New Books

• Hiring, Training, and Supervising Library Shelvers by Patricia Tunstall

FYI: "How do you find good library shelvers and keep them for more than a few months? Tunstall gives practical advice to help you do just that with this thorough overview of how to hire, test, train, and retain shelvers." - from the back cover

• Writing and Publishing: The Librarian's Handbook edited by Carol Smallwood

FYI: "Have you ever considered writing or reviewing for the library community? Are you interested in publishing a book on your favorite author or hobby? Do you need to write and publish for tenure? If so, Writing and Publishing is for you. Practical how-to guidance covering fiction, poetry, children's books/magazines, self-publishing, literary agents, personal blogging, and other topics will help you..." - from the back cover

Old Friends

Old Friends

(Books from the Reference Reference Collection)

• Magill's Medical Guide: Comprehensive guide (4 volumes) to medical information written for the general reader for broad informational and educational purposes. The articles are written by subject experts.
  
  "The 960 entries in this encyclopedia describe major diseases and disorders of the human body, the basics of human anatomy and physiology, specializations in medical practice, and common surgical and nonsurgical procedures...Hundreds of photographs and medical drawings provide invaluable visual context for entries about diseases, research, surgery, and human anatomy." -from the Publisher's Note

Oh the Places, You'll Go

(Web Sites You Might Like)

Taken from RUSA's Reference & User Services Quarterly (Summer, 2009)
The following are Web sites with annotations about Global Warming:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "MIT Center for Global Change Science." http://web.mit.edu/cgcs The MIT Center for Global Change Science is an interdisciplinary academic research center associated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Technical Reports on various aspects of climate change are available.


• Pew Center on Global Climate Change. "Pew Center on Global Climate Change." http://www.pewclimate.org/ The Pew Center on Global Climate Change is a nonprofit, independent organization devoted to providing the public with information and policy solutions for global climate change. The website offers news briefs, fact sheets, summaries, of climate change actions by government and business, and even a kids' page.


• RealClimate. "Real Climate: Climate Science from Climate Scientists." http://www.realclimate.org/ This is a good place to find out what the latest controversy in climate science is and what scientists are saying about it. This site received the 2005 Science and Technology Web Award from Scientific American.

Book Recommendations From NPR

Complete Holiday Book Recommendations 2009

(November 22, 2009)

"Season's Readings: Top Picks From Indie Booksellers"

Recommended by Daniel Goldin

The Hour Between, by Sebastian Stuart, paperback, 260 pages, Alyson Books, list price: $14.95
Await Your Reply, by Dan Chaon, Hardcover, 324 pages, Ballantine Books, list price: $25
Little Bee, by Chris Cleave, Hardcover, 288 pages, Simon & Schuster, list price: $24
Blame, by Michelle Huneven, Hardcover, 304 pages, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, list price: $25
Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life, by Carol Sklenicka, Hardcover, 592 pages, Scribner, list price: $35

"Season's Readings: Top Picks From Indie Booksellers"

Recommended by Rona Brinlee

Bad Things Happen, by Harry Dolan, Hardcover, 352 pages, Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam, list price: $24.95
Going Away Shoes, by Jill McCorkle, Hardcover, 272 pages, Algonquin Books, list price: $19.95
Logicomix: An Epic Search For Truth, by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou, Art by Alecos Papadatos and Annie DiDonna, Hardcover, 352 pages, Boolmsbury USA, list price: $22.95
This Is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper, Hardcover, 352 pages, Dutton Adult, list price: $25.95
The Tree That Time Built, selected by Mary Ann Hoberman and Linda Winston, illustrated by Barbara Fortin, Hardcover, 224 pages, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, list price: $19.99

"Season's Readings: Top Picks From Indie Booksellers"

Recommended by Lucia Silva


The Paris Review Interviews edited by Philip Gourevitch, Paperback, 1982 pages, Picador, list price: $65
Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire, edited by Graydon Carter, illustrated by Risko, Hardcover, 224 pages, Rodale Books, list price: $23.99
The Pattern In The Carpet: A Personal History With Jigsaws, by Margaret Drabble, Hardcover, 368 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, list price: $25
The Contact Sheet, edited by Steve Crist, Hardcover, 192 pages, AMMO Books, list price: $39.95
Wallace Stevens: Selected Poems, by Wallace Stevens, edited by John N. Serio, Hardcover, 352, Knopf, list price: $30

"The Five Best Books To Share With Your Friends"

Recommended by Glen Weldon

Conquest of the Useless by Werner Herzog, Hardcover, 306 pages, Ecco Books/Harper Collins Press, list price: $24.99
Asterios Polyp,edited by David Mazzucchelli, Hardcover, 344 pages, Pantheon, list price: $24.99
The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis, by Lydia Davis, Hardcover, 733 pages, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, list price: $30
The Supergirls, by Mike Madrid, Paperback, Exterminating Angel Press, list price: $16.95
Everything Matters!, by Ron Currie Jr., Hardcover, 302 pages, Viking/Penguin, list price: $25.95

