The Gypsy Librarian

Article Note: On Progressive LGBTQ Reference

2012-01-27T15:46:00.000-06:00

Citation for the article:

Mehra, Bharat and Donna Braquet, "Progressive LGBTQ Reference: Coming Out in the 21st Century." Reference Services Review 39.3 (2011): 401-422.

Read via Emerald.

I found this to be a pretty good, practical article, and I will probably share it with the campus sex education specialist. Maybe it will spark a conversation or two. The basic question of the article is whether reference services have kept up with ways and tools to meet the learning and information needs of the LGBTQ community. The article presents a practice-based framework for these services. The authors also mention that library outreach needs to affirm its mission by seeking out and developing partnerships with other campus units such as student organizations; that is a lot of what I do here in my current role as the Outreach Librarian. However, the article did give me some additional ideas that I hope to apply in expanding that mission here. Such partnerships can facilitate new and better library programs. In addition, the authors state that virtual reference can also be an important service tool for LGBTQ patrons. This is due to the anonymity element virtual reference can offer, which the authors discuss in the article.

The article presents research done at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, which, as the authors cite, is an area "known for its conservative social views stemming from strong held religious influences, [that] is in the heart of the 'Bible Belt'" (405). The description of that area is very applicable to the area I currently work in. So, if those folks can make some positive efforts in regard to LGBTQ issues, maybe we could take some steps here as well. The review portion of the article goes on to state various diversity and LGBTQ-friendly initiatives the campus has taken. The authors also describe their libraries as having been "a leader on campus with regards to diversity initiatives" (405). That is something every academic library should aspire to do.

The authors go on to describe their research methods including use of qualitative study in the form of interviews of self-identified LGBTQ people. The questions asked that were related to the library and information services are useful ones to gather some good data. For the authors, this led to a reflective process that included doing a SWOT analysis and identifying opportunities and potential partnerships in order to move forward. The article then includes excellent, practical ideas for action.

Selected notes from the article:

This quote from a patron, cited by the authors, made me think: "When you are coming out and digging for information, it is really important to be able to find information about yourself. You want to read stuff about you and what you are trying to figure out. Maybe a website that directs you right to the areas where you can find LGBTQ books or spotlight a gay books now and then on the library homepage. So having something that they can discover on their own, something that they don't have to go too far into the library website or the university website, for that matter, would be good. If you promote that you have these resources and let people know where they are, it will do a lot for those struggling to come out" (408).
Online information is crucial, especially since people at times may not feel comfortable asking a reference librarian at the reference desk. Online resources need to be relevant, local as well as external, and promote knowledge growth for the LGBTQ patrons, their allies, and I will add those people just wanting to learn more. This also includes virtual reference.
Again, I am reminded that I need to develop an LGBTQ research guide for us here. We use LibGuides here, so I've got that tool. The usual challenge is the lack of time (plus the possibility someone up above may say "what do we need that for?" or slightly worse).
On how librarians need to change: "In order to make this possible, traditionalist reference librarians will have to poke their 'ostrich heads' out of the proverbial sands of heterosexism and prejudice and learn to discard using outdated efforts towards LGBTQ matters and outgrow resistance that in the past have included (Mehta and Braquet, 2007b): ignoring or excluding any LGBTQ references in communication and information exchanges; being ignorant of LGBTQ concerns and thinking that is an acceptable excuse; maintaining status quo and refusing to change the way things function; not discarding heterosexual assumptions; using delaying and strategic actions of diverting attention or bureaucractic procedures; and making token gestures that do not make real changes" (409). For librarians, ignorance is not an excuse nor an option. And any librarian who behaves as described above, whether to LGBTQ patrons or any other patron that may not fit their paradigm or prejudices (racial, ethnic, orientation, etc.), as far as I am concerned they are as bad as those unethical pharmacists who refuse to provide legal contraception because their sky fairy beliefs take precedence. Those people should be fired and removed from their profession for they have failed to be professionals, not to mention failing at being human beings.
Why we need knowledgeable librarians in this regard. The authors cite another patron, and what happened to this patron should not have happened as far as I am concerned. Not in my library if I can help it. The scenario: "I contacted a librarian by e-mail for a paper I was doing and we never could meet, so she left me a packet behind the reference desk. She was helpful and not discriminatory or anything but over half the resources she gave me were not what I needed. They were off-the-wall and conservative. She wasn't doing it on purpose or anything; it was just not at all what I needed. So, having someone there who is familiar enough with subject matter to lead you in the right direction would have been helpful" (409). I think this patron may be a bit more charitable than I might be. Sounds like the librarian failed to do any form of reference interview, and she just picked out whatever she could find guided by her own prejudices. I will go so far as to tell colleagues that if they do not want to deal with someone based on something like this, refer them to me. I will be happy to take care of them.
Community engagement is crucial.
Training for librarians, especially those who may be less knowledgeable, is important. "For reference services to become a beacon of support to all LGBTQ individuals, this will mean, first and foremost, for reference librarians to spend some time to become familiar with the coming out profess so that they can effectively assist a range of LGBTQ individuals. . . . "(411).
The library's outreach role is crucial as well. This is something I work and strive for. The authors write, "instead, in order to stay relevant in the twenty-first century there needs to be a paradigm shift in the outreach liaison functionality of the academic library (including reference) to promote itself as a proactive player and supporter of LGBTQ concerns in the campus and surrounding community (Mehra and Srinivasan, 2007)" (qtd. in 412).
More on outreach, the authors describe this scenario. This is something I do try to do when I am doing outreach work; I do quite a lot of tables and booths at events, which makes me in essence a public face for the library. They write, "when the library does outreach, say at tables or booths at events, the library should get across the message the library is the place to find resources on all types of issues of diversity, including LGBT" (413).
I found the idea of using a university library's chat service intriguing. The authors describe a collaboration with local school librarians and GSA groups promoting the academic library as a resource for all, whether they are affiliated to the university or not. This is facilitated by the fact the chat service is anonymous and requires no log-in. What we use now is also anonymous and requires no log-in. Given the restraints I face, I am not sure I could propose this for the library's chat reference, but it might work for my own Meebo chat box in my research guides so folks needing assistance from schools and the community could contact me. I would like to investigate this further.
This quote on social justice also made me think. I find myself often going back to the ideas of social justice because it goes with who I am in spite of the prevailing environment I currently work in. It also takes me back the idea of library neutrality that I have reflected upon before. The quote in question: "It suggests the need for traditional academic librarians and others to play a more proactive social justice and social advocacy role to meet the needs of LGBTQ populations and other minorities who are pigeon-holed on the margins of society owing to prevailing trends of heterosexism, homophobia, racism, sexism, and other unfair and unjust legal, social, cultural, economic, and political rhetoric, values, behavior, and discriminatory practices" (417).

Reading notes from Zen Lessons: The Art of Leadership

2012-01-23T16:59:00.000-06:00

"I said I never had much use for one. Never said I didn't know how to use it." --Matthew Quigley, from the film Quigley: Down Under.

Quigley was taking about revolvers and pistols. For me, that pretty much describes how I see leadership, and especially management, in librarianship. I may not have much use for it, but it does not mean I am ignorant of leadership theory and practice. Anyhow, how often does one quote a Tom Selleck film in a librarianship blog? Sometimes you find a little wisdom in strange places.

I read the book Zen Lessons: The Art of Leadership a while back. I have a small interest in the topic of leadership and how it applies to librarianship. I don't consider myself an expert on the topic, but I try to learn a bit here and there and reflect on the topic. I just don't brag or talk about it very much. I did jot down some ideas from the book I found interesting or worthy of reflection, so I figured it would be good to jot them down here. Page numbers from the book included.

A couple of quotes from the point when I started reading the book:

"Therefore, it is said, 'Accumulate learning by study, understand what you learn by questioning" (1).
"Nothing is more essential to leadership and teachership than carefully discerning what to take and what to leave aside" (7).

A little bit on making decisions:

"It is essential to leadership that one should take far-reaching and the great, and leave off the shortsighted and the petty" (24) .
"So it is said, 'Planning is with the many, decision is done alone.' By planning with the group, one can examine the ultimate effect of benefit or harm; by deciding oneself, one can determine right or wrong for the community" (24).

On not forgetting danger and risk:

"Therefore a superior person is one who when safe does not forget danger, and who in times of order does not forget about disorder" (43).

On sharing and teaching wisdom. For me, sharing and teaching are important aspects of being a librarian as well as what I do as an educator. I think to a large extent I define myself as a librarian on the basis of sharing the wisdom with others:

"Greed and hatred are worse than plunderous--oppose them with wisdom. Wisdom is like water-- when unused it stagnates, when stagnant it does not circulate, and when it does not circulate, wisdom does not act. What can wisdom do about greed and hatred then?" (64).

On seeking a Middle Way:

"In managing affairs one must weight the heavy and the light; when speaking out one must first think and reflect. Strive to accord with the middle way, do not allow bias" (74).

Article Note: On Campus Climate and GLBT Resources in Academic Libraries

2012-01-20T10:31:00.000-06:00

Citation for the article:

Ciszek, Matthew P., "Out on the Web: The Relationship Between Campus Climate and GLBT-related Web-based Resources in Academic Libraries." The Journal of Academic Librarianship 37.5 (September 2011): 430-436.

Read via Library Literature and Information Science database.

I found the recommendations at the end of the article to be the most useful part, but I did get some points for reflection and further thinking from the article overall. This is a relevant article from librarians seeking to be more aware of the issues as well as for those seeking to provide better services and resources for members of the LGBT community. While providing both print and online diverse collections is important, the article focuses on online and we-based resources. This is because online resources are specially essential to serve those who may be reluctant to approach library staff in person and/or may not be open about their orientation.

The article discusses results of a survey of 259 schools asking three questions (I paraphrased them slightly. The exact text in article on page 432):

Does the library have research guides on the LGBT topics or geared to these students?
Is there a dedicated selector for this topic, or at least a contact in the library for more information?
Does the library subscribe to GLBT Life Database?

I will put myself on the line by answering the questions as they apply to my institution:

Not at this time.
Unofficially, I would be that selector. However, the fact that I have some expertise or that I am the one who, primarily, selects materials in that area is not advertised by the library. In fact, there has been questioning of the fact I do such selections. I usually do a book display for Pride Month in June, which has met with some degree of objection as well locally. I do it anyways. As a disclosure note, I am one two advisors for the campus LGBTQA group. Some people are aware I do it, but overall they are indifferent about it.
No.

The author states that library online catalogs, special collections and print materials were excluded from the research. This was done to focus on general resources, which the author states would be available in most academic libraries (432). I can see the point to this, but I wondered if eliminating the print also leaves out the possibility of finding materials by browsing.. However, I do see the point as well regarding stigma when it comes to finding these kind of materials then checking them out of the library.

Though the author did find that there was a relationship between campus climate and the availability of LGBT resources, the places with said resources seemed low in number:

"Evidence of a GLBT research guide was found at only 25% of libraries surveyed, and evidence of a selector or resource contact was found at even fewer libraries surveyed" (434).
A subscription to the database was found a bit more often, but the author credits this to the fact that, in many cases, the database may be bundled in a larger database package. Also, smaller institutions might find GLBT Life to be too expensive.

The article gives some very good recommendations for action. I will jot down some with brief comments:

"Create a top-level research guide geared toward GLBT-related topics and resources on the library's Web site" (435). We could easily do it since we use LibGuides here. However, since I would be the one doing it, odds are good this would not be a high priority given the many other things I do have to do. I would like to do it; I just don't see the time opening up to do it at this point in time, and since this topic is not a high priority, there is no incentive. The author mentions that often LGBT materials get tossed in or put into larger guides for topics like Gender Studies or Women's Studies. He makes a valid point that some students may not think to look in these guides We currently do not have a Gender Studies nor a Women's Studies research guide in our library. I guess no one ever requested one. Something more to consider.
"Assign a selector for GLBT materials who is tasked to keep abreast of resources in the area of GLBT studies and purchase materials for the GLBT community on campus as budgets allow" (435). As I mentioned, I do this in an unofficial capacity. The literature selector here does purchase a thing or two, but GLBT is not a high priority overall. What I do select in large measure is part of my work and efforts for library outreach. It basically gets done as long as I do it.
"Highlight GLBT related collections and resources on the library's Web site, newsletter, and other institution communications to the campus community at large" (435). We do some of this. As the Outreach Librarian, I handle the library's communications to the campus and community at large. We do blog content, which does get channeled into our social media, mainly Facebook page and Twitter. I have also used the internal campus bulletin board for some of this, usually to announce a book display or event (something I do for other observances and topics as well).
"Perform an assessment of GLBT students, faculty, and staff information and resource needs and create a plan for meeting these needs" (435). Something I would like to do, but I may not be able to get to right away. In this regard, I would like to read a bit more on this assessment topic, and the article does provide some references I could use as a starting point. Then again, there are other areas where I would like to do needs assessment, if I can actually get the time instead of having to do a lot of busywork (but I will not go into that now). I am thinking a good place to start is with the local campus LGBTQA group.

Here is one final point from the article that made me think a bit:

"Mehra and Bracquet argue that academic librarians should become 'change agents' by not only improving the library collections and services to GLBT persons but also by promoting the equality of these people in society and in the institutions where they work" (431).

Why did that make me think? For one, I do wonder how one or two librarians can do such in an overall environment that is not very friendly to 'change agents' (related to LGBT or any other issue for that matter). I am not saying that librarians then in such a setting should not do anything; silence is worse, but to what extent do you put your neck on the line when repercussions can be a very real possibility? And I am thinking in general terms here. For me, this goes along with the whole idea of library neutrality, an idea I have struggled with at times and pondered (see here, here, and here). Change agent to me is more than just some twopointopian "visionary" (to borrow the term from the Annoyed Librarian). I have no problem with the idea; it's the carrying it out that at times I ponder.

Anyhow, leave my musings aside. If this is a topic that interests you, you probably should read this article.

My Reading List for 2011

2012-01-08T16:23:00.000-06:00

I made it to the end of another year and to the beginning of another. It is a good time to look back at what I've read in the past year in terms of books. This is also a nice exercise I enjoy as it gives me a sense of what I've enjoyed and how my reading tastes and patterns may have changed or not. This past year I did not blog as much in the professional blog (this space) for various reasons; one of those reasons was lack of time, or as some other celebrity blogger once said, "life trumps blogging." I also felt a stronger urge to read more. Before I ran the tally, I had the feeling I had read less books this year. I did spend a lot more time reading, often turning off the television to do so. While I read a lot online, much of it via a feed reader, I still continue to read books. I still read books in print. I have not made the transition to an e-reader, nor do I have the desire to do so at this point. If any of my three readers are interested, here are some small thoughts on e-readers that I jotted down on the scratch pad, Alchemical Thoughts, a while back.

Allow me to make a small aside before I go on with the list and the rest of the commentary. When I say "books read," I mean exactly that. Recently, I saw some blogger out there getting picking over distinguishing "pages read" (what she prefers to measure) versus "books read" (what most people I know and I prefer to measure, which seems to be fairly common). That is just way too "OCD" and persnickety to me, and it sounds a bit snobbish to be honest because it implies some books are better than others, so if they have less pages, they count less. Hey, if it works for her, fine, but to me as a reader and librarian, that is just a bunch of hogwash (to be polite). Now, if I did a page count, I would likely get a pretty substantial number given the many articles I read (and I will note that while I did not blog article notes as often this year, I still read a lot of LIS articles, along with some others). Plus, how would one measure blogs, online articles, newspapers online or not, so on? In the end, I am interested in books, all books for purposes of this exercise, be they art books, graphic novels, manga, picture books, novels, anthologies, histories, etc. Saying some books are less valid because they have less pages, what that lady said, is just pretentious crap. As a librarian dedicated to encouraging others to read, I encourage all kinds of reading. Maybe part of why I do this is to show that reading can be done, that it can be enjoyed, and that you can read a variety of things. Reading books (and this certainly includes audiobooks-- hey, that is just someone reading to you-- and e-books) is reading. This caught my eye enough I felt a need to say something because I want people to read freely, to read what they want, when they want. And that's all I've to got to say about that.

Let's get on with it. Starting with the basic numbers:

Number of books read in 2011: 119, with 3 re-reads.

Number of books read in 2010: 119, with 6 rereads (the 2010 list).
Number of books read in 2009: 98, with 5 rereads. I believe this is the first time I started to actively track rereads. (the 2009 list).
Number of books read in 2008: 111 (the 2008 list).
Number of books read in 2007: 85 (the 2007 list).
Number of books read in 2006: 106 (the 2006 list).
Number of books read in 2005: 73

An interesting coincidence: I read the same exact number of books this year as I did last year. I was expecting a lower number considering that I picked up a few large omnibus editions that took me a long time to read through, but they were very enjoyable. Omnibus books are those that collect a series of works in one volume, usually (at least from the ones I've picked up) three to five novels, with a short story or two connecting the novels. They are usually advertised or labeled as "omnibus" (but not always). Anyhow, I count those as one book in the tally even though I am reading three or four books in one package. Also, as folks will note when they see the list, I did have some very low count months. In the end, it was nice to see things balanced out.

As I have done before, I will include other numbers along with my commentaries after the list. Books with an asterisk are books that I reread this year. As always, if a book title is not as clear, I have added small details in parenthesis (say to make clear it is a graphic novel or part of a series). If I posted a review to one of the blogs, then I will provide a link. Otherwise, you can find the books on my GoodReads profile (link on the right side column of the blog). Last year, I tracked how many books I borrowed, and I will continue this year as well.

The books I have read:

January:

Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead, Book One (Hardcover compilation).
Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead, Book Two (Hardcover compilation).
Frank Herbert, Dune.
David Grann, The Lost City of Z.
Hiroya Oku, Gantz, Vol. 3.
Ha Jin, Facing Shadows.
Charles Portis, True Grit.
Tetsu Kariya, Oishinbo, Vol. 1: Japanese Cuisine.
Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, et.al., Essential Captain America, Vol. 1.
Ed Brubaker, Batman: The Man Who Laughs.
Zhou Zuoren, Selected Essays of Zhou Zuoren (Chinese-English Bilingual Edition).
Joe Schrieber, Death Troopers (Star Wars novel)
Neil Pasricha, The Book of Awesome.
Tsutomu Nihei, Biomega, Vol. 1.

February:

Jamie Oliver, Jamie's America: Easy Twists on Great American Classics, and More.
Joe Schreiber, Red Harvest (Star Wars novel).
Makoto Yukimura, Planetes, Book 1.
Brad Warner, Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies & the Truth About Reality.
Bob Schreck, Jurassic Park, Vol. 1: Redemption.
Ha-Joon Chang, 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism.
Marc Guggenheim, Stephen King's N.

March:

Mario Vargas Llosa, Los Cuadernos de Don Rigoberto.
Hiroshi Hirata, Satsuma Gishiden, Vol. 1.
Brian Michael Bendis, Elektra: The Scorpio Key.
Tilar J. Mazzeo, The Secret of Chanel No. 5: The Intimate History of the World's Most Famous Perfume.
Robert B. Reich, Aftershock.
Mollie V. Blackburn, Acting Out: Combating Homophobia Through Teacher Activism.
Rei Hiroe, Black Lagoon, Vol. 1.

April:

Jay Leno, Headlines.*
Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead, Book 3 (Hardcover compilation).
Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead, Book 4 (Hardcover compilation).
R.A. Salvatore, Streams of Silver (The Legend of Drizzt #5, graphic novel adaptation).
Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead, Book 5 (Hardcover compilation).
R.A. Salvatore, The Halfling's Gem (The Legend of Drizzt #6, graphic novel adaptation).
Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead, Book 6 (Hardcover compilation).
Pete Jordan, Dishwasher: One Man's Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States.
Samuel L. Jackson, Cold Space.
Christopher Hitchens, Letters to a Young Contrarian.
Rei Hiroe, Black Lagoon, Vol. 2.
Karen Valby, Welcome to Utopia: Notes from a Small Town.
Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes, Unshelved, Vol. 1.
Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes, What Would Dewey Do? An Unshelved Collection.

May:

Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes, Library Mascot Cage Match: an Unshelved Collection.
Geoff Johns, Green Lantern, Vol. 4: The Sinestro Corps War, Vol. 1.
Agatha Christie, Poirot's Early Cases.
Greg Grandin, Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City.

June:

Madeleine Rosca, Hollow Fields, Vol. 1.
Gregory Dicum, The Coffee Book: Anatomy of an Industry from Crop to the Last Drop.
Graham McNeill, The Ultramarines Omnibus (Warhammer 40K).
Tsuneo Takano, RalΩGrad. Vol. 1.

July:

Geoff Johns, Green Lantern, Vol. 5: The Sinestro Corps War, Vol. 2.
Akihisa Ikeda, Rosario+Vampire, Vol. 1.
Rei Hiroe, Black Lagoon, Vol. 3.
Anthony Boucher, The Compleat Boucher: The Complete Short Science Fiction and Fantasy of Anthony Boucher.
David Boaz, ed., The Libertarian Reader: Classic and Contemporary Readings from Lao Tzu to Milton Friedman.
Yukio Takamura, Caged Slave.
Bisco Hatori, Ouran High School Host Club, Vol. 1.
Justin Richardson, And Tango Makes Three.
Sarah S. Brannen, Uncle Bobby's Wedding.
Kurt Busiek, Conan, Volume 2: The God in the Bowl and Other Stories.

August:

Noel Botham and The Useless Information Society, The World's Greatest Book of Useless Information.
Garon Tsuchiya, Old Boy, Vol. 1.
Kurt Busiek, et.al., Conan, Vol. 4: The Halls of the Dead and Other Stories.
Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World and Other Stories.
Maureen Stanton, Killer Stuff and Tons of Money.

September:

Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan, eds., A Passion for Books.*
Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele, The Surrogates.
Paulo Freire, Teachers as Cultural Workers.
Timothy Truman, Conan, Vol. 5: Rogues in the House and Other Stories.
Daniel Chanan Matt, The Essential Kabbalah.
Jesse Ventura, 63 Documents the Government Doesn't Want You to Read.
Joe Hill, Locke and Key, Vol. 4: Keys to the Kingdom.
Joss Whedon, Astonishing X-Men Omnibus.
Carl Zimmer, A Planet of Viruses.
Mark Ovenden, Railway Maps of the World.
Will Eisner, The Best of the Spirit.

October:

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, Batman: The Long Halloween.*
Kazuo Koike, Lone Wolf and Cub, Vol. 1: The Assassin's Road.
John Ficarra et.al., 1001 MAD Pages You Must Read Before You Die.
Seth Godin, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
Jeff VanderMeer, The Steampunk Bible.
Brando Jerwa, Snake Eyes: Declassified (G.I. Joe graphic novel).
G.B. Trudeau, Peace Out, Dawg! Tales from Ground Zero.
Ann VanderMeer, The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities.
Cassern S. Goto, Blood Ravens: The Dawn of War Omnibus (Warhammer 40K).
Don Vorhees, The Perfectly Useless Book of Useless Information.
Rob Kaplan and Harold Rabinowitz, Speaking of Books.
The Tribute WTC Visitor Center, 9/11: The World Speaks.
Hardy Green, The Company Town.

November:

Benrik, Lose Weight! Get Laid! Find God! The All-in-One Life Planner.
Chris Claremont, X-Men: X-Tinction Agenda.
Joe Casey, G.I. Joe-America's Elite, Vol. 1: America's Newest War.
Brett Halliday, Murder is My Business.
Nancy Pearl, Book Lust.*
Thomas F. Cleary, Zen Lessons.
Joe Casey, G.I. Joe-America's Elite, Vol. 2: The Ties That Bind.
Clifton Fadiman and John S. Major, The New Lifetime Reading Plan.
Aloys Winterling, Caligula: A Biography.
Paul Jenkins, G.I. Joe-Frontline, Vol.4: One Shots.
Ennis Carter, Posters for the People: The Art of the WPA.
Scott Snyder, American Vampire, Vol. 2.
Bill Maher, Does Anybody Have a Problem With That?
Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, Lone Wolf and Cub, Vol. 2: The Gateless Barrier.
Jimmy Palmiotti, The Punisher: Very Special Holidays.
Frank Tieri, Punisher Noir.
Jimmy Palmiotti, Wolverine and Black Cat: Claws.
John Wagner, Batman/Judge Dredd; Judgment on Gotham.
Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, Lone Wolf and Cub, Vol. 3: The Flute of the Fallen Tiger.

December:

Kevin Smith, Kevin Smith's Green Hornet, Vol. 2.
Pat Willard, American Eats! On the Road with the WPA.
Ferdinand Protzman, Wide Angle: National Geographic Greatest Places.
Sandy Mitchell, Cain's Last Stand (Warhammer 40K).
Lisa Abend, The Sorcerer's Apprentices.
Quino, Mafalda 2.
Quino, Mafalda 3.
Quino, Mafalda 4.
Paul Collins, Sixpence House.
Guy Fieri, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.
Ann Droyd, Goodnight iPad.

Commentary and thoughts:

I continue using GoodReads to keep track of my reading. It works well to make brief comments on books, just enough to remember the book. I will share a review or note on a blog for books I consider really special, books that I think my three readers should look into or at least be aware of the books.
Number of books in the best month: 19 in November.
Number of books in the worst month: 4, with a tie for May and June with 4 each.
Fiction: 76. Once again, the majority of stuff I read was fiction. Keep in mind that I include graphic novels and mangas in this category, unless those works are things like memoirs or other nonfiction adaptation. I also read 11 more books of fiction this year in comparison to last year.
Nonfiction: 43. I read 6 less nonfiction books this year in comparison to last year. I did not read a single book related to library science this year. This may be a reflection that I am not pleased overall with LIS literature writing. Last year I noted that I read three books in that area, and they did not impress me in spite of the gushing that some celebrity librarians did. I think much of it also has to do with the fact I have been just wanting to read more for pleasure and to learn about things I am really interested in. Also, there has been a lot of drama in librarianship, which, to be honest, just turns me off overall. It is not that I am not in touch with the issues (I do quite a bit of keeping up); it is just that I prefer to spend my reading time on better things (it is also a big reason why I am not blogging on librarianship professional things as much, but let us leave that aside). Microhistories continue to be a popular genre for me because, in addition to learning about one subject, these books often give you a lot on general history and other topics. Excellent reading for a librarian and reader seeking to broaden his horizons.
Graphic novels and comics: 41. This is a genre/format that I enjoy very much. This is a favorite reading interest, and while I am not a geek per se, I am pretty knowledgeable in this area as well as mangas, which I enjoy as well. As usual, this includes traditional things, like Marvel and DC, as well as adaptations, so on. I had some pleasant discoveries this year, and I anticipate to keep reading more in the coming year. Once again, I did reread Batman: The Long Halloween in preparation for the Halloween holiday. A good tradition that sets up the mood nicely. If it's the end of October, you know what I will be reading.
Mangas: 16. I read one more in comparison to last year. I got to try out some new series, and I continued reading some favorites. I had to give a talk on graphic novels and mangas last year, so I had an incentive to read some genres I do not usually read, which was a nice way to explore new things. Personally, I tend to prefer my mangas with more mature themes, but if it is entertaining, I will read a YA title now and then. This is another genre I will continue reading. Even with the closing of Tokyo Pop this past year, there were still good titles coming out. This is a format I do usually buy, since finding them in libraries seems a bit difficult; it is not something many libraries embrace just yet, so getting them via ILL is not easy, if at all possible. Buying them means I am fairly selective about what I pick up since funds are limited. This also applies to graphic novels since the good stuff tends not to be available in libraries, but graphic novels are often a bit easier to borrow (though not by much).
My commentary in previous years regarding mangas and graphic novels in East Texas still applies, and it will likely remain in place for the future. Local selection is embarrassingly low, non-existent for some items. This is reflective of local culture, and I do not mean that in a good way. The trip out of town for book shopping continues to be a tradition, though a bit more difficult now that Borders closed down; we used to make Borders one of our stops as their selection in mangas and graphic novels was always better than the limited Barnes & Noble in Tyler. As reluctant as I am, the day may be drawing closer when I may have to purchase a book online here or there. This area of Texas is just bad for good book selection (not to mention lacking in any decent independent bookstores).
Other categories: No poetry or plays this year. I did add a couple of art-type books, as in books where things like photography or images are the major focus. This includes at least the one cookbook. When I check a cookbook out, it is because the art, layout, the photography, and sometimes the small narratives in them interest me. A cookbook like this, say the Jamie Oliver one on my list, is read for the art, not so much to cook from it given the ingredients and procedures are not meant for amateurs like me (no matter what they claim. Oliver's book, for instance, pretty as it was, is not practical. I don't have a Whole Foods in town, nor a Whole Foods budget). Also the book on train maps was another interesting one. So, once in a while, I do pick up odds and ends like that where the visual is a big element. Just adds to my reading experience.
Book written in Spanish: 1. And that book was read for a book challenge. I have a few books in Spanish on the shelf, so maybe I will get to a few next year. We'll see. A lot of it depends on my serendipitous reading nature.
Books borrowed: 60. This means I borrowed pretty much as much as I owned or bought. In this category, I do include books borrowed from my library, books borrowed from the public library, and books borrowed from Interlibrary Loan via my library. I suppose if I wanted to that I could sort those three categories, but I am not feeling the need to. Most of what I borrow is in the nonfiction area, especially in the kind of books that are worth reading only once (current affairs books are an example of this). If I do not wish to own it or add to my collection, the book is borrowed. And yes, in some cases, I may borrow something and find I do want to buy it. So, make a note of that persnickety publishers who want to close down libraries. Libraries do encourage reading, and they often encourage you to buy books as well. My basic rule still applies here: if I do not wish to read it more than once, or it is something common, I will try to borrow it.
Books and/or reading challenges: I completed the 12 Books, 12 Months Challenge in September. I am currently not signed up for any new challenges, and I am not planning on any at the moment unless it is a really open or flexible one. While I do keep reading lists, I also read a lot by serendipity and by picking up things from browsing. Any challenge that makes me commit to a tight list or theme just does not really work for me because I like to read what I like when I want to read it. Now a challenge with a certain theme, say science fiction, might be appealing. Basically anything that would fall into what I do already. Anyhow, we'll see. I can always sign up for something during the year.
This is not new, but serendipity is still my main reading approach. As I have mentioned, I do keep reading lists, some of which you can find over at Alchemical Thoughts (just click on the "books and reading" tag when you get there). I also browse a lot, and I make notes. I started carrying a pocket notebook last year, which is great for reminders, including jotting down books I want to read, which I then add to a list on the scratch pad, or borrow or buy depending on mood. This month, the public library had some new books I was interested in. I could not check them all out at once (I only check out what I think I can read within the lending period), so I jotted down the ones I was interested in so I can come check them out later. That sort of thing. Overall, I don't think I will ever run out of things to read, and that is a good thing. As always, I also take suggestions from people. By the way, if you have any suggestions for books you think I should read, feel free to leave them in the comments.

