Daily Thoughts 06/30/2015

A bouquet of pencils from the Mackey Print Paper Company of Pittsburgh, 1897
Daily Thoughts 06/30/2015

I checked the library Twitter and Facebook this morning.

I finished watching Fundamentals of Photography with National Geographer photographer Joel Sartore.  It was interesting to watch.  The final part was on editing, organizing, and telling stories with photographs.   There is a booklet that comes with the dvds which I am going to finish reading.
Joel Sartore photographed the book, Rare: Portrait of America's Endangered Species.

I spent some time reading comics on Hoopla.  I read Penguins of Madagascar, #4 by Titan Comics.  I really like the humor.  I also read Star Trek Countdown to Darkness published by IDW publishing.  This was a fun thing to do.  I started watching the Brain Fitness put out by PBS.  It was interesting.  The service is very easy to use.

I went out and bought a digital camera today, a Nikon L830.  I also bought a32GB memory card and a lightweight carrying case.  It is just something to take some family pictures and a few other pictures here and there.

I spent a little more time doing exercises in the book, Digital Photo Editing with Picasa for Seniors.

Web Bits

This website has a number of articles about real estate development and libraries in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
http://noticingnewyork.blogspot.com/

Could Cyberwar Cause a Library of Alexandria Event

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/could-cyberwar-cause-a-library-of-alexandria-event

By the Numbers

http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/by-the-numbers/

Daily Thoughts 06/29/2015

Mrs. Cassatt Reading to her Grandchildren, 1880, Mary Cassatt 

Daily Thoughts 06/29/2015

I checked the library Twitter and Facebook.

I have been watching some more of Fundamentals of Photography.  I am finding it interesting because a lot of the class is about how to see and look at things from different angles and perspectives.  It is also about patience, light, and composition.

I spent a little time practicing on Picasa.  The book, Digital Photo Editing with Picasa for Seniors has a sample website for photographs to practice with.

I read some more of The Mindful Way Though Stress.  I am reading about how people have negativity bias in their thinking about how things happened.

I spent some time looking through the Zinio collection of electronic magazines. https://www.rbdigital.com/50emagazine/service/zinio/landing I looked at Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Wired, and National Geographic.  There is an article on Elon Musk's Hyperloop in the July 1, 2015 Popular Science by James Vlahos on Pp.32-39.  It is both slick and entertaining to read online.

I stopped by the Barnes and Noble bookstore in the local mall today.

Web Bits

NIMBY vs. Libraries, by the Book Crazy in Brooklyn

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/editorial-nimbys-libraries-article-1.2273068

New York Public Library's $100M Question

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/scott-sherman-new-york-public-library-100m-question-article-1.2272993

A lot of what may happen to New York Public Library, Queens Public Library, and Brooklyn Public Library will be affected by real estate development and architectural firms.

A Special Library Devoted to Dissidents

http://www.ozy.com/good-sht/a-special-library-devoted-to-dissidents/41719

NASA Image Library

http://nasaimages.lunaimaging.com/

Alternative Energy

Stanford Just Made the Perfect Plan to Run America on 100% Renewable Energy by 2050.
http://www.theplaidzebra.com/stanford-just-made-the-perfect-plan-to-run-america-on-100-renewable-energy-by-2050/

Daily Thoughts 06/28/2015

The Ghost Story, Frederick Smallfield, Before 1916

Daily Thoughts 06/28/2015

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

I watched Stripped the Comics Documentary this morning. It is a homage to the comic strip and the daily newspaper comics strip.  There are interviews with people like Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes, Mort Walker of Beetle Bailey, and Cathy Guisewite of Cathy.  The documentary also describes the demise of most paper newspapers and the transition of some comic artists to digital content.  I am hoping to show the documentary on Friday, July 31st from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

I downloaded Picasa to my desktop today.  It is a free and fairly photo editor.

I watched two more episodes of Fundamentals of Photography today.  I am almost finished with the third dvd in the box.  I am learning about how to photograph people, wildlife, and special occasions.

Web Bits


Local News 

New Rochelle Library Director Thanks Residents for Supporting Budget

http://newrochelle.dailyvoice.com/opinion/new-rochelle-library-director-thanks-residents-supporting-budget

Yonkers Library Appoints Edward Falcone as Director

http://yonkers.dailyvoice.com/news/yonkers-library-appoints-edward-falcone-director

Daily Thoughts 06/27/2015

Old Man With A Book, After: Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Dutch, 1606-1669, Etcher Unknown

Daily Thoughts 06/27/2015


On the way to work, I read some more of The Mindful Way Through Stress.
I checked the Twitter and Facebook for the library.  I also started reading Digital Photo Editing with Picasa for Seniors.  I plan on downloading Picasa.  I am also planning on buying a printer and a digital camera soon.

