PLA 2010 Conference: Panelists for Top Tech Trends Named
After panel at ALA Midwinter featuring academic librarians, it's time to focus on public library issues.
Mea Culpa: The Flickr Commons Lives
Around the end of January I cast doubt on the ability of the Flickr Commons to persist, which I based on the message they had posted on their pag...
Just One More Business | From the Bell Tower
Steven Bell thinks higher education institutions should be more mindful of actions that suggest they are operating just like businesses.
Something There Is That Doesn’t Love a Wall | Peer to Peer Review
Barbara Fister wonders how long we’ll let our organizations fence us in.
Report on Economics of Digital Preservation Says Act Now, with Interim Efforts Fine
Task force formed by major digital funders, Library of Congress, UK’s JISC.
In Survey of Academic Librarians and Ebooks, Pointers Toward a Better System
Respondents to HighWire Press comment on features, selection, format, DRM, and business models.
Just One More Business | From the Bell Tower
Steven Bell thinks higher education institutions should be more mindful of actions that suggest they are operating just like businesses.
Something There Is That Doesn’t Love a Wall | Peer to Peer Review
Barbara Fister wonders how long we’ll let our organizations fence us in.
Just One More Business | From the Bell Tower
Steven Bell thinks higher education institutions should be more mindful of actions that suggest they are operating just like businesses.
Something There Is That Doesn’t Love a Wall | Peer to Peer Review
Barbara Fister wonders how long we’ll let our organizations fence us in.
In Survey of Academic Librarians and Ebooks, Pointers Toward a Better System
Respondents to HighWire Press comment on features, selection, format, DRM, and business models.
Courant: Libraries as Collective Key to Bibligraphic Reliability in a Digital World
From a policy brief, titled Checking Out the Future: Perspectives from the Library Community on Information Technology and 21st-Century Librar...
Providence Branches Said To Be Thriving After Split, But Questions Remain
Like a lot of people in the library world, I'm wondering how the Providence Community Library, the fledgling nonprofit that operates the branches i...
Broward County Libs Offering Free Communication to Haiti
Internet and telephone access available at three branches for 30 days
Remembering Our Challenge: What to do About It
Yesterday I threw down the gauntlet about engaging more women in technical positions in libraries. Today I take up that gauntlet, and try to enum...
San Jose PL Could Lose 35% of Budget, Lay Off More than 100 Staff
Branches could remain open only three days a week
PLA 2010 Conference: Webcomic Takes on Audiobook DRM
A webcomic cites the barriers presented by DRM; OverDrive says more formats without it are coming.
PLA 2010 Conference: Where To Eat in Portland
Restaurant selections for the Public Library Association (PLA) Conference in Portland, courtesy of Fodor's
LJ and SLJ Have Got PLA 2010 Covered
LJ’s and SLJ's joint coverage of the Public Library Association 2010 Conference, with articles and blogs on author appearances, award winners, vendor products, sessions and panels, and top tweets
Webcast: Beyond Subject Headings: Adding Appeal to the Art of Suggesting Books
Adjectives are key to how we talk about RA.
San Jose PL Could Lose 35% of Budget, Lay Off More than 100 Staff
Branches could remain open only three days a week
San Jose PL Could Lose 35% of Budget, Lay Off More than 100 Staff
Branches could remain open only three days a week
Google’s Book Scanning Project a Key Element of Translation Power
A fascinating article in today's New York Times, headlined Google’s Computing Power Refines Translation Tool, explains how Google has vaulted...
Remembering Our Challenge
A topic that is certainly appropriate for me to revisit on International Women's Day is the gender imbalance within library technical positions. Al...
PLA 2010: They Might Want to Change the Name of This Session
I know it's not the fault of the presenters, because they couldn't have predicted the dismaying news about the recall of Toyota vehicles, but there...
A Caution Regarding the Much Lauded “This Book is Overdue!”
I haven't yet read Marilyn Johnson's much lauded (including by LJ, plus video) new book This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Sa...
