Typical PCC Student?

During my time here on the PCC campus, I have met many students. Recently, I was having a casual conversation with a PCC student who was on the tech crew of a production I was in off-campus. He wondered why he had never seen me on campus in the two years he had been in attendance here. I mentioned that I spent a good portion of my time in the library. Imagine my shock when I heard him say that he had never ventured into the Shatford library the entire two years he has been a student here!

Of course, this made me inquire how he did his research for school. Jokingly, I asked, "I don't suppose you Google everything?" He said, "Yes, and I use Wikipedia." Right away, I started shaking my head and explained that the library has valuable tools and resources to access good sources of information. He still clung to his opinion that he did not need to come to the library.

It is my philosophy that LIB 1, which teaches basic library research skills, should be a requirement for every incoming student but we most likely would not have enough faculty on hand to accommodate all of these students. It does make me wonder how many teachers bring their classes into the Shatford library to introduce their students on how to do proper research.

With recent news of LAUSD teacher librarians having to defend their positions and other school librarians getting pink slips, students will be the ones to suffer. For those that think libraries do not have a place in schools, think again. Without libraries, students will not have access to textbooks or computers they may not be able to afford to purchase, a quiet place to study, and assistance to locating resources whether print or digital.

The typical PCC student probably does not utilize the library as much as he should but it would be nice if we could change this. What do you think could entice the average PCC student to come in to the library or at least access the library's databases at home rather than going straight to Google or Wikipedia? This is the question that I will continue to ponder and leave with you as well.

No Love Lost at the Library

It's Valentine's Day and I've managed to drag myself out of the house into the library. I've been coming here most of winter intersession and expected today to be the same as most of this past month, pretty empty. So imagine my surprise to be lucky enough to find an empty computer terminal.

Everywhere today it's impossible not to see signs of Valentine's Day. Many bemoaning why is this holiday once again upon us. So thinking in terms of a librarian-to-be, I decided to make this my research topic of the day before settling down to my studies. I did a little research last week to see if we had many books in the Shatford library on this topic when constructing a book display. As expected, a search didn't yield many on this topic so I had to get a little creative in my search. My favorite book that I'd discovered awhile back when doing other book displays was:

Kissing: everything you ever wanted to know about one of life's sweetest pleasures by Andrea Demirjian, so I had to add this along with the other books on making home-made greeting cards, the history of chocolate and more. For film lovers, you may be interested in picking up The great romantic films by Lawrence J. Quirk. A classmate had picked up an ARC copy of And the rest is history : the famous (and infamous) first meetings of the world's most passionate couples by Marlene Wagman-Geller at ALA's Mid-Winter conference. This book is not on display as I will admit the ARC copy is not very picturesque at all, but it did prompt me in finding some books on famous couples. In my search, I found interesting books on Antony & Cleopatra and Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo. If you're interested in the history of Valentine cards, take a peek at The Valentine and its origins by Frank Staff.

Here's an interesting and amusing article I found, Valentine's Day : From ancient saints to candy hearts that sheds a little light on the history of this holiday. This is my tribute to this holiday whilst wearing my "Librarians Have a Heart" t-shirt that I snagged at ALA's Mid-Winter conference in January.

Haunted Love Librarian Video

There are those people on mission. I'd say the ladies in this video are more a reflection of days gone by but I kinda liked how it ended.



From the band, Haunted Love comes this 2006 music video on trouble in the stacks.

More Library Whimsy - Librarians Do Gaga

Catalogers have got the beat. Yes, Lady Gaga influence has hit the reference zone. This is a bit of fun from the University of Washington's Information School.



Sarah Watcher has got the skivvy on how the video came together. You can also get the lyrics to the song on her blog. Sarah will be getting her masters in library and information science in June of 2010.

Library humor

NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me provided a bit of library humor last weekend, when Bluff the Listener panelists told three stories of libraries adapting to the changing times. Only one of the stories is true. Can you guess which one?

