My Writings. My Thoughts.

Having a snack in the scholarly kitchen…

// January 27th, 2012 // No Comments » // Books, librarians, Libraries

Scholarly Kitchen said:

“Libraries have a great potential role in marketing e-books, but if they continue to think of themselves as the preservationists of physical artifacts, the emerging e-book platforms will leapfrog them.”

To which I comment:

Libraries no longer generally think of themselves as the preservationists of physical artifacts, and most are keenly aware of the inadequacies and frustrations of e-book offerings currently available to them. Libraries and librarians are definitely struggling to find our place in the changing world, but increasingly, that means being a gathering place, a community place, in addition to a place in which or through which patrons access collections. Libraries do want to work with publishers (and are, in fact) and with Amazon; your consignment scenario sounds like a good one, except that the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library would probably stand to make Amazon a lot more money in the form of Prime sign-ups and Kindle book sales than it could with library co-sales.

Libraries that offer e-book checkouts to their patrons are offering the only deals that have been struck at this point. There are stand-out exceptions, such as Douglas County (CO) Libraries, the nascent unglue.it, and authors who license their works in Creative Commons, like Cory Doctorow. There are e-book champions, like Librarian By Day Bobbi Newman, and the Librarian in Black Sarah Houghton. As you mention, ALA is meeting with publishers and has task forces of smart people talking about the problems. Libraries stood by while music transformed from physical to digital and now offer download packages that must be minuscule in comparison to iTunes sales. Books, however, are a library’s traditional core offering; what will a library without books look like? More distressing is the question: what would the have-nots do if we can’t figure this out?

The Path of Least Resistance, Or, The End of the World as We Know It

// November 19th, 2011 // No Comments » // Books, librarians, Libraries

At LITA Forum this year, John Blyberg mused, “How long will free content be more attractive than ubiquitous access?” It was one of the things I tweeted from his keynote, and it struck me at the time as portentous. What are libraries–traditionally–but stores of free content? Soup kitchens for the information-starved?

It struck me this morning that the combination of the Amazon/Overdrive deal and the new Amazon Kindle Owner’s Lending Library that we have passed this point. Consider: a reader embroiled on her Kindle is warned that her “public library loan” is expiring. Amazon kindly suggests that the reading can continue if she would only buy the book for a mere $8.99, just click here. Oh, or she could check it out from her public library again. Not renew it; check it out again. She might even remember this, though once a loan expires, the Kindle app does not provide a reminder. Let’s say that our Dear Reader is a public library supporter, not just an occasional user. “How did I do that again?” She might even put down the Kindle and visit the library’s website. She might even get to the e-books section and do a search, only to find that she was fourth or fifth or twentieth in line for the library’s single electronic copy. “Oh, screw it,” she thinks, and buys from Amazon, in two clicks, for less than the price of lunch.

Books Read, 2010

// February 23rd, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Books, librarians, Photography, Random

I just found this in my drafts folder; it’s about time I published it.  It’s a sorry list, compared to years past. Maybe 2011 will be better.

At the end of 2009, I posted a list of books I wanted to read* in 2010:

  • Warbreaker, Brandon Sanderson (fantasy) Never cracked it.
  • The Long Division, Derek Nikitas (thriller) Still on my shelf!
  • Anathem, Neal Stephenson (fantasy) Nope, not this one, either
  • Until I Found You, A Novel, John Irving (fiction) (gave up, May 2010)
  • Clay’s Quilt, Silas House (fiction) (read January 2010)
  • The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (fiction) (read January 2010)

Other books read in 2010:

  • The Magicians, Lev Grossman (March 3-6)
  • Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien (audio, Jan-Feb)
  • Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese (May 2010)
  • The End of Overeating, John Kessler (May-June 2010)

Read for schoolwork in 2010:

  • Third views, second sights : a rephotographic survey of the American West
  • New York changing : revisiting Berenice Abbott’s New York
  • Milton Rogovin : the making of a social documentary photographer
  • Triptychs : Buffalo’s lower West Side revisited
  • Seizing the light : a social history of photography / Robert Hirsch
  • World history of photography / by Naomi Rosenblum

Read aloud with Miss7 in 2010:

  • The Chronicles of Narnia (January – June 2010)
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

* Audiobooks count!

