Recently Read: "Between the Stacks"

I haven't posted book reviews much here before, but I think that might change. I just finished "Between the Stacks", by Barry Bowes (Landesman, 1979) and quite enjoyed it. Set in a public library in the UK, it follows the trials and tribulations of the staff at the Pike Lane library, told from the viewpoint of the (interestingly unnamed, throughout the book) senior assistant. It's quite amusing, while also illustrating the frustrations of the reference interview, being the unpaid babysitters, and many other well-known PL issues. The issues at Pike Place frame an introspective journey by the main character, who's trying to evaluate his future, both personally and professionally.

It's not an easy book to come by; there wasn't a copy anywhere in my state (thanks, ILL!). Amazon has a few used ones from international sources, and I'm pondering placing an order, but we'll see. Even Library Thing, with its gazillions of books, only shows four copies. If you do have access to it, though, give it a read!

Ssh.

Found via LISNews, this video of poet Jon Goode reciting his poem "The Librarian" just gave me goosebumps. Yes! Not just an ode to the power of librarians - the power of ssh - but a philosophical musing on honor, infidelity, war, and much more. Give it a watch.



(yes, I'm catching up. And yes, I'm a weather wimp: highs only in the low 70s last couple of days, I wore a coat to work this morning!)

The $900,000 Librarian

Holy cow! A collector at a recent Christie's auction in New York spent $902.5K on a photograph by artist Cindy Sherman". Read the article over at Forbes.

"Sherman poses as a librarian, gazing beyond the shelves of books that surround her. [...] There is a certain kitsch appeal to the black-and-white photos, but the underlying message is more serious and draws attention to female stereotypes in our society."

via LISnews

Warning: Political Ranting

ObDisclaimer: My rants! No one else's! Nyaah!

* 1st Presidential Debate: Rude much, McCain? I have to admit: for a long time I liked McCain, and not because he's one of my state senators. But ever since this whole race started, he just keeps dropping in my estimation. Watching the debate - just the rudeness he displayed to Obama - floored me. Shame! (But, hey, at least there was a debate, and the grandstanding from earlier in the week came to nothing.)

* Bailout Whining: If Pelosi's speech didn't actually change the bill (and, erm, it didn't), then why should what she said affect how folks were going to vote? Regardless of how I feel about the bailout bill itself (which I promise not to get into here), this whining and finger-pointing about "Those almost-votes didn't vote because of what she said, waah, waah" reminds me much too much of my 3-year-old son's schoolroom. Grow up, people!

* "Gotcha" journalism: If you don't want what you said quoted back to you and it shows you up badly, oh, I don't know, check your facts first. Or, gee, don't say it at all. (I laughed and laughed when McCain told Obama "That's not something you say out loud" and then Palin pretty much said exactly what Obama had the next day. Priceless.)

* The upcoming VP debate: Can. Not. Wait. I don't think it's going to change much race-wise, but boy, is it going to be entertaining (one way or the other).

Friday Fun

Today: T-shirts! All from the folks at Instant Attitudes.

• Want!
  
  
• Don't we all?
  
  
• For the other coffee-holics out there
  

I hear there's this thing called "fall" happening in other places. Right now, we've got 90° temps with mostly sunny skies. Yay!

This is a sexy librarian look?

My first reaction: outright laughter.

You are looking at a preview of the fall line from designer Marni: "The Italian label offered its take on sexy librarians this season."

My second reaction: More laughing, with a bit of a wince.

Thanks to the.effing.librarian!

Three Beautiful Things

Thursday Edition!

1. Having a song sung to me on the way to work in a little piping voice about a monster, a starfish, a shark, and lava dragons.
2. Learning that the name of the spider we've seen in the bushes every day this week is, in fact, Darth Vader.
3. Hearing from two friends that their babies arrived safe and sound and everyone is healthy, happy and tired. Congratulations, Kevin & Linda and Chris & Jen!
   

Brain Break!

Thanks to Hedgehog Librarian!


EepyBird's Sticky Note experiment from Eepybird on Vimeo.

Dr. Dewey Decimal!

ScaryGoRound has a new Tshirt available for order: Dr. Dewey Decimal! Also be sure to check out Books Rule from the same great shop. (thanks, Jeff!)

I love it when fall arrives in the desert; sunny days in the low 90s, clear nights in the low 70s or high 60s. From now until March, this is the weather that makes living here worth the summer heat!

