Friday, March 16, 2012
The Prophet by Amanda Stevens
The third in a series, The Prophet continues to follow the story of Amelia Gray, a graveyard restorer who sees ghosts and who has broken every rule her father has taught her to keep safe from ghosts. Now that she is back in Charleston, she has vowed to go back to following those rules, except a ghost of a murdered cop has come to her asking for help to find his killer. The clues she follows has led her to not only the dark side of Charleston, but also John Devlin, the man she is trying to love from afar. If you like reading about the paranormal, witchcraft, black magic, and the like, this is the book for you. Even if you haven’t read the first two in the series, you can still enjoy this book. I couldn’t put it down. This book is due out on April 24, 2012.
White Witch by Trish Milburn
This is a great YA read. This book follows Jax, a young witch who leaves her father’s dark coven because she doesn’t want to do the dark deeds the coven pursues. She flees to a small town in the mountains of North Carolina to lead a normal life, only to find herself attracted to a boy who is also a hunter of her kind. If you like reading fantasy or are looking for a book to recommend to someone who likes the Twilight series, this is your book. This book is also a great read for adults as well as teens. Because of the love interest, I would recommended this book more for teen girls rather than boys. This is also the first book in a planned series.
Monday, March 5, 2012
One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus
I just finished listening to this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. This book is about a group of pioneer women who travel out west in 1875 to intermarry with Cheyenne Indians as part of an American government “Brides for Indians” program. The goal of this program is intended to help assimilate the Indians into the white man’s world. The book is written as a series of journals written by one of the participants, May Dodd. One thing that really impressed me about this is book is that you forget sometimes that the author is really a man and the fact that it is a work of fiction. The whole time you really feel like these were true historical events that took place. I also found myself really feeling empathetic towards the characters. As I mentioned before, I actually listened to the book and I found the narrator really gives a great voice to all the characters and really enhances the experience of the book.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Change in direction, sort of...
So I know this blog hasn't been active in a long while. Life just has a funny way of getting in the way sometimes. :) Well I have recently decided that since I read and/or listen to so many books, that I should really just go ahead and review them. So with that in mind, I have decided to do just that. Look for more to come.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wikipedia, Gaming, Privacy, and Technology
So I am a little behind on reading my American Libraries and filling you all in on what is going on in the library world. So here are some snapshots of the past few months of American Libraries.
In August we see a look at Wikipedia and its use. The article starts by pointing out that many schools and teachers are not allowing students to use Wikipedia as a source when researching and writing papers. Some school systems have gone so far as to block the website all together from being accessed in the school library. It is suggested that instead of taking such drastic measures, librarians and teachers should take the opportunity to use Wikipedia as a tool to teach information literacy. This gives them a chance to teach students how to evaluate sources. So what can students learn from looking at Wikipedia entries? First off students can learn about whether the entry is bias on the topic and also to decide if the article is a good entry or a bad entry. From there the students can then learn about the sources by going to the citations in the entry and then tracing the original sources that the author cited. This teaches them how to search for and gather resources, what variety of sources are available at the library, how to request an item from interlibrary loan if the library does not own the item, and it also “gives the librarian a chance to explain how this content is different from what one might find with solely a Google search” (47). Not only does this teach them about searching, but it shows the variety of reliable sources that are available as well as make them more comfortable with using the variety of print and electronic resources. Our roles in this don’t stop there. After we librarians have helped them find the sources, it opens up the opportunity to teach students how to read, review, and analyze these resources critically as well as how to evaluate the source to see if it is useful for them.
The August issue also takes a look at gaming in the library. The article does this by looking the misconceptions about gaming. The first misconception about gaming is that it is a new activity in libraries. This is not the case. The article points out a few examples going back as far as the 1800s in England. How many times have you heard about chess, Scrabble, or other such games being available at library programs? Gaming is just not limited to video games. The second misconception about gaming is that it is only supported by a limited amount of libraries. The articles points out that 77% of libraries support some form at gaming, even if it is just having games available in the children’s area or allowing customers to play Web-based games on the computers. Third misconception about gaming is that it making an arcade out of the library. While there is much publicity about Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero, people need to keep in mind that there are many types of games available and it is a matter of finding the right fit for the right group you are targeting. After looking at the misconceptions about gaming, it looks at gaming being a form of participatory storytelling and some of the other advantages of gaming, such as the interactions being a way to improving “the relationship between players outside the game, even crossing traditional social boundaries” (51). Games give us a look into a different world with different rules and skills that are needed. A nice way of looking at gaming is that “librarians can consider gaming as ‘Storytime for the rest of us’” (51).
