Pimp my Bookcart

Book Cart Pimpin'

This is amazing because A. my library director sent me the link and B. because it's just fun stuff. Our tech services department has been considering how we could pimp some of our own book carts for next year's competition. I can't give away our ideas though...

Googlization

Sitting at the reference desk on a Sunday is pretty slow. It's the end of the semester so most of the questions are regarding creating citations for bibliographies or panic about frozen computers and unsaved research papers. In between requests for help, I'm catching up on reading professional literature.

Library Journal (Vol. 132, no. 18) directed me to the work of Siva Vaidhyanathan, who is writing a book online titled The Googlization of Everything. His blog is a really interesting examination of the role of Google in information access. In particular, I'm really interested in his analysis of the partnership of Google and several libraries in the digital library project. Haven't come to my own decisions about it yet, but he brings up some really interesting points.

A Good Cause

My library director just sent this link around: http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/main.asp?SectionID=43&subsectionID=120&articleID=7533

If you need to get your license plate renewed in Georgia before the end of the month, please consider buying one of these new library plates! Proceeds go to purchasing new materials for public libraries.

Rowling Outs Dumbledore

Just read this while sitting at the reference desk...in a question and answer session in New York author of the Harry Potter series J.K. Rowling outed Dumbledore. Asked if Dumbledore had ever been in love, Rowling replied that she had always thought of him as gay and that perhaps he had been in love with his nemesis, the dark wizard Grindelwald, who he defeated in a battle of magic.

I think that this is awesome. Doesn't change the books one whit and doesn't change the characterization of Dumbledore in the novel. I do fear that this does give further ammunition to parents who try to get the books banned from libraries and schools. I can only imagine the claims that will now come out about Dumbledore's interest in Harry and if he should be a school administrator, etc. It would be great though if instead people were able to read the books and see him instead as just a positive role model.

Duelling Moustaches

On Wednesday our campus had it's fall festival - AASU Day. Our library booth won Most Creative which was definitely justified as we'd put a lot of hard work into creating quite the scene. Our theme was "Your future starts at Lane Library" and we had a gypsy telling fortunes inside the tent (of how the library would help them in their future) and a Wheel of Destiny outside the tent to spin for prizes. Here's a picture of our library director and I working our magic as carnival barkers. While my fake moustache got rave reviews, it just can't compete with the real thing.

Banned Books Week

I'm a week late. The ALA sponsored Banned Books Week ended this past Saturday, but still I thought that it was interesting to note their top ten list of most challenged books for 2006:

• "And Tango Makes Three," by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, for homosexuality, anti-family and unsuited to age group.

• "Gossip Girls" series, by Cecily Von Ziegesar, for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group and offensive language.

• "Alice" series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, for sexual content and offensive language.

• "The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things," by Carolyn Mackler, for sexual content, anti-family, offensive language and unsuited to age group.

• "The Bluest Eye," by Toni Morrison, for sexual content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group.

• "Scary Stories" series, by Alvin Schwartz, for occult/Satanism, unsuited to age group, violence and insensitivity.

• "Athletic Shorts," by Chris Crutcher, for homosexuality and offensive language.

• "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," by Stephen Chbosky, for homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language and unsuited to age group.

• "Beloved," by Toni Morrison, for offensive language, sexual content, and unsuited to age group.

• "The Chocolate War," by Robert Cormier, for sexual content, offensive language and violence.

I don't know the rest of you, but knowing that they are challenged just makes me want to read them more!

Lyrical Ode to Librarians

Just came across this from reading the Tame the Web blog. Local North Carolina indie rockers, SNMNMNM, have recorded a catchy little ditty in honor of a librarian that they know. The song is great because it's about the experience of a patron who is helped by a reference librarian who helps them find some pretty obscure information. Besides that, I've never heard call numbers sung so that they tug on my heart strings before.

What's also cool is that the band is inviting librarians to record themselves singing along to the song so that they can be included in a music video montage. AND there's a library challenge to find the books belonging to the call numbers highlighted in the song. First ten entrants win a CD.

Check them out: http://addywillknow.pbwiki.com/