School Library Blogs

From the vantage point of the generally off-limits library balcony, I have a good view of this year's yearbook distribution. Clearly, there's still nothing like having those handwritten signatures in the physical book you take home and keep.

Things started rather quietly -


And then quickly heated up -



This blog will now go into its usual summer recess mode, pretty quiet but for a few periodic updates. Gosh, I just realized the blog is five years old.

Happy summer, everyone!

I've gotten several pointers lately to the very-fun-but-rather-distressing Awful Library Books blog. Here's the blurb:

Awfullibrarybooks.wordpress.com is a collection of the worst library holdings. The items featured here are so old, obsolete, awful or just plain stupid that we are horrified that people might be actually checking these items out and depending on the information.

I hope we've gotten rid of our worst offenders, but I took a quick look through the current batch of books we've identified for removal. Most were perfectly reasonable purchases to make when they were new, but the passage of time has definitely taken its toll. Here's one we - ahem - couldn't decide about retaining.


Don't worry, we decided.

Today's senior prank, which mostly consisted of furniture turning up in an extremely odd assortment of places and seniors pulling suitcases on wheels behind them (in "homage" of the younger students whose parents make them use wheeled backpacks), signals the rapidly approaching end of the year. It also signals a crowded field of deadlines and tests, and therefore a pretty full library.





Not everyone is engaged in cramming, though.


P.S. A shout-out to Katy and her OG coverage of my band's visit to Music Club. We had a blast.

I think we have a pretty good book collection in our library, thanks in no small part to the efforts of the reviewers at Booklist magazine, my number one source for book reviews. There is no way I could ever manage all the reading it would take to know what books would be best to buy. So how do those reviewers actually do it? How can they possible keep up with the deluge of books that are published each year? The folks at AL Focus have investigated this mystery and posted their findings on the ALA YouTube channel. As the caption (below) says, prepare to be shocked and amazed.


"For over 100 years, Booklist magazine has been reading everything--so you don't have to. But how do we read that many books? For the first time ever, the intrepid editors of Booklist provide a glimpse into the their top-secret methods. Prepare to be shocked and amazed."

Well, DO try this at home, but read the safety tips carefully. Theodore Gray, author of Mad Science: Experiments You Can Do at Home - but Probably Shouldn't, is especially good at illustrating the importance of safety measures. Should you wear safety glasses? Without a doubt:



Look Ma, all good:


Gray is the author of the Popular Science column "Gray Matter," the proprietor of periodictable.com, and, yes, a 1982 Uni High grad. This book looks seriously good. How could it not be, with chapter titles like "Experimental Cuisine," "Doomsday DIY," and "Twisted Shop Class"? The website is also worth a long look. Just be careful when you convert that Snickers Bar to rocket fuel.

A full set of hats now, thanks to Paul.

In February, I posted a candid shot of our founding fathers' busts deep in conversation during their temporary removal from the shelf above the reference collection. Back on their usual perch, it appears they have been busy. Besides Andrew's hat still resting atop Abe, Ben has acquired Charlotte's hat, while George is going for a more casual look. Poor Thomas remains bareheaded. We'll see who has the last laugh when the heat of summer is upon us.

I appreciate Chris Yoder's Online Gargoyle piece on the pros and cons of a redesigned Uni building, which he wrote after seeing the final proposal architectural firm Wight & Company created at the request of the University. The truth is, I've had a great time this year fantasizing about what a new or remodeled library might be like and sharing my feedback with the architects. Right now, we can't fit more than one class in the library at a time, we can't project from computers (all windows, no walls), the layout is like a series of small train cars, and don't get me started on the electrical infrastructure. So I positively salivate over the footprint of the proposed library space, which would be in the new wing right next to the student commons area.



Anybody got a spare $32.5 million to pitch in for this little project?

The latest issue of American Libraries Direct is full of fun links. Here are a few -

Apparently academic libraries have become hot spots for raves. Flash mob, anyone?

The considerably less hip city council in Tremonton, Utah, just repealed an ordinance that required anyone under the age of 18 to have written consent from their parents before checking out any books listed as "adult fiction." Fortunately, the ordinance hadn't yet taken effect. It seems that city council members were confused about the meaning of "adult" when used in a library context.

