Bibliolinks: 15 books by great comedians and more

Happy Friday!  It has been a very busy past couple of weeks for me.  My Edgewood Tales special studies project and my internship are way more time intensive than I originally thought they’d be and I’m hustling to stay on top of the projects.  But, I’m really liking everything and already learning so much about paper-based and born digital archival collections.  I know it will be a great semester even though it’ll be hectic.

This weekend, I’ll be continuing my search for historical records for my Edgewood project and cataloging more photos for my internship, but I’ll definitely make the time to enjoy the nice weather here in San Francisco!

A locket with locks of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s hair.

Here’s a few links for your weekend.  Have a great one!

Rosa Parks’ archive is now on loan at the Library of Congress for the next 10 years.

5 tips for storing your books.

I totally want this book on the treasures of the Bodleian Libraries.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services has awarded over $9 million in grants to libraries and archives to improve services.

Literary school supplies for book lovers. I want the library check out card notebooks.

The Oakland Public Library is now lending tools and objects like bakeware, saws, and sledgehammers to patrons.

15 books by great comedians.

Bibliolinks: On the top 25 books of 2014 and more

The sun actually came out the past couple of days here in San Francisco so it almost feels like summer!  I’m feeling really good this week because I had a lot of positive things happen, professionally and academically.

I had my first “staff” meeting for a new volunteer site yesterday and will be officially starting tomorrow.  I think this library – a small, special library that is the first of its kind in the country – will offer me some interesting learning experiences.  The last place I was volunteering was a nice place, but I wasn’t learning much.  I think my time will be put to better use at this new site.

The strategic planning committee for the local SLA chapter is also coming along well.  We’re in the final stages of designing the member survey.  We’ve received feedback from leadership and are now just doing some testing.  I’m excited to launch the survey and see what the results are.

I also got my draft approved for the LibGuide that I’m designing for my internship site.  It took a lot of work and a lot of back and forth.  Although at times it was frustrating, I feel okay about it now because my site supervisor told me that the process of designing it was helping to stir up positive discussion within the organization around this topic (children with special needs), and prompted a commitment to fill the gaps in their resources.  I never expected it to be completely cut and dry, but I had been surprised about all of the flip flopping changes.  I hope to wrap it up this weekend so I can get going on the next LibGuide.

And in other news, I started interviewing for an assistant for my day job.  This is my first ever time hiring someone.  It’s totally scary, but I’m learning a lot.  I’m new to being a manager and I’m freaking out a bit, but I think it’s a good experience.  I’m open to any management or hiring tips!

Lucky Luciano’s prison record.  Source.

Here’s a few links for the weekend!

OMG, a new Harry Potter story.

Singapore orders destruction of children’s books that portray gay families.

New York prison records are being digitized.

An introduction to net neutrality.

10 tools for librarians supporting K-College classrooms.

Worldreader takes e-books to several African nations to help improve literacy rates.

A video on how the Library of Congress rebuilt Thomas Jefferson’s lost library.

Single tasking vs. multi-tasking.  A nice post about being present and taking a tech break.

The top 25 selling books of 2014 so far.  I can’t believe the Divergent series is beating out The Goldfinch, but it did have a movie come out recently.  Also surprised by how many YA titles are on the list.

And the top abandoned bestsellers.

A search for a book on Bing now links to Overdrive and its availability in your local library.  I gave it a try and it correctly linked to the SFPL.

Collecting antique objects made to look like book covers.

Have a great weekend!

Currently reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  I’m really surprised I got this from my library so fast, because just a week and a half ago, there were hundreds of people ahead of me on the waitlist!

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Bibliolinks: On the Hunger Games salute and more

I was slightly traumatized by Feedly being down for several days, as that is how I get a lot of my news (and eye candy).  I’m so happy it’s back.

Are you as excited as I am about World Cup?   In my younger days I used to stay up all night to watch the games live, sleeping for an hour or two in between!  I don’t have that kind of energy anymore, but I will definitely be watching as many matches as I can, especially once it gets to the second stage.

Today I’m off to meet San Francisco’s city archivist to discuss a special studies project I’m trying to set up for fall semester.  I’m looking forward to it and hope I can make it happen.

Source

The first winner of the Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity.

In Thailand, people have been using the three-finger salute from the Hunger Games as a  protest symbol.  And now using it can get you arrested.  (This is a little bit older news item, but I’m just hearing about it!)

Amazon’s list of most well-read cities in America.  Is your city on the list?  San Francisco isn’t, but Berkeley is.

A book overdue by 61 years gets returned.

