Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious. Here are the links I bookmarked this week:
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Shared Barnes & Noble Book Clubs.
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Shared nook-look.com.
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Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious. Here are the links I bookmarked this week:
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Shared nookTalk Community.
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Shared nookDevs.
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Shared The Beatles™: Rock Band™.
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Shared Forum | Nookboards.
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Library Day in the Life is an event in which library workers share the details of their work via blogs, Twitter, Flickr and/or YouTube. Read other Library Day in the Life meLISsa blog posts or, for more information about the project, visit the Library Day in the Life wiki.
You may also be interested in my (and other Twitter users’) tweets tagged #libday4.
Aside from my initial post and a couple of tweets, I didn’t contribute to Library Day in the Life as much as I had planned. Oops.
In order to avert a total #libday4 fail, I would like to share a final thought. In June 2009, I found and bookmarked Bell & Shank’s definition of the blended librarian, which has become a professional philosophy of sorts:
An academic librarian who combines the traditional skill set of librarianship with the information technologist’s hardware/software skills, and the instructional or educational designer’s ability to apply technology appropriately in the teaching-learning process.
What does being blended mean to me? It means that, regardless of the setting- library, information center, school, university, proprietary, non-profit, and beyond- I think I will be satisfied and effective in my work if I am facilitating access to information, using emerging technologies, and supporting teaching and learning.
There’s no where else I’d rather be.
Library Day in the Life is an event in which library workers share the details of their work via blogs, Twitter, Flickr and/or YouTube. Read other Library Day in the Life meLISsa blog posts or, for more information about the project, visit the Library Day in the Life wiki.
You may also be interested in my (and other Twitter users’) tweets tagged #libday4.
In the interest of full disclosure: I don’t work in a library.
Why, then, participate in an blog event designed for “any one who works in a library”? I’m contributing to this Library Day in the Life Round 4 because:
a. I liked participating in Round 3.
b. I enjoy the sense of professional community that comes with participating in online events like this one, the Louisville Free Public Library Blogathon, the Young Librarian Series, and the 1st Annual Holiday Online Secret Santa Extravaganza.
c. I’m a librarian*, damn it.
*Or, as my website tagline states, an information professional. I’ll save my thoughts on that discussion for another post, though.
How can one be a librarian without working in a library? I think the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Outlook Handbook says it well:
More and more, librarians apply their information management and research skills to arenas outside of libraries—for example, database development, reference tool development, information systems, publishing, Internet coordination, marketing, Web content management and design, and training of database users.
Jobs for librarians outside traditional settings will grow the fastest over the decade. Nontraditional librarian jobs include working as information brokers and working for private corporations, nonprofit organizations, and consulting firms. Many companies are turning to librarians because of their research and organizational skills and their knowledge of computer databases and library automation systems. Librarians can review vast amounts of information and analyze, evaluate, and organize it according to a company’s specific needs.
In my current role as an Academic Coordinator for the online division of a private, proprietary institution of higher education, I oversee virtual classroom operations. This isn’t a role I anticipated when I decided to pursue a career in librarianship- a quick glance of this blog’s archives reveals my interest in library services for people with disabilities- but my MLIS coursework led me to work with learning management systems and instructional design. This, combined with my education and professional experience, enables me to analyze, evaluate, and organize information to meet the needs of the institution’s faculty, staff, and students. To me, this facilitation of access to information is the essence of library work.
I’m looking forward to hearing about your Library Day(s) in the Life, both in and outside library walls.
Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious. Here are the links I bookmarked this week:
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Shared Zillow.
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Shared Alabama Rental Managers.
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Shared HotPads.
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Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious. Here are the links I bookmarked this week:
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Shared 10 Tips for Mouse Use | CUergo.
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Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious. Here are the links I bookmarked this week:
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Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for December 13-31, 2009:
“…My object in living is to unite
My avocation and my vocation…”
Frost, Two Tramps in Mud Time
Mission accomplished.
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for December 6-12, 2009:
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for November 29 -December 5, 2009:
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for November 22-28, 2009:
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for November 15-21, 2009:
I also bookmarked several sites for an article on job hunting.
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for November 8-14, 2009:
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for October 25 – November 7, 2009:
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for October 18-24, 2009:
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for October 11-17, 2009:
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for October 4-10, 2009:
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for September 27- October 3, 2009:
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for September 20-26, 2009:
"Autumn" (Alphonse Mucha, source: artwallpapers.net)
Today marks the autumnal equinox, otherwise known as the first day of fall.
Fun fact:
In theory, astronomically, the equinoxes ought to be the middle of the respective seasons, but temperature lag (caused by the thermal latency of the ground and sea) means that seasons appear later than dates calculated from a purely astronomical perspective. The actual lag varies with region, so some cultures regard the autumnal equinox as “mid-autumn” whilst others treat it as the start of autumn.
Less fun fact: I always have to look up the capitalization rules for seasons.
The Wikipedia entry for Autumn (source of Fun Fact the First, by the way) goes beyond discussing the season’s meteorological aspects to address autumn’s cultural associations with both harvest and melancholy, a predominant mood of “gladness for the fruits of the earth mixed with a certain melancholy linked to the imminent arrival of harsh weather.” The article’s literary examples of this autumnal mixed bag include several poems: Chanson d’automne/Autumn Song (Verlaine), Herbsttag/Autumn Day (Rilke), To Autumn (Keats), The Wild Swans at Coole (Yeats). Here are a couple of my seasonal favorites.