And now, the part that my four readers are waiting for: my favorites of 2011, with some comments:

The Walking Dead series started out strong for me this year. I am up to the sixth hardcover compilation. These are volumes I borrow. The series, at least to the point I got to is starting to turn a bit more into soap opera, which is usually the point in a series when I lose interest. However, the author deserves credit for the ability to shake things up just when you think things are going to be comfortable. If you want a different take on the zombie apocalypse genre (a genre I do not particularly favor, and that, for me, is starting to get as overrated as vampires as of late; by the way, steampunk is starting to become the next overrated genre it seems), you should be reading this, at least the early volumes. By the way, if you watch the television adaptation, they have taken some key and interesting liberties with the source material. Overall, as usual, the books are a lot better.
The Lost City of Z. This was a very interesting book that brings together the thrill of an explorer's tale with a historical mystery set in the Amazon. If you enjoy the science fiction genre of lost civilizations, you will probably enjoy this real life search for the mythical city of Z. This is one I recommend.
Oishinbo. If you enjoy things like Iron Chef (the original Japanese version, not the new atrocity on Food Network), you will probably enjoy this. You will also enjoy it if you like learning about food in other cultures. The protagonist works for a newspaper where they are trying to compile the ultimate menu. Thus he goes out sampling and reviewing all sorts of foods and drink. He is quite the epicure, but he is one of those guys who likes to stay below the radar. There is humor, and there is some great art and explorations of Japanese cooking and techniques. Very good series, which I hope to continue reading.
Gantz. I continue to enjoy this series. The Gantz orb brings various people back to life in order to play various deathly games. It is a bit like Battle Royale and other conspiracy tales.
Black Lagoon. Another very high energy manga. The crew of the Black Lagoon, a modified PT boat, will serve as couriers when no one else will, if the price is right. And in the high seas of Southeast Asia, there is always danger.
Letters to a Young Contrarian. This is a book that I think every teenager should read so they get a full rounded education, not to mention, learn how to think for themselves as well as counter a lot of the stupidity and conformity out there.
The Unshelved books. I definitely enjoyed these, and now I have to go find the rest. This is a humorous and very humane look at what really happens in libraries. Though it is set in a public library, a lot of what happens is also stuff we academic librarians can recognize. Every librarian and library supporter should read this.
The Ultramarines Omnibus. I read quite a good amount of Warhammer 40K science fiction this year. I like the Blood Ravens Omnibus a bit better (I will comment on this shortly), but the adventures of Captain Uriel Ventris and the 4th Company of Ultramarines were a good entertainment that I am happy to list as one of my favorites for the year. Captain Ventris has some qualities I admire, plus the tales are just good escapist fun.
The Conan series from Dark Horse. I read some more of this series, and I continue to enjoy them. The spirit of Howard's work is alive and well in this series.
Old Boy. In this manga, a man who was imprisoned is suddenly freed after many years. He has one thing on his mind: finding out who put him there and revenge.
The Astonishing X-men omnibus. This collects all of Joss Whedon's run on X-Men. I borrowed this hefty volume, but it is one I would definitely love to add to my collection. Fans of the X-Men, as well as Whedon fans, will likely enjoy this.
Lone Wolf and Cub. A classic manga and an excellent series. I read the first three volumes in the series, and they were great. This is a series I will definitely seek out. Fans of the samurai epic genre will definitely enjoy this. It is the tale of the assassin with the child.
Blood Ravens: The Dawn of War Omnibus. Another WH40K selection. Though initially I was a bit leery, since it is based on a computer game, the book was excellent. The Blood Ravens are scholars in a time when scholarship is rare and arcane. Like other Space Marine regiments, they do have librarians, but Blood Ravens librarians are Space Marines librarians. If I could have a fantasy come true, I would want to be a Blood Ravens librarian-- scholars, archivists, preservers of knowledge, lethal soldiers, and usually have some additional powers as well. The books do an excellent job in displaying the lore and ways of the Space Marines. My other choice would be an inquisitor, if you must know.
Posters for the People. This collection of posters from the WPA is a pleasure to look through. The posters related to reading and libraries are neat, but overall, the book is just very neat to look through.
American Vampire, Vol. 2. This series continues to be very good, a new take on the vampire genre. Fans of this genre need to be reading this, the tale of a new vampire born in the West. This is one of my favorites, and Skinner Sweet is certainly a vampire in the good tradition. And then there is Pearl.
Punisher Noir. The noir series in Marvel seems to be a pretty neat take on their superheroes. The Punisher fits very well into the noir setting. If you like stories like Road to Perdition, you will probably like this one even if you are not a comics book fan. I do have a couple other Marvel noir volumes in the cue, so I hope they are as good.
Cain's Last Stand. I continue to enjoy the adventures of Regimental Commissar Ciaphas Cain. In this tale, he finally made it to retirement. What more could our easy life loving commissar want? A nice gig in a schola training new commissar cadets. What could possibly go wrong? How about a new dark crusade in the sector? Now the hero and his cadets have to rise to the defense of the planet, and Cain has to prove one more time that he is indeed the hero of so many legends. This series remains strong, and it is one of my favorite reads.

There was a lot of good reading during 2011, and I hope to continue finding good things to read this year. To wrap up, here are the books I am currently reading:

Drew Karpyshyn, Dynasty of Evil (Star Wars: Darth Bane #3).
Veronica Alice Gunter, ed.,400 Wood Boxes: The Fine Art of Containment and Concealment.
Paul R. Mullins, Glazed America: A Social History of the Doughnut.
Jose Marti, La Edad de Oro.
Robert Block, et.al, Completely Doomed.

And these are the books I have coming up. These are books I recently borrowed from the library, which means I have to get on with them sooner:

Marc Lesser, Z.B.A.: Zen of Business Administration.
Anwer Bati and Simon Chase, The Cigar Companion: A Connoisseur's Guide.
Henry Petroski, The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance.

I will say the only reason I picked up the cigar book is because it looks good. I am not a smoker, but I do like the artistry of cigars, brands, the boxes, so on.

So, assuming the Maya prophecies do not come to pass, I hope to be publishing my 2012 list early next year. Happy reading to all.

Webinar Notes: David Lee King on "Facebook in the Library"

2012-01-04T17:20:00.000-06:00

I am running a bit behind on putting notes up for things like this. Then again, my professional blogging has been running a bit slow, but I will not go into that now. At any rate, I had the chance to listen to this ALA sponsored webinar by David Lee King. The topic was "Facebook in the Library: Enhancing Library Services and Engaging Users." As my library's outreach librarian, which includes being the social media specialist, this certainly was something relevant to my work. These are my notes from the presentation which took place on November 2, 2011. My comments, if any, will be in parenthesis.

* * * *

--Presentation began with a poll. Results of the survey of 220 participants on the question of whether their library has a Facebook page or not:

145/220 Have it.
28/220 Have it, but they do not do much with it.
31/220 Do not have a Facebook page for their library.

--Question: How do we use Facebook in an organizational way?

--Libraries need to be in Facebook given that our communities are there already.

--51% of Americans 12 years old and up are on Facebook, according to Edison Research. 50% of those log in every day. This is an audience to reach via your Facebook organizational page.

--Facebook pages are made for conversation and engagement. Think of turning strangers into friends. Get to know people as you do people in your buildings.

--Some recent Facebook changes:

Profile page changes. This his more like a "start page" now. Timeline is more prominent (update note as of this writing: Facebook is definitely implementing their "Timeline" feature whether you want it or not. For me, the jury is still out on this, so to speak). Timeline, which pretty much shows everything you have ever done on Facebook as far back as possible does present privacy concerns (then again, when has Facebook really respected or even considered any privacy concerns of its users?).
Status updates are becoming "stories." (And yet another annoyance since you are forced to choose between highlighted stories and recent. Either way, it boils down to what Facebook thinks you want to see. Personally, this is not very responsive to how I prefer to see the feed. For the library's page, it means having to work more on making stories "sticky" since they can get lost thanks to this new mess).
The "like" feature can now be a verb (I have not seen this yet). So you can "[verb] any [noun]." Like "gestures." You could now say things like "I read X" instead of just "I like X."
Social viewing.
Apps. you may be implementing/adding to Facebook (or just some pesky app. that wants a permission, say if you read Yahoo! news and want to share it on Facebook using the Facebook app. on Yahoo!) will ask permission only once. You need to watch out for this (often people click through without thinking it over. Once you do, you pretty much gave Facebook permission to sell you to the app. maker and pretty much anyone else out there connected to the app.).
You can "subscribe" to people. This is different than "friending." A subscription allows you to select items to go to your wall without "friending." (This sounds basically like subscribing to someone's rss on a feed reader to me. Personally, if I already have someone on my feed reader, I am not duplicating them on my Facebook nor on my Twitter as a general rule. The reverse applies. If I follow someone on Twitter, I am not likely to add their blog to my rss or subscribe to them on Facebook. I don't need to see the same things over and over, and it is rare the folk who actually does anything substantially different from one platform to the next. However, for libraries, again, this boils to making good content that folks will want to read or see so they subscribe to you, since Facebook's new formula will bury you otherwise unless you get enough folks to like your content, etc.).

--Facebook pages are changing too:

You can comment as yourself or as your page/organization (this is in place already. I have not used the feature to comment someplace else "as the library.").
As an organization, you can "friend" or "like" other pages, but not individuals.
You can like a user and feature them on your page. You can do this instead of having a random list of people and pages displaying on your page.
Facebook will be cutting out the ability to send messages to fans.
Facebook places becomes "location."
Pages will have a timeline as well.
The feature of sending blog posts to Facebook notes automatically once you set it up vanishes. You now have to do it manually.
The discussion tab in pages is gone.

-- King went over how to set up a page briefly.

--Went over some features. You can set up custom tabs (something I need to look into for our library page).

--Reminder that page administrators do need to have their own Facebook profile in order to have a page.

--You can use the page's status to post news, events, and ask questions (we do this already, so this was nothing new).

--The "call to action" feature. You can use this to direct people to do something: register for an event, comment, read something. Ask people to like something and share it. Ask questions so your users will answer. Do thank people when folks comment and interact on your Facebook page. This shows you are alive and engaged.

--Engagement is not so much about "likes" but about delivering content that persuades users to action and engagement. Need people to interact and comment so stories rise on the users' walls. This is trickier than before (due to Facebook changes, see my previous comment). You do get feedback on interactions from Facebook, including stats such likes, times shared, times seen.

--Consider "friending/liking" other organizations. Your content can appear on their pages then depending on their set-up.

--Host discussions. You can do this via your status updates.

--Educate your users, show them how FB changes and how they can make better use of it (something we work on, but we could do more).

--Post pictures and videos (we do post pictures. Videos may be coming soon now that we have a YouTube Channel).

--On goals:

Planning is needed for a successful and active Facebook page. Who does the work? (Here, I do the work. However, getting the administration to accept and realize that planning is needed, and that managing the page is "real" work and not just I do on the side is a significant issue locally. It is part of my job, yet I often lack support for said part of the job. Yet, the administration does like to brag about the library's Facebook presence).
Plan how often to post. You can survey the library page's friends to see how much you should be posting.
Part of the planning should include how to answer any questions that come in to the page after hours as well as how to handle other "odd" questions.
Set goals for a year. How many updates a week? Content. How many fans do we want? (Right now, I do a lot of this "by ear." I would like to plan for this a bit more consistently, but at the moment, the support is not there due to "other priorities," some valid, some less so. I would definitely like to plan content better. I do try at the least to put content for timely things).
Check for Facebook plug-ins in Wordpress.
Facebook Insights are the analytics. You can find good statistics here. (I need to explore this more as part of the planning process). You can even see things such as were "likes" are coming from and demographics.
A good goal can be to target audiences. This is where you use your demographic data, so you can target based on who you wish to target.
Something to consider is creating an advertisement on Facebook; however, this does cost money (ads, that is).

Some questions from the audience:

In academic libraries, you can do all of the above. The main difference is in focus. We have a known audience in academia, which can be good. Ask students what the find useful, what can be helpful, then ask them to "like" the library page. Give them reasons to "like" the page.
Use "hooks" in academic libraries such as freshman experience programs, etc.
As an academic librarian, "friending" students can be good depending on comfort levels (I have done this to some extent).
City libraries often face bureaucratic administrations, various degrees of censorship, so on. (Actually, some academic libraries also have those types of bureaucratic administrations and degrees of censorship. I've had to deal with the campus news and information unit so they could be satisfied things would be "kosher" when I started out the library blog. More recently, they demanded to have a university representative of N&I be made an administrator in the library FB page; it's basically oversight). Tell them to see Facebook as a public conversation, like a town hall meeting. Pitch it as a public forum. Consider also having a social media policy, which can reassure the top folks (this is something I have wanted to do for a while, put something in writing in a formal way, but again, not a high priority to the top brass yet).
On work versus personal profiles. Some have one profile. Other folks have two profiles. Facebook does discourage multiple user accounts, so use FB lists and privacy settings heavily.
Facebook is real work. It needs someone dedicated to it given it is a crucial communication tool (what I have been saying all along that I can't seem to get through to the powers that be). You make the connections to the users. This does include training the staff. The ROI (return on investment) is there. It is not easy to measure, but you can use Insights for some of it.
Taking photos in public places is legal--usually does not require permission. For a specific individual, you may need to ask. This is like a reporter getting contact information from an interview that will go on the news.
Set up multiple Facebook pages for library branches if branches have strong communities on their own. Setting up pages depending on services is also an option.
A sample goal: grow the page interactions with patrons. Keep updated with new/fresh content.
(For me, a sample goal would include writing a social media strategy document, also adding more staff. I would also like a goal dealing with specific community targeting).

Webinar Notes: Inside Google +

2011-10-24T16:13:00.000-05:00

I listened to this webinar (audio archive link) provided by Social Media Today on August 23, 2011. This was shortly after G+ came out, and people were trying to make sense of it. I am catching up on blogging my notes now. Nothing fancy here, just my notes as I listened to the webinar.

* * * *

Google + is a combination of Facebook, Twitter, and Linked-In. It is not a replacement for Facebook at this time.

The Circles increase privacy. It is the strongest feature of G+, adding a better illusion of privacy. Circles feature allows privacy for people within a circle. Not everyone needs to see everything.

There is no option at the moment for brands, businesses, etc. on G+.

Some Circles are pre-started. A Circle is a group; you can add other Circles as you see fit.

You can people to multiple Circles.
You can post content then to specific circles.
Currently, the people in a Circle do not know you have them in a Circle. Could Google change this later?

Google is currently (as of this writing) insisting on a "real name" policy. This is a significant privacy concern. Even some real name folks have had their accounts canceled. This may seem to be a double-standard given, for example, celebrities being able to keep a pseudonym/celebrity name (like Lady Gaga).

Google+ is integrating with Google Search. This is significant given the collapse of Google's deal with Twitter for real search.

After the initial traffic boom, it seems G+ traffic may be declining. It does not seem as demographically diverse (a lot of male Caucasian, computer "geeks" was the suggestion made. Note, this may have changed now that G+ is more open). G+ is 65% male, and 7 of the top ten professions for folks in it are in technology.

Note that there is no connection between the G+1 on websites and getting a +1 on your G+. In other words, this does not seem to work like Facebook "likes." There is no integration, which may be an issue. It shows that G+ is not really talking to other networks.

However, there is a little war going between Facebook and Google. Facebook makes it easy to import contacts and other information from other places and services. However, Facebook does not reciprocate. Thus, Google closes off to Facebook on this. Facebook even blocked G+ invitation links.

Google+ does allow marketing at large given that what you post is "findable." With Facebook, you have to build your network first, then post outwards to that network. On Google+, you can post directly, then build the network, which can be good for marketing.

Booknote: Teachers as Cultural Workers

2011-09-06T20:26:00.000-05:00

I debated for a while whether I wanted to post this review or not in the blog. I was reading this book during ACRL Immersion this past summer (mostly during the trip back and forth and in the evenings before bed). I have been meaning to write down some of my reflections from that experience here in the blog, but the daily grind at work means that has gotten sent to the back burner. Then again, a lot of my blogging has been sent to the back burner as of late, but let us look past that for now. I am posting my small review as I posted it on my GoodReads profile, and then I will jot down a couple of ideas from the book that I jotted down in my personal journal that are worth sharing (well, to me anyways).

Teachers as Cultural Workers by Paulo Freire

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I finished this a couple of days ago, but it took me a while to finally get around to reviewing it. I am giving it three stars, but it is not because it is a bad book. The book can be a bit repetitive, especially if you have read some of Freire's other works, and a few passages can be a little dry. Having said that, there is a lot in this book for teachers and educators to reflect upon. I found myself making notes in my personal journal at various times, jotting down passages and quotes I wanted to remember for later. Freire covers a lot of ground in this book from the teaching of reading to the behavior of teachers, from the teaching act to political action and activism. I think a lot of what Freire wrote in this book is very relevant today if educators would take the time to read the book, reflect on it, then take action. I also think that the book has a lot to say to librarians, who are educators as well, and who often do a lot of teaching (especially if you are an instruction librarian, but even at the reference desk some degree of teaching goes on). Some of it also speaks to our profession in terms of the idea of library neutrality, a topic I have considered before (I have a book just on that topic listed in my GoodReads lists if anyone is interested).

I took this book with me when I went to Immersion (ACRL Institute on Information Literacy for those not in librarianship, an intensive institute for instruction librarians) this past summer. In part, I was looking for a bit of inspiration. I think I also longed to read something that is not necessarily present in the Immersion curriculum (or if it is, it is very well hidden or unacknowledged). I think Freire has a lot that can speak to librarians, if we take the time to listen.

View all my reviews

Additional notes from and about the book:

Freire gives a suggestion on writing:

"If we think about the intimate relationship between reading, writing, and thinking and about our need to intensely experience this relationship, we might accept the suggestion that at least three times a week we should devote ourselves to the task of writing something. That writing could be notes about something read, a commentary about some event reported in the media, a letter to an unknown person--it doesn't matter what. It is also a good idea to date and keep these writings and, a few months later, critically analyze them" (45-46).

This sounded to me like a pretty good argument for keeping and writing in a personal journal, which is something I have been doing for years now, even if not in the most consistent way. This may also be another explanation, for me, of why I keep a journal. I need to experience that intimate relationship between reading, writing and thinking. I have expressed before in some previous writings of mine that writing helps me think and work out ideas. Lately I have been doing more writing in my personal journal than blogging. Part of it has been time constraints. Work has been very busy, and at the end of the day, it is easier to just write in my journal for a while than fire up the computer and open the blogging program. Another reason is that, to be honest, a lot of the drama in the librarian sector of the blogosphere just does not interest me, so I would rather just not blog about certain things. I am still reading a bit of the library literature; I just have not gotten around to blogging some of those notes.

There are a few other things I jotted down, but I am choosing not to blog them here. However this passage on progressive educators moved me, and it made me think about our profession as well. Freire writes:

"Progressive educators need to convince themselves that they are not only teachers--this doesn't exist-- not only only teaching specialists. We are political militants because we are teachers. Our job is not exhausted in the teaching of math, geography, syntax, history. Our job implies that we teach these subjects with sobriety and competence, but it also requires our involvement in and dedication to overcoming social injustice" (103-104).

That may be a large reason why I became first a teacher and then a librarian. In fact, I think this is very applicable to to librarians, especially those of us in reference and instruction. To me, this takes me back once more to the question of library neutrality. How neutral can we really in a world of social injustice? I know what I would answer, but I also know a lot of my professional brethren choose to ignore the issue, evade it, or in some cases just do not care. And as Forrest Gump would say, "that's all I got to say about that." By the way, if you are interested in the topic of library neutrality, this book may be of interest.

Booknote: The Surrogates, 12 Books, 12 Months Challenge, Book 12

2011-09-02T19:12:00.003-05:00

With The Surrogates, I come to the end of the 12 Books, 12 Months Challenge. I did cut it close there at the end. I will admit that was part of the reason I put in a couple of graphic novels into the list. I can read those a bit faster, so I could move along the list a bit quicker as needed. By finishing today (actually, I finished the book last night, but I did not get to write the review until today), I managed to get the challenge done before the September 5 deadline. I will say this was a bit challenging because I tend to read a lot by serendipity. There were moments when I just did not really feel like reading a book on the list when I had other things I was more interested in. The challenge did give me the chance to read some books that had been sitting on my shelves for a while, and that is a good thing. I also got to read a pretty eclectic selection, and that is also a good thing. Now that the challenge is done, I am moving along with other books. My three readers may want to tune back in at the end of this year or early part of next year where I will post my annual reading list and reading reflection.

Here is the review of the book as I posted it on my GoodReads profile:

The Surrogates by Robert Venditti

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Only thing I will say upfront not so positive is that I had a bit of mixed feelings at the end, which I will not reveal because I think this book deserves to be read. And to be honest, an ending that does make you think a bit is a good thing. It certainly is something you do not get often when you think of graphic novels and comics. So, that out of the way, let's look at the rest of the book.

The book is a nice blend of a police procedural/mystery and science fiction. In a world where humans now have the option to live their lives via mechanical surrogates, people do not have to leave their homes and worry about anything. But they can still go to work, so on. The authors did excellent work thinking about the implications of such a society, and they really do an excellent work bringing it to life. In this world, there is a terrorist that destroys surrogates in a quest to make the world go back to living a real life. The protagonist is the detective tasked with stopping him. Among the suspects is a cult leader who leads a faction that sees surrogates as aberrations. This all has the makings of a very good story, and the authors do deliver on that front.

The art is not too realistic, but the style matches the gritty, kind of noir setting the authors wish to evoke. It does feel right in relation to the story. In addition, the book has textual materials (news articles, a brochure for surrogates, so on) that add to the authenticity of the story. I will warn that if you are more of a visual reader, taking the time to read some of these extras found at the end of each chapter can slow your reading pace a bit. But I think readers will find some of the materials interesting. Additionally, this particular edition has a series of extras after the story: a deleted scene, author commentary, so on. If you like knowing how a comic is crafted, you may enjoy reading through this part.

This is the comic series that gave basis to the recent The Surrogates film. I have not seen it, but knowing Hollywood, I have a feeling they probably mucked it up. But being curious, I will likely watch it if I get a chance. Overall, this is one of the best graphic novels I have read so far this year. It has a good story, depth, good art, and good science fiction.

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Update Note (9/4/11): Mark Lindner, who was also doing the challenge, has posted his tally and reflection on his challenge. Note he did read quite a challenging list. I went a bit easy on my self by adding the graphic novels. And hey, a list with Borges in it is definitely a plus for me. Go on and have a look.

Update Note (10/2/11): Latter Day Bohemian has posted the final roundup for the challenge. Have a look.

Booknote: Killer Stuff and Tons of Money, 12 Books, 12 Months Challenge, Book 11

2011-08-31T16:32:00.000-05:00

I am almost done. I am currently reading the last book for the challenge, and I should have it done by the weekend.

(Disclosure note to keep the FCC happy. I received this book from the publisher as a prize from a GoodReads book giveaway).

Before I go on with the review itself, I am adding for my reference a small list of books that I think have similar reader appeal factors. I have read the books I am listing below:

Bruce Littlefield, Garage Sale America.
Alton Brown, Feasting on Asphalt: The River Run.
Kyle Jarrard, Cognac.
Josh Peter, Fried Twinkies, Buckle Bunnies, and Bull Riders.

And now, the review itself as I posted it on my GoodReads page:

Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: Seeking History and Hidden Gems in Flea-Market America by Maureen Stanton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finally finished the book. I finished it about a week ago, but it took me a while to find the time to write the review. And I am glad I finally got to it because this is a book worth sharing with others.

Stanton spends time with and "shadows" Curt Avery (a pseudonym), a mid-range antiques dealer (you learn from reading this book that there is a hierarchy when it comes to antiques and those who deal in them). Curt may well be one of the few remaining passionate, knowledgeable, and honest dealers in a business that seems to be declining and under siege by fakes, reproductions, and less than scrupulous folks. Why does he continue? Some of it may be just habit, but a lot of it is that the man has found his passion in life. Stanton does an excellent job in presenting a portrait of Avery as wll as giving us an excellent look at the world of antiques trading.

Much of the book concentrates on following Avery from one antiques show to the next. This is often a cutthroat business where mistakes (buying something you thought was real but turns ou to be a fake, for instance) can be costly, and in rare times you just might find that one items out of nowhere that makes you a fortune. Between those two extremes, you have the middle of the road trading. In this middle path, you buy something, hope to resell it for a modest profit, then repeat the process again. This is a cycle that requires knowledge (often hard won knowledge), patience, a very good eye, and sometimes luck.

Traveling with Avery already makes for a pretty good book. Stanton gives us more. In between visits with Avery, the author has written good informative chapters on the trade and the history of collecting and antiques. For example, there is a chapter on the human habit of collecting things. Think about that for a moment. Odds are good you have a small collection of something in your home now. Whether it's comic books, pens, match books, stamps, or any other object, many people collect something. Most people collect things just for the fun of it with no intention to sell or make money.

Stanton does visit a comic book convention and takes a look at the comic book trade, by the way. Additionally, her chapter on the show Antiques Roadshow (AR from here on) gives an excellent discussion and a good look behind the scenes of the show. Stanton points out how AR, along with shows it has spawned, has created false expectations in viewers from thinking anything old is valuable (it is not) to just a matter of finding something in the attic. The reality is very different than what we see on television. The books goes a long way to dispel myths about antiques and collectibles and about those who trade and collect them. This is definitely a strength in the book.

Stanton covers a lot of ground, but she provides an accessible book that is a pleasure to read. There were a couple of passages, mostly in Chapter 8--the chapter on thieves and fakers--that were a little too technical and dry, but do not let that deter you. This is a book to read at a leisurely pace with your favorite relaxing beverage. You will be entertained, and you will learn a lot as well.

(In keeping disclosure rules, to keep the FCC happy, I am revealing I received this book from the publisher as part of a GoodReads giveaway).

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Booknote: The Lost World and Other Stories, 12 Books, 12 Months Challenge, Book 10

2011-08-29T11:04:00.001-05:00

I am moving along with the challenge. I did finish another book, which will be #11, but I have yet to write the review. I will likely post that review later in the week. And I am in the middle of reading the last one. So, I am basically on the final stretch. It looks like I am going to cut it close, but I will get done on time if all goes well.

Here is the review as I posted it on my GoodReads page:

The Lost World and Other Stories by Arthur Conan Doyle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I went between giving this two and three stars. I settled for three, for in the end I like the concept. It turns out I had read this before years ago; I was probably a teenager when I did it, so remembering back to those days was interesting.

This particular edition collects the Professor Challenger stories written by Conan Doyle. The Lost World is likely the most well-known, and it has been the basis (loosely or otherwise) of other works from Indiana Jones to Crichton's Jurassic Park. If you enjoy those works, you will likely enjoy this book. However, I will say this book is closer in feel and appeal to the works of writes like Jules Verne (for instance, Journey to the Center of the Earth), H.G. Wells, and H. Rider Haggard (King Solomon's Mines). If you enjoy those writers, you will like this book.

The novel is kind of slow in the beginning, so it took me a while to get into it. Once you get into the adventure itself, it moves along like any other adventure yarn. Professor Challenger is quite the obnoxious genius. Brilliant, but not like Sherlock Holmes in terms of personality. This may irritate some readers, but overall, Challenger is a strong character readers will enjoy. I know I did, and I even had a small smile of amusement or two as I read. More irritating to me was the idea of Malone, the reporter, who goes on the expedition with Challenger to impress a woman (and I will not say more of that woman to avoid potential spoilers). I suppose it does show a certain Victorian ideal, of the man going into the wilderness to conquer something and put his name on it, but Conan Doyle could have left her out and the story would have been fine.

So, this is a pretty good book, but it is not a great one. I personally prefer H. Rider Haggard's works for this kind of tale, but this is a good example of the science fiction, or science romance, genre, and thus it is worth reading.

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Booknote: Conan, Volume 4: The Halls of the Dead and Other Stories, 12 Books, 12 Months Challenge, Book 9

2011-08-22T12:34:00.000-05:00

We are getting down to the final stretch on the 12 Books, 12 Months Challenge. This week I am tackling the graphic novel selections in my list. I saved some of the easier stuff for the end in the hopes it would make things easier. However, I still have two full books to read to complete the challenge. I am in the middle of what may end up being number ten or eleven, Killer Stuff and Tons of Money. Anyhow, here is my short review as posted on my GoodReads profile.

Conan Volume 4: The Halls of the Dead and Other Stories by Kurt Busiek

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I continue to enjoy this series put out by Dark Horse. However, this particular volume marks a transition as the series changes authors and artists. There is some work from the initial authors of the series, and then work from new writers, including Mike Mignola, of Hellboy fame. Conan is still a young thief, and he is quite brash, often reckless; he is that youthful stage where you think you are invincible and nothing can touch you. When he beds the wife of a local magistrate, the hunt for him is on. Also, since he has been basically showing off to the other thieves in the local area, they resent him and are trying to bring him down a peg or two. Add to this his adventure in the Hall of the Dead, where he goes in search of some mythical treasure, and you have quite a good set of tales.

The nice thing about this series is that it brings to life the stories of Robert E. Howard as well as adds new tales to the legend. The art continues to be very good, and it is very suited to this type of fantasy tale. We'll have to see if the authors can keep the quality down the road, but so far, it is an entertaining series.

If you are getting ready to watch the new Conan movie in theaters, this series may be a good place to look and get a feel for the real character. The other option is to read Howard's books. But if you want a visual tale, this series is very good.

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Booknote: The Compleat Boucher: 12 Books, 12 Months, Book 8

2011-07-15T12:24:00.000-05:00

I am very slowly catching up on my reading. I still have until September to finish up, so I have faith I will get there. I just finished this (ok, finished it last night). It was, like the 7th book I read for the challenge, a big anthology, so it took me some time. However, this is very different than the previous book I read for the challenge. The Ultramarines Omnibus was pretty much a fun, light read for the most part. This book is a bit more serious. I mean that as in "this is a serious book" tone (not that light or serious are necessarily bad things. I enjoy both kinds of books, but I think using the labels may help some readers out there). But I will say that if you want to read good, classic science fiction, with some fantasy and even some sprinklings of other genres, then you want to pick up this volume. As I mentioned in my short review for GoodReads, I felt like I was reading science fiction as it was written when it was in the heyday of the mid-20th century. I really think readers who enjoy classic science fiction, yes, going back to the pulps, will definitely enjoy this. However, do not let the "pulp" label deceive you. There are some very good, well thought-out and substantial stories in this collection. I had no idea before reading this that Boucher could be as versatile as he was. Very cool book I will likely be revisiting.

The review, as I posted it on my GoodReads profile:

The Compleat Boucher: The Complete Short Science Fiction & Fantasy of Anthony Boucher by Anthony Boucher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is another case of a big collection that took me a while to get through. I have been reading it on and off for a few months, which is something I often do with long anthologies like this. Having said that, this is a fine example of a science fiction classic. This volume collects the science fiction and fantasy short fiction of Anthony Boucher, who was not only a writer but also a prominent editor of Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine. The collection contains very short stories (two or three pages) and longer pieces that range from light humor fantasy to science fiction to even a little noir and pulp. This is a book to enjoy nice and slow (I rushed through it a bit at the end to catch up on the 12 Books, 12 Months Challenge I am doing. I do not recommend this. This book really deserves to be savored). One of the stories I liked was "The Compleat Werewolf," which is about a professor with a bit of a lycanthropy problem and a femme fatale more than willing to exploit that little problem. I think a strength of this book, as well as other books that NESFA has published, is that it will take you back to the golden days of science fiction. In a way, when folks say "they don't write them like this anymore," this is what they mean. And for me, I know there are some stories I will want to revisit at some point.

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On a final note,Latter Day Bohemian has posted an update of the challenge for Months 9 and 10. My, where has the time gone? I did not get featured in that post, since I ran behind, but I hope to make my last hurrah in the next update. In the meantime, go see what other participants have read.

