Daily Thoughts 10/2/2010 (links page, book review list, web bits)

WPA, Federal Art Project, 1938, Fred Rentschler

Daily Thoughts 10/2/2010

I went back and added the majority of my reviews to the review list.  I still have to edit some of them and make some changes so I can add some more. I will probably start on creating a links list.  I am spending some time adjusting my Twitter account.  It should make more sense to me by the end of the day.

I did a little more work with this blog as well. I added a links page. http://bookcalendar.blogspot.com/p/selected-links-page.html

From 8bitlibrary.com and ALA --

The NY Comic Con is back again, October 8-10 2010 at the Javits Center.

Librarians always show up in large numbers for this event (which is the second largest event in NYC), so we should all get together to show our pride.

If you are a librarian or a library supporter attending the NY Comic Con, please join us at 12 noon on Friday of NY Comic Con for the EPIC LIBRARIAN PHOTO. We'll be meeting at the American Library Association's booth, #434. This is your chance not only to be in what we hope is the LARGEST ORGANIZED GROUP PHOTO AT NYCC, but also to meet other librarians in the area!

Please join us and spread the word. Tweet the link! http://bit.ly/b8ycZq


Web Bits

Galleycat, Best Library People On Twitter http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/best-library-people-on-twitter_b11945

Mapping Banned Books In America from NPR http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2010/10/01/130266322/banned-books-week-google-map

Daily Thoughts 1/27/2010

Edward Blair Leighton, Old Times, 1877. From Wikimedia.

Daily Thoughts 1/27/2010

Just so you know, that I do take recommendations for purchasing from blogs. I took a lot at The View From Here Magazine
http://viewfromheremagazine.com/ and saw two titles that I think are worth getting, Sebastian Falks, A Week In December, and Alexander McCall Smith, Corduroy Mansions. I also liked the review for 400 Sensational Cookies by Linda J. Amendt on Library Drone. http://libdrone.info/2010/01/book-review-400-sensational-cookies-by-linda-j-amendt/

This morning, I read more of Finch by Jeff Vandermeer on the train. It gets much better as you read deeper into the novel.

I rather like this article from Library Journal online. It is about the best practices for improving circulation. I agree with all of them. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6712266.html

I have to do a presentation tonight for a Business Planning workshop on some of the resources we have. We have been ordering a lot of small business resource books lately. Books on incorporation, music law, startups, hiring your first employee, and other material. We also recently subscribed to two business databases; Hoovers which is excellent for company information and Reference USA which allows people to build lists of companies by SIC Code, zipcode, executives, and similar material. It is often used for marketing research. I think I am ready.

I think I did alright. I got a few questions at the end about the different resources which is a good sign. People were especially interested in the Westchester County Databook, and The Largest Employees in Westchester County as well as the Hoovers database.

Web Bits

The largest book in the world, The Kleincke Atlas is being displayed for the first time. I rather like the picture that goes with the article. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jan/26/klencke-atlas-british-library-exhibition

While reading through the internet, I found out that an early edition of Lao Tzu was unearthed in 1993 written on bamboo sticks. The idea fascinates me. It apparently is the earliest known edition. It was translated in 2000 at Columbia University. It looks like something that I want to read. http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-11816-3/lao-tzus-tao-te-ching

Daily Thoughts 8/19/2009

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, 1906 edition.

Daily Thoughts 8/19/2009

Today has started out well. I went through the gift romance paperbacks. We get these by the truck load. I found some which are very new in good condition to add to the new arrivals section. Romance paperbacks are the most read novels in the english language. Women read a lot more novels than men. I have been sorting through the gift books and making some decisions on what to add lately.

I did some more weeding in the 800s today. It is a steady slow process. Dean Koontz's Frankenstein Dead and Alive Book Three came in for me to read. It is a nice break from more serious reading. I like the tone of the series.

Web Bits

Sometimes you find odd little things on the internet. Apparently an organization is setting up tables to give away free books in the subway. It is a rather interesting idea. http://www.choosewhatyoureadny.com/

Paul Buckley's book cover designs. It includes a new cover of Moby Dick drawn by Tony Millionaire. I like the covers. They are very interesting. http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulbuckleydesign/

Daily Thoughts 7/21/2009 ( Twitter )

Sculpture Maigret (1966) by Pieter d'Hont in Delfzijl/The Netherlands. Maigret is a fictional detective by Georges Simenon.