Nothing Gold Can Stay (Robert Frost)
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Sonnet 73 (William Shakespeare)
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see’st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west;
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the deathbed whereon it must expire,
Consumed with that which it was nourished by.
This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
Fun stuff, right?
Autumnal & wintry melancholy aside, there’s a lot to smile about during September, October, and November. In these parts fall brings SEC football and the ability to wear jeans and long sleeves sans risk of heatstroke. I find great joy in carving pumpkins, falling leaves, and pumpkin spice in all its forms: pumpkin spice candles, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin spiced pies.
Fellow fans of fall foliage may wish to explore Alabama’s Fall Color Trail, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources suggested driving tour of fall color spots. Here’s a shot from North Alabama’s Mentone.
"Already Wishing for Fall" (source: Southernpixel's Flickr photostream)
To Autumn indeed!
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for September 13-19, 2009:
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for September 6-12, 2009:
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for August 30- September 5, 2009:
As a companion to my Young Librarian Series contribution, I compiled this set of links for those who would like to learn more about library services and people with disabilities. This short list is hardly exhaustive, but I hope it will provide interested persons with a good start. The links are also available via the Delicious social bookmarking service: mbfortson’s yl_crash Bookmarks on Delicious.
Association of Specialized & Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA)
From the site: “The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) enhances the effectiveness of library service by providing networking, enrichment and educational opportunities for its diverse members, who represent state library agencies, libraries serving special populations, multitype library organizations and independent librarians.” Recommended reading: ASCLA’s Issues, Libraries Serving Special Populations Section, and Publications pages; the Library Accessibility: What You Need to Know and Think Accessible toolkits; the ASCLA Wiki.
Other resources from the American Library Association:
ALA Connect
ALA’s online professional network offers several disability-related Member Communities, including ACRL’s Universal Accessibility Interest Group and communities associated with ASCLA’s Libraries Serving Special Populations Section.
Library Services for People with Disabilities Policy
From the policy: “Libraries should use strategies based upon the principles of universal design to ensure that library policy, resources and services meet the needs of all people.”
Schneider Family Book Award
From the site: “The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.” Recommended reading: listing of past winners and the Select Bibliography of Children’s Books about the Disability Experience.
Services to Persons with Disabilities: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
Applies principles of the Library Bill of Rights to library services and people with disabilities.
Other sites:
AccessLibraries | DO-IT
DO-IT = “Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology.”
Awareness & Etiquette resources from Easter Seals, United Cerebral Palsy, and VSA arts.
From the UCP site: “The rules of etiquette and good manners for dealing with people with disabilities are generally the same as the rules for good etiquette in society. These guidelines address specific issues which frequently arise for people with disabilities in terms of those issues related to disability.” Recommended reading: UCP’s Interaction & Etiquette Tips and “suggestions on how to relate and communicate with and about people with disabilities”; Disability Etiquette, Myths and Facts About People With Disabilities, and Understanding Disability from Easter Seals.
Disability.gov, a federal web site whose mission is “to connect people with disabilities, their family members, veterans, caregivers, employers, service providers and others with the resources they need to ensure that people with disabilities can fully participate in the workplace and in their communities.” Recommended reading: the Assistive Devices & Equipment and Laws & Recommendations sections. Visitors can use the Information by State feature to locate information and resources close to home.
The Disability History Museum and Museum of disABILITY History both offer collections whose focus is the history of people with disabilities. The latter also offers resources for educators.
Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
From the site: “The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) works with organizations around the world to develop strategies, guidelines, and resources to help make the Web accessible to people with disabilities.” Recommended reading: the Introducing Accessibility section and its Introduction to Web Accessibilityand Introduction to How People with Disabilities Use the Web.
Looking for a particular kind of resource? Have a favorite site or publication to share? Please post a comment below.
Thanks for visiting my blog. Feel free to look around; you might find the “Blog Categories” section of the right sidebar a good place to start.
I’ve compiled A Young Librarian’s Crash Course in Library Access and People with Disabilities, a set of links for those who would like to learn more about library services and people with disabilities. The list is hardly exhaustive, but I hope it will provide interested persons with a good start. The links are also available via the Delicious social bookmarking service: mbfortson’s yl_crash Bookmarks on Delicious.
While I’ve worked in the information profession long enough to consider myself an information professional, I am hardly an authoritative voice. I can only speak from the perspective of a budding librarian who seeks to unite my avocation and my vocation, eager to share what I learn along the way.
Thanks again to Leah for creating a space in which to share our experiences as young information professionals. If you’re reading this and haven’t sent in a submission, I hope you will. I look forward to hearing your stories.
Sometimes a picture says more than a thousand words 5 million dollars.
source: LouisvilleKY.gov
The picture: the main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library, following the devastation of an August 2009 flood. Five million dollars: the estimated amount of damage sustained by the LFPL’s main branch.
What does this decidedly non-kick-ass situation have to do with the title of this post?
