Lari's Bookshelf

Web librarians, ebranch librarians, cybrarians and other similar terms are proliferating the literature of the library world. What exactly do these terms mean and when will librarians stay ahead of the curve and finally be able to provide the finished product of the best library website ever? There's the rub. They can't. What is relevant now will be obsolete before you know it. Technology changes a lot in just a few years, and sure, there are ways for librarians to create websites that can stay relevant longer (especially when taking UX and accessibility standards into consideration). But if websites aren't quick to adapt to what users want and when they want it, they will fail to provide a friendly user-centered experience. We have to start thinking about library web services as always evolving. Websites aren't buildings. When we think of a library's website in terms of a digital branch, we might think of the old brick and mortar concept of...

Image: Naypong / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Some have pontificated that the future of all education will be free . Others have said this future is "already here." I think we're still in transition, since so many are still not bought on the idea, even though resources may be available. The Problem Education is expensive. With rising tuition costs and the fact that student debt is at over a trillion dollars in the US, the idea of going to college for free sounds too good to be true. But what if it is a feasible reality for more than the average Joe in the future? And what if "this problem" exists or is aggravated with our perceptions of what education is or what it should be? The Potential Solution I don't even want to attempt to compile a list of free educational resources and courses after seeing this amazingly awesome post at Mark and Angel Hack Life . (Seriously, if you get a few moments check out this fabulous resource.) I will reco...

Existentialism One of the main themes of early to mid 20th century, is this theme of the existential crisis of the individual. While planes and cars and the radio connected societies, individuals who went off to war were stripped of their humanity. World War I and II offered technological horrors never before seen, and men and women were trained to live as cogs in a military machine that was indifferent to human interests. This caused a huge internal conflict within many. There is a fabulous speech by Charlie Chaplin in the film, "The Great Dictator." Someone uploaded this and matched it with a song from the Inception soundtrack, take a few minutes to watch this: The part of the speech I want to highlight, is the part where Chaplin depicts the general sentiments that I'm trying to illustrate regarding technological advancements vs. the isolation and brutality of humanity in the first half of the 20th century: "We have developed speed, but we have shut ...

My Nooky-Nook I was pleased to find the article Free E-books for Happy Patrons  in Booklist Online's The Corner Shelf. In it, author Rebecca Vnuk shares some great online resources librarians and library patrons can use to access free ebooks. The great thing about it is that you don't have to be a library patron or librarian to appreciate the following list: InkMesh  is a search engine that searches over 30 online sources for free e-books. You can search by title or author. Project Gutenberg , the original site for free text online, offers more than 33,000 free books that play nicely with any e-reader platform. You’ll find mostly classics and public-domain works here. No registration is required, and the site is easy to use. A nice feature is their “bookshelves”—collections grouped by topic. Baen Books , publisher of science fiction and fantasy, offers a number of their titles as free downloads. Established authors such as Eric Flint, Lois McMaster Bujold, Merced...

There's a new 2012 calendar and it features information professionals or librarians. It's called Men of the Stacks  (FYI: some of the pics may be considered risqué) and it breaks the stereotype of what people typically consider a librarian to be: "We know what people think: Dewey, glasses, shushing, books, hairbuns, Party Girl and card catalogs.  Yes, we know what people think.  We know that the American library profession is approximately 80% White and 72% female; and we know that tens of thousands of librarians are expected to reach age 65 in the next 5 years.  We also know that this is not us." - MOS: The Calendar The thing that pleased me about this calendar, is that all of its proceeds are going to the It Gets Better Project , a movement designed to help struggling LGBTQ youth who are coming out in their communities. By the way, if you haven't seen George Takei's video contribution to a related organization, called The Trevor Project (which work...

