Sewing at the library

Here's another interesting idea of something "different" to add to a library collection - sewing machines!

There are open sewing hours at the Mountain View Public Library in California every Saturday and they've been getting more and more popular.  I like that the machines are all named Grace.

What kind of help do you think the staff provide?  I know we're expected to help patron's to a certain extent on the computers at my library, but I'm not sure everyone would be comfortable trouble-shooting a sewing machine or serger.

Does your library have any interesting things in their collection and do you help with maintenance or trouble-shooting?

World's tiniest books

Joshua Bright for The New York Times

I couldn't resist posting about this. Have you ever seen such adorable books? The books described in this article about a serious collector are: "By definition, miniature books are properly printed and bound, and for the most part no larger than three inches."  I think shelving them would present the average shelver with a whole new set of ergonomic challenges.

The National Medal for Museum and Library service has been announced. Libraries in our northern and southern neighboring states are included in the list of honorees. Congrats!

The 2013 Conference page has been updated!  Check it out. We have a lot of financial incentives again this year.

Libaries in the news this week: What's unique about your collection?

We start off with a beautiful visualization of catalog searches from the entire state of Wyoming.
Filament Mind from yongjulee on Vimeo.

You can read more about this unique installation in the Wired article Massive Fiber-Optic Installation Lights Up Library Queries.

Public libraries around the country are adding some creative check-out options to their collections: Libraries offer weird things to draw new borrowers. I wouldn't necessarily call these "weird", just... new. Multnomah County is one of the libraries in Oregon offering the "Kill-O-Watt" meter to measure energy usage.  What does your library offer that might be considered "weird" by the uninitiated-to-libraries people? Please tell me there is a library in Oregon that checks out seeds.

And finally, a couple congratulations:
First to the folks at the Broad Channel Library, which just reopened after being wrecked by Sandy,
And second to Paralibrarian of the Year 2013: Laura Poe.

Great Libraries on Film. No, really.

There was a great post by Jessamyn West a while back that guides journalists on how to represent library staff accurately in the media. We all know there is a significant gap between the most of the public's perception of libraries (shushing!) and what actually happens in them.  So, understandably, I was a little hesitant to look at this Bookriot list of Great Library Scenes In Film, however there were some pleasant surprises as many more "special collections" were included than expected. 

Are there any significant ones missing? Party Girl starring the indie darling Parker Posey is conspicuously absent, and has an hilariously vicarious exchange between library staff and a patron reshelving a book. Not that any of us would really ever do that.

Oh, and Doctor Who, of course, for an extra specially creepy library.

And a stereotypically outdated view of libraries in the latest round of superbowl ads.

What's your favorite library scene in a movie or television?  Did any of these particularly resonate with you? Do you find them to be accurate, or laughably misguided?