An alumna returns to. . . the library, of course

Writing from study carrel 5749A, Northwestern University Library, 5th Floor South (aka "5 Green"). 

The approach from the South, gardens beside the Deering Library

Actually, the student assistant who gave me my computer password wrote "alumni" on her form, so that's what I entered on my guest log in as well;  so today I am a collective noun.  Probably I am representative of the group, since I came seeking both nostalgia and inspiration -- and to see what has changed.

Approach from the north -- the new library and the Deering Library

South Tower Stacks

Study Carrel

The carpet on the 5th floor is still green, though I'm happy to say that it is not the same carpet that was here when I was in school.  It also appears to be ecologically green, in that it is made up of replaceable squares, though I imagine that is true in the 'red' and 'gold' towers as well.  There is no west tower -- don't look for it -- though in the imaginations of those devising pledge pranks, it has blue carpet. 

North (Gold) Tower

 Digression. . . it's an art form.  It has taken me several hours to get from the first floor to the fifth, in part because I was taking photos, and in part because I allowed myself to be distracted by the "new acquisitions alcove."  That has an element of nostalgia, too -- I loved the new book display (then in a different location) as an undergraduate, and I loved the new book shelf in UNC's Library School library -- and I like the new book section of my public library.  The appeal is it's a library in miniature -- all the subjects, in manageable numbers.  Northwestern does not keep its dust jackets nor wrap its books in plastic, but they have used the book jackets to market the new books, so you find the book near its cover on the shelves.  After all, a lot of money goes into book marketing and design -- why not use it? 

New Acquisitions Alcove

New books!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am drawn in, and I find a lot of books that I am interested in.  Actually, I'd like to read most of them, but I make a selection.  Then I sit down in the comfy chairs and read the introductions to see if they are actually as interesting as those cover artists and title writers suggested.  They are, and I copy the ISBN numbers into Goodreads,  to my "to-read" shelf, which has a lot of books on it already. I love the search and scan features of the web site, since I've spent a lifetime copying ISBN numbers on the edges of bookmarks and other pieces of scrap paper in lots of book stores.   I'm proud of my use of technology and that I was actually able to move on -- to lunch at the Plaza Cafe (a brilliant re-imagining of space that had been intended as a 2nd entrance to the library but which never worked for that purpose.   In  part, staffing two entrances was a problem, and in part because, with only one building to the east of the library, there was no natural foot traffic from that direction.)

Plaza garden (a replacement for the original fountain and an end, I hope, to leaks into the library)

One of the many interesting things that Jonathan Kozol said about libraries in his article:  The Other America: giving our poorest children the same opportunities as our richest,  is that they should be beautiful, and inviting.  He goes on to say that most school libraries are not either one in our poorer schools.  I came to

Now the Cultural Center, this was Chicago's Central Library 

Northwestern as a scholarship student, but my Chicago Public Schools had decent libraries, and teacher-librarians.  Furthermore, I came from a family that valued education above all else.  I was taken to the Chicago Public Library at a young age, and had the great good fortune to have a sixth grade teacher and a public librarian who introduced us to the basics of research through a series of weekly lessons.  To complete our final project, we had to take ourselves to Chicago's Central Library (then on Michigan Avenue).  We learned a lot about research, but we also learned that an amazing piece of architecture, dedicated to books and learning, belonged to us.

I have now whiled away a lot of time here at the library -- enjoying the pleasure of reading and thinking about new ideas -- learning for its own sake.  I will return, at least in this space,  to the library to discuss what is the same and what is different -- and what important lessons lurk in the Kozol article.

First floor learning commons:  where the card catalog once stood

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A successful relay, a lovely sunrise

Today's weather -- partly cloudy

Hoping the last of the clouds blow through before tonight, since I'm walking in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life -- though I'd rather walk in the rain than in 95 degree weather! If you want to make a donation to the St. James team, you have until 9:00 pm tonight, CDT. [I'm substituting that last minute push for advertising early and often this year]. I'll be walking in honor and memory of Suzanne and Susan, and, always, for Robert, Bob, Marg, Bill, and Rosemary. And Sally Ride, and millions of other touched by this disease.