I checked the gifts and the displays this morning.  I also spent some time looking through the New York Times Bestseller List and the Publishers Weekly Bestseller list.

I have been working on setting up some more programs.  We will have Arlen Schumer coming to talk about silver age comics on August 11, 2015.  Also, I am working getting the rights to show the film, Stripped, The Comics Documentary so I can show it on July 31 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

I spent a little time printing up and putting out flyers.  I am going to be off most of next week.
I also spent some time working with 100s.

I cleaned off my desk and put the old advanced reading copies I had in the staff room.

I checked out two more National Geographic DVDs, The New Chimpanzees and National Geographic Classics Oceans.


Web Bits

Spaceworks is an art studio and teaching space in a public library.

https://spaceworksnyc.org/visualartstudios/williamsburg/

Library High: San Francisco Public Library Offers Online Diploma With Cengage

http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2015/06/25/library-high-san-francisco-public-library-offers-online-diploma-with-cengage/

Meet the first tablet made just for your local library

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/06/26/meet-the-first-tablet-made-just-for-your-local-library/


The Essential Cyberpunk Reading List
http://io9.com/the-essential-cyberpunk-reading-list-1714180001?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Tech Time Warp of the Week: Cyberpunk's Not Dead In Fact, We're Living It.
http://www.wired.com/2015/06/tech-time-warp-week-cyberpunks-not-dead-fact-living 


 Elon Musk

 Students Made A Working Model Hyperloop
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/university-students-made-a-working-model-hyperloop 

GM Teases All Electric Chevy Bolt: Can It Beat Tesla?
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2486890,00.asp 

This article reminds me of the book, The Powerhouse Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World by Steven Levine.

Daily Thoughts 06/26/2015

Still Life Scales, Pyotr Konchalovsky, 1916

Daily Thoughts 06/26/2015

I checked the library Twitter and Facebook this morning.

On the way to work, I read some more of The Powerhouse.  I also read some of the book which goes with the National Geographic DVD on Fundamentals of Photography.  I am also reading some of The Mindful Way Through Stress The Proven 8 Week Path to Health, Happiness, and Well Being by Shamash Alidina.  I did a meditation on eating an apple.  It is the first time I have done something meditative with food.

This morning, I checked the displays and the gift books.  Better World Books has sent 75 boxes to us to pack books up with for shipment.

I also talked with Peter Sherrill about flyers and other publicity for the event for Lowes Moore Chronicle: Life on the Narrow Road From the Boys and Girls Club to the NBA which is happening on July 1, 2015 at 6:30 p.m.

I have a copy of the Ingram Advance and the Baker and Taylor Forecast to read.

There is staff training today for Hoopla in the morning.  I am covering the public computers so one of the staff in my department can get training.

I placed the science fiction novel Zero World by Jason M. Hough on hold.  I also placed the book Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor on hold which is also science fiction.  There is a new Ayn Rand novel Ideal which is being published.  It was turned into a play by Ayn Rand.  I rather liked The Romantic Manifesto by Ayn Rand.  I found the rest of her books thoroughly disagreeable.

My colleague is doing some preparation for Adult Summer Reading.

On the way home, I finished reading The Powerhouse Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World by Steve Levine.  I am reading about the rush to create a battery which will run a car for 200 miles on a single charge.   I am also reading about the rivalry between the Chevy Volt and the Tesla Model S.  I found the book to be mildly interesting.  The sole focus was on electric cars.  There are other things which are happening with batteries that are just as interesting; home energy storage for alternative energy, electric jet engines, powerplant battery stacks for wind and solar energy, and electric trains.  I felt the book was incomplete.

Web Bits

Hoopla, DC Comics Ink Library Digital Pact

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/67259-hoopla-dc-comics-ink-library-digital-pact.html

Neil Gaiman How Stories Last

https://soundcloud.com/longnow/how-stories-last

Musicians and Writers Choose Favourite Books and Music
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/26/musicians-writers-choose-favourite-books-music-brian-eno-beck?CMP=share_btn_fb

Daily Thoughts 06/25/2015

Still Life, Fernand Leger, 1918
 
Daily Thoughts 06/25/2015

I checked the Twitter and Facebook for the library.  I have been posting a variety of things to Constant Contact.

I reviewed the book on the train, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot for my book club today from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.  The club went well.  We are reading the book, Dead Wake The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson for the next book club on July 23, 2015 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m..