Now let’s turn to September. This month’s issue focused on privacy. The first article on privacy pointed out how many companies and the government collects personal data on people. It then points out that privacy isn’t just about records, but also includes surveillance cameras and the fact that “we’re increasingly invading each other’s privacy and exposing our own personal information” (57). Much of this comes from people, especially younger generations, using blogs and social networking websites. Rumors and gossip are now making its way on to the internet. So what does privacy involve? The author goes on to point out that “privacy is about much more than keeping secrets; it is also about confidentiality” (58). Some examples given were how libraries collect information on what our customers are reading, but that we have an obligation to keep this confidential, as well as doctors have our medical information, but also have a duty to keep it confidential. Maintaining data security is another aspect that is obligatory in possessing data. Having control over our information is another part of privacy; just because a company or the government has it “doesn’t mean that they should be allowed to use it however they desire” (59). So in conclusion “privacy thus involves more than keeping secrets—it is about how we regulate information flow, how we ensure that others use our information responsibly, how we can exercise control over our information, and how we should limit the way others can use our data” (59).
One of my favorite columns in American Libraries is by Mary Pergander called Working Knowledge: Professional Development. This month’s column is about continuing your education. This is not necessarily talking about pursuing a degree, but more about working on new skills, such as new computer skills, learning a new language, perfecting the speaking in front of an audience, etc. Some suggestions on how to accomplish these are looking into local adult education, maybe through local high schools or community colleges, parks and recreation centers. The local library system or state associations are other options. If you don’t want to take a class, maybe look at your local college or university for a lecture series or guest speakers. Taking advantage of employer tuition support is another option. Learning on your own at home by using CDs or DVDs from professional conferences, listening to podcasts from organizations, such as ALA’s Public Library Association are ways to learn as well, especially if you have a long commute. There are also free web-based tutorials that you can find also. There are many options for picking up those cool new library skills.
One of the featured articles in October’s issue is about libraries connecting with communities. The article talks about a study the done on public libraries called the Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study. In the study, they have visited 63 public libraries in Delaware, Maryland, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Virginia with a mix of urban, suburban and rural libraries. They also talked to a mix of library users, staff, and trustees. When talking with the staff, “most directors told us that technology has become a selling point for the library” (53). By adding virtual users to the count of walk-in users of the library one library was quoted saying that “we’re seeing over 1,600 people a day” (53). With the downturn in the economy, many libraries are turning to grants, fundraising, and gifts when looking for funding for the library. When it comes to technology in the library “some staff estimated they spend up to 80% of their time on troubleshooting technology and teaching people how to use it. Helping people perform tasks such as filling out a job application can consume several hours and involve teaching such basic tasks as setting up an e-mail account” (53). With the amount of technology being used in public libraries, staff interviewed for the study “expressed concerns about their technical skills (or lack thereof). They said people expect more, better and faster service, and they count on library staff to be technology experts” (53). Even with this being the case, libraries are training their staff and helping with developing skills of their staff by sending them to trainings, having their IT people train frontline staff, and offering computer classes to the public, as ways to help train both staff and the public. The article also talked with the public also. When talking with the public, many were satisfied with the computers that were available within the libraries, with many saying that the computers were the primary reason that they come into the library. Many learned what they know about using computers for the staff at the library. Of the public that was interviewed “everyone agreed it is important, even essential, for libraries to provide public access computing” (54). The study can be downloaded for free at www.ala.org/plinternetfunding .
Also in October’s issue is the Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings for 2008. This study rates public libraries as well as takes a look at changes in public libraries, such as reference answers, circulation, funding, FTE staff, visits, and other such topics. With this study going into its second decade, the article takes a look at the history of it as well as other similar studies being done by other groups. More information on this can be found at www.haplr-index.com .
I know this is a lot of snapshots of the American Libraries magazines for August, September, and October. I hope you enjoyed reading them!
In August we see a look at Wikipedia and its use. The article starts by pointing out that many schools and teachers are not allowing students to use Wikipedia as a source when researching and writing papers. Some school systems have gone so far as to block the website all together from being accessed in the school library. It is suggested that instead of taking such drastic measures, librarians and teachers should take the opportunity to use Wikipedia as a tool to teach information literacy. This gives them a chance to teach students how to evaluate sources. So what can students learn from looking at Wikipedia entries? First off students can learn about whether the entry is bias on the topic and also to decide if the article is a good entry or a bad entry. From there the students can then learn about the sources by going to the citations in the entry and then tracing the original sources that the author cited. This teaches them how to search for and gather resources, what variety of sources are available at the library, how to request an item from interlibrary loan if the library does not own the item, and it also “gives the librarian a chance to explain how this content is different from what one might find with solely a Google search” (47). Not only does this teach them about searching, but it shows the variety of reliable sources that are available as well as make them more comfortable with using the variety of print and electronic resources. Our roles in this don’t stop there. After we librarians have helped them find the sources, it opens up the opportunity to teach students how to read, review, and analyze these resources critically as well as how to evaluate the source to see if it is useful for them.
