Imagine working in a public library....

Having a teenage Hunger Games nut in the house, I thought this was hilarious.....

http://librarianproblems.tumblr.com/post/23615924905/when-i-tell-a-patron-we-do-have-the-hunger-games

Publishers make the shift from print to digital more complex than it needs to be

This sort of money-grabbing makes me so angry - it holds students (who typically live on very low incomes) to ransom

https://chronicle.com/article/What-Is-an-Access-Code-Worth-/134048/

Found this interesting article about a library lending cake pans

What i found interesting is that they tied it into their collection - cooking books were being borrowed and they also had little events for the children.  Libraries certainly aren't just about books!

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/06/library-services/let-them-lend-cake-pans/

NATIONAL SIMULTANEOUS STORY TIME 2012

THE VERY CRANKY BEAR



At Alexandra Hills each year during LIW, children services hosts an under 8s activities day.  The library got involved this year and we had the pleasure of reading The Very Cranky Bear to the kids.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I think the kids did too. 

Check out our wall!

We have had a lot of comments about the wall behind our circ desk and how fantastic it looks!

What sort of librarian are you?

 

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/03/opinion/peer-to-peer-review/authentic-librarianship-and-the-question-of-service-peer-to-peer-review/

Hyper-connected experts

Being a digital immigrant, I found this article both fascinating and thought provoking:

http://www.demodirt.com/index.php/generation-y/27-technology/498-you-cant-trust-hyper-connected-experts

The phenomenon of "crowd wisdom" is one which impacts on us here at MSIT as far as delivering information literacy programs.  Just because an item or opinion is on Facebook or YouTube or even as part of a blog, how do students determine the authority or validity of the piece?  More importantly, do they care?  How does this impact on their assignement work?

I'd love to hear from the younger generation on their opinions of this piece.

Banned Books

http://www.salon.com/2012/03/20/rochesters_ridiculous_banned_book_controversy/singleton/

 

ALA's information about banned or challenged books makes very interesting reading - you can find it here:

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged

 

Worth Considering.......

So this is not work or library-oriented, but I thought worth sharing with everyone.  It was sent to me by Raheema Deen (Admin Manager at Alex Hills):

A palliative nurse who has counselled the dying in their last days has revealed the most common regrets we have at the end of our lives.

Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. 

She recorded their dying epiphanies in a blog called Inspiration and Chai, which gathered so much attention that she put her observations into a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.

Ware writes of the phenomenal clarity of vision that people gain at the end of their lives, and how we might learn from their wisdom. 

"When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently," she says, "common themes surfaced again and again."
Here are the top five regrets of the dying, as witnessed by Ware:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

"This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. 

Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it."

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.

"This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence."

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

"Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result."

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

"Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying."

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

"This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again."

What's your greatest regret so far, and what will you set out to achieve or change before you die?

A Curious Copyright Thought

It's never going to happen, but I thought this author makes an interesting point about intellectual property

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/technology/adrianhon/100007156/infinite-copyright-a-modest-proposal/

A library is many things

A library is many things. It's a place to go, to get in out of the rain. It's a place to go if you want to sit and think. But particularly it is a place where books live, and where you can get in touch with other people, and other thoughts, through books. If you want to find out about something, the information is in the reference books---the dictionaries, the encyclopedias, the atlases. If you like to be told a story, the library is the place to go. Books hold most of the secrets of the world, most of the thoughts that men and women have had. And when you are reading a book, you and the author are alone together---just the two of you. A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered. Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people---people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.

Taken from http://www.lettersofnote.com/2011/05/library-is-many-things.html

Citation Obsession

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edrost88/6844600823/sizes/m/in/photostream/

This article presents an interesting view on referencing - and perhaps makes a good point in some regard - that teachers who are pedantic about correct citations (and we're talking about the mechanics of full stops, italics etc) can force their students to spend more time worrying about that, and less time reading widely and developing great ideas.  In effect, crippling free thinking.

What do you think?

http://chronicle.com/article/Citation-Obsession-Get-Over/129575/

LIBRARY LOVERS DAY AT ALEXANDRA HILLS

We have yummy lollies (I haven't eaten that many!):

And check out the display - so romantic!

Our mascot:

We love our library lovers day - hope you enjoy yours!

The Educator’s Guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drewpbaldwin/2116350461/




http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeblogs/3020966582/

 
The Educator’s Guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons

If copyright and fair use rules make you head spin, or you have trouble explaining the concepts to library users, Click on the link above - this article spells things out beautifully in simple language.

I Can't Believe You're Throwing Out the Books!

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brewbooks/6132547533/

Weeding the collection was a contentious issue when I worked in a private school library - the 400 items we removed from circulation were placed in several black garbage bags and each library staff member and a few sympathetic teachers took one or two each to dispose of at home.  This action was taken as the previous time the school weeded, books were found in a dumpster at the school and there was quite a hoo-ha about school fees and throwing out perfectly good books.

I thought the attached blog articulated the reasons for weeding in an easy-to-understand fashion.  I don't know that we have the same issues here at MSIT, but the points are well-made.

http://perfectwhole.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/i-cant-believe-youre-throwing-out-books/

eBooks Corroding Values??

http://www.flickr.com/photos/a_mason/4738780128/sizes/m/in/photostream/

In this article, author Jonathan Franzen claims that ebooks corrode values because it is easy to delete or alter electronic works.  He claims that print books have a permanence which ebooks lack.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/jan/30/jonathan-franzen-ebooks-values

What do you think????????

For more information on Franzen: http://us.macmillan.com/author/jonathanfranzen 

The Food Librarian

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40726522@N02/5324726043/ by powerplantop

I'm not sure whether to be amused or worried about my youngest child.  Our family always has a chuckle about the way he separates his food - this takes ages if we have a one pot meal like a stir fry or stew! 

Last night he took it to a new level, not only separating the food, but arranging it in alphabetical order - broccoli, capsicum, carrots, cashews, chicken, peas, rice.

My husband noted last night that this child is a kind of "food librarian" and blamed me for the trait!

Has anyone else noted some odd librarian-like traits away from work?