Daily Thoughts 01/05/2018

Detroit Publishing Company photochrom of Shakespeare's Memorial Theatre, which burned down in 1926.  Between 1890 and 1900.

Daily Thoughts 01/05/2018

I checked the library Twitter and Facebook this morning.

I spent a little time looking at Tech Soup for libraries.
http://www.techsoupforlibraries.org/spotlight

I also did a little more with the new social network, Alignable.

I read a little bit more of The Vanishing Middle Class.  I am reading about issues surrounding mass incarceration like private prisons, the militarization of the police, and the war on drugs.

Web Bits 

Supporting Workforce Development With Libraries Work

http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2018/01/supporting-workforce-development-with-libraries-work/

 

Daily Thoughts 01/04/2018

Gregor Perusek, Still Life by 1940

Daily Thoughts 01/04/2018

I checked the library Twitter and Facebook this morning.

The library is closed due to severe weather.

I read some more of the The Vanishing Middle Class.  I am reading about how mass incarceration limits people chance to succeed and move from the lower classes to the middle class.  There are also tremendous racial disparities in incarceration.  Black or Latino people have a much greater chance to be in jail.  There is also a preference by the very rich statistically to not want to pay more taxes or support additional social programs.

I watched the final episodes of The Science of Mindfulness: A Research Based Path to Well Being on Hoopla.  There were 25 half hour episodes.  We get five shows to watch each month.  It took five months to finish the series on Hoopla.

I also watched the movie Freakonomics.  It is very similar to the book.  There are lots of interviews with the authors of the book, Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.  I found the movie amusing.

Web Bits

Fashion Institute of Technology's Library Gets a Makeover

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/01/03/fashion/fashion-institute-of-technology-library.html

Daily Thoughts 01/03/2018

Ad for Alfred Benjamin & Co (clothiers in New York), a man is shown in a suit, reading a book, as a cigarette smolders in his hand. A human skull sits on a shelf behind him.24 February, 1904

Daily Thoughts 01/03/2018

I checked the library Twitter and Facebook this morning.

I read some more of The Vanishing Middle Class.  I am reading about some of the changes that are occurring in the upper classes.  With finance it is possible to earn 10x as much money as manufacturing as a CEO.  There has been a steady move into hedge funds and other financial firms by the wealthy.  This changes how firms are run.  Also, there is a greatest focus on using contractors instead of regular employees to limit benefits and costs.  These changes have reduced opportunity for the middle class.

I checked the gift books and the displays.

I discussed marketing with a colleague this afternoon.

I also read the latest copy of The New York Times Book Review, and the Religious Catalog of Ingram Advance.

I have been taking care of some contacts for future programming.  I have confirmed our program for Audre Lorde in April of 2018.

I generated a few reports from Blue Cloud Analytics for the children's department.


Web Bits

The Culture War Being Fought Over Tomorrow's Libraries
https://www.fastcodesign.com/90151650/the-culture-war-being-fought-over-tomorrows-libraries

Art Buchwald's Archives Are Bound for the Library of Congress, He Would Have Been Thrilled.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/art-buchwalds-archives-are-bound-for-the-library-of-congress-he-would-have-been-thrilled/2018/01/02/995eef38-e502-11e7-833f-155031558ff4_story.html?utm_term=.a6d346b13a5f

A.I. And Big Data Could Power A New War On Poverty

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/opinion/ai-and-big-data-could-power-a-new-war-on-poverty.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-right-region&region=opinion-c-col-right-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-right-region&_r=0

Daily Thoughts 01/02/2018

Hand With A Reflecting Sphere, M.C. Escher, 1935

Daily Thoughts 01/02/2018

I checked the Facebook and Twitter today.

I rested on the way to work on the train.

I checked the displays and the gift books this morning.

I put in an order for new books today.

I have a copy of the New York Times Book Review to read.

The Crochet Group is meeting this afternoon.

I have a stack of books to look through.  I checked out Stay With Me by Ayobami Adeboyo which is the book for this months book club.

Also, the book, Library Robotics Technology and English Language Arts Activities for Ages 8-24 by Sarah Kepple came in for me to read.  There are three other books that came in as well, Memos from the Chairman by Alan C. Greenberg, Making Contact Jill Tarter and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence by Sarah Scoles, and The Vanishing Middle Class, Prejudice and Power in a Dual Economy by Peter Temin.

I worked a little bit with fliers today.  I also checked some items that were not in the library system.

We have a Fundamentals of Computers class tonight as well as a Beginning Microsoft Word class tonight.

I read some of The Vanishing Middle Class on the way home.  It is about how the economy is increasingly split between a lower class based on subsistence and prejudice and an upper class based on investment and education.  This is kept in place by a divisive political system and poor schools.

Daily Thoughts 01/01/2018

Boy Reading an Adventure Story, Norman Rockwell, 1923

Daily Thoughts 01/01/2018

I checked the library Twitter and Facebook this morning.

I had a nice holiday.  I stayed up late last night and slep in today.  Have a great new year.

My resolution is to stay healthy, read a little bit every day, and find something to invest in.

I underestimated the number of books to take out for my vacation.  I should have quite a few things waiting for me on Tuesday monring.  I did read the paper today.

Web Bits

In 2018, Libraries to the Rescue: Why Americans are RIght to Crave Facts and Books

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/2018-libraries-rescue-article-1.3726473

First Law On Public Libraries Enacted-- China

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/first-law-on-public-libraries-enacted/ar-BBHLUqK