Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!
Originally uploaded by desertlibrarian

I hope that everyone has a joyful, merry holiday this year, whatever holiday you may choose to celebrate. See you again in the New Year!

Careers, Tattoos and Archie McPhee

Yes, they really do all have something in common: they're in today's Random Tuesday Musings.

* US World and News Report has released an article (by Marty Nemko, 11 December 2008) stating that, yes, once more, Librarian is a great career for 2009. (The flame war that broke out on NextGenLib may provide some alternate opinions, though.) I personally have a lot of issues with the way the article is written - I mean, to be honest, I don't know a single librarian who kicks back in the morning with a cuppa and "leafing through catalogs from online database publishers and book reviews in Library Journal to decide which titles to add to your collection" - we've got way, way, way too much else to do as well! But...it's always nice to see the profession presented in a positive way, and Nemko certainly does that.

* Surely you remember Archie McPhee - the company that brought us the Librarian Action Figure! If you've ever wanted to know more - such as, Why?!?! - then this interview with founder Mark Pahlow by Jack Broom at the Seattle Times might help. Yes, we feature prominently ;-) and I think I'm going to check out this book - I love perusing the catalog and plan on getting many things to fill my son's toybox as he gets older!

* Lastly, just an interesting photo collection: the Science Tattoo Emporium.

The Librarian 3 on TNT

Yes, of course I watched it, and of course I have comments! I also have a new .sig line *grin*

Ahem. OK. Once again, bring your willing suspension of disbelief and your bowl of popcorn to enjoy Round 3 of TNT's Librarian movie series: "The Quest for the Judas Chalice", starring Noah Wyle as Flynn Carsen. Vampires! New Orleans! Action sequences! Memorable lines! (The first that popped up: "Maybe some women are ok with the wild and unpredictable lifestyle of dating a librarian, but I'm not!")

Yes, I thought it was cheezy fun. No, it didn't have anything to do with what we all think of as a "real" library, or librarian. But - let's face it - wouldn't we all love to work in Flynn's Library? (I know I would! I actually believe it to be an extended branch of the Middleton Public Library, to be honest.) Seeing it as the repository of history and artifacts through the ages (even if they are mythical artifacts) lends a bit of respectability to the name. I will admit I got the grins each time Flynn spouted details and in-depth history on anything and everything that crossed his path (wouldn't you hate to play against him in Trivial Pursuit?). And I think Judson (Bob Newhart, once again stealing all his scenes) is just wonderful.

To sum up: Tongue-in-cheek fun that requires you to leave your serious side out of the TV room. And to close: "I think it's only fair to warn you that I am, in fact, a librarian."

Play that Funky Librarian Music

Are you a musician? Are you a librarian? Have you always wanted to have your music in the soundtrack to something? Well, this is your chance!

Mitchell Davis of BiblioLife is seeking bands (made up of librarians) or an individual librarian/musician that would like to contribute music to a video project (on digitizing old and rare books) with BCR, University of Colorado Boulder and Denver UniversityUniversity of Denver. (Free promotion and credits if they use your music!) If you're interested, drop Mitchell a line at mitchell@bibliolife.com.

I leave you with a tease...

I can finally come right out and say it: I wrote a book. And Information Today, Inc. is publishing it, early next year. I'm borrowing a cover tease idea from SBTB and sharing just a peek - watch this space for more!

Giddily wishing you an enjoyable weekend -

Random Linkdump

Yes, folks, it's time for another catch-all post of things I've had tucked away. Here we go!

• If you don't already know, this Sunday (Dec. 7) is the premiere of the (supposedly) final chapter in TNT's Librarian movie series: "The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice." I, of course, will be glued to the TV screen, popcorn at the ready! Here's some reviews and interviews:
  
  • An interview with screenwriter Marco Schnabel by Carl Cortez at iFMagazine. Teasers of a feature film?!?
    
  • An interview with star Noah Wyle by Iris Wiener at The Improper.
  
  
• Meet Emma Sherriff, outreach support officer for Plymouth Libraries. She shows, in this article by Kate Hilpern, that there's much more to being a librarian than shelving books! Definitely worth a read for the discussion of all the career paths available to librarians.
• You might be a librarian if... and I admit I'm guilty of a couple of these!
  

72° and sunny. The sunlight on the grass outside my window is particularly pretty today!

PAM News: Stipend for New Librarians

Happy post-Thanksgiving to you all; I hope you had a lovely holiday. I sure did! Now, onto the news:

The Institute of Physics generously continues its commitment to libraries by providing financial support for new physical sciences librarians to attend their first SLA annual conference! Read more about it over on the PAMblog. If you qualify, please submit an application; if you don't, but know someone who does, please pass this information along!