Books read 2009 | books read 2008

Remora

// November 12th, 2010 // 6 Comments » // Random

Clinical depression is the opposite of addiction.  Rather than having a singular focus, depression is absence of caring paired with inability to connect.  If this disease could be visualized, it would be a red-black sludge lurking malevolently and quietly in the sulci until some event triggers its oozing over the gyri, until the entire brain is suffocated with it, and it blocks all knowing.  The best that can be done for those who suffer is to force it back down into those cerebral crevices, but it cannot be entirely eradicated.  It is always lurking, whispering, hinting that pain is coming, and deservedly so.  When it is covering one’s existence, the only thought is to silence its screaming, and the only path to silence is to deprive it of the life that feeds it.  Unfortunately, in this process, the host dies.

_____

I have sat on this draft for a while, for more than a month, in fact.  I’m not in that place anymore, but I seem to go there frequently.  I wish I could change that, but I’m starting to live with the fact that this can’t be changed.  The best I can do is manage it, not let it get the best of me and hope that those around me are aware and caring enough to help with that.

Someday I want to write about the stigma of all of this.  I don’t even know how to begin.  Mental illnesses are just that–illnesses. Imbalances caused by brain chemistry, genetics, trauma, environment.  What makes them so shaming?

Library Day in the Life #5

// July 26th, 2010 // No Comments » // librarians, Libraries, lifestream, Social Stuff, Web Stuff

I probably will only tweet for this event, so I’m capturing them here. Be warned: I’m not filtering with the tag; this will contain all my tweets for the entire week.

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Not mother of the year

// July 22nd, 2010 // 6 Comments » // My Kids

This morning, Miss4 finished her breakfast earlier than her sister and ran upstairs to get ready first.  “Not fair!” her sister screamed, “she always gets ready before me!”  “Well, if you wouldn’t sit there and scream and cry, you could get ready faster,” I criticized in return.  She ran out of the room in tears and screamed that she hated her sister.  This phrase had been appearing with alarming frequency lately, and I was tired of it.  I charged into her bedroom to call her on it, but before I could get a word out, she yelled, “Why do you always yell at me but you encourage her?”

I stopped dead. “You’re right. You’re totally right. I shouldn’t do that.”  Because her sister is still 4, I use a completely different approach with her.  Demands fall flat–the stronger the demand, the harder she digs her heels in.  Miss7 outgrew it, mostly, so to encourage her to get ready quickly, I had appealed to her growing sense of self-responsibility.  When she started first grade, we told her that she knew what the morning routine was, and that she was big enough to get ready without being prompted every step of the way.  It worked great.

Well, somewhere along the way, that got lost.  She constantly gets distracted doing the littlest tasks, and she has to be reminded multiple times every step of the way.  It’s easy for morning drama to escalate, especially when Miss4 “does things first.”

So, Miss7 and I had a good talk about how we shouldn’t yell at each other, and how she needs encouragement just as much as her sister does.  When we got to the point about not saying “I hate you,” she said “It’s hard helping take care of a little kid.”  “I know,” I said, “and I have *two* to look out for.”  “I do, too, Mom,” said Miss7, “I have to remind you of stuff sometimes, too.”

Yep. She’s totally right.  It’s not fair for parents to take out frustration and stress on our children, but everyone falls prey to it eventually (and for most people, repeatedly).  I just hope that others out there are lucky enough to have a kid that will call them on it.

Going to go cry in my Cheerios now.

New at Techsource: Creative Commons and You

// July 20th, 2010 // No Comments » // librarians, Libraries, Photography, Web Stuff

Libraries and librarians can make use of Creative Commons licensed works but must be careful to adhere to the terms of the licenses.  Finding photos that have been licensed CC is the easy part: CC search is a part of flickr, Compfight and even Google Images search.

Read more at the TechSource blog.

“Don’t you think she looks tired?” A lesson for Apple from the Doctor

// July 18th, 2010 // No Comments » // geekery, Macintosh

I’ve loved Wired Magazine since the issue where they wrote about Keanu Reeves playing Johnny Mnemonic. It can only be described as love: that glossy article was a perfect storm of my then-favorite actor, my favorite author, and lots of tech shiny. Zap. Love. Go ahead, laugh.

Annnywaaaaayyy… I love Wired. I’ve been a subscriber for years. I’ve justified my growing discomfort with the magazine’s insidious sexism and entrenched superiority by telling myself it’s the best avenue to good, thoughtful tech writing and bite-sized gadget reviews. Well, I’ve had it. From the high-texture, low-saturation, well-lit photography to it’s snack-sized snark snippets, I’m done.