Booknote: The Ultramarines Omnibus : 12 Books, 12 Months, Book 7

2011-07-15T11:43:00.001-05:00

I am falling a bit behind on the challenge. It is not necessarily that I am not reading books. I have been reading a few things out of the list; I tend to read a lot by serendipity. In the case of this book, The Ultramarines Omnibus, I spent a long time getting through it. Not because the book was bad. Far from it. It was very good, as my review will reflect. But it did take me some time to get through with it; this was basically my bedtime reading for some months. What can I say, I can be a bit of a slow reader when it comes to big volumes, but I do enjoy them. Also, this year is turning out to be a bit of a rough one, so I am getting the feeling that my end of year reading list may be a lot smaller than previous years. In the end, we persevere and move on.

On an update note, I am going to take the liberty and switch out one book out of the original list. The book in question I am switching out is Loung Ung's First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers. For one, as I said, the year is shaping to be a bit rough. Not as rough as 2008, but I feel a need to read something a bit more upbeat. I don't think Ung's book will do much for my mood at this point. Two, I recently received a copy of Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: Seeking History and Hidden Gems in Flea-Market America.Yes, I know, the topic is not as serious, but I need something light. Plus, since I won the book in a GoodReads giveaway, I do feel a bit of an obligation to read it sooner. Adding into the list will allow me to review it for sure since I am reviewing every book I read for the challenge. I will make an update note on the original post to reflect this.

And now, on with the review for this post, which I posted previously on my GoodReads page:

The Ultramarines Omnibus (Warhammer 40,000) by Graham McNeill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I finally finished this big omnibus. This volume collects the first three novels chronicling the adventures and battles of Space Marine Captain Uriel Ventris and his 4th Company of the Ultramarines. This is all out escapist military science fiction but do not let that label fool you. There is some very good writing in these novels, and at least once I found myself really sympathizing with Captain Ventris. That particular instance for me came in the novel where the inquisitor lied about the fate of a certain planet that Uriel and his Space Marines struggled to save from the tyrannid invasion. There is an excellent passage where Uriel and a Space Marines admiral meditate on idealism and pragmatism that I found excellent. So the novels do have their noble moments, so to speak. And in the good tradition of Black Library WH40K novels, these novels have plenty of action and a fast pace to keep you moving along. Of the three novels in the book, I will note that the third one takes a much darker tone. I will not spoil the ending other than to say that it does set up for the next novel in the series. I liked all the novels, but I think my personal favorite for this volume was the first novel in the series. The connecting short story where Uriel inherits command of the 4th Company is a nice piece as well, and it sets the novels nicely. This is definitely good entertainment, and I will certainly continue seeking out the rest of this series.

The only reason I did not give it the 5th star is that, while I enjoyed it, I still like the Ciaphas Cain and Eisenhorn series better. Also, while I did like the darkness in the third novel (I do like some dark tones now and then), it did not seem as strong as the previous two. Still, do not let that deter you from reading this. If you are a Warhammer 40K fan, you should be reading this. If you are not a WH40K fan, but you enjoy military science fiction, I think you will enjoy this collection as well.

Finally, the only reason it took me as long to read as it did is that I had various interruptions and a very busy schedule in this time period. However, in that time, this was my go to book for my bedtime reading.

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Article Note: On Using Blogs to Teach Students About Scholarly Work

2011-07-01T12:50:00.000-05:00

A brief note (if you just want my article note, skip ahead). I noticed that I went on a bit of an unintentional hiatus for the blog. I am still reading the literature, and I am still keeping up with the profession. Work for one has been a bit rough in terms of keeping me busy (among other things, and I will speak no further on MPOW). Also, I have been writing, but I have been doing a bit more of it in my personal journal (and some random things plus some things that are a bit of fun over in the scratch pad. If you are really curious, the link to Alchemical Thoughts is on the sidebar). In terms of this blog, let me just say I am being very selective about what I may blog about here for various reasons (that I may or not blog about as part of my reflective practice. Some things are better left unsaid). At any rate, if any of my three readers missed me, I am humbled that you did and let this be my small explanation for my absence. I will warn you three that given how things are going lately, the blogging here may get a bit sporadic for a while. If you bear with me, thank you.

* * * * *

Citation for the article:

Deitering, Anne-Marie and Kate Gronemyer, "Beyond Peer-Reviewed Articles: Using Blogs to Enrich Students' Understanding of Scholarly Work." portal: Libraries and the Academy 11.1 (2011): 489-503.

Read via Project Muse.

I am keeping a copy of this article for my files. Deitering and Gronemyer offer some good ideas, and their article lists some things I would like to try out in instruction. After reading it, I was asking myself how to apply some of the ideas presented. Maybe the answer to that will be material for another post.

The authors report on work at Oregon State University. They discuss their library instruction work with the university's 200-level composition class (WR 222 is their designation). They are teaching students "new ways to use the participatory Web, browsing through scholarly blogs to find conversations about their topics" (489). The idea of using scholarly blogs caught my eye. It was not surprising as I've had to answer a question or two about blogs and how to evaluate them as information resources. The authors clearly go further, and they have collaboration with their writing faculty.

The usual, typical research paper involves students looking ant citing some magical number of peer-reviewed journal articles. The requirements is almost exclusively peer-reviewed journal articles; "scholarly articles" is another commonly used term, but the typical goal is pretty much the same for the students: go into a database (print indexes are pretty much seen as fossils at this point, even though in some subject areas, most if not all indexed data is in print. But that is another comment for another day), find the magical number of peer-reviewed articles the professor asked for, and make them fit somehow in order to complete the assignment. I've taught composition, so I can say that many low-level students have that mentality. So, how can you deal with that?

Some more questions. This is one I have pondered once or twice when I've actually had some time to reflect. From the ACRL standards and documents to the testimonials and actions of instruction and information literacy librarians in the field, a common point of agreement is that information literacy knowledge and skills form the basis of lifelong learning. However, if a lot of what our library instruction sessions teach is based around how to find what you need in an expensive online proprietary database, what happens when the students graduate, and they no longer have access to those expensive databases if they come to need them? Do we teach alternatives? Do we teach them to think critically? Do we illustrate connections, say promoting the possibility of visiting your public library for access? More importantly, to me at least, do we answer what one of my professors called the "so what?" question? These are some questions I have attempted to address in my practice, and yet there are more challenges. This article discusses these questions and offers some answers.One way they do so is by going back to the idea of the academic conversation.

We need to teach our students not only about the concept of academic conversations. We also need to teach them how the process works and how to located it, research it, and join in. On this, the authors write,

"The conversations scholars have always had about their scholarly work still happen at conferences and along faculty hallways, but today they are also happening online in publicly available forums. In these public spaces, the dialogs become searchable, browsable resources that students can use to see the debates, the arguments, and the intellectual energy beneath the surface of polished, published, scholarly work" (490).

The authors seek to illustrate how to help students learn about and take advantage of these academic conversations. Learning this skill can help students not only write better papers, but it will help them in creating and exploring their own questions as well. The article then goes on to discuss application with tools such as blogs, academic portals, and other public conversations.

Some notes from the article with some brief thoughts:

Reflective thinking goes along with information literacy. In fact, when we teach information literacy effectively, we are exemplifying reflective thinking. "An essential characteristic of reflective thinking is the ability to manage uncertainty, to evaluate potentially contradictory claims, and to evaluate the evidence one uses to construct meaning out of new information" (491).
Students need to be taught about the concept of shared standards used in building knowledge and meaning. This is the process that scholars use, and yet many professors fail to teach this; they take for granted that students either know it already when they get to a specific class or that they'll pick it up along the way. "When we require students to read and analyze these sources without explicitly addressing the intellectual assumptions that govern what and how material comes to be published in this literature, we are asking them to grapple with multiple and often implied intellectual standards that they do not understand and may not know exist" (491).
"A student can find and use peer-reviewed sources without learning that those sources represent a different way of thinking about knowledge. That student can still write a passable research paper and receive a perfectly satisfactory grade, but he or she will not learn as much from the experience as a student who is pushed to question his or her held beliefs about knowledge and learning" (491-492). That passable paper may have working in some other class. When I taught composition, I had student hate me precisely because I forced them to push themselves and raise questions. We need more of that, and we need to illustrate it at all levels of the educational experience. This is another way in which librarians do teach, even if it is just at the reference desk.
Furthermore, "it is important that librarians and faculty both recognize that they need to make some of those unstated assumptions visible to their students if students are to understand what academics really mean when they decide an article is worthy of publication" (493).
"The overarching point to remember is this: informal channels of scholarly communication can enhance information literacy instruction, whether it is delivered by a librarian or a classroom instructor. Instruction librarians should be aware of the ways that scholars in the disciplines they work with are using the Web to communicate. Helping disciplinary faculty to see that there are new ways to connect to students with scholarly research other than the peer-reviewed journal is an important role for librarians to play" (494).
Why librarians, as generalists, may have an advantage in teaching information literacy and reflective thinking to students: "Librarians usually teach in disciplines in which they do not do research and can potentially understand where the practice of discipline is confusing to students more easily than their partners among the disciplinary faculty can. It is important that librarians advocate for their students' needs, pointing out gaps that might prevent the students from being successful" (499). One of the most important roles and duties of an instruction librarian is to be an advocate for his or her students. Personally, advocating for my students is part of my teaching and librarianship philosophy, and I am proud to say our current instruction librarian here shares and practices that as well. It can be a challenging path at times, but our students deserve our best effort.
The article makes the point that students need to learn more than just how to use proprietary databases. My colleague and I were just talking about this recently: what happens when students graduate, have information needs, and no longer have access to EBSCO products, so on? This could lead to another post, but for now the point is that we have to teach good information literacy skills and include exposure as well as practice with publicly available tools and resources. For faculty, telling your students that they can't use the Web does not pass muster. For librarians, this also means keeping up with those diverse resources and tools.

Article Note: On getting that full-text article

2011-04-29T12:02:00.000-05:00

Citation for the article:

Dixon, Lydia, et.al., "Finding Articles and Journals via Google Scholar, Journal Portals, and Link Resolvers: Usability Study Results." Reference & User Services Quarterly 50.2 (Winter 2010): 170-181.

Read online.

I have been thinking about this topic for a few reasons. One, I've had to work at teaching students during library instruction sessions just how to find articles when they are not full-text in a database. Locally, the fact we have LinkSource means that I have to teach students how to get around it and go directly to the A to Z list on our website. The steps the instruction librarian and I follow to teach this:

From the citation in question, copy the title of the journal that contains your article.
Open a new tab on your browser (or new window). Open the library's homepage here.
Click on "Find a Journal or Periodical."
On the search box there, paste the title you copied. Run the search.
If we have it, you see the holdings. Pick a link that has dates of coverage for the article you want.
Depending on how savvy the student is, we may have to walk them through a specific journal interface's page to find their article. If the article is available in print or microfilm/fiche (a very rare occurrence these days), we send them to the appropriate location.
If we do not have the journal, or we do not have the date in question, the student is told to do an Interlibrary Loan request using the ILLiad system.

What happens if we go through these steps, and the item is not available? Depends. If the students actually has time, odds are good they will use the ILLiad system. If the student is in a rush (as in they procrastinated, and now the paper is due in less than a week), they likely give up, and we try to find alternate sources. Why do we have to do all that ritual? Because to be blunt LinkSource does not really work as advertised. More often than not links it provides are not accurate, or results overall are inconsistent. Now, the fact that the instruction librarian and I do this may displease the ERM librarian and the director because it means that a tool we pay for is not getting used. I will be blunt once more: we simply do it anyhow because we believe in getting the resources to the students who need them in the most efficient way possible. I could go on a further rant here about folks who fail to listen to the librarians in the front lines, but all I will say is that she and I will do whatever it takes to help our students.

Moving along, in two graduate courses I taught recently students specifically raised the question of "how do I get it if it is not full-text?" In addition, I get the question on a regular basis at the reference desk. This tells me that database interfaces, and our websites (speaking here of ours as well as collectively of libraries overall) still have issues when it comes to letting students know what is available or not. What I have learned from experience is that finding journal articles, as in knowing when they are full-text or not and how to get them, is a significant challenge to users. I have also learned that the solutions available online leave a lot to be desired. Furthermore, I have learned that teaching the skills and savvy to find the items does take some time, and we have to keep on doing it.

I also thought a bit about Google Scholar, which is something that students are noticing as well. It is also something I am mentioning as part of my classes. However, I will ponder on Google Scholar later so I don't make this much longer. At any rate, I did find this article to be timely for me.

The article looks at the challenges of finding a known article if you have a citation or finding a specific journal. The authors consider the issues by doing usability studies on a journal portal, a link resolver, and Google Scholar. According to the authors, "this study focused on how effective interfaces were at helping users complete the tasks" (171). By the way, the Google Scholar thing reminds me that as students use it, when they can find it, we get to teach them how to get articles listed on Google Scholar from the library to avoid having to whip out the credit card. I guess our work as instruction librarians is never done.

As usual, here go some of my notes and highlights from the article:

The process can be challenging to new and experienced users. "Even experienced students and faculty struggle with potential complications such as embargoed holdings, platform changes, or subscription lapses" (170). Embargoes certainly a hated bane.
Issue with Google Scholar: Callicot and Vaughn "found that, although Google Scholar guarantees results, constructing complicated queries or limiting results retrieved is difficult" (qtd. in 172). In library instruction, we usually teach students to do Google last, after they have used the library databases. However, we do go over it briefly if there are questions and compare it to databases as well as discuss the pros and cons. Keep in mind this is limited by the time factor of a library session.
However, the authors had a different suggestion based on their findings, but do note it is in terms of having a known citation already (not starting your research from scratch): "The observations regarding the question of which interface most effectively allows searching for articles by citation would suggest that librarians should direct users to GS [Google Scholar] as a first choice and that it should be featured most prominently for finding articles by citation" (177). I will say that very often, when a student comes to the reference desk with what looks like a somewhat vague citation, I will use Google Scholar to locate it sooner than trying to use the journal portal. More often than not GS will give me the complete citation, and then I can use the A to Z list to find it.
A bit from the conclusion: "Finally librarians need to remember that many users do not begin their search on the library website. If the top tools offered on the library website are user-friendly and effective rather than frustrating and time-consuming, users will have a reason to begin their search there" (180).

CBS News raises questions about Mortenson and CAI

2011-04-18T08:52:00.003-05:00

Last year, Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea (link to my GoodReads review; I had a good impression at the time, though I was not particularly thrilled about the book. Not the best written thing I have ever read), came to the UT Tyler campus. I suppose like many folks who listened to the guy, who seems a lot better as a speaker than a writer, I did find the story inspiring. So I find it disappointing to say the least that he is being exposed for lies in the book as well as financial issues, such as money from the book and his book touring not really going to the CAI charity like he claims. That I find particularly egregious since a big part of his speech was promoting how the book helps the organization so they can build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Jon Krakauer, an early supporter, probably summarizes this pretty well (maybe a bit more charitable than others may be willing to be) when he says,

"Krakauer: He's not Bernie Madoff. I mean, let's be clear. He has done a lot of good. He has helped thousands of school kids in Pakistan and Afghanistan....He has become perhaps the world's most effective spokesperson for girls' education in developing countries. And he deserves credit for that...Nevertheless, he is now threatening to bring it all down, to destroy all of it by this fraud and by these lies."

Sadly, this is not just about some good guy with a few character flaws. These are serious issues, and what seemed like good acts are now going to be tainted. Worse, from the report, it seems the acts were not that great anyhow (schools claimed to be build but not built, or built poorly, for instance).

You can read the expose from CBS news here.

Update note (same day): Galley Cat has a summary. It also includes links to statements by Mortenson and CAI that they sent to CBS regarding the 60 Minutes segment.

Article Note: On becoming "Librarian 2.0" according to some librarians

2011-03-18T13:23:00.000-05:00

Citation for the article:

Partridge, Helen, Julie Lee, and Carrie Munro, "Becoming 'Librarian 2.0': The Skills, Knowledge, and Attributes Required by Library and Information Professionals in a Web 2.0 World (and Beyond)." Library Trends 59.1-2 (2010): 315-335.

Read via Project Muse.

The article has some good points, but there is nothing really new here given all that has been written extensively about "librarian 2.0" in the Librarian Blogsville. In fact, I am starting to get the impression that the term "librarian 2.0" may be on the way out in favor of some other new term. I do not know what the new term may be, but if job ads could be an indication, probably something to do with "emerging technologies" or something like that. But I am digressing.

The article starts with the usual literature review. This gives an overview of how the term emerged and where it is as of the article's writing. A lot of the literature conveys that the debate or definition discussion goes back and forth between how much interpersonal skills such a librarian needs and how much technological/technical focus said librarian needs. In theory, both sides should not be mutually exclusive. In practice, they can be very much separate. At least in recent conversations with our instruction librarian, part of the conversation has been about how newer librarians seem to be too focused on the technology and not enough on basic interpersonal skills including things as simple as how to do an adequate reference interview. Basically, the problem we have observed is librarians with a high degree of technolust who want to sit behind a desk, do all their reference online (be it via a social network or a virtual service) and never have to deal with a patron in person; after all, most of the resources are online anyhow (or will soon be there). As I said, this is strictly observation by two librarians who have been in the field for a while observing the folks coming out now of library school. Thus take it as the anecdotal commentary that it is.

The study used 81 Australian individuals in focus groups in order to "identify the current and anticipated skills and knowledge required by successful library and information science (LIS) professionals in the age of Web 2.0 (and beyond)" (319). The method and justification for using focus groups is explained in the article as well. Participant profile is described as well. A series of open-ended questions, listed in the article, were used to stimulate discussion in the focus groups.

Some notes and thoughts from the analysis of the focus groups:

On technology. There was consensus that while technology (i.e. IT) is important, it is not the dominant issue or skill set. "Successful librarians in the Web 2.0 world (and beyond) need to be aware of, and have some fundamental understanding of, the emerging technology-- what is available and what it can do and how to make it do what is needed-- but they do not need to be IT professionals per se" (326-- emphasis added). The article emphasizes that there is a difference between "IT skills" and "IT appreciation skills."
On continuing learning for the librarians. "The need for librarian 2.0 to be interested in, and willing to engage in, lifelong learning was highlighted by all focus groups" (326). You need to know how to keep up, be inquisitive, enjoy experimenting and learning. I think these are just traits any librarian should have. In other words, I do not think they are new nor the exclusive purview of librarian 2.0. The part about exploring after the workday is something I do have mixed feelings about. To an extent, when it comes to work, I follow the Winget line of "you pay me to work, and I do the work." My after hours are exactly that: mine. Sure, I may experiment online and try out new tools, but I do that for myself. If it happens to be useful at work, all good. But I do not do unpaid work after I leave because I happen to like things like spending time with the family and just relaxing. You have to learn how to unplug, and I honestly wish our profession did not spread so much the illusion that we are plugged 24-7 and toying around with every widget, site, and online gizmo out there.
On focusing on the users. See my comment above for some of my thinking. I will add what the authors write on this: "Librarian 2.0 loves working with people, values the diverse experiences of users, looks at things from the users' perspective and seeks to actively use the emerging technologies to provide their users a voice" (328). I know that is a lot of the reason I became a librarian. I do love working with people, students in my case as an academic librarian. Diversity is a big thing I value, and it was something that I experienced quite extensively when I used to work in Houston. A lot of the reason I experiment and try to learn new things is so I know what my students may go through at some point in time. Then again, that is not a revolutionary concept. When I went through the National Writing Project, the idea of writing with your students not only to lead by example, but to see what the students experienced as writers, was a bit lesson that stays with me to this day.
Other attributes discussed and mentioned include: Evidence Based Practice and Research Skills, Communication, Collaboration and teamwork, and Business savvy.
And yes, a lot of LIS professionals do need to get over themselves (329). And while I am certainly to experiment and try new things, I often do find the "just do it" mantra to be a bit problematic in the sense that it seems to be "do it, don't ask, just do it, don't worry about the consequences." At times, the result can be a failure that often someone else has to clean up. Some ambiguity and risk taking are fine. Taking the risk for the sake of taking the risk without at least taking some thought is just irresponsible.
A magnificent question asked by the participants of the study, which is one I may have asked once or twice: "How do you free people up to have the time and the necessary support to actually be able to stay current with everything that's going on and the ability to get out of the day to day detail?" I am still waiting to hear answers that are not wishful thinking, platitudes, or as I heard it once, "tough, suck it up."
I would consider this a statement of the obvious. However, given all that gets written on "Librarian 2.0," it may not be as obvious. The statement: "Not surprisingly, the study highlighted that librarian 2.0 is less to do with technology and more about the quality transferable skills and interpersonal abilities."

Booknote: Los cuadernos de Don Rigoberto: 12 Books, 12 Months Book 6

2011-03-07T13:39:00.001-06:00

This is the review for the book as I posted it on GoodReads. Finishing this one puts me at the halfway point. Also, it is the last of the books in Spanish I had selected for the challenge. In essence I found Don Rigoberto's notes a hell of a lot more interesting than the plot itself.

Cuadernos de Don Rigoberto, Los by Mario Vargas Llosa

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this book a lot more, but in the end I was only lukewarm at best about it. I have some mixed feelings about it, and I hope I can convey that as I write this note. On the one hand, Vargas Llosa is indeed a master writer who can craft a sentence. The erotic and love scenes in the novel are simply beautifully described. The language and imagery are great. The use of literary and artistic references is also very good, and I tend to like books that make use of references and allusions as this book does. I tend to like reading erotica (and some porn as well), so you would think this book would have been perfect given the positive attributes I have described so far. So, what was the problem?

The problem was that the passages in between the nice stuff were boring and dry as hell. And to be perfectly honest, I found the character of Fonchito, Don Rigoberto's son, to be annoying and irritating. I just wanted to smack the kid and tell him to get lost. Mind you, the taboo angle did not bother me. For those not in the know, the basic plot of the novel is that Don Rigoberto and Lucrecia got separated after she had an affair/liaison with the precocious Fonchito. Fonchito is Lucrecia's stepson. Rigoberto still misses Lucrecia dearly, so he writes to her and about her in his notebooks, which make quite an exploration of sensuality in various facets. Ok, that all I can handle just fine, and I would think it would make a good tale. Problem was that, aside from the sensual parts, the rest of the novel was, well, pretty boring and the reading experience was pretty slow. A pity because, as I said, this book does have things to like.

As a final note, keep in mind this book is a sequel to the novel Elogio de la madrastra (available in translation as In Praise of the Stepmother ). I have not read the previous novel, and I don't think you have to have read it to appreciate this one. However, those who have read it may likely get more out of this novel.

My mother used to say that even great writers put out a dud once in a while. I am taking this as just being a novel that was so-so. If you want to truly sample Vargas Llosa, especially now that he won the Nobel Prize for Literature, he has much better works (some of which I have read). This is more for those fans of the author that want to say they have read it all. Who knows, I may give it a second chance down the road, or skim the passages I like (some of those make for good bedtime reading), but not anytime soon.

View all my reviews

Article Note: If all libraries became teaching libraries

2011-02-25T10:08:00.000-06:00

Citation for the article:

Palmer, Catherine, "This I Believe. . . All Libraries Should Be Teaching Libraries." portal: Libraries and the Academy 11.1 (January 2011): 575-582.

Read via Project Muse.

The title grabbed me right away, and I have to say it is a neat idea. Much like Palmer said, if Elmhurst College (the place the article discusses) had an opening, and they needed an instruction librarian, I would love to apply. Because I love the idea of making our libraries teaching libraries. You would think in academic libraries (the setting I work in), this would be a given, but at times the idea of a teaching library is only given lip service. This may be because academic libraries do reflect their institutions, say a teaching college (where teaching undergraduates is the core of the work) versus a big research campus (where research is the core, and undergraduates are sort of an afterthought, often taught by TA's so the professors can do the "real" work). Given my experience in academia, I can say I have seen both ends. At any rate, I found some of the ideas in the article intriguing, and I think for some libraries, those ideas could at least serve as conversation starters.

Palmer says that it may not be obvious initially why making teaching a central mission of a library is significant. She discusses sample statistics comparing reference transactions versus library instruction sessions, and she finds that the number of patrons reached by library instruction is very low. This is a conversation I have had with our instruction librarian here a few times who struggles with getting into more classrooms to help integrate information literacy into the curriculum. In some cases, the best she can do is promote her services and have the professors send their students. So she often ends up doing a lot of individual research consultations, teaching students one on one. Nothing wrong with that; back in my days as instruction librarian I did a lot of one-on-one teaching as well (best part of my job back then, and it is something I wish I could do more these days). But the point is that we would be able to reach more students proactively if we could offer more library instruction and get integrated into more classes.

However, what came to mind right away when Palmer made that observation was that we indeed do need to be teaching libraries. My argument is simple: just look around at the large amounts of misinformation, ignorance, and just plain lack of critical thinking in society these days. If there is a time when we need libraries where teaching is the central mission, this is it. I would add that to any argument on why we need to keep our libraries open. It goes with that whole safeguarding of democracy thing.

Palmer goes on to discuss something I have considered before, though I probably have not expressed it as eloquently as she has: considering instruction as a marketing tool of the library. She writes:

"We need to embrace instruction, whether provided in-person or online, as the most effective marketing tool we have at our disposal. The best way to ensure that the patrons (the majority of whom are undergraduates) who come into our buildings in the thousands, based on gate counts, have some idea of what libraries can offer-- besides a safe, clean, quiet place to study-- is to have an engaged, enthusiastic, knowledgeable librarian teach them" (576).

This is applicable to encounters at the reference desk, instruction sessions in a classroom, and even online interactions.

A few other notes from the article:

"We cannot possibly address each individual student's information need during a class session in the way that we can during a reference transaction. We can ensure that students have a baseline knowledge of the resources and services available to them, however; and, perhaps most important, we can give them a vocabulary that will help them ask better questions when they do need individual help" (577). Given things like the limitations of a one-shot session, emphasis on getting students to know our services, and more important for us, for them to know that a librarian is always there to help, is a big part of any instruction session. For me, it is not uncommon to use a bit of humor and tell my students, "you may forget half of what I taught you here today, but you do have my contact information. Feel free to use it."
Why the research model for universities and teaching students as if they are all going to be grad students and researchers (replication) is not exactly the best idea. Having said that, I am not saying we end research, or just go vocational all the way at the expense of things like humanities (like some people do). But higher education does need to understand that not all students are going to be clones of their professors. Palmer writes, "the fact is that most undergraduates go into the workforce, not on to graduate school. If we expect our society outside the academy to understand what it is that its tax dollars allow research institutions to do and to make informed decisions on how to support those institutions, then it is undergraduates who are most in need of understanding how universities 'make knowledge'" (578). This also made me think back to a piece Rory Litwin of Library Juice wrote a while back on "Get Out the Books, Not the Vote." I am also thinking this goes back to how we market the library, or how we make an impression of the library for our undergrads. After all, they will graduate someday and be making the big decisions. Planting the seed of good experiences, teaching them solid lessons in critical thinking, how information works, is accessed, and used, will pay off in the long run.
"Without our collections, we would have little to teach; but without teaching others how to find, evaluate, think about, and use those collections, there would be little need for the collections we have and little support for allocating scarce resources to acquire more" (578). I am thinking that a teaching mission can go to the idea of how does the library add value to its campus.

Palmer goes on to discuss what a "teaching library" would look like and what kind of things would need to happen for it to become a reality. Some things would not change, or they would change very little; things like good collection development would certainly continue. But other crucial changes would take place. For one, and this is something I find intriguing in terms of library marketing and outreach as well as instruction, is that we would have to develop new stories and narratives about what we do; we would also have to look at ourselves differently. Palmer provides a list of other important changes that is worth a look. We must keep in mind that the transformation may not be an easy one. Just because you relabel some things, it does not follow that the changes will be embraced or adopted. Buy-in and serious commitment are needed.

The master teacher idea also intrigued me. However, I wondered how Palmer's idea of librarians who are master teachers teaching others would work in a smaller setting where every librarian has multiple tasks; Palmer suggests having a designated instructional services department for this work (by the way, working in such department would be a dream job for me. Heading one might actually make me reconsider my negative view of wanting to manage anything). Also I wonder what about if you have only one or two librarians committed to the teaching mission, but the rest of the librarians do not really care, or just do not want to change, or worse, simply don't think anyone should be telling them how to teach. I think this is where administrative support and commitment is going to be crucial; if the library administration does not provide direction and vision on this to get others on board, it likely may flounder. Having asked that, I still think the idea of a "mini immersion" experience created locally has a lot of value, and it should be replicated. In fact, as I understood things when I went to ACRL Immersion on the teaching track, teaching others what I have learned was part of the model and mission (by the way, that idea of teaching others is a core tenet of the National Writing Project, another program I was honored to have attended).

A few more notes from the article:

"But, by acting programmatically, the libraries could slowly inculcate the expectation that all students, regardless of their major, would graduate with a sense of how knowledge in their chosen discipline is created, shared, evaluated, and archived for use by future scholars" (581).
"Finally, it would help to develop an institutional memory for instruction and allow the library to develop new leadership for this important function" (581).
"It is no longer enough for librarians to simply respond when asked for information; they must continuously promote library resources and services in a manner that engages and addresses the needs of the appropriate audience and reinforces the role of the library and librarians in the intellectual life of the campus" (582).

Article Note: On subject encyclopedias in an age of Wikipedia

2011-02-18T11:33:00.000-06:00

Citation for the article:

East, John W., "'The Rolls Royce of the Library Reference Collection" The Subject Encyclopedia in the Age of Wikipedia." Reference and User Services Quarterly 50.2 (2010): 162-169.

Read online.

This small article basically gives a small overview of the subject encyclopedia's place in the academic library and how it is losing that place to tools like Wikipedia. The author, John W. East, also looks at online subject encyclopedias and considers how libraries are (or not) promoting and facilitating their use. The article begins with a brief historical overview of the subject encyclopedia. He suggests that by the 1970s, the subject encyclopedia was well-established in libraries for reference work (163). East goes on to say that the heyday of the subject encyclopedia was around 1986; this is the year when American Reference Books Annual (know as ARBA by most librarians; odds are good many libraries still have ARBA volumes) published the first edition of Guide to Subject Encyclopedias and Dictionaries.

I found it interesting when the author points out how some back in 1986 or so predicted that computers would not replace encyclopedias anytime soon. We have a come a long way, and the computers have done quite a bit of replacing (for good or ill, that is for another debate another day). The point is that subject encyclopedias were slow to move into electronic formats. Then the web came, and pretty much everything changed from how students seek out information to our roles as librarians and educators. Students began to see Wikipedia as an easy and convenient source of information while libraries began to cut back on their reference collections; whether due to economics, lack of use due to more online resources, due to Wikipedia displacing the reference collection, so on is another debate. The point is it is happening. Many libraries are shifting from print to online versions for their subject encyclopedias, if they still purchase subject reference works at all. That is the approach we are pursuing at my library where online is favored whenever possible (and while I have some strong opinions about this, they are not here and now). East does observe that "the attitude that 'if it's not online, it doesn't exist' is becoming more prevalent with every passing year" (165). I will note that in many cases, it is also an attitude that is becoming more common among librarians as well. That is something I disagree with, but over time, I may find myself in the minority position. But let's not digress.