"Big And Beautiful: Best Gift Books of 2009"

Recommended by John McAlley

Norman Rockwell: Behind The Camera, by Ron Schick, Hardcover, 224 pages, Little, Brown, and Co., list price: $40
The TOON Treasury of Classic Children's Comics, edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, Hardcover, 352 pages, Abrams ComicArts, list price: $40
A New Literary History of America edited by Greil Marcus and Werner Sollors, Hardcover, 1128 pages, Harvard University Press, list price: $49.95
Painting Today, edited by Tony Godfrey, Hardcover, 448 pages, Phaidon Press, list price: $75
The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman, Paperback, 512 pages, Penguin, list price: $25
Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life, by Charley Harper and Todd Oldham, Hardcover, 424 pages, AMMO Books, list price: $49.95
The TOON Treasury of Classic Children's Comics, edited by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, Hardcover, 352 pages, Abrams ComicArts, list price: $40
Science: The Definitive Visual Guide, by Adam Hart-Davis, Hardcover, 512 pages, DK Adult, list price: $50
Photo-wisdom: Master Photographers And Their Art, by Lewis Blackwell, Hardcover, 216 pages, Chronicle Books, list price: $50
Q&A's from Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire by Graydon Carter, Illustrated by Risko, Hardcover, 224 pages, Rodale Books, list price: $23.99
Looking In: Robert Frank's The Americans edited by Sarah Greenough, Hardcover, 528 pages, Steidl, list price: $75

"The 10 Best Cookbooks of 2009"

Recommended by T. Susan Chang



The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones, Hardcover, 288 pages, Knopf, list price: $27.95
Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas, and More, by Andrea Nguyen, Hardcover, 240 pages, Ten Speed Press, list price: $30
Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source with More Than 200 Recipes for a Healthy and Sustainable You by Terry Walters, Hardcover, 304 pages, Sterling Epicure, list price: $30
Gourmet Today: More Than 1000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen, by Ruth Reichl, Hardcover, 1024 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, list price: $40
Stir: Mixing It Up In The Italian Tradition by Barbara Lynch, Hardcover, 352 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, list price: $35
Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking, by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, Hardcover, 384 pages, Chronicle Books, list price: $50
Savory Baking by Mary Cech, Paperback, 168 pages, Chronicle Books, list price: $24.95
Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day, by Peter Reinhart, Hardcover, 224 pages, Ten Speed Press, list price: $30
The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco and Mindy Fox, Hardcover, 256 pages, Clarkson Potter, list price: $35
Rose's Heavenly Cakes, by Rose Levy Beranbaum, Hardcover, 512 pages, Wiley, list price: $39.95

"Picks To Warm A Winter's Night"

Recommended by Alan Cheuse



American Fantastic Tales edited by Peter Straub, Hardcover, 1500 pages, Library of America, list price: $70
Becoming Americans: Four Centuries of Immigrant Writing, edited by Ilan Stavans, Hardcover, 850 pages, Library of America, list price: $40
The Complete Stories of J.G. Ballard by J.G. Ballard, Hardcover, 1216 pages, W.W. Norton & Co., list price: $35
Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son, by Michael Chabon, Hardcover, 320 pages, Harper, list price: $25.99
City Boy: My Life in New York During the 1960s and '70s by Edmund White, Hardcover, 304 pages, Bloomsbury USA, list price: $26
Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, Illustrated by John Lawrence, Hardcover, 272 pages, Candlewick, list price: $24.99

"A World Of Novels: Picks For Best Foreign Fiction"

Recommended by Jess Crispin

Season of Ash: A Novel In Three Acts, by Jorge Volpi (Translated from Spanish by Alfred Mac Adam), Paperback, 464 pages, Open Letter, list price: $15.95
There Once Lived A Woman Who Tried To Kill Her
Neighbor's Baby, by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya (Translated from Russian by Keith Gessen and Anna Summers), Paperback, 224 pages, Penguin, list price: $15
The Armies, by Evelio Rosero (Translated from Spanish by Anne McLean), Paperback, 208 pages, New Directions, list price: $14.95
The Confessions of Noa Weber, by Gail Hareven (Translated from Hebrew by Dalya Bilu), Paperback, 330 pages, Melville House, list price: $16.95
The Twin, by Gerbrand Bakker (Translated from Dutch by David Colmer), Hardcover, 250 pages, Archipelago, list price: $25

"Best Young Adult Fiction 2009"

Recommended by Jonathan Hunt



Charles And Emma: The Darwin's Leap Of Faith, by Deborah Heiligman, Hardcover, 272 pages, Henry Holt and Co., list price: $18.95
Lips Touch: Three Times, by Laini Taylor, Illustrated by Jim Di Bartolo, Hardcover, 272 pages, Scholastic Press, list price: $17.99
The Lost Conspiracy, by Francis Hardinge, 576 pages, HarperCollins Children's Books, list price: $16.99
Marcelo In The Real World, by Francisco X, Stork, Hardcover, 320 pages, Scholastic Press, list price: $17.99
When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, Hardcover, 208 pages, Random House, list price: $15.99