The August issue also takes a look at gaming in the library. The article does this by looking the misconceptions about gaming. The first misconception about gaming is that it is a new activity in libraries. This is not the case. The article points out a few examples going back as far as the 1800s in England. How many times have you heard about chess, Scrabble, or other such games being available at library programs? Gaming is just not limited to video games. The second misconception about gaming is that it is only supported by a limited amount of libraries. The articles points out that 77% of libraries support some form at gaming, even if it is just having games available in the children’s area or allowing customers to play Web-based games on the computers. Third misconception about gaming is that it making an arcade out of the library. While there is much publicity about Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero, people need to keep in mind that there are many types of games available and it is a matter of finding the right fit for the right group you are targeting. After looking at the misconceptions about gaming, it looks at gaming being a form of participatory storytelling and some of the other advantages of gaming, such as the interactions being a way to improving “the relationship between players outside the game, even crossing traditional social boundaries” (51). Games give us a look into a different world with different rules and skills that are needed. A nice way of looking at gaming is that “librarians can consider gaming as ‘Storytime for the rest of us’” (51).
Now let’s turn to September. This month’s issue focused on privacy. The first article on privacy pointed out how many companies and the government collects personal data on people. It then points out that privacy isn’t just about records, but also includes surveillance cameras and the fact that “we’re increasingly invading each other’s privacy and exposing our own personal information” (57). Much of this comes from people, especially younger generations, using blogs and social networking websites. Rumors and gossip are now making its way on to the internet. So what does privacy involve? The author goes on to point out that “privacy is about much more than keeping secrets; it is also about confidentiality” (58). Some examples given were how libraries collect information on what our customers are reading, but that we have an obligation to keep this confidential, as well as doctors have our medical information, but also have a duty to keep it confidential. Maintaining data security is another aspect that is obligatory in possessing data. Having control over our information is another part of privacy; just because a company or the government has it “doesn’t mean that they should be allowed to use it however they desire” (59). So in conclusion “privacy thus involves more than keeping secrets—it is about how we regulate information flow, how we ensure that others use our information responsibly, how we can exercise control over our information, and how we should limit the way others can use our data” (59).
One of my favorite columns in American Libraries is by Mary Pergander called Working Knowledge: Professional Development. This month’s column is about continuing your education. This is not necessarily talking about pursuing a degree, but more about working on new skills, such as new computer skills, learning a new language, perfecting the speaking in front of an audience, etc. Some suggestions on how to accomplish these are looking into local adult education, maybe through local high schools or community colleges, parks and recreation centers. The local library system or state associations are other options. If you don’t want to take a class, maybe look at your local college or university for a lecture series or guest speakers. Taking advantage of employer tuition support is another option. Learning on your own at home by using CDs or DVDs from professional conferences, listening to podcasts from organizations, such as ALA’s Public Library Association are ways to learn as well, especially if you have a long commute. There are also free web-based tutorials that you can find also. There are many options for picking up those cool new library skills.
One of the featured articles in October’s issue is about libraries connecting with communities. The article talks about a study the done on public libraries called the Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study. In the study, they have visited 63 public libraries in Delaware, Maryland, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Virginia with a mix of urban, suburban and rural libraries. They also talked to a mix of library users, staff, and trustees. When talking with the staff, “most directors told us that technology has become a selling point for the library” (53). By adding virtual users to the count of walk-in users of the library one library was quoted saying that “we’re seeing over 1,600 people a day” (53). With the downturn in the economy, many libraries are turning to grants, fundraising, and gifts when looking for funding for the library. When it comes to technology in the library “some staff estimated they spend up to 80% of their time on troubleshooting technology and teaching people how to use it. Helping people perform tasks such as filling out a job application can consume several hours and involve teaching such basic tasks as setting up an e-mail account” (53). With the amount of technology being used in public libraries, staff interviewed for the study “expressed concerns about their technical skills (or lack thereof). They said people expect more, better and faster service, and they count on library staff to be technology experts” (53). Even with this being the case, libraries are training their staff and helping with developing skills of their staff by sending them to trainings, having their IT people train frontline staff, and offering computer classes to the public, as ways to help train both staff and the public. The article also talked with the public also. When talking with the public, many were satisfied with the computers that were available within the libraries, with many saying that the computers were the primary reason that they come into the library. Many learned what they know about using computers for the staff at the library. Of the public that was interviewed “everyone agreed it is important, even essential, for libraries to provide public access computing” (54). The study can be downloaded for free at www.ala.org/plinternetfunding .
Also in October’s issue is the Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings for 2008. This study rates public libraries as well as takes a look at changes in public libraries, such as reference answers, circulation, funding, FTE staff, visits, and other such topics. With this study going into its second decade, the article takes a look at the history of it as well as other similar studies being done by other groups. More information on this can be found at www.haplr-index.com .
