Daily Thoughts 11/25/2011

Jeune Fille Lissant, 1868, Pierre-Auguste Renoir



Daily Thoughts 11/25/2011

Today has been a quiet, steady day.  Maintenance sent out our shipment to Better World Books on Monday.  I also updated the Twitter and Facebook pages for the library this morning.  I checked the displays this morning as well.  I spent a little time updating the current events display.

This afternoon, I spent some time discussing grants for the E-readers.  We may be working on a grant to get subscriptions to electronic magazines and newspapers.  I am going to try with local organizations first.

I have been talking to a few people about programs.  It should be interesting in the coming week.

This evening on the way home, I read some more of The Better Angels of Our Natures. I am almost finished reading the book.  I like his ideas about how democratization, trade, and the international community reduce war.  I also like Steven Pinker's focus on reason and science in this book.  I am not sure that I agree that classical liberalism reduces violence.  It does create a focus on rational discourse though.  I also believe that smarter, more educated people tend to be less violent.


The book, The Collapse of American Criminal Justice by William J. Stuntz has come in for me to read.

Daily Thoughts 11/22/2011

 France in 2000 year (XXI century). Future school. France, paper card. 1901 or 1910

Daily Thoughts 11/22/2011

This morning I spent some time updating the Facebook and Twitter account for the library.  I rather liked doing it.  I also read some more of The Better Angels of Our Natures by Steven Pinker.  Steven Pinker is writing about peoples inner demons and how they lead to war.  He describes how overconfidence can lead to nations attacking each other, how labeling other nations as evil is often inaccurate, and how people and nations strive for dominance.  The bit on dominance reminds me of the concept of "missile envy", where whichever nation has  the biggest missile wins.

I read some of Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil, M.D. this afternoon.  Andrew Weil focuses on the practice of integrative medicine (combining natural medicine with the biomedical approach to medicine).  He is writing about dealing with depression and emotional resilience.  In addition to exercise, diet, sleep, and social relations he is also talking about things like meditation, acupuncture and other therapies, touch, being outdoors, getting sunlight, and resetting your inner equilibrium so it is more focused on serenity than vibrant happiness. 

I think the Reader's Den from New York Public Library is kind of interesting.  It is an online book discussion group from New York Public Library.
http://www.nypl.org/voices/blogs/blog-channels/readers-den

I decided to do something for my own future with Lynda.com.  I am taking some time to learn about LinkedIn. This will give me a chance to update and review my profile which has not been done for a while.

Munseys has a lot of the old pulp fiction books available as free downloads.
http://www.munseys.com/detail/mode/cat/12/Pulp_Fiction



Web Bits 

Other

Embattled Intellectual Historians Make a Stand
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/embattled-intellectual-historians-make-a-stand/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Why It's A Great Time to be a Reader
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/11/why-its-a-great-time-to-be-a-reader/248909/


Occupy Wall Street-- Library and other issues.


13 News Organizations File Complaints with NYPD Over Treatement of Journalists
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/13-news-organizations-file-complaints-with-nypd-over-treatment-of-journalists_b47331
This is important because it is about freedom of expression and information.

The Implicit Critique of Technology In the Occupy Protests
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/11/the-implicit-critique-of-technology-in-the-occupy-protests/248835/

There is an announcement on the Occupy Wall Street Library website, but I am waiting for the press release to be picked up by the main stream media.  It looks like there could be some points which need to be clarified.  I changed my mind, this is the announcement in a cleaner format.

Library Press Conference The Peoples Library
http://www.supportows.org/blog/ows-news/library-press-conference-the-peoples-library/

Canadian Library Association Dismayed by the Seizure of the Occupy Wall Street Movement Library
http://clagov.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/ows-library/ 

Daily Thoughts 11/17/2011

Ein kleiner Bücherwurm, signiert Eduard Swoboda, Öl auf Leinwand auf Malkarton, 47 x 38,5 cm, 1902


Daily Thoughts 11/17/2011

I read some more of The Better Angels of Our Natures.  Steven Pinker is describing why democracies have less wars and why trade also reduces the amount of warfare globally.

