty

There was a lot to hear about. We are planning a number of events including the Kenneth C. Davis talk on January 12, 2012 and other events. We spent some time discussing the Central Library District allocations as the central branch.

I will be working on Saturday,, January 7, 2012 as part of the process of opening the first Saturday of the month. There are also a number of programs in the works coming up.

The Trustees meeting room was packed with people. It was nice seeing some of my colleagues who had left.

This morning, I was originally planning to go to the dentists. I had just stopped by work because it was near the dentists office. I didn't originally plan on going to the Board of Estimates meeting. I also spent some time talking to people, checked the displays, and looked over the gift books. I bought a book, Man Made UFOs 1944-1994 by Renato Vasco and David Hatcher Childress. I find UFO books to be an entertaining mix of goofiness and speculation. I rather like the pictures of foo fighters, early German ramjet planes, flying wings, and strange disc shaped craft.

I also finished reading The Shock Doctrine. The writing is very interesting. Naomi Klein manages to express fascinating ideas like plutonomy, corporatism, and disaster capitalism. Often the book has kind of extreme praise for the left. I am not that fond of South American politics. However, she also describes how corporations are increasingly becoming intertwined with government. The reader gets to learn about private contractors like Blackwater, Bechtel, and Halliburton and how they have changed our government for the worse in Iraq and places like New Orleans in the United States.

I find myself thinking that there are different answers to our problems than the left is describing. There has been almost no attempt recently to break up business monopolies and trusts by the United States government. We do not see the commerce department going after giant corporations like Amazon, Google, Halliburton, or Chevron to get them to be broken up into smaller entities. These giant entities are becoming increasingly intertwined with the United States government. There is a kind of symbiosis between oversize corporations and oversize government.

Poverty has become an industry where people can get rent to own furniture, layaway items for the holidays, money orders, go to the pawn shop, get credit card counseling and personal bankruptcy, get a pay day loan, buy their clothes from a thrift shop, and live on cheap fast food.

I read this as part of the Occupy Education book list. I have noticed that almost all of the books they are suggesting are negative. The books like Griftopia are about how terrible things are. It is clear to me that Occupy Wall Street is more about protest than actively seeking solutions. There needs to be a little more focus on problem solving. More focus on reform.

Web Bits

O-Bits Blog: Occupy Wall Street Library
http://thecoffinfactory.blogspot.com/2011/12/peoples-library-of-occupy-wall-street.html#more

The Struggle For Occupy Wall Street Archives
http://www.theawl.com/2011/12/the-st

Police Arrest Protesters at sit-in at Detroit Library Branch
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20111222/METRO/112220477/1409/rss36
There may be more of a connection than many people think between Occupy Wall Street and libraries.

Daily Thoughts 12/21/2011

2011-12-21T06:20:00.000-08:00

Therese Schwartze, The Artists Husband, by 1918

Daily Thoughts 12/21/2011

I updated the Twitter and Facebook pages for the library. I also am planning to go to the Board Meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. It should be interesting.

I have been reading more of The Shock Doctrine. There is a profound irony in Gorbachev trying to turn Russia into a "socialist" beacon based on the Scandinavian model. Part of the irony stems from the majority of the Scandinavian countries professing neutrality in world affairs. Neutrality means that there would be no help from the Scandinavian countries to adapt their economic model. Scandinavia as a region does invest in foreign countries, but they do it quietly without fanfare to make money.

I am finding the book to be quite interesting. There are a lot of claims about how terrible the IMF and the World Bank are. The author is claiming that they take much of their philosophy from conservative institutions like the Chicago School of Economics, the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and people like George Soros. I think this is a bit biased. The think tanks on the left also influence the World Bank and the IMF.

I put the book, The Filter Bubble: What The Internet Is Hiding from You by Eli Pariser on hold.

Web Bits

Drawn and Quarterly Teams up With Kobo to Release Digital Graphic Novels
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/49945-d-q-teams-with-kobo-to-release-digital-graphic-novels-.html
Drawn and Quarterly is known for producing comics lit-- high quality stories. This is a little different.

Daily Thoughts 12/20/2011

2011-12-20T06:40:00.000-08:00

Desk in the library at Zutphen, 1894

Daily Thoughts 12/20/2011

I have been reading more of The Shock Doctrine. A lot of it so far is about economic manipulation of South American countries by the Chicago school of economics and large multinational companies in the 1970s. Some of it is very strange and hard to follow. I don't buy into either socialism or free market economics that much so a lot of the assertions in this section of the book seem irrational.

What does make sense is the author, Naomi Klein's assertion that in democracies that the lower and middle classes opt to vote for programs that improve education, support social services, and protect jobs and industries. This makes pure free market capitalism unworkable in democratic countries. It also leads to large scale protests and social unrest when there are economic downturns.

Another argument that Naomi Klein is bringing forward is that it is possible to have market reform without civil rights and freedoms. China has reformed its markets and so has Russia, but they they have not increased civil liberties.

I had a chance to watch several movies that I wanted to see; Cars 2, Megamind, Stargate Universe, and The King's Speech. The King's Speech was an excellent film. It is well worth watching. It was a nice way to relax. It was a nice break from reading.

Web Bits

How Much Should an Ebook Cost?
http://www.thedominoproject.com/2011/12/how-much-should-an-ebook-cost.html
I find Seth Godin interesting.

Kruthof's "Installation of 4000 Books."
http://vikingpenguinbooks.tumblr.com/post/14271762024/now-this-is-clever-anouk-kruithof

Daily Thoughts 12/19/2011

2011-12-19T08:27:00.000-08:00

German school of the XVI century Book Oil on wood, 70.2 x 65 Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Daily Thoughts 12/19/2011

I spent a little bit of time this morning updating the library Facebook and Twitter account. I got a call this morning to see if I wanted to purchase School Library Journal. It circulates at my job. I have been quoted in School Library Journal once. However, I have never been quoted in Library Journal. You would think it would be the opposite because I work with adults mostly. I also sometimes work with teenagers though.

I have been reading more of The Shock Doctrine. Something that bothers me about these kind of books is the often distorted language. Until I started reading some of the more leftists books, I had never heard the term neoliberal. Apparently Milton Friedman is considered neoliberal.. It is the kind of political language which creates words like proledic and neoconservative. Political words of extreme opposition and utopian ideology.

I am also realizing that trying to force utopian ideals into existing structures often causes terrible things to happen. Pure ideologies have a tendency towards "creative destruction". Oddly enough, when pure ideologies are applied to new economic structures they can be very beneficial.

Paypal was the result of libertarian ideals being applied to small financial transactions and Ebay was an attempt to create a "perfect market". These of course were divorced from existing political institutions which is a major plus.Of course if you are like I am and are into science fiction you hope one day people will be able to go off and start their own countries with little interference. I am going off on a tangent. A bit on sea steading. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/silicon-valley-billionaire-funding-creation-artificial-libertarian-islands-140840896.html

I watched the short Lynda.com class on Pitching Ideas and Products to Executives. Being convincing is always helpful.

Web Bits

World Book Night April 23, 2012
http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/about-world-book-night/register-as-a-2012-giver

I, Curator
http://www.sdtimes.com/blog/post/2011/12/16/I-curator.aspx

Library Advocacy Store on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/libraryadvocacystore

Daily Thoughts 12/18/20111

2011-12-18T04:52:00.001-08:00

Marguerite Gerard, Lady Reading In An Interior between 1795 and 1800
Daily Thoughts 12/18/2011

I have been reading The Shock Doctrine. It starts with Latin American leftism versus exported Chicago School style capitalism. Part of this argument is a statement against laissez faire capitalism as embraced by Milton Friedman which tends to concentrate wealth upward and create a large pool of lower class people. It also tries to equate torture; electroshock and sensory deprivation with laissez faire capitalism. As part of this comparison it describes in very left terms how business is exported to dictatorships from the United States. I am not completely convinced about some of the arguments. The book tends to preach rather than convince. It seems written for people who already agree with the authors viewpoint.

The book also defines corporatism as the combination of a police state with corporations and trade unions to form a kind of totalitarian rule. This is the darker side of capitalism.

One of the things which the book does do successfully is acknowledge there is more than one type of capitalism. I find John Maynard Keynes much more appealing than Milton Friedman. There are a lot of different forms of capitalism.