This is nothing against the brilliant writing. Pieces by Chris Anderson, William Gibson, and countless others whose names I don’t remember have moved me and made me think. This rant is directed squarely at the editors who design all the snippets on the cover and tables of contents that suck readers in.

What does this have to do with Apple and Dr. Who? There is a small snippet of text on the upper-right corner of the August 2010 issue, which I can’t link to because it’s not on their website yet. The text reads: “#ATTFAIL: Inside the iPhone Network Meltdown.” And just like that, Wired moves from being Apple champion to shitstorm-bringer. Seeing this snippet peek at me from the countertop reminded me strongly of the end of “The Christmas Invasion,” David Tennant‘s first full episode as Doctor Who. The Doctor, incensed and appalled by Prime Minister Harriet Jones’s order to blow up the Sycorax, says to her assistant, “Don’t you think she looks tired?” The ensuing media shitstorm results in the fall of her government.

It doesn’t matter that the Wired article is well-written, fairly unbiased, and very interesting. It doesn’t matter that they are trying to break new ground with their iPad edition. With “#ATTFAIL: Inside the iPhone Network Meltdown,” Wired has placed itself in the anti-Apple camp, which will continue to pull its readers–largely male gadget- and hacker-types, I’ll hazard to SWAG*–down the snark-fuelled, soundbyte-driven path away from mainstream humanity.

That’s not to say that I’m particularly an Apple Champion, either, nor am I an Apple Detractor. Macs have been my primary computer since 2004. Apple has beautiful, well-functioning products that I truly like and that have revolutionized mobile computing and music. BUT. But I’m bothered by the DRM, by the walled-garden attitude (is that the right metaphor for “if it doesn’t work, too bad, you can’t get in there and poke around?”), and the extreme propriety. So, I’m a fan, but not a fanatic. They are a company that provides products that I use and like, but they have their foibles and frustrations.
–
*SWAG: speculative wild-ass guess. Yes, I’m being sardonic.

Let’s Talk About LeBron: a modest proposal

// July 9th, 2010 // No Comments » // Random


ostrich-head
Originally uploaded by visionshare | cc:by-nc

Twitter is rife with complaints about the chatter surrounding LeBron James’ choice to leave the Cleveland Cavs for Miami. I’m here to defend those who are outraged and singularly occupied by this obvious betrayal. Why? Because it’s easy. Let’s take a quick look at what else is going on in the world:

The Oakland Riots.  I much prefer hating on LeBron to thinking about the Oakland Riots because the latter involves cops and race issues.  Police officers are scary, and race issues are icky.  If I look into my heart and mind, I might find opinions there that make me uncomfortable.  And we don’t want that.

The Gulf Oil Spill.  LeBron vs. tar-covered shore birds.  Simple: LeBron.  Aside from some indigestion in Northern Ohio, LeBron is not actually making anyone sick.  Looking into my dependence on NBA excitement (and the products it makes me want want want) does not make me uncomfortable, like thinking about my personal dependence on petroleum products might.  Nevermind that Nikes are actually made with petroleum products.  Too close to home.

The wars in Iraq & Afghanistan.  Oh it’s *easy* not to talk about these, because they started, like, years ago.  Is anyone still paying attention?  These also succumb to the distance rule–if someone dies who’s thousands of miles away and doesn’t look, talk, or believe like I do, I don’t have to care, right?  The exception, of course, is that I Support Our Troops (TM) and hope that Johnny and Jane come home soon.  Next!

The Economy. Hm…. this one is tougher, as I have opinions about money.  As in, I need more of it, and it annoys me that athletes and coaches make so much of it.  Whoops, there’s LeBron again.  It’s much easier to grouse about his inflated salary than it is to make a decision whether to support the federal extension of unemployment benefits or federal financial reform.

And with that… it’s time to settle in and watch some TV.  Specifically, some sort of science fiction, because reality is just too yucky.  Hey, isn’t there a game on?

New at TechSource: Lessons from ALA 2010

// July 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Conferences, librarians

Three years ago, at the ALA Annual Conference in DC, I wrote this blog post. I was a month into a new job and trying to find my way into the impenetrable depths of the seemingly endless ALA. My past experience in other associations told me that Woody Allen was right when he said that eighty percent of success is showing up: associations like ALA and its chapters and divisions depend on volunteers to get business and planning done, and there are never enough volunteers. So, looking back, what have I learned?

Read more at the ALA Techsource blog.

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