First, this post is my contribution to the Louisville Free Public Library Blogathon. This blog event, which asks bloggers to write a post on “Why Libraries Kick Ass,” is designed to raise not only awareness but also funds for the Louisville Free Public Library Foundation.
click here to donate
Librarians kick ass. A librarian initiated this effort, and the library community has joined together to support Louisville’s library and the blogathon. Trade publications and library blogs are covering the event, and today, library bloggers will take to Twitter (hashtag: #lfplblogathon) and social media to spread the word via their own blogs. As a blogathon wiki author notes, “The Louisville Free Public Library gets a donation, you get a fun post to write (to train yourself for future advocacy), and the library blogger community unites for a good cause! It’s a win-win-win situation!” Indeed it is.
Libraries kick ass. Did you know that there is a Library Bill of Rights? There is, and, while it is intended to guide policy, I think it also perfectly expresses the library’s role. From the document, which can be read in its entirety on the American Library Association website:
I. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
II. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
III. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.
IV. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.
V. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
There’s been much talk of whether the library remains relevant in the digital age. Here’s why I think the answer to that question is YES.
More information doesn’t always mean good information; now, more than ever, libraries and librarians can provide access to quality information sources (and help patrons evaluate sources themselves). I love a good electronic resource, and I’m all about a digital revolution, but collections will-and should-remain “hybrid” (print and electronic) for some time to come. Beyond the abundance of materials and services the library provides, it also serves as a third place: libraries build community. Provided that they receive the support to do so, libraries can and will remain relevant.
Do you agree that libraries kick ass? If so, I hope you will join me in supporting a library in need by making a donation to the Louisville Free Public Library Foundation.
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks* for August 23-29, 2009:
*Minus a few bookmarked specifically for an upcoming post
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for August 16-22, 2009:
Note: I used to construct links to open in new windows because that’s my preference. As I’ve learned more about web design, however, I’ve discovered that, from a usability perspective, enforcing opening links in new windows isn’t the best idea. Now I let users determine whether or not to open links in new tabs or windows. Smashing Magazine’s Should Links Open In New Windows? discusses this issue and provides users with suggested ways to open links in new windows. FWIW, I use a combination of browser settings and the first method described: right-clicking on the link and selecting the “Open link in a new tab/window” option.
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for August 9-15, 2009:
Note: I used to construct links to open in new windows because that’s my preference. As I’ve learned more about web design, however, I’ve discovered that, from a usability perspective, enforcing opening links in new windows isn’t the best idea. Now I let users determine whether or not to open links in new tabs or windows. Smashing Magazine’s Should Links Open In New Windows? discusses this issue and provides users with suggested ways to open links in new windows. FWIW, I use a combination of browser settings and the first method described: right-clicking on the link and selecting the “Open link in a new tab/window” option.
Disability.gov (@Disabilitygov) is one of my favorite Twitter accounts. The tweets are so useful, in fact, that I don’t just follow them on Twitter; I subscribe to the account’s RSS feed, making it easier for me to bookmark links and refer back to older posts.
Last month, a couple of tweets informed followers about changes to the Disability.gov site. An ODEP News Release describes the redesign: Disability.gov offers social media tools, upgrades to complement information from 22 federal agencies on disability-related programs and services.
In my work providing information and referral in the disability community, I regularly visited the old site. I usually accessed it via Google search results, though, and didn’t think of it as a starting point for disability resource information. Today’s site seems to be more comprehensive and current than the former site and more user-friendly, too. The How to Use this Site page is clear, informative, and a good “gateway” to the site, and were the site mine to manage, I would actually feature it more prominently (I accessed it from a link in the upper right corner, next to the “Skip to page content” option). The site appears to be fairly accessible: the main page passed WAVE and Section 508 automated evaluations (there were a couple of WAI errors). I can’t attest to its functional accessibility, though.
Tennessee Disability Pathfinder’s is another disability-related site that recently made some changes in order to become more usable.
As Disability.gov does with its How to Use this Site page, Pathfinder provides users with guidance in navigating the site. The descriptions provided by Pathfinder’s “On this site…” feature help visitors decide to which areas of the site they might go to find the information they seek. I also like how, at every turn, users are reminded of the availability of telephone and e-mail assistance. The site truly conveys a sense of invitation and welcome:
seen on the Tennessee Disability Pathfinder website
I must confess that I am a bit biased, as Pathfinder’s is the information and referral program where I served as Program Coordinator before leaving to attend graduate school. I regret that I cannot claim any involvement in the redesign, though, because the site looks great! Here’s a shot of the services database interface (click to enlarge):
Pathfinder services database screen shot
I think that a website whose primary aim is to provide resource information can easily become self-defeating. Lots of information doesn’t necessarily equal lots of useful information, and information loses its value when it can’t be a) found and b) used. The recent changes to both Disability.gov and the Tennessee Disability Pathfinder website (www.familypathfinder.org) result in sites that are both attractive and more usable for people with disabilities and their families.