"Under-The-Radar Gift Books"

Recommended by Librarian Nancy Pearl



Spooner, by Peter Dexter, Hardcover, 480 pages, Grand Central Publishing, list price: $26.99
When Wanders Cease To Roam: A Traveler's Journal Of Staying put, by Vivian Swift, Hardcover, 208 pages, Bloomsbury USA, list price: $20
The Good Soldiers, by David Finkel, Hardcover, 304 pages, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, list price: $26
Liar, by Justine Larbalestier, Hardcover, 384 pages, Bloomsbury USA, list price: $16.99
Going Bovine, by Libba Bray, Hardcover, 496 pages, Delacorte, list price: $17.99
In The Town All Year 'Round,by Rotraut Susanne Berner, Hardcover, 72 pages, Chronicle Books, list price: $16.99
Bubble Trouble, by Margaret Mahy, Hardcover, 32 pages, Clarion Books, list price: $16
Travels In A Thin Country: A Journey Through Chile, by Sara Wheeler, Paperback, 336 pages, Modern Library, list price: $13.95

New Book

• The Librarian's Book of Quotations compiled by Tatyana Eckstrand

Oh, the Places You'll Go

(Web Sites You Might Like)

This time of year many people experience seasonal stress. Additionally, the economy and other internal and external forces may conspire to bring about feelings of sadness or depression. The following lists of Web sites from Searcher: The Magazine for Database Professionals
include psychological tests and stress relief:

• Authentic Happiness Questionnaire Center (http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/questionnaires.aspx) "Martin Seligman, the founder of the Positive Psychology movement, offers 19 surveys on this site in return for free registration. Measure today's happiness and your characteristic level of satisfaction. Do you find meaning in your life? Do you have grit and perseverance? The results can serve as clues for your next life moves. This site is also available in Spanish and Chinese, traditional and simplified."


• Happier.com (http://happier.com/) "In return for free registration, take clinically validated tests and learn techniques for being happier, including gratitude, letting go of grudges, and recalling good things that happen each day. Personalized help is available for a subscription fee."


• Why Are We Happy? Why Aren't We Happy? (http://ted.com/index.php/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.html) "In this video from TED, Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert explains how our prefrontal cortex predicts (mostly incorrectly) what will make us happy." [this video was previously published on this blog]


• Portable Guide to Stress Relief (https://www.health.harvard.edu/PDFs/Stress_Relief_Guide.pdf) "Follow these few suggestions from Harvard Medical School to help alleviate stress. Ideas include reaching out to others, correcting negative assumptions, and physical relaxation techniques that you can practice on the go."


• The Happiness Project (http://www.happiness-project.com/) "Gretchen Rubin, former lawyer, spent a year looking for happiness by 'test-driving every principal, tip, theory, and scientific study I could find, whether from Aristotle or St. Therese or Martin Seligman or Oprah.' She writes about her findings on her blog."

Old Friends (you may not have met yet)

This month I am introducing a new regular feature to this blog in which I will highlight interesting and/or useful books from the Reference stacks. These books will not be new books, but may be new to you.

• How to Be a Perfect Stranger: The Essential Religious Etiquette Handbook edited by Stuart M. Matlins and Arthur J. Magida (3rd ed.) 2003

"We North Americans live in a remarkably diverse society, and it's increasingly common to be invited to a wedding, funeral, or other religious service of a friend, relative, or coworker whose faith is different from our own. These can be awkward situations...What will happen? What should I do? What do I wear? What do I say? What should I avoid doing, wearing, saying? Is it okay to use a video camera? How long will it last? What are the basic beliefs? Will there be there be a reception? Will there be food? Should I bring a gift? When is it okay to leave?" - from the back cover

New Books

• Training Paraprofessionals for Reference Service by Pamela L. Morgan

FYI: "This second edition of Training Paraprofessionals for Reference Service has been revised to incorporate the changes in reference librarianship since publication of the first edition in 1993, many of which have been brought on with the advent of the Internet: virtual reference, increasing use of electronic resources, the move to single-service points, an increase of self-services for patrons, the decrease in ready reference questions, and the general appearance of new technologies." - from the Preface

• Searching 2.0 by Michael P. Sauers
• Staff Development Strategies that Work: Stories and Strategies from New Librarians edited by Georgie L. Donovan and Miguel A. Figueroa

New Book

• The Accidental Librarian by Pamela H. MacKellar

New Books

• The Portable MLIS: Insights from the Experts edited by Ken Haycock and Brooke E. Sheldon
• More than MySpace: Teens, Librarians, and Social Networking edited by Robyn M. Lupa
• Virtual Worlds Real Libraries: Librarians and Educators in Second Life and Other Multi-User Virtual Environments edited by Lori Bell and Rhonda B. Trueman

New Feature

This month I am introducing a new regular feature to this blog in which I will highlight interesting and/or useful Web sites from professional journals. The mini articles will be transcribed directly from their sources.