PLA 2010: LJ/SLJ-ers To Watch Out for in Portland
Francine Fialkoff
Editor-in-Chief, LJ
Roy Futterman
Ad Sales Director
Barbara Genco
Collection Management Editor, LJ
Josh Hadro
Associ...
In a Gulf State, Vending Machines Touted as Future Libraries
While one exhibit at the 20th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair probably doesn't tell the full story, it looks like library service in the Gul...
27 Graphic Novels for Women’s History Month
Worst women’s comics news for 2009: DC cancelled Birds of Prey, the long-running and much-loved series about a superheroine team. Best news for early 2010: the Birds will be back. Below, some well-reviewed recent titles, a few interesting older titles, and a smattering of forthcoming ones for Women's History Month.
Teach a Zine Librarian To Fish: Zine Distro Reviews
My fellow zine librarians and I have recommended nearly 50 zines since this column debuted two years ago. This time around we thought we'd go a little meta and give selectors an idea of where to go to find and order zines their own selves. To that end, we are reviewing zine distros.
Teach a Zine Librarian To Fish: Zine Distro Reviews
My fellow zine librarians and I have recommended nearly 50 zines since this column debuted two years ago. This time around we thought we'd go a little meta and give selectors an idea of where to go to find and order zines their own selves. To that end, we are reviewing zine distros.
Steampunk: 20 Core Titles
Steampunk is everywhere. A subgenre of science fiction, it typically employs a Victorian setting where steam power and advanced technologies like computers coexist. Here, librarian John Klima picks ten classics and ten recent titles for a well-rounded collection.
Books for Dudes: Murder by Death; Or How Mysteries Will Help You Live Longer
Mystery series are where it’s at; through these books we can get a sense of the detective. It’s been shown that those who develop meaningful relationships with others live longer. Who says these others have to be real people?
Having It All: 27 Graphic Novels for Women’s History Month
Worst women’s comics news for 2009: DC cancelled Birds of Prey, the long-running and much-loved series about a superheroine team. Best news for early 2010: the Birds will be back. Below, some well-reviewed recent titles, a few interesting older titles, and a smattering of forthcoming ones for Women's History Month.
The Lost Paper of VALA
Last month I was lucky enough to attend the VALA 2010 Conference in Melbourne.The keynote speech on the last day was to be given by Lee Rainie of...
The Lost Paper of VALA
Last month I was lucky enough to attend the VALA 2010 Conference in Melbourne.The keynote speech on the last day was to be given by Lee Rainie of...
LJ Buyout: What’s in It for You, and Us
Media Source, a library company, is a good fit for LJ.
PLA 2010 Conference: Plenty for the Price
LJ's Rebecca Miller tells those heading to this year's PLA conference in Portland how to get around, advises on making the experience paperless, and shares LJ's picks of the conference's best programs.
Professional Media
Pantry, Sheila & Peter Griffiths . How To Give Your Users the LIS Services They Want . Facet , dist. by Neal-Schuman. 2009. 224p. index. ISBN 978-1-85604-672-5 . pap. $85. PRO MEDIA Though written by British authors and imported from the UK, this book is a tremendous resource for all U.S. libraries, as most of them tend not to focus on market and user research and could benefit—and...
Arts & Humanities
Arts Albers, Josef . Interaction of Color: New Complete Edition . 2 vols. Yale Univ. 2009. 300p. illus. ISBN 978-0-300-14693-6 . $200. FINE ARTS Bauhaus pioneer Albers (1888–1976) fled Nazi Germany in 1933 to teach at the now legendary Black Mountain College in North Carolina. He was among the creative talents who made that small institution disproportionately famous for its assimilati...
Fiction
Brew-Hammond, Nana Ekua . Powder Necklace . Washington Square: S. & S. Apr. 2010. c.256p. ISBN 978-1-4391-2610-3 . pap. $15. F This debut novel is based loosely on the author's experiences. Lila, the teenage daughter of divorced parents from Ghana, lives in London with her mother until she is sent to an all-girls' boarding school in Ghana.
