Fanzines From the ALA Expo Floor Part 2

Before blogs, before the Internet as we know it there were fanzines. The great news is that there are still fanzines being produced. On the ALA Expo floor was an exhibit of some of the publications.

Fanzines are small publications that focus in on a particular topic or niche subject area. They can be handwritten, assembled from found materials, photocopied or professionally produced.

The topics can range from surviving the workday after a bender to a catalog of every Tonka toy made. Whimsy or dead serious in content. Sometimes explicit. Sometime reveling in the mundane.

I remember finding fanzines on the floor of record stores next to the free alternative newspapers. That was one method of distribution. Another was mail sharing or trading. Fanzines could also be sold for subscription.

It was hit or miss. There could be one issue or seven or 130. It depended on the person. There are still a few folks producing fanzines in the U.S. but other countries are continuing the tradition.

 It was kinda cool to find this spot of creativity at the conference.

Transmedia and Mr. Morris Lessmore

It isn't often that an animated film about books gets any kind of attention. As bookaholics and library students you should know about the 2012 winner of an Oscar® for Best Animated Short film.

The Fantastic Flying Adventures of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a touching film about a man's adventures with books. The movie does not contain dialog but there is an expressive musical track.  If you haven't seen the movie take a look at the trailer.



You can watch the full authorized version of the movie on iTunes. There are bootleg versions in other locations. We all need to make a better effort to respect copyright. I won't link to those versions.

For me, the movie operates on many levels. I can appreciate it as a love poem to reading and traditional books. According to the producers of the film, it is also an homage to the great silent film start Buster Keaton. I can clearly seen Buster's spirit giving the okay on this honor.

Transmedia

It is also one of many growing examples of transmedia. Think of transmedia as a tree with many branches. You have your source material that can be extended with new content to other platforms.

This isn't new. Spiderman started out as a comic book. Then an animated series, a live action television show, a movie series and a theatrical show on Broadway.  This is the digital version of transmedia.

Mr. Morris Lessmore's adventures will be converted to a picture book based on the movie. There is a supporting iTunes application where users can explore the world of Mr. Morris Lessmore and interact with some of the characters.

What Does This Mean?

Well, it could mean that when you get a request for a book you might need to consider offering related content. There might be a physical book, a recording, and an app on Android, iOS or Windows smartphones and tables. (Trust me, there will be an Windows tablet.)

There could be a web site that supports the book or a fan community that is adding content to their shared experiences. Or an electronic book that is only located in the Nook, Kobo, Google or Kindles stores.

This is an extension of knowing your collection. Collections, as the trailer and movie demonstrate, have a life of their own.

Google Newspaper Archive Collection

It seems once you land find one archive the rest sort of wander over to great you. On Google News there is a collection archive of scanned newspapers from various dates, cities and countries.


There are newspapers from the 1800s and 1900s as well as through the depression era and the 1960s in the US. Some of the newspapers only contain one issue and others have a full collection of publication.

It really is entertaining to read some of the early issues of various newspapers. The Covington Journal mission is to "cover politics, literature, education, agriculture and the news of the day."

You can perform a keyword search to find topics of interest. Keep in mind that usage and terminology has changed over time.

For example, suffrage was used in connection with slavery and then freed men and women. It later became a term connected to woman's suffrage. The term womens liberation came into use much later.

If you are looking for historical comparisons today's hot topics this is one of the places you should considers investigating.

David Hoffman and Thoughts About Libraries

This is a TED video presentation by filmmaker David Hoffman. In 2008 a fire destroyed his books, photos, negatives and home.

From the TED biography page:

Documentary filmmaker David Hoffman has been capturing reality for almost 4 decades, following his wide-ranging interests and turning them into films for PBS, The Discovery Channel, A&E, National Geographic.

This is his presentation on converting his loss into a positive experience. Which begs the question; are libraries important enough to the society to save? If we believe that then what are we doing to help the general and politicized public understand why it essential to maintain a vital public library system?

