So if you’re reading this, learn to code. Not necessarily to become a programmer, but to know what it can do for you. To know how easy some things are and how difficult others can be. To better understand when you need a program to do something and when you don’t. To be a more well-rounded professional. And to prevent anyone from pulling the wool over your eyes that a given task is more difficult than it is.
And lucky you, this is just the year to do it. It is Code Year, actually, according to Code Academy, which helps people learn to code. “Sign up for Code Year to start receiving a new interactive programming lesson every Monday,” touts the web site, and “You’ll be building apps and websites before you know it!” I tried out the first few lessons, and it strikes me as a gentle way to learn to program. The lessons are small, focused, and introduce concepts with demonstrations that are easy to understand. It is therefore likely your best chance to learn to code if you aren’t in school.
Go for it. Believe me, you’ll be better off for it and more employable to boot.
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For libraries, the growing importance of digital content has repercussions that go far beyond technology
This is infuriating. No wonder the prison system fails to help inmates.
“Correctional facility”? Yeah, right.
(Source: thelifeguardlibrarian)
The Republic (Mo.) School District board voted September 19 to return Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five and Sarah Ockler’s Twenty Boy Summer to the high school library—but in a secure section that is only accessible to parents.
The board banned the books from the curriculum and library in July. The controversial action drew nationwide attention, leading to a decision last month to reconsider the ban.
It’s been such a long time since I was last on Tumblr. I have started a new job, am almost finished with my application for graduate school, and have been reveling in the opportunity to enjoy some free time in which I am not bound to do anything like homework. I spend my free time reading for pleasure, doing some writing, cataloging my books and my boyfriend’s music scores, and catching up on movies.
I cannot wait until I finally take a cataloging class so that I will know what I am doing with Josh’s music scores. The pieces are falling into place in my mind, but it will be nice to have a class that confirms (or corrects) my understandings.
It is such a new experience to be able to read whatever I want to read. I feel so ADD right now; I want to read all these different things, but I am not a fast reader, so it takes me a while to get through a book. Sometimes this is frustrating, but I think my visual impairment hinders me in some ways here, so I do the best I can.
REPUBLIC — Two of the three Republic High books singled out in a public complaint last year will now be removed from the school curriculum and library.
Can we say censorship?
Like Google Books, it would have as its goal the eventual digitization of human culture, preserving the works of the world’s authors, scholars, artists, and entertainers and making them widely available. Unlike Google Books, however, this library would not be operated by a for-profit company. It would be accessible to any person, in any place, at any time, at no cost.
This is EXACTLY what I’ve been talking about.
DARNTON: Many people over the past 20 years have been developing ideas of this sort … . Now in a way, the triggering event was Google Book Search. Google, with its fabulous capacity for technological innovation, and its money, and its sheer chutzpah, demonstrated that this kind of a library could actually be created.
IDEAS: So why not leave it to Google?
DARNTON: It became clear, as Google’s project evolved, that it would be a commercial enterprise, and in fact an enterprise attached to a gigantic monopoly. A monopoly, perhaps, with the best intentions, but that would not necessarily serve the public good, because of course Google’s primary responsibility would be to its shareholders. [emphasis added]
…
DARNTON: We need librarians who can handle this tremendous jumble of information that is in cyberspace. People think that when you use Google you’re finding exactly what you need, but really you need expert help. [emphasis added]
Icing on the cake:
IDEAS: Who do you see using the DPLA?
DARNTON: I imagine an enormously varied public. I’m convinced there are people throughout this country who just want to write something to express their own understanding of the world and need material to do that writing … .I think there are lots of people in community colleges - many of these community colleges hardly have libraries, but now it should be possible for every community college in the country to have access to something greater than the Library of Congress. I imagine people in retirement homes who would want access to books to entertain themselves. I think there will be lots of uses in K-12 schools … .I think what it will do, in a word, is to democratize access to knowledge. [emphasis added]
Everyone’s talking about it.
Libraries are antiquated, outdated institutions that, in the age of the Internet, are no longer necessary and simply waste money on the obsolete printed book. Only the grey-haired, stern-faced, shushing librarians are fighting against the wave of the future that threatens the existence of libraries.
Yes?
No.
There are plenty of people who are standing up and fighting the advent of the e-book and the destruction of the library. So many people spontaneously post little blurbs on Tumblr about loving libraries, wishing they could live in libraries, and relishing the touch of the printed book, the smell of the pages, and the silence of the scholarship in libraries. The question that I have (and that everyone has, in a way) is: Where do we go from here?
Dear Mr. Truman,
I am Eric (Billy) Eckert. I live in a little town near Baton Rouge. Mr. Truman you are my favorite president and favorite person…Mr. Truman if it at possible and you have enough time I would love to hear from you.
-Your Admirer,
Eric (Billy) Eckert
In 1972, Eric (Billy) Eckert mailed a letter to Harry S. Truman, sharing some thoughts with the former president. Mr. Truman wrote back to the 12 year old boy, and recently, Eric posted the letter he received as a boy on the Truman Presidential Library’s Facebook page.
The archival team at the Truman Library in Independence, Missouri thought that they might be able to connect some dots in history, so they wrote back:
“We may have the letter you sent to Mr. Truman in our collection!”
They set about searching for the letter, wondering if Harry S. Truman had saved the letter from a boy “in a little town outside Baton Rouge.” Sure enough, it was on file in the archives.
With Eric’s permission, here is the correspondence between a 12-year-old boy and his favorite President.
This is awesome. This is the fun stuff that happens when libraries and other information service institutions make themselves available to more people through the Internet. Without the Truman Presidential Library’s presence on Facebook and the library’s staff’s dedication to serving its users (whether in their premises or not), this cute story would not be told. I have no problem with e-books and the digital realm, but there is still a need for information service professionals.
Recently I read an article in Library Journal about a panel held at ALA Annual that encouraged the ALA to do more to promote diversity in the field. I’m certainly not the first blogger to discuss the uncomfortable racial demographics that exists in the information field and I will not bring any earth-shattering solution to the table. Instead, I want us to think about what diversity really is, why do we care so much about it, how would it help our profession and, ultimately, the population we serve.
Hermione taught me that education (and books) are important.
Ron taught me that you have to stick by your friends no matter what.
Neville taught me that even the weakest can become strong.
Luna taught me that you shouldn’t be ashamed if you’re loony.
Ginny taught me that girls can be just as tough and gutsy as boys.
Draco taught me that your family doesn’t decide who you have to be.
These are my friends, and their story is a large part of my childhood."
—
(via jdgentleman)
(via bowstrokes)
Obviously another reason why libraries are necessary for democracy.
As we move closer to relying entirely on the Internet, the free information services of the past are being eliminated, extending the divide between the haves and have-nots.
LIBRARY OF THE WEEK: Central Library, Vancouver Public Library
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
photograph by Alex Ramon
