After 5 p.m. - Brain Dead

Hello and welcome to the show.
Here are your sites of the week:

New York Public Library offers collections of images that is truly AMAZING! (The image left is from their Dress & Fashion collection.)

We really could do more in the way of helping less able individuals get into the world of social networking. Think of it like when we had to teach people how to use the online catalog vs. the card catalog. Yea, like that!

Hey! We could add a title or two to this interesting web site Awful Library Books.

Top ten peeves by a librarian. No explanation needed.

The California State Library has joined Twitter. What I find profoundly sad about this post is that it was done in May and no one has commented on it. I think that the young public doesn't think libraries are hip places and won't use this kind of service. It is as if we are intruding into their domain. Many libraries, including ours, have tried to reach out through IM, but nobody wanted to play. Wait a few years and maybe...

Time to pack it up - until next time.

Hiatus Over

Putting on 5 programs in 5 weeks is quite a feat, one that couldn't be pulled off without the help of staff and volunteers. I come out on the other side satisfied with the accomplishments of all involved and ready to take up the blog once again. Here goes!

• File this under "What is to come" in public libraries everywhere! Another library system is abandoning the Dewey Decimal System (DDS) for what they call a "word based system" similar to bookstores. It could work here, couldn't it?


• File this one under "Hey, we could do this!" San Francisco Public Library now offers a "green card" that is made of corn. It sounds so Palo Alto!


• Haikus by a reference librarian are entertaining! Here is one example -

here till 5pm
i can answer your questions
glorious sources

• The National Library of Wales has posted photos on Flickr Commons. Wonder if our own Deborah Angel knows about this one? Oh, and scroll down to read the English if you can't read the Welsh! (Photo of dog is from this collection.)
  

Signing out -

Where Did I Go?

You are wondering why the posts stopped again? I am spending my blogging hours doing the Feed Your Head blog - which is fun as well! Check it out.

Have a great and relaxing weekend!

Another Installment

Friday afternoon diversions:

• Who knew that Mother's Day could be so interesting? Fraternal Order of Eagles? Or that there is "stinky" music for Mother's Day? (Check out more unsavory music here.)
• Famous folks with librarian moms. They didn't find many librarian dads.
• Could we get some of this?
• Add this to "What's in a name". Could be of interest to some students. It sure got my attention.
• Now I'm just getting lazy - here are the 5 most popular posts on WebWorkerDaily from this week.

Signing off until the spirit moves me again.

(The library sign comes from a Colorado Public Library. Reminds me of the Art Center sign. Catchy!)

National Library Week Goodies

Every year during National Library Week database vendors offer trials of their wares to us, the tireless library employees. Here are some that you may enjoy, with other festive offerings.

• Free access during April and May from Gale - See all available resources at their site: www.gale.com/libraryweek.


• ProQuest offering free, open access to three of our most popular student resources at www.proquestk12.com/go/celebrate.


• Crayola crayon has a couple nice pictures to color: http://www.crayola.com/calendar/detail.cfm?event_id=144&year=2006


• Librarians have been submitting photos to Flickr of their celebrations. Check it out here.


• A YouTube clip for NLW. (OK, it is lame but there are some good lines!)


• And PLEASE get the word out about the Earth Day activities going on City wide this weekend. (I can't get the homepage to open right now, so please find it yourselves on the webpage.)

I hope you all had a good week and everyone treated you kindly, especially Dave at DO who seems to get more than his share of the troubled.

Good Friday, Literally

Here we go:

• OK, so it isn't the end of the world that we won't officially be celebrating National Library Week (April 12-18). Here are some Post-Apocalyptic novels to fill the void.


• Or go and celebrate virtually on Second Life with other library workers - some of which have tails and all of which can fly.


• How about a World Digital Library? Sounds futuristic to me. "All restaurants are Taco Bell." Anyone know where that line comes from?


• This statement confuses me "“[p]eople with untreated severe mental illnesses may pose a greater risk to the future of America’s public libraries than does the invention of the Internet" (article is here). Hmm. I think that the mentally ill ON the Internet may be a problem, but a risk to the future? Interesting. I know the Downtown staff have some comments to add.


• Have a good weekend, enjoy Sunday off, and see you next week.

(The movie with the Taco Bell line is "Demolition Man". Beware the three rocks!)

Welcome the Weekend!

Friday diversions, enlightenment and entertainment:

Best of the Web from the Computers in Libraries conference. Suggestions by librarians for librarians. (I only wish the links were live.)
Ethnic Easter eggs from the Ukraine. Beautiful!
Photo of the Prez that would make a great READ poster.
Official Mark Twain web page with some rare photos, quotes and more.
National Library Week is April 12-18, and here are haiku to celebrate. Maybe you want to write one of your own and post it here?
Finally, for those of you with your thinking caps on, 5 things that point to what comes after Web 2.0
Enjoy your Friday afternoon.