"a library is an arsenal of liberty" - unknown the rarin' librarian has been visiting... Acton Memorial Library [MA] Aldrich Public Library [VT] Seattle Public Library [WA]

31jan00 "The Central St. Paul Public Library is a troublesome beauty of a building that, like its many Beaux-Arts cousins across America, does not yield readily to change." Year 2000 update of Merriam-Webster dictionary online now, though sucky press release doesn't tell you what any of those new words are. You can check out an excerpt from M-W's book on youth slang that will help you understand the language of dude sports.[researchbuzz] Happy 10th Anniversary ACQNET! Your ALA membership gets you a free email copyright tutorial. [what's gnu] 30jan00 Former SFPL assistant chief still under scrutiny and still defensive, even after moving to West Virginia. I guess all you have to do is confess to get freed.... the Chinese librarian is home again! 29jan00 Dickinson College's online petition and awareness page on the fate of Chinese librarian Yongyi Song. THE source of info on this topic. I would just love it if this whole episode gave librarians more of a sneaky, underworld, secret agent reputation. Techy article about China's Internet restrictions vaguely related to the Chinese librarian, but utterly fascinating in any case. I sure hope this guy is a librarian....[metafilter] Did you see Raiders of the Lost Ark? Those Amazon.com employees should be happy they no longer have to work here. 28jan00 This just in, check out the direction LISnews is heading in. Wow! Lawyers and librarians dig into the identity of the humans behind jurisline.com. A fine tale of research and inquiry. Don't miss the January update. 27jan00 NYTimes [via SF Gate] gives more perspective to Chinese librarian's "confession." Need to get out of that crufty library? Teach yourself book repair in your spare time like the Book Doctor. [lisnews] Vocablua Review is an informative and interesting monthly newsletter about words. The Vocabula folks also publish the Dimwit's Dictionary. [acqweb] ALA distributes Internet Toolkit at Midwinter conference, pissing off Intellecutal Freedom Committee. Hey, can I get that online....? 26jan00 Don't read this... get to Library Juice's Cuba supplement! I think the Lectric Law Library may be legit, but it is also very funny. Lawyers sue less, librarians get paid less. "There just has been a steady decline in funds. And once you pay for the upkeep, there's nothing left for salary increases. That's a big issue, considering what dot-com economics has done to this area" Do you believe the Chinese librarian confessed? 25jan00 I answer a question or two about libraries on the Seven Questions website. New Info For Social Change online. "Amazon & Alexa in bed together whispering to each other about you..." [cardhouse] Authors talk about the books they haven't read. [rwisdom] 24jan00 Some Georgia libraries fail to stock anti-Hillary book. Censorship or selection? And you think you read a lot.... you will either think this guy is nuts, or he rules. I am voting for Rules. So far. 23jan00 Harvard librarian discovers unpublished poetry by a world-renowned writer written in the blank back pages of an old book. Everyone knows the public library is the best place to check email when you're travelling. [lisnews] Presidential candidate and fitlering fan McCain advocates no federal money for libaries that don't filter. "When a mother or father drops their child off at the library they are entrusting the welfare of their child with the librarian" I'm sure this is news to most librarians.... New techie weblog on "the investigation of the digitiazation of bibliographic, archival, and cultural heritage materials": Acronymania! 22jan00 I am officially a librarian with an attitude, and in such good company, too! 21jan00 Cute little library moves down the street. [lisnews] Columbine library to be replaced with atrium, new library built someplace else. More library relocation: Clinton library in Arkansas taking land through eminent domain? 20jan00 The librarian of porn. Here's an all new reason to have trouble with Harry Potter books ... there's no girls in 'em! Librarians and educators respond to allegations of ancient books on their shelves. George W. Bush is married to a librarian and yet "often seems unable to articulate what, if anything, he has absorbed from his reading" More info on Tacoma PL's linkage to Amazon.com in their OPAC [scooped here in April] in a supplement in this week's Juice. 19jan00 Weird old netlibrary donating free eBooks to libraries nationwide. Libraries need to send their staff to training and offer "point-of-use materials" for these eBooks. One more recurring library/media theme: the book that was overdue for a zillion years. [lisnews] Looks like someone lost a little bit of steam over at ALA's midwinter conference.... 18jan00 A&E Network uses public libraries to shill for its Barnum films under the guise of a library display contest. There are a few recurring themes when the media writes about libraries: porn in libraries, library crime, and ancient books on the shelves. You rarely hear about the day long library demolition parties. 