I also read some more of The Life and Legend of Jay Gould. I am reading about how Jay Gould broke away from the Union Pacific and started to form his own railroad group. The book successfully shows how industrialists often are interested in controlling companies as much as making money. It becomes a kind of chess game where the pieces are different stocks and corporations.

Updated Press Release for Signifcant Changes at the Mount Vernon Public Library
http://www.mvinquirer.com/mount_vernon_public_library_chan.htm

Web Bits

Read in at Occupy 2.0
http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2011/12/in-the-bookroom/post/read-in-at-occupy-2-0/
Another Library Journal article.

Daily Thoughts 12/17/2011

2011-12-17T06:59:00.000-08:00

Alexander Kanoldt: Stilleben mit Büchern und Krügen, Öl auf Leinwand, 85 x 65.5 cm, 1920

Daily Thoughts 12/17/2011

I updated the Twitter and Facebook for the library. There are still negotiations going on over the budget. Hopefully things will go well for us. Please support libraries.

I read some more of The Life and Legend of Jay Gould. The book discusses the ties between the railroads and the telegraph. At one point Jay Gould worked with Thomas Edison. He also had a rivalry with Cornelius Vanderbilt.

I plan on going to the board meeting on December 21, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. for the library.

I started reading The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. I am finding it rather odd. It comes across as muckraking progressivism versus a kind of rampant free market fundamentalism which the author, Naomi Klein is opposed to. The writing is quite bombastic with strong statements. There is very little that seems factually neutral. It is very much a right wing versus left wing book. Her main target initially seems to be Milton Friedman who I am not a fan of. Because I think of myself as independent thinker in many ways, some of the statements by Naomi Klein are puzzling to me.

Web Bits

Austerity's Attack on Knowledge Assaulting Libraries
http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/12/16/assaulting-libraries/
A British view on libraries.

Take This Book: The People's Library At Occupy Wall Street
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/melissagiragrant/take-this-book-the-peoples-library-at-occupy-wall?ref=search
This is a Kickstarter Project designed to crowd fund a book.

Daily Thoughts 12/16/2011

2011-12-16T06:54:00.000-08:00

Bibliotheksinterieur mit lesender Magd. Öl auf Hartfaseroplatte, signiert, 23 x 18,5 cm, 1915

Daily Thoughts 12/16/2011

This morning I read some more of the Life and Legend of Jay Gould. Quite a bit of the book is about railroads. Jay Gould invested heavily in the Union Pacific and the Erie railroads. It makes for a ruthless story of board room intrigue, union busting, legal chicanery, political lobbying, price manipulation, and business excess. It is very much about the roots of American capitalism.

This morning, I updated the Twitter and Facebook account. I also checked the displays and gift books. I also spent some time reading the latest Forecast from Baker and Taylor, the BWI Titletalk catalog, and the latest copy of the New York Times Bestseller list. One of our patrons challenged me to read Suicide of A Superpower by Patrick J. Buchanan who I am not fond of. I plan on doing this.

I also plan on reading Never Would have Made It the Rise of Tyler Perry by Melvin Child. It is coming out in January.

I showed one of my colleagues the Lynda.com service today. I also spent some time clearing my desk off because I am going to be off next week from work.

I decided to read the books on the Occupy Educated primer reading list. http://occupyeducated.org/primer/ I already have read In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan which is about eating organic, unprocessed, locally produced food as well as eating less meat.
I checked out The Shock Doctrine The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein.

On the way home, I read some more of The Life and Legend of Jay Gould. It has become clear at this point in the biography that Jay Gould's speculations are about more than money. He is clearly trying to build a lasting business empire which will carry on after he is gone.

Web Bits

Best Independent Bookstores on Twitter
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/best-bookstores-on-twitter_b44000

Special Merchandise: When Is a Bookstore Not a Bookstore?
http://publishingtrendsetter.com/industryinsight/special-merchandise-bookstore-bookstore/

Occupy UCONN Takes the Library During Finals
http://www.thenation.com/node/165183

HackLibSchool On Occupy Wall Street: Part II
http://hacklibschool.wordpress.com/2011/12/15/hacklibschool-on-occupy-wall-street-part-ii/

Daily Thoughts 12/15/2011

2011-12-15T08:37:00.000-08:00

Interior with poppies and reading woman (Lizzy Hohlenberg), 1905
Daily Thoughts 12/15/2011

On the way to work, I read some of The Life and Legend of Jay Gould by Maury Klein. It is a book about ruthless ambition. Jay Gould was considered the wickedest of the 19th century robber barons by many. His financial transactions and business dealings are legendary for their double dealing and trickery. The book describes a man driven by greed, absolutely loyal to his family, and continuously driven to self- improvement. I am reading this book for the biography book club.

Today has been a quiet, steady day. I updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library. I also checked the displays. We got our desk calendar for the new year yesterday. I printed up some flyers for events that are coming up. I am also working on the January, February schedule for programs.

Web Bits

The 25 Most Beautiful College Libraries In The World
http://flavorwire.com/240819/the-25-most-beautiful-college-libraries-in-the-world

Daily Thoughts 12/14/2011

2011-12-14T08:27:00.000-08:00

Depiction of Joseph reading to the Pharaoh. Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1878 Ebers, From the book, "Egypt: Descriptive, Historical, and Picturesque." Volume 1. Cassell & Company, Limited: New York, 1878. p 096b.

Daily Thoughts 12/14/2011

This morning, I updated the Facebook and Twitter accounts for the library. I also checked the displays, checked the gift books, looked over the flyers, and printed some more bookmarks.

We spent some time discussing the computers. Techsoup has some very good deals on software for libraries http://www.techsoup.org/ , especially for Microsoft products.

The computer lab is going to be open from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for academic use. More people are coming in for the lab lately. A lot of them are from the computer classes on Tuesday nights. We are installing Open Office in addition to Microsoft Office.

I am reading The Life and Legend of Jay Gould by Maury Kleint. Jay Gould was known for being a robber baron and industrialist on the railroads in the 19th century. We are going to read biographies of people who worked with the railroads as part of the biography book club for next month.

I put together the beginnings of a book display on trains, subways, and trolleys. There is some information on old railroad lines in Westchester that have since stopped operating in the Local History Room which I hope to look at.

Significant Changes at the Mount Vernon Public Library
http://www.mvinquirer.com/mount_vernon_public_library_chan.htm

Web Bits

Ebooks Shmee Books; Readers Return to the Stores
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/books/steve-jobs-biography-and-other-hot-titles-bookstore-lures.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all?src=tp

For Amazon Lashes and Backlashes
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/for-amazon-lashes-and-backlashes/%20
Is it alright to be ambivalent?

A "New" Digital Divide
http://www.ors.ala.org/libconnect/2011/12/13/a-new-digital-divide/
I like to think there are a number of divides:
1) Access to computers and computer training.
2) Access to smart devices-- smart phones, tablets, digital cameras
3) Access to broadband internet and wifi
4) Access to electronic content-- databases, ebooks, and other electronic content like music and film.

Each of these divides adds to the ability to interact in the increasingly digital world. I keep on trying to convince myself to buy a smart phone and a tablet.

Daily Thoughts 12/13/2011

2011-12-13T08:45:00.000-08:00

The Lithographer, by Louis Prang, 1874.

Daily Thoughts 12/13/2011

This morning, I updated the Facebook and Twitter accounts for the library. I like to put all the weekly events up on Sunday or Monday.

On the way to work, I finished reading Louis Prang: Color Lithographer Giant of a Man by Dr. Larry Freeman. Louis Prang created popular prints for the home during the 19th century. He used a process called chromolithography which is a multi-color system of lithography. He is best known as the father of the American greeting card industry. There was quite a bit on both Christmas cards and Valentines Day cards. I was reading this book for the Biography Book Club which is today, Tuesday, December 13, 2011 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

I also read some of The Sixth Gun which is a graphic novel set in the old west with supernatural elements. I rather like the depictions of gunfights against the walking dead. The graphic novel has some excellent color artistry by Bill Crabtree. I read both the first and second volume of the graphic novel. The second volume, The Sixth Gun: Crossroads was even better than the first. The setting in 19th century New Orleans was terrific. There were gunfights against evil spirits from the swamps. It had a voodoo element to it with giant snakes, alligators, zombies, cat people, and loas.

We had a staff meeting this morning which went very well.

The Biography Book Club met today from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. We talked about a number of different people including Louis Prang, Charlie Chaplin, Irving Berlin, and Maulana Karenga. It was a fairly interesting meeting.

