Reader’s Advisory…

I just came across a post on http://vergingcoollibrarian.wordpress.com/ about a website by Yann Martel – author of The Life of Pi. Apparently Martel has commited himself to sending Stephen Harper a book every two weeks to promote the arts. Check it out here. I am going to try to keep an eye on this website to see if there is any response from Stephen Harper.

All this got me wondering if librarians could somehow get involved – not sending Stephen Harper books every other week, but somehow libraries could offer a service where we actually were to “send” books either e-books or paper books (a reader’s advisory type of program) to library users on a regular basis for people that are too busy to make it to the library (assuming that they would return the books when they finished reading)…

I don’t know if any libraries are doing this already. I wonder if library users who subscribed would be willing to cover the delivery charges for this service ? I don’t think libraries could cover the cost and I don’t think the Canada Post book rate would work for that type of service either.

Seriously though, I am concerned that so many people, myself included, end up buying books rather than going to the library because the book they wanted is not available, they are too busy to pick up the book from the library and don’t even know about the selection and variety of material available to them. I wonder if a reader’s advisory service that came with regular delivery of books would help to increase library usage? Though this sure would involve a lot of work!

Virginia Tech

My thoughts go out to all the families, friends and loved ones affected by this tragedy. The tragedy has had an affect on everyone and I think especially on academic communities. I don’t know personally of any students affected, but I am truly shocked and saddened that a tragedy of this magnitude has occured. It is scary to think and to see that any of our lives can be taken away at any point, and so quickly too. It’s even worse to know that this tragedy could have been prevented.

We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while. We are not moving on. We are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech …

– Nikki Giovanni, University Distinguished Professor, poet, activist

Remembering Alma Webster

I just heard through a listserv that Alma Webster, a school librarian and activist for the deaf and hearing impaired, for children and youth and anyone else who wanted to learn, has passed away. She sounds like a librarian and activist I would have liked to have met, partly because my life thus far has been touched by many people with hearing impairments, and also because she seems like such a really strong woman who never let obstacles get in her way, so below is a short tribute.

Alma’s story is pretty incredible to me. She was one of six children and lost her hearing as a child. Despite this, she managed to obtain a masters degree in library science at the University of Toronto, when few girls completed their high school education. She would have had to work more than twice as hard as her colleagues to keep up in school and she still succeeded. In her career she was so successful that she was named one of the 100 legends in public library service of all time. Funny enough, purple was her favourite colour, one of my favourites too, and the favourite colour of many of my librarian friends!

Webster “helped promote something known as CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation), where a stenographer types in the words as a speech is being presented to a group. The words are then instantly projected onto a screen, so that the hard of hearing can follow the speech.” (Edmonton Journal, 17 April 2007) CART is now being used universally and this is a legacy that Webster leaves behind.

Thank you to Alma Webster for devoting so much to libraries and librarianship and for being a role model for future librarians like me.

PUBYAC Listserv

A friend just informed me about a listserv she finds real helpful with childrens and young adult services for ideas and questions:

PUBYAC is a discussion list concerned with the practical aspects of Children and Young Adult Services in Public Libraries, focusing on programming ideas, outreach and literacy programs for children and caregivers, Internet issues, censorship and policy issues, collection development, administrative considerations, job openings, professional development and other pertinent services and issues.

You can check it out or subscribe at PUBYAC’s main website.

CLA Here I Come!

Thank you to the “Student to CLA” program sponsored by none other than the Canadian Library Association, I have the chance to go to Newfoundland next month for the annual conference and I am SO excited. What is even more exciting is that my friend Naomi Barnes won her fees paid at the conference too through FIS! I have booked my flights and am in the midst of looking at the program to choose which seminars I’ll be attending. I’ll post an update in the next week or so with more details.

Grants for Libraries

I just learned of a grants for libraries blog that is worth checking out.

I am going to put this on the sidebar as well of blogs that I read.