This man is a collector. What he lost cannot be replaced. Libraries are living collections of what we believe to be essential information for a community to have access to and use.

What will the community lose if the doors are allowed to be bolted shut?

IPL2 - Video Outreach and Services

Back in the day long before I entered the Library Technology program I knew about the Internet Public Library. It was a place to check out if they had a source or two. As the resources on the Internet have change so has the Internet Public Library.



The site has merged with Librarians Internet Index and is now a shared resource partnership among a number of library schools joining in a consortium. Now known as IPL2, it continues to have vetted lists of viable resources.

This means more goodies and zero spam. It is also another way to contact a librarian for questions and research assistance.

The special collections pages target specific areas of interest such as U.S. state information, podcasting, Deaf and hard of hearing resources and more.

Before you Ask.com, Bing or Google take a moment to review IPL2 resources which still use the legacy web address www.ipl.org

Video of The Walker Library of Human Imagination

Personal libraries can range from a pile beside the bed or extraordinary works of art and science. The Walker Library is the personal library of Jay Walker and it is a stunning collection that was built in 2002.

Unfortunately I can't seem to embed the video but this is something any book junkie will want to take a peep at. You can visit Walker Digital to view the video and more information about the library or visit filmmaker David Hoffman's YouTube channel for a bandwidth friendly version.

Even from a distance it is a stunning visual of one man's need to collect information.

Awful Library Books - In Praise of Weeding

There are times when a book has got to go. When it needs to be pulled from the shelf and placed on the 25 cent table of re-circulation or disapear.

Awful Library Books is a blog devoted to those titles that have seen better days.


There are many reasons to weed collections but this is a very visual and humorous guide that really helps to make clear that some books really are past there time.

For example:

• Jobs in Office and Business
  
• Mystery Date
• Milady's For Men Only - Styling and Techniques (Mullet Alert!)
  
• Knitting Now
  

Holly and Mary are actual librarians working at a public library. There is also a Why We Weed Page where folks can share their reasons for weeding a collection.

School Library Without Books - A Commentary

First, here is the news story from Boston.com on the Cushing Academy decision. The school gave away the existing library They are planning to replace the traditional paper books with electronic book readers by Amazon and Sony.

Many people have strong opinions about this transition. At the time of this writing there were 440 comments about this news story on the website. There is also a CNN write up about the transition from paper to electronic books. The tech community is also little buzzed about this decision. Check out the comments from the tech blog, Engadget.

The librarian and book bloggers communities are extremely concerned over this switch in book media.

Brian's Book Blog:

Okay, I feel better now. I just don’t understand how they feel that this is a good idea. A print book won’t shut down if it looses battery power. A print book doesn’t get recalled from your shelf like an eBook might from your Kindle.

The Luscious Librarian:

Now, I'm all for technology, especially when you're referring to information that is updated on a daily basis like reference information found in encyclopedias, but that kind of information is not free and requires a subscription. It's also easily controlled or changed depending on who is reviewing and posting the information, the interest groups the information supports or denounces.

Lisa Gold:

This is stupid on so many levels that I forced myself to wait a full day before blogging about it so I wouldn’t rant incoherently. Let me just pose a few questions:

• Did the librarians of Cushing Academy try to explain to their headmaster that only a small percentage of works are available in digital form, and that most of those aren’t free?
• Before discarding their 20,000 printed books, did they consider checking to see which ones aren’t available in digital form and keeping those? (In my experience many of the best reference works only exist in print form.)
• Did they think about the fact that even if the library pays to subscribe to subscription databases and encourages the use of free public domain works (Google Books, Project Gutenberg, etc.), that still means students won’t have access to the vast majority of works published after 1922 and still under copyright?

My Thoughts But More Feelings

I love books. I love the smell of them. I love to hold them and goodness knows I have a few in my bed waiting for me to catch up.

So hearing about a school voluntarily dismantling the library has me at near tears. I don't care if they are rich kids. Every child and teenager needs access to books. I want them to have access to Judy Blume, Malcolm X, and any science fiction book. I'd even put up a scuffle for the sports books and I don't care about sports.

