Daily Thoughts 02/02/2012

Newspaper publishing - N.Y. Herald: Composing room and linotype machines  Date Created/Published: 1902.

Daily Thoughts 02/02/2012

This morning I read a bit of Fab on the way to work.  The author is describing additive manufacturing as well as different creative uses which people are putting fab labs to use for.  He describes how people design things so they can be taken apart as part of the initial creative process.

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

We had the computer lab open from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. today.  I helped a few people with their email and helped a few people apply for jobs. 

We also have the Women's Enterprise Development Center tonight from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. they are doing an Enhanced First Steps Program for entrepreneurship.  I am speaking to the teacher about the computer lab.  She also teaches the computer classes.

I got sent a box of Advanced Reading Copies from Library Journal today.  I got Bridge of Scarlett Leaves by Kristina McMorris, Wildflowers from Winter by Katie Ganshert, The Widow of Saunders Creek by Tracey Bateman, The Grievers by Marc Schuster, Make It Stay by Joan Frank, Isaac A Modern Fable by Ivan G. Goldman, Fallen Angels by Connie Dial, and Flat Spin by David Freed.  It is always nice to get these books.  It reminds me of why I am a librarian.

I finished reading Fab on the way home.  I enjoyed reading the book because it was essentially about a new kind of innovation.  People were adapting manufacturing to their unique wants and needs in unique places.  I especially liked the examples from India.  It makes me want to read more about the Maker movement.

Daily Thoughts 02/01/2012

Kuniyoshi Utagawa (1797-1861), The Station Kambara

Daily Thoughts 02/10/2012

I spent some time looking at the Community Calendar on the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce.  Quite a few of the libraries events are listed there.

On the train to work, I started reading Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.  It is about the intersection of intuition versus reason.  There is a lot in this book which covers how we make decisions.
I also updated the Twitter and Facebook accounts this morning for the library.

I checked the gift books this morning and the displays and contacted a few people about events.  The Central Library District orders for test books have come in.  It should help our Job Information Center.

Jack Kerouac has a lost novel which is coming out in March 2012 called The Sea is My Brother.  It is his first novel.

We had the Computer Lab for Academic Use today from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m..  Some people were practicing from Tuesday's computer class and a few people were looking for jobs.

Tonight we have The Women's Enterprise Development Center from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. doing an Enhanced First Steps for Small Business Program which is focused on entrepreneurship.

The book Fab The Coming Revolution On Your Desktop-- From Personal Computers to Personal Fabrication by Neil Gershenfeld has come in for me to read.  It should be quite interesting.

I started reading Fab on the way home.  It is a bit different.  The focus is on personal fabrication; producing things that you have always wanted to produce, but were not available as a mass manufactured item to your specifications.  I rather like that the systems being designed at the MIT Fab Labs are open source and flexible.


Web Bits

Publishing's Ecosystem on the Brink: The Back Story
http://blog.authorsguild.org/2012/01/31/publishings-ecosystem-on-the-brink-the-backstory/