Some notes from the article:

A good number of subject encyclopedias are available in electronic format via a few vendors (SAGE, Gale, etc.). "It is encouraging that so many of the titles are available online, but their dispersal across multiple platforms puts them at a disadvantage when compared with the 'one-stop-shop' that is Wikipedia" (165). This is a big issue overall. Different reference works are on different platforms, and each platform has its own idiosyncrasies and restrictions that patrons often do not understand (assuming they even bother to access one of these electronic reference works). Then there is the licensing, the authentication issues to get to the reference work in question, etc. All this make using a particular electronic encyclopedia a challenge for students. Thus it is even more of a challenge for us librarian to promote use of these works when they are not exactly user friendly. I don't foresee this problem going away anytime soon since it is not necessarily in the interest of the vendors to get their products to play nice with each other.
"Clearly many of our online subject encyclopedias are not earning their keep" (165). I am sure a lot of this has to do with what I just mentioned above. They can't earn their keep if the students cannot get to them. East expands on this when he writes, "it is now a cliche of librarianship that our clients are more interested in convenience than quality and that our high-quality resources will only be used if our clients can identify and access them easily" (166).
On promoting the online resources: "When liaison librarians have access to sites that students in a particular course will use frequently-- such as electronic course reserves or course management systems like Blackboard-- they have the opportunity to insert links to relevant electronic encyclopedias. If the links are prominently situated, students might notice and use them" (167). We had to fight a bit of a battle to get access to Blackboard in the first place. Then another to get a library presence in it where we wanted a library tab on the interface that would be prominent for students to see while the BB administrators wanted to toss a link to the library under "other campus organizations." So you may find yourself fighting a bit just to get into the CMS in the first place. However, once you manage to get in, you may be able to accomplish some things.
Other ways of promotion mentioned in the article are listing individual electronic reference sources in your library catalog, on your subject guides, and on lists of books and databases. I do put some of the online reference works relevant to my subject areas in my LibGuides. I probably could do a bit better about promoting some specific e-book encyclopedias in class, but I will admit that some of the obstacles already mentioned are a big turn off. In other words, I have a hard time recommending something to students that I know will be difficult for them to use. This may be a partial answer to the question the author raises: "If we think that our students still understand and value the encyclopedia as an information resource (and this is a question that probably merits further research), then why are we not promoting our encyclopedias more prominently on our websites?" (168). I think students do understand, or can learn to understand, the value of a good subject encyclopedia as an information resource. And I do promote print encyclopedias that may be relevant to a specific need when we have them. However, for electronic, as I said above, if it is a difficult source to use, I have a hard time promoting it to students.

Article Note: On reference service preferences

2011-02-11T09:15:00.000-06:00

Citation for the article:

Granfield, Diane, and Mark Robertson, "Preference for Reference: New Options and Choices for Academic Library Users." Reference & User Services Quarterly 48.1 (Fall 2008): 44-53.

Read online.

This article looks at library users' help-seeking preferences. Do they prefer to go to the reference desk? Do they prefer using virtual reference? It is looking at that type of question. The study reported is based on an in-person survey and an online survey. Four focus groups were conducted after the surveys. Note that the authors found it easier to do the online survey, which was implemented with a pop-up after VR sessions, than to do the in-person surveys after reference transactions. As I was reading the article, I thought that it would be a good idea for us to conduct a similar survey here. However, with issues like survey fatigue (campus administration here surveys students on just about anything to the point of oversaturation) and logistics (time, staff, the usual), I do not see it happening for now. Yet I think we could learn a few useful things, so I may just have to table the idea for the moment.

The article opens with the usual picture of the 1990s as a time of transition for reference services, the rise of the Web and digital content, and the new digital natives generation. The authors go on to state that virtual reference (VR) is one of the significant recent developments. However, in spite of VR's popularity, questions about its cost effectiveness persist as well as other questions. I have looked at some of those questions before. In fact, I have expressed some questions and concerns in regards to the consortial VR service that we participate in, and those concerns, such as staffing models and librarian engagement, still persist. The project is an administrative darling, so we may be stuck with a service that is not really serving our own students locally and overall has low usage for a while. Thus this article interested me as it addressed service preferences, plus it could be useful for some evidence down the road.

This item from the literature review caught my eye. It is from a small survey (340 users) done by Ruppel and Fagan that the authors cite:

"An astounding 29 percent thought staff did not look helpful at the physical reference desk and 17 percent did not want to go to the library building to do their research. In spite of these negative perceptions, the physical reference desk had a clear advantage for most users because of the 'personal touch'" (qtd. in 46).

Other notes I found interesting:

This may also have to do with how accessible and/or user-friendly we make our library websites. This is on other self-help options that users might employ for their research needs that the authors included in their survey. "Among the response options, consulting information on the library website was included as wll as searching Google or another Internet search engine. These options were included because it was felt that our users may increasingly seek answers to what would reference questions by employing self-help strategies and consulting sources on the Internet (whether they are sites we have constructed ourselves or popular external sites" (48).
The survey confirmed that graduate students prefer to work outside the library. Thus they rate VR higher (50). What I wonder is how many of these grad students are distance learners versus on campus. For instance, here, our nursing doctorate program is all online, so the students would use phone and VR to get a hold of librarians for reference help in addition to what they get via the website, which includes our Research Guides (powered by LibGuides) and use of tools like Elluminate; the campus recently paid for Elluminate and is actively promoting it. Our nursing liaison librarian makes use of it. I suppose this would fall under a form of VR since it can be interactive.
On VR staffing, for us, we do staff our VR away from the reference desk for the most part. However, at the reference desk we also tend to the reference e-mail and naturally the phone. I wonder if scenarios like this, which I am sure are not unique for us, have an effect on the unfavorable rating that e-mail and phone service got in the survey (50).
The article's conclusion seems a bit of a draw: "The reference desk continues to be the most popular method of getting help in the library, but our findings confirm that VR satisfies a niche for some users, quite likely those who prefer to work outside the library" (51). This seems kind of a statement of the obvious: if you like to work out of the library and use VR, you will rate that higher than the reference desk. However, overall, the reference desk is still the preferred method of getting help in the library.

Webinar notes: On E-gov and libraries

2011-01-21T12:14:00.000-06:00

Again, I am running somewhat behind on my notes for recent webinars I have listened to. Anyhow, here goes.

Webinar provided by ALA.
Topic title: E-gov: Make it work @ your library
Event date: December 9, 2010.

You can find some notes and additional resource links at the ALA's PLFTA site (click under "Presentations."). Presenter ppt. slides and additional resource links available.

My notes:

On public libraries and e-gov.:

63% of libraries report providing e-gov access.
For 2010, 53% of libraries reported their staff did not have skills to meet patron needs in regards to e-gov.

E-gov in public libraries. Some best practices (and even though this is mostly for public libraries, I think us in academia can learn a thing or two as well. Besides, we are librarians, we should not be part of that 53%).

Having dedicated computers for e-gov with extended time limits (this is just for e-gov. Often, for the public libraries who get laptops for this, the laptops are funded by a grant).
It is necessary to develop an e-gov policy (and do have it reviewed by a lawyer). The policy is to say what the library can or cannot do in terms of e-gov (levels of service-- i.e. things like we just point to the sites versus help them navigate the site).
Other legal stuff: Provide verbal and written disclaimers. Do refrain from helping users fill out forms. Do not select forms for users (show them how to use an index of forms, but let them select the form they need). Refrain from typing any personal information for patrons.
ALA's E-gov toolkit.
It is helpful to keep statistics of types of e-gov questions received. This can help with advocacy for the library later.
It is important to promote and market these services. For example, have lists of commonly used websites, what to bring when filling out forms. Some libraries may have an e-gov blog. (In terms of the blog, I thought we could incorporate more e-gov information into our library blog's content rather than creating a whole new blog)
Sample: Pasco County Libraries E-gov page.

Evaluating e-gov sites, with some examples:

Some qualities:

quantity and quality of the information.
website presentation and accessibility.
level of information on the site.
services available to the public.
level of accessibility to the disabled or others using alternative technologies.
does the site save time? Are the services intuitive? Does it provide good helping aids for first time users?

Some good site examples:

usa.gov. See the portal part "for citizens."
National Park Service.
Some good state sites include California, Alabama, Maine, Rhode Island, Virginia, Texas (whoop whoop), District of Columbia, and South Carolina.
A favorite is GPO Access, which (sadly or not depending on where you sit) is soon to be replaced by the Federal Digital System. Although this does not look like a replacement (maybe the guy presenting was not as clear).

Libraries and e-gov: collaboration and education.

Some context for the increase in public library use for computers: unemployment benefits, social services, job seekers, other government needs.
Note there are people who cancel the Internet at home to save money (it is a tight economy folks), so libraries see more usage of computers for communication and leisure needs (the whole leisure thing certainly a debate for another day).
From a technology access survey of public libraries (cited in the presentation):

66.6% of library branches report being the only provider of free public access computers and free Internet access.
Overall, public library branches report an average of 14 computers for public access plus they often provide wifi. 82.2% of public library branches offer wifi, up from 76.4% in 2008-2009. Overall, library usage is up across the board.
88.8% of public library branches help people understand and use government websites.

Article Note: On Readers' Advisory and Social Networking Sites

2011-01-12T15:23:00.000-06:00

Citation for the article:

Stover, Kaite Mediatore, "Stalking the Wild Appeal Factor: Reader's Advisory and Social Networking Sites." Reference & User Services Quarterly 48.3 (2009): 243-246, 269.

Read online.

This is a brief article that mentions three social networking sites focused on books and reading. The sites in question are Shelfari, Library Thing, and GoodReads. The article is a call for readers' advisors to embrace these technologies, and it offers some commentary on the sites.

Some brief notes:

Food for thought: "Readers' advisory (RA) is one of the most social services libraries offer" (244). It certainly is a reason I was drawn to librarianship, and it is an interest and professional area that I try to keep up with even as I do very little of it as an academic librarian. Personally, I think it is an important skill for us to have, and I think we should be promoting recreational reading a bit more on our campuses. I have had a thing or two to say on the matter if anyone is interested.
The author argues that expanding RA online will create larger communities and that the library's space should include the virtual space as well. That sounds good to me.
A big benefit of using these online services for library staff: "Not only are library staff reaching new and different patrons, but they are improving their own knowledge of books read, heard of, and glanced at, and it is all in one place. Library staff are equipped with easy-to-use tools that help them organize their own reading and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in reading areas" (244). Personally, that is a benefit of using these kinds of tools: I can keep track of what I read and get a sense of what I read and tend to favor. Looking at it over time, combined with my annual book list exercise, gives a sense also of where my reading preferences change. Maybe more of us should be doing these things and taking the time to reflect on what we read.
The author goes over briefly over descriptions and features of the three services I mentioned above. In terms of preferences, it seems those who prefer GR do so due to the fact you can add an unlimited number of books to your lists: Library Thing was praised for its tagging features (245).
Conclusion: "Try out all of the Web toys out there. It's the responsibility of a good readers' advisor to at least be familiar with the numerous Internet playthings. But once they've all been taken for a test run, commit to one and politely show the others the door. It will be enough of a time commitment to keep one account current on a reading network, and it will be very important to keep that account up to date" (246). This is consistent with my personal philosophy of keeping up and "try it out, use it if it works, discard it if it does not."

Disclosure note: I am a GoodReads user, which in my case, includes "librarian" privileges (I can edit records among other things). You can find a link to my profile there in the right side bar of the blog. If anything, consistent with the article, a reason I liked it better was that I could add all the books I wanted. However, Library Thing does seem to be the librarians' favored service overall (conclusion based on informal observation).

Booknote: Dune (12 Months, 12 Books Challenge, Book 5)

2011-01-08T16:32:00.002-06:00

This is my review of the book as I posted it on my GoodReads list. I am definitely glad I reread this as I had forgotten just how much depth this novel has. This may be a book I may reread in the near future.

Dune by Frank Herbert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the second time I read this novel, and it reminded me of just how good it is. Herbert does an excellent job with the planet building in creating Arrakis, the planet known as Dune. He also sets in motion a story of intrigue and politics in an Empire where a religious sect strive to control certain genetic lines while a guild controls a monopoly on space travel. In the midst of this, the House of Atreides is betrayed leaving the young heir to the Duke, Paul, as survivor who is left in the desert. There he is taken in by the Fremen who come to see him as the prophet they have waited for. The novel is definitely a classic of science fiction on many levels. From the setting to the epic story, this is an excellent novel that is hard to put down. It is also a novel that immerses the reader; you want to take your time reading it even as you speed through it.

There are so many things I could say about this book. The writing can be very poetic at times. The descriptions of the setting are just amazing. There is a bit of a spiritual element within the science fiction that makes the story work very well. There is suspense in the machinations of the various factions seeking power within the Empire. It has political intrigue, adventure, coming of age, all in an epic science fiction tale. The novel clearly has earned its place in the classics.

I will add that I have not read the sequels that Herbert wrote for it. I may pick them up at one point just for the sake of being complete. But this novel pretty much does stand by itself, and you can certainly stop here. As for the extensions by Kevin Anderson and Brian Herbert, I am not as sure if I want to read them. I tend to think less of other people making sequels and prequels to works by other authors, especially someone as good as Frank Herbert was with Dune. I usually figure that for good novels, one should leave well enough alone. Anyhow, that's my disclosure note. Now, if you consider yourself a science fiction reader, and you have not read Dune, go read it.

View all my reviews

Update note (1/13/11): Here is the December round-up of 12 Books, 12 Months at Latter Day Bohemian. Feel free to go over and see what other participants are reading. There are some interesting things there.

Update note (2/17/11): Here is the January round-up at Latter Day Bohemian. Again, feel free to go over and see what others are reading. I am posting it now rather than in February since odds are good I won't have a challenge book finished by the end of February; I picked up a couple of hefty items from the list. So sharing this now.

Can we please stop the "library is dying" hysteria already?

2011-01-06T15:37:00.000-06:00

This is going to be a bit long, so my four readers are warned. I tend to stay away from this type of topic, but to be honest, I am getting a little tired of the constant "the library is dying" hysterical meme going in and out of Librarian Blogsville and the less-than-well informed media. I read the piece in question, and I spent some time writing some thoughts. So here it goes. This is mostly a writing exercise as well as just letting some stuff out.

* * * *

"I'm sorry, did I break your concentration? I didn't mean to do that. Please, continue, you were saying something about best intentions. What's the matter? Oh, you were finished! Well, allow me to retort" --Jules, from the film Pulp Fiction.

Brian T. Sullivan's column in The Chronicle of Higher Education, "Death by Irony" (which just got the title changed when I rechecked the link to ""Academic Autopsy Report 2050" because one reader too many could not tell the piece was meant to be satire or irony) about how academic libraries will be dead by 2050 pretty much begs for a rebuttal. I've heard the piece is supposed to be satire, and that would not worry me were it not for the fact that our campus president would likely view it seriously and use it as evidence to close the library down. That the author is an instructional librarian does not help the matter either since people will always need a librarian to show them how to use information effectively. It's one area where we add value. That he is so dismissive, even in jest (assuming it is jest) just makes me wonder what kind of librarian is he.

I have refuted the column, in a slightly different form previously, in a small piece I tossed over in my scratch pad blog back in November of last year. Some of the arguments I wrote back then would be very applicable now.

Let me take Sullivan's points one at a time:

"Book collections became obsolete." The old canard that e-books and online texts will take over the world. First, I wonder what kind of students Sullivan works with because here our students still have a very strong preference for printed books or what they call "real books." Sure, more distance students are embracing e-books, but on campus at least, print still rules the day. Second, the digital book interfaces still leave a lot to be desired in terms of usability. Honestly, I don't see that getting better by 2050. In fact, a lot of the phone calls we get when it comes to e-books are variants of the "how do I get the book/make this work?" questions. And let's not even go into the whole licensing versus ownership and how to access and/or authenticate certain users questions though those questions do add to the pain and can show why print books are not going to die any time soon in spite of some folks' wishful thinking. Third, as for campus IT managing e-book collections, I don't think they can or are willing to actually manage e-book collections. Such management does require more than just pushing some buttons, applying some code, and making sure the Internet works so users can get to the e-book platform. What I am trying to say is that e-book management is a lot more than just the technology. Guess who negotiates the contracts and then organizes the information, metadata, so on to make it accessible. Not the IT people. That would be a librarian.
"Library instruction was no longer necessary." Really? There are so many ways to refute this, but I will try to be concise. To start, see my retort to #1 above. I will say: guess who teaches students and faculty to use those e-books. We do, and we do so for individuals as well as groups. Do you honestly think the IT Department will do such work? Nope. Faculty will probably not do it either for the following reasons:

They may not want to give up their class time.
They may not know how the systems work. After all, who on campus makes it their job to keep up with e-book, databases, so on, then teach it to others? We do. Heck, were are the ones who often have to drag the faculty into the 21st century.

"Information literacy was fully integrated into the curriculum." To this I say, "that will be the day." See my #2 above. This also assumes that faculty will actually commit to information literacy with more than lip service to how good it is or a few small measures to pass accreditation. Yes, librarians will play a role in designing the new curricula that integrates information literacy, but I think the partnership will continue beyond the design. For the answer, I would look to models of embedded librarianship or even campus writing labs, which will survive as long as faculty prefer to just send the kids over there to get help with their basic writing or their research skills. We already see it when we get students at the reference desk who say, "my professor sent me here to get research on X." This also means that the reference service will not disappear. And as I am typing I am wondering, if we do achieve integrated information literacy in the curriculum, is that not a good thing? Especially if it works as I envision it, being a collaborative effort? I thought that was the holy grail for many academic librarians.
"Libraries and librarians were subsumed by information-technology departments." I will grant that some librarians who are more technologically inclined will seek and find jobs in IT. Now, IT subsuming everything in terms of the library? See #1 above in terms of collection management. Also see #3 above in terms of teaching information literacy and reference services (don't worry, I am getting to Sullivans' 5th point). It's not all about technology. There are significant elements of people skills (here is another post waiting to happen, but I digress), pedagogy, information organization and management among others that IT pretty much lacks. As for cataloguing being done by vendors, even when they hire former librarians to do it, I can refer you to our cataloguer so she can tell you about time and labor going into fixing what the vendors provide as well as making sure it works locally. Your local IT department is just not going to have that level of care or quality control or customer service (yes, cataloguing IS a public service). Librarians do, and no, the librarians who jump over to IT won't be doing it either since they will be focused on actual IT work. Again, the library and its librarians are not going anywhere.
"Reference services disappeared." I've already considered much of this in the above. Reference services may and will take new forms, but they will not disappear. As for tiered services, what Sullivan did not mention is that tiered models usually work on a triage model where the nonlibrarian knows when to refer a question up to a professional librarian. While a well-trained paraprofessional or student worker can be very capable and knowledgeable (and we are assuming good training, which is quite a variable), they certainly cannot do everything and usually have a librarian for back-up to fall upon. This is an important detail missing from Sullivan's column. He also mentions that low-wage paraprofessionals cost less. I would suggest he look at companies who prided themselves on sending operations to India that are suddenly bringing their call centers back to the U.S. Or that credit card company that now brags that you can get a REAL person on the first call attempt rather than the cheaper phone tree. Yes, they actually use that as a selling point: talk to a REAL person. Just because something is cheaper, it does not follow it is the best thing to do.Your campus librarians are information and education assets. Or you can let economics trump your quality, which leads us to #6.
"Economics trumped quality." We don't have to wait for Sullivan's dead library future for this. I may have to grant Sullivan this one. Economics is trumping quality in higher education, and we are seeing the consequences in a less skilled workforce, less educated college students, social promotion and grade inflation, etc.If the powers that be use "economics trump quality" as their excuse to kill the library, they ought to be ashamed of themselves, and they ought to be fired because it means they will be willing to cut corners elsewhere to save a few bucks. And if you think Wikipedia and Google Scholar will replace the library more cheaply, you may as well admit defeat now and just let Asians, Europeans, and others who already beat the U.S. in every educational measure to just flat out take over while our students clean their toilets and make their Big Macs. I say that about the U.S. because when you look at stories of libraries dying, you don't see as many overseas (except for the British, where The Guardian has one every so often); more often than not, you hear of countries struggling to open libraries. Now I am not being extreme. I am just running with the "economics trumps quality" and the libraries and librarians as expendable luxuries and taking them to logical conclusions. Because if academic libraries are the heart of the campus, and we let economics trump quality, what else in higher education are we willing to amputate/remove/kill in order to save a few bucks? Is that really the future? I hope not, and as long as we have our academic librarians and libraries, probably not.

For more on the "economics trumping quality" line of thinking, I would recommend taking a look at The Five-Year Party, which I recently read.

My Reading List for 2010

2011-01-04T10:37:00.000-06:00

I made it to the end of 2010, and this is my summary of books read for 2010. I have been doing this since 2006, and I continue to enjoy reflecting on what I have read for the past year.

Let's start with the basic numbers:

Number of books read in 2010: 119, with 6 rereads.

Number of books read in 2009: 98, with 5 rereads. I believe this is the first time I started to actively track rereads. (the 2009 list).
Number of books read in 2008: 111 (the 2008 list).
Number of books read in 2007: 85 (the 2007 list).
Number of books read in 2006: 106 (the 2006 list).
Number of books read in 2005: 73

It looks like 2010 was my best year so far in terms of the amount of books read. I will include other numbers along with my commentaries after the list. Books with an asterisk are books that I reread this year. As always, if a book title is not as clear, I have added small details in parenthesis (say to make clear it is a graphic novel or part of a series). If I posted a review to one of the blogs, then I will provide a link. Otherwise, you can find the books on my GoodReads profile (link on the right side column of the blog).

The books I have read:

January:

Frank Miller, Sin City, Vol 1: The Hard Goodbye.
Scott Westerfield, Leviathan.
Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Super Freakonomics.
Jim Butcher, Welcome to the Jungle (Dresden Files series, graphic novel).
Robert Crumb, The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb.
Scott Adams, Journey to Cubeville.
Failblog.org Community, Fail Nation.

February:

James Luceno, Millenium Falcon (Star Wars).
Brad Warner, Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye.
Frank Miller, Sin City, Vol.2: A Dame to Kill For.
Bill Bishop, The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart.
Scott Douglas, Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian. (Booknote)
Darko Macan, Star Wars: Chewbacca (graphic novel).
Barbara Ehrenreich, Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking has Undermined America. (Booknote)
Jessica R. Feldman and Robert Stilling, eds., What Should I Read Next?
Dan Joley, JSA: The Liberty File, Book #1.
Dan Joley, JSA: The Liberty File, Book #2.
Dan Abnett, Eisenhorn (Warhammer 40,000).
James Morrow, Bible Stories for Adults.
Gary Larson, Last Chapter and Worse.*

March:

Alan Moore, Promethea: Book Two.
Garth Ennis, Fury.
Nanae Chrono, Vassalord, Vol. 1.
Nanae Chrono, Vassalord, Vol. 2.
Christie Golden, Vampire of the Mists (Ravenloft series, Book 1).*
Nanae Chrono, Vassalord, Vol. 3.
Kazuo Koike, Samurai Executioner, Vol. 2: Two Bodies, Two Minds.
Greg Mortenson, Three Cups of Tea.

April:

Devin Grayson, Nightwing and Huntress.
Charles P. Pierce, Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free. (Booknote)
Kozuo Koike, Samurai Executioner, Vol. 3: The Hell Stick.
Greg Pak, Marvel 1602: New World.
Jack Cafferty, Now or Never: Getting Down to the Business of Saving Our American Dream.

May:

Frank Miller, Batman: Year One. *
Bruce Littlefield, Garage Sale America.
Gary Larson, The Curse of Madame "C."
Spencer Smith, Young Jesus Chronicles: A Cartoon Collection.
Beatrice Hohenegger, Liquid Jade: The Story of Tea from East to West.
Pablo Neruda, Veinte Poemas de Amor y una Cancion Desesperada.
Marc Falkoff, Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak.
Diane Ravitch, The Death and Life of the Great American School System.
Michael Reeves and John Pelan, eds., Shadows Over Baker Street.
Masamune Shirow, Dominion (Tank Police manga).
Stewart Wieck, Toreador (Vampire: the Masquerade, Clan Novel #1).

June:

Kazuo Koike, Samurai Executioner, Vol. 4: Portrait of Death.
Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden, The Dangerous Book for Boys.
Dave Marinaccio, All I Really Need to Know I Learned From Watching Star Trek.
Gary Larson, The Far Side Observer.
Alan Moore, Promethea: Book 3.
Kazuo Koike, Samurai Executioner, Vol. 5: Ten Fingers, One Life.
Graham Edmonds, The Business of Bullshit.
Eric Jerome Dickey, Storm (Marvel Comics).
Nancy Folbre, Saving State U.: Fixing Public Higher Education.
Moises Kaufman, The Laramie Project. (Booknote)
Carl McColman, The Complete Idiot's Guide (R) to Paganism.
Alan Moore, Promethea: Book 4.
Maki Ogawa and Crystal Watanabe, Yum-Yum Bento Box: Fresh Recipes for Adorable Lunches.
Alan Moore, Promethea: Book 5.
Greg Pak, Planet Hulk.
Marilyn Johnson, This Book is Overdue! (Booknote)

July:

Sandy Mitchell, Death or Glory (Ciaphas Cain #4, Warhammer 40Kseries).
Jack Huberman, The Quotable Atheist. (Booknote)
Amy Wallace, et.al., The Book of Lists: Horror. (Booknote)
Suzette Tyler, Been There, Should Have Done That II: More Tips for Making the Most of College. (Booknote)
James Dale Robinson, Grendel Tales: Four Devils, One Hell.
Shmuel Bar, Warrant for Terror: The Fatwas of Radical Islam and the Duty to Jihad. (Booknote)
Eric Garcia, The Repossession Mambo.(Booknote)
Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary.
Darko Macan, Grendel Tales: Devils and Deaths.

August:

Dave Cullen, Columbine. (Booknote)
Kim Levin, Catrimony: The Feline Guide to Ruling the Relationship.
Emmanuel Guibert, The Photographer: Into War-torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders. (Booknote)
Bill Ayers, To Teach: The Journey, in Comics.
Arvid Nelson, Rex Mundi, Vol. 1: The Guardian of the Temple.
Kazuo Koike, Samurai Executioner, Vol. 6: Shinko the Kappa.
Arvid Nelson, Rex Mundi, Vol. 2: The River Underground.
Lewis Black, Me of Little Faith.
Larry Winget, It's Called Work for a Reason! (Booknote)
Julia E. Sweig, Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know.
Chris Ryall, Groom Lake.
Natalie Goldberg, Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir.
Pliny the Younger, The Letters of the Younger Pliny.
Jessica Abel, Life Sucks.
Kazuo Koike, Samurai Executioner, Vol. 7: The Bamboo Splitter.

September:

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom, China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know.
Joe Hill, Locke and Key, vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft.
Ian Spector, Chuck Norris Cannot Be Stopped.
Joe Hill, Locke and Key, vol. 2: Head Games.
Anthony Bourdain, Medium Raw.
Alan Moore, DC Universe: The Stories of Alan Moore.
Steven Greenhouse, The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker. (Booknote)
Joe Hill: Locke and Key, vol. 3: Crown of Shadows.
Peter Normanton, ed., The Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics.*
Hiroya Oku, Gantz, vol.1.

October:

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, Batman: The Long Halloween.*
Nick Gevers, ed., Extraordinary Engines: The Definitive Steampunk Anthology.
Jon Stewart, Earth (the book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race.
Paul Greenberg: Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food.
Matt Dembicki, ed., Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection.
Justin Halpern, Sh*t My Dad Says.
Sean Williams: The Force Unleashed II (Star Wars novel).
José Saramago, Ensayo sobre la ceguera. (12B12M--Booknote)
Kazuo Koike, Samurai Executioner, Vol. 8: The Death Sign of Spring.

November:

Kazuo Koike, Samurai Executioner, Vol. 9: Facing Life and Death.
Kelly Huegel, GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens.(Booknote)
Kazuo Koike, Samurai Executioner, Vol. 10: A Couple of Jitte.
Dava Sobel, The Planets. (12B12M--Booknote)
R.A. Salvatore, The Crystal Shard (graphic novel adaptation. Legend of Drizzt series, #4).
Sandy Mitchell, Duty Calls (Ciaphas Cain #5, Warhammer 40K series).

December:

Scott Snyder and Stephen King, American Vampire, Vol. 1.
Saul D. Alinsky, Rules for Radicals. (Booknote)
Alan Moore, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Century: 1910.
Ted Nugent, Ted, White, and Blue: The Nugent Manifesto.
Hiroya Oku, Gantz, Vol. 2.
Joe Haldeman, The Forever War.* (12B12M--Booknote)
Armando Choy, et. al., Nuestra historia aun se esta escribiendo.(12B12M--Booknote)
Craig Brando, The Five-Year Party. (Booknote)
Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer, eds., Steampunk.
Helen Isolde, How to have a Perfect Christmas.

Commentary and thoughts:

I continue to use GoodReads to keep track of what I read (link to my profile, which you can also see on the right column of the blog). From small updates, which are fed to my Facebook page and Twitter, to reviews of the books, that is the space where I am doing most of my reading tracking and reviewing. If I feel a book needs to be shared more broadly, I will repost the book review in one of my blogs. As usual for me, if it is a book on a topic not discussed in polite company (politics, religion, sex or adult, or more personal), I post about it at The Itinerant Librarian.
Number of books read in the worst month: 5 (April).
Number of books read in the best month: 16 (June).
Fiction: 65. As I have done before, graphic novels and mangas fall under fiction unless they are something like a memoir, which I then count under nonfiction for the overall count.On this basis, I read more fiction than nonfiction this year.
Nonfiction: 49. In this category, I would include any library science books. I only read three books related to libraries, and I was not particularly pleased even though one of them was a book that many celebrity librarians thought was the best thing since sliced bread. I thought the book was overrated. Aside from that, I read a little history, a little of current events, and some other miscellaneous things.
Graphic novels and comics: 39. This category includes both the traditional definition most people consider, i.e. comics from places like DC and Marvel, as well as other genres. It can include fiction and nonfiction. I reread a couple of items in this category. Batman: The Long Halloween is starting to become an annual tradition for me to reread around Halloween. It is a very good tale, and it definitely sets the mood for Halloween.
Mangas: 15. I did not read as many this year, but I did complete a series. I will comment on that series below. As I have noted before, getting good mangas in Tyler, TX (or anywhere in East TX for that matter) is next to impossible. A trip out of town usually helps remedy that somewhat, but given that the economy is tight, making that trip has become a less frequent occurrence. I am not too worried as I do have a good amount of mangas waiting to be read; I tend to stock up when I do go out of town, and I have a good stock of mangas, manwhas, etc. to be read, plus some certainly worth rereading. This is different from graphic novels, since some I can get through Interlibrary Loan at work, ILL (usually the more known works), though I still buy a good amount of graphic novels as well.
Other categories: I read two books of poetry and a play.
Books written in Spanish: 3.
Books borrowed: 61. This is a new tracking category for me. I want to see how many books I am borrowing versus buying. This can include borrowing from the public library, my workplace, or via ILL. I borrowed slightly more than I bought; 58 books on the list are books I own (it does not mean I bought them all last year; tracking how many books I bought in a year could be interesting, but a different category that might not fit in this post since I don't always read what I buy right away). In terms of my borrowing, I tend to borrow most if not all of my nonfiction reading. This is especially applicable to anything related to current affairs since those types of books are usually the type to read once and move on. Overall, there are not many nonfiction books that I feel I have to own aside from a few reference items or books that lend themselves to be read again. Overall, the basic rule for me is if I do not wish to read it more than once, or it is something common, I will try to borrow it.
Book and/or reading challenges. I am currently undertaking the 12 Books, 12 Months Challenge. Here is my post accepting the challenge, and you can find the details and link to the challenge itself as well. The challenge started in September 2010 (I actually started in October 2010), and it runs until September 2011. As of this post, I have read four books from my challenge list, marked above as "12B12M." I am currently reading my fifth book from my challenge list, Frank Herbert's Dune. As I finish a book on the challenge list, I am posting reviews in this blog and in my GoodReads profile.
I have discovered over time that I read a lot by serendipity. I may have mentioned this before or not. Anyhow, I discover a lot of my reading ideas by browsing the new books shelf at the public library, keeping an eye on the few acquisitions we do here (budget is bad, so ordering here is sporadic), and browsing at the bookstore. I also read a good number of book and reading-related blogs where I jot down ideas. The point is I tend to pick stuff up as it comes on my radar. Plus, given that I always have two to four books going at any given time, picking up something new is not an issue for me. Another useful tool is that I keep lists of books I want to read. I have a large stack of written notes with lists, and lately I have been using my scratch pad blog, Alchemical Thoughts, to jot down lists of books I want to read. On the scratch pad, I usually include links to any post I find about the book I am interested in with a link to the book (usually the WorldCat record). One of these days, I have to make an update post or two for any book on those blog lists that I have actually read. If interested, you can visit Alchemical Thoughts and click the "books and reading" tag to see the lists. Overall, I feel like I will always find something to read.