I also opened the lab today for the Intermediate Computer Classes this evening and made sure the computers were ready.

There was a press release this afternoon letting people know that the library is searching for a new director, we are open on the first Saturday of the month in January through June, and there is an amnesty for lost items.

On the way home, I read some more of The Doctor and the Kid A Weird Western by Mike Resnick. It creates a mythical past, with Billy the Kid, Doc Holliday, Thomas Edison, Geronimo, and other larger than life characters. The magic and steampunk make the story interesting, the characters drive the story.

Web Bits

Carnegie Libraries in the United States
http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/carnegie.html

Daily Thoughts 12/12/2011

2011-12-12T09:16:00.000-08:00

Yushima shōkintei Print shows women serving tea to men in a tearoom, drinking tea, reading, and writing; view of Edo through opening in rear. Date Created/Published: [between 1835 and 1837]
Daily Thoughts 12/12/2011

This morning, I updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library. Two graphic novels came in for me to read, The Sixth Gun Book 1: Cold Dead Fingers and The Sixth Gun Book 2: Crossroads. The graphic novel is a weird western with zombies and evil dead things.

I put the book Who's in charge? : free will and the science of the brain by Michael S. Gazzinga. It was reviewed in the latest Library Journal. I am waiting for funds to order material.

I checked the gift books and the current events display this afternoon. I usually look through Yahoo News to see what are the latest topics to pick out books for the current events display.

I am reading Louis Prang: Color Lithographer Giant of a Man by Dr. Larry Freeman. Louis Prang is considered the father of the American holiday card. We have our Biography Book Club tomorrow and we are reading about someone associate with the holidays. I rather like greeting cards, paper, bookmarks, stamps, and other ephemera. I find them interesting.

Web Bits

Occupy Wall Street Library Hopes to Rebuild in Duarte Square
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/occupy-wall-street-library-hopes-to-rebuild-in-duarte-square_b43714

Daily Thoughts 12/11/2011

2011-12-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

[Bertram Goodman], ca. 1939 / Sidney M. Friend, photographer. Photographic print : 1 item : b&w ; 26 x 21 cm. Photographic Division collection, circa 1920-1965, bulk 1935-1942.
Archives of American Art, Federal Art Project, Part of WPA (Works Progress Administration) Public Domain.

Daily Thoughts 12/11/2011

Today feels like a quiet day before a storm. I spent a little time updating the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library. I don't use the Bookcalendar account for twitter as much as I used to because of the library account.

I also finished reading Back To Work by Bill Clinton. The second half of the book is a prescription for how to get people back to work. A lot of it is focused on energy efficiency and alternative energy. There are some very interesting ideas sprinkled about. One of them is that the United States has to start manufacturing and exporting a lot more products. It is not enough to be a service economy. I agree with this strongly.

I did not get a whole lot of reading done until tonight. I did the laundry, went shopping, and did a variety of every day chores instead.

I spent some more time on Lynda.com watching Email Essentials. There is six hours of training in the video class.

I also started reading The Doctor and the Kid by Mike Resnick. It is a weird western with steampunk flourishes and slightly inexplicable magic. There is some light humor and a bit of irony to make the story entertaining. It is the kind of book which lets you relax and not think too much and enjoy the story. There are numerous references to dime novels throughout the book.

Web Bits

12 Dozen Places to Educate Yoursefl Online For Free
http://www.marcandangel.com/2010/11/15/12-dozen-places-to-self-educate-yourself-online/

Daily Thoughts 12/10/2011

2011-12-10T09:05:00.000-08:00

Master prints. Brooklyn Public Library (Ingersoll Memorial), Prospect Park Plaza, New York, entrance detail Date Created/Published: photographed 1941 Jan. 13. Part of: Gottscho-Schleisner Collection (Library of Congress) Gottscho-Schleisner Collection (Library of Congress) Reproduction Number: LC-USZC2-4858 (color film copy slide)

Daily Thoughts 12/10/2011

This morning I updated the Facebook and Twitter accounts for the library.

I have been reading more of Back to Work by Bill Clinton. There is a quote which is very important, "the chances of earning more than your parents are greater in Finland, Sweden, and Norway than the United States." (P.105) If you read the figures on our standing in the world in this book you see how Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, and the other Scandinavian countries are eclipsing the United States economically. If you include other northern countries like Canada you see an emerging pattern of economic hegemony. Brazil, Russia, India, and China are not the economic forces that are doing better than the United States. There is another quote that is equally important, "On overall competitiveness, the latest World Economic Forum ranks the United States fifth, highest of any large economy, behind Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden, and Finland, just ahead of Germany, followed by the Netherlands and Denmark." (P.109). The United States needs to be competitive with the top countries, our education system and economic system need to improve.

I spent some time this afternoon on Lynda.com watching the video Effective Email. The teacher was talking about HTML email. I also learned about the bcc function-- blind carbon copy, something I have not used before.

There is a recent article in the Mount Vernon Inquirer about the library director leaving. The article is on 12/10/2011.
http://www.mvinquirer.com/

I put two books on hold, The Vultures Picnic A Greg Palast Investigation which is about ties between oil companies and financial companies and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern which is a fantasy novel.

Daily Thoughts 12/9/2011

2011-12-09T04:09:00.001-08:00

John White Alexander: The Printing Press [showing Johannes Gutenberg] (from the cycle "The Evolution of the Book") Library of Congress (Jefferson Building), Washington, D.C., Public Domain

Daily Thoughts 12/9/2011

This morning, I am thinking of the cities proposed budget. The key here is that it is proposed and there is still time to negotiate, debate, and advocate. The city has a public hearing on the budget today, Friday, December 9, at 7:00 p.m. in Mount Vernon City Hall, Council Chambers. I will definitely be at the hearing. In the budget there is a $300,000 cut proposed for the library this year. Last year there was a $500,000 cut. The proposed budget is $3.2 million.

It is another late night. Last night, we had the Mount Vernon Writers Network at the library. There is now a website http://www.mvwn.org/ . There are images of three of our members books on the site. We spent some time discussing a logo for the group. We also had a new person come to the meeting, Robert Briggs who wrote http://www.ruinedtime.com/

We also have been working a little more on our website. The logo has been updated and the library is planning a complete site redesign soon. http://www.mountvernonpubliclibrary.org/ This was part of the Technology Committee meeting on Tuesday night.

I have been having a lot of late nights at the library lately. Tonight is another late night. I worked late on Wednesday as well. It has been a challenging, but rewarding week.

This morning, I finished reading Free Ride How Digital Parasites Are Destroying the Culture Business, and How The Culture Business Can Fight Back. The thing which bothered me about this book is that culture is viewed purely as a business in this book. There is little or nothing about culture as education, or culture in libraries, or culture in government. It is also completely focused on mass culture or mass media and has practically nothing on alternative culture. If you are looking for a business book, this is worth reading. It is not as concerned with the arts.

I also started the book, Back to Work by Bill Clinton which is basically a book on how to restart the economy. He is focusing on how to use both government and business together to help the United States recover from the recession.

This morning, I updated the Twitter and Facebook account. I also watched a bit of a video on Lynda.com called Writing Effective Email. In addition, I looked at a couple of websites in Drupal by other libraries to see how they compared with our website.

I made some calls to local radio stations for Kenneth C. Davis to see if he could be interviewed. Kenneth C. Davis is going to be at the library on January 12, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

I am looking at the website of Leonard Marcus who is an author who was born and educated in Mount Vernon, New York. There is a picture of The Annotated Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, Jules Feiffer annotated by Leonard Marcus. http://www.leonardmarcus.com/

City Council Meeting

I was at the city council meeting for the budget hearing. The meeting started at 7:00 p.m.. Some people mentioned that having a budget hearing on a Friday night was a bit unusual. Six people spoke for the library including our union president, two of the board of trustees, and several of our regular library patrons. The trustees warned that the cut of $300,000 could shut the library down at the beginning of the year.

Our union president talked about how we needed Saturday hours and more coverage of the building. Patrons wanted to come to the library on the weekends.

People talked about a variety of different issues on the library. There was a nice reminder that libraries improve property values and not having one would lower property values considerably.

I talked about how the trustees were visiting much more often and showing more dedication than before. They often come by and spend time in the library.