I know this is a lot of snapshots of the American Libraries magazines for August, September, and October. I hope you enjoyed reading them!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Wellness, Fieldwork Experience, & the Library in a New Light
There were a few things in this issue that really caught my eye or struck a chord with me. Here are some highlights from the American Libraries June/July 2008 issue.
One of the first articles that caught my eye was the economic crisis that is hitting libraries across the nation. This article takes a look at the funding crises that are happening around the nation that is raising the prospects of cutbacks in public library services. In cities such as Los Angeles and New York, libraries are looking at shortening their weekend hours. In some systems, such as the library in Clearwater, Florida, the library could be closed weekends and most evenings. The article also points out that in other systems, some branches may be closed because of budget cuts.
On a lighter note, Storyville was highlighted in this issue of American Libraries. Storyville is a child-sized village that was specially designed and built inside the Rosedale branch of Baltimore County Public Library. The idea behind Storyville is that it is there to help parents and caregivers a place to help prepare your children for school. The townscape is 2,240-squre-foot are that is “loaded with hands-on play stations for babies and preschoolers” (39). The village officially opened on February 7 and has impacted the library’s business levels and staffing, which shares responsibility for operating Storyville.
Now on to the Technology section. One of the columns, one by Joseph Janes, “Internet Librarian”, caught my eye this month. His article calls for expanding ones idea of the library being bigger than the building. He started by describing his use of the libraries within his vicinity. He holds library cards from three systems. While he may visit the building, much of his “use” of the libraries are from his office, his home, or while he is travelling, with his heaviest use of each system is using their digital collections. I think this is one way of looking at expanding the notion of “library”. He says “the idea of the library has always been bigger than the building itself, which is necessary and convenient place for storing things. It also makes a great meeting place, touchstone for the community, and symbol for values we share and uphold. That building stands for something, and we should be proud of the places it occupies in the minds of our clienteles” (49). Some of the ways that he points out of libraries “trying to leak out of their shells” are having “branches, bookmobiles, interlibrary loan, outreach programs, and telephone reference” (49). Even with the digital world, he points out that even with digital access to a library’s collection and the building itself that “neither alone will suffice in meeting the varied and expanding needs of our communities, and neither along expresses the true nature and usefulness of what a ‘library’ is and can be (and ought to be and has to be0 in the 21st century” (49).
So now to one of the main focuses of this issue, wellness. The article begins by giving examples of librarians who started out as being physically unfit and started their journey to being fit. The article goes on to explain “Join the Circle of Wellness @ Your Library”, which is a website developed by ALA as part of an initiative of ALA President Loriene Roy. With creating an initiative of “Wellness in the Workplace” in mind as well as a way of assisting librarian in creating and maintaining health initiatives at work, a task force was created and composed of public, medical, and special librarians to create an action plan to help with this initiative. This task force had the following goals: “the launch of the ‘Wellness’ website, the development of a personal health ‘passport’ for ALA members, the creation of a workplace inventory that could be used by and at libraries to review working conditions that might impact worker health, and a Wellness Fair to be held at the 2008 ALA Annual Conference this summer in Anaheim” (54). Available online is Workplace Wellness Inventory and Wellness Passport through the website. Physical wellness was not the only aspect covered; they also covered social, environmental, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and occupational wellness. To see the information on this program, see the website www.ala-apa.org/wellness .
One of the articles that really struck a chord in this issue is the article on library student fieldwork. I did fieldwork as a master’s student in library and information science and remember my fieldwork experience well, as well as enjoyed the experience. So what is fieldwork you might ask? Well the author describes is as thus “fieldwork, sometimes called practicum or internship, is either required or available in most ALA-accredited masters programs. The course is intended to allow students to see how theory is applied to practice by spending a specified number of hours working in a real-world setting” (56). Experience is not the only integral part of the successful fieldwork, but so is the worksite supervisor. The article then focuses on what it means to be a worksite supervisor and what it can mean for your library. As a supervisor, a librarian gets the chance to help build the future of the profession. The fieldwork student can also give the library a fresh new perspective and bring new ideas into the library. As most fieldwork experiences are unpaid, it also gives the library an extra pair of hands for the length of the fieldwork. So what does it take to be an outstanding worksite supervisor? Here is what the article says: understand that the student is there to learn, communicate with the faculty supervisor, assign a variety of activities, maintain a real-world schedule, plan to evaluate the student, and support without hovering. The article concludes by telling you how you can find out about if the school in your area offers a fieldwork course as well as also finding out about any distance education programs that might have students in your area.
I hope you have found these articles as interesting as I have. That’s all for now.