Shopping, Marketing, and Fantasies

Yes, it's another catchup posting!

• Check it out! Shelf Check has a store now! The Twitter button especially made me laugh.
• Coming out next month: The Shanachie Tour book and DVD! If you haven't had a chance to see the DOK guys speak in person (they're inspiring), this is the next best thing. Highly recommended!
• Shelf Talk has a great post about Fantastic librarians, or librarian fantasies? "Could it be that librarians’ staid image is now bursting the seams of naturalistic fiction and spilling forth into the realms of imagination and empires of wonder?" Love the post, and now I have a few more books to read, too.

Currently a pleasant 86° and sunny.

Call for Papers: PCA/ACA

The Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association Annual Conference will be held April 8-11, 2009, at the New Orleans Marriott in New Orleans, Louisiana. Scholars from numerous disciplines will meet to share their Popular Culture research and interests. Prospective presenters should send a one-page abstract with full contact information by November 30 2008.

Fredricksen Library Bookcart Drill Team

Brilliant! Be sure to check out the Fredricksen Library Bookcart Drill Team as they do an awesome quick-change from Marian the Librarian to Queen! (I can't seem to embed this one properly or I'd have done so...go check it out!)

Friday Fun

Two funnies, and a not-so-funny:

• Consider this before you move to Arizona. (It's so true! thanks, Abs!)
• The Procrastination Flowchart (thanks, Mike!)
• That dratted stereotype of the bun and glasses is even stuck in politics! I swear, if I hear one more talking head refer to Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin as looking like either a sexy or naughty librarian, I'm going to throw something. Arrgh! So I've joined a new group on Facebook: "Sarah Palin is not a 'sexy librarian'." Help the Tragic Optimist take sexy back!
  

Weather report: Jurassic Librarian isn't far off on his solar system chart; we hit 101°F today, supposed to hit 102° tomorrow. I hear there's this thing called "fall" happening in other parts of the country...

Food Meme: Nom nom nom!

Snagged from WarMaiden and HedgehogLibrarian... I've not done one of these "list memes" before but... it's food! The idea is, that this is a list of 100 foods that every omnivore should eat sometime in their life. The idea is to bold the ones you've eaten. Being not only omnivorous but foodiily-adventurous, or so I think, I thought I'd give it a whirl!

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart (No, but I have had shawarma from one, would that count?)
16. Epoisses (Assuming it's the cheese, no. If it's something else, well, then, no.)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes (I just don't do raw tomatoes. Blech.)
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche (OMG, this is fabulous stuff)
28. Oysters (tried 'em once, skip 'em now)
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda (on the want-to list)
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (Cognac, yes.)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O -Shots
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (I ate a bite of a grasshopper once, though. It was all I could bring myself to eat.)
43. Phaal (I don't have the guts, ha ha)
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more (thanks, Chris!)
    
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel (I love eel!)
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut (Still don't see what the fuss is about.)
    
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi (one bite, once. VERY salty.)
53. Abalone (in Chile, many times. Very tasty!)
    
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini (I don't like gin)
58. Beer above 8% ABV (it would seem yes - Chimay)
    
59. Poutine (another on the want-to-try list)
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (wait, what, the clay? No.)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (find me one and I'll do it!)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam (I did live in Hawaii, where you're not allowed to say you don't like Spam)
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa (lordy, do I want to try this one; I love North African food)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

So... not too bad, eh? Some of these I had to look up, and for some things like the venison, snake and (hey, it's not on the list!) javelina I have to thank some friends of my folks who retired out in the middle of the desert. Oh, and pigeon pate. That's thanks to them, too.

Now I'm hungry!

Rex Libris, Stereotypes, and All That Jazz

Hi, all - I'm back! I've been saving up a few things but rather than stuffing them all into one big posting I'm going to dribble them out over the next couple of days, get back into the regular-post thing :-D

Check out "When Stereotypes No Longer Apply," an ACRL blog posting by Melissa Mallon. Good stuff, and good comments, too. Yes! We need to move towards a time when it doesn't matter what the librarian looks like, but what the librarian does. (Bet it doesn't happen anytime soon, though.)

I simply cannot stop singing this catchy tune: Hi-Fi Sci-Fi Library! Michael Porter (Libraryman) and David Lee King have done an amazing job. Check out the lyrics, too, if you miss a few during the video!

