What (not) to read

While I don’t necessarily agree with this list entirely, I *did* think it was an interesting take on reader’s (non?) advisory.  So many times, it seems, people read and recommend books just because they’re “classics,” so I like this writer’s assertion that it’s not always necessary to read (and sometimes advisable to skip!) certain books.

Read the article “The Second Pass” here.

Two very different books

In catching up with my Google Reader this afternoon, I was particularly interested in two (very different) books discussed in two (very different) blogs.  So, with no particular relevance to each other, I want to add these two books to my “to-read” list.  One for professional development, one for fun (although I don’t think “fun” is quite the right word for this book…)

The first is a library instruction book: “Teaching Literary Research: Challenges in a Changing Environment” by Kathleen A. Johnson and Steven R. Harris

The second is “The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million” by Daniel Mendelsohn

I love getting book suggestions in general, and I’ve found following various blogs through Google Reader to be a great way to find out about new books!

Awful Library Books

I just came across this blog - Awful Library Books – today, and think it’s hilarious and awesome!

I especially like this post comment featuring a book about space travel (written in 1962).  The line (taken from the book) “The United States is planning several ways of getting man to the moon and back.  Whichever turns out to be the best will be the one we’ll use” really cracks me up!

Echolalia

Fun thing I learned today while at the Reference Desk…

A patron called asking for the definition of “echolalia” (I had to have him spell it for me!), and I was able to find it in the OED.  So, for all of you interested readers out there (who may not have access to the OED), it means: the often pathological repetition of what is said by other people as if echoing them.

Fun facts at the Reference Desk

Fun fact from today’s shift at the desk:  I had an older patron call in and ask what the “D” in  D-Day stands for.  I looked in the Oxford Dictionary of Military Terms and learned that “D” stands for “Day” when referencing military operations; therefore, “D-Day” actually means “Day-Day”

Odd, isn’t it?  If I hadn’t found the information in such a reliable source, I would have been skeptical.  As it was, I was able to tell the patron the answer and he and I both laughed a bit at the fact that the name is actually Day-Day.

Library Conferences

After meeting with my supervisor for our weekly meeting today, I’m very excited about the upcoming ALA Annual Conference in Chicago!

We also discussed other annual/bi-annual conferences, such as LOEX which will be held in Dearborn, Michigan in 2010, LOEX of the West which will be held in Calgary in 2010, WILU which will be held at McMaster University (Ontario) in 2010, and ACRL which will be held (I think) in Philadelphia in 2011!

I’m also looking WAY ahead to future ALA Annual and Midwinter Conferences (they have it planned all the way until 2017!)

Upcoming Dates for Midwinter & Annual

• 2009 Annual Conference, Chicago, IL: July 9–15, 2009

• 2010 Midwinter Meeting, Boston, MA: January 15–19, 2010
• 2010 Annual Conference, Washington, DC: June 24–29, 2010

• 2011 Midwinter Meeting, San Diego, CA: January 7–11, 2011
• 2011 Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA: June 23–28, 2011

• 2012 Midwinter Meeting, Dallas, TX: January 20–24, 2012
• 2012 Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA: June 21–26, 2012

• 2013 Midwinter Meeting, Seattle, WA: January 25-29, 2013
• 2013 Annual Conference, Chicago, IL: June 27- July 2, 2013

• 2014 Midwinter Meeting, Philadelphia, PA: January 24-28, 2014
• 2014 Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV: June 26-July 1, 2014

• 2015 Midwinter Meeting, Chicago, IL: January 23-27, 2015
• 2015 Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA: June 25-30, 2015

• 2016 Midwinter Meeting, Boston, MA: January 22-26, 2016
• 2016 Annual Conference, Orlando, FL: June 23-28, 2016

• 2017 Midwinter Meeting, Atlanta, GA: January 20-24, 2017
• 2017 Annual Conference, Chicago, IL: June 22-27, 2017

Wow!

Books in Print and NoveList

I had a great opportunity to use Books in Print and NoveList today! (Both are reference sources that I really love!)

A patron came in and was looking for a book – she didn’t know the author or the title, but she knew it was a non-fiction collection of stories about Hungarian immigrants to the US, and knew it was published in 2006.

And that information, in Books in Print and NoveList, was enough to get to the book she was looking for….“The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World” by Kati Marton.

It was a very satisfying moment!

YA Literature

I’ve recently been reading a lot of Young Adult literature, and have been having a great time with it!  Our children’s library frequently gives away galley copies (uncorrected proofs) of books, and the last time they did this, I picked up about 18 new books for free!  Hooray!  I’ve gotten through about half of them.  A few have been complete duds, several have been ok, but one or two, such as “Mao’s Last Dancer” by Li Cunxin, and “Nathan Fox: Dangerous Times” by Lynn Brittney have been wonderful reads!  I’ve passed both of them on to friends (that’s the other great thing about getting free copies of books – I’m more than happy to pass them on!)

This foray into YA-lit has also inspired me to start re-reading some books that I loved when I was a kid.  Right now I’m reading “Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself” by Judy Blume — a book I remember checking out numerous times from my elementary school library (I can still picture exactly where it was in the library, and can picture the cover perfectly!)  It’s been odd how much of it I don’t remember, but also how many little parts (lines, scenes, characters) I DO remember.  Good stuff!

Selection

So, things have gotten a bit crazy here all of a sudden, and I don’t have the time to write the blog post I had originally wanted.  Therefore, I’m instead going to paste/quote a post from a fellow librarian’s blog that I particularyly enjoyed:

Here’s to you, D.C.!

“As a librarian, selection is a very delicate and difficult process. When we decide to buy Book A over Book B, we have concrete reasons for doing so:

1. Our users will find it useful
2. It fits nicely into our existing collection
3. It fills a void in a section where we are weak
4. Price
5. Authority
6. Timeliness
7. Presence somewhere on a timeline of scholarship
8. Uniqueness
9. Availability

These are just some of the things we consider when we purchase. It’s not an easy job. And even though it’s a silly phrase I’m going to say it anyway: Someone has got to do it. Does the commenter suggest that we simply buy everything that gets published? Should we let the public decide what to buy? Why, then they would be practicing censorship as well when they didn’t buy every book ever published!

If you want to call selection “censorship” you’ve got to have a better argument. Libraries have limited budgets, limited space, and limited time to catalog, weed, maintain, and shelf-read. We are very careful when we purchase and we try to use the best judgment possible when we do it.

That’s the way we roll.”

“Quiet Please!”

I’ve recently been reading “Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian” by Scott Douglas. While I’ll hopefully have time to write a longer review in the future, once I’ve finished the book; however, as of now (about half way through the book) I’ve got mixed feelings.

On the one hand, Douglas is an undeniably funny writer who does an excellent job of mixing humor, irreverence and poignancy throughout his stories. On the other hand, he frequently comes off as a jerk who strongly dislikes librarianship, and who thinks the librarians he works with are all lazy idiots. Also, I think if I had read this book before going to graduate school in LIS, I would have been scared off – he makes it sound like a completely useless endeavor. I’m not fond of every aspect of library school, but I *do* see the purpose of learning about cataloging, reference, archives, etc. Granted, I think he makes a valid point about the ridiculoussness of people who have a vast theoretical knowledge, but who have very little practical experience in a library. And I wholeheartedly agree with his opinion that practicuums or internships are essential. However, he too frequently makes librarianship seems like a distasteful profession, which I most definitely disagree with.