Southern Charm
Crouch, Katie . Men and Dogs . Little, Brown . Apr. 2010. c.288p. ISBN 978-0-316-00213-4 . $23.99. F When Hannah Legare was a young girl, her father disappeared on a routine fishing trip. Years later, Hannah finally confronts her past when she is forced to recuperate at home in Charleston, SC, after a drunken accident in San Francisco.
British Chick Lit
Holden, Wendy . Beautiful People . Sourcebooks . Apr. 2010. c.432p. ISBN 978-1-4022-3715-7 . pap. $14.99. F British author Holden (Filthy Rich) deftly weaves several plotlines to an ending in rustic Italy, where Galaxia, a blockbuster Star Wars knockoff, is shooting. Darcy Prince, a serious London theater actor, is tapped as the next Hollywood It Girl but questions the system as she is forced...
Audio
Fiction Auster, Paul . Invisible . 6 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 8½ hrs. Macmillan Audio from BBC Audiobooks America . 2009. ISBN 978-0-7927-6707-7 . $74.95; 6 CDs. retail ed. Macmillan Audio; digital download. F Auster himself narrates his 15th novel—following Man in the Dark (2008), also available from Macmillan Audio and BBC Audiobooks America—which deals with incestuous ...
Video
Fiction Armchair Thriller. Set 1 . 4 vols. color. 487+ min. Robert Tronson & others, Thames Television Prod. , dist. by Acorn Media, 888-870-8047; www.acornonline.com. 2009. DVD UPC 0-54961-82789-3. $59.99. F This four-volume set of psychological thrillers involving ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances was originally televised in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s to great success.
BackTalk: What a Library Closure Taught Me
In April 2007, Ashland, OR, police sergeant Malcus Williams was called to the town's public library to end a sit-in by about 20 preteens protesting the closing of the city library. The sergeant read the protesters a story—Mo Willems's Leonardo the Terrible Monster—and escorted them from the building.
Mystery
Teamwork Whether it is a sign of the times or just a plot device, mystery writers are showcasing how people can join forces to solve crimes and form relationships that go beyond the job. The individuals frequently differ from each other but find they can work well together in what becomes a familylike environment.
Reference
Atlases Atlas of Global Christianity . Edinburgh Univ. , dist. by Columbia Univ. Oct. 2010. 400p. illus. maps. index. ed. by Todd M. Johnson & Kenneth R. Ross . ISBN 978-0-7486-3267-1 . $250. REF Johnson (director, Ctr. for the Study of Global Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) and Ross (Edinburgh Univ.
Feedback
While I have no quibble with LJ hosting the Annoyed Librarian blog, I take affront with the nature of John Berry's defense against complaints of unprofessionalism (“Don't Muzzle Librarians,” Blatant Berry, LJ 1/10, p. 10). That we value, as a profession, freedom of expression, is not to say that it is the professional duty of librarians to say whatever they like.
News Briefs
Lorber HT Digital holding company Hidden Treasures Inc. has acquired Kino International Corp. to form a new distribution entity, Kino Lorber Inc., in a move that combines their holdings to 600-plus titles. The respective operations will continue to release films under their established monikers, as well as under Lorber's Alive Mind, for documentaries.
Short Takes
Erickson, Hal . Encyclopedia of Television Law Shows: Factual and Fictional Series About Judges, Lawyers and the Courtoom, 1948–2008 . McFarland . 2009. 307p. ISBN 978-0-7864-3828-0 . $45. REF Inspired in part by Paul Bergman and Michael Asimow's Reel Justice and Elayne Rapping's Law and Justice as Seen on TV, this entertaining reference offers, by comparison, an encyclopedic approach t...
Science & Technology
Agriculture Craige, Betty Jean . Conversations with Cosmo: At Home with an African Grey Parrot . Sherman Asher . May 2010. c.136p. photogs. index. ISBN 978-1-890932-37-4 . $19.95. PETS Although parrots are often credited with astounding gifts of mimicry, these misunderstood birds are largely believed to be incapable of more.
