I received this link in an email from a listserv today on 100 Best Blogs for Librarians of the Future. There’s many familiar names on this list, but plenty of new ones as well. Definitely some I will be bookmarking and referring back to….
I listen to Dr. Albert Mohler on the radio nearly every day on the way home from work. I enjoy his perspective on how culture intersects with Christianity and in his blog today, he discusses the future of libraries in post titled “The Citadel and the Open Space — Will the Library Survive in the Internet Age?” In his post, Dr. Mohler cites an upcoming article by Robert Darnton in an upcoming edition of The New York Review of Books. Most of what’s discussed is familiar ground and touches on Google and digitization of books and other topics. It’s clear though that Dr. Mohler is a fan of the printed book, and the physical library space:
The future will be digital (or whatever replaces digital media), but the future will also need the library. The library will remain as a citadel, where books need no batteries and reading requires no Bluetooth or wireless technology. The spirit of scholarship will always be most at home among books, and the soul committed to learning will always find nourishment in the library.
If you’re interested, you can read Dr. Mohler’s post here.
The semester started about two weeks ago at SJSU and I’m taking just one class this semester – LIBR202 – Information Retrieval. This is my 4th course in the program overall, but it’s the first one that has a significant amount of groupwork. We have three major assignments, and two of those (one on descriptive metadata, the other on vocabulary design) are to be completed with a group. Those two assignments count for 50% of our overall grade.
I’m used to doing things at my own pace and schedule, so this will be a different experience for me. Our group has members in different time zones in the U.S., and one member in Germany, so that will be a challenge in itself. The subject matter is really interesting – how users seek information and how we can design IR systems to fill that need. Anyway, I’m just wondering what your experience has been with groupwork assignments in your MLS program, particularly those of you who are in online programs ? I know that each school and program is different, but if you have any general tips or advice on how you’ve managed groupwork in your own program, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks in advance 
Yesterday I received the second of my textbooks for the fall course I’m taking at SJSU in Information Retrieval. Looking over the material, I get the sense that it’s going to be similar to learning a new language for me. After quickly skimming through the textbook, a voice inside my head reminded me that summer is moving fast. The course starts on August 23, which only leaves about three weeks left of summer relaxation. I think this will be my toughest course so far.
On a mostly unrelated note, my wife and I went to see The Police concert here in Connecticut last night. I can remember trying to get my parents to buy tickets for me the last time they played together in 1983. Unfortunately that Shea Stadium concert sold out quickly, and it’s been a long wait to see them together again. But it was well worth it. They played nearly all their hits and sounded like they haven’t missed a beat. I’ve seen Sting four times, but this had a much different feel to it. And in addition to their hits, they played “Voices Inside My Head”, which was always one of my Police favorites. Anyone else out there a Police fan who’s seen them on this tour ? You can read a review of the concert here.
I hope those of you who are also taking a breather from coursework this summer are enjoying your break. Fall will be here soon enough….
Last week I registered for the fall semester at SJSU. I registered for one of our core courses called “Information Retrieval”. I’ve been looking over some of the course materials to try and get an early handle on it. It looks like a much different type of course than I’ve been used to so far in the program, the others being more theory-based and general writing assignments. One of the course texts, without graphics, can be found online here. The other required text is more recent. I’ve ordered the Marchionini text and will order the Meadow one soon.
Anyway, I’m just wondering if anyone has taken this course, or one like it at your school, based on these texts and has any advice for me ? This looks to be a more project-based type course, so I want to get a headstart this summer before the course begins in late August.
This will probably be my last post for the next couple of weeks. I’m getting married on Saturday Hope you all had a nice 4th of July holiday….
Well I just arrived in D.C. this afternoon. I’m here super early, as I’m helping with my company’s booth setup. There is so much that needs to be done by end of setup on Friday. But Ultimate Frisbee legend Steve Atno has returned to lead our crew again, as he did at ACRL in Baltimore, so I think we’ll be ok.
I don’t have the official conference program yet, but I’ve been looking over the preliminary list of sessions and gatherings and trying to figure out what I can attend. I’m kind of “on call” just in case there are technical issues in the booth once the conference starts, so my plans are tentative. I’d like to get to the NMRT Meet & Greet on Friday night, the NMRT Student Reception on Sunday night, and the San Jose State SLIS reception on Monday night. I’m on NMRT’s SASCO committee for the coming year and there’ll be a committee meeting on Saturday morning that I hope to attend also.