Why? Because books saved my life as a kid. Seriously. Everything from Go Dog Go to Encyclopedia Brown to why do people hate each other? I know how powerful the right book can be in the hands of a person in need.

I would walk the stacks just looking for that book that would call out to me. And if you don't know what the hell I'm talking about then why are you in the library program or reading this post?

This is personal! (and my opinion does not reflect upon PCC or Shatford Library.)

Yes, I like tech and gadgets. Always have and always will. But books are my home. Paper books. When I need to escape and I have no money where do I turn to? A book. When I am searching a past that I have no information on where do I look? I can find an out of print book that has what I need. That out of print book is not going to be in a Amazon Kindle or Sony Reader.

My connection to the pulp is similar to BookishGal on her post about keeping books. I can't throw them out. I pick up stray books if I think they are at risk for disposal.

So to read of someone who is a so-called educator who is proud that they discarded 20,000 books for a $12,000 coffee machine I get teary. And angry. And sad.

Look, I knew the transition was coming. I tried to tell people. But is should be a transition, not a dad gummed purge. This is not the last of it. The state of California is planning to use e-textbooks and will phase them in over time. Textbook publishers are getting read to produce custom content textbooks in electronic form.

Textbooks in electronic form have a places in schools. There is no stopping that process. But literature, philosophy and boatloads of history books cannot effectively be transferred to electronic devices at this time.

This is a loss when even one school library does it. It must not become a trend. If this summer has taught us anything it is that there is no pride in being willfully stupid. It is not a badge of honor.

We can do better than this. We must be informed and, when given the opportunity, speak up.

Ohio University Libraries - The Business Blog

I do try to keep my other interests and avocations off of the PCC Libtech blog but sometimes my life has other plans. While looking for video blogs I discovered another librarian who uses video in his site, Library Voice.com.

Chad Boeninger and writes about how technology in libraries can and should be of service to the patrons.


Chad is also in charge at the Ohio University Library Business blog where he locates content and material to help students and faculty make sense of these financially constraining times.

One of the challenges that Chad has to face is working with reduced acquisition fund budget. He has to cut books and subscriptions in order to slash $85,000+ out of the budget.



For those of you who have taken Library 101, Library 103 and Library 104 this is the working example of not only weeding materials but also facing the fact that you no longer own a current copy of the information; it is online in a subscription based system.

That may work when the library system can pay the vendor subscription fees but if money get tight you not only loose current information but access to past history and materials as well.

It is a tough balance. In a prior video, Chad goes step by step on the reasons for canceling certain materials and invites the faculty for input.

This is a good opportunity to get insight on an academic library and real world decisions that have to be be made. As I go deeper into the blog there are screencasts that explain research skills, consumer trends, the current marketplace and those things that would support the goals of the library.

I hope that by visiting these sites it will give context to the impact that budget cuts have on libraries and patrons. It is also a good place to get an insight on how to be of technological service to staff and patron.

BibliOdyssey - Time Travel for Book Lovers

I admit that I can be seduced by software, hardware and all manner of contraptions. I can't go near a camera store without coming out with something. By my true love is books. Old, new it does not matter to me. So when I found the BibliOdyssey blog that really demonstrates the craftsmanship of older books I was amazed at the artwork and typography being displayed.



We forget that a book had to do many things at one time. Certainly it had to have content and text was the easiest and most affordable content to produce. But for those that could afford it, books with images were highly desirable. The woodcut and other techniques used to illustrate in ancient books can be breathtaking.

If you have an interest in typography, book art, illustration or need a dose of inspiration this is a great blog to visit.

English Short Title Catalogue at the British Library

At this section of the British Library website you can locate titles for books published between 1473 and 1800. If the material was published in the UK or its possessions, Colonial America or any place else on the planet, and it was printed in English, it very well might be listed in this database.