If you're a neurotically indecisive reader like me, you probably need some help when trying to figure out what to read next. Here are some websites that go above and beyond generic recommendations. These tend to offer a dynamic and user friendly interface for someone solely seeking book or author recommendations. 1. YourNextRead.com Simply search for a book you like, and a little map of related titles will pop up. It saves a history of the books you browse during your session, and provides easy access to websites where you can purchase the book or find more reviews. You can even create an account, make your own maps, and share them. If you like this you may also want to check out YourNextFilm.com and, if you're a gamer, YourNextGame.com . 2. Whichbook.net I'm a huge fan of this website's user interface. It allows you to browse books based on what you "feel" like reading at any given moment. You can choose if you want something long or short, v...

Banned Books Week started yesterday. I always love this time of year because it reminds everyone that it is always important to be vigilant against censorship, and strive to maintain access to all information within a free society. Here is some information on the most frequently challenged books in the 21st century. That's right folks, in a so called "free society" there are people who think that they have the right to deny other people access to materials they don't like reading. The following is the top ten list for 2010 : And Tango Makes Three , by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson  Reasons: homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian , by Sherman Alexie  Reasons: offensive language, racism, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence Brave New World , by Aldous Huxley  Reasons: insensitivity, offensive language, racism, and sexually explicit Crank ,...

Okay, so a lot of people say that e-readers never will replace print because they just, well, love paper books so much. I get it. When I get a new hardbound book and crack open the cover for the first time, the smell is intoxicating. I swear publishers put some kind of drug in the book binding glue to make it so addictive. But I also love my e-reader, and have been using it more and more... and in some cases, I'm preferring it over some paper books (because it isn't as heavy). Also, in June 2011, adult paperback books plunged 64% from last year, while e-book sales went up 161 percent . This suggests that while many hardcover books are still being purchased (though it dropped 25 % in the same month), people who just want to read a book for the sake of the words, and not the format (i.e. paperback readers), are starting to gravitate towards e-books. Libraries have growing digital collections, and some libraries have already started lending e-readers . I think in the future,...

Libraries and library users love  Mango . I'm not talking about the fruit, but the awesome learning program that allows English speakers to learn a foreign language, and gives non-native English speakers access to valuable ESL courses. These services aren't free and libraries invest a lot of money to give their patrons access to these online courses. That is why many will be pleased to know that you can now download and install a free app on your smartphone that will allow you to use and access Mango, well, pretty much anywhere. Mango Mobile Before you'll be able to use this app, you will first have to set up a Mango Language account through your library's website using your library card number. If you've already done this, great! Once you have done that, do the following to get Mango on your mobile device: 1. Go to your app store, and search for "Mango Languages". 2. Select, download, and install "Mango Languages Library Edition."...

I've been participating in a discussion online regarding teen books and profanity. I believed the premise of the discussion was based on a false dichotomy, and therefore, a lot of things that were said started to make my spidey senses tingle that censorship lurking was lurking somewhere in between the lines. The question posed at the beginning of the discussion was this: Profanity in Books? Necessary or Bothersome? A false dichotomy is when someone is presented with an idea and only two choices on how to act or think. Now while the original poster (who I much appreciate for starting this discussion) commented that she did indeed find some profanity in books as "necessary." However, I disagree. For instance, from my point of view, to have a book, it isn't NECESSARY to have profanity. Necessary adj. Required to be done, achieved, or present; needed; essential Sure, a book could artistically be better off or a character could be better developed with profa...

I just got the ALA Graphics catalog in the mail. Here are some posters I'd like to have: Carl Sagan History Poster Harry Potter Characters Poster Set Ewan McGregor Read Poster In fact these, or any bookmarks of these graphics would be great. Just contact me if you get a hold of some and  I'll give you the address to send them my way. ;) Also, I was able to come across a few Jorge Garcia READ posters from my public library here in Hawaii. LOST fans will recognize him as the beloved Hurley. I'm planning on giving some away soon. So after I announce the winners for the autographed copy of Princess Academy and pens , I'll be putting together another giveaway for these posters. LOST in a good book?