And now the part that my four readers are waiting for, my favorites of 2010 and other comments:

Frank Miller's Sin City series. I am gradually making my way through this. If the only Sin City you know is the film, you need to do yourself a favor and go read the graphic novels. At any rate, Frank Miller's work speaks for itself in terms of excellence whether it is 300, his Batman stories, or his Robocop. Another Frank Miller title I read this year was Batman: Year One. This was somewhat a basis for the Batman film reboot that started with Batman Begins.
I thought that Brad Warner's Sit Down and Shut Up was pretty interesting. Warner gives us a punk take on zen buddhism, and the book was pretty good to read.
Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn. I thought that Ciaphas Cain would be my only favorite in the Warhammer 40K universe. Then someone recommended I take a look at Eisenhorn, and I did. This is another excellent series. I read the first collected omnibus that has the three novels and two short tales. Gregor Eisenhorn is an inquisitor in the 41st millennium moving behind the scenes to keep the enemies of the Imperium at bay. This series combines adventure with a touch of detective and suspense fiction. Abnett does have a very good writing style and knows how to keep up a good pace. And since Eisenhorn had an apprentice, who now has his own series, I will be picking up Ravenor at some point in the future.
Kazuo Koike's Samurai Executioner series is probably the best manga I read this year. I also feel good because I read the entire series this year. Koike's works are not only great stories, but the artists that draw his stories also tend to do excellent work. The executioner is tasked with testing the shogun's swords, and he does it by beheading the condemned. However, the executioner often works aiding the local law enforcement and does other tasks. There is a touch of the consulting detective in this series set in Edo-era Japan. By the way, the series captures the setting very well. I do have to give the usual warning for the uptight, squeamish, or just more conservative folks: the series does contain violence (including beheadings) and sex. I tend to like that sort of thing, but I know some people out there do not. So, reader discretion is advised. Overall, this is one I highly recommend. Koike is the author of the famous Lone Wolf and Cub series. I already have the first two volumes of that series on my shelf, so I hope to get started on it this year.
Bruce Littlefield's Garage Sale America was a cute little book. The author traveled around the U.S. visiting garage sales, rummage sales, and flea markets. The photography in this book was very good, and it captures an interesting piece of Americana.
Beatrice Hohenegger, Liquid Jade: The Story of Tea from East to West was interesting as well. I learned a lot about tea from this book. Not just the history, but also a bit about the plant itself and how we get the tea that we enjoy in our homes.
Greg Pak's Planet Hulk was definitely one of the best graphic novel compilations I read this year. The series has a strong element that reminds us Robert E. Howard's best work in the Conan series. If you are fan of the Hulk, you have probably read this already. If not, you have to read it. If you are not a fan of the Hulk, this volume is very accessible for casual readers. A big concern with comics is the idea of continuity and the question of "can I get into a series without needing too much background or additional information?" The collected volume I read will let you get into the story with ease. And while the story does continue after the events in Planet Hulk, the story does stand by itself. The art in the series is also very good.
Sandy Mitchell's Death or Glory and Duty Calls. Regimental Commissar Ciaphas Cain keeps going strong in his adventures in the 41st millennium. He just wants to have an easy life and stay out trouble, but it seems that trouble follows him anyhow. In the process, he does do the right thing, acts heroically, and ends up being the hero of the hour. His reputation only gets bigger, which is not what he wants. The series has a strong sense of humor combined with some pretty good military scifi adventure. I am definitely going on with the series, and I will likely pick up the second omnibus (I already own the first one), which collects these two novels and the sixth novel Cain's Last Stand. However, the commissar is not quite finished given that a seventh novel just came out, The Emperor's Finest. The novels are written as tales of the commissar edited by an inquisitor looking over his files who then presents them to other inquisitors to read. Thus Mitchell can go back and forth in Cain's life from his early years to his retirement to in between. All novels, as far as I have read, can stand on their own, but if you read them over time, you will see references to other works, etc. I should have plenty to read for a while.
Joe Hill's Locke & Key series. This is a nice horror graphic novel series. Good art and attention to detail, and a dark plot. A family facing the loss of the father moves East. The house is not quite haunted, but there are some eerie elements. And then there are the keys that the villain wishes to obtain. This is a nice example of good Gothic horror.
New manga discovery for me was the Gantz series. On the one hand, I like it, but it is a bit hard to get into. The action pretty much starts right away, and once it does, the pace does not let go. So far, I have read the first two volumes. It's a story of people being taken out of their environments and put into a new, deadlier situation. Fans of things like Survivor, Lost, maybe Hunger Games, and to some extent Battle Royale may like this as well.
Given the recent suicides of gay youths dues to bullying, I recommend Kelly Huegel, GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens. It is informative, relevant, and very accessible.
Scott Snyder and Stephen King, American Vampire, Vol. 1. This is another series I plan on following. It offers a new take on the vampire genre, and it goes back to what vampires should be: bad-ass blood suckers to be feared instead of the sissy emo sparkly asshats certain "writers" (and I use the term loosely) have made.
Jessica Abel offers a different take on vampires as well with Life Sucks. This is a young adult title where vampires work at the local convenience store (think 7-Eleven). Yes, it may sound a bit cheesy, but Abel gives us some humor, a look at teen issues, and a pretty good vampire story. She even takes a jab or two at those other "vampires."
The best short fiction collection I read this year, after thinking it over, has to be Shadows Over Baker Street. In simple terms, this is Sherlock Holmes meets H.P. Lovecraft. This is a collection of stories where the great detective has to deal with Lovecraftian horrors. There are some very good stories and authors in this anthology. This is one I took my time reading and enjoying like a fine wine. If you enjoy horror, Lovecraft, Sherlock Holmes, or mystery, or any of the above combined, you will like this book.
I think many readers may enjoy Alan Moore's Promethea series. If you like mythology and fantasy, you will probably like this. As a reader's advisor, I would say it is somewhat similar to works like Fables, which I have on my TBR list. If you have to choose between this and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century 1910, which I also read this year, go with Promethea. In addition, the art in Promethea is also very good. To be honest, I don't think Moore is getting any better with League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and as much as I like Moore's work, I am seriously considering not reading anything else in the LoEG series if anything else comes out. The series pretty much jumped the shark after the second volume. Promethea is Moore still in his prime as storyteller, even in the moments when he really goes deep into things like Kabbalah and origin myths; Moore does have a tendency to go deep in terms of things like literary allusions and references, sometimes excessively so. If you can handle that, you will likely enjoy Moore's works overall. With LoEG, he has pretty much gone beyond providing a good tale just to try to show off how smart he is, and he is starting to fail miserably. Black Dossier (LoEG) was almost unreadable. It's a case where too many sequels are ruining a good thing.
If you still want an Alan Moore fix, his collection of DC stories in DC Universe will do the trick nicely. Don't go in expecting something like Watchmen. These are the stories Moore did for DC Comics, and they do vary in quality. Some, such as The Killing Joke are excellent. Others are just so-so comics fare. If nothing else, you do get a different look at this iconic writer.
Eric Garcia's The Repossession Mambo, basis for the recent film Repo Men, is what I am recommending lately when people ask me what is good to read in general science fiction. The premise is very good, and it is very eerie given today's issues with the health care industry. In the novel, if you need an organ, any organ or body part, you can buy it and get it put into your body. If you can't afford it, the Credit Union will be happy to give you financing. However, if you miss the payments for any reason, the Credit Union will send the Repo Men after you, and they will take their merchandise back. Given that medical costs are one of the top reasons for bankruptcies in the United States, and that those making laws pretty much don't give a hoot about that fact, this novel gains a strong relevance and makes a serious comment about our current society. I have not seen the film, but I would like to see it in part because it does feature Forest Whitaker in the role of Jake, which should be interesting to see. This is a book that may stay with you for a while after reading it.
The other science fiction novel I read this year I would like to recommend is Joe Haldeman's The Forever War. This was a reread for me. Though it was written with the Vietnam War in mind, the novel gains relevancy and probably a new audience given the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, the U.S. has reached the point where it has been in Afghanistan longer than the Soviets with no signs of leaving any time soon. By the way, George Orwell also envisioned a condition where a state would be in a state of perpetual war in his novel 1984. Who says science fiction is just fluff with nothing to say? I think a lot of our soldiers could easily relate to Major Mandela from Haldeman's novel.
Dave Cullen's Columbine is probably the best look at the events of Columbine High School. Cullen took over a decade to research and go over every detail to give us an accurate view of events. The book removes many of the misconceptions people have about the event: the boys were not part of some "trenchcoat mafia" nor were they just loser loners; the story of the martyred Christian girl is false (no matter how many apologists come out of the woodwork, the evidence is it did not happen). Also, the book reveals the efforts the police took to cover up information and its own incompetence. This is a book that needs to be read, and it is one with lessons that we as a society need to heed. The book does include references and notes for folks wishing to verify things.
Emmanuel Guibert, The Photographer: Into War-torn Afghanistan with Doctors Without Borders. This was another favorite this year. The book combines graphic novel art and narrative with excellent photography to present the story of a photographer who goes into Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion with the organization Doctors Without Borders. If you are interested in learning more about this part of the world, this book is a must-read.
The one book I am warning people to stay away from: José Saramago, Ensayo sobre la ceguera. Available in English translation as On Blindness, this is just a very difficult to read book, one long big paragraph telling what has to be the most depressing apocalyptic-type tale imaginable. It was a pain to read, and even with the seemingly good premise-- a blindness epidemic strikes, and social chaos ensues-- the book just becomes a slow and tortuous reading experience. If you want post-apocalyptic or disaster kind of reading where society shows its worse side, go find something like The Walking Dead. Overall, I agree that if some major catastrophe happened and society fell apart, that we would see the absolute worst in people. Saramago presents this, but he does so in an extremely oppressive way in terms of narrative. In addition, his habit of not naming characters (the doctor, the lady with eyeglasses, so on) does not help things either. And I am not even going to discuss the rape scene. No, it is not because I am squeamish about rape scenes; I have read plenty of works where rape is present, and the works were excellent. This is not that kind of work. To be honest, I am not sure how he won that Nobel Prize if it was on the basis of this novel. All I know is I probably will not pick up anything else by him anytime soon. Having said all this, I am a bit glad that I can now brag about reading it thus adding this literary fiction author to my list of books read. But as stated, not likely to repeat the experience.
And finally, the one book I recommend for librarians that is not related to libraries or librarianship: Saul D. Alinsky's Rules for Radicals.I even took notes and wrote a series of posts from those notes over at The Itinerant Librarian.

There are a few others books in my 2010 list I liked, but the ones listed above are ones that really stayed with me. Overall, it was a pretty good year for reading. I already have books started for 2011. Some are carry-overs from 2010. I will note that I count a book in the month I finish it, thus the carry-overs will go into the 2011 list. Plus I have some other books already in the cue so to speak.

To wrap up, as of this post, I am currently reading the following:

Frank Herbert's Dune. As I mentioned, this is for the 12B12M Challenge.
David Grann, The Lost City of Z. Only reason I slowed down on this a bit is because I picked up Dune. However, so far, I am enjoying it a lot.
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Essential Captain America, Vol. 1.

And I have the following coming up (as in I borrowed them, so I have to get to them, or just decided they are next):

Brad Warner's Hardcore Zen. I am hoping to pick it up after Grann's book.
Charles Portis, True Grit, the basis for the movies. My library actually had it, so borrowed it. However, will not likely get to it until I finish Dune.
Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead, Vol.1 (Hardcover) and The Walking Dead, Vol. 2 (Hardcover). I was impressed my local public library actually had these given their record with graphic novels is pitiful. My bet is the selector saw the TV show or got a tip about the show. Anyhow, I am hoping to hit it this weekend.
Thaddeus Russell's A Renegade History of the United States. Saw it on the new books shelf at the public library, got curious. Not sure I will like it, but I am willing to give it a try.

And for your amusement, or just because, here are some other people who have posted their lists that I know of as of this post:

CW's list. I like how she breaks things down by genre. She also makes a comment on how her e-reader may be changing her reading habits.
Mark Lindner's list. He is also taking part in the 12 Books 12 Months Challenge.
Jessamyn West gives her 2010 summary, and you can see her book list as well. Another reason I linked to it is I loved the old time advert she used in the post.

Webinar notes: On new tech training materials

2010-12-21T15:23:00.000-06:00

Webinar provided by WebJunction.
Topic title: New Technology Training Materials (link to archived presentation and materials here).
Event date: December 14, 2010.

My notes:

What makes an accidental tech trainer? Some features:

You teach in a computer lab.
You provide webinars.
You help patrons with things like e-mail or finding articles online.
If you work in a library, odds are good you are already doing technology training.

Factoid presented: 5,400 public libraries in the U.S. offer free technology classes. 4,000 businesses offer computer training (for a fee). With close to 15,000 people taking free library classes, that is about $629 million dollars in retail value of the courses.

It is important to have a good attitude as a trainer. This is also helpful to the participants, projecting confidence and being positive.

In teaching, keep in mind that people take in the world in different ways. Three basic styles of learning (this is something that is simple and easy to remember): visual, auditory, kinesthetic. As a trainer, try to incorporate styles as much as possible.

To motivate, provide examples of what users could use the new technology/material for. You can have sample products made with the new technology. Do give the audience some "time to play" (hands-on).
The times when the technology fails, show what happened (if possible, such as if you opened a wrong window. Obviously, you lose power or the Internet, that is a different issue. Personally, I recommend using some humor at that point).

Think in terms of creating a learning community with the workshop. Start with simple things, let class members share names and what they wish to learn from the workshop. Again, provide hands-on time. Also, providing some time for reflection is important.

Article note: On graphic novels for instruction and curriculum collections

2010-12-17T09:22:00.000-06:00

Citation for the article:

Downey, Elizabeth M. "Graphic Novels in Curriculum and Instruction Collections." Reference & User Services Quarterly 49.2 (Winter 2009): 181-188.

Read online.

Downey starts by stating that most of the LIS literature related to graphic novels looks at the form as either one for recreational reading, often for college students, or as historical and pop culture artifacts, in other words, stuff for academic courses. Personally, I wonder if the focus on college recreational reading reflects the fact that most of the LIS literature is written by librarians on college tenure lines and/or LIS professors. This is what comes natural in terms of writing topics. While there may be some who are not as familiar with the format, and as a result we often get objections and complaints about the form in terms of violence, sex, etc. (with many of the complaints unfounded and/or just reflective of certain less than enlightened interests), more educators are choosing to use graphic novels in the classroom as part of the curriculum.

Downey argues that "part of the academic library's mission is to provide materials and resources for future educators" (182). Academic libraries should carry graphic novels not only for pleasure reading or for art or for pop culture but also to meet the needs of educators who are likely to use graphic novels in their curriculum. In other words, future teachers and school librarians, if they are going to use them in their classrooms, should have access to them during their teacher training period so they can read them and become familiar with them. Yet some academic institutions, according to a study the author cites from Library Resources and Technical Services, are still found to be lacking. The study revealed "that a considerable number of institutions supporting library science or education programs aren't actually collecting graphic novels for teens" (qtd. in 182).

So what are some of the reasons to use graphic novels as part of an academic curriculum? First, Downey suggests you can use them as standalone text or as part of a unit using the graphic novels to make thematic connections better. Graphic novels can add an element of media literacy to classroom lessons. In addition, graphic novels not only are good for visual learners, but they also work in terms of multiple intelligences. According to Lyga and Lyga, "of the seven multiple intelligences identified by Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner, three of them (linguistic, spatial, and interpersonal) can benefit from the use of graphic novels" ("qtd. in 183). Finally, graphic novels can help present, illustrate, and discuss broad social issues and lessons.

The article goes on to discuss some examples of graphic novels used in school classrooms. It also provides some suggestions for English teachers as well as ideas for college classrooms. Downey also includes and discusses collection development guidelines for librarians. What is helpful in this instance is the focus on collection development for curriculum and instruction support. The references list does include some book titles that may be helpful to some librarians as well.

Webinar Notes: On Training for Online Advocacy

2010-12-13T12:02:00.000-06:00

This was an ALA free webinar, and to be honest, I was not particularly impressed since it mostly seemed like an infomercial for the information on the website. If there is anything I dislike about webinars, it is a sequence of PowerPoint slides with information that I could have found on a website on my own. Nevertheless, I took some notes, so I am jotting them down for possible future reference.

The event took place on October 29, 2010. Yes, I am running a little behind on transcribing notes, but then again, given I only have two readers, not much of an incentive, plus there is that other thing called work.

* * * *

For me, the bottom line of this webinar was to discuss how to make advocates of your frontline staff, which I do think is a good idea, and we should be doing more in our libraries. After all, most if not all of our clients do deal with our frontline staff at some point. According to the presenters, doing this enhances your "traditional" advocacy.

Two basic concepts:

The value of your respective library. You need to be able to articulate this.
Your value as a library employee.

The idea is to get the frontliners to advocate at their comfort level. The frontliners are the ones who know the community; they have connections with patrons and users who then become our grassroots advocates. Managers do not have this, so it is important for the frontliners to work with management. So library advocacy is seen as everybody's job.

I found it interesting that in the example given from the Yolo County Library they have staff performance goals that reflect an "ambassador" role in service delivery and outreach. There is something to be said for the concept that the "ambassador" role should not just fall to the outreach librarian, but that it could be shared since we all make an impression of the library at one point or another.

Some questions to create discussion in your library:

How do you define advocacy?
Why is it important?
How does it relate to marketing and fundraising?
What is our role versus the role of deans and administrators?

It is important to realize that we need to demonstrate and communicate our value to the university (in terms of an academic setting, and we need to be doing this consistently). In addition, odds are good a lot of the frontline staff already do some form of advocacy; you should be able to articulate and recognize this. For the staff to be able to do it, they do have to be well-informed.

Link to ALA's Frontline Advocacy Toolkit.

Link to ALA's Advocacy University.

Booknote: Nuestra historia aun se esta escribiendo (12 Books, 12 Months Challenge, Book 4)

2010-12-10T11:50:00.001-06:00

This is my review as I posted it on GoodReads. Overall, I thought this was a neat little book. I also think it is a book that more people should read to expand their horizons a bit more.

Nuestra historia aun se esta escribiendo, La historia de tres generales cubano-chinos en la Revolucion Cubana by Armando Choy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A brief but very interesting book. This book consists of a series of interviews with three Cuban generals of Chinese descent. The generals discuss their lives, their upbringing and social struggles, their revolutionary experiences their military experiences, and how they are still active in the revolution. For readers who may not be too familiar with the socialist notion of revolution, the revolution is an ongoing process. A professor once explained it to one of my classes as "there is the big R revolution" (that is the one you usually think of, with guns and armies, so on. Like the American Revolution or in Cuba the revolution to topple Batista) and then there is "the small r revolution" (this is the ongoing process of building and maintaining the society after the big R revolution). When the generals speak of the revolution, they mean that "small r" revolution.

Unlike other history books about Cuba, I liked this one because it takes a unique angle. It looks not only at people who were active participants in history but also at people with a pretty unique ethnicity for the region. Chinese immigrants were brought to Cuba (and a few other Caribbean islands) to do work in the sugar cane fields and other manual labor though sugar was the main work. They came as indentured servants and most usually stayed on the island. They often stayed because they could not afford their passage back to China, but a good number also stayed out of choice. These Chinese immigrants created communities, set up their own small businesses, thrived, and they eventually were mainstreamed into Cuban society. Ok, mainstreamed may not be the best term; some may choose "assimilated," but the point is that they were fairly integrated into Cuban society. If you ask the generals in the book, they see themselves as Cubans first who just so happen to have Chinese descent. This would be very different than a lot of Ethnic-Americans in the U.S. who often still see themselves as being from whatever place they came from first. Anyhow, this does not necessarily mean that the process of assimilation was smooth or easy. Prior to the Revolution, they faced racism and discrimination, and this is part of their story. Personally, their stories of youth were one of the most interesting parts of the book for me. Keep in mind that once Fidel took power, one of the first acts was to institute anti-racism legislation and measures, which benefited not only those of Chinese descent but other minority groups.

The generals played an active role in the Cuban campaign in Angola, so that gets some good coverage in the book. Most American readers may think this was just some Cuban adventurism, but when you read the accounts here you can learn it is not as simple as that. They discuss why they felt it was an obligation to go (requested by the local government of the time; because of an internationalist spirit; as a legacy or to meet the debt of those from other nations who fought for Cuban independence, so on). From there, we move to what is known in Cuba as the Special Period, and the book ends at about 2005 or so. You also get some discussion of Cuba sending medical teams to Venezuela and around the world as well.

A strength of this book is that it brings the generals to life; they are not just some mythical figures or just some generals. These were young boys that grew up, joined the revolutionary movement for various reasons (they each had different backgrounds), and then remained active in their society both in the military and after. The conversations are short, and they are fairly easy to read. They do come across as fairly warm individuals.

For American (read U.S.) readers, they may or not like the book. I am thinking an objection right away is that, well, it is a book looking at communists. Yes, they are communists who embrace the socialist movement and ideals. Much of their discussion does integrate socialist ideas and concepts. Much of their argument, when asked, is that the things they accomplished or that Cuba has accomplished (and even those who hate Fidel and Cuba have to give them credit for various accomplishments) would not have been possible had it not been for the revolution. I would say to those readers to read the book anyways. There are a few lessons to learn plus you get a pretty good picture of Cuban society in the 20th and early 21st centuries. Furthermore, you will get a bit of a history lesson (there are some discussions of colonial history for instance, the relationship of the nation to the Soviet Union, which was not always in lockstep, so on).

I read the book in Spanish, but it is available in English. Finally, the book features an appendix with two speech excerpts by Fidel Castro and one by Nelson Mandela highlighting the Angolan mission. Mandela is particularly praising the Cuban forces, who have a special place in the heart of a good number of African nations, in part because their mission did lead to the eventual independence of Namibia.

View all my reviews

Update Note (12/13/10): Here is the round-up of 12 Books, 12 Months Challenge readings for month 3 over at Later Day Bohemian.

Booknote: The Forever War (12 Books, 12 Months Challenge, Book 3)

2010-12-06T09:30:00.000-06:00

This is the third book I have read for my 12 Books, 12 Months Challenge. The review is as posted on my GoodReads profile.

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had read this years ago, and after rereading it this year, I remember how good this novel was. Yes, I am aware that Haldeman was writing this in part as a response to the Vietnam War and all that other academic interest. But this is just a very good science fiction novel as well. It is fast paced once it gets going, and it is a very quick and easy read. Haldeman does well in character development, especially looking at Mandela's character who goes from private to major in the space of a few years, or a lot of centuries, depending on who's counting on what calendar. This is thanks to the wonders of time dilation and space travel. There is some science and physics involved, but it is just the right amount to make the novel work and give us the image of a soldier who stays eternal and fights on.

If you have not read it, I will not reveal the ending, which is not only interesting, but it makes a nice twist. The novel also makes some interesting social commentaries including issues such as evolution of the human race and even heterosexuality and homosexuality. If you don't read it for the adventure, you may be interested in those angles of the book. I think the novel, given the current war on terror, gains a new relevancy, and that may be another reason to read (or reread) the novel. It is a classic of science fiction, an award winner, and if you read it, you'll see why.

View all my reviews

Webinar Notes: On Writing a Library Behavior Code

2010-12-03T13:18:00.000-06:00

I sat in my office for the Infopeople November 18, 2010 webinar on the topic of "Writing a Library Behavior Code." You can get to the archived webinar as well as handouts at the link. What follows are some of the notes I took as I listened, which I am jotting here mostly for reference purposes. The handout on resources has a good summary of cases with explanations (link to PDF, but the webinar link also has option for a Word Doc).

I make the same disclaimer the presenter made: this is NOT legal advice. We are discussing legal information.

* * * *

Can a library enforce rules? For behavior, a library may set reasonable rules related to mission (for example, rules on no bathing in the restroom or sleeping). You need to be more cautious about speech restrictions. Analyze your space, how it is set up. Is a limited public forum created? It is best to restrict on the basis of time, place, manner, not content. Reminder that you may need to check with an attorney.

For example, tobacco in the library is a behavior issue, so you can set rules.

A dress code is a more complicated issue; we are looking at patrons now. Rely on legal standards (issues like public indecency laws). Again, you may need to check with an attorney.

On the one hand, there is Armstrong v. D.C. Public Library, 154 F. Supp. 2d 67 (D.C. 2001)(library policy: “objectionable -barefooted, bare-chested, body odor, filthy clothing, etc.” overturned by court).
On the other hand, there is Kreimer v. Bureau of Police, 958 F.2d 1242 (3d Cir. N.J. 1992)(library policy “shirt or other covering of their upper bodies” upheld by court).
Bare feet is seen (usually) as a health/safety issue, so courts often uphold this restriction.

On breastfeeding. In California at least, it is protected by law. Check for laws in your state.

On "smoochy patrons." This is a behavior issue, so the library can make reasonable rules, which need to be enforced evenly. (overall, a common theme is whether you have a behavior versus an expression issue. Behavior, it seems, can be better regulated. Anything dealing with freedom of expression is trickier, and it should be avoided).

On tees with bad language. This is an expression issue, so you have to let it in. The government cannot make distinctions regarding individual taste and style. However, there can be limits. For instance, this would be different in a school library given that schools can and do set dress codes.

Soliciting. This depends and can vary. Analysis says it is ok to restrict it in the library reading room/main area. Basically that is because the purpose for the space is not for a soapbox.

What about the grounds (outside)? It is ok to ban all types of solicitation, but not on the basis of viewpoint (pro-life versus pro-choice for instance) if the grounds are just a path (as opposed to a gathering place. To be honest, I think this may be applicable to the new garden space my library has, where it is clearly a gathering place. While this has not been an issue yet, it may be something to keep in mind if say, for example, some itinerant preacher shows up).
But if you have an area (again, I am thinking our gardens for example). Consider the time, place, manner principles. You may have a strong legal justification to restrict monetary solicitations versus just someone distributing literature. Again, do not restrict based on content.

Sex offenders in the library:

Easy: if you have something like looking up skirts (exhibiting the behavior), you call the cops.
If not exhibiting an offensive behavior (for instance, someone just points it out to you), you need to be a bit more careful. In addition, due to First Amendment issues, you can't just ban someone from the library on the basis of offender status; however, you could limit their access to certain hours (for example, not during children story time hours).

On civility:

Try to focus on behavior and loudness. Don't base on what someone may be saying but rather on the fact they are disturbing others and creating a disruption. See the Kreimer case ("intent to annoy" would be the applicable principle). The protection of speech is crucial, but there are exceptions, such as threats.

Reminder: FEND= Free speech (tread carefully), Equal protection, Notice, Due Process (appeals).

Another note, new ADA rules go in effect on March 15, 2011. You may want to visit the ADA website now. In terms of disabilities, you can't discriminate based on a disability unless you can show there would be a fundamental program alteration (this is in the context of questions of a special needs adult in a children's story hour or in a children's table areas).

A final question for now: Is a permanent prohibition ever possible? You need to be cautious, consult an attorney due to many First Amendment issues.

Article Note: On barriers to promoting extracurricular reading in academic libraries

2010-11-19T10:38:00.000-06:00

Citation for the article:

Elliot, Julie, "Barriers to Extracurricular Reading Promotion in Libraries." Reference and User Services Quarterly 48.4 (2009): 340-346.

Read in print.

Julie Elliot's article now is a follow-up to her 2007 article, which I read as well. If you are interested in the topic of RA and academic libraries, you may also want to read this other 2009 article from JAL. The article looks now at specific barriers that prevent academic libraries from promoting extracurricular reading and RA.

For starters, Elliot does go back to her previous article where she noted that "many colleges are finding ways to promote reading to their students, [but] many students are not taking advantage of these services" (340). She cites the work of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in regards to college freshmen spending less time on leisure reading (find a list of NEA research reports here. The one in question is #47. The direct link is a PDF). She argues that colleges should be concerned with the signs of declining literacy, but she also points out that colleges do face barriers as well in promoting reading. Those barriers are the central issues of her article.

The article draws on a small survey of library deans and directors that the author conducted using SurveyMonkey. In the end, she got 38 people to answer the survey, and even for that, not all questions were answered fully. A limitation is that this makes a pretty small sample. So, what are some of the issues?

First, we have the big issue, that is, the budget. Although this is certainly important, and I can testify to this given that we have a pretty tight collection development budget ("tight" being the polite word), there can also be some attitude issues. For instance, one of the responders pretty much says that he would not buy materials that could be available in a public library (341). I wonder if that is a common academic librarian attitude. So, that librarian's answer is to just send them to the public library? While I am not saying we should open the floodgates and just go with a "give them what they want, get 20 copies of Harry Potter books" initiative, there are certainly many excellent books that can find a place in an academic library that a public library would have and that could work to better promote reading in our students as well as our academic community (yes, the staff read too).
There are still some library deans and directors who just simply do not believe in extracurricular reading promotion (342). Yes, we apparently have some of those anti-reading freaks leading some of our libraries. Sorry, but I have to say it: a good librarian is a librarian who reads and promotes reading. I do not think it is a badge of honor to take pride in not reading as an academic librarian. It should be a badge of shame as far as I am concerned (you can see my previous thoughts on this here). However, there is hope since the author does say that "most respondents were more positive about leisure reading promotion, even if they do not have the resources to pursue it" (342).

Elliot suggests ways that a public library could help a college in this regard, which I think opens some nice opportunities for outreach. A couple of things on this:

"By helping local colleges promote leisure reading, public librarians not only assist their academic library colleagues, but also lay the foundation for the next generation of readers at the public library" (342). In plain English, we can help each other out.
Your public library can allow college students to check out books from them, and I would say this is specially important in the case where the college library simply does not have enough recreational or leisure reading materials. Elliot also suggests seeing if the college library would allow the public library to send over some of its booklists for students to see and use.

