It seems that York University has joined the Univeristy of Toronto in the Internet Archive’s out-of-copyright book digitization project. This came to my attention via Michael Geist’s twitter feed.
Having been on boths sides of the Canadian Libraries project (scanning these 685 books on the evening shift at Robarts, and as grateful user of digitized materials like this), I’m very glad to hear that their electronic collection will continue to grow apace.
Martha Baillie, a writer and part-time storyteller with TPL, was the subject of a write-up in today’s paper that focused on her new novel The Incident Report. Set in a fictional “Allan Gardens Library” — presumably a stand-in for tthe Parliament Street branch — it deals with the odd ups and downs of working in an often-chaotic urban facility.
From
Confronted by [disruptive] events, the library staff in the novel are guided by compassion and library policies. The staff are supportive of one another, which Baillie says reflects the camaraderie she has found among library employees.
About 90 per cent of the incidents in the book are loosely based on Baillie’s experiences or those she was told of by other library staff. As a result, the book provides an inside look at the kind of bizarre incidents library workers sometimes encounter.
The fascinating novel also delves into some wider themes, including “the nature of urban storytelling,” Baillie says. “Whoever is sitting behind the reference desk is an ear. You play the role of a bartender a bit.” The novel asks, “Why do we so often pick strangers to tell our stories to?”
My time as a patron vastly outweighs the two weeks I logged at a public library reference desk in college, but even that short stint had me nodding my head as I read the article. Reference work in a special library just isn’t the same… the pseudo-confessional atmosphere is virtually (but not completely) absent, but I suppose that’s why social reference sites like Ask MetaFilter are popular among we library folk.
Library Waives Fee for Sully’s Waterlogged Book [NBC Los Angeles via Slaw]:
When [the pilot and safety expert’s] plane ended up at the bottom of the Hudson River on Jan. 15, so did a book he had checked out from the library at California State University, Fresno, through his local library near Danville… [He] asked for an extension and [received a] waiver of overdue fees because the book was in the airliner’s cargo hold.
Interestingly, a reference to this bit of library trivia has already made its way into his Wikipedia entry.
Much digital ink has been spilled about the lack of unlimited data plans for the iPhone on Rogers & Fido 3G mobile networks in Canada. I worried that the 1gb iPhone data plan @ $30/mo would prove too restrictive for my needs, but couldn’t justify ponying up for a more capacious plan at the outset. Take a look at my first month’s data usage in the graphs below (the second with a logarithmic scale to more clearly illustrate daily data):
I’ve just barely broken the 10% threshold! For now, at least, it seems that 1gb/mo is plenty given that at half of the time I’m using the iPhone on my home WiFi network. Perhaps as I begin to more fully integrate the device into my various quotidian information seeking routines I’ll start to push its limits… but I’m no longer too concerned.
No, not that TED — Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska. In honour of his re-election to the Senate just days after being convicted of felony charges related to gifts from oil companies, I present the following artistic treatment of his legendary free-form poetic characterization of the Internet and net neutrality:
From Google settles landmark lawsuit over book scanning [Library Journal] :
If approved by a federal judge, the settlement would end a class-action suit filed September 20, 2005 by the AG and certain authors, and another suit filed October 19, 2005 by five major AAP members. It would transform Google Book Search into a major online bookstore, creating a one-stop experience for users who wishing to search, access, print or buy copies of books. The announcement comes just weeks after LJ reported reported on October 10 that a settlement was imminent… [read more]
A settlement is good, but a verdict confirming Google’s approach as fair use would have been better. For more information on what this will mean for Google Book Search product, there’s more detailed information from Google.
This paves the way for some seriously innovative offerings that will be particularly relevant to special libraries. When trying to find titles for ILL I have frequently come up empty at local libraries but found exactly what I need on Google. Depending on the price point, this could be a real lifesaver.
It seems that Republican Vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, in the fine tradition of so many concerned municipal politicians from communities large and small, had a book-banning bee in her bonnet.
