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