Other notes:

"Perhaps the most obvious is to go directly to the students themselves and find out what would encourage them to read more for pleasure, or to determine whether there is any desire for them to do leisure reading at all" (343). This is certainly a study that I would not mind doing on my campus, but sadly, it is something that probably would not get much encouragement from my superiors. And yet, in terms of outreach, we probably could get quite a bit of information not only on reading habits but also on possible interests for planning library programming.
A question, which I think I already know the answer the twopointopians, to borrow the Annoyed Librarian's term, might give: "Do the Internet, instant messaging, reading blogs, games, and other electronic media, which many claim have replaced reading, have a detrimental effect, or is that exaggerated?" (343). I think the answer is more complicated than the usual cheerleader answer of anything goes, the Internet and its content are all cool, and books are going the way of the dinosaur. You can achieve a lot of reading with online resources and tools, but there is also something to say for prose and print. This leads to the other question posed in the article.
The question: "If the prose literacy skills of our college graduates are eroding, are they being replaced with other skills, and do those new skills make up for what is being lost in the critical thinking abilities that come from, for example, being able to read and compare two newspaper editorials?" (343). Even if we replace "newspaper editorials" for "blog postings," I would say the answer is still "no." There is enough literature out there that does show we have to be concerned over lack of critical thinking skills in our college graduates, and a decline in reading, substantial reading that is, probably does not help things either.
Something to consider: when do students lose interest in reading for pleasure. Elliot argues it does not necessarily happen when they get to college. Does it happen in K-12? Could the lack of school librarians have something to do with it? I'd say probably. Those are questions Elliot raises, and she asks how all libraries can work together to bring students to reading. But in the end, this is the key question: "we should decide if leisure reading is a skill worth preserving for future generations" (343). If we look at today's situation where many shortsighted people would like nothing better than to close public libraries, along with school libraries and more often than not academic libraries, then I guess the decision has been made. On the other hand, I don't think we as a society should give up the fight to preserve reading for future generations. Maybe that is another reason why I became a librarian.

Note that the article does include the survey instrument.

Booknote: The Planets (12 Books, 12 Months Challenge, Book 2)

2010-11-16T15:20:00.003-06:00

My small review as posted in GoodReads. This is part of my 12 Books, 12 Months Challenge.

The Planets by Dava Sobel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a nice pleasant book to read, but I don't think it is the author's best. I found Longitude and Galileo's Daughter to be better books overall. Part of the reason that I did not think as much of the book is the chapter on Uranus and Neptune where she uses a long letter as the way to carry the chapter narrative. The conceit went on for way too long to the point that I just skimmed it. Compared to the other chapters, the narrative on that chapter slowed the book down. For example, the chapter using the point of view of a small meteorite fragment to illuminate a planet's history was pretty creative, but it was also concise. However, in spite of some shortcomings, the book overall is worth reading. You will learn about the planets and the solar system in terms of the science, the history, and the popular culture. You get a nice journey through time from the ancients' view of the planets and stars to today's astronomers using the latest and best telescopes; you also get to learn about the various unmanned probes we have sent into space and what they have accomplished. And you get it all in a nice, small, easy to read book.

If you like Sobel's previous works, you will probably enjoy this book as well. If you enjoy microhistory books in general, then you will enjoy this one as well.

View all my reviews

For those interested (I know I am), here is the October roundup of those participating in the challenge as collected by latter day bohemian. And here is her September roundup (I did not read anything in September, thus no booknote that month).

Article Note: On how informationally poor are the information poor

2010-11-15T16:17:00.000-06:00

Citation for the article:

Yu, Liangzhi, "How Poor Informationally are the Information Poor: Evidence from an Empirical Study of Daily and Regular Information Practices of Individuals." Journal of Documentation 66.6 (2010): 906-933.

Read via Interlibrary Loan.

The article deals with the question of how poor informationally are the information poor. This is not just referring to the socioeconomic poor that most studies consider when it comes to the question of being information poor. In other words, this goes a bit deeper than the usual information have's and have-nots. Most previous studies have looked at the economically poor and their disadvantages, and we certainly need to be looking at that as well as working to solve it. This study is different. According to the author, "this study is an attempt to begin the journey of investigation of the information poor on the basis of their experience as information creators, disseminators, seekers, receivers and users, that is, as information agents rather than social or economic agents" (907-908).

Yu points out that it is usually seen as a given that the economic poor are information poor as well. The author goes on to list different elements in the definition of information poor over time in the literature such as ethnic minorities, poor whites, the elderly, single mothers, etc. (908). This made me think a bit of public libraries where you have a lot of low income folks coming it to get computer access. They may be poor economically, but they certainly are not information. And these days, they may not even be "poor" economically as much as just tight (tight as in the money is tight, not tightwads) middle class folks who choose to not have internet service at home and use the library instead.

The author looks more at information behaviors. For example, in citing E.A. Chatman, Yu points that some poor communities may have information behaviors where secrecy, deception, avoidance of having their problems exposed, so on can lead to an increase in information poverty due to suspicion and distrust of outsiders (qtd. in 910). I wrote on the margin as I was reading the article that this made me think of many teabaggers and other misinformed folks; they distrust outside sources, or pretty much any source that opposes their limiter worldview, so over time, they do develop information poverty. I wonder if anyone has done research in that regard or made a similar connection.

A simple definition of information poverty comes from Barja and Gigler, cited by Yu, where information poverty is defined as "a lack of the basic capabilities needed to participate in the information society" (911).

Though insightful, we are looking at a pretty small and limited sample. This study is based on interview surveys done in north China. The study lasted for five years, and the author with assistants interviewed 340 people. They then selected 73 for in-depth analysis. Subjects came from various areas of society (urban, rural, migrant workers).

Some notes from the article:

"The usefulness of the information resource base concept hinges on the fact that while information society abounds in information resources, the vast majority of these resources are actually irrelevant from the individual's perspective. Some are prohibited by law, some are withheld by their owners, others are either physically or intellectually inaccessible" (916). The information base is defined as "categories and ranges of material and non-material resources that an individual uses for the purpose of getting himself/herself informed (i.e. to obtain information utilities) in daily and regular activities" (915). For example, my information base would include, but is not necessarily limited to, the Internet, television, and books.
Just because you have physical access to a resource, it does not mean you are a user of said resource. For example, someone in your household may buy a newspaper, but it does not make you a newspaper reader just because that newspaper is in the house.
Key concept: information horizon. This is "the composition of a variety of information resources an individual consults in a given context and situation" (Sonnenwald qtd. in 916).
Key concept: information assets. This is defined as a person's "accumulated informational outcomes resulting from his/her utilisation of resources from within and without his/her information base" (918). This includes then skills, experiences, and outlook as well as sources used. For instance, the books I have read become an information asset for me.
"In summary, when examined from the perspective of information practices, the information poor seem to be disadvantaged in a number of ways: they tend to engage in low order and limited variety of information practices in local, confined social settings, which involve limited literacy, numeracy, information and analytical skills. It can be argued that these characteristics impose serious constraint on the abilities of the information poor to claim society's information resources as their own and to obtain information utilities from their information resource bases" (925).

Booknote: GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queers and Questioning Teens

2010-11-13T10:02:00.000-06:00

My review as I posted in on my GoodReads profile.

GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens by Kelly Huegel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is an excellent overview and guide for GLBTQ teens. At a time when the nation is suffering an epidemic of LGBTQ youth suicides due to bullying, this is a book that could likely be helpful for many kids feeling that it can't get better. But it is a book not only for teens, but for the adults as well who need to get a sense of what it is these kids go through for in addition to the usual pressures and changes of becoming a teen, LGBTQ youths also face the challenge of coming to terms with their sexual orientation. This is something adults need to understand as well.

The book is very easily organized into chapters from basics in "GLBTQ 101" to "Work, College, and Beyond." Though you can read it cover to cover, the book certainly lends itself to reading the chapters you need. Is the reader dealing with the issue of coming out? There is a chapter on the topic that provides questions with answers as well as lists of information and support resources. The decision to come out is not an easy one, and the book gives information and facts to help make an informed decision regardless of whether the LGBTQ reader decides to come out or not; there is no tone of pressure for either view. Chapters are divided in short, easy to read sections. There are also information boxes with various lists of resources and places to find support and information. Additionally, the book integrates short stories of youths to let readers know that they are not alone, that others have faced the same questions.

This is a book that should be in every library, especially school libraries. And it needs to be visible so teens can find it. When I ordered it for our academic library, I was asked "who the hell is going to come read or check out that book?" Though I was tempted to give a pretty snarky answer, in the end I said two reasons. One, because we may have young people, including some of our young students, who may need such a book. Two, because we do have a School of Education, and future teachers should be reading this book to get some awareness; very often, young people will come out or at least confide in a teacher they feel comfortable with. This book is also for them. So, I went ahead and ordered it anyways. In the end, this is an excellent tool for any LGBTQ youth, but it is also an excellent tool to educate others. I highly recommend it.

View all my reviews

Article note: On being a renaissance librarian in academia

2010-11-12T10:38:00.001-06:00

Citation for the article:

Smith, Debbi A., and Victor T. Oliva, "Becoming a Renaissance Reference Librarian in Academe: Attitudes Toward Generalist and Subject Specific Reference and Related Profession Development." Reference Services Review 38.1 (2010): 125-151.

Read via Emerald.

I mean renaissance in the sense of being a good generalist, not a Renaissance specialist. The main issue of the article is looking at how librarians may handle reference queries outside their specialized areas of expertise. A good reference librarian is pretty much a generalist, so how do these generalists deal with something a bit more specialized than the usual? And how do they train for such situations? That is what the article tries to answer.

Larger libraries usually have subject specialist librarians. Smaller libraries however have reference librarians who have to answer a broad range of questions, and they usually cannot just refer someone to a specialist. On these generalists, the authors of the article write, "reference librarians who can handle a vast range of reference questions become veritable renaissance librarians" (125). On a small side note, I wonder if we may be having a small dearth of good generalist librarians who can handle things like a solid reference interview due to the trends of "everything is online" and "let's all do librarianship via social media." No, I am not being facetious or cynical; it is not the first time I have pondered the question, and at least one of my colleagues has asked the same question as well. Maybe something to ponder for a future post.

The article seeks to learn about the attitudes of reference librarians when it comes to the service that generalists and specialists provide in terms of reference. This includes how they feel about any training options and opportunities. Thus the authors hope to provide some guidance in terms of prioritizing professional development opportunities related to reference services. Given extreme budget cuts, a lot of the training is likely to be on the cheap. The study reported in the article is based out of Adelphi University, where they have 12 full time library faculty members (librarians). They are described as follows:

". . . they are accustomed to broadening their intellectual horizons by cross training informally with each other and obtaining formal training from their colleagues and from outside sources. They attend conferences, obtain additional graduate degrees, take professional training classes, read professional literature, and engage in other formal and informal training practices" (126).

According to the authors, they used that experience as the basis for their investigation of other academic librarians in other places. There is a good amount of stuff from that list that I do-- the cross-training, the occasional training class (if you can count some of the basic webinars I can get when I can as a training class), reading the professional literature, and a couple other informal things. But conferences? All I have to say is it must be nice if you have the funding for it. For those interested, this previous post does have a description about how my bosses see professional development to give an idea. Overall, the article looks at how the academic librarians perform when called upon to be generalists, how they improve their skill set, something I consider extremely important, and their attitudes about it.The investigation then was done via a survey; the authors obtained 491 valid responses. They asked about self-directed education, informal training, formal training outside and inside their institutions (129).

Some notes from the article:

The authors cite K.C. Hill, author of an article in The Reference Librarian, in arguing that reference librarians (as far as I am concerned, it should be all librarians) should have a broad cultural literacy. They write:

"Hill (2001) states that reference librarians should be able to field questions in all areas of scholarly endeavor through broadened cultural literacy: knowledge of current events, watching educational television programs, visiting museums, browsing core research journals, book prefaces and the reference collection, as well as meeting with teaching faculty and attending classes and seminars" (127).

I have to wonder how realistic the last option is, the one about attending classes. If it means auditing a class, I can see it, but if it means actually enrolling in a class, I can see some obstacles from cost to time. Most of the other stuff I mostly do already. The challenge is avoiding information overload. We should not just give lip service to having broad knowledge; we should be doing it. We owe to our patrons when they come to our reference desks to be knowledgeable. Way I see it, you either know where to find the information and answers needed, or you know where to refer someone to find said information and answers. This is why we need to keep up professionally in terms of librarian skills as well as in terms of general knowledge.

Findings and some comments:

"Virtually all of those surveyed (97 percent) provide reference service at a central desk: 76 percent just at a central desk and 21 percent at both a central and a divisional location" (130). If nothing else, the reference desk is not going away anytime soon in spite of some prognosticators in library land.
"Most [respondents] are likely to 'strongly agree' or 'agree' that 'a reference librarian should be a generalist able to answer questions in all disciplines' (92 percent). . . . In contrast, a significantly lower level (47 percent) agrees that 'a generalist reference librarian may be unable to provide specialized reference service'" (131). So overall, we are confident as generalist in our ability to tackle most reference questions that come our way.
From the survey, we learn that academic librarians perceive that an advanced degree may not be such a big deal. The exact statement is that there is "a perception that an advanced degree may not be necessary to successfully assist with a reference question in a particular subject" (131). Hey, for instance, I answer questions for nursing students all the time, and I do not have an advanced degree in the area. The liaison librarian for nursing we have here does not have an advanced degree on the subject either. But we are both librarians, which means we can and do learn what we need in order to help our students. I don't have to be a nurse or health professional to help these students. I do have to have a basic understanding how their field works and have a good degree of subject literacy to help them get what they need. My nursing liaison colleague has gone further in terms of training himself; he can talk the talk and walk the walk as the saying goes. The authors found that "most comments about advanced subject degrees tend to question the need or use for one. This suggests a belief that an advanced subject degree is not necessary to learn the reference tools in a particular field" (140). As I have said, librarians know how to learn, and thus they can gain the knowledge they need to do reference for a particular subject area. I would go so far as to say that unless you really think you will end up in a big, prestigious, very well-heeled campus where they require a second advanced degree, then don't get the advanced degree. It does not make sense economically given the current market in our profession. Now, you want to do it anyways for your professional development or edification, and you can afford it, as in not borrowing money for it, but you have the funds or someone will pay you go get it, then don't let me stop you. Use common sense is my bottom line advice.
This was kind of a statement of the obvious to me: "Librarians appear more likely to collaborate with a colleague already at the reference desk rather than refer to a colleague who is not physically with them" (132). However, I will add that if your office happens to be near the reference area, then your phone will often ring when your colleague at the desk needs help. If you happen to be the subject specialist needed to meet a student's need, even more so. Heck, if you are a really good generalist, just count on your phone ringing quite a bit.
Now this is definitely a statement of the obvious that makes me go "duh." The authors state that respondents from larger campuses have higher levels of participation in professional development activities due to factors that include larger budgets (133). Really?
Some validation for keeping up: "Those who frequently read professional library journals, work informally with subject librarians, or attend classes at their institutions are more likely to feel comfortable answering most reference questions" (134). I should not have to say this, but if your institution gives you some good "break" for attending classes, find something you like or can use, and do it.
"Librarians who work in institutions with a student enrollment of less than 5,000 also exhibit a higher level of confidence in their ability to answer reference questions in areas of non-subject expertise than do librarians from institutions with a larger student population" (137). This is basically by necessity, and as someone who works in a 6K approx. enrollment campus, I can say this is pretty accurate too. You have to be able to be a jack of all trades at the reference desk.
This seemed pretty evident too, but there is the Catch-22 of, if the institution does not offer support, how much engaged can you really be? One really has to have a lot of intrinsic motivation as a librarian it would seem. The authors suggest "that a librarian must be professionally engaged both within their own institution and with the profession in order to be motivated to continually update their skills" (143). I am not commenting further since I think the quote says a lot on its own.

In addition, I thought this cite the authors present is both relevant and crucial to what we do. Two usual barriers or problems to this vision tend to lack of funding and administrative indifference or unwillingness to support training and development. The quote then:

"Austen and Chan (2004) point out the importance of an organizational environment that supports and rewards both formal and informal updating activities. In this context, a supportive management that encourages and rewards updating activities and an absence of barriers to participation enhance a librarian's ability and desire to maintain their professional competencies. Such competencies extend beyond subject knowledge. They can include constant re-skilling needed to adapt to the rapid, ongoing technological changes in the internet and electronic resources as well as the implementation of altered work processes and practices. They note that previous studies indicate that the time and effort devoted to professional updating are positively related to an already existing degree of professional competence" (142-143).

In addition, we do need to remember that these days reference is more than the desk. We do instruction; we work with academic departments; we provide reference virtually in synchronous and asynchronous ways. But we still need the interpersonal skills, knowing how to deal with people. This reminds me of a recent conversation I had with a colleague of mine who is a firm believer in people skills for librarians (at least for the librarians who work the front lines); we both agree these are not being taught in library school. The authors of the article go on to write, "a good reference librarian must possess or develop personal skills that transcend specific subject knowledge, and that these skills would specially come into play when there might be a lack of specific knowledge about the subject of a patron's query" (143).

Note that the article does include the survey instrument.

Article Note: On Questions to Help You Choose the Best Assessment for Information Literacy

2010-11-05T10:03:00.000-05:00

Citation for the article:

Oakleaf, Megan and Neal Kaske, "Guiding Questions for Assessing Information Literacy in Higher Education." portal: Libraries and the Academy 9.2 (2009): 273-286.

Read via Project Muse.

The article is exactly what the title suggests: a set of basic questions for and about the assessment of information literacy in higher education. In other words, these are questions to consider as you embark on an assessment program and to help you decide on one program over another. There are no actual references to specific information literacy assessment programs and tools; you will need to read someplace else for that.

The article opens by giving readers a reminder of the three main reasons to do assessment: to increase student learning, to provide what the accrediting agencies want, and to improve our library instructional services. Tempted as I may be, I am not commenting on one or the other. My question at this point was more basic: is there still an institution out there not doing an assessment of some kind for their instructional program? Given the fairly consistent presence of some mention of information literacy in accreditor requirements, can any place afford not to assessment? You may have to change the way of doing the assessment or look for ways to improve it, but actually not doing it? Not that I expect anyone out there to suddenly comment and fess up to not doing it, but that was my curious question anyways for what little it may be worth.

The authors then suggest that if librarians and stakeholders respond to the guiding questions, then they can make the assessment process selection easier. The basic questions are:

Are we ready to conduct an assessment of information literacy?
Why are we conducting this assessment?
What are the needs of assessment stakeholders?
Will the assessment tell us what we want to know?
What are the costs of the assessment?
What are the institutional implications of the assessment?

The authors do add additional questions to some of the main questions above, which readers can see in the article. The above list includes the basics. The rest of the article is devoted then to discussing the questions, what they mean, and their significance in some detail.

Some notes:

"As Donald Barclay states, 'Unless evaluation will somehow improve the thing being evaluated, it is not worth doing'" (qtd. in 276). I just thought it was a good line.
I found that there was a bit of contrast in attitude in terms of assessment as to improve student learning versus assessment for accountability. I saw this when the authors cited Popham on page and Pausch and Popp on the next page who favor each view respectively. I guess I wonder what is the reality in the field. Are we really doing assessments for the more altruistic reason of improving student learning, which as far as I am concerned is why we should be doing it, or are we doing it because we need to cover our collective rear ends when the accreditation agency comes along? I am trying not get cynical about it.
Another reason assessment is useful: "Assessment can also support requests to continue or increase funding. This purpose is important for information literacy instruction programs, especially those that must justify their existence or risk losing financial support" (278).
The old rule of you must adapt to your audience when making a presentation, in this case presenting the results of your assessment: "To ensure that audiences understand assessment results, librarians should consider who will see the final results and use their knowledge of stakeholders to determine how precise or detailed the results need to be and how quickly the results must be communicated" (278).
Kind of a statement of the obvious: "Because assessment requires considerable effort to plan, collect, analyze, and report, librarians should avoid methods that will not result in new understanding of student learning or instructional programs" (279).

If libraries closed, would they be missed? My thoughts

2010-11-01T16:45:00.001-05:00

I had a nicely written draft on the topic that Blogger for some unknown reason refuses to publish. Probably one of its technical glitch moments; I went through the HTML, checked the format, etc, so it's on their frakking end. Anyhow, if my two readers will indulge me, you can go read the post in its entirety over at my scratch pad blog, Alchemical Thoughts. You can leave any comments here or there.

The post: "Thoughts regarding the question: if the library closed tomorrow, would anyone miss it?"

And one of these days, I just have to migrate this blog to some platform with a bit more reliability.

Oh well, there is something to be said for redundancies.

Making my stand

2010-10-28T15:21:00.002-05:00

"We've made too many compromises already, too many retreats. They invade our space and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn here! This far, no farther!" --Capt. Jean-Luc Picard, from the film Star Trek: First Contact.

I have been attentive to what has been going on with the recent suicides of gay youths due to bullying up to and including the incident of the bigoted school board member in Arkansas. I have written some things in response, but so far, I kept them in my personal journal. The more I listen and watch and ponder, the more difficult I find it to stay silent, to not stand up, to not say anything. So my three readers can consider this post the one where I draw the line because bullies and bigots come and think they can get away with their crimes and uncivilized behavior. Well, no more. Not if this librarian has anything to say about it, and I do have a thing or two to say. What follows are two small items I wrote earlier that I am ready to share.

* * * *

From my personal journal, October 6, 2010:

I've been wanting to blog about the recent bullying and suicide stories, but I am not sure what approach to take. Jeff Jarvis, in discussing the tragedy at Rutgers University, summarized it well: "It is a story of human tragedy." What we have here is not just an individual failure. We have a community failure from the parents of those bullies who very likely failed to instill good values like common decency to a society that pretty much is willing to accept bullying. That we had more than one suicide due to bullies in less than a month was probably enough for the media to cover it. But if it had been just one suicide in some small town, no one else would have heard about it, and people in that small town, with the exception of the victim's relatives, would have likely chalked it up to "boys will be boys" or some similar line. A line such as "kids in school will always be kids" should never be an acceptable cover or excuse for bullying, hazing, harassment, or other kind of anti-social behavior. That adults consistently use that excuse reflects a serious lack of character and compassion.

But there is another reason I find it difficult to blog about it. It means making my views more public in a fairly hostile environment. But if I don't stand up and speak, then who will? For me, this is the right thing to do, and yet I have my fears. As a librarian, I struggle with the illusion many in the profession hold of neutrality against the belief that we should help educate, that we should not only provide information but use our best professional judgment in providing good, accurate, and reliable information. Taking a stand breaks that illusion. It raises a flag stating that this is what I stand for and what I will defend or oppose. Yet, if I remain silent, it would not be right. I don't think anyone said this profession would be without some risk. Then again, every time I blog, or even post a shared link online, there is the risk of offending somebody, somewhere, maybe even a future potential employer. A lot of librarianship is about image, and it is a pretty small profession where the wrong blog post can get you shunned. I try not to let it bother me. I try not to self-censor more than is necessary. But I am finding it harder and harder to stay silent. The truth needs to be spoken. We have to take a stand for what is right. In my case, writing and blogging are my ways to do so.

* * * *

From my personal journal, October 11, 2010 (National Coming Out Day):

Today is National Coming Out Day. I think it has a special significance this year given the series of LGBT youth suicides due to bullying. As Jeff Jarvis said in a post I read a few days back, those deaths are a human tragedy.

What I am thinking about today is the bravery of those LGBT folks who do choose to come out, whether today or any other day. Maybe that is just what moves me to be an ally. Maybe it's that I think everybody should be able to love whomever they like and not be discriminated against on that basis. That civil rights should be rights for all, not just for some. That if you choose to live in a committed relationship of marriage, the gender of those involved should not be an issue for receiving the rights and responsibilities of marriage.

But what does it have to do with me? I am a straight male (at least I was last time I looked, haha!), so one would think I have nothing to gain or lose. In fact, I may have more to lose--from folks suddenly thinking I may be gay to workplace concerns; East Texas is not a particularly friendly place if you do not fall within its norms and parameters. I do it because it is the right thing to do. I do it because I look forward to the day where coming out won't matter because it will not be an issue. Just like I hope for a day when no one is judged by race, handicap, so on, I look to the day no one is judged by their sexual orientation. I don't think I will live to see that day given how much work and education this nation needs before it truly embraces diversity. But I hope that some day, maybe in the days of my daughter's grandchildren, they will look back at our society and say things like "what the fuck were they thinking?" or "discriminating because someone is gay? How quaint." Maybe some day, and I hope that day arrives sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, coming out (as an ally) is the small part I can do to bring about better days. It is my small way of saying to those in the LGBT community and the rest of the allies that they are not alone. It is my way of saying that as a librarian my skills and knowledge are at the community's disposal, and if I can't find a resource, I know someone who does know. I am here for those who may need a supportive person.

Do I want to be "that" librarian? I sure do. It's the decent thing to do, and I cannot do anything less. And if certain coworkers don't like it, then let them stew in their bigotry. They will either see the error of their ways and do the right thing, or history will simply pass them over.

I thought I could remain silent, but I can't. Not anymore. I am coming out, and I am letting others know.

* * * *

Other readings I had in mind at the time I was writing:

Emily Lloyd, on "Being Visibly Queer-Friendly: Please Consider It."
Jen McCreight introducing and commenting on the "It Gets Better Project."
And because I am a librarian, I feel that I should provide some books to help out. So here is a list of "10 LGBT Books for Teens That Tackle Suicide and Bullying." Via Lambda Literary. We probably should acquire one or all for our library, but between the tight budget and, well, the usual barriers, I am not sure it will be possible (at the moment).

(Crossposted to The Itinerant Librarian and Alchemical Thoughts)

Update Note: (11/1/10): Wayne Bivens-Tatum, the Academic Librarian, picked up on this post, and he wrote a very detailed, thoughtful, and reasoned response on librarians and our neutral (or not) stances. It is worth reading it in its entirety.

Booknote: Ensayo sobre la ceguera (12 Books, 12 Months Challenge, Book 1)

2010-10-26T11:23:00.000-05:00

My review as posted to my GoodReads profile:

Ensayo Sobre la Ceguera by José Saramago

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This is a book that people will either like or hate (or at least dislike). I don't hate it, but I do dislike it, which is why I gave it just one star in spite of the fairly smart premise. I am even willing to admit that I skimmed parts of it since this is one of those books that, once you get to a certain point, you can pretty much predict with accuracy what will happen in the end. For me, that detail came when it was revealed the doctor's wife had a pair of scissors shortly after the thugs in Room 3 take over the food. From that point, I knew a war would break out, and that she would end up killing at least one person (she kills more than one. I happen to think they more than deserved it, but more sensitive people can debate that elsewhere). That the asylum was burnt to the ground did not surprise me either. Given the poor and extreme conditions, it had to happen pretty much.

This was not an easy book to read, and it may well be the hardest one in my list for the "12 Books, 12 Months" challenge I recently began. I am glad I got it out of the way early. This is by no means a "light" book. It is very depressing; it gives a view of society at its worst, and it shows how easily society can degrade and fall apart. All it takes is some catastrophe or apocalyptic event, and all hell will break loose. If you remember events like Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, or just know some history of failed nations, you know that we are pretty much a step away from the hellish chaos. In the novel, compassion and kindness end on the losing end for most of the book as the doctor and his ward eventually have to use violence to get the food that was stolen from them by the Room 3 thugs. As much as it pains the doctor, it's either that or starve. While there is some credit, so to speak, given to good deeds and kindness at the end, overall, the message is you may well need to be ruthless even to do the right thing. If you already have a negative view of humanity, this book will only serve to affirm it.

Saramago's novel is also difficult due to its style. There are no number chapters. It uses long sentences in long paragraphs and lots of commas. Conversation lines are often not separated. Chapters are separated by blank spaces. Thus the book goes on without allowing much pause. This might work better on other books. Other Latin American authors I like, for instance, use the same or close to the same style, but their works are better. This is specially so when it comes to pacing. Saramago's novel is extremely slow in its pace, especially in the parts taking place in the asylum. While the blindness plague strikes suddenly (and ends just as suddenly), much of the time in the novel and the narrative slows down after the outbreak. In addition, characters are not named; they are identified by some trait or profession such as the Doctor, the Doctor's Wife, and the Woman with Dark Glasses. Once you get used to it, the technique of not using names works, but it can be a bit disorienting at first. On doing a little bit of reading about the author after finishing the novel, I learned that this nameless technique is very common in his books.

I've wanted to read a novel by Saramago for a while. For one, he is a Nobel literature laureate. However, now that my curiosity has been satisfied, I will probably not read another of his books any time soon. The book does have a smart premise, and it does raise some dark questions that may be uncomfortable to many, but it is not an easy nor flowing reading experience. Still, I am glad that I did try out one of his books. To paraphrase one of the library laws, this book is not really for this reader. But, and this is made clear by many positive reviews on GR, I am sure the book is for some other readers out there, and other readers are for this book.

View all my reviews

If you don't like Facebook or other social media, go find another career

2010-10-25T09:39:00.001-05:00

"I am going to say a few things and I am going to say some bad words, and you're just going to have to deal with it." --Tony Soprano, from the series The Sopranos.

I struggled for a while about putting this post on the blog after writing about it in my journal. I was hoping I could let it drop, but I find that I cannot because I am honestly getting a little sick and tired of the attitude some people have in our profession that, if you "don't get it" or "play with the latest shiny toy," then you have to be swept out of the way so someone more perky can come in. We can file this under things that bother me. To borrow the term from the Annoyed Librarian, this is about another example of twopointopians using the "us vs. them," the "we get it, you don't," and the "if you don't adapt and use it, you're not welcome here."

Michael Stephens has a new column in Library Journal, the lightweight library news magazine. In his first column, he wrote the following, which I did find somewhat arrogant and condescending not to mention alienating. The quote in question is:

If the online world is not for you, then neither may be a career in librarianship. The most prevalent LIS jobs in the next few years will probably be ones where you’re not tied to your desk and you communicate well beyond the physical walls of the building.

It’s not just students who should participate in this online world. Librarians must find their niche as well. Five years ago the conversation went on in blogs. Now it flows vibrantly across media platforms, enabling a stronger connection with library users through marketing, outreach, and the human touch. (emphasis in the original).

Where do I even start? You have to be online but not tied down to a desk. It may sound a bit contradictory at first; that was what the colleague I showed the article to said. But on reading the column, we see that it refers to being constantly plugged in to the mobile device of your choice. Then there is the thing about the human touch. Being constantly online and connected is not exactly conducive to the human touch. Sooner or later you may have to deal with a real person.

As I mentioned, I showed a colleague the column, and she had a thing or two to say about it too. One thing she said that stuck with me is the following: in all the rush to teach new technologies and fads, library schools are not teaching how to deal with people like basics such as how to do a proper reference interview. I added during our conversation that no one really teaches how to do good liaison work to future academic librarians, a topic I have written about before in this blog.

And then I thought about another colleague of mine who wins awards for her scholarship in history as well as provides excellent service to the library and its patrons. She's definitely found her niche, and it does not involve the twopointopian vision of the online world. No Facebook or Twitter for her. Should she give up her career in librarianship because the online world is not for her? If she was entering library school now, would she be told she does not fit in? And before some apologist chimes in, allow me to point out that my colleague is not a Luddite. She avails herself of electronic tools that meet her needs, keeps up as needed, and maintains an excellent local and civil war history website that has received state and national praise. By her admission though, she does not care about Twitter and really has no use for Facebook nor a lot of online social media. Should we have kept her out of librarianship because the online world, as narrowly defined by some people, is not for her?

I write and raise these questions as someone who has found places in the online world. I also use social media (feel free to check the right side column in this blog for links to my various profiles). I use online social media tools in my work as well as for my professional development. I am still figuring out my niche, but that is part of the learning process for me. But I do know that my niche does not include the attitude of "you either get it or you don't, and if you don't, we don't want you here." That attitude has bothered me since the earliest days when the term Library 2.0 was emerging (some of my earlier thoughts on L2 here, here, here, and here).And it bothers me now. When people ask if I am sorry that I became a librarian or have any regrets, I can usually that I like what I do. But statements like the one by Stephens make me wonder because I do not want to be associated with such attitudes.