Now short title does not refer to the length of the actual name of the book. As you can see from the example below, titles could be quiet descriptive:


My understanding is that it refers to limited or special publications produced quickly. I'm thinking like pamphlets, broadsheets and the early equivalents of instant publishing.

As you can see, you can view the records in a variety of formats such as a three line summary listing, full MARC tags, or which institution has the actual document.

This is a good resource if you are researching ephemeral publications that give a sense of time and place.

It is also valuable if you want to brush up on your MARC skills if it has been long time since you have sweated a MARC code. Check it out.

Microsoft Encarta Is No More - My Thoughts

Microsoft has decided to stop publishing the Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia. This includes the software that accompanied certain Microsoft software packages as well as the Encarta web site. You can get more information about the announcement at the Encarta FAQ page.

The Encarta website will be discontinued on October 31, 2009. Those that have the Student Edition and Premium software will be supported for the next three years.

The New York Times thinks that Wikipedia put the shank in Encarta. Well, maybe but I think it was more that the users made a decision on how they wanted to access information. Encarta became a tree in the forest that no one could see except those that knew that path. It was a question of did you have time or was it worth your effort to get what you needed.

I will be honest, there were times that I actually used Encarta on my computer but I had to think about it or just glance at the icon. The times that I did use it the information that I wanted was hit or miss, generally miss.

For static information it was ok. But very little in our modern world is static. I could connect to the Encarta web site for more information but having gone through the program it was easier for me to conduct my our search strategy with a variety of search engines, ProQuest and other online resources.

But something about this bothers me. The constriction of verified resources that are now locked behind paid walls of access. There is no need to have a paper encyclopedia anymore - a good one cost a good chunk of change. When a fairly inexpensive software encyclopedia (to purchase, not produce) goes away then how does the average person or parent get access to information?

Yes, some folks do pay for online subscriptions but there are still folks on dial-up connections or schools that need CD/DVD access. As much as we want them to some folks will not come to the library. Let's not forget those students that wait until the last possible moment to write their papers.

I guess I hate to see a loss of affordable resources.

We Interrupt This Announcement...

Sorry folks, I kinda jumped the gun and the event I previously mentioned is only for students of the library technology program. It is that impetuous nature that gets me into trouble each and every time. Anyway, no sense letting a post go to waste, I present to you a personal library that will cause some of you to drool and others to cringe.



I'm not sure they have enough books but it is a start. I'd bet the VHS are lining the steps.

Ohio State University Cartoon Library and Museum

I do like cartoons. I like libraries. In a perfect world there would be a cartoon library. Fortunately, even in an imperfect world there is a cartoon library. The Ohio State University Cartoon Library and Museum has been in existence since 1977.


According the the About Us page its mission is to:

...develop a comprehensive research collection documenting American printed cartoon art, to organize the materials, and to provide access to these resources.
The scope of the collection includes:

• editorial cartoons
• comic strips
• comic books
• graphic novels
• sports cartoons
• magazine cartoons

There is a database to locate a certain artist or work:
You can search by creator, type of publication, type of market, the name of the cartoon or the format that the cartoon or graphic novel was published. Not all comics are represented but you do get to search for some of the early work in the topic.

You can view some of the collection online in galleries and albums:


This is a great example of a specialized library and a library/museum partnerships.

National Treasures, Local Treasures Coming To LAPL

Attention library junkies, bibliophiles and bookaholics; clear your schedules for December 12, 2008 between 10am - 12noon. The Library of Congress is having an event at the Los Angeles Public Library. This is a portion of the planned festivities that was received via e-mail to Krista Goguen.

Interim City Librarian Kristina Morita will accept, on behalf of the Los Angeles Public Library, a facsimile of a 1937 "map of the stars" from the collections of the Library of Congress.

On the program from the Library of Congress are John Y. Cole, director of the Center for the Book, Guy Lamolinara, the center's communications officer, and Gail Petri, educational outreach specialist from the Office of Strategic Initiatives. The program will include the screening of a special feature available with the DVD for "National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets," filmed in part in the Library's extraordinary Thomas Jefferson Building.

