Amazing approval ratings for public libraries

We don't all work in public libraries, but this article from The Atlantic is an uplifting quick blurb about people's attitudes towards libraries and I'm sure that feeling is shared towards all good libraries!

Here's a library that got it wrong:  A library in Italy was "ransacked" by the director... of the library.  

But don't fret, here's a library that got it right: The British Library uploaded one million public domain pictures to Flickr.com. Enjoy!

Making fun of catalogers

A couple of weeks ago, I watched a webinar on discovery layers. It was informative and interesting, but one comment caused my mind to wander.  In a discussion of metadata, one participant said that catalogers don't like any metadata that they didn't do themselves.

This got me wondering if catalogers are the subject of more jokes than other library specialties. It seems to me, without doing any research to back this up, that they are. And if that's true, why?  Do catalogers have some sort of aura that make them easy to poke fun at?  Or are they viewed as a breed apart? 

I definitely felt the otherness of catalogers early in my library career.  I was working in acquisitions in a large room that we shared with the cataloging staff.  Acquisitions folks were always admonished to keep the noise down so that The Catalogers (I always thought of it in caps) could concentrate.  This caused me, for awhile anyway, to view The Catalogers as somehow separate and different.  I got over that fairly quickly when one of The Catalogers kidnapped a stuffed basset hound that one of the reference librarians had at her desk and paraded gleefully through Tech Services. 

Has anyone else noticed lots of cataloging jokes? 

Libraries in the news

Locally:

A super-late book is returned.  Thankfully, Cedar Mill is not trying to collect the dues.  Or issuing an
arrest warrant, as happens in some other states. 

Congratulations to the Garden Home Community Library for getting a four-star ranking from the Library Journal in their annual Index of Public Library Service!


Nationally:


Here's another interesting addition to a public library to continue to foster a sense of community.  Would you add an arcade video game to your library collection?

75 years ago today...

Proquest is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the use of microfilm in preserving and storing documents, particularly in libraries.  And how are they celebrating?  They've released a comic all about Eugene Powers, who in starting University Microfilms, Inc. became the *ahem* powerhouse behind this innovation.  You can read the comic here.

LSSC Course Subsidies Announcement

Below is a new announcement issued by ALA-APA about course subsidies they are offering to LSSC candidates.  If you are a candidate in the program I want to encourage you to apply for one of 90 subsidies they will be awarding in January.  When I was going through the program I applied for and was awarded a subsidy.  I really appreciated it - not only did it help with costs, but it was also affirming to be supported in this way. 

The American Library Association-Allied Profession Association (ALA-APA) is excited to announce that theLibrary Support Staff Certification (LSSC) Program will be offering $200 subsidies to 90 candidates to complete LSSC approved courses.  If the cost of the course is less than $200, the subsidy will cover the cost of the entire course minus materials such as books, etc. 

All LSSC candidates are eligible to receive a subsidy by completing an application form available athttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FYRXSR8.  ALA-APA will give first preference to those candidates who have not received a previous subsidy. Recipients will be chosen using a random selection process; ALA-APA will announce subsidy awards on January 6, 2014.

Recipients may use the subsidy for an LSCC-approved course in which they are currently enrolled as of November 25, 2013 or for any LSSC-approved course which ends before April 25, 2014. Candidates may not use the subsidy for approved courses that ended before November 25, 2013. A catalog of approved courses is available at http://ala-apa.org/lssc/approved-courses.  To receive the subsidy, recipients must add a Course Certification Certificate to their candidate record and send proof of course payment to LSSC. 

 

Associates Web

The lastest issue is out!  Check out Associates: The Electronic Library Support Staff Journal that is published three times a year and has contributions from LSS from around the world.