"Oh, oh, Anthony. He's a big boy, he knows what he said." --Tommy DeVito, from the film Goodfellas.

And no, I am not going to "try to look at it in a charitable light." That is a cop-out. He wrote it, with the backing of his reputation, and he clearly stands by it in making it public. Now, he can choose to dig in his heels, expand the statement or try to clarify it, but the statement is out there, and it seems pretty clear.

Personally, for what little my opinion is worth, the statement seems divisive. I see plenty of excellent librarians who work hard, provide excellent service to their patrons, and the online world is not really for them. I don't think they should be deprived of a career because they are not interested in Facebook or lack a Flickr fetish.

Is there dead weight in librarianship, including some coming out of library school even as we speak? Yes, ther is, and that needs to be weeded out. But exclusion on the basis of not being interested in doing reference via an iPad or laptop in some cafe should not be part of the exclusion criteria. Many talented librarians who do cataloging, reader's advisory, acquisitions and other technical services, and yes, even front line reference do great work and don't need nor have an interest in the online world.

Or you can use your local library and save some more

2010-10-18T15:42:00.000-05:00

I was intrigued by Chris Guillebeau's post for the Powell's blog entitled "Skip Graduate School, Save $32,000, Do This Instead." Don't get me wrong. I do like a lot of the advice in it, and I understand he is working for a bookstore after all. But these are tight times, and for some of the book suggestions he gives you really are better off borrowing the items from your local public library (or academic library if you happen to already be in school).Your library will probably have a lot of the basics and classics Mr. Guillebeau suggests, and they won't cost you a thing (well, you already paid for them either with your taxes or tuition depending on your situation, so you may as well use them). So allow me to highlight some items from the post and tell you how to get them. By the way, another useful tool is WorldCat, the OCLC's world catalog, which now has a nice free version. Type in your book title, and it can locate a library nearby that has your book. Heck, I even have it loaded on my smartphone.

And yes, this is a basic promo post for libraries.

So, here we go. I will present the author's suggestions, then my humble observations:

"Subscribe to The Economist and read every issue religiously. Cost: $97 + 60 minutes each week." Read it at your local public library, which is likely to subscribe to it already. Cost then would be free. And if you need additional information about something you read in the magazine, you can always ask the reference librarian.
"Read the basic texts of the major world religions: the Torah, the New Testament, the Koran, and the teachings of Buddha. Visit a church, a mosque, a synagogue, and a temple. Cost: Materials can be obtained free online or in the mail — or for less than $50 + 20 hours." If you go to the library, these will pretty much be free. Libraries usually keep a copy of major world religion texts both for reference as well as for readers. He does make a good point: you can often get materials free from the religious organizations (this does vary from group to group). The idea of visiting places of worship I think is a good one, and it is one I think more people should do. It certainly is one I should try out some more; besides Catholic church, I've only been inside some Protestant churches, usually because someone I knew had some function I was invited to. In terms of reading the texts, I think I have a good track record, but there are still a few more out there to read.
" Read at least 30 nonfiction books and 20 classic novels. Cost: approximately $750 (be sure to support Powell's!)" Again, go to your local library. However, I will say this with a bit of a grain of salt. If the books you want to read are things you will only read once, definitely borrow them. If you think you will reread them or need them later, then do buy them. For classics, you can read a lot of them online via things like Project Gutenberg, which also has option for downloading e-books of classics to your reading device. The cost is pretty much free, unless you sprung for a reading device. Also, I would try to be a bit selective about what books to read. There are a lot of "classics" which are, to be blunt, a waste of time (or to be charitable, may not be the best for you as a reader).As for nonfiction, if all you read is Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly, or Keith Olbermann (what, you thought I was just going to only mention right wing people?), you won't get very far in your education. Need help deciding what to read? Many public libraries have librarians who specialize in reader's advisory. Ask them what may be good to read. And yes, I do reader's advisory too, so you can ask me as well.
"Instead of reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, read The Know-It-All by A. J. Jacobs, a good summary. Cost: $10 or less." If Jacobs' other book is any indication, this one is one to borrow, not buy. The book is not bad, just not a keeper.

Do read the rest of the original post, since there are some good ideas there, but for a lot of the books, you can borrow them as needed. However, if you decide to support your favorite bookstore, I am not stopping you.

Some idle thoughts on handwriting

2010-10-15T09:04:00.000-05:00

I was recently reading a story out of The Wall Street Journal entitled "How Handwriting Boosts the Brain." The author reports that researchers say there are good cognitive benefits to handwriting. It turns out that kids in general are losing those benefits because they are not learning how to write by hand in school or at home. You can thank the ubiquity of keyboards and texting devices for that. Even adults who may have learned handwriting and penmanship in school seem to be losing out on the benefits as they give up handwriting for keyboards. However, not all is lost. According to the article, "but in an interesting twist, new software for touch-screen devices, such as the iPad, is starting to reinvigorate the practice." It seems the old is new again. Plus, it also seems that adults learning to write by hand later in life can gain some benefit. In fact, according to P. Murali Doraiswamy, a neuroscientist at Duke University, "as more people lose writing skills and migrate to the computer, retraining people in handwriting skills could be a useful cognitive exercise."

Reading the article took me back to 7th grade Catholic school. Yes, I am a Catholic school survivor (no, not that kind of survivor though, thank the deity of your choice). Back then, I had to practice penmanship in religion class. Penmanship was a big part of the grade. We kept a separate notebook where we took dictation from the Catechism-- questions and answers that had to be neatly and carefully written out. I had some very elegant script back then. Now some may view that as old fashioned rote memorization, but as I wrote the original draft for this post in my journal I could not help but think that the Brothers were on to something.

Even though I am a heathen now, you can ask me any question today about Roman Catholic practice and doctrine, and odds are very good I will know the answer even if I have to pause for a moment to translate it into English if needed since the lessons were in Spanish. In addition, the practice of penmanship made me very comfortable with writing by hand. In addition to keeping a personal journal, which I have done for years now, I still write out a lot of my drafts by hand before I type them out. This post started out in my journal. I don't always move things out of my journal to the blog, but I have often explored ideas on paper before taking them online. And some things do remain in the privacy of my journal. Overall, I do feel that I can think better, more freely when I write by hand. Don't get me wrong; I can draft very well on a keyboard but given a choice I still prefer to write by hand. My handwriting is not as elegant as it was in 7th grade. This is mostly because I tend to write faster now, but it is still neat and legible (enough so that people who notice do praise it now and then). Cursive writing and penmanship overall have served me well for writing and expressing my ideas. I may have evolved into a blogger, but keeping a journal in paper is still my passion and outlet. And I would not be able to keep a journal without good handwriting. So, who knew? It turns out those lessons and drills were good for my brain too.

Article note: On methods of academic librarian liaisons

2010-10-06T15:36:00.000-05:00

Citation for the article:

Thull, James and Mary Anne Hansen, "Academic Library Liaison Programs in US Libraries: Methods and Benefits." New Library World 110.11/12 (2009): 529-540.

Read via Emerald.

This is another article discussing academic librarians and liaison work. This one looks a bit more at some of the theoretical foundations rather than just giving tips on technology use by liaisons like the previous article I read. As I stated in that previous article, the topic of liaison work for academic librarians is not one that is taught well in library schools, so reading in this area should be of interest to academic librarians. The Thull and Hansen article I read for this post provides a definition of liaison work and looks at some activities and practices for liaisons. I found this article particularly valuable because it includes a survey instrument for faculty; the tool is something I can modify and add to the survey I am currently working on for my liaison activities here.

The authors start with their literature review, where they look at the RUSA definitions for liaison work. They state that our clientele are faculty and students and that serving their needs is our primary goal. This is consistent with what we practice here, and I am sure other librarians will agree. The authors go on to mention that library users expect to find their information wherever they may be. Now, regardless of how unrealistic that expectation is or ill-informed like this guy who clearly does not understand how access to electronic scholarly sources really works. (and we could go into that topic some other time. And in the case of the guy, that he was a researcher and still does not get it is shameful), that expectation is there, and we have to address it. Folks think that everything is on Google and online. It does not matter that we know better. The fact is we have to educate others about the reality-- no, Google does not have everything. No, everything is not online. No, everything online is not free. In the end, we compete with Google and the Internet, and as the authors argue, our personal relationships with our departments may well be the best way to counter those unrealistic expectations while adding some value.

Some more notes from the article:

"Where libraries excel over Google is in providing reliable and authoritative sources of information" (531).

Yes, we excel in providing added value, to borrow the business term. Anyone can run a Google search. Finding the good, reliable stuff is the real issue, and we are the ones who are masters at finding that good, reliable stuff (and we'll be happy to show you how to do it too).

A lot of the basic message in the article is for liaisons to be proactive. This includes being a marketer for the libraries. However, I tend to have a small problem with the idea given that it seems to let faculty off the hook. You see, if they don't hear from us, or rather choose to ignore us, then it must be our fault. While I certainly do believe in marketing, after all I work in outreach, there does come a moment when the faculty have to choose to get off their collective behinds and go to the library, or at the very least use the online resources effectively. And another thing articles like this often fail to mention in the rush to be optimistic is that there can be such a thing as too much marketing. As anyone who hates spam can attest, after a while, people will tune the messages out. The authors argue for being a library ambassador, which I certainly agree with since I do it every single day both as a liaison as the outreach librarian. Yes, we can and should be involved in things like faculty meetings, accreditation events, and other departmental events.

And sometimes you should go to some of those departmental events just for the fun of it. Our music librarian is a perfect example. The lady goes to every student concert and recital she can manage. It shows support for her students and faculty; it shows that the library, or at least some people in the library, have an interest in what the students do, and it shows that we can be interested in a way other than "pushing" what the library can do for you. I have always told her she should write a paper on some of her liaison work because she combines the actual marketing that many of these folks do with basic common sense. While a lot of these articles are big on using social software or technology, she still uses the personal touch, something I have advocated for before, and it works. She has strong departmental relationships with a combination of proactivity and genuine interest. Would that work for everybody? Maybe, maybe not, but I think that social angle is one to explore further. Or as she tells me when we get a small break to talk about what we do, "all that socializing we do is actually work. If only the powers that be would understand that."

Yet, not all the techniques you try to market the library work. As I mentioned, at times, the faculty do have to choose to show up for things. For instance, we have attempted the open house approach for faculty at the beginning of the academic year. We put a lot of effort into the publicity of the event and making sure our librarians are present. Faculty just consistently chose to attend. They clearly conveyed their lack of interest by their absence, so we decided to discontinue the event in favor of seeing if we can catch faculty, especially the new ones, in their offices. I mention this because a lot of the literature on the topic of liaison work fails to state the obvious-- it is a two-way street (or at least it should be a two-way street). No one ever addresses when the faculty choose to ignore you outright on the basis of "as long as I can get my research done in my office online, what do I need the library for?" Yes, that does happen even if a lot of librarians do not talk about it. I am talking about the faculty that you only hear about when they call the reference desk furious because their favorite database suddenly went down (hey, technical hiccups happen). I am talking about the faculty who complain that their students cannot do research (uh, you did see the information I have sent you in various forms on library instruction? Did you get my e-mails or other marketing on research consultations? Oh, you say you don't read the library's e-mails--yes, I have actually gotten that reply once or twice). Like I often tell my students, the tools are there, you do have to choose to use them. The authors discuss the issue of not all patrons being swayed, or rather they sort of mention it in passing:

"That being said, it should be acknowledged that some potential patrons will not swayed. Academic librarians should strive to educate all potential library users about the array of services and resources offered while recognizing that not everyone will be convinced to tap into library resources" (535).

Was it really that hard to say that? This reminds me of the days when I was in teacher training to become a school teacher where I had to eventually learn the lesson that you teach as if you were reaching every student, but you have to know that you will not reach all of them; you will lose some of them; a good number of them will fail and drop. It is a given. This is not that much different. We can work with idealism but being aware of the reality.

A couple of quotes from the article that are good and I want to jot down:

"Being a marketer for the library essentially means selling the libraries resources and services to patrons and demonstrating why the libraries (sic) resources are better, showing them how librarians can help them and their students become better researchers through the reference and instruction services libraries offer" (532). Yes, and we have our work cut out for us. We have to show where we add that value.
"Libraries can have the greatest available services and resources but if their patrons are not using them then they are for naught" (532).

The authors also bring up the all-time faculty excuse for not having library instruction-- we can't give up class time for it. I will be blunt: that is male bovine excrement. If you as a faculty member think that your students learning information literacy and learning how to do good research for your class is important, then you can make the time to provide instruction for it. It's called good planning. I honestly don't think faculty should get a free pass on this one under the "I have no time" rubric. Make the time, or otherwise you have no standing to complain when your students turn "research" based on Wikipedia, especially if we offered you options for library instruction and/or research consultations. The authors do list some compromises in lieu of this situation, and I suppose that in the end some solution is better than no solution. But we all know what really should be done. In the meantime, we will continue as liaisons to be creative and try to get our students the services they need.

Another quote that caught my attention: "Perseverance is necessary; it takes time, patience, and tenacity to cultivate effective liaison relationships" (535). That is something I have always said, and it is something I wish certain library directors who want quick results and stuff for "statistical reports" would understand. You have to cultivate those relationships. That process can and does take time, especially if you have a brand new liaison librarian trying to learn their way around an academic community (and if it is a small school with small town mentalities, the time factor may well take longer--that could well be someone's article too).

The authors additionally offer some suggestions and tips for getting to know a liaison area better. This is specially useful for those who get an area they themselves may not know well. It should not be an issue for a good librarian to learn what it takes to serve a liaison area. After all, we are good generalists and more importantly, we know how to learn and how to find the information we need. A good librarian is always keeping up and seeking to increase their knowledge.

I thought this was a statement of the obvious: "Institutional support that facilitates training opportunities in outreach and instruction for librarians is one key component of the liaison program" (536). Your library administration as well as your campus administration has to support your liaison work. Information and knowledge grow and change over time, and one has to keep up. Just because you got your MLS, it does not mean you stop learning or that you have no need for further training. For the institutions, I say this is a form of putting your money where you mouth is. You want good liaisons, provide support and continuing education for them. Otherwise, you reap what you sow, or rather fail to sow.

The final part of the article discusses the survey the authors conducted, and there are some insights in that part of the article worth looking at. As I mentioned, the survey instrument itself is useful as well. In the end, you can't just go by anecdotal evidence. You have to investigate to find out what are the actual campus needs in relation to the library, then act accordingly.

Following up on the academic librarian bloggership survey

2010-10-04T10:06:00.000-05:00

Just for kicks, I decided to answer the list of questions provided in the Hendricks article I recently read. The survey was looking into whether academic libraries or their universities view blogging as an academic endeavor good enough for tenure and promotion.

I will include the questions, then provide my answers (in italics) to the best of my ability. If nothing else, this is mostly a reflection exercise.

What is your title? My current title is Reference/Outreach Librarian.
Is this a staff, faculty, or administrative position? This is a staff position. However, in my campus, librarians have this odd position. We are not seen as faculty (because we are staff), but we do have a voting seat in the faculty senate. I do not know all the history behind getting that concession (it happened before my time), but I do know the faculty gave it reluctantly. I am ready to admit asking me about this may not be the best idea. I personally do not think librarians should be faculty, but there are a couple of colleagues here who think differently, and one who at least views this as a way to springboard into getting a scale (Librarian I, II, III or similar) implemented. Not something I necessarily like, but it is what it is. On the other hand, the rest of the staff do not see us necessarily as one of them because we are academics. Officially, this is a staff position.
If you are faculty or administrative, what is your rank? N/A.
Is this a tenure-track position? No.
What is your age? Generation X. If this was the anonymous survey with the confidentiality, I'd give the age. But I don't think I need to give that out publicly.
How many years have you held this position? Three years (entering my 4th year now).
How many years have you been at your current institution? The same three years as the previous question.
Does your institution expect you to publish scholarly articles and/or engage in scholarly activities? No expectation to publish scholarly articles. To be honest, I don't think the administration cares one way or the other. As for scholarly activities, encouragement of that is lukewarm at best. It falls under "it is nice if you do it, but it is not required." Besides, given the pretty bad budget cuts we've had, which include hefty travel restrictions, the administration really cannot expect us to do much of anything in terms of things like conferences, and they pretty much know it. And while the administration says they would consider paying for something if it is directly relevant to your work (so, attending say a conference that is not LIS stuff to present, which I have done for my subject areas, would be totally out of the question), the guilt trip they put you through for asking may well not be worth the hassle of asking. So overall, no expectation in regards to publishing scholarly articles or engaging in scholarly activities. If it were not for my personal efforts to keep up, write and reflect as I do now, I probably would not do much of anything scholarly.
Please list which library or (library-related) blogs you regularly read. I have a big list of library and library-related blogs in my feed reader. Some I regularly read include the following: The Society for Librarians Who Say Mofo, Off the Mark, Shelf-Check, Zenformation Professional, Annoyed Librarian, Academic Librarian, Walt at Random (plus the "usual suspects" most academic librarians usually mention like Free Range Librarian, Information Wants to be Free, Tame the Web, Librarian in Black, Librarian.net, ACRLog, Kept-Up Librarian) and a bunch of others I am too tired to type out now.
Of those blogs, do you consider any of them to be scholarly? I would say Academic Librarian by Wayne Bivens-Tatum can be considered scholarly both in terms of the content and style. Off the Mark by Mark Lindner when he is discussing some LIS-related topic can be very scholarly as he is very thoughtful and critical in his writing (I make the distinction because, like many bloggers, he does blog about other things on his blog, a distinction I think may be part of why the issue is raised, but that is another digression). Walt at Random by Walt Crawford (certainly his extensive work on librarian blogging should qualify). ACRLog, but that is sort of a given. The others in the "usual suspects" list can be academic, but they are more either tools for keeping up or opinion/essay blogs. Tame the Web can be academic, but the minute Michael Stephens starts to nitpick about things like library signage he pretty much loses credibility (it seems mostly a petty gesture to me).
If you consider the above blogs to be scholarly (equal to an article published in a peer-reviewed journal), please describe why. If I have to go by that definition, equal to a peer-reviewed article, Academic Librarian would likely be the only one rising to the top in a consistent fashion. The others basically go in and out of being in that level. Stephens for example will feature guest bloggers who certainly write good academic level work (by that definition). So does ACRLog (then again, ACRLog is a collaborative blog). But delivering it every single time, not likely. Of course, this is just the humble opinion of a guy with three readers.
If you do not consider the above blogs to be scholarly (equal to an article published in a peer-reviewed journal, please describe why. First, see my previous answer. Second, for blogs like The Society of Librarians Who Say Mofo or the Annoyed Librarian, I think taking a look should answer that question. Do you really need me to type it out? Though I will say the AL can argue and reason with the best of them on a good day (even if this irks the detractors. You have to give credit where it is due. Besides, I am sure a lot of her readers, assuming AL is a female, read it just as a form of venting). However, that AL can do that does not make her scholarly by the definition provided.
At your institution, do performance review committees believe publishing a blog is weighted the same as publishing an article in a peer-reviewed journal? I do not know about the faculty, but my guess (based on what I hear from them) would be no. As for me, I can pretty safely say the answer is no. I will add the clarification that my blogging is another thing the administration does not care a lot about. My director is aware that I maintain this blog. I think maybe one other colleague reads it (he may become the "fourth reader" if he keeps it up). That is pretty much it.
Do you publish a blog? Yes (I am doing it right now). For the record, I have three blogs. The Gypsy Librarian (this one) is my professional blog. The Itinerant Librarian is my personal blog. Alchemical Thoughts is my scratch pad/commonplace book blog (I honestly don't expect anyone to follow that one, but if they do, no biggie. It's odds and ends and a much more experimental blog). In addition, I do maintain and publish our library's official blog, The Patriot Spot. I am the library's primary blogger.
If you do publish a blog, do you believe it should count as scholarship? At this moment in time, no. If I put a lot more effort into The Gypsy Librarian, not to mention actually had some time to do some research and substantial writing, maybe I could argue it was scholarly. But that day is not anytime soon, and the administration does not care anyways, so there is no serious incentive. I would argue more that the blog would be a form of service, infinitesimal as it may be, to the librarian community. My other two blogs are personal, so the answer would be no, though The Itinerant Librarian at times could be like the blog of an informed citizen and librarian (librarian in the sense of being a community member).
If you do not publish a blog, why not? N/A.
Any other thoughts about blogs and scholarship? What? The previous thoughts were not enough? That could be another post on another day.

Article Note: Are blogs written by academic librarians scholarly?

2010-10-01T08:17:00.000-05:00

Citation for the article:

Hendricks, Arthur, "Bloggership, or is Publishing a Blog Scholarship? A Survey of Academic Librarians." Library Hi Tech 28.3 (2010): 470-477.

Read via Emerald.

This short article reports on a survey that tries to answer the following question: should blogs written by academic librarians count as scholarly or creative activity at tenure time? The author sent a survey to various librarian e-mail lists to get some responses. He received 67 responses, which while he admits is a low number due to aiming the survey at tenure-line folks, it still seems awfully low to me. I wonder how the sample could have been enlarged.

The author points out in the literature review that the question has not really been discussed. He cites an article by William Savage, Jr. where that author likens academic blogging to talk radio for intellectuals (qtd. in 470). Overall, the conclusion as we come out of the literature review is that blogs may have a place in academia in terms of making a contribution, but they are not academic sources in and of themselves.

The rest of the article goes over the results of the survey; the survey questions are included in the article. From the survey, we get the impression folks see academic librarian blogs or rather library-related blogs as good for things like staying informed, but not necessarily as good as peer reviewed articles, which require longer research; the terms seem somewhat interchangeable. For instance, the Librarian in Black, Sarah Houghton-Jan works for a public library system. That blog is listed among the top "must-reads" for survey respondents. The only thing I am saying by pointing this detail out is that the designation of what is an academic librarian blog does not seem consistent, or at least it seems fluid.On an interesting note, well to me, of the folks who write blogs themselves, "57.1 percent indicated they find other's blogs to be scholarly" (475). So it seems bloggers may be a bit more open to a blog as a scholarly platform or text. At least in one case, a respondent said that "at our library, blogging is considered professional service, or, if it's a blog for one's library or subject area, librarianship" (476).

In addition, at this point in time, it does not seem blogs would be considered as publishing for our academic librarians in terms of their dossiers. When the respondents were asked if a blog had the same weight as publishing an article in a peer-reviewed journal, "about 53.7 percent indicated no, while only 1.5 percent stated yes" (475). However, we do have to keep in mind that the concept of publication has come into question over the years as electronic publications gain prominence, so the question will likely be raised again and again.

The article's conclusion: "it is clear from the survey responses that this point in time, most academic library promotion and tenure committees do not weigh publishing a blog the same as publishing a peer-reviewed article. Some recognize it as service toward the profession, especially if it is related to the scholar's library" (477). My two cents? I think there are a few, a very select few, academic librarian blogs that could qualify as scholarly. They are probably as good as some of the opinion or essay pieces you do see in some of the peer reviewed journals.

Article note: On student opinions of academic libraries using Facebook and MySpace for Outreach

2010-09-29T17:35:00.000-05:00

Citation for the article:

Connell, Ruth Sara, "Academic Libraries, Facebook and MySpace, and Student Outreach: a Survey of Student Opinion." portal: Libraries and the Academy 9.1 (2009): 25-36.

Read via Project Muse.

Right away, this article is starting to show a bit of age. Facebook (FB), in particular, has changed so fast since this article was published that some parts of the article are not as applicable. That is the problem overall in LIS literature trying to cover online social networking: by the time the article is written and published, a year or two have gone by, and that is a long time in the online world. However, that aside, there are some things worth considering in this article.

The article reports on a small study of first-year students done at Valparaiso University. They were asked "how they felt about libraries having a presence on social network sites and using that medium to contact students" (25). In the literature review, Connell discusses some approaches that other libraries have done from active solicitation of students to become friends of their FB profile to simply promoting the profile and letting students find it. Personally, I am not too keen on the idea of active solicitation. Yes, online social networks do have a lot of potential for libraries, and I think we need to go where our users are when it comes to service. However, being to aggressive seems like borderline spam to me. We do what Connell mentions that Penn State does, that is, "they recommend mentioning one's Facebook account in library instruction sessions and reference interviews and then letting students find that account" (28). I also mention it when we do outreach events. I usually ask students if they have an FB profile, and if they do, tell them the library has a page and ask them to consider checking it out.

Already in the literature review, the article is already showing some age. FB has pretty much moved organizations to create pages (here is ours, for instance), and it pretty much has closed down groups. And while the article does mention librarians having their own profiles, this distinction seems to get a little lost in the discussion. In addition, FB has done a few changes to their privacy options, sparking some controversy in the process. Additionally, a good number of the articles that Connell considers in her literature review were written when FB was a closed garden limited to college students. This is no longer the case as FB has expanded to become a very open ecosystem, with all the good and bad such implies. At any rate, the important question that the article raises is whether students are accepting of these uses. We have heard a lot in the library literature about libraries using online social media (I have looked at some examples from the literature here, here, and over here), but how do the students feel about it? This is what Connell is trying to answer. Let's look at the method and findings then:

The sample is of 366 students out of 721 enrolled in what the school calls the Valpo Core (a sequence of classes all incoming students take) and first-year honor students.
The study found a good degree of acceptance. According to Connell, "some participants, (63 or 17.2 percent) were very open to the idea and said that they would be proactive and invite the library to be their friend if they knew about the account" (31). In addition, the majority said they would not seek out the library, but they would accept if the library friended them (31).
The acceptance is dependent on the quality of the interaction. If the library offers useful information and updates, it is more likely to be accepted by the students.
A conclusion: "What was apparent from these results was that a one-size-fits-all model does not work when it comes to using social network sites for library outreach" (33). I would say that this boils down to getting to know your students and community. I would add that if you develop rapport with the students in person, they are more likely to check out and add your FB page to their favorites.
Connell urges librarians to create profiles for outreach; well, she uses the terms marketing and publicity (34), but I would like to think there is more than just marketing and publicity. I like to use our library profile for reference, for providing useful information, and once in a while to provide something interesting. The idea of librarians on FB and other online social spaces by now is a given. I think it is very rare to have librarians totally react against the idea. Some may choose not to participate, and that is ok, but I think, at least based on my reading and observations, that the idea of us being in those spaces is accepted. Whether some take it too far is another question. And as side note, I do have a personal profile on FB, which I use a bit for professional use (I have student and faculty friends for instance, so I do some outreach that way), but it is also for personal use. As a result, I do avail myself of distinct privacy settings as necessary; also, my personal use is something I do reflect upon every so often. This is especially significant given that nowadays current and potential employers can use your profile against you if they find something they dislike (regardless of whether it is relevant to the profession, the workplace, or to put it plainly, whether or not it is their business). So I walk a fine line of balance.
Another conclusion from the article: "Students made it clear in their responses that they do not want their time wasted" (34).

On using a feed reader, or no, not everything is on Twitter

2010-09-20T15:49:00.000-05:00

By now, the news that Bloglines, the RSS reader service, is shutting down on October 1st is old news. I started using Bloglines practically as soon as I discovered it. I keep track of a lot of feeds, both professionally and personally, and Bloglines at the time was a lifesaver. I reluctantly moved to Google Reader when Bloglines began to prove unreliable (down times, freezes, other technical issues). I also tried Newsgator, but they also shut down their web-based feed reader. However, Bloglines was the first place where I could arrange my feeds into folders as well as save clippings. So it does bring some fond memories, and its shutdown is bad news since I dislike the idea that Google pretty much has the monopoly on this field; a desktop feed reader for me is out of the question. For one, I am not allowed to install anything on my work computer without permission (that is a whole rant there about being treated like a child by IT. And no, I am not interested in any IT geek trying to defend that position on the basis of "security" or some other nonsense. All that policy really does is make my work more difficult, but I digress). Two, I move too much, and I read my feeds in various locations. So web-based is preferred. I have been trying out a few alternatives, but none of them have proven up to the task just yet. Writing about some of those alternatives may be a topic for another time.

However, what irked me a bit was the opinion of some people that feed readers are dead and that tools like Twitter are the way to go. Twitter, while it may be a wonderful tool for some people, certainly is not one that meets my needs. Much like Liz B over at A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy, I ask too:

"What am I supposed to do to keep up on blog reading, because I’m sure not going back to the olden days of going to each individual blog every day to see what, if anything, got posted. I love Twitter, but it’s all real time so unless I’m on when someone posts their feed to Twitter (a practice, by the way, some people don’t like), I’ve missed it. Facebook has similar time/timing issues."

I am not checking my feeds 24-7, but I do check them often. The fact that I can check them when I get to them is the convenient part. That I can arrange things in folders by topics is also helpful. A tool like Twitter does not offer that level of filtering and control. Plus, to be honest, if I have to just trust my friends to post stuff that is relevant to me, all I will get are kitty pictures, Glenn Beck stuff, and other oddities. Please don't tell me I have to get better friends. Please don't tell me I have to just know who to follow on Twitter. Even if I did create a Twitter list, it would still lack the power and granularity my feeds arrangements have. And then there is the fact I can save clips from the feeds. This is not the same as posting to Delicious for instance, which I use for something else anyhow.

At the end of the day, what bothered me is the pretentious tone some people took in saying that feeds are dead, and if you can't get it all on Twitter (or some similar site), then you are reaching obsolescence. By the way, just visit some of the other links I provide to go read what those people wrote. I will actually suggest that if all you do is get your news from Twitter, you are not doing nearly enough to keep up.

Finally, this blog post over at Inside Higher Ed also asks about using feeds and readers. Made me think, and the comments may be worth looking over too just as the comments Liz B got are worth a look as well. I just hope Google does not suddenly decide to shut down their reader in some moment of revelation. More incentive to see what else is out there.

On things found inside old books

2010-09-17T08:23:00.000-05:00

There was a small article in The Guardian talking about marginalia and the fact that it will likely be lost in e-books. It is not just marginalia, those small and sometimes quirky bits of writing that readers leave behind in books. If you are famous, your marginalia in a book could make that book a lot more valuable. In my case, if wrote in my books margins, they would probably discard the book because it would actually lower the value. At any rate, I don't like writing in books overall. I had to do it in college for a couple of literature classes (the professor would literally tell us mark this or that and make this or that note on the margin). I tend to prefer making any reading notes in my personal journal.

Anyhow, the article also mentions objects you may find in books years later left behind by a reader; it could be a bus ticket, a restaurant receipt, so on. The one item I thought about was a receipt from the Club de Lectores de Puerto Rico (PR Readers' Club, kind of a local version of the Book of the Month Club). The CLPR folded years ago, but what is interesting to me is that it was a handwritten receipt. This was long before personal computers were more than somebody's imagination figment. The receipt currently resides in my mother's tattered copy of Cien años de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude) that I know possess. I can imagine her looking over some catalog that came in the mail, making her selection, filling out the form and sending it out. Then, some guys in some warehouse would receive the order, go find the books, fill out the receipt order form, and send it with the book to my mother. She likely used the receipt as her bookmark. I usually use a "proper" bookmark when I read books (I only use scraps of paper or other things when a bookmark is not handy), but the receipt has stayed there. It's just another small connection to her and the past much as reading a book that belonged to her connects me to her and what she read. And it reminds me of a simpler time perhaps.