One of the first articles that caught my eye was the economic crisis that is hitting libraries across the nation. This article takes a look at the funding crises that are happening around the nation that is raising the prospects of cutbacks in public library services. In cities such as Los Angeles and New York, libraries are looking at shortening their weekend hours. In some systems, such as the library in Clearwater, Florida, the library could be closed weekends and most evenings. The article also points out that in other systems, some branches may be closed because of budget cuts.
On a lighter note, Storyville was highlighted in this issue of American Libraries. Storyville is a child-sized village that was specially designed and built inside the Rosedale branch of Baltimore County Public Library. The idea behind Storyville is that it is there to help parents and caregivers a place to help prepare your children for school. The townscape is 2,240-squre-foot are that is “loaded with hands-on play stations for babies and preschoolers” (39). The village officially opened on February 7 and has impacted the library’s business levels and staffing, which shares responsibility for operating Storyville.
Now on to the Technology section. One of the columns, one by Joseph Janes, “Internet Librarian”, caught my eye this month. His article calls for expanding ones idea of the library being bigger than the building. He started by describing his use of the libraries within his vicinity. He holds library cards from three systems. While he may visit the building, much of his “use” of the libraries are from his office, his home, or while he is travelling, with his heaviest use of each system is using their digital collections. I think this is one way of looking at expanding the notion of “library”. He says “the idea of the library has always been bigger than the building itself, which is necessary and convenient place for storing things. It also makes a great meeting place, touchstone for the community, and symbol for values we share and uphold. That building stands for something, and we should be proud of the places it occupies in the minds of our clienteles” (49). Some of the ways that he points out of libraries “trying to leak out of their shells” are having “branches, bookmobiles, interlibrary loan, outreach programs, and telephone reference” (49). Even with the digital world, he points out that even with digital access to a library’s collection and the building itself that “neither alone will suffice in meeting the varied and expanding needs of our communities, and neither along expresses the true nature and usefulness of what a ‘library’ is and can be (and ought to be and has to be0 in the 21st century” (49).
So now to one of the main focuses of this issue, wellness. The article begins by giving examples of librarians who started out as being physically unfit and started their journey to being fit. The article goes on to explain “Join the Circle of Wellness @ Your Library”, which is a website developed by ALA as part of an initiative of ALA President Loriene Roy. With creating an initiative of “Wellness in the Workplace” in mind as well as a way of assisting librarian in creating and maintaining health initiatives at work, a task force was created and composed of public, medical, and special librarians to create an action plan to help with this initiative. This task force had the following goals: “the launch of the ‘Wellness’ website, the development of a personal health ‘passport’ for ALA members, the creation of a workplace inventory that could be used by and at libraries to review working conditions that might impact worker health, and a Wellness Fair to be held at the 2008 ALA Annual Conference this summer in Anaheim” (54). Available online is Workplace Wellness Inventory and Wellness Passport through the website. Physical wellness was not the only aspect covered; they also covered social, environmental, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, and occupational wellness. To see the information on this program, see the website www.ala-apa.org/wellness .
One of the articles that really struck a chord in this issue is the article on library student fieldwork. I did fieldwork as a master’s student in library and information science and remember my fieldwork experience well, as well as enjoyed the experience. So what is fieldwork you might ask? Well the author describes is as thus “fieldwork, sometimes called practicum or internship, is either required or available in most ALA-accredited masters programs. The course is intended to allow students to see how theory is applied to practice by spending a specified number of hours working in a real-world setting” (56). Experience is not the only integral part of the successful fieldwork, but so is the worksite supervisor. The article then focuses on what it means to be a worksite supervisor and what it can mean for your library. As a supervisor, a librarian gets the chance to help build the future of the profession. The fieldwork student can also give the library a fresh new perspective and bring new ideas into the library. As most fieldwork experiences are unpaid, it also gives the library an extra pair of hands for the length of the fieldwork. So what does it take to be an outstanding worksite supervisor? Here is what the article says: understand that the student is there to learn, communicate with the faculty supervisor, assign a variety of activities, maintain a real-world schedule, plan to evaluate the student, and support without hovering. The article concludes by telling you how you can find out about if the school in your area offers a fieldwork course as well as also finding out about any distance education programs that might have students in your area.
I hope you have found these articles as interesting as I have. That’s all for now.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
E-books, Creating Computer Games, What to Appreciate in our Careers as Librarians
Here I am again with a look at American Libraries. May is again filled with lots of interesting news from the library world. So without much further ado, here is what is happening in the library world.
