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.

Social Networking - Twibes

It's been over a month since I first tried to join Twibes. Joining Twibes itself didn't seem all that difficult. But joining an individual twibe, I have to say it wasn't as easy to do as adding people to my Twitter account for technical reasons it appears. Every time I'd go to my page, I'd see I still wasn't in the Librarians Twibe that I tried joining multiple times. I have to say I was getting mighty frustrated. Here I was trying to venture out and be more bold in joining online groups and not getting very far in doing so.

Today I decided to check my page once again and expected not to see myself a part of the Librarians Twibe. Much to my surprise and delight, I finally succeeded! One of the reasons I like this twibe is its members come from different areas of librarianship. So come and check out this group and see what they are sharing.

Search Engine Tips - InTitle Search Video

I am finding that what I thought I would be doing with my library skills and what has come to pass are way different. I thought by this time I would be doing this in a library situation. I am reminded that the library has expanded a thousand fold.

I am certainly applying reference and ready reference skills in my writing. I have been working on a few new projects. One of those projects is to learn how to better present information using video.



This is a short videos showing how to use the InTitle search operator to find websites that have a specific word in the title.

Audio Transcript

Are you searching for a web page that has a specific title?
Save yourself some grief, here's how.

Click in the Search box and type intitle:(don't use the spacebar)and now type the search term, in this case libguides.

As you can see, there is a list of other suggested searches that may or may not have anything to do with what you are looking for; if these are bothersome you can turn them off.

When you are ready, click the Search button or hit the Enter key on your keyboard.

Ask.com will show you a list of all of the web pages that use the term "libguides" in the title. This is a pretty effective way of targeting those websites that specifically talk about, in this case library guides.

You can perform the same operator search in Bing, for example
intitle:libguides

This is the listings of websites that have "libguides" in the title.

And yes, you can use the intitle: search on Google as well.

The Journey So Far

This is both exciting and terrifying to start down a blind alley. One of the things I am constantly telling people is the need for flexibility and the ability to scope out new opportunities.

I've seen a lot of bad tutorials. I also see a need for tutorials in areas that are not being serviced. As the world moves from a paper based communication system to an electronic one there still needs to be sources of credible information. Those of us at the nexus point have to be involved in this process.

Anyway, there will be a few more videos and my continuing resolve to find a captioning program that works and doesn't make me feel stupid in the process. If you have time I would love feedback or topic suggestions.

ProQuest Example Video from Mike Johnson

Mike Johnson is an Assistant Librarian at Bloomquest College in New Jersey. He created an easy to understand demonstration video on using ProQuest to find a specific topic in a specific journal article.

Screencasts and videos online

Mike is using a free online program called ScreenToaster. One of the features of that service is that it makes it easier to add subtitles and captions to videos.

Anyway, this is a really clear, quick instruction on how to get the most of ProQuest.

Dispatches From A Public Librarian At McSweeney's

McSweeney's is a literary publisher. Kinda. McSweeney's is a seeker of crafted literary voices. Sort of. McSweeney's is a word lovers warm fuzzy blanket with threads that can take you anywhere. Ok, McSweeney's is very hard to describe. It is a wonderful place for people who love language.

In this case you should check out Scott Douglass and Dispatches from A Public Library. Real librarian with a literary twist. In his dispatches sometimes Scott uses a Twitter format to report the doings in the library.

Here is an example from Dispatch #32

Patron wants to know why our computer won't let him log into e-mail. Ask what his e-mail address is. He can't remember.

Sometimes it is a narrative on the Patron on the Week:

Some patrons you can just tell are going to be crazy. Clemens, a homeless man in drag who came into the library this week, saved me from guessing and told me right when he walked in: "My name's Clemens. I'm crazy and want to use a computer." To seal the deal, he extended his hand to shake.

It is the stories, the challenges and how he sees his patrons as a source of never ending material defining the human experience. He doesn't necessarily make fun of these folks but the humor of the situations he faces is amazing.

For me there is Ms. Haskell. I can think of several older patrons I get a kick out of, but I knew Ms. Haskell was special the first day I met her; she asked for the dictionary ... on audiotape. Not an abridged version, or a "500 Power Words Everyone Should Know"—not even a collegiate dictionary would do. She had it all scribbled out on a stained napkin, which she proudly dangled in front of my eyes: "OED Dictionary on audiotape." When I said no, we did not have that, she said, "Well, compact disc will have to do then." That was my first encounter with her, and all the encounters that followed were also about audiotapes.

When you finish with Scott make a little time to visit the rest of McSweeney's.

Reminder - Flex Day next Tuesday

This is a reminder that next Tuesday, September 29, 2009 the entire PCC campus will be closed including student services and the library for Flex Day.

Bringing Shakespeare to Life

Check out the front page of this week's edition of the PCC Courier (Thursday, September 24, 2009) for the "Shakespeare in the street" article. Currently, this article is not online so you'll have to pick up an actual copy of the Courier to read it. I'm still including a link in case it is put online at a later date. While it may not be library related, I was told it is literary and PCC related. And as a current student at PCC and participant in this performance, I should share my experience.

While my main focus of study is library science at the moment, I've been indulging in my love of theatre arts since last spring. It was hard to pass up the chance to be involved in this unique performance of Shakespeare short scenes done in the intersection of Raymond Avenue and Colorado Boulevard in Old Town Pasadena last Saturday evening. (This was in conjunction with the Armory Center for the Arts' 20th Anniversary Celebration-Installations Inside/Out (Jane Mulfinger: Autonomony is No Longer Possible or Interesting.) In the middle of the street, I'm sure you asking yourself. Yes, in the middle of the street! Though we rehearsed for a few weeks at PCC in the Little Theater and the parking structures, nothing could really prepare us for performing in the crosswalk as we never rehearsed there. I was nervous and excited all at the same time. One of the reasons I was excited about doing this is I was able to incorporate American Sign Language while saying my lines as well most of the time. Being a part of an innovative theater performance doing Shakespeare was definitely a chance of a lifetime. Originally, I figured it was great that it was just a one time deal since it wouldn't take up a lot of time but after our performance was done, I was saddened that we probably wouldn't be doing it again. Keeping fingers crossed since there may be a chance that we do it again in the future as our main organizer is hoping we will.

We did two runs (a full one and a shortened version) of our program which consisted of 21 shorts from short scenes of Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet and A Midsummer's Night Dream along with sililoquies and phone monologues. It was fun getting to play different parts from Adriana of The Comedy of Errors, a witch from Macbeth, Gwendolyn from Hamlet and more all in one evening.

Any chance to bring literature to life is wonderful. I think that may be why I'm so drawn to the possibility of becoming a children's librarian. One has a perfect excuse to read or quote outloud and bring wonderful stories to life however you can.