You can either link to it:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126844198

School Days - Book Repairs

Working in an elementary school library is a constant challenging and growing experience indeed! Most recently, I finally tried my hand at repairing the forever growing pile of books that desperately needed to be repaired. A quick fix of some tape isn't so bad. But trying to rescue a book that is barely hanging from its spine is another story. You may wonder why I didn't just toss the book then in the discards pile. Well, if it's a very sought after and/or expensive book that students keep clamoring after, then you may find it in your heart to take the extra time to try to put the book back together. That was the case for this one origami book.

I have to say I was truly doubtful that glue and tape would really do the job but I tried to remember what Jitka Hora had taught us in her short session about book repairs in Library 104. I have to say I was fearful of tackling these projects on my own without a guide showing me what to do.

With limited supplies of white glue, tape, and a paintbrush, I accessed each book and decided which was the best route to take. Some books just needed some tape. Others needed massive amounts of glue and tape to even warrant a hope of holding together. Then I secured the books as tightly as I could with multiple rubber bands. I used the heaviest books I could find in my collection (2 Art History books that no one ever looks at) and sat them on top of a pile of paperbacks and other small books. For the larger books, I just piled them on top of one another and hoped for the best. I let all the books sit for almost a week.

Today, I decided the books had enough time to let the glue do its job. I was really curious if glue could indeed put that origami book back into circulation. I have to say I'm truly amazed to see this book held together so well. Mission accomplished! My students will surely be psyched to see this book has made its return. Question is: how long will this book withstand its recent repairs? I'm hoping for awhile at least. But if it does come to that again, I am now confident I can do my best to put that book back together just like they put Humpty Dumpty back together when he fell down.

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.

Yeah, I'm Checking You Out!

When you first glance at this title, you may think I'm talking about checking out a book or even just checking you out. But alas, this humorous post has to do with checking the photos on the student IDs when people check out items here at the Shatford Library. I have to confess before taking the LIB 103 Introduction to Circulation class, I would tend to get lazy about taking the quick extra few seconds to look at the college IDs that students, faculty and staff use to check things out especially when things get crazy at the Circulation Desk. But after listening to our teacher, Eric Hanson, who is ironically also my boss, say that he certainly hoped his Circulation workers were making sure to check those student IDs, I vowed to start taking the extra time to always make sure the person using the ID in hand belonged to that individual. Upon doing so, I recently made a list of the interesting things I noticed as I really took notice of the college IDs.

The most unforgettable card that a student handed to me was truly all mangled up so it was truly hard not to check it out. Immediately, I wondered how on earth the card got in that shape. I tried not to convey any kind of expression but maybe I didn't succeed. As I was typing in his student ID number, he said that his dog had tried to eat his card. I have to confess that I wouldn't have guessed that! I did joke that his dog truly must have been hungry then. It's not as if those plastic student IDs are all that tasty.

Another time I had to look back and forth from the student and the ID card several times because the student really looked very much different from the picture. It's not often surprising to see pictures where the guy had longer hair and a beard in the picture and then currently be sporting a buzzcut and be cleanshaven or a girl has her hair in a completely different style and color. But this guy just seemed not to look like the same guy. After a few looks, I decided it was him. I was tempted to suggest maybe he needs to take a new picture since he had changed so much since his picture was taken.

Other Things Noticed

• Many people do not like to smile for pictures.
• Some people were so not prepared for picture day!
• Magnetic tape falling off or completely missing so have to type in the identification number.
• Bent cards (Perhaps kept in back pocket at one point as I've been known to do.)

I will confess I didn't think it would be much fun having to remember to look at each individual ID card when people are checking things out but it has turned out to be much more entertaining than I could have imagined. I actually look forward to checking people's id cards now when I'm on duty at the PCC Library Circulation Desk.