LINKS IN THIS POST
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for August 1-8, 2009:
Note: I’ve been constructing links to open in new windows because that’s my preference. As I’ve learned more about web design, however, I’ve discovered that, from a usability perspective, enforcing opening links in new windows isn’t the best idea. From now on I’m going to let users determine whether or not to open links in new tabs or windows. Smashing Magazine’s Should Links Open In New Windows? discusses this issue and provides users with suggested ways to open links in new windows. FWIW, I use a combination of browser settings and the first method described: right-clicking on the link and selecting the “Open link in a new tab/window” option.
Judge a Book By Its Cover (JABBIC) posts are those in which I judge a book by… well, you know (and maybe a couple of pages, too).
I tweet. I used to Tweet, but the AP Stylebook took care of that; I am no longer a twit. Anyway…
Twitter’s trending topics feature ranks the popularity of words and phrases employed by its users, displaying them on its home page and in sidebars throughout the site. Trending topics- and the tweets themselves- often include hashtags: keywords or other descriptive terms designated with the hash (pound) symbol.
I present, for your reading enjoyment, #failedchildrensbooktitles. Here are some of my favorites:
Charlotte’s Webcam (@younginn22)
James and the Giant Peach Schnapps (@fenrislorsrai)
The 30 % Cotton 70 % Lycra Rabbit (@Cam_STL)
Thomas the Tanked Engine (@JRai)
Go Dog Go. Take the Cat with You. (@coloween)
And these, illustrated and published at Comedy.com:
Which #failedchildrensbooktitles are a win? Have any of your own? Let me know in the comments.
JABBIC no.2: #failedchildrensbooktitles
LINKS IN THIS POST
In Spring 2009, BG and I set about visiting all of the locks and dams of Alabama’s Black Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers and the Alabama portions of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. That Dam Project is my effort to chronicle our visits and share what I’ve learned along the way.
You may also be interested in my Delicious bookmarks tagged dam_project.
December on the Black Warrior (source: Diamondduste's Flickr photostream)
BG and I began our journey with a May 2009 visit to Holt Lock and Dam, one of several locks and dams on Alabama’s Black Warrior River. From Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s River Facts:
The Black Warrior River watershed is 6,276 square miles, contained entirely within Alabama. Beginning in North central Alabama as three tributaries – the Sipsey Fork, Mulberry Fork, & Locust Fork – the river then flows southwest for roughly 300 miles past Birmingham and Tuscaloosa to its confluence with the Tombigbee River at Demopolis. The Black Warrior River watershed contains 16,145.98 miles of mapped water.
The Black Warrior River and its tributaries are a major source of drinking water for many cities including Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Cullman, Oneonta, and Jasper.
The Black Warrior has a rich history, from the prehistoric to the modern. The river was named for Native American Chief Tascaluça (from “tasska” and “luska”, meaning “black warrior”). Both coal and cotton have traveled the river, and river commerce prompted the creation of its locks and dams. From the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Black Warrior and Tombigbee Lakes Project History Page:
Between 1895 and 1915, a system of 17 locks and dams was constructed between Mobile and Birmingham. In those days, waterway construction was a slow and laborious task. Dams were built by hand of stone and mortar. Locks were walled with stone-filled timber cribs, and hauling was done by mule-power.
The original locks and dams were built to provide a six-foot-deep channel, adequate for the steam-powered tow boats and packets of the era. The Corps undertook a program to modernize the system in 1937. The 17 low-lift locks were replaced by six high-lift locks, capable of expediting present-day towboats and barges. The locks vary in maximum lift from 22 to 69 feet. The nine-foot navigation channel is maintained to a width of 200 feet. Tows of up to eight standard barges can be accommodated at all locks.
The waterway is now approximately 457 miles long. All of the original locks and dams have been replaced except for John Hollis Bankhead Dam on the Black Warrior near Birmingham. The structures at Bankhead were the last of the original locks and dams built on the system. Bankhead dam has been modernized and a new lock has been constructed to make it comparable in efficiency to the other locks and dams in the system.
In addition to transportation and hydroelectric power, the Black Warrior River offers opportunities for recreation. Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s Recreation page lists offers links of interest to the thousands who “fish, flyfish, swim, boat, kayak, canoe, waterski, wakeboard and take advantage of many other recreational opportunities along the Black Warrior and its tributaries.”
The Bankhead, Holt, and Oliver, and Warrior dams impound the Black Warrior River; Smith Dam impounds the River’s Sipsey Fork.
LINKS IN THIS POST
Images of the Braille and talking book library where I began work yesterday (click on each image to enlarge).
Yesterday, I began work as a library assistant with the Braille and talking book library. A Subregional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (SLBPH), the library is administered and funded by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS/LBPH), the Library of Congress and the local public library system.
I am beyond happy to be working in the area of library services I left my work in the disability community to pursue. It was around this time two years ago that I decided to earn my MLIS degree, later writing the following in my application to the School of Library & Information Studies:
I am considering work in library services for people who are blind, deaf or hard-of-hearing, or have other disabilities. I have seen how alternate formats- like recorded, large print, and Braille books- allow people with visual or other disabilities to benefit from library offerings. Magnifiers, screen readers, listening
and other assistive devices give persons of all abilities equal, independent access to library programs and services. A position in a library’s equal access or disability services division would allow me to use technology to meet the information needs of a specialized population.