The book Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil, MD came in for me to read.  I like the style of his writing.

Last night, I finished reading The Death Ray by Daniel Clowes.  There is a certain darkness to the tale.  A man gets superpowers because he smokes cigarettes.  He also has a death ray gun given to him by his father which he uses to dispose of the men who cheated on his wife.  It successfully satirizes the superhero genre and makes it seem very ordinary.  I enjoyed reading it.  One of my colleagues is reading it right now.   She likes the copyright page.

This morning, I updated the Facebook and Twitter accounts.  We also got our first check from Better World Books which is nice.  I also checked the displays.  One of my colleagues has a display of holiday books up.

This afternoon, the computer lab is being opened between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. for Academic Use.

We have the Mount Vernon Writers Network today from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m..  It will be in Aisle 7 instead of the rotunda.  We are each writing a poem about veterans.  We mostly discussed the incorporation of the group into a nonprofit organization, publicity, and setting up a logo.  At the end several people read poems about veterans.

I read a bit more of  The Better Angels of Our Natures. Steven Pinker is describing how governments killed many more people with democide (systematic killing of citizens by government forces) and genocide during the 20th century than with war. 


Web Bits

Occupy Wall Street Library

At Occupy Cal Let Books Take The Place of Banned Tents
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2011/11/17/at-occupy-cal-let-books-take-the-place-of-banned-tents/

Another ironic statement.

NYPD Targets Occupy Wall Street Library Again
http://6minutesummary.blogspot.com/2011/11/shelf-awareness-pro-for-thursday_17.html#4523020

Occupy Wall Street Library Targeted Once Again
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/occupy-wall-street-confiscated-once-again_b42509

ALA Alarmed at Seizure of Occupy Wall Street Library
http://ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pr.cfm?id=8568

Peoples Library at the Brooklyn Bridge -- It is in Push Carts
http://peopleslibrary.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/dscn29781.jpg
There is something existentially satirical about this picture.

Another Equally Ironic Push Cart Library Picture
http://peopleslibrary.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/382617_710125056602_7104406_36191014_1062147162_n.jpeg 

Occupy Wall Street Library Goes Mobile
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/occupy-wall-street-confiscated-once-again_b42509

How I Helped Rescue OWS Library
http://www.salon.com/2011/11/17/saving_ows_library/

Daily Thoughts 11/16/2011

Daily Thoughts 11/16/2011

I read some more of The Better Angels of Our Natures this morning.  The author is writing about the concepts of wars of attrition and pyrrhic victory where very little is won by either side.

This morning, I looked over the website committee report for technology.  It is going over issues like the website, databases, E-readers, and telephones.  It also mentions the Services Survey which should be finished by December.  I also spent some time talking to the head of the periodicals department about possibly getting some electronic newspapers or magazines for the E-readers.

I checked the displays and fliers and printed out some flyers including a flyer for the Learning Express Popular Software Tutorials which is a set of online video instruction for Microsoft Office and Adobe software. 

I also checked the Twitter and Facebook accounts for the library.

This afternoon, I spent a little bit more time learning Microsoft Publisher 2010 on Lynda.com.  This afternoon, I opened the computer lab between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. for the public.  I helped one of our regular patrons with the Popular Software Tutorials from Learning Express.  He wanted to learn Microsoft Excel 2010.  There were a few other people looking for jobs and writing letters.

The graphic novel, The Death Ray by Daniel Clowes came in for me to read.  I also have the New York Times Book Review, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly to read.  I am finding that I have read many of the articles or similar articles online.

Web Bits

Libraries in Cris-- Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/libraries-in-crisis

Occupy Wall Street Library
The Occupy Wall Street Library Regrows In Manhattan
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/11162011/occupy-wall-street-library-regrows-manhattan

Update: State of Seized Library Items
http://peopleslibrary.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/update-state-of-seized-library-items/ 

The Life and Death of the Great American Peoples Library
http://www.bookpatrol.net/2011/11/life-and-death-of-great-american.html