A Dewey thing

No, not Dewey the YA librarian from Unshelved, but Dewey the Library Cat! Seems Hollywood has taken a liking to Dewey's story by Vicki Myron, "Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World," and is making a film about it starring Meryl Streep. Streep will play Myron, "who works at the library and observed the impact that a kitten had on the townsfolk once it became the library mascot after wandering in through the after-hours book return slot on a cold night."

Thanks to Kathy for the tip!

Happy Anniversary To Me

Yesterday marked my 17th anniversary with AURA, the parent organization of both companies I've worked for shortly after I graduated with a BS in astronomy and no clue what to do with my life. Due to the incestuous nature of large telescope design projects, I'm working with (either still or again) many of the same folks who first met me as a 22-year-old... who have had no compunction about telling me how much I've changed since then :-D

Provided things don't implode in the next six months thanks to the economy, I should make 20 years easy. That's kind of odd to think about.

Blog Analyzers

Found via Stephen's Lighthouse:

Typealyzer – provides a Myers-Briggs type analysis of your blog. This blog analyzes as ESTP, which probably doesn't surprise many folks :-)

Genderanalyzer – determines what sex you write like. It seems I'm a gender-neutral writer!

Readability Test - determines what grade level your blog is written at. This one came in at college (undergrad) level.

Fun and funky - check 'em out for your own blog!

The Library at Carlisle Bay

I've been carrying this ad around for months now, finally getting it posted! It's from p.106 of the 11 April 2008 issue of Vanity Fair magazine. Victoria Mather writes, "Library as disco at Carlisle Bay, Antigua. [...] The books are pristine new publications and frequently replaced—not dog-eared, suntan-oiled paperbacks left behind by previous guests."

It's been labeled as the "coolest" and the "funkiest" library in the world. How can I turn that into a research trip justification to see if it is, in fact, so?

Spine(less) Label Printer?

Computype spine label printer
Originally uploaded by desertlibrarian

This ad for Computype spine label printers was on the inside cover of the July/August 2008 Computers in Libraries. I have an urge to run around yelling VERY LOUDLY about this spine printer. Because, of course, librarians are never loud.

But... but... what happens next?!?

In case you haven't already read: the last issue of Rex Libris was released at the end of October. "Titans clash and chaos reigns as the most powerful evil forces on earth find themselves embroiled in a life and death struggle with the freshly awoken minions of Cthulhu. Team Librarian is caught in the middle of the mayhem, and it will take all their ingenuity and experience to survive!" Things were already tricky at the end of Issue 12... I have to know what happens next!

I own every issue, the first trade collection, the figurine, the Tshirts... what will I spend my mad money on now?!? (Do you have mad money? Spend it here.) I'm off to my local comic book store to pick up - and then cancel - my standing order. I'm hoping for a second trade collection from Mr. Fabulousness, James Turner - the extras were worth it - and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the mused-about Rex Libris movie will actually, really happen.

I <3 ya, Rex! I'll miss you greatly.

OPAC Mashup

So, part of what I've been doing is trying (and trying!) to get caught up on some of the backlog of library literature piling on my desk (and in my inbox). Whilst reading Library Hi Tech, I came across an article I thought was just a nifty, nifty thing, so of course I wanted to share!

Michael Vandenburg of Kingston Public Library, Kingston Canada wrote an article in Vol. 26 No. 1 titled "Using Google Maps as an interface for the library catalogue." It caught my eye because of the other mashups I've been reading about - how neat, to have a systemic map of your catalog onto a world map so folks can choose resources based on clicking a country! Hopefully they'll be able to bring it online in the real world soon; the only bummer was that it's still in development so there are only the screenshots in the article, not a live URL to try out. Best wishes to Michael and his library!

IL2008: The Networking Aspect

Now that I'm starting to recover from the Internet Librarian Death Flu (thanks to whoever brought it and shared it with all of us!), I can finally post my final IL2008 wrapup: while there were great sessions, and good tips and tricks, it really was all about the networking. Seeing conference friends again from past years and places, meeting folks F2F for the first time that I've known online, and making new connections - it's really invaluable. I'm quite pleased to have met all the folks I finally did, and it's always such a great time to see friends again.

Plus, you can't discount the social aspects:

Me and the Webgoddess gettin' down at karaoke!

Miriella and I agree on a favorite color.

My own very modest contribution to the IL Cybertours.

And now: back to the usual holdings-forth! Currently 78° and sunny; a lovely day.

Vote, Dammit!!!

I've been sick with the Internet Librarian Death Flu for the past week (at least I wasn't alone, ha ha) - but dragged my butt out of bed today to go to my polling place and cast my vote.

Please - PLEASE - if you're eligible to vote in today's election, DO SO. Never think that your vote doesn't count... this is where you decide everything from the licensing on the person who cuts your hair to who will be the next President. Every vote counts.