Oh, the Places You'll Go

JustGive
http://www.justgive.org/

“Many nonprofit organizations suffer a double whammy during hard economic times – donations decrease but the need for charitable services increases. So when making a donation, you’ll want to be sure the money is well-spent. JustGive can help you identify charitable organizations that work in areas that interest you. The database of charitable organizations is grouped into 19 categories such as Arts & Culture, Children & Youth, and Human Rights. Or you can search by key word or by the name of the organization. The reports vary in the amount of detail. But for large charities such as Habitat for Humanity or the American Red Cross, you’ll get fairly complete financial details. If you find the raw financials daunting, though, you may want to try Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org/), which gives easy-to-understand ratings on nonprofits.” –Suzanne Cole

From: The CyberSkeptic’s Guide to Internet Research

New Book

• A Field Guide to the Information Commons edited by Charles Forrest and Martin Halbert

FYI: "Libraries have responded to their rapidly changing environment by selecting, acquiring, and making accessible a host of new information resources, developing innovative services, and building different types of spaces to support changing user behaviors and patterns of learning. A Field Guide to the Information Commons describes an emerging library service model that embodies all three spheres of response: new information resources, collaborative service programs, and redesigned staff and user spaces." -from the back cover

New Books

• Easy Information Sources for ESL, Adult Learners, & New Readers by Rosemarie Riechel
• Information Technology in Librarianship: New Critical Approaches edited by Gloria J. Leckie and John E. Buschman
• Even More Great Ideas for Libraries and Friends by Sally Gardner Reed and Beth Nawalinski of Friends of Libraries U.S.A.
• Introduction to Library Public Services (7th ed.) by G. Edward Evans and Thomas L. Carter

New Books

• What's the Alternative?: Career Options for Librarians and Info Pros by Rachel Singer Gordon
• Intranets for Info Pros edited by Mary Lee Kennedy and Jane Dysart

New Books

• Library Partnerships: Making Connections Between School and Public Libraries by Tasha Squires

FYI: "Squires's advice is designed to help librarians appreciate, communicate, and build on the benefits of school/public library relationships in order to make the most of tight budgets, create resource rich environments, and promote the development of lifelong learners. This book is a must-read for school and public librarians who want to successfully connect and collaborate with other youth-focused professionals." -from the back cover

New Book

• Sequels: An Annotated Guide to Novels in Series (4th ed) by Janet G. Husband and Jonathan F. Husband

FYI: "The fourth edition of Sequels differs from the first three editions in that it was composed online as a database (http://esequels.com). All the authors and series in the first three editions have been retained in revised and updated entries, and many new series created since 1977 have been added. This edition, like previous one, is a joint effort by Janet and Jonathan Husband." - from the Preface

New Material

Rethinking Collection Development in a Digital Age - delivered 12/05/03 (Urban Libraries Council)

FYI: Each audio conference unit contains a cassette of the conference plus printed materials.

New Books

• Reading Group Choices (2009): Selections for Lively Book Discussions
• The Back Page by Bill Ott
• The Children's Catalog (2009 Supplement to the 19th ed.)

Book Cart Drill Team - 2009

Here's the winner...DEMCO Sponsored 2009 ALA Fifth Annual Book Cart Drill Team World Championship
OPPL Warrior Librarians 1st Place Winners

New Books

• American Library Directory, 2009-2010 (62nd ed.) - 2 vol. set

FYI: Includes organization and personnel indices. You can request photocopies of listings and they will be sent to you through interoffice mail.

• Managing Children's Services in the Public Library by Adele M. Fasick and Leslie E. Holt

FYI: "Everything children's librarians need to know about running a department in the public library." -from the back cover

New Book

• Answering Consumer Health Questions: The Medical Library Association Guide for Reference Librarians by Michele Spatz

FYI: "Answering Consumer Health Questions: The Medical Library Association Guide for Reference Librarians is designed to help librarians provide health and medical information to their users. It is geared especially toward librarians who do not provide this type of information on a day-to-day basis, although even new and experienced medical librarians will find much here to use in their practice." - from the Preface

New Book - The Third in an Exciting Series of Posts (made you look, I hope)

• Research-Based Readers' Advisory by Jessica Moyer

FYI: "Written in straightforward terms, this one-stop guidebook provides an easily accessible resource for both research and its implications for everyday interactions with readers. Chapters include real-world examples of RA changes based on the results of research, as well suggestions for future study. Moyer offers extensive coverage on a wide range of topics, from book groups to audiovisual readers' advisory to collection development and management." -from back cover

New Books - The Second in an Exciting Series of Posts

• The New Inquisition: Understanding and Managing Intellectual Freedom Challenges by James LaRue
• Service Learning: Linking Library Education and Practice by Loriene Roy, Kelly Jensen, and Alex Hershey Meyers
• Managing Electronic Government Information in Libraries: Issues and Practices edited by Andrea M. Morrison for the Government Documents Round Table

New Books - The First in an Exciting Series of Posts

• ALA-APA Salary Survey: Librarian-Public and Academic, 2008 by Jenifer Grady and Denise M. Davis, Project Directors
• Implementing for Results: Your Strategic Plan in Action by Sandra Nelson for the Public Library Association
• Developing a Compensation Plan for Your Library (2nd ed.) by Paula M. Singer and Laura L. Francisco
• Transforming Library Service through Information Commons: Case Studies for the Digital Age by D. Russell Bailey and Barbara Gunter Tierney

Customer Service/Hospitality

Our libraries are busier and we are asked to do more with less, but if our service standards continue to rise, we will feel better about ourselves. Poor service does not lessen our burden or make our jobs easier, it makes our jobs harder and our workplace unpleasant. High quality service with good customer service benefits everyone. ALA TechSource posted a very interested article about service called "Plugging in With Kindness." Within the article are two videos that are worth watching.