The challenge of instruction in librarianship.

How to choose a library school.

14 movies you “definitely” didn’t know were based on books, the Huffington Post claims.  Except I knew about the Amityville Horror, the Exorcist, and Forrest Gump.  Do you already know about any on the list?

Thoughts on the 21st century library and its connection to the community.

ACRL’s top trends and issues in academic libraries.

The top 100 best-selling education books of 2014, so far.

Have a great weekend!

Bibliolinks: On obscure poets, inspirational quotes, and more

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for the weekend.  It’s almost the end of semester (yay!) and combined with the rare 90 degree weather we’ve been having in San Francisco, I’m having a hard time staying focused.  I just want to go to the beach or sit outside in the shade and read.  Hopefully the nice weather will last through the weekend!

Image source

Here’s a few fun links for the weekend.

A new poll finds that the classics are back at the top of the list of Americans’ fave books.

25 coffee table books to display.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

8 beautiful quotes by authors, from Lisa Congdon’s book Whatever You Are, Be a Good One.  I’ve only met Lisa once, briefly, several years ago, but she was a sweetheart and is an inspiring artist and person.

And 5 obscure American poets for National Poetry Month.

Have a wonderful weekend!

TED books, mentors, and more

This week, I’ve been hard at work on my fieldwork project for my special libraries class.  I’m helping to create a mini collection of resources for K-12 (but really mostly elementary grades) educators.  Right now, I’m working on a ton of bibliographies and I’ve been learning a lot during the process.  I plan to write a separate post on it soon.

I also had an awesome informational interview this morning with the librarian at the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.  I have found that librarians in any setting are so generous with their time, whether in person, by phone, or through email, and it’s inspiring and helping to keep me motivated with I hustle through my MLIS program.

This weekend, I’m going to treat myself to a facial, volunteer, spend some time with a friend, and who knows what else.

Source

Here’s some links that I liked this week.

A volunteer-run prison library.  I’m fascinated with prison librarianship, so I appreciated this.

The opportunities and challenges of being a solo librarian.

DIY projects from vintage books.

The power of mentors.  I love mentorship, whether I’m the mentor or mentee.  Everyone benefits.

7 apps for reading and learning issues.

A Food for Fines program in Oregon, where late fees are forgiven with donations for the local food bank.  This may be in practice other places, but it’s the first I’ve heard of it.

The bible may become Louisiana’s first official state book.

Simon & Schuster to publish TED books.

Books to watch out for in April, and more

I missed last week’s link post due to a crazy busy week at work, trying to set up a summer internship (success!), and working on my final projects for my classes this semester.

But, it was still a great week.  I had the chance to meet my special libraries class instructor in person, who was in town from Chicago for a few days.  She was so nice and it was great to meet her in “real life” and chat.  I like how because my MLIS program is entirely online, I have had the opportunity to have classmates and instructors from all over the country, and even have classmates from Canada.

Last night, I joined in on a presentation by Stephen Abram of Stephen’s Lighthouse on personal influence.  It was a great talk and he has shared his presentation slides on his blog.  It gave some good tips to think about for the future.

I must be a glutton for punishment, because on top of work and school projects, I signed up to host an SLA dinner as part of their monthly neighborhood dinner events.  I hope people actually RSVP and join me!  I am looking forward to meeting more librarians, as well as probably other students.

Boston Public Library in legos. Source.

Here’s some links that interested me this week:

Human flesh-bound works in Harvard’s Rare Books Collection.  Wow.

Books to watch out for in April.  I read Room by Emma Donoghue, so I think I’ll check out her new book.  Which of these sound interesting to you?

The Library of Congress has selected 25 sound recordings to be added to its National Recording Registry, including those by U2, Linda Ronstadt, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Myanmar’s libraries, with a link to the first-ever national survey of its libraries.

23 gorgeous bookplates.  Want!

Collection care icons, licensed through Creative Commons, by the British Library.

The Queens Library scandal continues.

Currently reading:  I started Inferno by Dan Brown.  What are you reading?

Have a great weekend!

The shift in academic librarianship and more

This week has been busy, busy, busy! I visited another special library, which I will be sharing with you soon, and I’ve been updating my resume in preparation to start applying to internships for the summer. It’s been interesting trying to step back and decide which projects that I’ve done so far in my coursework would be good to include, and how to convert my current day job experience to use more library vernacular.

Now I’m off to relax at a party at a museum. Here’s some links that interested me this week.

Histoire de la ville de Tours

Penn suggests moving its math, physics, and astronomy library and engineering library offsite, with passionate response from students.