I also spoke about how we needed to modernize the library; there was a need for more than just computers, people also needed E-readers, tablet computers, an excellent website, wireless access, and computer training. There is more than just a digital divide there is a device divide and an access divide to modern technology. We needed to have funds to have a modern library.

The meeting ran for a little over an hour. One of our patrons who is also a friend of the library talked about how important it was for culture, it was like her second home.

There was also quite a bit about the importance of the youth bureau.

Other people had various issues with the city budget. There were questions about the accountability of the city and increases in taxes.

Web Bits

Occupy Textbooks: Dropout and Try Something New
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/892986-264/occupy_textbooks_drop_out_and.html.csp

A People's Digital Library and Prefigurative Politics Part 2
http://peopleslibrary.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/a-peoples-digital-library-and-prefigurative-politics-2/

Daily Thoughts 12/8/2011

2011-12-08T08:36:00.001-08:00

"Dame mit Buch" (Priesterin mit Buch?). Um 1900. Öl auf Karton. 49,5 x 63 cm

Daily Thoughts 12/8/2011

This morning, I checked the Facebook and Twitter accounts for the library. We are slowly getting better control over the library website. The logo was changed this morning and few adjustments were made to the site.

On the way to work, I read some more of Free Ride. Robert Levine is writing about why many newspapers with pay wall sites are doing far better than newspapers who have completely free content on the internet. He is making a case for paying for the news online. He derides the Huffington Post and praises the Wall Street Journal online.

The book, Back to Work by Bill Clinton has come in for me to read. It should be interesting.

This afternoon, we are having the Mount Vernon Writers Network in Aisle 7 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. On the way to work, I stopped by to get some snacks for the event. They are discussing a new logo for the Mount Vernon Writers Network as well as bylaws for the organization. There should be more local authors coming tonight.

I have been thinking a little bit more about what I will say tomorrow at the budget hearing. Some of it will definitely be focused on computers as well as electronic devices like tablets, ebooks, and smart phones. There is not just a digital divide between those who have little access to computers, there is also a device divide where many people have even less access to devices like E-readers and tablet computers. It is not just access to computers that is important, there also issues surrounding training for computers.

Web Bits

Are Maker Spaces the Future of Public Libraries?
http://www.shareable.net/blog/the-future-of-public-libraries-maker-spaces

ALA Marginalia-- Blog Archive-- Happy Mutants -- rejoice-- ALA Boing Boing is coming
http://discuss.ala.org/marginalia/2011/12/07/ala-happy-mutants-rejoice-library-boing-boing-is-coming/

Daily Thoughts 12/7/2011

2011-12-07T05:53:00.001-08:00

Grossmutter beim Bibel lesen. Aquarell auf Papier. 33,5 x 23,5 cm., Albert Anker by 1910

Daily Thoughts 12/7/2011

This morning, I spent some time updating the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library.

This is a link to the proposed 2012 Mount Vernon city budget. There is some information on the library in the budget. Please support the Mount Vernon Public Library. Public hearing regarding budget Friday, Dec. 9th at 7pm in City Council Chambers at City Hall. I plan on going and speaking.

http://cmvny.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2012-PROPOSED-BUDGET4.pdf

I read some more of Free Ride on the train to work. The author has been writing about many of the important figures in the recent copyright wars. Robert Levine has written bits on Lawrence Lessig and Cory Doctorow two people who I find very interesting. He also some coverage of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Creative Commons which are also very relevant topics.

I put the book, The Doctor and the Kid: A Weird Western by Mike Resnick on hold. I am quite partial to weird westerns and steampunk westerns. It was in the latest issue of Booklist.

I spent some time looking through Munsey's http://www.munseys.com/ to see if there are any free ebooks worth adding, there are a few Robert E. Howard and Agatha Christie titles that look good.

I spent some time working on the January/February program schedule. I am trying to make it work.

I spent some time on the way home thinking about what I was going to say at the budget hearing. I am thinking that I will focus on how it will affect the patrons who come to the library.

Web Bits

Students 'reclaim' UCSD Library
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/dec/05/students-reclaim-ucsd-library/
I guess it is impolitic to use the word occupy.

#Occupyeducated Primer Reading List
http://occupyeducated.org/primer/

Beyond The Bullet Points: Political Not Partisan
http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/blog/?p=1320

Daily Thoughts 12/6/2011

2011-12-06T04:01:00.001-08:00

Franz Nolken, Max Reger, 1913

Daily Thoughts 12/6/2011

I spent some time updating the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library this morning.

The flyer for the Kenneth C. Davis author event on January 12, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. is in the Mount Vernon Inquirer. It is always good to see positive publicity.

On the way to work, I read some more of Free Ride. The book does an excellent job of explaining how the Digital Millenium Copyright Act basically did not take into account what the public wanted. The copyright act was basically a debate between different industries like the music and electronic industries.

I also spent some time discussing technology with a colleague in preparation for the Technology Committee tonight. We discussed things like the website, flash drives for patrons, software, and wireless access. I also spent some time talking with another colleague from the Westchester Library System about contacts for programming focused on the computer lab.

I am thinking about the budget hearing on Friday which should be very interesting. There is a proposed budget given to us on 12/6/2011. However, it is not finalized. It is something to think about. Maybe things will change at the hearing.

I read some more of Free Ride on the way home. It reveals how ideologically divided people are about copyright. It is clear that a lot of very large companies would like to weaken copyright for their own purposes.

Web Bits

Library As Incubator Project
http://www.libraryasincubatorproject.org/

Daily Thoughts 12/5/2011

2011-12-05T10:47:00.001-08:00

Raja Ravi Varma, A Student, Painting of a member of a royal family in his study room.

Daily Thoughts 12/5/2011

This morning, I finished reading Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil. He includes an 8 week program focused on creating positive mental health. Towards the end of the book, he also describes how having a strong social network, gratitude, and charity help create better mental health.

I also read some more of Zahra's Paradise which at times can be quite brutal. It is definitely a mature story. It tells a lot about repression and fear in Iran.

This morning, I updated the libraries Twitter and Facebook account. I also checked the gift books to make sure they were in order. In addition, I spent some time looking at programming. We are going to have someone talking about foreclosure in January.

We are meeting tomorrow for the Technology Committee.

On the way home, I finished reading Zahra's Paradise. It was a very interesting graphic novel. There was a glossary, afterword, and a bit on the 2009 Iranian presidential elections. A lot of the book was about protest and dealing with corrupt government bureaucracy. This story would be very much tied in with the Arab Spring or the series of revolts around the arab world in Syria, Libya, and Egypt. There are some note on how computers and cell phones very much change things. I found this to be a very different graphic novel. There is a website at http://www.zahrasparadise.com/

I also started reading Free Ride How Digital Parasites Are Destroying The Culture Business, And How The Culture Business Can Fight Back by Robert Levine. Robert Levine starts out bemoaning the loss of mainstream television like Seinfeld, Friends, and Cheers which I feel no great loss for. If bands like KISS are what he considers culture, then there is no great loss if some of the white elephants and doddering old fashioned television programming go away. Robert Levine successfully reminds me that the long tail of greater variety on the internet with the greater ability to choose what I want to listen to and view is better than the walled gardens of 1980s and 1990s television.

Web Bits

The New Digital Divide

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/opinion/sunday/internet-access-and-the-new-divide.html?scp=1&sq=digital%20divide&st=Search

Statement by Jeffrey W. Cannell, Deputy Commissioner for Cultural Education and Acting State Librarian, New York State Education Department

http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/testimony/

This is important because of the focus on the internet. Libraries are increasingly the only place which poorer people can get internet access. Many people come in to apply for jobs and learn basic computing at public libraries.

Daily Thoughts 12/4/2011

2011-12-04T07:13:00.001-08:00

A Young Student at His Desk: Melancholy (1630-1633) by Pieter Codde Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille

Daily Thoughts 12/4/2011

I spent a little bit of time updating the library Facebook and Twitter pages today. I also watched a PBS Nature dvd, Voyage of the Lonely Turtle. I find nature dvds relaxing.

I also read a little bit more of Spontaneous Happiness. Andrew Weil is reminding us that we should have some control of what we put in our mind. It is not good to absorb too much. He also reminds us that too much noise and the wrong kind of noise is bad for us. It is important to be able to understand when too much information is being pushed at you.