Listverse ("the universe of lists") gives us a list of the Top 15 Defunct Websites. It's great for those who have wondered what ever happened to Jennicamlive. Some of us sure weren't surprised by the demise of Google Answers ("Let's see, should I pay someone to answer my question, or should I get it answered for free by a librarian?").

Here's a nice translation table for Twitterspeak. Example:
If you see someone tweet "Hanging at the Web 2.0 Expo with @Arrington and @Scobleizer" it means "I’m at the Web 2.0 Expo and just saw @Arrington and @Scobleizer walk by." Ouch.

Some very cool links that came to me from alumni -

From Celeste LeCompte (aka @celrae, via @Atlantic_Food), it turns out that people aren't very good at telling the difference between pâté, Spam, and dog food. Snack time, anyone?

From Ellen Rockett, now studying at RIT, two lovely items. First, this amazing student design project that gives a whole new look to chemistry learnin':

Oxygen from Christopher Hendryx on Vimeo.

Then today, a blog link that actually features a book, Inside the Personal Computer: An Illustrated Introduction in 3 Dimensions. Sure wish I could get my hands on this vintage pop-up explication of a 1980s-era PC.

Well, there we are. On the News-Gazette front page, in an article describing how local schools are taking precautions in the face of the swine flu epidemic. One of Ms. Kovacs' trademark signs in living color. Sweet.



The full text:

If you are sick, stay home.

If you have a headache, sore throat, temperature, coughing, etc. -- stay home.

Do not share food/drinks.
No hugging/kissing.....

Wash hands and use sanitizer.

I kind of like the dots that come after the hugging/kissing admonition.

After reading this hilarious "Internet-Age Writing Syllabus and Course Overview" (one of the prerequisites: "The Literary Merits of Lolcats") on McSweeney's website (thanks, Doug!), I was reminded of my appreciation of actual depth in information products. One of our newest print acquisitions is a reference book called The Atlas of the Real World: Mapping the Way We Live, by Daniel Dorling, Mark Newman, and Anna Barford. The authors are part of the group that created Worldmapper.org, an organization that provides maps that give a greater understanding of the planet. The book presents a selection of their digitally modified maps that depict the areas and countries of the world not by their physical size, "but by their demographic importance on a vast range of subjects, ranging from basic data on population, health, wealth and occupation to how many toys we import and who's eating their vegetables." My scans don't do the book justice, but here's the depiction of underweight children around the world:


Pretty powerful, don't you think?

It's supplemented by a traditional bar graph (much smaller than the map on the actual printed page). Only Western Europe and Japan have proportionally fewer underweight children than North America does.

On Saturday I went to a grownup birthday party where we actually played games. Lots of fun, and lots of prizes. I came home with a 3-inch tall book called Nancy Drew's Guide to Life, by Jennifer Worick. As a "youngster" (as Nancy's father might say), I was a huge fan of Nancy Drew mysteries. So I was delighted to be reminded of some of her sage advice. A few samples:

Convertibles are swell but they sure do call attention to your comings and goings. (The Haunted Showboat)
Don't let your troubles get in the way of a leisurely and delightful lunch. (The Secret of the Old Clock)
When pinned down by a large canine, instruct friends, family, even random passersby to direct a hose on the beast. (The Mysterious Mannequin)
Adventure can make you hungry! Pack a hearty snack. (The Moonstone Castle Mystery)
To avoid being spotted from overhead by a snoop in an airplane, try curling up, putting your head inside your dark sweater, and blending into the landscape. (The Sky Phantom)
Keep your ice skates sharpened. You just might be called upon to impersonate a figure skater. (Mystery at the Ski Jump)
If a guy's hunch results in a dead-end, don't flaunt your better judgment and intuition in front of him. Smirk secretly to yourself. (The Phantom of Pine Hill)
Loophole in moral code: It's okay to steal a car if it belongs to your kidnappers (The Whispering Statue)

Must stop... can't stop... too many good ones... help...

Today was Happy Thursday, a Student Council SFAC initiative designed to give us the boost we need to make it through the final intense weeks of the school year. So this morning we were greeted by bags of candy taped to each locker and hallways festooned with crepe paper streamers and balloons. Nothing stayed where it was for very long - which, now that I think about it, was the point.


