Daily Thoughts 05/31/2012

"Study of a Girl Reading," oil on panel, by the British artist Valentine Cameron Prinsep. 34¾ in. x 18½ in. (88.3 cm. x 46.9 cm.) Courtesy of Christie's.

Daily Thoughts 05/31/2012

I finished reading Legions of Rome The Definitive History of Every Imperial Legion By Stephen Dando-Collins.  This is the story of the long slow decline of the Roman imperial legion.  It describes both Rome at its height and its final fall to the visigoths.  It is a story of the slow decline of discipline, constant civil war, and the adoption of Roman tactics by Rome's enemies.  It is also a story of how a country slowly stripped its military of fighting ability by removing the requirement that its senators serve in the military, limiting the ability of legions to gather in one place, and encouraging its citizens to serve as auxiliaries instead of as part of the main legion.  There are lessons in history from this book.

This morning, I checked the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library.  I also checked the gifts and the displays.  I also took a look at some of my flyers.  I always keep my older work.  It is hard to know when it will be useful again.

We have the computer lab open today from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

I am also prepping for Book Expo America.  I am going to NY Cultural Tech tonight which is an event at METRO, or more properly, the New York Metropolitan Library Council.  They asked us to talk about a project which we are working on.  I am going to talk about my experiences with Codecademy, Lynda.com, General Assembly, and Skillshare, many of which share features of educational startups. Each person is supposed to talk about something which they are doing currently. http://www.meetup.com/cultural-tech/events/57439552/

Book Expo America hosts a number of free concurrent events at New York Book Week which is also the week of June 2-8, 2012
http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/Concurrent-Events/New-York-Book-Week/

I am looking at the Books at BEA list which shows a number of the titles that will be available at Book Expo America
http://edelweiss.abovethetreeline.com/tradeshows/Home.aspx?pg=6098

There is also an interesting session which focuses on New York Public Library's Lab which does a lot of interesting things with Foursquare, Twitter, and Facebook.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6

10:30-11:20 a.m.

Building a Social Library (Rm. 1E09)
Take a look deep inside the New York Public Library (NYPL) to find out how it has built its extensive community and serves its readers--with a focus on the secrets of NYPL's social media success. Panelists include Angela Montefinise, director of public relations & marketing; Ben Vershbow, manager of NYPL Labs; and Michael Lascarides, senior manager of web initiatives.

Daily Thoughts 05/29/2012

A Man Reading, Thomas Sword Good, 1827

Daily Thoughts 05/29/2012

On the way in I read some more of the Legions of Rome.  This book reveals how incredible cruel the Roman governance could be.  Many of the revolts happened because of what we would consider today to be excessively cruel treatment.  I also learned about the hard discipline in the legion.  The legions were at their strongest when they demanded the most from their men.

This morning, I checked the libraries Twitter and Facebook account.  I also checked the displays.  We have our computer classes today in the evening, one intermediate class from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and one beginning class from 6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in the computer lab.

I started on Javascript on Codecademy.com.  It is much more challenging than CSS or HTML.  Pieces of it look like gibberish to me.  But, if I do enough exercises, it will start to make sense.

The latest Publishers Weekly came in.  Sometimes, it can be very ordinary to read.

Web Bits

Libraries Grapple with the Downside of E-books
http://www.npr.org/2012/05/29/153900929/libraries-grapple-with-the-downside-of-e-books

Daily Thoughts 05/28/2012

Painting by Jean-Joseph Taillasson: Virgil reading the Aeneid to Augustus and Octavia.

Daily Thoughts 05/28/2012


This morning, I checked the Facebook and Twitter page for the library.  I also read a little bit more of the Visual Quickstart Guide to Javascript and watched a little bit more of the Javascript training video on Lynda.com.  It is much harder to understand.  Pretty soon I'll be starting the Javascript section of Codecademy.  I finished all the exercises with CSS in them.

I have been reading more of  Legions of Rome I have finished reading the individual histories of many of the legions.  At this point, I am reading about the different battles that were fought by the legions.  There are quite a few slave revolts and attempts to break away from the empire.  In addition, the Romans legions would often fight against each other to determine who would become emperor.  Reading about the conquest of England and the Germanic tribes driving the Romans out of Germany tells a story of both expansion and decline.

I learned that there will be a library pavilion with library oriented publishers and groups next to the librarians lounge at Book Expo America.  I like to sit in the librarians lounge, drink coffee and sort through what I have picked up on the show floor.  The show is next week, which is quite soon.  I am looking forward to it.

Daily Thoughts 05/27/2012

Emile Zola by Felix Nadar, Circa 1895, from the Public Domain Review http://publicdomainreview.org/2012/03/07/photographs-of-the-famous-by-felix-nadar/

Daily Thoughts 05/27/2012

I spent some time updating the Twitter and Facebook page for the library.  I also watched some more of the Javascript training video on Lynda.com.

The Legions of Rome is proving to be intriguing.  I am learning some interesting things about Roman life.  Often Romans would try and avoid conscription into the legions sometimes hiding as slaves. I also learned that young men would serve as tribunes in the legions as a first step to becoming Roman senators.  Right now, I am reading the individual histories of each legion.  It is a story of constant battle some of which is focused on imperial succession in Rome.

I was at the mall today at Barnes and Nobles.  I had a chance to look around for a little bit.  I looked at Dr. Seuss who is one of my favorite children's authors.  I especially like the book, Oh The Places You'll Go!   I also spotted The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi which is a young adult book.  There was another book which I didn't get to read.  Blown Covers New Yorker Covers You Were Never Meant to See by Francis Mouly.  The one thing that I like in the New Yorker is the cartoons.  I can't say much else about the magazine.

I did a little bit more on Codecademy.  I think I will finish the CSS section tomorrow and start on Javasscript the next day. I need a bit more time reading and watching to get the basics of Javascript straightened out.

Web Bits

Can 'Big Data' Fix Book Marketing
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/52119-can---b-g-data-fix-book-marketing-.html
There is a New York City Business Data Meetup which has been very successful.  I have wanted to go to it for a while. http://www.meetup.com/NYC-Data-Business-Meetup/   The Book Industry Study Group runs a conference called Making Information Pay.  The last conference was on May 3, 2012. http://www.bisg.org/news-2-754-bisgs-making-information-pay-conference-beyond-business-as-usual-the-age-of-big-data.php
Because it is information oriented I am quite interested in this.  I just have not had a chance to go yet.  Librarians often use circulation statistics and statistics on patrons to report on how libraries are performing.

Daily Thoughts 05/26/2012

This is an illustration from The Works of J.W. Van Goethe 6. It is captioned '"Ottilie's favourite walk . . . was along a pleasant foot-path" / Photogravure from a painting by J. Schevrenberg', 1900

Daily Thoughts 05/26/2012

I udpated the Facebook page for the library.  I also watched a little bit of the Javascript training video on Lynda.com.  After watching the video I downloaded Aptana which is a free text editor and Firebug which is a way to look at Javascript on different web pages.

I am reading Stephen Dando-Collins Legions of Rome.  I find Roman history very interesting.  I especially like Suetonius, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars.   There is a harsh discipline to Roman life.  I am learning a few new things about the legion.  For example, foreign auxiliary troops would serve to gain citizenship which was presented to them as a small bronze plaque.

I also read some more of the Visual Quickstart Guide to Javascript.  It presents many of its lessons in a visual way.  Computers tend to be very visual.  There is another series which a lot of people like which has a lot of images, the Teach Yourself Visually series.  In addition to computers, the Teach Yourself Visually series has a lot of books about musical instruments.