In the laundromat, I read some of the graphic novel, Zahra's Paradise. It is a very stark story about a nineteen year old who goes missing during the demonstrations against the 2009 election of Ahminejad in Iran. The story is in black and white and is clearly a protest against the current administration in Iran.

Web Bits

How The Internet Is Destroying Everything
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/how-the-internet-is-destroying-everything/

Selling Books by Their Gilded Covers
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/books/publishers-gild-books-with-special-effects-to-compete-with-e-books.html?_r=2&scp=4&sq=books&st=cse
This does not surprise me. Coffee table size books and books with illustrations and complex art work are hard to duplicate on the internet. It does not have the same look and feel.

Occupy Wall Street Library

Flash Mob Cataloging-- This is something I can't explain.
http://www.librarything.com/groups/flashmobcataloging

I have been thinking about what will happen to the Occupy libraries. Currently, Occupy Toronto library has been dismantled, Occupy Wall Street Library has been dismantled (you might call it mobile) their website exists but the library itself does not have a physical location, and Occupy Los Angeles has been dismantled.

Occupy London library has expanded. Occupy DC library is working so is the Occupy Boston Library, if you look on Library Thing there is an Occupy Portland library, an Occupy Maine Library, and an Occupy Seattle Library, there is also Biblioteca Acampada Del Sol, and the Oscar Grant Plaza Library in Oakland California. This leaves a much larger grouping than when the Occupy Wall Street Library started on September 17, 2011. Most are on Librarything http://www.librarything.com which is quite flexible as a social media tool for cataloging.

For me, it is conceptually interesting.

Daily Thoughts 12/3/2011

2011-12-03T07:05:00.001-08:00

Europa postage stamps, great works of human intellect
Daily Thoughts 12/3/2011

This morning, I read some more of Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil. Weil is writing about integrative mental health, specifically depression. He is describing how to combine alternative medicine with western medicine. The book focuses on subjects like exercise, meditation, yoga, sunlight, vitamin supplements, herbal medicine, sleep, drug intake, and social isolation. Andrew Weil has written a number of previous books on integrative medicine.

I checked the donations this morning and added a few books. There was some urban fiction, classic literature, a number of works by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and a few high school assignment titles like S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders.

I plan on reading Bradford of Plymouth by Bradford Smith. It is about William Bradford the founder of Plymouth colony. He was the person responsible for creating the first Thanksgiving holiday. The book was written in 1951 so it will definitely have a lot of old fashioned ideas in it. It is part of our mezzanine collection. We are reading biographies of famous people associated with holidays for the Biography Book Club on December 13, 2011 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m..

The graphic novel, Zahra's Paradise A Missing son. A Stolen Election. Is This Iran? by Amir & Khalil came in for me to read.

I spent some time looking through the Collection Management sheets where we take down patron request at the reference desk. We had a number of requests for books on cloth dolls. There is an annual exhibit of cloth dolls every year at the library. We also recently had some requests for Heavy D CDs.

Web Bits

E-Book market forecast to hit $5.2 billion as book industry burns
http://gigaom.com/2011/12/02/e-book-market-forecast-to-hit-5-2b-as-the-book-industry-burns/

Occupy Bangor asked to remove tents from library property
http://bangordailynews.com/2011/12/02/news/bangor/occupy-bangor-asked-to-leave-library-property-member-says/
A little bit about liability insurance.

Occupy Online: Facebook and the Spread of Occupy Wall Street
http://themonkeycage.org/blog/2011/10/24/occupy-online-facebook-and-the-spread-of-occupy-wall-street/

This is really interesting stuff. It says there are over 400 Occupy Facebook pages which is a lot of people with over a million posts related to the subject.

There are 487 Different sites on Facebook. This means that there will most likely automatically be something happening somewhere which is newsworthy given the raw volume of protest sites.There will be a lot more things like Occupy Bangor appearing almost daily.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0An-A-lITWCO8dHZSVkRjMk5MRU91MXFzRVpSWjRtWGc&hl=en_US#gid=0

It belies a much more sophisticated internet and social media strategy than many people realize.

Daily Thoughts 12/2/2011

2011-12-02T09:04:00.000-08:00

Le Pêcheur à la ligne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1874

Daily Thoughts 12/2/2011

On the way to work, I read a little bit more of Survival of the Beautiful. It has a lot of interesting ideas in it. I rather liked the idea of cuttlefish being able to signal different meanings with their body from desire to anger. I also liked the section on paintings by elephants and what they mean.

I have been spending a little bit of time on the website. I also have been updating the Facebook and Twitter account for the library. The announcement for the Kenneth Davis author reading on January 12, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. is up on the website. http://www.mountvernonpubliclibrary.org/KenDavis

We also have an ancestry display in the First Avenue Display Case called Early Scarsdale Along Saxon Woods Road. http://www.mountvernonpubliclibrary.org/First-Avenue-Window

We spent some time discussing the website, the library survey, the computer lab, ordering, and other issues. There are so many different things that need to be worked on.

Yesterday we got donations of DVDs and VHS tapes. We have been getting a lot more VHS tapes lately. People must be clearing them out of their house.

The Holiday Tree is up in the front lobby. There is a lot of gold decorations on the tree. We also have a small display requesting that people donate bestselling books. We are also seeking donations of new books, CDs, and DVDs. The display has gift wrapped boxes and other holiday decorations to express the spirit of the season.

On the way home, I finished reading Survival of the Beautiful, Art, Science, and Evolution by David Rothenberg. There is a wonderful quote on P. 187, expressing how art can sometimes appear more real than nature. "Field guides to nature use painting and diagrams far more than photographs because they show more possible marks of identification than one could ever actually see when confronting an actual, real bird, , though I'm sure computer-animated video field guides are just around the corner." For the author, David Rosenberg, beauty is the most important and aesthetic quality in life. It is a different and refreshing view of the world.

Web Bits

Libraries: Are They Obsolete?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ramon-resa-md/libraries-are-they-obsole_b_1123887.html?ref=libraries-in-crisis

The Huffington Post has a Libraries in Crisis Section which is very interesting reading.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/libraries-in-crisis/

Daily Thoughts 12/1/2011

2011-12-01T07:41:00.001-08:00

Pierre-Auguste Renoir , La Lecon, 1906

Daily Thoughts 12/1/2011

I read some more of Survival of the Beautiful this morning. The author is writing about camouflage in nature. There is some interesting material on military camouflage and patterns that are disruptive to the eye called dazzle patterns.

I updated the Facebook and Twitter accounts this morning and spent some time discussing the programming which is listed on the website with a colleague. I also checked the displays to make sure they were in order.

The book Free Ride How Digital Parasites are Destroying the Culture Business, and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back by Robert Levine has come in for me to read.

I have decided to stop reading And So It Goes Kurt Vonnegut: A Life. There is a review in the November 27, 2011 New York Times Book Review which describes it very well. The book is heartbreaking and extremely bitter. It is not something for my tastes.

Right now, I am working on a flyer for an event for Kenneth C. Davis. Kenneth C. Davis, the author of Don't Know Much About History will be coming to the Mount Vernon Public Library on January 12, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. to discuss his work.

Web Bits
Assembly Hearing on Funding Public Libraries, November 29, 2011
http://www.nyla.org/page/nyla-testifies-at-assembly-library-committee-hearing-531.html

Daily Thoughts 11/30/2011

2011-11-30T05:02:00.001-08:00

Kyōka hassen sono ni. Print shows three men and a woman (poets); one man is standing behind a low screen, reading; another is sitting on the floor in front of the screen, feeding a turtle from a bowl; the third man and the woman are standing on the left. Date Created/Published: [between 1818 and 1824]

Daily Thoughts 11/30/2011

I updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library this morning.

The library has the Graphic Novels Club today . I am bringing in a few things to show including The First Kingdom, an issue of Star Reach, Parsifal illustrated by P. Craig Russell, and a few other ground level comics. There is also some material from New York Comic Con which I plan on showing. The club runs from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. today.

We had the Computer Lab for Academic Use today between 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. I also spent some time learning how to modify the website calendar.

I read some more of Survival of the Beautiful. There is a lot on the aesthetics of birds focusing on plumage, nest building, and song. The author focuses a lot on the bowerbird, nightingale, bird of paradise, and peacock.

This afternoon, I spent a little more time getting the graphic novel club material ready. I also worked a bit with a colleague on a press release announcing the amnesty for lost items from the Mount Vernon Public Library which runs from November 22, 2011 to January 31, 2012. Hopefully, we should get quite a bit of our material back. It is now up in the Mount Vernon Inquirer.