17jan00 Are you at ALA right now? Please take your favorite of these three pictures and make them the desktop image for every computer you use there. More on these pix and how you can submit your own in a few days... ALA getting in on the distance-learning-as-cash-cow bandwagon by undertaking to offer "web-based continuing education" for their members as part of their five year action plan I can find nothing else interesting to cite from Cognotes' "live" conference reporting, perhaps you can. "Oprah show spurs librarian to finish 'intensely sad' book" A librarian appears on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and somehow fails to win! The PubLib people have a very nice concise online reference desk area [aka a cybriography ] with good information about Internet and libraries. 16jan00 Dial-a-Mess. Dialog deals with competition from the nearly-free Internet [whatsgnu]: "Dialog had a chance at the inception of the Web to index it, in essence to be a Yahoo," says Jeffery Galt, the former [boss] "But we passed on it because we couldn't see how we could make money on it." Librarian fired for finishing cup of coffee in Florida. Tim O' Reilly discusses the economics of books vs. ebooks. For more of this kind of thing, consider joining the Studio B mailing list. 15jan00 Speaking of Buffy, here's an old favorite: How I Learned to Love Buffy While Dreaming of Overthrowing the Government from my favorite librarian comedians, The Marginal Librarian Gang. Do you know the difference between a prison library and a jail library? 14jan00 Like to read? Sarah Struble [recent MLS, congrats!] has compiled a list of peoples' writings on readings and rambled on reading a bit herself. Pennsylvanian librarian in China still screwed. 13jan00 Power lifting librarian demonstrates good book hefting technique... I saw Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the very first time last night. I am slowly immersing myself in librarian pop culture.... What do you think of inforocket, the so-called "EBay of the information field"? On first glance I thought it was a bunch of information professionals fighting to underbid each other to answer reference questions. On second glance it appeared to be a sophisticated, if slightly slimy way of assembling a highly authoritative Q&A database at low to no cost. On third glance I offered to try to answer a question about travel to Cuba. The pages load slowly, and there's not a very large question base yet [and some obvious wiseguys: "where do you come from?"] I'll keep you posted. They are hiring, though: "We are always looking for fun, creative and motivated people who want to help us change the world." Like, who isn't? 12jan00 By librarians, for everyone: Librarian's Index to the Internet has a snappy new URL. [researchbuzz] Powell's -- my favorite large non-sucky bookstore -- is having an online contest where you can win books. [brainlog] Mitch Freeman stepping in as editor of the U*N*A*B*A*S*H*E*D L*I*B*R*A*R*I*A*N. Yay! 11jan00 Topbestsellers.com claims to be "the most comprehensive bestseller list" though I notice they don't have a listings for gay or lesbian bestsellers. Here's what sells best at the indie bookstores. And is it me, or is Amazon's list of tomorrow's bestsellers completely creepy? 10jan00 The insane librarian: a sane introduction to metadata and the transparent handles project. 8jan00 Free Pint 99 index up already! [what's gnu] An essay in defense of the book: "In the ideal logotopia, every person would possess his own library and add at least weekly if not daily to it. The walls of each home would seem made of books; wherever one looked one would only see spines; because every real book is a mind, an imagination, a consciousness." 6jan00 Ook! LoC librarians may have placed Nazi loot on the shelves of our national library. Senator Specter to China: "let our librarian go!" Report on new SF library "fails to fulfill 'the typical library functions of a large central city library'" Consultants recommend $28 million in fixes, call library "a bit of a puzzle palace" Niche email reference service: the Foundation Center will answer your email queries about philanthropy, fundraising and nonprofit topics. I found this in Yahoo's email reference category. "Completely revised" OED online in March 2000 with new words like squeegee kid, and luvvy. [larkfarm] 3jan00 For all you sports fans, how about the Bookhouse Classifications? A new cosmic baseball team where all players are related to the LC subject headings. Gambling literacy? 2jan00 There will be a slow, gradual format change here as I make this log a bit easier to read and maybe a bit more ... uh ... I don't really know. Same dorky content, I guarantee it. Two sites for smaller niche librarians: SALIS for substance abuse librarians and this handy reference to copyright for music librarians. The electronic librarian is a verb: a lecture about electronic information "a puzzle whose puzzle master is part of the puzzle" Today's Librarian tackles innovative ways to try to manage patrons' use of the Internet.

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