Danny Meyer at Gel 2007 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.

New Books

• Inside, Outside, and Online: Building Your Library Community by Chrystie Hill

FYI: "Inside, Outside, and Online: Building Your Library Community provides practical advice and inspiration for building community with your library. Based on a scan of the community and technology environments within which libraries operate, related literature, and the practical experiences of hundreds of library staff actively building communities through their work, the book provides much needed insights into the essential elements of community building through
-Identifying user needs and designing services to meet those needs
-Engaging communities with service selection, creation, and iteration
-Utilizing practical new technologies..." - from the back cover

• The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction (2nd ed.) by Joyce Saricks

FYI: "This revised edition provides a way of understanding the vast universe of genre fiction in an easy-to-use format. Expert readers' advisor Joyce Saricks offers groundbreaking reconsideration of the connections among genres, providing
-Key authors and themes within fifteen genres
-The elements of fiction most likely to entice readers
-An explanation of how the different genres overlap

Provocative and spirited, The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction, second edition, offers hands-on strategies for librarians who want to become experts at figuring out what their readers are seeking and how to match books with those interests." - from the back cover

Challenged Books

Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books
of 2008
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom has released the list of the Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008. The children’s book, “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, remains at the top of the list for the third year in a row. “Tango” still faces frequent challenges for reasons that include religious viewpoint, homosexuality, and age appropriateness.

The ALA’s Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008 reflect a range of themes, and consist of the following titles:

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group

2. His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman
Reasons: political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, violence

3. TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

4. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, violence

5. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, violence

6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group

7. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

8. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen
Reasons: homosexuality, unsuited to age group

9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

10. Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper
Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group.

-From the PLA Blog

From the Funny Pages

Click on the cartoon to see the whole thing.

New Book

• Public Libraries and Internet Service Roles: Measuring and Maximizing Internet Services by Charles R. McClure and Paul T. Jaeger

FYI: "According to experts Charles McClure and Paul Jaeger, the Internet has had more impact on public libraries than any other technology since the creation of the book. It may not alter the fundamental nature the the public library, but there is no question that the Internet is changing the roles and expectations of public libraries." - from the back cover

Additionally, the References section is extensive and many of the sources listed are available electronically.

NPR Library Blog

According to American Libraries:
"National Public Radio's library has started As a Matter of Fact (www.npr.org/blogs/library), a blog covering 'everything from pop-culture in-sanity and weird pronunciations to the history of NPR and libraries in the news.'"

I have added the link to the Interesting Blogs sections.

New Material

• Foresight 2020 - Future Savvy: Trend Impacts and Organizational Readiness- delivered 12/10/2008(Urban Libraries Council)

FYI: Each audio conference unit contains a CD-ROM of the conference audio plus access to event materials. The accompanying binder also contains printed materials.

Please Note: The ULC library member reaction panel included Sheldon Kaye, Director, Lee County Library System.

Webinar Opportunities

If you enjoy sitting at your desk or logging into a computer at home to listen to a library-related webinar, then Library Journal has the opportunity for you. You will find webcasts of highly topical panel discussions available for downloading at the LJ Web site. Sponsored by vendors we know and use (e.g. Polaris, Novelist/NextReads) as well as universities and publishers, the topics are diverse and interesting. Of particular note is this archived webcast:

"The Everywhere Library: Strategies for Connecting with Busy Communities Sponsored by Polaris Library Systems. Starts: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at 2 PM Eastern Daylight Time
To become ingrained in the daily fabric of the community, libraries today must reach out and be visible where patrons live, work and play. Join this one-hour, interactive webcast to learn about strategies and best practices for bringing the library to the community."

Find the complete list here.

New Book

• Digital Consumers: Reshaping the Information Profession edited by David Nicholas and Ian Rowlands

FYI: "There is a need for a new belief system that will help information professionals survive and engage in a ubiquitous information environment, where they are no longer the dominant players, nor, indeed, the suppliers of first choice. The aim of this though-provoking book is to provide that overarching vision, built on hard evidence rather than on PowerPoint 'puff'." -from the back cover

Thinkfinity.org

from American Libraries Direct the e-newsletter of the American Library Association
March 11, 2009

"Have you checked out this new front door to explore Thinkfinity.org content yet? Thinkfinity.org is the Verizon Foundation’s online portal to 55,000 standards-based, grade-specific, K–12 lesson plans and other educational resources provided with many of the nation’s leading educational and literacy organizations. Trainers from Thinkfinity.org were on hand during the ALA Midwinter Meeting, demonstrating how librarians can use the site...."