Daily Thoughts 7/22/2009

I read some more of Talent Is Overrated. At this point in the book, they are talking about innovation. They tell us that most major innovations come after at least ten years of "deliberate practice" in a given field. This is a rather interesting idea. It is different explanation than the one of natural talent. It says you must develop deep knowledge of what you are doing to create breakthrough innovations.

I picked up Wildfire by Sarah Micklem from the new books section. It is the sequel to Firethorn which is a fantasy novel. I like the cover art on these books by Mark Stutzman. I think he did an excellent job. http://www.workbook.com/portfolios/stutzman Sometimes, the artist who an author chooses to illustrate a book cover is very critical in how a book sells.

I weeded some of the large print books and the mystery books. I am also considering changing how we order large print books.

Web Bits

A book vending machine in the subways in Spain. I am wondering how long a machine like this would last in a Manhattan, New York subway. http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/the-literary-vending-machine/

http://news.bookweb.org/6924.html
Savvy Booksellers Use Twitter to Draw Crowds, Boost Sales

An opinion piece on libraries from the Christian Science Monitor. http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090717/cm_csm/ywisner

Daily Thoughts 5/18/2009

Portrait of English illustrator Aubrey Beardsley (August 21, 1872 – March 16, 1898) by photographer Frederick Hollyer

Daily Thoughts 5/18/2009

I was reading through Pop Goes The Library and came across a section on using PDAs for roaming reference. It adds one more reason for me to get an Iphone. Every day, there seems to be another reason to get an Iphone for library work.

Pop Goes The Library also mentioned ICV2 which is a website about popular culture. It includes many articles on graphic novels, films, manga, and toys. Quite a few of the reviewers are librarians. I have seen their magazine at both New York Comic Con and Book Expo America. They may be a good source for purchasing teen graphic novels and manga. http://www.icv2.com/ I am adding them to my sidebar.

I enjoyed reading this book. It is the kind of book where parts of it are useful because it has lots of tips and suggestions and parts of it don't match with what you are doing. If you are looking for new ideas to try out this book is very good. It gives lots of suggestions of new things to try. This is the main thing which seemed helpful about this book. There are also a lot of links to interesting websites as well.

I also added the Powells Review A Day Archive which is a very nice list of reviews. http://www.powells.com/review/all.html

I have a new computer at work. It is a nice feeling.

Web Bits

Books are being born digital more and more. An article from Library Journal. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6657392.html

Linked Data is blooming, an article and speech about Tim Berners Lee's idea.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/linked_data_is_blooming_why_you_should_care.php

Some Self Referential Marketing

Daily Thoughts 4/26/2009

This picture was taken from the Dictionnaire encyclopédique Trousset, also known as the Trousset encyclopedia, Paris, 1886 - 1891. I took it from oldbookillustrations.com

Daily Thoughts 4/26/2009

Right now, I am reading The Power of Positive Confrontation by Barbara Pachter with Susan Magee. It is a self help style book focused on effectively confronting people. So far, it is excellent. I especially like the sections on nonverbal behavior during confrontations and how to eliminate self discounting language.

I watched some more episodes of Roughnecks Starship Troopers on Youtube. At this point, the alien skinnies have joined the human war effort against the bugs. It is turning out to be every enjoyable to watch. It is a bit different than most other Youtube videos because they have some advertising embedded in the videos. It makes it almost like television in a way.

I also watched the last part of Sidewalk Stories on dvd. It is rather touching. It is about being homeless. It was not obvious at the beginning of the film. It is a silent film with an orchestra.

I often take time to look at statistics for my website, mainly inbound and outbound links. I checked Google Webmaster tools this morning. Bookaddiction.org-- Betty Ford For the Bibliophile has a number of inbound and outbound links to my site. This is a link to the site http://bookaddiction.org/ I am adding it to blogs that I read.

Web Bits

I thought this article in support of libraries from Last Kiss Comics was very interesting. http://www.lastkisscomics.com/2009/04/23/the-library-comics-and-me/

A podcast from 2008 Book Expo, How Libraries Buy-- http://bookexpocast.com/2008/07/24/how-libraries-buy-librarians-reveal-their-methods-for-collection-development/

Barnes and Noble Library Market Bookstore-- http://btob.barnesandnoble.com/home.asp?btob=Y