In addition, I printed a variety of flyers for different events coming up in December.

I put the book, Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman on hold. It is on the 10 Best Books of 2011 from the New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/books/10-best-books-of-2011.html?_r=1&smid=fb-nytimes&WT.mc_id=AR-E-FB-SM-LIN-TBB-113011-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click

I also put the graphin novel Zahra's Paradise by Amir (text) and Khalil (illus.) on hold. It is a story set in the disputed 2009 election in Iran.

Web Bits

Occupy Wall Street Library

Pathetic: Grown Men Cry Over Occupy Wall Street Library Demolition
http://www.glennbeck.com/2011/11/29/pathetic-grown-men-cry-over-occupy-library-demolition/
A little note on how some of the world sees this.

Lessons from the Occupy Wall Street Library
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/library-babel-fish/lessons-occupy-wall-street-library

Once I Understood, the "Occupy" Movement, I Saw How it Fits the Common Core
http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/nonfictionmatters/2011/11/30/once-i-understood-the-occupy-movement-i-saw-how-it-fits-the-common-core/

Daily Thoughts 11/29/2011

2011-11-29T14:15:00.001-08:00

Portrait of Maria Adelaide of France in Turkish-style clothes, 1753, Jeanne Etienne Liotard

Daily Thoughts 11/29/2011

I checked the displays this afternoon and updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts this morning. I also picked out some graphic novels for the Graphic Novels Club tomorrow which is on September 30, 2011 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 pm.

We have two sessions the Intermediate Computer Class tonight; one from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and another from 6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in the Computer lab. I spent a few minutes making sure the lab was set up for tonight.

Sometimes Blogger does inexplicable things. I am not sure why there are blue lines on my picture. I got rid of them this morning. They were some anomalous html code.

On the way home, I read some more of Survival of the Beautiful. I am learning that this is a radical scientific argument which is not generally accepted. The author, David Rothenberg is bringing the idea that there is an aesthetic sense in nature which is part of natural selection to the public. He is taking his argument outside of the scientific community to gather support from the public. This book has a similar feel in a way to The Tao of Physics which Gary Zukav used to popularize quantum physics which was a radical idea at the time the book was published.

I also started reading And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut A Life which I am not yet convinced is on target. The author, Charles J. Shields, did not have permission from the Vonnegut family to use Vonnegut's letters.

Web Bits

Occupy Wall Street Library Releases Writing Prompt
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/occupy-wall-street-library-releases-writing-prompt_b43059
This has a link to the poetry anthology from Occupy Wall Street.

The Occupy London library spreads its wings.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/nov/25/occupy-london-library-spread

Occupy Toronto Encampment Ends Peacefully-- 11/23/2011
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1091188--library-yurt-standoff-resolved-as-arrests-continue-at-st-james-park
There is something mildly odd about there being a library yurt. It is rather hard to imagine. At least in this instance the protest library was removed intact.

A People's Digital Library and Prefigurative Politics
http://peopleslibrary.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/a-peoples-digital-library-and-prefigurative-politics/

One of the thing I am not doing is creating any kind of real archive or bookmark list. This is more of a catch as catch can list. It is free form.

Daily Thoughts 11/28/2011

2011-11-28T04:31:00.001-08:00

William Morris Age 53, Taken by Frederic Hollyer

Daily Thoughts 11/28/2011

This morning I updated the library Twitter and Facebook accounts. I also took an hour course from Lynda.com called Effective Email Marketing Strategies. The most useful part was on how to create good subject lines for email.

I have been reading a little bit more of Survival of the Beautiful. David Rothenberg is arguing that there is a close tie between art, natural history, and science. He tells us that there are mathematical and physical forms that are more likely to occur in nature which are aesthetically pleasing.

I also spent some time watching Encounters at the End of the World a movie produced by Werner Herzog. It is a movie about Antarctica. I very much enjoyed watching the divers swimming under the Antarctic ice. It had a very otherworldly quality.

Web Bits

What is Needed to Educate Future Digital Librarians
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/september06/choi/09choi.html

"A Bit Amish" Comics Legend Alan Moore Goes Online To Honor Harvey Pekar

http://www.fastcompany.com/1797531/alan-moore-and-harvey-pekar-s-comic-friendship?partner=rss

I rather like the writing of both Harvey Pekar and Alan Moore.

Daily Thoughts 11/27/2011

2011-11-27T05:00:00.001-08:00

A Man Reading by Thomas Sword Good, 1827

Daily Thoughts 11/27/2011

I put the book Free ride : how digital parasites are destroying the culture business, and how the culture business can fight back by Robert Levine on hold.

This afternoon, I read some of Survival of the Beautiful, Art, Science, and Evolution by David Rothenberg. David Rothenberg is arguing that is there an adaptive aesthetic sense among animals. He is arguing about how things like beauty, camouflage, and complex birdsong have an adaptive advantage outside of sexual selection or natural selection. It is something different than I usually read about.

Web Bits

10 Recommendations on Green Ebooks for Cyber Monday
http://ecolibris.blogspot.com/2011/11/10-recommendations-on-green-ebooks-for.html

Two Libraries at NASA Center to Close and Go All Electronic
http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2011/11/ebooks/two-libraries-at-nasa-center-to-close-and-go-all-electronic/
There is a definite truth to this. Technical information is increasingly moving online. This is predictive.

Occupy Wall Street Library

Biblioteca Acampada del Sol (In Madrid)
https://bibliosol.wordpress.com/

Star Books: Occupy Londons Protest Inspires Improvised Library
http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/10/occupy-london-london-occupy-protest-inspires-improvised-library/

The Occupy Archive of photographs and other things.
http://occupyarchive.org/

Visiting the Occupy DC Library 11/14/2011
http://www.constance-reader.com/2011/11/visiting-occupy-dc-library.html

Much of this comes across as symbolic and utopian to me. It comes across as a mix of ideas that are not quite coherent but very intriguing. It has an odd feeling of a movement focused more on transparency than actual protest.

http://www.constance-reader.com/2011/11/visiting-occupy-dc-library.html

Daily Thoughts 11/26/2011

2011-11-26T04:36:00.001-08:00

Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan in 1898. On the left Helen Keller and on the right Anne Sullivan.
Daily Thoughts 11/26/2011

I finished reading The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker this morning. I enjoyed reading the book; it is very rational and humanistic. The book argues that giving women rights reduces violence because it makes women more valued. It also tells us that war is mostly caused by competing violent ideologies like communism, fascism, theocracy, and other ideas. Reason, trade, education, democratization, improving the rights of women and minorities all lead to less violence. I can sympathize with this view of the world.

This morning, I updated the Facebook and Twitter pages for the library.

While I was reading Ebooks in Libraries on LinkedIn, I noticed that some libraries were securing E-readers with a security cable to a table. This is a different approach.

I watched the first half of the biographical documentary Mark Twain produced by Ken Burns. I am enjoying watching it. It is very colorful. It covers his first books, The Innocents Abroad, Roughing It. The Gilded Age, and Tom Sawyer. Mark Twain reminds me quite a bit of Kurt Vonnegut. There is a dark humor in both of them. They even look similar.

The second half of the documentary about Mark Twain was very dark. It included failed business deals, deaths of relatives, and eventually bankruptcy. At the same time, it had pathos or feeling to it which is hard to describe. It is well worth watching.

Web Bits

Poor Kids Experience App Gap
http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2011/10/k-12/poor-kids-experience-app-gap-says-study/

Occupy Wall Street Library

Authors, Publishers, and Supporters React to the Seizure of the People's Library
http://www.shareable.net/blog/authors-and-publishers-react-to-the-raid-on-the-peoples-library
This article has a number of author and library quotes.

Occupy Protesters Hold Dirge for Ruined Lit
http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/11/23/41715.htm

The People's Library of Occupy Wall Street Lives On
http://www.thenation.com/article/164766/peoples-library-occupy-wall-street-lives

Occupy Boston Gets Legal Cover, But Not All Protesters Like It
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/11/occupy-boston/

This is an interesting idea. Because Dewey Square next to the Federal Reserve Building is considered a traditional Public Forum it cannot simply be evicted. This means that the Occupy Boston Library has become in an odd way, a kind of sanctioned public statement in Boston, Massachusetts. Not all of the protesters like it.

