People who steal books...

May they feel it where it hurts most. This morning a guy came in (NOT a Uni student) while I was working with a class. I pointed him off in the direction of the circulating collection. When I followed up to see if he needed help, he was looking through a book in the back corner. A bit later he brought a book to the circ desk and asked if he could check it out without a card, which he said he left at home. I told him I'd be happy to hold the book for him. He wrote his name on a piece of paper and I put the book on the hold shelf.

This is where the plot thickens. An hour or so later I went looking for Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (305.569092Eh84n), which was just selected for the One Book, One Campus program. There, on the shelf, was the cover - with no book inside. The book the guy asked me to hold came from the spot right next to it.


Has anyone seen me?

On a lighter note, I'm glad to report that the second attempt at dropping the jello brain was -ahem- a smashing success.

All in a day's work

Today I had the pleasure of supervising the dropping of a jello brain from the library's second floor balcony. Filming this event was, no doubt, an incredibly critical component of Katie, Amy, and Ben's Computer Literacy 2 project. Unfortunately, the two-story drop did not have the desired effect of splattering the brain into a billion pieces. They will try again tomorrow, after inserting strategically placed slits into this seemingly impervious quivering mass.

I see that the current issue of Technology Review has weighed in on the Google Print project with an interesting, rather lengthy article.

New magazines!

Well, I ordered three, and two have come. We've received the January issue of Wired, and theoretically should receive February, March, and April in due course. And we just got the June issue of Shonen Jump:



"Over 290 pages of manga!" Can't beat that.

On the lecture circuit

While everyone else has a day off school today ("Spring Holiday" or some such), I'll be traveling to the Rolling Prairie Library System in Decatur to talk about teaching ethics and evaluating tricky stuff on the Web. A week from tomorrow (yes, a Saturday), I'll head north to the North Suburban Library System for a similar round of talks.

Sometime between now and then I hope to be able to spend more time with the book I'm reading for my away-from-school book group, Anthony Trollope's Ayala's Angel. Here are the thoughts of Frank Houston, a gentleman of no profession (which was common and expected), but also no inherited income. He is forced to confront his duty, which is to court Gertrude, who does not inspire his love, but would provide him with the means to sustain his position and lifestyle:

"Gertrude hadn't got any turn of a neck to speak of. Gertrude was a stout, healthy girl; and, having 120,000 pounds, was entitled to such a husband as himself. If he waited longer he might be driven to worse before he found the money which was so essentially necessary. He was grateful to Gertrude for not being worse, and was determined to treat her well. But as for love, romance, poetry, art, -- all that must for the future be out of the question."

Wouldn't it just be easier to go to school and get a job? Not in those days, not in that sphere. Poor Frank, poor Gertrude, but what fun for me.

Random news from libraryland and the Web

Thought I'd pass on some interesting and unrelated news links from a few of my favorite blogs.

From LISNews:
Books on the new pope are suddenly in demand. No big surprise.
The Alabama Legislature is considering a bill that would ban books that promote a homosexual lifestyle from all public facilities (like schools and libraries).

From Tangognat (a former Uni student!):
A Library Journal article on gamers in the library. I am not making this up.
A manga news roundup.

From Slashdot:
Microsoft patents 911 (or at least the data used by emergency services).
Google (AdSense) sues the click inflators. Don't you just hate it when your site is used by unscrupulous companies trying to hurt their competitors by driving up worthless ad spending?

Two new books with the "B" word in the title

The first one is Bitches, Bimbos and Ballbreakers: The Guerrilla Girls' Guide to Female Stereotypes (305.4 B546), a reader's guide to all of our (not) favorite stereotypes: daddy's girl, tomboy, the girl next door, bimbo/dumb blond, femme fatale/vamp, bitch/ballbreaker, mother (good or bad, sainted or smothering), spinster/old maid, hag/crone, girls who do, girls who don't.



The second is Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook (746.432 St686s), by Debbie Stoller. Knitting has become so hip that Stitch 'n Bitch groups are suddenly popping up all over the country. If only my grandmother had lived so long...

Doggerel

Here's one I missed when it arrived:



Awwwwwwwwww. This is the cover of Doggerel: Poems About Dogs (821.08 D677), selected and edited by Carmela Ciuraru. It's full of gems like this one from Herbert Asquith.

The Hairy Dog

My dog's so furry I've not seen
His face for years and years;
His eyes are buried out of sight,
I only guess his ears.

When people ask me for his breed,
I do not know or care;
He has the beauty of them all
Hidden beneath his hair.

Web cred

Serendipity. I've just finished two weeks teaching website evaluation techniques and strategies. On Monday I'll be traveling to a symposium in Seattle called "Internet Credibility and the User," sponsored by the the American Library Association Office for Information Technology Policy and the Information School of the University of Washington, and funded by the MacArthur Foundation. The 25 or so participants were assigned to read 8 papers that were commissioned for the symposium, so I've been immersed in all sorts of theory about what I do (or at least what I think I do). It's possible I'll be the only "practitioner" there (i.e., the only person who works on a daily basis with flesh-and-blood teenagers). Everyone else appears to be professors from various library schools and other university departments. I'm looking forward to having time to talk and think about these issues with some pretty interesting folks.

I'll be back with the flesh-and-bloods next Thursday.

You've got THAT in the library???

Corinne has put up a nice display in the library called "Books you might like to know we have but would never ask us for." This sample, The Period Book: Everything You Don't Want to Ask (But Need to Know), by Karen Gravelle (612.662 G781p), gives you the general idea:



The display is a precursor to next Wednesday's PFO meeting on "Talking to Your Teens About Sensitive Issues." Corinne has also prepared an annotated bibliography for that event, which includes these websites: Internet Public Library: Teen Space, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), the National Institute on Durg Abuse, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry: Facts for Families, and Net Monkey: Raising Awareness Through CyberEthics.

Like to read in the bathtub?

But hate having to fret about keeping your book dry? Well, not to worry, IF your book is made out of synthetic paper. Melcher Media has a line of products called Durabooks, which (mostly) look and feel like ordinary books but are made with synthetics constructed of plastic resins and inorganic fillers. Emily K. brought me an example of one that she checked out from the public library for her chemistry project. It's also available from the University Library.



Here's an excellent instance of walking the walk, practicing what you preach, etc. Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, by William McDonough and Michael Braungart is a book about environmentally-conscious industrial design. It looks like a book, but its pages are slick and clearly immune to water, dirt, grease, and humidity. They are even tear-resistant. There's gotta be some reason all books aren't published this way. Don't think I want to know what it is.

Cast your vote

The Illini Union is sponsoring one of those "One Community, One Book" type events. Here's the blurb:

"The Illini Union's One Book, One Campus program hopes to provide a shared experience for our community. Through reading the same book community members will have the opportunity to engage in dialogue and explore various themes. Through lectures, book discussion groups and many other activities we will learn about ourselves and others while experiencing a unique sense of community."

Cast your vote for one of the five "finalist" titles. Our library has two of them: Maus, by Art Spiegelman (PB SPI) and Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich (305.569092 Eh84n). Other choices are A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson, Caramelo, by Sandra Cisneros, and Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, by ZZ Packer. Personally, I think any book written by someone named ZZ is worth a look.

Process all that information faster, better!

Better catch this site fast, because it's not likely to stay up for long. Here's to Google and its ever-expanding takeover of All Things Information. I especially like this prose on the FAQ page:

"...our brains process data by sending electrical impulses called neurotransmitters between billions of neurons via axons running between synapses, much the way buses travel between stations, or MP3 files travel between felonious suburban teenagers."

Gotta love those felonious suburban teenagers.