During this event, a student from Upland in the Letters About Literature contest will read her winning letter to an author. Novelist Nina Revoyr will also speak, about how research at LAPL has helped her succeed as an author.

The "National Treasures" program will include demonstrations by Library of Congress educational specialists on how to bring California history alive with rare primary-source materials available on the Library's Web site at www.loc.gov.

There will also be an online demonstration of the interactive Library of Congress Experience which brings unique historic and cultural treasures to attendees through cutting-edge interactive technology. The Experience comprises a series of new exhibitions and a continuing online educational experience on this personalized Web site.

These include:

"The Art and Architecture of the Thomas Jefferson Building," a tour through this exuberant 1897 masterpiece of American craftsmanship.

"Creating the United States," which tells the story of how our Founding Fathers used creativity, collaboration and compromise to form our nation, with a focus on the words and phrases that created the republic.

"Thomas Jefferson's Library," which features thousands of original volumes that provided the foundation for the Library of Congress and its universal collections.

"Exploring the Early Americas," which tells the story of the Americas before the time of Columbus, as well as the periods of contact, conquest and their aftermath. Jay I. Kislak's extensive collection of rare books, manuscripts, historic documents, maps and art of the Americas comprises the major portion of this exhibition, which also features Martin Waldseemüller's 1507 Map of the World, the first document to use the word "America.

The event is sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, the Los Angeles Public Library and the California Center for the Book.

The Library of Congress Center for the Book was established by Congress in 1977 "to use the resources and prestige of the Library of Congress to promote books, reading, literacy and libraries."

The address of the Los Angeles Public Library - Central branch is 630 W. 5th Street in downtown Los Angeles. So if you have the time and the inclination hop the Gold Line and then transfer to the Red Line to Pershing Square station. The library is a block and a half from the station.

Prologue Magazine - National Archives and Records Adminstration

There is an abundance of historical information contained in the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) web site. One area I'd like to draw your attention to is the quarterly magazine Prologue.


Prologue is a great resource. Did you know that there was a court case about frozen ice cream and flavored ice between Popsicle and Good Humor? Or that there were inconsistent rules applied to women and naturalization between 1802 to 1940?

Many people have issues about the response handling in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina but did you know that there were slackers, looters and governmental incompetents that added to the confusion on who was responsible during San Francisco 1906 Earthquake?

You can read and decide for yourself if history repeats itself in the article "When an American City Is Destroyed, The U.S. Military as First Responders to the San Francisco Earthquake a Century Ago".

There is a lot of talk recently about subversives, anti-Americans and being "the other." It is scary stuff but it is not new to the country. In Prologue magazine there is an article about how the McCarthy era came into being by the Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations (AGLOSO).

You can learn about how fear took root the government and in the country. Once you know how it got started you can be on the look out for new versions that are being implied or suggested.

This is your tax dollars being put to wonderful use. I would certainly add this to your information tool kit.

Adam Matthews Digital Subscription Resources

Adam Matthew Digital is a subscription database that handles specialized collections. The target audience would be those folks interested in research, education and librarianship.


The collections are divided into 20 areas of focus that include:

• America, Asia and the Pacific
  
• India, Raj and Empire
• Defining Gender, 1450 - 1910
• Travel Writing, Spectacle and World History
  
• China, Trade, Politics and Culture 1893-1980

What is available is primary sources from diarists/journalists (in this case people who had direct experience with a situation and wrote letters to friends or recorded the event for their personal memory book) and documentation from business sources, drawings and photographs and similar material.

The collection draws upon the experience of teachers, professors and library collections. There are essays available to provide an introduction. This is a fee based service but there are free samples that you can use to evaluate the usefulness of the collections.

I was able to find an sample article on "Research Strategies on Women, Popular Culture and Family Life in American 1800-1920" by Amy Blair, Assistant Professor, Marquette University.
It was a review of the publication of that time that reflected the cultural values of what a woman should aspire in terms of her home, domestic affairs and fashion.