People
Barry Adams recently retired from Kent District Library (KDL), MI, after more than 44 years of service, making him the longest-serving staff member in the library's history. He worked at several KDL locations and held many positions. After serving as Interim Dean for 18 months at James A. Rogers Library, Francis Marion University, Florence, SC, Joyce M.
Do It Yourself
Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Patios & Walkways . Creative Pub: Quayside . 2010. 240p. illus. index. ISBN 978-1-58923-481-9 . pap. $19.99. Black & Decker The Complete Outdoor Builder . 2d ed. Creative Pub: Quayside . 2009. 528p. illus. index. ISBN 978-1-58923-483-3 . pap. $19.99. Jeswald, Peter .
Social Sciences
Biography Fried, Stephen . Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire That Civilized the Wild West. Bantam . Mar. 2010. c.528p. illus. index. ISBN 978-0-553-80437-9 . $27. BIOG Have you heard of the Harvey Girls? Fried (Husbandry: Sex, Love & Dirty Laundry), a freelance journalist, retraces the 19th-century founding of America's food-service industry through the ventures of Fred Harvey...
Southern Charm
Crouch, Katie . Men and Dogs . Little, Brown . Apr. 2010. c.288p. ISBN 978-0-316-00213-4 . $23.99. F When Hannah Legare was a young girl, her father disappeared on a routine fishing trip. Years later, Hannah finally confronts her past when she is forced to recuperate at home in Charleston, SC, after a drunken accident in San Francisco.
British Chick Lit
Holden, Wendy . Beautiful People . Sourcebooks . Apr. 2010. c.432p. ISBN 978-1-4022-3715-7 . pap. $14.99. F British author Holden (Filthy Rich) deftly weaves several plotlines to an ending in rustic Italy, where Galaxia, a blockbuster Star Wars knockoff, is shooting. Darcy Prince, a serious London theater actor, is tapped as the next Hollywood It Girl but questions the system as she is forced...
EPWs/POWs
Doyle, Robert C. The Enemy in Our Hands: America's Treatment of Prisoners of War from the Revolution to the War on Terror . Univ. Pr. of Kentucky . May 2010. c.496p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-8131-2589-3 . $34.95. MILITARY HISTORY How has America handled the problem of captured enemies? Doyle (history, Franciscan Univ.
Mystery
Teamwork Whether it is a sign of the times or just a plot device, mystery writers are showcasing how people can join forces to solve crimes and form relationships that go beyond the job. The individuals frequently differ from each other but find they can work well together in what becomes a familylike environment.
The Crusades
Asbridge, Thomas . The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land . Ecco: HarperCollins . Mar. 2010. c.784p. ISBN 978-0-06-078728-8 . $34.99. HIST Covering the 200-year period of the Crusades in a single volume is a monumental task, but Asbridge (medieval history, Queen Mary, Univ.
Professional Media
Pantry, Sheila & Peter Griffiths . How To Give Your Users the LIS Services They Want . Facet , dist. by Neal-Schuman. 2009. 224p. index. ISBN 978-1-85604-672-5 . pap. $85. PRO MEDIA Though written by British authors and imported from the UK, this book is a tremendous resource for all U.S. libraries, as most of them tend not to focus on market and user research and could benefit—and...
News Briefs
And the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album goes to...Always Looking Up (LJ 6/15/09), read by the author, Michael J. Fox, from Hyperion Audio. (The Hyperion print edition was an LJ Best Seller.) Also nominated in that category were The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (LJ 5/1/09), performed by Richard Dreyfuss and David Strathairn; Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales (a 2009 LJ Editors'...
Major Audio Releases
Carey, Peter. Parrot and Olivier in America. 11 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 13½ hrs. Blackstone Audio. ISBN 978-1-4417-2975-0. $109; 11 CDs. retail ed.; 1 MP3-CD. library ed.; Playaway digital; digital download. F From the two-time Booker Prize winner; simultaneous release with the Knopf hc (100,000-copy first printing), which received a starred review, LJ 1/10; eight-city tour; narrator ...