Quote of the Week

Book lovers never go to bed alone. - Unknown

When I found this quote among a list of library related quotes, I thought perhaps this doesn't pertain to library technology but I can tell you that it was my love of books that helped bring me to the Library Technology Program at PCC. I will admit that I keep a couple of stacks of books on my bed that I'm reading or will be reading in the very near future. Don't get me wrong, on almost every possible available space in my bedroom, I have books lined up on bookshelves or stacked up. As the quote says, I definitely don't go to bed alone and I feel like my books are my companions.

Over the break, I spent quite a bit of time reading in bed as that's one of my favorite things to do. It felt like a guilty pleasure but after pushing aside my book friends for some serious studying the last month of the semester, I felt had to catch up with them during this precious free time.

One thing I have encouraged students at the elementary school where I work is to look at books as your friends. You can take a book with you just about any place. It's a quiet and constant companion. How can you go wrong with that?

Anything that encourages reading gets a thumbs up is my philosophy. So if you haven't done so lately, curl up with a book tonight or even in the morning before getting up. You know how some people will get up early to exercise, well I'm not one of them. But I will wake up a little early to read a few pages of a book before starting my day. Happy Reading!

Library Science (Chemistry) Humor Video

You need to relax. Put your feet up. Take some time to smell the roses. Or check out this video on yet another way to find love in the stacks.



The video is silent with a brief musical accompaniment near the end, but it will not affect your understand and vibrate the Dewey in your soul.

The Dark Librarian - Call of the Dewey

Librarian videos crack me up. There are a lot more of them than there use to be and getting funnier all the time.

Who needs The Dark Knight when you have "The Dark Librarian."



This one is mostly silent with title cards so all can enjoy.

I Am A Librarian Video From I Love Libraries

It has been a while since I've posted singing librarian videos and there is no time like the present to show passions for information with a 1/3 or 2/4 beat. This is a captioned video sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy on why librarians are important and how cool it is to be one.



This video was sponsored by the ALA Office of Diversity in support of the Spectrum Scholarships. To be eligible for a Spectrum Scholarship (from the website):

• Applicant must be a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. or Canada.
• Applicant must be American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander.
• Applicant must attend an ALA-accredited graduate program in library and information studies or an ALA-recognized NCATE School Library Media program.
• Applicant shall have completed no more than a third of the credit requirements toward her/his MLIS or school library media degree at the time of award, June 1st.
• Applicant must be enrolled in an accredited program and begin school no later than September 1st or the Fall Semester immediately following the award.
• Applicants may have full or part time status.
  

If you are interested in becoming a librarian and need financial assistance to help you along the path check out the Spectrum Scholarship information page at ALA Office of Diversity.

Library Video Love from Detrimental Information

The first time I saw this gentleman perform I was sitting in the front row with a roomful of videobloggers. Half of us were laughing so hard we were gasping for oxygen and the other half were just stunned.

The second time I actually met him in person and I probably said more stupid things in front of him than I have in a lifetime. I could have been more tactful but you live and you learn. So here is a long distance amends with a thumping beat.



John is a gifted storyteller and performer. This is one of his more accessible works where he is riffing on his love of libraries. He will take you places you didn't expect to go.

If you want to see more of his work you can visit his blog/vlog at Detrimental Information or cruise through his YouTube page.

How can I say this. From an auditory standpoint his other work is not necessarily safe for work. I'm not talking about so-called bad words. It is more the images he can put in your head that you will spend time reviewing or expelling. He's that good.

Dr. Loopy on American Idle - Information Resources

Ok, I promise to go outside but I couldn't let this one go. Imagine, if you will a televised competition to find the best resource to help users find information resources.


Will it be Google, Your Uncle or the Librarian?

Watch "Randy", "Paula" and some guy named "Simon" try to figure this out.

Ground Level Library Humor - Love The Library

I'm almost back to speed. My hard drive crashed and I lost a bunch of links and other stuff. Yes, I backed up my system so I have all my documents.

But somehow I neglected to back up the folders containing e-mail and my bookmark data program. I have the software but it is a special kind of joy trying to find the serial numbers to re-install programs.