Stefanie and Ashley critique Ollie's new bustle look, after an episode of serious cheek adjustment on their part.

Isaure was putting dust jacket covers on new books today and made a rather unsettling discovery. She was working on The Carbon Diaries 2015, by Saci Lloyd, which is written in diary format. She noticed that the dates of the entries match up with present days of the week. The book is an environmental what-if story crossed with teen angst and some biting sarcasm. Here's the blurb:

It's January 1st, 2015, and the UK is the first nation to introduce carbon dioxide rationing, in a drastic bid to combat climate change. As her family spirals out of control, Laura Brown chronicles the first year of rationing with scathing abandon. Will her mother become one with her inner wolf? Will her sister give up her weekends in Ibiza? Does her father love the pig more than her? Can her band the dirty angels make it big? And will Ravi Datta ever notice her?

So today's entry (yep, Wednesday, April 22) starts out "Things have gone bad." and ends with "Death take us all." Hopefully not. The entries go all the way to December 31st, a Thursday. I plan to take that Friday off.

Guess I can no longer say that they don't make educational videos like they used to. Thanks to all who have been posting the link.

The freshmen. From their two-day retreat at the 4-H Memorial Camp next to Allerton Park. They look happy, sweaty, and sunburned.



Piled in the hallway -




Crashed in the library


Or just crashed

Proponents of intellectual freedom are mourning the loss of Judith Krug, who died April 11 after a lengthy illness. For more than 40 years, Krug was the director of the American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom and the Executive Director of the Freedom to Read Foundation. She was the founder of Banned Books Week and helped countless librarians as they faced challenges to books in their collections. Here's a lovely tidbit about her from the New York Times obituary:

Ms. Krug credited her parents as inspiring her passion for free expression. In 2002, she told The Chicago Tribune about reading a sex-education book under the covers with a flashlight when she was 12. "It was a hot book; I was just panting," she said, when her mother suddenly threw back the bed covers and asked what she was doing. Judith timidly held up the book. "She said, 'For God's sake, turn on your bedroom light so you don’t hurt your eyes.' And that was that."

Krug was also a proponent of access to online information and was one of the first to raise objections to the USA Patriot Act's threat to reader privacy. So, I wonder what she would think of the tussle currently taking place in Tennessee's Knox County Schools and Metro Nashville Public Schools. The American Civil Liberties Union has charged that "public schools in Tennessee are filtering access to online websites discussing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, but are not blocking sites advocating 'reparative' therapy to change their lifestyle." The schools are blaming this case of "viewpoint discrimination" on their Internet service, Education Networks of America, while ENA claims decisions on whether to block certain websites are made solely by the school districts. In the meantime, the sites are still blocked, as far as I know. I would like to think there's another explanation for this scenario, or at least more to the story. In the meantime, we'll all have to pick up where Krug left off. One way to do that is to send memorial contributions to The Freedom to Read Foundation, 50 East Huron, Chicago Illinois 60611.

Nice article in the Online Gargoyle about the Big Read, featuring The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett. As I write, Natalie is putting up a gigantic Maltese Falcon crossword puzzle for the hall board.

Overheard in the library:

"I think Texas is the most likely to secede." (Sierra)
"Ha. Most likely to secede!" (Isabel)
"We should give someone that award. Who's most likely to secede in our class?" (Sierra)

"No projectiles loose in the library!" (me)

"The worst store name I ever heard was Dress Barn. "Dress Barn" implies that all of your female clients are cows. I don't know how they stay in business." (Jacob)

"I am always amazed that people don't realize the little house icon on the browser is a link to the home page." (me)
"You're kidding!!" (chorus of students)
"Oh, that's a link??" (student-who-shall-remain-nameless)

"Don't put up books about dogs [for a display]. Those ones about relationships, and the person dies, and the dog sits by the grave being sad for 40 years." (Isabel)

"Why is this bake sale different from all other bake sales?" (poster for a during-Passover bake sale)

The giant pile 'o paper sees the beginnings of a sorting scheme.


Work begins in earnest.


The end is in sight.


On the left, drawings. In the middle, potentially useful paper. On the right, school stuff. Bell rings, good enough for now.