If you are interested in evaluation the site there is a four week trial period that is available to librarians or school faculty. There is none available to students. However I would suggest that students keep an eye out for some of the free sample information that is located on the site. A few of the freebies that I found was very informative.

Calisphere and California Cultures

Calisphere is a project of the California Digital Library. It's mission is to provide public online access to some of the collections from the University of California Libraries, Museums and contributing public library systems.


The California Cultures website is especially interesting. This gives a visitor the ability to find out information about African American, Asian, Hispanic and Native American cultures.

I decided to explore the Asian American section. There are a number of pathways I could follow such as the Gold Rush Era with an historical overview of the time.


I also was able to view photographs, advertisements and some of the anti-immigration publications of the time. Depending on the amount of documentation available you can find out the source of the photo, the context and related keyword searches to help you access even more information.

Where available there are letters, political cartoons, oral histories and diaries and other materials to aid in researching a topic such as the Transcontinental Railroad.

You could spend hours reading and catching up with the good and the bad of California's history. And you will learn a lot about how different ethnic groups shaped that history.

Cuil - New Seach Engine on the Block

It ain't easy being the new kid in town. The cool kids can't see you for who you are. The snobs know everything and have no use for you. But Cuil, I think you got potential.

Cuil is a new search engine. It is pronounced "cool". I like some of the features of Cuil and I want to show you what it can and sometimes can't do.


First off, let's not compare it to Google. I think it has more in common with Ask.com which is a dang good search engine. I type the term "collection development" Cuil gives me the following screen:

You have the option of a two column or three column layout and the items matching your search term appear on the screen. On the upper right side is the explore by category menu.

It will bring up additional categories. By clicking on the gray bar it will give you related terms you can use to search with your initial search term.

I like this for a good and bad reason. I can get more specific by telling Cuil I want to know more about library collection development. But if I want to stray of and dive into something new I can do that too.

I mentioned that Cuil is more similar to Ask.com and I want to show you what I mean:


Comparing it to Ask.com

Ask.com also has a feature to narrow your search but it is a little more focused. It understood that I was looking for library collection development, offered to show examples or links to planning, tools and practices.

Ask.com is not perfect. You have to know that there are sponsored links above and below your actual search results. Some of the links provided even under the stated categories are out of place or relate to other industries that also use the term collection development.

I like the concept of having suggestions to narrow the search term and I think Cuil is on to something. Having multiple categories to choose from can lead you down many interesting roads.

Small Caution and Safe Searching

As I was going through the links I noticed that some seem to repeat themselves. I looked down at the URLs listing and finally figured out the problem. Blog spoofers, spammers and other forms of low life are stealing content and linking it to their websites or blogs. Why would a seller of baby products wrap itself around the term collection development is beyond me.

This is not Cuil's fault. It is an on-going problem with all search engines. Be extra cautious about automatically clicking on a link. Read the sample text, many times the crum bums can't spell or there is non-sense text. Look at the URL before you click and practice safe surfing.

I'm not just saying this about Cuil. You have to be attentive with all search engines.

Is It Worth It?

Yeah, I think it is worth a tryout. When I refined my search to library collection development Cuil pulled up links from university and professional associations. It also presented books containing collection development content.

It was fast and I liked that it was more of a visual experience. I think you should add it to your reference tool kit for a test drive.

When A Book Is Challenged - An Example of A Response

I want to refer folks over to Mylibog for an example of how a librarian responded to a parent's concern about a children's book "My Uncle Bobby's Wedding."

In Library 101 there were discussions about the rights of parents to challenge materials and library workers knowing the existing guidelines of the library in regard to challenges to books and materials.

This also touches on collection development issues raised in Library 104. One of the issues the letter brings up is can you deny services to one group while honoring others who feel offended by the material?

What are the stated policies for a patron to respond to a book that they really object to being in the library? This post is an essential read.