Just in case you haven't read about it (or heard it) yet, the group My Morning Jacket's recent album release "Evil Urges" has a song called "Librarian" on it. I think I've already commented on the lyrics.

After a small delay, Rex Libris issues #11, "R'lyeh Rising", and #12, "Space Balls... of Evil!" are now available. Go forth and get!

How I became a librarian meme

(Sneakin' one in under the hiatus blanket...) First outright tag for a meme - tagged by Christina! Thanks! Started by Jill, the question was what got us interested initially in our fields of interest? Lemme 'splain... no, that would take too long. Lemme sum up...

I've always been in and around libraries (my mom was a career librarian until her retirement last year; my dad was career Air Force so we were always on the move, but wherever we were, there was a library). I fell in love with astronomy in 7th grade Earth Science and knew I'd be in the sciences one way or another when I grew up (I read my first copy of Jastrow & Thompson when I was 15). I originally went to college on an Air Force scholarship to study aerospace engineering, but a game of ultimate frisbee gone really wrong ended those plans, and I switched my study focus to astronomy, which is what I wanted to study in the first place (I will always miss Dr. Tom Swihart, my most excellent advisor). I landed a student job at the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab, which led to my first post-college job with the Mt. Graham International Observatory. I moved from there to the new Gemini 8m Telescopes Project (which became the Gemini Observatories when it went operational), and one of the things that I took on was managing the engineering documentation.

I really got a kick out of it, and was also contemplating going back to school - these two things finally clicked together and I headed down the street a couple of blocks to the School of Information Resources and Library Sciences. I met with Dr. Charley Seavey, who became my advisor, and it's all thanks to him that I even made it through, as the philosophy and social epistemology stuff really threw me off (I did great in statistics, though!). But make it through I did, with a focus on technical librarianship (fairly new at that point, this was back in '97-'99), and I graduated with a job offer in-hand from the Gemini Observatory in Hilo (Hawaii) to come out and set up the new research library. I jumped in the deep end at that point - up until then it'd all been databases and engineering archives!

Although I will always treasure the time I spent in Hawaii, the two years I spent out there setting up and managing a traditional library really brought home to me that I was much happier in the computers - webmastering, DBAing, things like that - and with engineering documentation. When the time came to move back to the mainland, I looked around at other large astronomy engineering projects, and hit up my current employer for a job. (Obviously, it worked.) I love being part of something no one's ever done before, and the skills I've built along the way have made me especially suited to dealing with both scientists and engineers, managing various electronic documentation systems, juggling configuration management issues, and configuring new web site management systems. That's what I spend my days doing now; I do order an occasional book, and snag journal papers and conference proceedings for the scientists and engineers, but I'm quite happy in my life as a systems librarian and intend to do so for many more years :-)

OK, so that's a bit long for a sum-up, but believe me, it's shorter than the whole story! I'd be interested in answers from Hedgie, G, Emily, Stephen, and Effing, if they'd like.

Hiatus, I has it

I know things have been sporadic at best for the last month, and particularly quiet lately. They're going to remain so for the next few weeks; I'm near the end of a rather large and sticky project that's taking most of my focus. I hope you'll stick around, because I already have things planned for next month that I hope you'll find interesting!

In the meantime: be safe, have fun, and keep those links coming; I promise I'll post a big 'ol summary when this is all over!

Happy Dancing People

How did I miss this?!?! July 22nd's Astronomy Picture of the Day (always amazing) was actually a movie. Of people. Around the world. DANCING! I defy you to watch this without smiling. (I was smiling so much by the end of it that my cheeks hurt!) As a lifelong dancer, I heartily applaud Matt Harding and his team for this production. Thank you!


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Pop Goes the Library: The Book!

Congratulations to Sophie and Liz, the great minds behind Pop Goes the Library, on the publication of their book! Now you, too, can gain insight into how to use pop culture to jazz up your library services - and have some fun along the way. To top off the publication, they've gone social-networking-mad; there's a blog, a wiki, a Flickr group, and a Twitter account , and a Facebook page in progress. w00t! So pick your way to learn their secrets :-)

Librarians FTW!

Thank you, thank you to the 1,213 librarians who participated in my recent re-survey "Do you look like a librarian?" - you all ROCK. There is a ton of new data to sift through, and then the fun part starts: comparing it to the survey data from 2001. Any bets on if, or how, things have changed? (I'm expecting that they have, just not sure how.)

I'll be sharing the results at a future date; keep your eyes on this space!