One of the first interesting articles in this month’s issue was news about the unveiling of the ALA study on library service to new Americans. The article starts off by starting that “about 21 million people in the United States speak limited or no English, 50% more than a decade ago” (12). The ALA released the results of this study in response to the trend of public libraries who continue to make the effort to meet the service needs of non-English users. The study focused on “the range of specialized library services for non-English speakers” (12). This study was the first national study to consider the range of library services and programs developed for non-English speakers by looking at the services that public libraries provide to this population, such as effectiveness of services, barriers to library use, most frequently used services, and most successful library programs by language served, and by analyzing library service area population and patron proximity to local libraries that odder specialized services. Some interesting facts from this article about the study are that the most frequently used services by non-English speakers were special language collections (68.9%) and special programming (39.6%)[includes language-specific story hours and cultural programming], Spanish is the most supported non-English language at 78% being most reported as a priority, followed by Asian languages at 27% priority, and Indo-European languages in third at 17.6%. Barriers found for non-English speaking library users are reading and library habits at 76%, being unaware of the services offered by the library came in second at 74.7 %, and lack of discretionary time as the third most common barrier at 73.1%. To view the complete report and find more information on this study, you can visit www.ala.org/nonenglishspeakers/
Other interesting news includes Booklist begins its new online effort to ease the complexity of ordering selected online materials. Booklist Online and Title Source 3 from Baker & Taylor added this new functionality where Title Source customers can now place their orders of selected titles directly into Title Source 3 without navigating out of Booklist Online.
First Lady Laura Bush was interviewed about her post-White House agenda. Laura Bush talked about how she is looking forward to playing a role in the establishment of the presidential library at Southern Methodist University for her husband. She also talked about how her profession as a librarian has influenced her own initiatives and how it will continue to do so after the end of her husband’s term on January 20, 2009. Her initiatives currently have been “focused on helping America’s youth, education, Gulf Coast school rebuilding, women’s health and wellness, books and authors, and other issues central to librarianship” (18). She talks about the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries, which helps provide funding to help school districts with inadequate funding for library materials. In addition to helping with funding for these school districts, the foundation also has helped in aiding schools destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The rest of the article talks about the children’s book that she wrote with her daughter Jenna.
In the world of technology, Skype, a free of charge downloadable program that is used to make free long distance calls over the Internet, is being used by librarians as a videoconferencing tool. The program has visual, aural, and typed communication capabilities. Skype was proved “spectacularly successful as a videoconferencing tool for the more than 200 attendees who saw it in action at the ‘Future of Libraries, Part III: Embracing the Invisible Customer’ conference held at San Francisco Public Library last year” (32). The participants were able to see and hear Librarian Char Booth live from Ohio University Libraries. The article goes on to explain that to use Skype for conferences, the presenters just have to download Yugma, a free piece of software associated with Skype, to control their PowerPoint presentations from remote locations, and with these two programs along with a webcam, the presenter can be heard by the audience in a conference or presentation and are able to interact through a moderator. The article continues to talk about how a presenter can use this software and work out the kinks before using it to present.
Now that we have looked at some highlights of news in the library world, let’s take a look at the featured articles, or the “meat” of this month’s issue. What is the main focus of this issue’s feature you ask? Well let’s now take a look at “The Elusive E-book”. The article first takes a look at e-books. They point out that there are two types of e-books, those that are computer-based, which are used by a fixed or semimobile device such as a laptop and those that are portable, which can be used by a dedicated reader, such as the Amazon Kindle or a mobile device such as a PDA or cell phone. There are also a couple ways that e-books are sold: individual books and through subscriptions. Along with e-books comes a few problems when reading them associated with CRT and LCD screens, such as resolution, contrast, flicker, and glare. LCD screens has eliminated flicker, contrast is not so much of a major problem, and glare can be dealt with. Even with these problems dealt with, resolution is still a problem. While many would think that the resolution issue would be the reason that computer-based e-books don’t work, it more comes with the fact that the screens are immovable and are not ergonomical. It is the ergonomics that keep these computer-based e-books from being successfully circulated. The article goes on to explain a study on visual ergonomics and how it affects reading on a computer. Because of the nature of visual ergonomics and how it applies to reading a computer screen, computer users try to keep their eyes at the center of the screen and only skim information on the screen rather than reading it. While one would think that this would mean that specialized readers, such as the Sony Reader or Amazon Kindle, would be the answer to this problem. This is not the case because the question becomes why would someone want to spend $300-$400 on a device dedicated to reading books, when the resolution quality is 100 percent less than a regular printed book? The article also points out that paper books can be sold, traded, or given away, but an e-book is leased and therefore tied to the particular reader device. The article ends on the note that the potential for these books are enormous, but to be popular it is still a future dream.