I’m also hoping that some of the nice folks on the LIS Students group on Ning will be here. If you’re an MLS student and haven’t already joined this group on Ning by the way, please do so. Karin Dalziel has done a super job setting this up for everyone and she puts a lot of time into this site. You can check out the site here if you like.
Please comment if you’re planning on attending and what your itinerary is. Hope to catch some of you here in D.C. !
I recently finished a book by Steve Leveen called “The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life“. I mainly picked it up because I’m always looking for tips on how to retain more of what I read, which is not an easy task these days. Between newspapers, blogs, coursework, and books for enjoyment, there’s a lot to take in.
Anyway, Mr. Leveen also mentions that we should all have a Library of Candidates - a good supply of books on hand, so if you ever get “hungry” for a book, it’s there waiting for you. Now I have some really good libraries near me, so unless I’m snowed in, or everything is closed, this isn’t a major problem for me. But yet I still go to a good amount of library booksales and regularly scour Amazon for subjects I’m interested in. For me, it’s usually something on sports or U.S. history. I’m never quite sure what I’m looking for, but usually I know it when I find it.
Are any of you like this ? Do you accumulate books that you may or may not get around to reading, just so that you always have something to skim or read a bit from ? Is there something staring back at you from the shelf that you’ve been waiting to read forever ?
What’s in your “Library of Candidates” ?
This post on random things has been making the rounds on various blogs, and the last one I viewed was Jennifer’s over at Life As I Know It. I haven’t been tagged, but I figured I’d join in and give you 8 random things you may or may not know about me….
1) I have lived in the Northeast my whole life and yet cannot stand the cold weather.
2) My two favorite TV shows of all time are The Odd Couple and Mad About You.
3) My favorite movie is Midnight Run. So now you know where this blog’s title comes from …
4) I know lots of useless trivia offhand, mainly because of my borderline photographic memory. I can tell you the teams, scores and locations of the first 41 Super Bowls, which may also just be because I’m a football fanatic. I can also tell you the day of the week of any calendar date since 1981 in about five seconds. I’m not quite sure how or why I know that, though, or why it starts with 1981. At least I don’t forget many people’s birthdays
5) I automatically think of colors when I think of numbers or years. To me, 1 is black, 2 is yellow, 3 is green, etc. For calendar years, I use the last number. 1996 and 2006 were “orange” years, 1987 and 2007 were “black”, 2008 is “red”. It’s strange, I know.
6) I have been working in the press box at Iona College football games on Saturdays in the fall for the past 15 years. I went to Iona for a semester before graduating from Western Connecticut State U.
7) I have never been outside of the U.S. and had never been on a plane until 2000.
8 ) If I were stuck with just three kinds of food, I’d go for cold cereal, seafood and pizza.
That’s about all I can come up with on a Friday afternoon….have a great weekend everyone !
I’ve been spending a good part of this morning browsing iTunes to fill up the iPod for the four hours or so I’ll be spending driving over the next couple of days. I’m about to make the two-hour trip to upstate NY to see my future in-laws (my fiancee is already up there for her bridal shower). While browsing, I came across a recent podcast on PRI’s Open Source that’s called “Passion: Libraries”. The host, Christopher Lydon, interviews several library directors from across the U.S. and Canada, and gets them to talk about their own libraries and what got them hooked on libraries to begin with. I was most interested in the interview with Amanda McKeraghan, Director of the Stevens County Rural Library District. She mentions how much territory the district covers – about 140 miles, or as she points out “twice the size of Rhode Island”. But none of the towns in the district have a population of over 5,000, and some of the branches are quite small, about 800 square feet or so. Yet there is widespread wi-fi access throughout the branches in the district, and they have developed a wiki that’s not just for library events, but for all county info and happenings as well. She also talked about how the library can make meaningful recommendations to their patrons for reading lists, since they get to know so many of them on a first-name basis.
Anyway, give it a listen. You can find the podcast and blog (with over 90 comments so far) here.