 Relay for Life Manitowoc County

A very interesting article on the future of libraries

The Bookless Library
It is nice to read an article with a good working knowledge of libraries from a non-librarian, though an academic faculty member at a major research university has a different perspective from a public library user in a small town.

I have yet to see any figures on the cost (economic and environmental) of everyone getting all their reading material and information electronically, and I think that it would be best to remember that we don't actually have any information on the longevity of electronic materials, in archival terms.

That doesn't mean that e-books are not a reasonable alternative for casual reading.  Most public libraries don't have historical collections, except for their own local history collections, and databases have already replaced most reference books. And certainly the more archives that can be digitized and added to the web, the better for researchers.  There are a lot of great local history and special collections projects already being done in libraries everywhere. 

And how did I find this fascinating article?  I subscribe to a great Internet comic, Unshelved, by email, and they linked to another online comic, Sheldon, which had a cartoon and blog post about e-books.

Follow me through cyberspace by starting with  Unshelved for Thursday July 26 2012

After the Rain

Not to focus too much on the weather, but it has been on all our minds this summer.  We finally got some rain -- maybe too much of a good thing.  I don't think it will help the corn much.  My lawn looks a little more alive -- what I can see of it under the fallen sticks and tree limbs.  No major damage,  but there are some big broken branches still in one tree, and I can't quite figure out where they came from, since they don't match the tree they're in. . . I need to look at it from another angle.

Finding the perspective to understand anything -- past, present, or future, is always the challenge.  A friend of mine and I have been talking about the future of libraries, especially the public library.  She has a good vision of what might be created, but it is hard to get that perspective on the future.  She sent me this interesting link to another blog The Ubiquitous Librarian

How could I not like an academic librarian talking about data and decision making and referencing The Very Hungry Caterpillar?   In addition to having excellent reading taste, he asks how we can plan for a future that is unclear using data from the past?  It's a fair question. 

In the course of my work as an online reference librarian, I look at a lot of library policies and a lot of library web pages.  Libraries are working hard to keep up with change, as they have all of my working life.  Libraries have always embraced new technology, and, often, made it their own.  We also have a long and important history of resource sharing. 

I've seen a lot of libraries looking at new models, not just providing databases, e-books, and other downloadable media, but reinventing their public spaces as well.   Almost all of them are using social media, and many allow interaction with the catalog -- tagging or rating books.   Urban UK libraries seem to have more newly imagined spaces, including cafes and child care, but a lot of libraries are working on the issue of relevance to the community in a lot of different ways.  If you have not looked at your own library's web site (or Facebook page or Twitter feed) check it out.

One of the issues is that, to date, our society's adoption of new information technology has been cumulative.  Movies did not replace stage plays, television did not replace movies, mobile video has not replaced television -- and the same is true in print media, and though newspapers have folded, many are still in print and viable.

I am sitting in the neighborhood coffee shop -- I have my computer, smart phone and a print book with me;  the daily print newspaper is on the counter for people to share, along with a rack of print magazines.  The library  across the street has almost the same profile, adding the thousands of books (and the need to bring your own coffee, which is allowed). 

Because people expect both cutting edge technology and traditional services, and because everything costs money, the cumulative effect is part of the questioning process.  We can't assume anything will go away, even if economics dictate cutbacks. The obligation of libraries to serve everyone in the community is also a factor -- it's where people go when they can't afford their own technology.  Public libraries have been the providers of public computers since the early 1990s, and now they are lending e-book readers and iPADs, and providing wireless Internet access to clients and visitors alike.  They also provide a lot of free education on the uses of technology -- both technical and content based. 


What's your perspective?