So we’ve taken a look at the e-book, now let us turn our attention to another form of technology that are seeing in our libraries, gaming. We have all seen the information on studies dealing with kids and gaming when it comes to them playing games. This article takes a different approach by looking at studies that deal with kids creating the games themselves. These studies “suggest that kids’ best learning experiences come when they are engaged not simply in interacting with materials but in experimenting and inventing with them” (55). The author looks at what Mitchel Resnick, professor of learning research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab. Resnick states “In the process of designing and creating—making sculptures out of clay or castles out of cardboard—children try out their ideas…If their creations don’t turn out as they’d expected or hoped, they can revise their ideas and try something new. It’s an iterative cycle: new ideas, new creations, new ideas, new creations… In design activities, as in play…children test the boundaries, experiment with ideas, explore what’s possible.’ Digital design activities…’facilitate learning by combining many of the 21st-century skills that will be critical to success in the future: thinking creatively, analyzing systematically, collaborating effectively, communicating clearly, designing iteratively, learning continuously” (55). An example of how this is being put into effect is a program that was developed in Wilmette Public Library in Illinois. They created a program that allows teens to design and create their own computer games using a program tool called Scratch that was developed by Resnick’s research group at the MIT Media Lab and also the tool Game Maker. Both programs are available as free downloads. They developed this program with the idea in mind to support these skills as well as “to develop fun and innovative teen-oriented programs, to broaden our existing gaming programs, to support teens’ use of new participatory technologies, and to promote 21st-century literacies by embedding learning activities within a highly motivating context” (55). The article goes on to talk about how each program was used within the program. The article concludes with explaining that with this program and others like it, libraries can become places that promote and enhance not just the traditional role of literacy education, but a place that promotes other competencies, such as integrating storytelling, art, digital media, logic, and other elements, by using these kinds of programs.
One of the first interesting articles in this month’s issue was news about the unveiling of the ALA study on library service to new Americans. The article starts off by starting that “about 21 million people in the United States speak limited or no English, 50% more than a decade ago” (12). The ALA released the results of this study in response to the trend of public libraries who continue to make the effort to meet the service needs of non-English users. The study focused on “the range of specialized library services for non-English speakers” (12). This study was the first national study to consider the range of library services and programs developed for non-English speakers by looking at the services that public libraries provide to this population, such as effectiveness of services, barriers to library use, most frequently used services, and most successful library programs by language served, and by analyzing library service area population and patron proximity to local libraries that odder specialized services. Some interesting facts from this article about the study are that the most frequently used services by non-English speakers were special language collections (68.9%) and special programming (39.6%)[includes language-specific story hours and cultural programming], Spanish is the most supported non-English language at 78% being most reported as a priority, followed by Asian languages at 27% priority, and Indo-European languages in third at 17.6%. Barriers found for non-English speaking library users are reading and library habits at 76%, being unaware of the services offered by the library came in second at 74.7 %, and lack of discretionary time as the third most common barrier at 73.1%. To view the complete report and find more information on this study, you can visit www.ala.org/nonenglishspeakers/
Other interesting news includes Booklist begins its new online effort to ease the complexity of ordering selected online materials. Booklist Online and Title Source 3 from Baker & Taylor added this new functionality where Title Source customers can now place their orders of selected titles directly into Title Source 3 without navigating out of Booklist Online.
First Lady Laura Bush was interviewed about her post-White House agenda. Laura Bush talked about how she is looking forward to playing a role in the establishment of the presidential library at Southern Methodist University for her husband. She also talked about how her profession as a librarian has influenced her own initiatives and how it will continue to do so after the end of her husband’s term on January 20, 2009. Her initiatives currently have been “focused on helping America’s youth, education, Gulf Coast school rebuilding, women’s health and wellness, books and authors, and other issues central to librarianship” (18). She talks about the Laura Bush Foundation for America’s Libraries, which helps provide funding to help school districts with inadequate funding for library materials. In addition to helping with funding for these school districts, the foundation also has helped in aiding schools destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The rest of the article talks about the children’s book that she wrote with her daughter Jenna.
In the world of technology, Skype, a free of charge downloadable program that is used to make free long distance calls over the Internet, is being used by librarians as a videoconferencing tool. The program has visual, aural, and typed communication capabilities. Skype was proved “spectacularly successful as a videoconferencing tool for the more than 200 attendees who saw it in action at the ‘Future of Libraries, Part III: Embracing the Invisible Customer’ conference held at San Francisco Public Library last year” (32). The participants were able to see and hear Librarian Char Booth live from Ohio University Libraries. The article goes on to explain that to use Skype for conferences, the presenters just have to download Yugma, a free piece of software associated with Skype, to control their PowerPoint presentations from remote locations, and with these two programs along with a webcam, the presenter can be heard by the audience in a conference or presentation and are able to interact through a moderator. The article continues to talk about how a presenter can use this software and work out the kinks before using it to present.