It was while working in information and referral-which has its own ties to the library community- that I learned of library services for people with disabilities. While maintaining resources databases and compiling directory entries, I edited descriptions of Nashville Public Library’s services for people with disabilities, including the Nashville Talking Library and its offerings in the areas of assistive devices and Library Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. I had the opportunity to connect older adults, people with disabilities, and their families with organizations like the Tennessee Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic. I did a lot of outreach work in Tennessee; this sometimes included staffing booths at conferences and other events. On one such occasion, my program was assigned to a table adjacent to the state’s LBPH program. As I watched the librarian show attendees audio and Braille library materials, I thought to myself: “Wow. THAT is my dream job. Who is lucky enough to get to do THAT?”
Me, that’s who. This working girl couldn’t be more thrilled to be living her dream.
“Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source” (source: About Delicious).
I am mbfortson on Delicious.
My Delicious bookmarks for July 2009:
Note: I’ve been constructing links to open in new windows because that’s my preference. As I’ve learned more about web design, however, I’ve discovered that, from a usability perspective, enforcing opening links in new windows isn’t the best idea. From now on I’m going to let users determine whether or not to open links in new tabs or windows. Smashing Magazine’s Should Links Open In New Windows? discusses this issue and provides users with suggested ways to open links in new windows. FWIW, I use a combination of browser settings and the first method described: right-clicking on the link and selecting the “Open link in a new tab/window” option.
Library Day in the Life is a blog event in which library workers share the details of their work each day for a week. Read other Library Day in the Life meLISsa blog posts or, for more information about the project, visit the Library Day in the Life wiki.
library closing (Toothpaste for Dinner)
It’s closing time for Library Day in the Life. Are you wondering what happened to Wednesday? Thinking I threw away Thursday and forgot Friday? Well, I did. Kind of.
I was sick Wednesday, out of town Thursday, and didn’t lift so much as a bookmark for two days. On Friday, though, I worked my usual hours in shelf processing at the university library. It was a pretty typical day, and I prepared books, CDs, DVDs, CD-ROMs, and education kits for circulation.
My work in cataloging and metadata services is actually winding down. I started working as a graduate assistant in the department last year. During the Fall Term, I did some title authority work and added items to, and updated holdings information for, existing bibliographic records. I also started inventorying bound periodicals, and that’s what I spent most of my time on during the Spring Term. In addition to providing me with valuable library skills, the experience I gained in GA position was beneficial to my coursework. Knowing how resources were organized helped me better search for and access them. I later needed to catalog items when interning as the librarian for a local children’s center, a task that would have been difficult if I hadn’t been exposed to the “back end” of the university libraries’ catalog. My GA appointment ended in May, though, and I have since been working in student assistant position that ends with the Summer Term.
I’ve mentioned the course in academic libraries I’m taking this summer, the final project for which is due tomorrow. I spent much of the day Friday working on that project, a research proposal to examine the accessibility of three library database platforms when accessed by screen reader users. The topic ended up being more timely than I expected; during last month’s 2009 American Library Association Annual Conference, the ALA Council voted on a resolution on the purchasing of accessible electronic resources. The resolution passed, and you can read it online if you’re so inclined. Library workers may also find ASCLA’s Think Accessible Before You Buy toolkit and the Accessibility to Library Databases and Other Online Library Resources for People with Disabilities section of the ASCLA wiki to be of interest.
I submitted my proposal tonight, finishing another semester. So ends my blogging for Library Day in the Life and another day in the life for this LIS student and library worker.
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Library Day in the Life is a blog event in which library workers share the details of their work each day for a week. Read other Library Day in the Life meLISsa blog posts or, for more information about the project, visit the Library Day in the Life wiki.
Yesterday’s post included a photo of my at-home work area; today’s post includes some images from the area in which I work in an academic library. I took these shots at work today.
book flags
cataloged items await processing
labeled non-book items
items awaiting call number labels
The third picture shows non-book items being processed for the university’s education library. This library offers a curriculum materials collection that includes education kits, learning games, and teaching tools like these Reading rods sentence-construction overhead tiles.
After finishing my work at the library, I tackled a response journal assignment for my academic libraries course, writing about a paper that’s generating some buzz in the library and open access communities: Steven Shavell’s “Should Copyright Of Academic Works Be Abolished?”
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Library Day in the Life is a blog event in which library workers share the details of their work each day for a week. Read other Library Day in the Life meLISsa blog posts or, for more information about the project, visit the Library Day in the Life wiki.
This summer, I’m working as a student assistant in a university library’s cataloging and metadata services department. My primary responsibility is shelf processing: call number labeling, stamping, inserting security devices and otherwise preparing items for circulation. While the work can be tedious and repetitive, I enjoy it because I get to see many of the new acquisitions as they make their way from cataloging to the stacks. Shelf preparation has also exposed me to the care and feeding of books. Books damaged from circulation or otherwise needing special care are handled in the department, and I’ve enjoyed watching another assistant, a graduate of the university’s MFA in the Book Arts program, restore several items to a usable condition.
I worked today, preparing items for circulation in the university’s main library and education, science and engineering, and business libraries. Most of the items I processed were books, but I also worked with some stand-alone DVDs for the education collection. What little cataloging experience I have comes from my work in this department-this summer and previously as a graduate assistant- so seeing how non-book items are cataloged in an academic library environment interests me. I also get to process CDs, CD-ROMs, and DVDs accompanying texts. These often supplement books on topics related to computers and technology but not always; today I handled Traditional barn dances with calls & fiddling. Contra, anyone?