All of today's photos were taken at the Woodland Dunes Nature Preserve, Two Rivers, WI

Heat Advisory

Another heat advisory, another day in the library.  Your Kindle app won't get you a quiet air-conditioned workspace with free WiFi. . . though, as we library advocates are quick to point out, you can use your Kindle or other e-reader to borrow library books, and, if you have the Kindle Fire or the Nook Color, to access the library's free WiFi. 

I actually have a semi-quiet workspace, because my quest for electricity has me in the young adult corner of the youth space, and I can hear the clunk of blocks from the play corner.  Unusually enough, I have earphones with me, so I could log into iTunes and go totally 21st century, but I'm okay with people playing and reading aloud -- and even talking about books! 

Not quite unrelated picture of the day -- this is one of the book boxes that the United States Lighthouse Service sent to the Lighthouse Keepers.  Since Keepers were frequently moved to different locations, all the boxes were numbered, and a librarian somewhere made sure that people did not get the same box twice.

Friends of Rock Island State Park
Wisconsin Department of  Natural Resources: Rock Island State Park

Surrounded by books -- and knowing I already have too many checked out -- I have a lot of both respect for the librarians and sympathy for the Lighthouse Keepers and their families.  The lighthouse on Rock Island is restored to 1910 and is a lovely, airy space, even on a very hot July day.  It doesn't take much imagination though, to think that it might not have been quite so pleasant for a family of 10 in February, though they may have been able to move to larger Washington Island when the shipping lanes closed for the winter.  Still, I'm sure they looked forward to their boxes of books.

Lighthouses are mostly automated, now, and books are becoming so.  How does that change our experience of books and reading?  Race car driver Danica Patrick was recently advised by her fans [on Twitter, of course] that if she used an e-reader, no one would know that she was reading recent bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey.

She said:
"I'm holding the book, baby," she said. "I like to turn the pages. It's the same reason I like to take a cork out of a bottle of wine. It's romantic. I like to turn the pages and I like to see how far I am, and then I look over at my husband and I say, 'Look, honey, see how far I am?'
"I finished the 514 pages that were in that first book. It's sad I even know that, but it felt like a victory for me."For Danica Patrick, 50 Shades of Red (ESPN W)

I was on vacation with a friend who said she liked big bookmarks, because it was easy to see her place. I don't know if people looking at the page numbers of their e-readers feel the same way or not.  I read print books, but I do most of my news and sports reading on my phone or computer -- though I still have the New York Times on Sunday and Sports Illustrated and the New Yorker delivered to my house.  I like holding them in my hand.  But am I just fond of a relic from the past?  How much value does that "romantic" feeling Ms. Patrick described have, when e-books and boxes of wine are cheaper to produce?   Has anyone done the math on the environmental footprint of the electricity needed for e-reading (across all platforms) vs. the cost of printing, distributing and recycling print materials?

More important to my mind, has anyone done any brain research to see if we process electronic information differently?  And is that difference important?  I write non-fiction of all kinds -- this blog, work reports, curriculum plans, email, cover letters, resumes -- at the computer.  I learned, as a journalism student in a high school with manual typewriters, to compose at the typewriter,  and was perfectly trained for the transition to computers, which I have used throughout my working life.  However, I write fiction and poetry in longhand, and make corrections even on poems I've typed up on printed copies of the poem, with a pen, not on the computer.

Is it habit?  personal preference?  or does the physical medium make a difference?

Should we find out, before we decide to no longer teach handwriting in our schools?
Cursive out of Common Core Standards
Schools Debate Handwriting


It is easy for me to see the questions -- the answers are more difficult.  However, shouldn't we be questioning everything we do -- from changing our reading habits to changing our cultural institutions to global warming?  And shouldn't we find a way to return to civilized debate and scientific exploration rather than screaming at each other about issues too important and too complex to be reduced to sound bites or bytes?