Rex Zero and the End of the World by Tim Wynne-Jones

I was fortunate at the OLA Super Conference to receive a copy of Rex Zero and the End of the World by Tim Wynne-Jones and to meet the author through Margaret Atwood’s Long Pen invention as he signed the book. Mr. Wynne-Jones definitely has a sense of humour and it was quite evident through reading his book (and most especially the Afterword) that he remains in touch with his inner child and that Rex is actually representative of his own childhood. I am always glad to meet “adults” who are able to carry a sense of youthfulness about them – its something that I hope never to lose. I also loved the fact that libraries and librarians are mentioned in this book!!! What a great choice to give away at the OLA Super Conference! I quite enjoyed reading this book and below is a short review.

Twelve year old Rex Norton-Norton has just moved from Vancouver to Ottawa and is determined to make friends even though it is summer and he is living in the Twilight Zone! Fortunately Rex manages to meet some friends while looking after the Sausage (his little brother). Rex quickly befriends James and Buster and they create the nickname Rex Zero (Norton minus Norton equals zero) for him! The novel takes place during the Cold War where everyone is obsessed with bomb shelters, war and disaster; the world is a very uncertain place for Rex Zero. Still, Rex doesn’t let this get in the way of his deep imagination and sense for adventure that brings comedy and imagination to an otherwise deep story.

I highly recommend this book to tweens (and their parents too) as a fun and comedic read that offers an introductory lesson to French and the Cold War too! Both male and female pre-teens and their parents too can relate to the characters and situations in this fantasy/history book.

Google Maps Suggests a Very Long Swim!

Google Maps hasn’t quite figured out how to deal with the ocean when you ask for directions to get overseas. Check it out for yourself! I must admit though, that this is pretty unrealistic! When asking Google maps for directions to PEI and Newfoundland it directs me to the ferry. Still this is a lesson that we should be careful about directions when retrieving them from websites that provide automatic directions – they aren’t always perfect!

Thoughts on Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures

Last month I was fortunate enough to attend a talk at FIS by Vincent Lam and it was pretty incredible. I quite enjoyed his book Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures and was very interested in what he had to say about it. I find it pretty amazing that Vincent Lam can be an ER room Doctor and a Giller Prize (2006) winning author. He came across as being very personable, which in my mind makes for a good doctor and also very intelligent and perceptive as well.

He spoke about how the careers of a doctor and writer are quite similar and I had never before thought that through. Doctors must listen to our stories and then piece them together and tell them back to us, trying to make the pieces fit into the puzzle. A good doctor must be a good story teller and that requires knowing how much of the story to feed back and how to tell it in an interesting way to keep our attention. It is no surprise to hear of a writer having a second job, really its just a surprise that a writer would say that their second job is that of a doctor – not that Vincent Lam considers himself secondly as a doctor. From what I gather he holds both in equal esteem in his life and does both when he chooses. I loved the way the stories and characters linked up in the book. They were so real to me by the end of the book.

The book really changed the way that I think of doctors. In fact, parts of the book I found appalling. I don’t think I had ever thought of doctors as real people and I am not really sure why. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it. It’s a great piece of Canadian literature and well worth the read.

Now, if only I had an ounce of Vincent Lam’s talent! Ah well, at least I had the honour of him signing my copy of his book.

Advocacy in the Special Library Context

Stephen Abrams posted an interview with himself and Wendy Newman at the Faculty of Information Studies in an interview on advocacy in special libraries.

I just finished listening to the interview and found it to be well worth listening to. Most of the information was typical of what was taught in Wendy Newman’s advocacy course though it was interesting to hear the side of the special librarian, though it was more from the side of the vendor. As librarians, I believe we must be respectful towards vendors, they are providing us with the tools we need to do our job better, and at the same time we must stand up for the interests of our customers and our libraries to get what is right. The corporate world is not all bad and it is crucial that we develop relationships with vendors to better library services and tools too.

I was especially keen to hear Mr. Abrams advice to those about to begin as new professionals in the field. He advises that we know ourselves. It is crucial to work hard at our personal strengths and partner with people who fill our weaknesses. I really liked that and believe that to be quite true and important in most relationships. Also, he urged that we get involved in our library associations for learning, advocacy and influence, as well as networking. Even if we have little or no power in our workplace, the association will give us the experience, networks and knowledge to succeed in our future careers.