The book, Digital Photo Editing With Picasa for Seniors came in for me to read.  It is an overview of Picasa which is a free program for photo editing.

I spent some time working on next months schedule.  I am also planning things for August.  The computer class calendar for July is ready.

We received funding for the Crochet Classes for July from the Friends of the Library.

I am off next week.

Mount Vernon Public Library Develops Latin American Programs With Purchase College.
http://mountvernon.dailyvoice.com/neighbors/mount-vernon-library-develops-latin-american-programs-purchase-college

Web Bits

The Art of Weeding Collection Management
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/06/managing-libraries/the-art-of-weeding-collection-management/#_

A Review of Patience and Fortitude and the Fight to Save NYC's Storied Public Library
http://www.npr.org/2015/06/24/416780087/patience-and-fortitude-and-the-fight-to-save-nycs-storied-public-library

The New York Public Library Wars
http://chronicle.com/article/The-New-York-Public-Library/231127/

Daily Thoughts 06/24/2015

George Dunlop Leslie, Alice In Wonderland, circa 1870
Daily Thoughts 06/24/2015

I checked the Twitter and Facebook for the library.  I also have been working on setting up a variety of events some literary and some graphic novels oriented.  I got contacted by the Westchester Review which is a literary journal.  http://westchesterreview.com/

I added a few more sites to my sidebar.

I watched some more of the National Geographic Fundamentals of Photography dvd.  Many of the images in the dvd are of natural landscapes and wildlife.   Joel Sartore, the teacher, has done more than 33 photoshoots for National Geographic.

I spent some time on Constant Contact.

I read some more of Powerhouse.  I am reading about research on lithium ion batteries at Argonne National Laboratory.  Part of this story is the race to create a viable inexpensive battery for electric cars.  It is an international story involving China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, and South Africa so far.

Web Bits

The Value of the Graphic Novel

http://www.hbook.com/2015/06/blogs/lollys-classroom/the-value-of-the-graphic-novel/

A Policy Revolution for Digital Content

http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2015/06/23/a-policy-revolution-for-digital-content/

Zadie Smith: What It Means to Be Addicted to Reading
http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Author-Zadie-Smith-What-to-Read-This-Summer

Daily Thoughts 06/23/2015

At the Writing Desk, Childe Hassam, 1910

Daily Thoughts 06/23/2015


I checked the library Facebook and Twitter.  I also checked Constant Contact.  I checked the displays and the gift books.  There is a Digital Photography Class today from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.


The Crochet class was today from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Fiction Room.  It has very solid attendance.

On the way home, I read some of The Powerhouse Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World by Steve Levine.  I am reading about the history of battery technology.

I have been watching some more of the Basic Photograpy dvd.  I am learning about light and composition in photography.


Web Bits

Take a A Look Inside Mexico City's Massive Gorgeous Library
http://mentalfloss.com/article/65383/take-look-inside-mexico-citys-massive-gorgeous-library

Library Facebook Images Dropbox
http://www.librarymarket.com/services/dropbox

Automation

A World Without Work
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/07/world-without-work/395294/

Daily Thoughts 06/22/2015

The Cup of Knowledge,  Lilla Cabot  Perry, circa 1905

Daily Thoughts 06/22/2015


I checked the library Twitter and Facebook.

I also put in an order for new books.

I read some more of Data and Goliath on the way to work.  I am reading about how to protect yourself online.

The representative from Davidson Titles came in today. http://www.davidsontitles.com/   I spent some time looking over a variety of titles.  I got to see a lot of books that were not reviewed in the major review journals like Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly.  I bought books in the computer, arts and crafts, art, history, home repair, and other categories which I would have not seen elsewhere.  It is a nice way to freshen up the collection.

I have a volunteer who is coming in to help with the public computers in the afternoon.

I spent some time working on a schedule for computer classes for July and August.

We are working on making sure everything is ready for the Adult Summer Reading program.  There are some tickets being designed for a raffle as well as tickets for a final concert for the Adult Summer Reading.

I finished reading Data and Goliath  The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data Control Your World by Bruce Schneier on the way home.  If you want to understand why you should think about privacy and surveillance this book is a very solid read.


Web Bits

Earth Platinum: World's Largest Book On Display at State Library of NSW

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-19/world-largest-book-atlas-display-state-library-nsw/6557960

Yale Is Starting a VHS Tape Archive

http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2015/03/27/yale-vhs-archive-horror

 

Towards the Post-Privacy Library?

http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2015/06/16/toward-the-post-privacy-library/

22 Books By Black Authors to Add to Your Beach Bag This Summer
http://blavity.com/22-books-by-black-authors-to-add-to-your-beach-bag-this-summer/