Mine is a student assistant position, which leads me to my other work: I am an MLIS candidate at The University of Alabama School of Library & Information Studies. This summer I am taking a course in academic libraries and, while I’ll write about that later this week, I do want to share a picture of the classroom.
my work area
As with several courses I’ve taken via eLearning, I’m participating in this evening’s class from the comfort of my own home. One of my favorite things about my LIS program is the opportunities it affords to learn about technology by practicing its use.
That’s a day in the life of this LIS student and library worker. How was yours?
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I discovered blog carnivals when a Disability Blog Carnival post was published by an organization whose RSS feed I follow. As recently as last week I went looking for an LIS carnival and found the Carnival of the Infosciences; however, it seems to have ended last year.
Seeking the opportunity to participate in blog event, I was excited to learn that today begins the 2nd Annual Library Day in the Life project. From the Library Day in the Life wiki:
Whether you are a librarian or library worker of any kind, help us share and learn about the joys and challenges of working in a library. Join us by sharing details of your day for a week on your blog. Not only is this a great way for us to see what our colleagues are doing and how they spend their days but it’s a great way for students who are interested in the library profession to see what we really do.
Participants are asked to add a link to their blog posts- tagged with ‘librarydayinthelife’- to the project wiki and any photos or videos to the Library Day in the Life Flickr group.
I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences and reading those of others.
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The library job hunt, that is.
I’m not job hunting these days; I begin my work as a library assistant with a Braille and talking book library next week and couldn’t be more thrilled. A couple of months ago, though, before that opportunity presented itself and with graduation quickly approaching, I embarked on my first serious job search in quite a while.
I’m not going to write a “library job search how to” post-there are plenty of those out there, written by those with more experience and authority on the topic- but, in my initial efforts to secure employment in the LIS field, I have discovered some resources that I’d like to share.
A quick Google search reveals what I found to be the most comprehensive collections of tips and tools for the library job seeker: LIScareer.com, LISJobs.com and ALAJoblist. All three sites offer career development resources for information professionals; topics addressed include resume writing, interviewing, and professional development. The sites also offer access to job postings. ALAJoblist users, for example, can create and save search criteria and have search results delivered via e-mail or RSS.
When I created the website on which this blog is housed, I did a lot of online searching related to the organization of electronic portfolios. One of my favorite discoveries was What Not to Do When Applying for Library Jobs. In this June 2009 In The Library with the Lead Pipe post, the authors offer practical advice based on their experiences as interviewers and applicants.
I’ve also discovered that, while the job listings offered by the three library career sites listed above are helpful, I prefer a different approach. I like the Google-style interface and search refinement offered by the Indeed.com job search engine, which also gives users the ability to save searches and receive results via RSS or e-mail. Speaking of RSS, the LibGig feeds send several new announcements to my reader each day, and it’s my sense that theirs is the most current and comprehensive collection of opportunities in the LIS field.
While aggregators are great and helpful, I also prefer to go straight to the source by viewing employment opportunities on the websites of organizations in which I am interested. When exploring library work at community colleges, I checked the Alabama Commission on Higher Education’s employment opportunities page and the employment opportunities page of each institution listed in the Commission’s index of two-year public institutions. When searching for jobs in public library systems, I looked for job vacancies posted by the Alabama Public Library Service, but I also looked for vacancies posted on the website of each library listed on the APLS website. This process was made less onerous by the use of- you guessed it-RSS. When a site offered a feed I subscribed to it and when it didn’t I created one with Page2RSS or Feed43. I directed the feeds to the “Jobs” folder of my RSS reader and read them when I had the time (and volition- job searching is hard!) to do so.
While I’m hoping to not search for a job again anytime soon, I know that the tips and tricks offered here and on the library career sites referenced above will help me when the time comes. I hope my friends and colleagues find them useful, too.
Happy hunting.
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Happy Birthday, ADA (source: You've Got Braille)
Today, President Barack Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation on the 19th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA was signed into law on July 26, 1990.
To celebrate the anniversary of the most sweeping disability rights legislation in history, I’d like to share two of my favorite ADA resources.
ADA.gov: U.S. Department of Justice Americans with Disabilities Act Home Page
Offered by the U.S. Department of Justice, the ADA Home Page serves as a clearinghouse for ADA information, publications, and technical assistance.
Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC) National Network of ADA Centers
From the DBTAC site:
The Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC) is a national network of 10 regional DBTAC: ADA Centers that provide the most complete and experienced services for up-to-date information, referrals, resources, and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to businesses, employers, government entities, and individuals with disabilities, as well as media and news reporters.
CRPD commemorative stamps (source: StampNews.com)
The President also announced his intention to sign the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a comprehensive human rights treaty with eight guiding principles. The principles, as outlined on the United Nations Enable website, are:
- Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of persons
- Non-discrimination
- Full and effective participation and inclusion in society
- Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity
- Equality of opportunity
- Accessibility
- Equality between men and women
- Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities
I can’t think of a better birthday present.