This site is very interesting and looks like it may have good resources for traditional as well as homeschooling families.

New Book

• Information Literacy Instruction Handbook edited by Christopher N. Cox and Elizabeth Blakesley Lindsay

One of Our Own

Posted on ALA Web site
10/10/09

Mayo to Present

2009 Dr. Jean E. Coleman Library Outreach Lecture

CHICAGO – Kathleen Mayo, head of Outreach Services for the Lee County Library System headquartered in Ft. Myers, Fla, will present the 2009 Dr. Jean E. Coleman Outreach Lecture for the American Library Association’s Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS) at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.

The lecture honors the first director of the ALA Office for Literacy and Outreach Services for her leadership in focusing the association's attention on issues affecting the traditionally underserved and under-represented in libraries.

This year’s lecture, entitled “The Challenges and Opportunities of Serving America’s Elders," will look at the American population as it ages and how libraries are responding to the reality of true lifelong learning. Mayo will explore innovative approaches and broad thinking that have been successful in other arenas: examining our resources, partnering with dynamic community groups, engaging the energy of older adults and developing new models that work for our communities.

The event is sponsored by the OLOS Advisory Committee. For more information, visit www.ala.org/olos or contact Isaac Tufvesson at (800) 545-2433, ext. 2140, or itufvesson@ala.org.

The mission of OLOS, as a part of the ALA Member Programs and Services Department, is to identify and promote library services that support equitable access to the knowledge and information stored in libraries. OLOS focuses attention on services that are inclusive of traditionally underserved populations, and people generally discriminated against based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, language and social class. The Office ensures that training, information resources, and technical assistance are available to help libraries and librarians develop effective strategies to grow programs and services for library users.

New Books

• Great Displays for Your Library Step By Step by Susan P. Phillips
• Scorecards for Results: A Guide for Developing a Library Balanced Scorecard by Joseph R. Matthews
• Crash Course in Serving Spanish-Speakers by Salvador Avila

FYI: "Providing services to Spanish speakers is both an honor and a challenge. Before public institutions venture into reaching out to the Spanish-speaking community, they need to become familiar with their cultural competency so their decisions and initiatives are not at risk. This introduction will help libraries plan for attracting a rapidly growing Spanish-speaking population into the library and library services, a major challenge to librarians in small public libraries that have no Spanish-speaking staff." -from the back cover

Gaming

When it comes to gaming in the library, we do not have to reinvent the wheel. The Professional Collection has some books and there are fantastic resources assembled online by other libraries that have successfully hosted gaming events of all types. Click on the link below to read more.
The Librarian's Guide to Gaming:
An Online Toolkit for Building Gaming

New Books

• Teen Spaces: The Step-By-Step Library Makeover (2nd ed.) by Kimberly Bolan
• The Desk and Beyond: Next Generation Reference Services edited by Sarah K. Steiner and M. Leslie Madden
• Gamers in the Library: The Why, What, and How of Videogame Tournaments for All Ages by Eli Neiburger
• Licensing and Managing Electronic Resources by Becky Albitz
• Designing the Digital Experience: How to Use Experience Design Tools & Techniques to Build Custom Websites Customers Love by Avid Lee King
• Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2007-2008 by American Library Association and Information Institute, College of Information, & Florida State University

Book Reviews

Here is something from NPR from 2/19/09

Literary Death Spiral? The Fading Book Section
by Dick Meyer


“There is a literary death spiral. The less we read books, the less we read journalism; the less we read journalism, the less we read books. Reading skills atrophy or, worse, were never properly acquired to their fullest.”

"One of the sad, little sidebars to the sad, big saga of the waning of American newspapers is the disappearance of professional, edited book sections.

One of the last two major, stand-alone print book sections died this past Sunday, when The Washington Post published its last edition of Book World. The paper will still review books, but only The New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle will continue to run a full mini-magazine devoted to books. It is a heavy symbolic blow to readers, writers and publishers. And it is an injury to our collective literacy and, thus, to our wisdom and intellectual agility.

If that sounds snobbish, well, so be it. My mourning presupposes two things: Books have an especially high status on the great chain of media (higher than, say, columns, blogs, TV shows, magazine articles and Twitter tweets), and professional reviews with large readerships have virtues not shared by amateur, unedited or niche reviews, which are multiplying.

In the cosmic sense, the same trends that threaten newspapers threaten books. It isn't just a matter of "business models" and the proliferation of alternative and cheap forms of amusement — computers, mobile, video games and everything on demand, all the time.

There is an aversion to long chunks of sentences.

And there is a literary death spiral. The less we read books, the less we read journalism; the less we read journalism, the less we read books. Reading skills atrophy or, worse, were never properly acquired to their fullest.