12 Books in 12 Months Challenge, Better late than never edition

2010-09-12T18:46:00.006-05:00

I saw this challenge over at Mark Lindner's place, and I figured why not give it a try. However, I did miss the initial deadline of September 1st to post the list, thus the title of this post. Part of the reason for missing it was that I have a big TBR pile, so picking out just 12 was a bit hard. Two, August and September are a busy time at my library, so I did not have much time to ponder this. So, finally, as I am relaxing on a Sunday, I decided to look over my shelves and decide on my choices. I tried to go for some things I have been wanting to read, but for one reason or another have been left to sit on the shelf. I tend to read a lot by serendipity, which is part of why I usually have three to five books going at any given time. So, here we go.

First, the rules as posted at Habitually Probing Generalist:

Pick 12 titles from your To Read Pile. These should be titles you currently own in whatever format you prefer.
Acquisition of other formats or translations is permitted. So, if you have a paperback but want to read on your Kindle, you can get a Kindle copy. If you have a library copy but want to buy your own, that’s kosher. Heck, if you own a copy and want to check another out from the library, I’m not gonna stop you.
Post your list in your public space of choice by September 1, 2010. If you prefer not to post, you can just leave a comment with your list.
Read all 12 titles between now and September 5, 2011. Might as well tack on an extra long weekend at the end for cramming.
When you finish a title on your list, post about it in your public space of choice. If you prefer not to post, you can just leave a comment with your review.
Once a month, I’ll post a round-up of the reviews posted from that month so that we all know what everyone else has read.

OK, so as I mentioned, I broke the first rule, but I hope to catch up. Here then is my list of books for this challenge. The list is in no particular order:

Armando Choy, Gustavo Chui, and Moisés Sío Wong, Nuestra historia aún se está escribiendo : la historia de tres generales cubano-chinos en la revolución cubana. A history of three Cuban-Chinese generals in the Cuban Armed Forces. I got this at a TLA conference a few years back as it sounded very interesting. I always find these small pieces of Latin American history fascinating. Only reason I have put it off is that serendipity I mentioned. I keep picking up books I borrow from the library, and those take priority over what I own. Anyhow, I just finished another book on Cuba recently, so this seems a good time to finally read this history.
José Saramago, Ensayo sobre la ceguera. The story by the Nobel Prize in Literature winner about an epidemic of blindness. I have been wanting to read Saramago for the longest time, and I think this will finally be the year. I am hoping the experience will be a very good one. Much as when I read Coehlo, I prefer to read translations from Portuguese in Spanish.
Mario Vargas Llosa, Los cuadernos de Don Rigoberto. Sure, Worlcat uses the simplistic description from an American newspaper that calls this novel "a love triangle between a man, his second wife, and his young son, Alfonso." Sure, that may be the case, but this is Vargas Llosa, so we know the story goes a lot deeper than a mere love triangle as we learn about the notebooks where Don Rigoberto is creating his treatise on love and sensuality. Vargas Llosa is one of my favorite Latin American writers, so I am looking forward to finally reading this one.
Kurt Busiek, et.al., Conan, Volume 4: The Hall of the Dead and Other Stories. I read a lot of graphic novels and manga, so I have to have at least one book in this category.Dark Horse has done very good work with this revival series of the original works that also adds new stories to the Conan tales.
Joe Haldeman, The Forever War. I read this, but I feel it is time to reread it, so I hope to do it within the next 12 months.
Frank Herbert, Dune. This is another that I just have an urge to reread. I have not bothered with the sequels he wrote, and I have less interest in the sequels others have written after Frank Herbert's work. But this is a classic, so it deserves to be revisited.
Anthony Boucher, The Compleat Boucher: the Complete Short Science Fiction and Fantasy of Anthony Boucher. NESFA Press put out some excellent works. I enjoyed their collection of C.M. Kornbluth's works, His Share of Glory. Kornbluth is also coauthor with Frederik Pohl of another favorite of mine, The Space Merchants. I figure I cannot go wrong with the Boucher collection.
Graham McNeill, The Ultramarines Omnibus. This is part of the Warhammer 40,000 series. Adding it as a bit of escapism and fluff. WH40K has become one of my favorite pleasures.
Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele, The Surrogates. This is the basis of the recent film. I noticed the WorldCat record has the wrong cover in it. Someone needs to do better cataloging there.
Dava Sobel, The Planets.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World and Other Stories.
Maureen Stanton, Killer Stuff and Tons of Money: Seeking History and Hidden Gems in Flea-market America.

I could have made this list heavier on science fiction, but I tried to add other things I have been meaning to read but keep putting off until later. Not sure I may get to any of them this month, but I should be able to pick one up next month for sure.

Update note (7/15/11): I switched out the Ung book for the Stanton book in the original list. I explained a bit of why in my blog post for Book 7. I am keeping the text I originally wrote for the Ung book, which I still do intend to read at some point in the future:

Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers. I actually heard this author speak at a conference. It was about the time I was reading Shake Hands with the Devil, so I was not in the mood to read about another genocide. However, it is time I get to this book.

Article Note: On When ERIC is useful, with some follow-up

2010-08-27T16:11:00.000-05:00

Citation for the article:

Corby, Kate, "When is ERIC Useful? A Background and Current Overview of the Education Resources Information Center." The Reference Librarian 50.2 (2009): 137-149.

Read via Interlibrary Loan.

This article updates and supplements the previous article I read on the topic, which discussed alternatives to ERIC. I still teach EBSCO's Education Research Complete as the primary database for education research, but I do mention ERIC mostly as a supplement and for its thesaurus. Let me mention another small update note after I wrote the note for the other article: We finally acquired Web of Science for the library. It's amazing what the threat of losing or not getting accreditation (or reaffirmation, which is the new term) does for money to suddenly appear for library development and enhancement. I am being perfectly honest and blunt in this case: were it not for that, we would not have been able to purchase WoS. Now my job is promoting more use of WoS for the education faculty as well and discovering all it can do for us in terms of education research. I like having options, but I digress. In the other article, I do discuss some tips for teaching research in education that are very applicable and relevant, so those of you who do instruction may want to go and look at the other link.

Getting back to Corby's article, we get an overview of ERIC and its current condition. The article starts by providing an overview of ERIC's development history and design. ERIC was created to bring education research, which was being done all over the nation, under one roof. This is where the clearinghouses structure came in at first. ERIC also developed the Document Reproduction Service (EDRS), which served to provide those microfiche sets that some libraries still have (we still have our set, but I am not sure for how long since there is some pressure to weed it out. Please see the Strayer article, for some notes on why I have doubts about totally weeding out the fiche set). The other big decision ERIC made was using a commercial service. In 2004, the clearinghouses were closed, and ERIC moved to just being a database. From there, the author goes on to discuss how good and relevant ERIC may be in this day and age.

According to Corby, of the major education indexes, "ERIC claims the last number of journals covered" (142). Corby compares ERIC with products from Wilson, Gale, and EBSCO. However, she notes that ERIC is moving to greater coverage. She agrees that right now EBSCO emulates the gold standard when it comes to coverage (143). We do have to note that ERIC not only covers journals; it also covers conference papers, government reports, monographs, and other grey literature. This additional coverage gives ERIC an advantage. Another advantage is the thesaurus. As I have noted before, you can use the thesaurus not only in ERIC but also use its terms for suggestions of terms to type in other databases.

Overall, Corby concludes that ERIC is still a vital service, even if it has a lower profile. Sure, there are other resources that are more visible (at least if you are on a college campus with an EBSCO subscription), but ERIC is still a good resource. Corby explains why we would miss it if it was gone: "The library community would miss ERIC because it provides generally excellent specific indexing of articles. For in-depth searching on elusive education topics, it is a lifesaver. None of the competing products is as good" (147). So you see that ERIC still has some strong advantages. In addition, "many teachers and principals rely on ERIC as their major source of education information. Without it, they would lack access to the professional literature" (147). Many of these educators are probably using the government web version of the database, which would not have links to full-text as EBSCO's version would (but that is mostly because EBSCO links full-text you may have via other databases you also subscribe to). Corby makes a note that librarians should be reaching out more to those teachers and principals. She writes that "those are the people that librarians should be reaching out to, making sure they know how to use our library catalogs and interlibrary loan to access the items not available from ERIC servers" (147).

Link provided in the article to the ERIC Users' Committee, a unit of ACRL. I have used the link that seems more current (given ALA's recent Web page revamp).

Article Note: On liaison activities for academic librarians

2010-08-20T14:50:00.001-05:00

Citation for the article:

Kozel-Gains, Melissa A. and Richard A. Stoddart, "Experiments and Experiences in Liaison Activities: Lessons from New Librarians in Integrating Technology, Face-to-Face, and Follow-Up." Collection Management 34.2 (April 2009) :130-142.

Read via Interlibrary Loan.

The article reviews some librarian liaison activities. It specifically looks at blogs, customized research pages, and the use of Library Thing for collection development. The article is mostly for new librarians who find themselves with liaison duties in academia, but librarians who are already working in academia will find benefit from the article as well. The authors cite RUSA's definition of liaison work as "the process by which librarians involve the library's clientele in the assessment and satisfaction of collection needs" (131). Let me put it in plain English. If you are an academic librarian, and your role includes working with faculty in a specific department, and if said role includes work in collection development for said department/subject area, and you also provide instruction specifically to meet those department's needs, you are a library liaison. In a university setting, odds are pretty good that if you are a reference and/or instruction librarian, that you will have some level of liaison duties. Let me use myself as an example. I am the subject librarian here for the School of Education, the Department of Psychology, and the Department of Social Sciences (specifically for areas in anthropology, criminal justice, public administration, geography, and political science). This means that I promote library services to those areas. I provide more specialized library instruction to their students (we are assuming instruction past the basic session they get the freshman year), and I gather faculty requests for materials as well as suggest and purchase materials on my own initiative for their areas (in the instances where we have money to do so). I also will do some instruction for faculty on specific resources at their request.

To be honest, liaison work is not something that is taught, or taught very well, in library school.
If I had to make a list of things that library schools should be teaching to potential academic librarians, how to do liaison work and build relationships with faculty and students would be an item on that list. By the way, it is an observation of mine that the smaller the campus, the more of a generalist you have to be. Large research universities usually have a liaison for one area, say psychology. In the smaller setting, you have to be able to wear multiple hats, and at times, you may end up doing liaison work in a subject area you feel you are not best qualified. I happen to be fortunate because my degree was a teaching degree, so it gives me background and knowledge for my subject areas. However, let me reassure my two readers that, at least in smaller settings, you can still thrive as the liaison to, say the School of Nursing, even if you don't have a nursing or science degree. You are a librarian. You know how find information, and more importantly, you know how to learn things. Over time, as you learn the resources in your area, you will develop the necessary familiarity and subject knowledge to do the work. In addition, do not be afraid to ask questions from your faculty. They are the subject experts. These subjects are their passion, what they have studied, and many of them will be happy to share their knowledge.

Let's make some notes then:

The authors reinforce that a good liaison has to be able to wear multiple hats, not only in terms of subject but also in terms of skills:

"A good liaison is a jack-of-all-trades incorporating people skills, designing Web pages, aiding faculty research, writing department or course-specific resource guides, providing face-to-face consultation, and informing and facilitating faculty in learning about new and emerging information technologies, such as those associated with Library/Web 2.0" (131).

We do need to have a good customer service ethic. However, in terms of the above, we may aide faculty with their research, but we do not do their research for them. That's what their research assistants are for (or what the faculty members themselves should be doing since they are the ones doing the writing). The point is that as the liaison you provide some support, show them how to use particular resources, and empower them to do their work. But we also do many other things, some of which are described in the quote above.

The authors first look at blogs directed at faculty. This means blogs created by the librarian specifically for faculty in a department. I would extrapolate to try to make the blog a broader resource for students in that subject area as well, but this is not really considered in the article. The focus, as described in the article, is that the blogs worked more as static Web sites listing resources and items of interest to the faculty. I would go with the more traditional vision of the blog as a tool that you update with some regularity. The overall blog design rational for the blogs the authors describe:

"These faculty blogs were designed to both promote resources and library information to faculty and allow feedback from faculty without overwhelming them with content. The blogs offered a place that faculty could visit at their convenience to catch up on library and collection-related information specific to their departments, as well as providing an online communications hub for faculty feedback" (132).

A blog does have the advantage that it is something easy to set up. For a new librarian who has a lot of things on his plate, the ability to set a blog up with ease is helpful. You can easily add some widgets, and you are ready to go.

The authors noted that the blogs were not getting much traffic from the faculty. To increase traffic, the authors consider that better promotion of the resource may be needed. They saw the blogs as experimental, so they did not link them on their library pages. I would link any blog I created in our library website and certainly in our LibGuides. The issue seems to be striking a balance between between having a general resource and one that is very specific to narrow research areas. I say that for a blog, any blog, it takes time to build a following. If the feedback from faculty who do see it is positive, I say that is a good thing and a reason to continue.

Second, the authors go on to discuss personalized web page development for faculty. I will not go much into this because here we use LibGuides to meet those needs. The authors mention using an RSS widget from Spring Widgets (note: link in article seems to be a dead link. Looks like there is a new link). Assessment is a challenge: how to keep track of who is using it, so on. LibGuides, which is a fee-based service, does provide some analytics in that area. Promotion at this point is important as well. Not only for some faculty, but if we can get faculty to promote the site to their students, graduate assistants, so on, then we will be doing better.

The authors then discuss use of a wiki to create/establish a liaison manual. The idea sounds nice in theory. The problem I usually have with wikis is that they are not terribly intuitive or user friendly. Now before some wiki fan out there jumps on me, take a moment and think of what you take for granted. Compared to using the interface here on Blogger (or Wordpress or Vox even, which I have used as well), a wiki editing interface is not very intuitive unless you have had time to practice in order to learn it. Our attempt in using a wiki during our usability testing work for the library website redesign was of mixed results at best. In the end, sharing a collaborative word document was a lot easier. However, I do want to note that the theory in using a wiki (or some other collaborative online tool) is pretty good. Two things from that section:

"Migrating the liaison manual to a wiki would allow content to be more dynamic and timely, therefore proving more directly useful to liaisons in their day-to-day activities" (136).
"In essence, a wiki has the potential to tap into the collective institutional intelligence and expertise of multiple library staff to produce a more vibrant and timely document" (136). This deals with the idea of institutional memory, a topic I have pondered once or twice, and one that I do not think gets enough attention in our profession.

The authors then go on to describe how they use Library Thing, which you can read in the article. It does require purchasing an institutional account and then giving access to various parties to make the collection development work. I am not too sure on the logistics, but I think people who use it already personally may find it more useful for their liaison duties.

At the end of the day though, and this is what I really liked about the article, is that face time is still crucial. You have to leave the office and meet people as well as follow up using tools like e-mail and blogs. Some notes on lessons to learn and consider:

"Technology may provide new tolls for outreach, but the quality of a face-to-face encounter with faculty often provides a lasting impression from which a liaison can draw feedback and build on for future encounters. Creating these opportunities is one of the primary responsibilities of a library liaison" (139). This is a very good reminder.
"Follow-up is an essential component of liaison activities. Librarians must continually educate and periodically remind faculty of specialized library services and resources" (139). This also includes asking for feedback and assessing the tools regularly to make sure they meet faculty needs, to make sure they are useful as well as usable.

Short article note: On Web 2.0 tools for library instruction

2010-08-18T13:48:00.000-05:00

Citation for the article:

Deitering, Anne-Marie, et.al., "Library Instruction 2.0." Public Services Quarterly 5.2 (April 2009): 114-124.

Read via Interlibrary Loan.

This piece is mostly a list of some Web 2.0 tools with some suggestions and tips on how they can be used for library instruction. If you are a pretty savvy librarian who knows how to use the major 2.0 tools, you can probably safely skim the article. There are some basic tips that can be useful, which include:

Using Delicious (http://delicious.com) and tagging to highlight issues with the concept of tagging versus a controlled vocabulary. (116).
Using Google Reader (http://www.google.com/reader) to organize and track information. I use Google Reader quite a bit for my current awareness needs.
Using Creative Commons, both for finding content that may be used freely and for your own material. My blogs are licensed with Creative Commons, by the way.

There are a couple other items included. This article is one to keep handy when you need some ideas to enhance or supplement your library instruction. The only catch is that it came out in 2009, which means most of it was likely written up in 2008 or earlier, and the Web has changed a bit since then. Some of these tools are pretty much common, and there are many other new ones. On the other hand, I do get a good amount of students (and some faculty) who have no idea what a feed reader is. However, the tools listed here seem to have stood the test of time (if we can understand that time moves quite swiftly in the Web). I am keeping the article in my files for future reference, plus it would be interesting to consider what other tools librarians would add to this list by now.

On Librarians Who May Or Not Read, and some extra thoughts on RA

2010-08-10T10:21:00.000-05:00

This post is sort of a response to the post by Liz B. from A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Cozy entitled "Readers' Advisory?" The post made me think again of a few things I have been pondering lately about RA and librarians who may or not read.

* * * *

When it comes to reading and readers' advisory work, there are two things that can make me cringe.

One is the tendency of a lot of librarians in academia to not read or denigrate those who do. I have been in enough job interviews, on both sides of the table, to see this consistent reaction. It usually goes something like this: a candidate expresses that a reason she went into librarianship is because she likes to read. Those interviewing see the answer as less than substantial. I will grant that, unlike public librarians, academics tend to seek more specific traits in academic librarian candidates (collegiality, specific subject area knowledge for liaison work, teaching ability, ability and/or desire to publish, especially applicable to tenure lines), but somehow, to me at least, looking down on someone because they like to read is not right. The response I usually hear is that anyone saying they like to read is like someone saying they like puppies. I mean, you can't be against puppies, so same idea. The enjoyment of reading is either seen as a simplistic answer or as a stock answer, i.e. the answer you give when you don't have anything more original or substantial to say. I have found that you get a more positive experience if you get a candidate talking about some of the things they like to read, even if you do it during a lunch break or other more informal moment during the interview process (a note for any non-academic readers: interview process for an academic librarian, much like for faculty, can be an all day affair. Having a meal at some point is very common and often used as an informal way to measure a candidate and viceversa).

The second thing that makes me cringe is librarians who do not read. I cringe even more when they openly admit it, and really shudder if they take pride in it. The excuses for this pretty much run the gamut: I read plenty of stuff online (usually means they can skim a lot, often work-related); I deal with enough books already, so I don't want to read anymore; I am not really a reader, etc. Reading articles is reading; I am not denying that. However, librarians should also be reading books both in and out of their subject or interest areas. You do this to stay informed. You do this to have a sense of what is out there. You do it to be prepared for the moment a patron asks "can you recommend something good to read?" so you can suggest something other than what you can scrape up via Amazon. You read because it makes you a better librarian. It makes you more well-rounded as a librarian and a person. I will admit here: I think less of any librarian who, when asked what are you reading, say nothing or that they don't have time to read. I am not looking for any specific type of reading. You enjoy fluffy regency romances? Cool. You like reading books on your favorite e-reader? Wonderful. Just read. For a librarian, I don't think there is a valid excuse not to be reading something. If you are a librarian, you should be reading.

Now in academia, we librarians do not do as much RA as our public library brethren. Yet we do get students now and then asking for things to read that are fun. They are looking for something recreational. We should be prepared for this possibility given that academia is not only to get a degree but to nurture lifelong learning and well-rounded individuals. That includes the enjoyment of reading. The literature is addressing the need of RA in academic libraries (see also here). Here at my library we now have a Bestseller Collection (a browsing collection of popular books) available on the main floor to nurture and encourage recreational reading for the academic community. So far, it is getting some use.

To end, I will address some of the questions that Liz B asks at the end of her post:

"If you’re a librarian, what type of formal training did you have?" I took two courses in readers' advisory in library school. One for Adult RA and the other in Children and YA. I did that to prepare for a possible career path in public librarianship. Hey, the market back then was tight too, so I was hedging my bets. But I also took the classes because I was interested in the RA work, and I saw them as a chance to read some books I would not read otherwise during library school. Library school is not exactly a place that encourages much recreational reading unless you are either a reader, or you take an RA class.
"What resources have you used to learn about RA and work on your skills?" In addition to my coursework, I read a lot related to RA, and I try to keep up. Some books on the topic I have read after library school include this one, this other one, and this one over here. Also, since The Gypsy Librarian reads a lot of the LIS literature so you don't have to, that includes articles on RA such as this one on RA in small public libraries, one on interactive RA, and this one on RA and going beyond bestsellers. In addition, I do scan various RA related and book related sites, and I read various book blogs via my feed reader. Plus I read a lot of books. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, science fiction, education and pedagogy, graphic novels, microhistories (you know, those books that do a really good history of just one thing, like this one), and some current affairs/events.
"Is it something you think is important?" Yes. I think it is important both professionally and personally.
"And if you use libraries, what has been your experience in asking staff about what to read next?" Interesting question. I have never really had to ask a library staff member at a library I use (I am referring here to my local public library) for reading suggestions. I think this is mostly because I keep so many personal book lists and use so many other resources that I do not see a need. It is not a negative reflection on the staff. As a side note, however, I do ask and share suggestions with some of the paraprofessional staff at my library. They tend to be readers. At least one of them is a friend of mine over on GoodReads, the social site I use to keep track of my books. They ask me for ideas, and I often ask them as well. It has been an observation of mine that often the paraprofessionals tend to be more avid readers than many librarians. With a bit more training, many of them could likely be good readers' advisors. Liz B. writes that RA is "a skill set, it’s a knowledge base, and it takes work and dedication." Librarians should definitely be cultivating, building upon, and expanding said skill set and knowledge base. However, I think we can also take advantage of staff who read and are knowledgeable, especially in genres (and certainly in cases where the librarians are dropping the ball).
"Are the displays and booklists helpful?" Yes. Depending on the display, I often get an idea or two of what to read. If it is an open display, and the books can be checked out, I do pick something if it interests me.
"Do you know if these things are done by librarians, staff, or volunteers?" In my library, I do all the book displays; it is part of my work in outreach. At the local public library, I am not sure who does it. Other libraries I have visited, it is usually someone who volunteers.

Some thoughts on the concept of a social media librarian

2010-08-06T09:06:00.002-05:00

The following set of semi-random musings are inspired or prompted by Professor Bell's recent piece in ACRLog entitled "Is There a Social Media Librarian In Your Library's Future?" Go read the piece first if you have not read it, then stay if interested for the meanderings.

* * * *

I never really saw myself as a social media librarian, but over time I would have to say that title describes a lot of what I do in a fairly accurate way. Here in my library, we are currently working to leverage social networks to better serve our academic community. I am a believer of being where the users are, but I am also a user of online social media for personal needs. I think that this gives me a bit more credibility when I use social media for professional or work-related issues. But it is not all about just being a user of social media. My work here involves public relations and marketing for the library, so I find myself reading, investigating and assessing how to use those social media tools for our library's needs. From articles about better content creation to items about analytics, I read as much as I can to keep up and learn more. In terms of assessment, for instance, I am in the process of developing a faculty survey on library services, and one or two questions will go to social media usage. In the end, it is not so much about the tools as what you do with those tools; the goal for me is to learn how to make the social media work for us as a proactive engagement tool, then make it happen.

To answer one of the questions Professor Bell poses: Yes, at this time, we have one librarian responsible for oversight of social media accounts and activities. It falls under the umbrella of Outreach, which is my job title and description. Some of the duties are shared. For instance, other librarians have posting privileges to the library's blog. I will grant that at this time they do not take much advantage of it, but they do have the access and the opportunity. They have been empowered, but they have not chosen to use it (and this can be for various reasons from not feeling they have something to contribute to just simple time constraints). However, they do post to the internal reference blog as needed; we use that one for small reports, incident documentation, and other assorted notes. Adding to the answer for Professor Bell, I can also say that yes, I am the librarian who oversees the marketing and PR for the library. I am the primary blogger for the library, and I maintain our other social presences like Facebook. When our users wonder if someone is out there to respond and engage, I am that person.

My position is not called Social Media Librarian. I am not sure I would want such a title even though it is what I do to a large extent, and my colleagues pretty much identify me as the social media librarian. For the record, my official title-- at least the one printed on my business card-- is Reference/Outreach Librarian. In the scheme of things, it means "the reference librarian who happens to do outreach." I have to clarify that the only librarians not labeled as "reference librarians" are those who work in some technical service (systems, cataloguing, circulation, and archivist). To further illustrate, our instruction librarian has a similar meaning; she is the Reference/Instruction Librarian, i.e. "the reference librarian who happens to do instruction." In a more perfect world, she would be something like Coordinator of Information Literacy (or at least Lead Instruction Librarian or such, which would reflect what she really does). Personally, when people ask me what I do, I just say, "I am the Outreach Librarian." It sounds simple enough., though once in a while I get asked "what does that mean?" At that point, I usually make light of it and say that I am the library evangelist and add that I spread or carry forth the good work of the library. It works at times. I should say that I am not big on titles, or at least on serious titles. In the LSW, my claimed title is "Disinformation Outbreak Response Agent." Too bad I can't put that on my business card. My two readers have no idea how often I have to respond to disinformation outbreaks, but I digress.

As for the question of training to do PR and marketing work, a lot of it I've learned on the job by reading, some online webinars, and by doing it. Like Professor Bell, I don't think we need whole courses in library school on social media and tools. We should be teaching more about marketing, PR, writing press releases, so on. The fact I was an English major in a previous life did help with some of that. The lessons should be integrated into the curriculum already in place. To supplement or enhance, make the students take a marketing or PR course outside of library school.

Then again, would a title like Social Media Librarian add cachet to what I do? Maybe. I kind of see it as that other title that was floating around a while back and a few libraries put in place: Emerging Technologies Librarian. It seems to me that, to an extent, Emerging Technologies Librarian is what we are labeling now as Social Media Librarian; a lot of the social media we take for granted now was emerging at one point. A good number of celebrity librarians made their reputations riding that wave; I don't say this in any negative sense, but I think when this chapter of librarianship is written, whoever writes it will say something like that. So some of those librarians would probably be called Social Media Librarian by now.

In the end, based on my job description, which may have to get rewritten at some point, and what I do, I could easily tell the boss to relabel the position as Social Media Librarian. The question is: would it stick? Or would it just be a trendy label until the technology and social media world evolves into something new? Maybe down the road the next title might Metaverse Jockey Librarian or something like that (I am thinking something from Snow Crash). For me, maybe if the reclassification came with a raise, but I know that is not going to happen here. Besides, I happen to think Library Evangelist is somewhat cool. Maybe I can get that on my business card instead.

Additional Note: Here is a partial listing of some social media use items I have been looking over either for personal application or for library application.

Brief note on article about research assignments (link to post on Alchemical Thoughts)

2010-07-29T11:19:00.004-05:00

First, the rant: Another day, another crappy day using Blogger. As if things were not bad enough (it would not save the draft I typed originally. I honestly do not know what's up with the "save, won't save" nonsense), apparently when you type it in MS Word (especially newer versions of Word), the process injects all sorts of XML bullshit into the code that Blogger does not recognize. This naturally drives the system nuts, and I have to either spend time going through the code to remove it or just post the item elsewhere and link it here (assuming of course this gets through). Thank you Mr. effing bastard Bill Gates for making your software more invasive, bloated, and annoying than it has to be. Thus endeth the rant.

You can find the actual post with my thoughts on a recent piece out of The Chronicle of Higher Education over here. Apologies to my two readers for making you jump another hoop.

It's just reader's advisory

2010-07-28T15:18:00.000-05:00

This article on "The Fine Art of Recommending Books" by Laura Miller, writing for Salon magazine, is basically describing what a good librarian skilled in reader's advisory does: match a reader with books that meet the reader's needs. We ask questions; we assess the reader's tastes and mood to find the next read, and we sometimes may do a bit of research to find it (be it online or from a guidebook for instance). We do it in a way that is more personal and thoughtful than any online algorithm. I would say it is a skill and an art. The article also highlights librarian extraordinaire Nancy Pearl. I think the only thing Ms. Miller left out is actual recommendation websites such as Library Thing and GoodReads (this is the one I use personally to keep track of my reading). Sure, she mentioned Amazon's robots, but that is just not the same. Many online communities now exist for readers to share their books and reading experiences in more relaxed settings. Still, an interesting little piece worth a look. I think I would use it also as springboard to promote what we librarians already do.

Article Note: On Read/Write Web and Online Research

2010-07-26T15:14:00.003-05:00

I drafted the piece over on the scratch pad, Alchemical Thoughts. You can find it here. You can comment there or here. Apparently Blogger can't handle anything longer than three sentences.

The citation for the article:

Houghton-Jan, Sarah, Amanda Etches-Johnson, and Aaron Schmidt, "The Read/Write Web and the Future of Library Research." Journal of Library Administration 49.4 (2009): 365-382.

Read via Interlibrary Loan.

Article Note: On electronic biomedical resources, other than MEDLINE

2010-07-23T11:39:00.000-05:00

Citation for the article:

Pickett, Keith M., "Reaching Beyond MEDLINE: A Beginner's Overview of Electronic Biomedical Resources." Journal of Hospital Librarianship 8.4 (2008): 398-410.

Read via Interlibrary Loan.

The article is basically a short overview of some electronic resources, both for pay and free, that are relevant to those in the health sciences. Why would you be interested in some of these resources? The article gives some reasons:

MEDLINE does not index everything. For example, it misses things like books, book chapters, and a grey literature.
MEDLINE "practices 'selective indexing,' in which only a percentage of articles from some journals are indexed and some journals are not indexed at all" (M. Knapp, qtd. in 399).
Also, different databases use different systems of controlled vocabulary. For example, PsycInfo (APA's product) uses its own Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms. You can get additional relevant results if you are able to learn how to take advantage of thesauri and subject terms in a database.

I am just going to highlight the free resources for reference purposes:

BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com). This is a open-access publisher with a portfolio of 208 peer reviewed journals. Most of the material is freely available. In other words, according to the website's "About" page, all the research they publish is open access, but they also serve as an access portal to others that are subscription-based.
ClinicalTrials.gov (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov). This is a site of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). From the site, this site " is a registry of federally and privately supported clinical trials conducted in the United States and around the world. ClinicalTrials.gov gives you information about a trial's purpose, who may participate, locations, and phone numbers for more details."
Scirus (http://www.scirus.com). This is a search engine for scientific information. Interestingly enough, it is maintained by Elsevier. It claims to be "the most comprehensive scientific research tool on the web. With over 370 million scientific items indexed at last count, it allows researchers to search for not only journal content but also scientists' homepages, courseware, pre-print server material, patents and institutional repository and website information."
TOXLINE (http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?TOXLINE). This is National Library of Medicine's resource of toxicology literature. TOXLINE in fact is short for Toxicology Literature Online. This resource is actually part of a larger collection of resources from the NLM's Division of Specialized Information Services that also includes things like TOXNET and ChemIDPlus.

If you need to learn more about how to do Biomedical Research, you need a little refresher of what is available, or you become a librarian who has need to do health sciences research (say you become your academic library's new health science's liaison but you don't see yourself as a health sciences person), then you should read this article and keep in handy.

Link to Article Note on the Future of Reference in Libraries

2010-07-15T10:52:00.002-05:00

Since for some reason Blogger is being unresponsive in terms of saving the text of the post here, I have posted the note over at the scratch pad. You can read the post over there, and if you want to comment (but do not have or want a Vox account), you are welcome to put your comments here. My apologies to my two readers for the inconvenience of making you go back and forth.

The citation for the article itself:

O'Gorman, Jack and Barry Trott, "What Will Become of Reference in Academic and Public Libraries?" Journal of Library Administration 49 (2009): 327-339.

Read via Interlibrary Loan.

Link to the posting.