Now that we have looked at some highlights of news in the library world, let’s take a look at the featured articles, or the “meat” of this month’s issue. What is the main focus of this issue’s feature you ask? Well let’s now take a look at “The Elusive E-book”. The article first takes a look at e-books. They point out that there are two types of e-books, those that are computer-based, which are used by a fixed or semimobile device such as a laptop and those that are portable, which can be used by a dedicated reader, such as the Amazon Kindle or a mobile device such as a PDA or cell phone. There are also a couple ways that e-books are sold: individual books and through subscriptions. Along with e-books comes a few problems when reading them associated with CRT and LCD screens, such as resolution, contrast, flicker, and glare. LCD screens has eliminated flicker, contrast is not so much of a major problem, and glare can be dealt with. Even with these problems dealt with, resolution is still a problem. While many would think that the resolution issue would be the reason that computer-based e-books don’t work, it more comes with the fact that the screens are immovable and are not ergonomical. It is the ergonomics that keep these computer-based e-books from being successfully circulated. The article goes on to explain a study on visual ergonomics and how it affects reading on a computer. Because of the nature of visual ergonomics and how it applies to reading a computer screen, computer users try to keep their eyes at the center of the screen and only skim information on the screen rather than reading it. While one would think that this would mean that specialized readers, such as the Sony Reader or Amazon Kindle, would be the answer to this problem. This is not the case because the question becomes why would someone want to spend $300-$400 on a device dedicated to reading books, when the resolution quality is 100 percent less than a regular printed book? The article also points out that paper books can be sold, traded, or given away, but an e-book is leased and therefore tied to the particular reader device. The article ends on the note that the potential for these books are enormous, but to be popular it is still a future dream.
So we’ve taken a look at the e-book, now let us turn our attention to another form of technology that are seeing in our libraries, gaming. We have all seen the information on studies dealing with kids and gaming when it comes to them playing games. This article takes a different approach by looking at studies that deal with kids creating the games themselves. These studies “suggest that kids’ best learning experiences come when they are engaged not simply in interacting with materials but in experimenting and inventing with them” (55). The author looks at what Mitchel Resnick, professor of learning research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab. Resnick states “In the process of designing and creating—making sculptures out of clay or castles out of cardboard—children try out their ideas…If their creations don’t turn out as they’d expected or hoped, they can revise their ideas and try something new. It’s an iterative cycle: new ideas, new creations, new ideas, new creations… In design activities, as in play…children test the boundaries, experiment with ideas, explore what’s possible.’ Digital design activities…’facilitate learning by combining many of the 21st-century skills that will be critical to success in the future: thinking creatively, analyzing systematically, collaborating effectively, communicating clearly, designing iteratively, learning continuously” (55). An example of how this is being put into effect is a program that was developed in Wilmette Public Library in Illinois. They created a program that allows teens to design and create their own computer games using a program tool called Scratch that was developed by Resnick’s research group at the MIT Media Lab and also the tool Game Maker. Both programs are available as free downloads. They developed this program with the idea in mind to support these skills as well as “to develop fun and innovative teen-oriented programs, to broaden our existing gaming programs, to support teens’ use of new participatory technologies, and to promote 21st-century literacies by embedding learning activities within a highly motivating context” (55). The article goes on to talk about how each program was used within the program. The article concludes with explaining that with this program and others like it, libraries can become places that promote and enhance not just the traditional role of literacy education, but a place that promotes other competencies, such as integrating storytelling, art, digital media, logic, and other elements, by using these kinds of programs.
Ok, so there have been lots of wonderful and interesting articles in this month’s issue of American Libraries and I have had the opportunity to highlight some of the ones that I found interesting. That being said, there is one more I would like to tell you all about before I call it a day. That is the little article called “Living the Dream”. This one page article talks about taking time to appreciate what we’ve got as librarians in our career. Have we really had the opportunity to look at what great things we have with being librarians? Well Mary Pergander gives us a few things to appreciate about our jobs:
- We get to work indoors regardless of weather, often in pleasant surroundings.
- The world’s knowledge surrounds us, and the entire world of information is at our fingertips.
- We work with interesting, intellectually stimulating people who generally share interests with us. We develop relationships with colleagues across the state and the nation, even around the world.
- We get to sleep at night without interruption from the workplace (unless you are one of the few on-call librarians).
- Our work brings us in contact with the edge of change in our society, enabling us to be early responders and adapt to what is coming—if we keep our minds open and flexible.
- Many of us have opportunities to read, to watch, or listen to bestsellers or newly minted, well-respected works, at no cost to ourselves except the hours devoted to devouring them. Others have the honor of reviewing priceless historical items on a daily basis.
- Whether serving patrons directly or in support services out of the public eye, the work we perform matters, and we make a difference in the lives of those served by our efforts (69).
So we can see that we have many things to be appreciate while being librarians and knowing that we are making a difference.
So that is it for me for the May issue of American Libraries. I hope you all have enjoyed reading this little snapshot of what is in this issue. This is Cathey, your American Libraries connection signing out.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
