“…all part of life’s rich tapestry.”

From article in the Guardian.uk, written by Bella Bathurst: “Worksop has a resident book-eater. “We kept noticing that pages had been ripped from some of the books,” says Peter Collins. “Not whole pages, just little bits. It would always be done really neatly, just the tops of the pages. And then we’d see these little [...]

IMPAC Dublin Award Finalists

3 Irish Authors short listed for the 2011 International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award. The short list will be confirmed by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Gerry Breen at 11.00am on 12th April 2011 in the Mansion House, Dublin 10 novels have been shortlisted for the International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award, from a total of 162 [...]

Happy Drop Everything and Read Day (D.E.A.R.) !

National Drop Everything and Read Day What is National D.E.A.R. Day? D.E.A.R. stands for Drop Everything and Read. National D.E.A.R. Day is a special reading celebration to remind and encourage families to make reading together on a daily basis a family priority. Can I celebrate D.E.A.R. Day on another date? Yes, of course. Every day [...]

Could Online Book Sharing Spell End for Libraries?

From Guardian.co.uk: Could an online booksharing scheme spell the end for the traditional library? A scheme where residents post their own books online to swap, then meet to complete the transaction has worried some library campaigners Testing out Sutton council’s new online bookshare scheme. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian With more people using the [...]

Of library catalogs and such

We’ve just switched our library catalog over to Bibliocommons, a much more interactive, 21st century social networking-friendly system than our previous catalog – iBistro. It was rolled out to the public around March 1, but we had time to play with it before the inevitable questions started. And dear reader, I am in love! I’m the [...]

Blogus Interruptus

Sorry for the silence, not to mention the big move from the NSLS site to WordPress, which was totally out of my control. NSLS has gone under, thanks to the State of Illinois. The state stopped funding the library system, so the library system went away. That doesn’t mean our individual libraries have disappeared. It just [...]

The Good Old Summertime in Recessionary Times

Last summer my supervisor started putting me on the reference desk, as I’d completed at least one reference course working toward my MLIS. She figured it was time to initiate me in the wonder that is working with the public. And sometimes they really do make me wonder. At first I was limited to a couple [...]

More Kindle Bashing. You Can Never Have Too Much.

“Kindle” is synonymous with “the death of enjoyable reading” — here’s why. July 28, 1:40 PM · Michaela Zamloot – SF Young Adult Literature Examiner Take a look at the latest in false prophets — it even looks evil. (open.salon.com) You’ve heard it all before: we are running, not walking, into an age built upon [...]

A librarian's nightmare, or, Oopsies

From The Washington Post: Current Patrons Caught in Purge Of Library Files By Emma Brown Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, July 24, 2009   The accounts of hundreds of D.C. public library card holders were accidentally deleted during a purge of inactive and duplicate accounts, library officials said Thursday. Those affected cannot check out books [...]

Libraries on the cutting edge of architecture and technology.

The 25 Most Modern Libraries in the World By Christina Laun ” Libraries aren’t just musty places to store books with librarians shushing anyone who makes a peep. They’ve become much more than that and the modern library is often home to sleek architecture and the latest technology. These 25 libraries, in no particular order, [...]