Please check out my guest post for Library Crush week on the blog Just a YA Girl ! Thanks a ton to Trish for giving me the opportunity to share. Also, I will be posting my review of "Ashfall" this week. Things have been crazy lately, so I need to get my act together and organize my ever growing reading list. It's starting to become overwhelming. Speaking of books, I love this recent picture book by Lane Smith called, "It's a Book." The trailer is pretty darn cute too. Bibliophiles will appreciate it.

My first REALLY cool experience with a library was when I started attending community college at 17. I walked into the Molstead Library on NIC campus, and there was this big " Banned Books Week " display. It sucked me in. There were all these books that I knew of or even loved on display with chains around them: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , Of Mice and Men , Harry Potter, Brave New World , and more. I had no idea that books were even BANNED in America. I grew up believing that libraries in a "free society" were bastions of free information to any and all who would want it. I had heard of stuff like that happening in tyrannical, despotic nations, and in the past, but in modern day U.S.A.?  It was unheard of to me. Of course, I was a naive, then. Hardly aware of the necessity for ALA's "Banned Books Week." The issue of preventing censorship in libraries eventually became one of my passions. When I was a student at Brigham Young University, I ha...

1. Ask a Patron What They Plan on Doing with Their Checkout If you are a librarian or library para-professional, and someone asks you to find something for them, don't ask them what they are doing with the information. Even if it seems harmless. For example, let's say someone asks you for a book on flower arrangements, and you say, "Oh! Are you planning a wedding? Because I used an awesome book for my wedding blah blah blah." Then they look at you solemnly, and says it's for the funeral of a loved one. I'm not saying don't perform a reference interview. Just don't ask personal questions or get personal yourself. It's just better not to go there. 2. Engage in Conversation with a Person Who Is Telling You Too Much This problem arises from an opposite situation to the one mentioned above. You get an overly eager patron, who is chatty and starts to tell you every little detail about their event/party/book club/study group/project., their person...

Libraries are absolutely at the center of my life. Since I couldn't afford to go to college, I attended the library three or four days a week from the age of eighteen on, and graduated from the library when I was twenty-eight. - Ray Bradbury Even though my local Borders store closed a few months back , I have to admit, when I first heard Borders was closing all their stores, a little part of me was sad . OK, maybe a big part of me. I have lots of memories sitting in that store, browsing books and magazines, studying for an exam, etc. Of course, I realized I still had access to books, but nostalgia can suck big time. After I boohooed for a bit, I read this fantastic opinion piece inspired by Mitch Albom's hyper-emotional response to the the end of Borders' "magic." Then that thing, lurking around in my subconscious, came bursting to the surface: Borders kind of had it coming. Not only that, but it seemed that people were overly concerned about the demise of...

I have already written a little bit about OverDrive and how to access your library's digital collection , but this post is focused on how to browse, checkout and download your eBook after you've downloaded and installed the necessary software . Note: You will need to download and install Adobe Digital Editions before you try downloading a book from the library's digital eBook collection. You can download and install ADE from here .) The Search for the Perfect eBook So I'm on my library's OverDrive homepage , and I want to browse the eBooks available. I can look for eBooks in one of two ways, I can either browse titles, or narrow my search with an advanced search. Browsing Links Advanced Search Page For beginners, I'd recommend browsing titles before trying to do an advanced search, so you get used to what kind of formats and genres are generally available from your specific library. Otherwise, you may conclude a few advanced searches with zero ...

Here is a picture of what my library books look like: ...well maybe not all of my library books. But most. With only one car and a good 20 minute drive or so to my nearest library, I find it more convenient to check out books from my library through the internet. The Hawaii Public Library System has an Overdrive collection as do many other public libraries across the country. The fabulous thing about libraries that use OverDrive is that all the technical quirks, issues, and methods of checking out an e-book or e-audiobook, are the same at every library. So once you learn how to do it at one library, you know how to do it at all the others. Since some library websites can be a pain in the arse to navigate, I thought I'd share a simple way of finding out whether or not your library has a digital overdrive collection. Go to OverDrive's website located at  http://overdrive.com/  and type in your zip code in the field as shown in the image below: Once you type in your...