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In Spring 2009, BG and I set about visiting all of the locks and dams of Alabama’s Black Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers and the Alabama portions of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. That Dam Project is my effort to chronicle our visits and share what I’ve learned along the way.
You may also be interested in my Delicious bookmarks tagged dam_project.
I don’t know when or why I became fascinated with locks, the mechanisms by which boats navigate changes in river levels.
Fascinated I am, though, and when my boyfriend BG told me that, in the adjacent county, there is a visitor’s center featuring exhibits on the locks and dams of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (TTW), my curiosity was piqued. Since then, BG and I have visited the center, the lock and dam at which it is located, and two locks and dams on the nearby Black Warrior River. It’s my hope to visit all of the locks and dams on the Black Warrior, Tombigbee, and Tenn-Tom.
I plan to write a couple of posts about the rivers, the Waterway, and the sites we’ve visited. I’m also playing around with some mashups that will allow me to overlay our trip photos on a map. For now, here’s a shot from our July 3 visit to the Tom Bevill Lock and Dam:
Tom Bevill Lock and Dam (Pickensville, AL)
LINKS IN THIS POST:
The Thinker (source: toonpool.com)
Debating Noble Purposes, from LISNews:
Debating Noble Purposes
July 22, 2009 – 1:08pm — StephenKIn the July 17th edition of The Christian Science Monitor, William Wisner wrote about public libraries and his goal in restoring noble purpose to them. On July 20th the Annoyed Librarian responded to Wisner’s op-ed. Now there is a response by a non-librarian posted in one of the Christian Science Monitor’s blogs.
After reading Wisner’s opinion piece on Sunday, I posted the following in a course discussion group:
As someone who considers herself an “information professional” and is drawn to librarianship of the blended sort, I don’t agree with the author’s statement that, by embracing technology, we are “putting ourselves out of business.” I certainly don’t agree with the implication that the pursuit of access to information and the pursuit of knowledge are mutually exclusive, nor do I believe that by “focusing on access in all its forms and hoping for the best librarians have slowly stepped away from being readers or scholars” and libraries “[dumb] down their mission.”
And later:
If “knowledge is information combined with understanding and capability” (Laudon and Laudon 2006), and knowledge builds on information, how is knowledge built without access to that information?
As an emergent librarian, except when I read about them in Library Journal, I don’t yet have a full sense of who the “movers and shakers” are in the LIS field and how they are generally perceived. For example, when I first read Herb White, I blew him off because I found his characterization of library workers who do not hold MLIS degress as “clerks” distasteful; I have since discovered that he is widely read and highly regarded by many in the field.
When I read Wisner’s opinion piece, I didn’t know if the author or the platform (Christian Science Monitor) were someone or something to which other professionals would give consideration. What I did (and do) know is that his understanding of the relationship between knowledge and information is different than mine. All of this is to say that it’s been interesting to see some of this n00b’s thoughts reflected- and challenged- in the LIS community’s response to the Wisner piece.
Herb White still gets under my skin, though.
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okay people, move along...
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… and maybe a couple of pages, too.
This summer, I’m working as a student assistant in a university library’s cataloging department. My primary responsibility is shelf processing: call number labeling, stamping, inserting security devices and otherwise preparing items for circulation. I get to see many of the new acquisitions as they make their way from cataloging to the stacks, and each day I see at least one title that piques my interest.
The campus library serving the College of Education houses a School Library collection. I don’t study or work in library services for children or young adults, so processing the “Education School Library Book(s)” affords me a unique opportunity to see what’s happening in children’s and YA literature. While Laurent de Brunhoff’s Babar’s Museum of Art isn’t new, it’s new to me, and today I spent several minutes flipping through its pages before sending it on to circulation.
From the publisher’s description (source):
The old train station in Celesteville stands empty–should it be torn down? “No!” declare Celeste and Babar, who decide to turn it into an art museum. Their children (like many young museum-goers) have a lot of questions about art: “Does it have to be pretty? Does it have to be old? Does it have to make sense?” Celeste’s patient answers explain the basic ideas of art appreciation.
Babar and Celeste’s generous donations to the new museum include witty and striking elephant-inspired version of Michelangelo’s Creation of Man, George Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, and Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, along with many other celebrated paintings. Children and adults will want to visit Babar’s Museum of Art again and again!
A Wikipedia article on the book lists three dozen artworks as inspiring the book’s illustrations, including works by Cezanne, Dali, Magritte, Manet, Munch, Pollock, and Vermeer. Recognize the classics behind these illustrations? Let me know in the comments below.
Babar's Museum of Art (source: The Curated Object)
Babar's Museum of Art (source: The Curated Object)
JABBIC no.1:
Brunhoff, Laurent de. Babar’s Museum of Art: (Closed Mondays). New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2003.
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In military or police operations, the rules of engagement (ROE) determine when, where, and how force shall be used (source).
I recently saw a post on an institution’s Facebook page that was somewhat critical of the nature and frequency of the institution’s posts. While not particularly inflammatory, the fan’s criticism was certain to elicit a reaction from the keepers of the page, and I wondered if they would respond publicly, privately, or not at all.
This got me thinking about the online “rules of engagement.” Unless we are associated with an organization that defines those for us, we must determine when, where, and how to publish online content (and react to content published by others).