The dire problem is that long chunks of sentences are still the best way humans have to express complex thoughts, intricate observations, fleeting emotions — the whole range of what we are. I have some confidence that newspaper (and broadcast) journalism can and will be successfully replaced on new platforms with different technologies and tools. I have no such confidence about replacing what lives in books. That is why it is important to howl at the demise of these little book sections.

Full disclosure, Part I: I published a book in August 2008. It was reviewed in quite a few newspapers, but not as many as "big" books by very well-known writers. It was reviewed by far more amateurs and bloggers. The ratio of positive to negative, as far as I can tell, was the same, and I was pleased by my reviews.

Full disclosure, Part II: I hope that NPR and NPR.org can compensate for the shrinking amount of professional book coverage in newspapers. So, I'm not arguing that the end of the book review section means that book readership and coverage are entering an inexorable decline.

And there may be lessons to learn. Maybe it's just me, but the default position of newspaper reviewers too often seems to be snarky and unappreciative, which I don't think is a necessary ingredient of smart criticism. Newspaper book editors have a frustrating proclivity to assign general interest books to competing authors or academics with very parochial perspectives rather than to reader-friendly generalists. By contrast, bloggers and Amazon reviewers seem more inclined to write as part of a community of readers — discerning and honest, yet respectful and supportive. That's a broad generalization for sure, but I think it has merit. The few print feature writers who write about books and authors also seem more generous than reviewers.

If this is so, I should be celebrating the democratization of book reviewing. And I do, to a degree. Thanks to the Web, there are certainly far more reviews easily available to any reader than ever before, be they bloggers or Amazonistas. That's great.

But it doesn't follow that the decline of professional writing about books is something to cheer about. It isn't. Both professional and amateur critics have their roles, and we are worse off without more of both. But newspaper critics had a special role, exposing a large, general readership to a wide variety of writers, books and genres with at least a modicum of fairness, civility and erudition.

More important, the collapse of professional reviewing is just part of a cultural devaluing of books and even formally written words. (The best look we have at the state of American reading comes from the National Endowment for the Arts.)

It is unclear whether the American attention span can support book reading for much longer. As children are reared on "Baby Einstein" and then fertilized by an ever expanding diet of fast-paced electronic stimulation, as our communication gets sliced and diced into instant messages and abbreviated e-mails, it would be unrealistic to expect our synapses to stay the same. We will simply like books less than we did.

In capitalism, value is allocated in the form of money. That less money is being allocated to books and book publicity means that the society values books less. Books must be the most unprofitable form of entertainment and media today. You can probably count the number of authors and publishers who make, say, top lawyer money on your fingers and toes. Celebrity rarely comes to authors just from their books, but instead through movies and television.
This is a cruel virtue in most ways. It is partly because book writing is largely immune from the huge profiteering and wildly promiscuous marketing of, say, the shampoo or video game businesses that so many fabulous, contrarian, angry and wholly unique novels, biographies, histories and political books are written. Big money has homogenized movies and television, for example, and a "winner take all" economy of culture distributes huge rewards to the most popular few, with less left for the oddballs and dissenters. That isn't true of books yet, though fewer authors can make livings writing and reviewing books.

The stand-alone book review section is just a bit player in all this. But it is the last venue for attention to books that has great stature and a large (ish) audience. Now it's being spiked, and that's not a good chapter. "

New Books

• Government Documents Librarianship: A Guide for the Neo-Depository Era by Lisa A. Ennis
• Checklist of Library Building Design Considerations (5th Ed.) by William W. Sannwald

• Information Literacy Meets Library 2.o edited by Peter Godwin and Jo Parker

FYI: "This edited collection from an international team if experts provides a practically based overview of emerging Library 2.0 tools and technologies for information literacy practitioners; addresses the impact of the adoption of these technologies on information literacy teaching; provides case study examplars for practioners to help inform their practice; and examines the implications of Library 2.0 for the training of information literacy professionals." - from the back cover

New Books

• Privacy and Confidentiality Issues: A Guide for Libraries and Their Lawyers by Theresa Chmara
• Librarians as Learning Specialists: Meeting the Learning Imperative for the 21st Century by Allison Zmuda and Violet H. Harada
• Managing Library Employees: A How-To-Do-It Manual by Mary J. Stanley

• Virtual Reference best Practices: Tailoring Services to Your Library by M. Kathleen Kern

FYI: "When it comes to virtual reference, one size doesn't fit all. What works in one library won't necessarily work in another. How do you figure out what to do? Kern, a leading virtual reference expert, outlines the tools and decision-making process that will help you and your library evaluate, tailor and launch virtual reference services that are a perfect fit for your community and your library." -from the back cover.

White House Library - Not Just Books

From Rolling Stone

Obama's Secret Record Collection
Inside the White House Record Library

DAVID BROWNE

When Barack Obama moved into the White House on January 20th, he gained access to five chefs, a private bowling alley — and a killer collection of classic LPs. Stored in the basement of the executive mansion is the official White House Record Library: several hundred LPs that include landmark albums in rock (Led Zeppelin IV, the Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed), punk (the Ramones' Rocket to Russia, the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols), cult classics (Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica, the Flying Burrito Brothers' The Gilded Palace of Sin) and disco. Not to mention records by Santana, Neil Young, Talking Heads, Isaac Hayes, Elton John, the Cars and Barry Manilow.