The upside of the drought here in northeastern Wisconsin has been really beautiful, sunny days -- more than warm enough to go swimming, which is unusual. Of course, the water has to be clean enough to swim in, which is not true everyday.  So I would also like to ask some questions about xeriscaping, factory farming, and other threats to the Great Lakes.
Wisconsin Beach Health
Xeriscaping
Natural Landscaping University of Wisconsin Press (print or e-book)

An education revolution beckons in the digital age - KansasCity.com

An education revolution beckons in the digital age - KansasCity.com

I love Michael Wesch because he asks such good questions -- what are we doing, why are we doing it, how might it be different?

I was raised as an advocate for intellectual freedom, and have never been comfortable with limiting or filtering information.  I realize that this is a complex question in the digital world, but it's a fundamental philosophy question in child raising:  do you 'child proof' your home, or do you teach your child how to distinguish danger and react to it?  Obviously, in a perfect world, you do some of both.  However, creating a completely safe environment for a teen or young adult is not possible, so it's important that the child has a lifetime of moral values and decision making practice to use as they navigate the world.

I've been confused for a long time by discussions in schools that have two threads (and sometimes are discussed in the same meeting or time frame).  Thread A.  "What are we going to do about not having enough computers and internet access for all our students?"  Thread B.  "How can we keep students from using their cell phones / electronic devices in school?"   It seems that there is an obvious relationship between the answers to the two questions -- what if, instead of spending a lot of time and effort on B, we used the power of personal electronics to help solve A?  To be fair, some high schools are beginning, too slowly, to do this.  Are there risks?  Yes, but manageable ones.  Students who are determined to cheat will find a way to do so, but the answer to that is not taking away the tools of cheating (which include pens, pencils, and chewing gum) but to creating engaging assessments that are not based on memorization, and therefore don't lend themselves to cheating. And there are other ways to create disincentives or change the school culture as well.

I know change is difficult, and I also know that there is a lot of work going on in education today to try to use new media and technology tools,  and  to engage students in creative work -- some of it spectacular, some of it stymied by rules and fears. 

So what is the answer?  What should education look like in 20 years?  or 5?

Unrelated picture of the day:

It's Not All About You: What Privacy Advocates Don't Get About Data Tracking on the Web - The Atlantic

It's Not All About You: What Privacy Advocates Don't Get About Data Tracking on the Web - The Atlantic

Very interesting and well written article.  Everyone using the Internet should read it with care.

Please and Thank You

Found this following one of those "most emailed links" having gone to NPR from the National Weather Service's Facebook post on the article "What if Dorothy Had A Smartphone". . .  As a lifetime feature article reader, I do like these random ideas and articles -- when I don't find look up from the computer to find I've been reading for hours.

So, are people less polite?  I remember noticing, when I was in Spain in the summer of 2001, that people there took time to chat before beginning a transaction in a store -- and I understood why people elsewhere thought US citizens rude.  If that trend to the bottom line without even a little bit of politeness, that seems to be a bad thing.

Since I mentioned it, here's the tornado story:  http://www.npr.org/2012/03/13/148525605/tornado-tech-what-if-dorothy-had-a-smartphone

And here's a shout out to the NPR URL creators, who include the name of the article in the link.  What an easy classification tool.

Photo of the day:  Ice on the Bay -- Nicolet Bay Beach, Peninsula State Park, Door County, WI

Overview of responses | Pew Internet & American Life Project

Pew Internet and American Life:  Connected Lives

I'm happy to see someone is thinking about the relationships between hyperconnectivity and society -- what do you think?

Home - iPhone Appography - SJSU Subject Guides (LibGuides) at San Jose State University Library

Home - iPhone Appography - SJSU Subject Guides (LibGuides) at San Jose State University Library

I thought this was interesting -- not just for the content, but for the idea of creating a bibliography of apps.  They think it will be the bibliography of the 21st Century -- what do you think?