Yes, I need a laugh. Marian the Librarian and Liberry AKA Amy have a fun blog that lists some of the things that happen inside of the library. Love the Liberry is a gold mind of the adventures and misadventures that happen every single day in most libraries. There will be a lot of head nodding as you read the posts. If you want the true skivvy on what happens in a library you gotta check it out.

http://lovetheliberry.blogspot.com

A Now For Somthing Completly Different - Don and the Dewey Decimals

Never let it be said that library folks don't know how to shake their groove thing.



This is just a subtle way of reminding you to take a break and smell the Jacaranda trees. Either that or keep your book cart lubed.

Science Podcasts - The Questions You Want To Ask

There comes a time in every parents life when the little darlings ask "the question" Questions like:

• What is concrete made of?
• Why can't we drink seawater?
• Why do fireflies glow?

Some parents will bring the little darlings to the library. Now there are specialized books for kids that answer questions like "Why is the sky blue?" or "Is there monkey in the monkey bread?" But it never hurts to have access to places that might have a quick answer for you.

BASF Chemical Reporter is a fun way to bone up on science questions and answers. The delivery is accurate and humorous and no explanation last longer than 4 minutes.

Along the same lines is Science Update produced by the The American Association for the Advancement of Science. The online podcasts are 60 seconds of science trivia and fun facts like how a certain type of butterfly gets ants to raise their young, animal grandparents and listener questions like "How far away do you have to live to have an accent change?" I found that diving into the archives expanded the number of podcasts subjects and you could spend a good hour catching up on science news. Bonus points for providing transcripts of audio podcasts!

There is also Science Magazine Podcasts that vary between 15 - 60 minutes in length. These are drawn from the magazine and you will hear news and science stories that you are not going to encounter on the radio or PBS. Stories like the New Horizon probe, research on chronic itch and stereotyping of minorities in science education. Transcripts are available via an Adobe PDF download.

Science Update lead me to Slacker Astronomy. Nothing slacker about this. This is hard core love of astronomy, cosmology, star stuff and they do sling the lingo in the podcasts. This is way beyond Astronomy 101 but if you just relax and listen you are going to pick up the enthusiasm the speakers have about the topic. If you want to know what Dark Matter is this is your place.

So there you have it. Listen live or download to your media player of choice.

Just for Fun - Library Intervention Video

We are all in the last week of classes before finals so I think a little diversion is in order. There are some of our classmates who have no desire to be librarians, learning to be a library assistant/paraprofessional is a handful in and of itself.



There are other that are closet librarians and can't quite admit that they are who they are. These pesky people know the difference between Shazam and Captain Marvel, what the professor's name in Gilligan's Island is and the difference between Cajun and Creole Gumbo.

For those folks this video is for you.

Ask.com Blog - If A Search Engine Could Talk

Ask.com is a pretty good search engine that get overlook because of you know who. With the recent improvements and new features it is getting stronger as an alternative.

But what if a search engine could talk or better still blog? Ask.com's blog has articles that are worth checking out. Some are educational, some are just for fun but when you can combine the two that is pure edutainment.

• Hurricane season awareness that provide links to what the duration of the season but also talks about the Smart Answer feature that combines links with reliable resources. It is another step closer to search engines anticipating users searches and providing librarian type answers.
  
• Celebration of the Smiley. It gives the definitions, what it looks like, who sent the first smiley and link to the history of emoticons.
  
• Elvis may have left the building but he is certainly not forgotten. In this blog post they have links to his biography, his health problems and a great video of Elvis singing a duet with Frank Sinatra.
• Aye, we missed it this year but you can be ready to talk like a Pirate without having to clime the mizzenmast.

March of the Librarians - Video

This is funny.

Even if you have only seen the commercial or a trailer for the movie "March of the Penquines" your will definately get the joke.

Keep an eye out for how many male librarians have beards.