Zucotti Park in Manhattan, New York was never a legally sanctioned public forum. Zucotti Park is a Privately Owned Public Space. I am reading about the concept of POPS-- Privately Owned Public Space. It seems to be a bit of an oxymoron. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/pops/pops.shtml

This is very interesting because Occupy D.C. Library is in McPherson Square which is also a traditional public forum. Occupy DCs Library A Collection as Broad as Its Movement.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/occupy-dcs-library-a-collection-as-broad-as-its-movement/2011/11/04/gIQA6kmZ6M_story.html This is a bit on the decision not to shut down Occupy DC. http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/11/15/occupy-dc-allowed-to-keep-on-occupying-d-c-park/

This interestingly says depending on how the space was used previously that the protesters are on determines whether they are an officially sanctioned protest...

Daily Thoughts 11/25/2011

2011-11-25T04:53:00.001-08:00

Jeune Fille Lissant, 1868, Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Daily Thoughts 11/25/2011

Today has been a quiet, steady day. Maintenance sent out our shipment to Better World Books on Monday. I also updated the Twitter and Facebook pages for the library this morning. I checked the displays this morning as well. I spent a little time updating the current events display.

This afternoon, I spent some time discussing grants for the E-readers. We may be working on a grant to get subscriptions to electronic magazines and newspapers. I am going to try with local organizations first.

I have been talking to a few people about programs. It should be interesting in the coming week.

This evening on the way home, I read some more of The Better Angels of Our Natures. I am almost finished reading the book. I like his ideas about how democratization, trade, and the international community reduce war. I also like Steven Pinker's focus on reason and science in this book. I am not sure that I agree that classical liberalism reduces violence. It does create a focus on rational discourse though. I also believe that smarter, more educated people tend to be less violent.

The book, The Collapse of American Criminal Justice by William J. Stuntz has come in for me to read.

Daily Thoughts 11/24/2011

2011-11-24T04:54:00.001-08:00

Guy De Maupassant, Bibliotheque Nacional de Paris, taken by Nadar

Daily Thoughts 11/24/2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

Right now, I am reading more of The Better Angels of Our Natures by Steven Pinker. Steven Pinker is writing about self control. He describes how self control leads to less violence. He also describes a concept called ego depletion where mental tasks can make people more tired. Part of this description is the idea that one can increase their self control through exercise, diet, better habits, better control of ones language, and willingness to abstain from alcohol, drugs, and tobacco.

I started on the Lynda.com Blogger training video, but found it to be a bit out of date. So I am passing on it.

I will be working on Saturday, December 3, 2012. We are going to be opening on the first Saturdays of each month. There is also an amnesty at our library right now for lost and overdue items. http://www.mountvernonpubliclibrary.org/amnesty

Web Bits

Occupy Wall Street Library

Occupy Wall Street Round Up, Day 68 from the New York Times City Room Blog

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/occupywallst-roundup-day-68/

OWS 79% of Books in Peoples Library Reportedly Missing, Wrecked

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/ows-79-percent-of-books-in-peoples-library-reportedly-missing-wrecked/2011/11/23/gIQA1P10oN_blog.html

Occupy Wall Street's Librarians Make Demands at Rally
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/23/occupy-wall-street-library_n_1110950.html

Occupy Wall Street: NYPD Orders Officers Not to Interfere with the Press
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/23/nypd-orders-officers-not-interfere-press_n_1111232.html?ref=occupy-wall-street

Daily Thoughts 11/23/2011

2011-11-23T10:28:00.001-08:00

Pultschreibschrank („Neuwieder Kabinett“), aus der Werkstatt David Roentgen und Peter Kinzing, Neuwied 1779; Detail Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, Inv. Nr. O-1962,24
Daily Thoughts 11/23/2011

This morning, I read some more of The Better Angels of Our Nature. Steven Pinker is writing about how ideology affects violence. He makes a persuasive argument that openness, transparency, free travel, and trade reduce extremist ideologies. He also describes how evil actions are banal and commonplace and reinforced by groupthink.

I also spent some time on Lynda.com learning LinkedIn. This allowed me to get a better sense of who to ask for recommendations as well as some ideas on how to expand my network. I was at 95% complete before I started the Lynda.com LinkedIn class. Now my profile is complete. There are quite a few training modules for social media on Lynda.com. I finished the LinkedIn training today and redid my profile. I also checked and they have a Google Blogger Essentials training module which I may go over to improve this blog.

I finished updating the Twitter and Facebook account this morning for the library.

I also put the book And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut A Life by Charles J. Shields on hold. I like Kurt Vonnegut's writing.

Web Bits

Occupy Wall Street Library

Press Conference Addresses City's Destruction of Occupy Wall Street Library
http://gothamist.com/2011/11/23/protesters_to_criticize_citys_destr.php

The Occupy Wall Street Library: Librarians Display the Ruins
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/11/the_occupy_wall.php

Destruction of Occupy Wall Street People's Library Draws Ire
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/nov/23/occupy-wall-street-peoples-library

Occupied ALA Ignored Cuban Librarians
http://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2011/11/occupied-ala-ignored-cuban-librarians.html
A little opposition is good for the soul.

What is an American Library?
http://blog.libraryjournal.com/annoyedlibrarian/2011/11/21/what-is-an-american-library/
Another opposition piece.

Daily Thoughts 11/22/2011

2011-11-22T08:12:00.001-08:00

France in 2000 year (XXI century). Future school. France, paper card. 1901 or 1910

Daily Thoughts 11/22/2011

This morning I spent some time updating the Facebook and Twitter account for the library. I rather liked doing it. I also read some more of The Better Angels of Our Natures by Steven Pinker. Steven Pinker is writing about peoples inner demons and how they lead to war. He describes how overconfidence can lead to nations attacking each other, how labeling other nations as evil is often inaccurate, and how people and nations strive for dominance. The bit on dominance reminds me of the concept of "missile envy", where whichever nation has the biggest missile wins.

I read some of Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil, M.D. this afternoon. Andrew Weil focuses on the practice of integrative medicine (combining natural medicine with the biomedical approach to medicine). He is writing about dealing with depression and emotional resilience. In addition to exercise, diet, sleep, and social relations he is also talking about things like meditation, acupuncture and other therapies, touch, being outdoors, getting sunlight, and resetting your inner equilibrium so it is more focused on serenity than vibrant happiness.

I think the Reader's Den from New York Public Library is kind of interesting. It is an online book discussion group from New York Public Library.
http://www.nypl.org/voices/blogs/blog-channels/readers-den

I decided to do something for my own future with Lynda.com. I am taking some time to learn about LinkedIn. This will give me a chance to update and review my profile which has not been done for a while.

Munseys has a lot of the old pulp fiction books available as free downloads.
http://www.munseys.com/detail/mode/cat/12/Pulp_Fiction

Web Bits

Other

Embattled Intellectual Historians Make a Stand
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/embattled-intellectual-historians-make-a-stand/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Why It's A Great Time to be a Reader
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/11/why-its-a-great-time-to-be-a-reader/248909/

Occupy Wall Street-- Library and other issues.

13 News Organizations File Complaints with NYPD Over Treatement of Journalists
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/13-news-organizations-file-complaints-with-nypd-over-treatment-of-journalists_b47331
This is important because it is about freedom of expression and information.

The Implicit Critique of Technology In the Occupy Protests
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/11/the-implicit-critique-of-technology-in-the-occupy-protests/248835/

There is an announcement on the Occupy Wall Street Library website, but I am waiting for the press release to be picked up by the main stream media. It looks like there could be some points which need to be clarified. I changed my mind, this is the announcement in a cleaner format.

Library Press Conference The Peoples Library
http://www.supportows.org/blog/ows-news/library-press-conference-the-peoples-library/

Canadian Library Association Dismayed by the Seizure of the Occupy Wall Street Movement Library
http://clagov.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/ows-library/

Daily Thoughts 11/21/2011

2011-11-21T05:51:00.001-08:00

Books are weapons in the war of ideas : books cannot be killed by fire , 1942., United States. President (1933-1945 : Roosevelt) / United States. Office of War Information.

I wrote this in honor of Veterans Day and read it at the Mount Vernon Writers Network.