A couple of years ago, Tim O’Reilly issued a Call for a Blogger’s Code of Conduct and, based on subsequent discussion with other emerging technology leaders, described what that code might look like. From the article:
The Blogger’s Code of Conduct Wiki suggests some additional guidelines. The guidelines are divided into ten modules:
As this blog is associated with my professional portfolio, I’m not likely to a) say anything inflammatory (interesting?) enough to elicit negative comments or b) approve those comments for publishing. I have found it necessary to develop my own personal rules of engagement, though. I have participated in online forums and groups for several years and, as anyone who has spent enough time in any online community will tell you, the opportunity to engage is ever-present; it’s one of the reasons I enjoy these communities so much. In my online dealings, I try to abide by the newspaper rule: “never say anything you wouldn’t want to end up on the front page of the newspaper.” I also try to “think twice- post once” as suggested above, but am not always successful at stepping away when someone is wrong on the internet.
xkcd webcomic "Duty Calls" (click to enlarge)
What are your online rules of engagement? Tell me in the comments below.
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In light of recent changes to Google Reader, Google’s feed reader application, I’m revisiting a post from last semester’s metadata blog.
The original post, “How I Use- and Why I Love- Google Reader”:
Tonight’s LS 590 class included discussion of two tools that we’ll utilize heavily this semester: Blogs and RSS Aggregators. Blogging will comprise 25% of our course grade, and since we’re using our blogs as a discussion board of sorts, we are required to subscribe to the RSS feeds for our classmate’s blogs” posts and comments. As some people in the class don’t currently use an aggregator, two were suggested: Google Reader and Bloglines. Tonight’s discussions and a classmate’s blog post [link disabled] have encouraged me to check out Bloglines, but in the meantime, here are some ways that I use and enjoy Google Reader.
- News. Rather than visit CNN.com (approximately) 93 times a day or tempt myself with the distraction of a NYT home page, I use GR to get my news. Between the Times’ Most-Emailed Articles to the comprehensive-yet-carefully culled LISNews articles, I can usually keep up with what people are talking about in the LIS field and beyond.
- Blogs. Like me, most of my friends update their blogs erratically, so I can rest assured that I won’t miss a post even if I don’t visit their sites regularly.
- Webcomics. GR helps me keep up with Unshelved (professional development?). I know that, if I have to skip a few days due to *gasp* something more important, xkcd and my other favorites will still me there. It’s also a convenient place to “store” my favorite strips without having to save the image files on my hard drive or photo-sharing service.
- Sharing. Within Reader, I can click one button to share- or Share With Note- on my personal Shared Items page. I also use the Firefox add-on Shareaholic to share web finds like YouTube vids, articles, etc.; with Shareaholic, the item can be from any site, not necessarily one for which I subscribe to its RSS feed. I might need to check out some other add-ons, though; an article from our Course Calendar, How To Use Google Reader Like A Rockstar, says there are 50+ Firefox Extensions for Google Reader.
- Sharing of Sharing. My Shared Items page offers its own RSS feed, and I was easily able to set up my Facebook so that items posted to my GR Shared Items page automatically post to my FB profile. GR also offers a the ability to post your Shared Items on a website or blog via a copy and paste HTML snippet. You can generate the snippet- or click a button to add the widget to your Blogger layout- by going to Your Stuff> Shared Items> Add a clip to your website or blog.
Obviously, I’m already a fan, but with the prospect of 50+ more Firefox add-ons… Google Reader, I just don’t know how to quit you (nor do I want to).
So, what’s new with Google Reader? This post from the Official Google Reader Blog describes four changes that give users more options for sharing and finding content shared by others: Following, liking, and people searching.
I am especially interested in the ability to share with custom groups. For example, rather than publishing an LISNews article on acquisitions to non-LIS subscribers, I can limit sharing to my SLIS colleagues. Along the same lines, I can share that Cyanide and Happiness webcomic with friends without fear of offending my coworkers.
For the same reasons, I’m looking forward to the upcoming changes to Facebook’s Publisher that will also allow for greater customization of sharing. As my online communities and face-to-face communities become increasingly intertwined, I welcome to opportunity to choose not only what I want to share but also with whom I want to share it.
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geekthelibrary.org home page (click to enlarge)
I learned of OCLC Online Computer Library Center’s Geek the Library campaign when I read about it in an LISNews post. I have since followed the campaign on Twitter and enjoyed reading about this creative, fun advocacy initiative. From the campaign website:
The Geek the Library project is a community-based public awareness campaign aimed at spreading the word about the vital and growing role of your public library, and to raise awareness about the critical funding issues many U.S. public libraries face.
The project asks supporters to share what they are passionate about: what they geek. Visitors to the project’s website will find a number of ways to learn more about and get involved in the initiative. Information professionals can visit the site’s For Librarians section and share their stories on the What Do Librarians Geek? page.
See?
"melissa geeks" post on the geekthelibrary.org site (click to enlarge)
You can learn more-and get involved-at the Geek the Library website and tell me what you geek in the comments below.
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This is the future home of a blog devoted to my professional interests (and some other stuff, too).
You may be interested in my library internship blog or External Schema, my blog for a course in metadata management and control.