During the waning days of the Nixon administration, the RIAA, the record companies' trade group, decided the library should include sound recordings as well as books. In 1973, the organization donated close to 2,000 LPs. The bad news: The selection was dominated by the likes of Pat Boone, the Carpenters and John Denver. In 1979, legendary producer John Hammond convened a new commission to update the list for the hipper Carter administration. "They felt they needed to redress some of the oversights that might have taken place the first time around," says Boston music critic and author Bob Blumenthal, who was put in charge of adding 200 rock records to the library.

At the commission's first meeting, Blumenthal brought up Randy Newman's thorny dissection of Southern culture, Good Old Boys, to determine what restrictions the panel might face. "That was exhibit A," Blumenthal says. "And I was told, 'Oh, the president loves that album! Go ahead!' " So Blumenthal and his advisers — including Paul Nelson, then Rolling Stone's reviews editor — compiled a list to reflect "diversity in what was going on in popular music." They picked the Kinks' Arthur for its "theme of empire," and Blumenthal snuck in favorites like David Bowie's Hunky Dory.

On January 13th, 1981, the LPs — each in a sleeve with a presidential seal — were presented to Jimmy Carter at a White House ceremony. But the collection — placed in a hallway near the third-floor listening room, complete with a sound system — didn't remain upstairs long. When Ronald Reagan took office that year, the LPs were moved to the basement. Depending on the source, the reason was Nancy Reagan's distaste for shelves of vinyl, or the edgy choices themselves. A spokesman for Obama said it was too early to comment on whether the president would revive the library. But Obama may be pleased to learn that at least a few of his favorite albums — Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run — are there if he wants them on pristine slabs of vinyl.

[From Issue 1071 — February 5, 2009]

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Here is the news release from ALA about the Consumer Product Safety Commission issue.

NEWS
For Immediate Release
January 26, 2009

ALA Files Comments, Urges CPSC To Exempt Libraries from Regulation Under Consumer Product Safety Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Library Association (ALA) today filed comments with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), urging the commission to issue notification confirming that the new lead limits under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSIA) do not apply to library books and related materials.

Under the CPSIA, which was passed by Congress in August, children’s products are required to undergo stringent testing for lead and phthalates. Currently, the General Counsel of the CPSC is interpreting the law to apply to ordinary, paper-based books for children 12 years of age or younger, so that all such books and product would have to be tested for lead content. Therefore, public, school, academic and museum libraries would be required either to remove all their children’s books or ban all children under 12 from visiting the facilities as of February 10.

The ALA’s comments explain that the new CPSIA standards applicable to children’s products should not apply to library books on library shelves prior to February 10. Since a library’s books are neither “produced” nor “distributed” by the library, the law should not apply to library books. At this point, however, the CPSC has indicated that the law will apply to libraries.

Additionally, the ALA’s comments reaffirm the comprehensive evidentiary support the publishing community has supplied the Commission that children’s books do not present any of the health or safety risks to children that the law aims to address. This evidence provides an ample basis for CPSC to exercise its regulatory authority to determine that books inherently satisfy the new lead standards.

Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the ALA Washington Office, said it is critical the CPSC take these comments into consideration.

“If the commission does not correct their ruling to include library books under the regulation of the Consumer Product Safety Act, communities and schools across the country are going to be shocked and outraged on February 10,” Sheketoff said.

“While we understand the process the CPSC must carry out in order to ensure this law is properly enforced and that the safety of our nation’s children is protected, we believe the commission is wasting time and resources by zeroing in on book

publishers and libraries. It is our hope that this matter will be resolved soon, so that libraries can continue their efforts to serve children without the threat of closing their doors.”

The ALA’s letter to the CPSC can be viewed here.

New Book

Magazines for Libraries (17th ed.) edited by Cheryl LaGuardia [created by Bill Katz]

FYI: This is the 2009 edition of this annual publication. Entries include title, ISSN, frequency & price, URL, peer-reviewed status, where indexed, intended audience, etc. Magazine titles are grouped by subject with both title and subject indices. This book is similar to Ulrich's Periodicals Directory, but the scope is limited to materials one might desire in a library. Of note in modern times, zines are also included.

New Book

• Emanuel Goldberg and His Knowledge Machine: Information, Invention, and Political Forces by Michael Buckland

FYI: "This book tells the story of Emanuel Goldberg, a chemist, inventor, and industrialist who contributed to almost every aspect of imaging technology in the first half of the 20th century. Photographic sensitometry, reprographics, standardized film speeds, color printing (moire effect), aerial photography, extreme microphotography (microdots), optics, camera design (the Contax), the first hand-held movie camera, and early television technology-Goldberg was involved with all of them. Yet history has not been kind to him, and his name has been all but erased from the annals of information science." (from the back cover)