I admit, I've been thinking about the conflict of technologies -- because it's March, and I'm a major fan of college basketball, I have an app on my phone called Bracket Bound (I actually have a whole folder of sports apps, but that's another story).  I also have a TV subscription with a DVR.  Because I don't want to put my entire life on hold for two weeks, I've set it up to record the games of my favorite teams and conferences.  Well and good, but that also means I have to avoid not only the Bracket Bound notifications, but also the Facebook posts of my good friends at the UNC Alumni Association, Northwestern Alumni Association, UNC Athletics, and NU Athletics.  And, though more 20th century but still on my phone,  the "Breaking News" email notifications from The Daily Northwestern. 

It makes one think about both the positives and negatives of knowing everything instantly.  This, of course, has always been a problem for time shifters.  Long before the invention of the DVR, one Chicago television station used to replay the Bears game at 10:30 at night.  The news stations, even on competing channels, used to warn people before they gave the score, so those planning to watch the replay could leave the room and still enjoy the game.

I love my phone, and, even if my apps reflect my interests -- the most money I've spent for an app was for the New York Times Crossword Puzzles -- I like many aspects of being connected all the time -- but I think we should be talking more about the advantages and disadvantages.  And that's before we get to the serious ethical issues -- like the new Google  Policy and what the trade offs will be among safety, privacy, and instant access.

Still fond of school libraries -- sign this petition

Apparently, the President wants to know what the people of America think about issues.  What a concept!  I do believe that we could return to representative democracy and a place where we can debate things rather than shouting at each other. . .

http://wh.gov/Tzj

 I think school libraries need more than just certified librarians -- they need certified librarians that have the time to create curriculum and teach, they need trained support staff to maintain the collection and help kids borrow books, and they need computers as well as books.  And probably a few ebook readers as well.  But this is a start, so go ahead and sign the petition -- and create your own.

This Thanksgiving week I am more grateful than ever before for my family, my church community, and my friends.  Remember to be grateful for all we have this week.  Happy Thanksgiving. 

 

I'm the 99

American Schools in Crisis

American Schools in Crisis


A little food for thought as we move through the Labor Day weekend -- how are we honoring workers this year?

Another Word Picture

I love these word pictures.  This is the word picture for my collection of bookmarks on Copyright found at http://www.delicious.com/aahunc/copyright

Librarians often are asked copyright questions, and sometimes we explain the rules even when that's not popular information.  It is both complex and controversial -- but people also want credit for the work they've done. I still think the best information on the subject of copyright in education comes from the Stanford University Libraries.    I know people are looking for a quick and easy list of what to do or not do -- if you find one, let me know.

Click on this symbol to find out about Creative Commons Licenses

How I spent my summer vacation. . .
I learned about this from a student in my library management class today;  it makes word cloud shapes.  This star is the word cloud of my bookmarks saved on Delicious.com;  more than 3000 of them from many years of being a school librarian and saving bookmarks.  This program has a lot of shapes, and it is fun, as well as having potential as a literacy and writing tool. 

You can type in any URL and then choose a shape.  This is News and Views from Norway today.

Norway

I've been getting my news on the tragedy in Norway from this website, Views and News from Norway, published by a woman I knew at Northwestern.  It is interesting to read most days -- I've been their Facebook Friend for some time -- but an important front line source in difficult times.

If you want to try for an international perspective in news, this site from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and this one from the Internet Public Library are useful.  The feature on "Today's Front Pages" from the Newseum in Washington, DC is fun as well as informative.    They don't replace a good collection of newspaper databases, but they do provide perspective that's sometimes lacking in our U.S. focused news reporting.

Where do you turn when something happens?  Where do you get your news each day?

What happens on the Internet every 60 seconds

What happens on the Internet every 60 seconds

I saw this posted on the Appleton Public Library website; they got it from MSNBC. It's a beautiful graphic, and it shows clearly why information overload is a challenge. Of all those things out there -- how many of them are important? Interesting? Vital? Nonsense?