From “Mayor Palin: A Rough Record” in Time Magazine, via Librarian.net :
[Former Wasilla, Alaska Mayor John] Stein says “[Palin] asked the library how she could go about banning books,” he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. “The librarian was aghast.” That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn’t be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving “full support” to the mayor… [read more]
Threatening to fire the librarian for her refusal is somewhat unsurprising, given that Palin also reportedly sacked the heads of other city agencies for alleged ’loyalty’ to her predecessor.
Note to elected officials: undermining the merit principle for staffing and promotion in a non-partisan civil service is no easy shortcut to ‘cutting red tape’ or slashing ‘unecessary bureaucracy’; instead, it’s just another plodding step down the road back to the untrammeled patronage system of the not-so-distant past. Also, don’t mess with the library!
Photo credit: AKMuckraker via WIkipedia.
The Globe and Mail’s tabloid-style update on disgraced newspaper magnate Conrad Black’s life behind bars includes the following juicy tidbit (emphasis mine):
[He] has been nicknamed “Lordy” by his fellow inmates, orders around his cellmate, lectures on American history, and has been promoted to work in the library, according to a story yesterday in London’s Daily Mail. [read more]
I couldn’t track down any more details about his duties in the library, though the Daily Mail notes that the new gig affords him “virtually unlimited access to newspapers”… a perk welcomed by procrastinating library types the world over.
Library Playground, which I noticed thanks to a trackback commenting on a previous post here, has a really handy RSS feed of Canadian Library Technician jobs derived from a variety of job posting sites from across the country. There’s also a Facebook app version available (if you’re into that kind of thing).
I’ve just added the feed to my NetVibes account so as to keep an eye on the job market for curiosity’s sake. This could have saved me an awful lot of obsessive bookmark-checking when I was last looking for work, as most of the sites I consulted on a daily basis are included in this mashup.
It’s always interesting to see public libraries try lending novel, non-book, non-audiovisual materials. While seeking information about a recent extreme heat alert, I caught the following in a press release from the City of Toronto:
Toronto Public Health and the Toronto Public Library are teaming up with community partners to make pedometers available for loan at 18 library branches throughout the city. This initiative is part of a new Walk into Health program to encourage people to build physical activity into their daily lives. In 2007, over 2,000 pedometers were lent out at 12 branches. Those who borrowed last year stated that pedometers helped them continue walking for exercise.
Last year, SunLife Financial began sponsoring the Musem and Arts Pass, which allows patrons to ’sign out’ tickets good for admission to a number of large and small cultural attractions all over the city.
What other cool stuff do — or could — our public our libraries lend?
The Pajama Way of Research [Law Library Journal, Vol. 99 No. 4] :
Like pajamas, e-mail reference (or chat) can represent comfort, privacy, and flexibility. We reference librarians like to think of ourselves as friendly and welcoming, but some patrons are—despite our best efforts—uncomfortable asking questions face to face… Whatever the reason, e-mail alleviates those discomforts: patrons can ask a question, phrased just the way they want, without having to stand in the reference office in front of a librarian. It’s private, too: their classmates needn’t know they’re asking questions, and no one will overhear them saying something dumb. [read more]
I’ve been digging through the back issues of Law Library Journal lately, mainly to consume Mary Whisner’s “Practicing Reference…” column. Although this particular piece focuses on the vagaries of providing academic legal reference services to law students, the passage above is also relevant to those of us working within large firms where ‘remote’ users are more likely to be at their desks down the hall (or down the stairs on another floor, or down the road in another city) than at home and wearing suits rather than pyjamas.
I’m actually using my iPod Touch to compose this post, but the Wordpress app is the same. Not bad!
As is often the case with text-heavy programs, though, it suffers from the lack horizontal (i.e. landscape mode) keyboard. Why, developers? Why?
No iPhone means no camera, so to test the image function I’ve taken these interface screenshots:
my del.icio.us/library
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