The War of Ideas

In the war of ideas
we are all foot soldiers

Before the first shot
is fired men and women
march in the streets

War begins and ends
in the peoples minds

Be prepared to listen
keep quiet, be vigilant
our nation depends on you

Terrorism, extremism, fascism
wait for the unwary

A citizens duty is
to defeat demagogues, tyrants
before they are chosen

Remember books are weapons
ideas matter, you're responsible

Stand up straight, march
move forward and learn
the battle never ends

War and peace begin
in the peoples minds

The person who speaks
with heartfelt sorrow
and proper timing wins

The person who holds
their tongue save lives

The gold soldier conquers
the peoples hearts and minds

Office for Emergency Management. Office of War Information. Domestic Operations Branch. Bureau of Special Services. (03/09/1943 - 09/15/1945)

Daily Thoughts 11/21/2011

The Mount Vernon Writer's Network now has a website. They are also incorporated as a nonprofit. Things are getting better organized. http://www.mvwn.org/

I have been reading more of The Better Angels of Our Natures. Steven Pinker is writing about animal rights and the changes which have led to different approaches to animal experimentation, livestock handling, and food consumption. He writes about vegetarianism and its moral underpinnings.

I finished taking Microsoft Powerpoint 2010 on Lynda.com. I am going to take a little break from this. I think I have covered most of the major Microsoft Office products.

In Westchester county, art funding is being cut by 50%. I see cuts in funding to the arts and education. These go together. They are part of civil discourse. I see many of the questions going forward are not just economic, but who will support and education. Currently, our library has a Rotunda gallery where art is shown. This could be greatly reduced.
https://www.artswestchester.org/get-involved/save-the-arts/

Web Bits

Occupy Wall Street Library

Amy Goodman: Brave New World of Occupy Wall Street
http://staugustine.com/opinions/2011-11-20/amy-goodman-brave-new-world-occupy-wall-street#.Tsp3q7JCqU8
This is a bit different. It is from a reporter who was at the site.

Image of the Day Occupy McNally Jackson-- From Shelf Awareness
http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=1609#m14166

Occupy Wall Street Libraries Around The World In Pictures
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2011/nov/21/occupy-libraries-protests-pictures-world#/?picture=382034180&index=0

311 Campaign In Support of OWSL
http://thedeskset.org/311-campaign-in-support-of-owsl/
It is rather interesting that the city is blocking the Occupy Wall Street Library from setting up in the park again.

For Occupy readers library fits intents and purposes
No shortage of classic ideas Aeschylus to Zinn-- from the Boston Globe
http://bostonglobe.com/arts/2011/11/22/for-occupy-readers-library-fits-intents-and-purposes/oFfUfAFVQmhgU0g5s3uahN/story.html

Occupy Wall Street Put The Coverage on the Spotlight
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/business/media/occupy-wall-street-puts-the-coverage-in-the-spotlight.html?bl
This is a bit on the coverage in the main stream media. It is kind of interesting. There is a sensational feel to it.

Other
For Their Children Many E-book Fans Insist on Paper
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/business/for-their-children-many-e-book-readers-insist-on-paper.html

How Will We Read In Public Libraries
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/c-m-rubin/how-will-we-read-in-publi_b_1103601.html

Daily Thoughts 11/20/2011

2011-11-20T09:03:00.001-08:00

Art piece at title page of William Blake, painter and poet by Richard Garnett Publisher: London, Seeley, 1895

Daily Thoughts 11/20/2011

This morning, I did some more practice on Lynda.com for Microsoft Powerpoint 2010. I also updated the library Facebook and Twitter accounts.

I read a little bit more of The Better Angels of Our Natures. Steven Pinker is discussing children's rights. He touches on infanticide, corporal punishment, and child abuse.

On June 30, 2011 there was property tax cap legislation put in place. This will probably affect libraries in New York. I am not quite sure how though. It will definitely mean there is less money available from property taxes.http://www.nysenate.gov/press-release/historic-property-tax-cap-becomes-law

Daily Thoughts 11/19/2011

2011-11-19T09:32:00.001-08:00

At Breakfast, Laurits Andersen Ring, 1898

Daily Thoughts 11/19/2011

The Better Angels of Our Natures is one of the years ten best books according to Library Journal. It is excellent writing mixed with superb analysis. http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2011/11/best-of/top-10/best-books-2011-the-top-ten/

I read a little bit more of The Better Angels of Our Natures. The author is describing what he calls the rights revolution. He is describing how because people are more focused on civil rights and womens rights there is less domestic violence and ethnic violence. Steven Pinker backs all his statements with statistics covering different time periods and amounts of violence.

I updated the library Facebook and Twitter account this morning.

I also took some time to look at grants.Library Grants Blog -- http://librarygrants.blogspot.com/
and Scholastic Library Grants -- http://www.scholastic.com/librarians/programs/grants.htm list quite a few grants for libraries. There are a few things which we apply for each year.

I also put the book The Collapse of American Criminal Justice by William J. Stuntz on hold. I also spent half an hour on Lynda.com learning Microsoft Powerpoint 2010.

Web Bits

Occupy Wall Street Library

First They Came for the Library...

http://urbanlibrariansunite.org/?q=node%2F9

This is an Advocacy Group for librariesthat is tied in with social media. It is in New York.

This is also posted on The Desk Setblog.

http://thedeskset.org/first-they-came-for-the-library/

Bloomberg Bibliocide a hashtag onTwitter

https://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23BloombergBibliocide

There is another hashtag on Twitter, this time it is OWS Bookmobile
https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23owsbookmobile

Wikipedia Article for the People'sLibrary-- of course it is not neutral.... but then ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_People%27s_Library

There is even a link to an Al-Jazeeraarticle on the library which seems to be an almost novelty in theWikipedia entry. I am really not sure what to think of this.

The People's Library and the Future ofOccupy Wall Street

http://www.webcitation.org/63JEusc69

There is another side to this story which is not being covered that much. If you are interested in information, the laptops supporting the Occupy Wall Street movement were being supplied by 2600 which is a very distinct hacker group. Most of the laptops in New York were destroyed in the raid as well as the most of the library.

http://motherboard.tv/2011/11/18/who-smashed-the-laptops-from-occupy-wall-street-inside-the-nypd-s-lost-and-found

This shows a willingness to destroy things and it makes me keenly aware that it is not that physically safe to be around the Occupy Wall Street protests at some points. The violence seems to escalate at night.

Daily Thoughts 11/18/2011

2011-11-18T07:33:00.001-08:00

Der Zeitungsleser, signiert Carl Zewy, Öl auf Leinwand, 46,5 x 58,5 cm

Daily Thoughts 11/18/2011

I read a little bit more of The Better Angels of Our Nature. Steven Pinker is describing why most terrorist organizations fail. He is also describing how terrorism is becoming less prevalent.

I updated the Facebook and Twitter pages for the library this morning and checked the displays.

On Wednesday night, November 16, 2011 I stayed late and listened to the Board Meeting after my late shift on the reference desk. The library was talking about having an amnesty for overdue books.

The staff spent some time discussing circulating Museum Passes which is a rather interesting idea.

The book, Survival of the Beautiful Art, Science, and Evolution by David Rothenberg came in for me to read. It is a science title which mixes art and philosophy. I rather like this.

I have been cleaning my desk off for the short vacation I am taking during Thanksgiving week.

I spent some time watching a training video for Microsoft Powerpoint 2010 Essentials on Lynda.com. It is part of my aim to be completely trained in Microsoft Office by the end of the year.

Web Bits

HackLibSchool on Occupy Wall Street: How Do Libraries Fit In?
http://hacklibschool.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/hls_ows/

Part of watching the Occupy Wall Street Library is trying to get a sense of what it means. In some circles, especially Europe there is a different meaning to challenging Wall Street than in America. Some see it as a challenge to capitalism, not as a means to reform capitalism. Because there has been no direct discussion on reform, rather protest, it still leaves me questioning what exactly is being said. An open discussion about reform and ways to make things better might help things at this point.

High Beta Rich Seized by Police in OWS Raid
http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2011/11/17/high-beta-rich-seized-by-police-in-occupy-raid/?mod=WSJBlog
Some more irony.

There is a strong sense of irony and political satire in how things are described. Fahrenheit 451 is mentioned in some of the articles as a book that was thrown out. Also, the Guy Fawkes mask come right of the graphic novel V for Vendetta which many of the protesters are wearing.

American Library Association Defends Occupy Wall Street Library

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/american-library-association-defends-occupy-wall-street-library_b42612