I've used a lot of new tools this summer, and many of them are designed to collect and organize information, but does that really create organization, or does it just tempt us to click on everything and save it for later? Have any cultural anthropologists looked at our obsession with documenting every moment of our lives -- a hundred times? I know children less than 6 months old who have 300 pictures on Facebook. Who is going to have time to look through all this stuff? Of course, I shot well over 300 pictures during my two weeks in Ireland -- on film. It isn't the medium. . . entirely.

Future of Libraries -- or at least, Federal Support for Libraries

This was in my wikispaces inbox this morning -- if you go to the web site, you do have to sign in, but you can do so with a variety of IDs, including Google.  You have the opportunity to both create a comment on what you think the future direction of the institute should be, and to vote on the comments and ideas already posted.  

I think the library world sometimes becomes too inwardly focused, and is too quick to complain -- here's a chance to say what you think in a forum where you'll be heard.  Check it out.

From IMLS to members of imlsupnext   Jul 20, 2011 4:36 pm

Dear Colleague,

Did you know that there is an exciting conversation going on about future directions for the Institute of Museum and Library Services? On Friday, July 15 we launched http://imls.ideascale.com to engage the public in discussions that will help to shape our next five-year strategic plan. Since Friday, over 90 people have joined in. They are sharing new ideas, voting to agree or disagree with ideas and providing comments. We will use this input to help develop our plan, which will provide a roadmap for future activities, help us communicate clearly and concisely about agency results, and provide for accountability.

We know the years ahead will be full of rapid change and we want your ideas about how we can carry out our statutory responsibility “to support museum, library, and information services to meet the information, education, research, economic, cultural, and civic needs of the people of the United States.”

So visit http://imls.ideascale.com and participate. You may want to check on the conversation a few times during the coming weeks to see new ideas and add your comments. The site will be open for business until August 12, 2011.

I hope that you will participate and share this message with your networks.

Sincerely,

Susan H. Hildreth
Director, Institute of Museum and Library Services

The Connected Life

I have always paid attention to new books wherever I am;  I don't think either collection development or professional reading are things you do only at your desk.  I used to spend time in bookstores writing down titles and ISBN numbers of books I thought would be good for the library -- now I capture the ISBNs with the "red laser" bar code app on my phone.  [it takes about the same amount of time, actually].

This morning, I opened the daily Unshelved in my email -- and if you're not reading this library comic every day, you should be -- and found an ad for this book TouchPoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments.  I followed the link and read part of the sample chapter.  I went from there to my public library Manitowoc Public Library and looked for the book in the catalog, after signing in.  It wasn't there, so I clicked on the "I need material" tab and was given the option to create an interlibrary loan request or to recommend a purchase.  I recommended that the library purchase the book, including the link to the Wiley page.  The automatic message promised that the library staff would get back to me but recommended I call the library if I needed something immediately.  [And we need to continue to provide that option, and the really old fashioned option of going to the library and talking to someone.].  I then logged into Goodreads and added the book to my [ever growing] "to-read" list. 

Even though all my interactions have to do with reading a print book, I used six web sites (including my email program and this one) to discover, explore, recommend and capture the information about this book.

People talk all the time about the digital generation, and about how students are constantly connected, and this is what they're talking about. The readings all focus on the creativity piece, and the sharing piece -- which I'm doing right now.   It's similar to what Jenny: The Learning Librarian said about students creating their own videos of summer camp. 
 
My point today is that we need to be sure that our students can access all these tools and use their phones or other devices to access them.  I think the risks (cheating, distraction) are worth the rewards (engagement, remembering assignments, finding new connections). 

I'm not losing sight of some of the concerns about capturing experiences rather than having them (a concern my camp counselors had about still photography as well) or the importance of  human interaction. We need to talk about those another day -- possibly after we've read the book. 

Hemlock Trail Peninsula State Park, WI

Every day should have a picture.