Sad story of Miami-Dade’s significant cuts to children’s collection acquisition budget.

I love maps and I love how people are using technology to use them in new ways and derive more information from them. The British Library talks about  historic maps in the public domain.

A nice reminder to keep track of your accomplishments to remember the good that you did that day, and to help advocate for yourself later.

A 9-year-old starts a read-a-thon fundraiser to save her local library.  Awesome.

Study shows academic librarians are changing priorities from faculty research assistance to student information literacy instruction.

Perspectives on professional development from library managers.

Brooches made from classic books.  I want the Alice in Wonderland one.

8 nonfiction stories you wouldn’t believe if they were novels.

Have a great weekend!

Now reading: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Amtrak writer residencies and more

This week, I’ve been learning about utilizing measurement tools in special libraries and working on an instructional design plan for another class.  The instructional design class is interesting, but challenging.  I’m working on a plan for teaching a grant seeking workshop at the library.  More on that as the class progresses.

Source

Not too many stories caught my eye this week, but here’s a few that piqued my interest:

A proposal to turn old food trucks into school bookmobiles.

We’re a long ways from Halloween, but here’s a list of 11 books that will disturb you.  I’ve started reading more scary books this years, so I’ll be adding some of these to my to read list.  I hate to admit it, but House of Leaves has been on my to read list since it was published…  I need to get to that this year.

A local library named second-best small library in the country.  I need to go check this place out next time I go to Wine Country.

Amtrak begins a writers-in-residence ride program.  I would love to do this.

Now reading: Crewel by Gennifer Albin.  After this, I’m going to take a break from young adult for awhile, especially dystopian fiction.

Curious collections, secret rooms, and more

Hello and Happy Valentine’s Day!  I am so excited that it is a three-day weekend.  I’m looking forward to relaxing and seeing friends.

ca. 1890, [cabinet card, portrait of dancer Miss Murdock, in a lovely costume], Moreno & Lopez of New York. Source.

Here’s some of my favorite posts and articles of the week.

Curious collections at the Library of Congress.  Who knew they had such items as Amelia Earhart’s handprint and some of Beethoven’s hair?

A beautiful antique valentine and its family story at the National Museum of American History

A secret, forgotten room in a library reveals treasures like a King James bible from 1615.  An older story, but still a fun read.

Some advice from a librarian on getting your foot in the door for a library job.  This was a good reminder that I need to start working getting some sort of internship by this summer to gain some actual library work experience.

Why, oh why, does the question of whether we will still need librarians in the digital age keep coming up?  A great article at the WSJ blog.

This has been shared a lot already, but Slate has a fun article on breaking the stereotypes of what a librarian looks like now.  On a personal note, I met Mel Gooch of the SFPL, featured in the article, at an event once and she was very sweet and intelligent.

I sort of object to using the word “libraries” to describe the Little Free Libraries, but I do love the community spirit.  A new one has popped up in the Bay Area city of El Cerrito.

Any other fun library or book-related links that I missed?  Please share.

I hope you have a great holiday weekend!

Now reading: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey.  I don’t usually care for dystopian fiction, but this one is a page turner!

Lemony Snicket prize and more

It’s been a long week, but I’m settling into my classes and finding my workflow.  I’m excited to see what I will learn this semester.

In other news, I joined the local Special Libraries Association chapter this week, too.  I’ve been thinking about it for a few months now.  I wasn’t sure if there would be benefits to membership if I wasn’t going to go to the annual conference, but the Bay Area chapter has a lot local events so I think it’s still worth it.  Plus, I’ve been to two of their events already (free to students!) and everyone I’ve spoken with has been really nice and open and encouraging.

Image from the National Post

Here’s my favorite links of the week!

As if I needed another reason to love Lemony Snicket, now he’s gone and created a prize for librarians who has faced adversity.  It’s so open ended, I can’t wait to see what someone will win for.

Lovely story about a teen who used his library’s 3-D printer to make a prosthetic hand for a boy.  Such innovation and inspiration!

Library cat burglar turns out to really be a cat.

The Vatican Library and Japanese institutions will catalog and digitize an archive on Japanese Christians in the 17th-19th centuries.

The NY Public Library picks the top 25 books that changed the course of history.

Love this new series, “Forgotten Canada“, from the National Post, which presents images from a partnership between the British Library and Wikipedia Commons to digitize images from 1895-1924.  Most of my dad’s side of the family passed through Canada on their way to New England and it’s fun to see these old photos.

Any other good story that I missed?  Please share!

Have a great weekend!