The Time Is Now

As some of you know, I am now working both as a public librarian at the Saranac Lake Free Library and as the academic librarian at the Malone Campus of North Country Community College. In both locations I do some standard run of the mill library stuff to help keep the library open and operating. Most of those tasks have to do with cataloging and keeping track of items in the collection both on the shelves and out on loan. I am also in the midst of a new weeding project. Needless to say while there is some overlap in what is to be found in both libraries the emphasis of the two collections is very different. And just like at the SLFL while I’m in Malone I assist people in their search for items. Although, here again the emphasis between the two types searches is very different.

At the SLFL most, but not all, of the reading is for enjoyment and recreation. At the Malone campus I work with students who are looking for articles and most, but not all, want non-fiction texts dealing with specific subjects. Recently, a number of students have come in looking for a specific number of sources for an assignment. Interestingly, they are required to find a number of online journal articles and a single book. That particular task requirement reminded me of when I had to find a number of different physical sources and one web based source for a class I took many, many years ago. At the time it was rather cutting-edge to be required to find an internet based source. I also remember that at the time I was very much intimidated and dismayed by the assignment.

A little while ago when I was still in Library School I purchase physical, hold in your hands and turn the pages text books. I also bought a couple of books that I had come across in different classes that peaked my interest. But the vast majority of the reading I did and the information I accessed was via web-based pdfs found in federated databases. Now, I am lucky enough to remember what it was like to hand search an actual card catalog. And I knew all about title, author and subject long before going to library school. It has occurred to me while assisting these students that many of them have never had that experience. It has also occurred to me that the requirement of finding one physical book to use as a source is not a bad idea. Since information can come in many different formats it is a good idea to be able to use different ways to find and recognize the information we seek. I will mention that I did use an electronic catalog to search for the book; mainly because the student wanted a readily accessible source right off the shelves here in Malone.

Thinking about the process afterwards it occurred to me that at some point in the future new students may no longer have that physical book requirement. It may be revised by an eBook requirement. It also occurred to me that at some point if an instructor does require the opening of a physical book it might be restricted to students working on advanced degrees. Just as today not every student has access to a Guttenberg Bible or a first edition of The Importance of Being Ernest in the future that may be the case or choice for all physical books. Clearly, you would not require a first year college student to do such a thing. Nor would you allow such an individual to touch such a valuable piece of education equipment when an eBook would do just fine.

But that’s for the future. Right now I did notice that there are a number of similarities between what I have done and what the current crop of students entering the library is doing. They are looking for something. They are looking for information and a means to access that information, just as I did with a card catalog or reserved article list. Now we use a host of technological tools to bring that information to our fingertips. The process of getting the information is now better then what it was in the past. I can reach further and faster. I can also access other librarians or educators and chat, comment, text or wiki about new editions and perceptions of an existing work. I also realized that I’m the product of multi-generational changes in information format, access and retrieval. I’m comfortable with each rendition, from books to eBooks or journals to pdfs. And I have to tell you that all of that change, all of that innovation is why when I’m asked I always say “Right now is the absolutely most exciting time in the last 120 years to be a librarian or to be a library patron.”

See you at the Library,
Pete

811

I recently came across a poet who is new to me. Mary Oliver has written and published poems and prose for decades. I had run across one of her works, liked what I read and then went searching into the SLFL catalog. No dice. So I expanded my search to include the entire CEF system and hit pay-dirt. I made my requests online and then went back to browsing. If you want to see the collection of American poets in the SLFL wander over to the 811s in the non-fiction section of the library.

I received the first book last Friday and have been enjoying it since then. Included in the book are a number of short items that are termed prose poems. Now, I’ve used the term prose before but I realized today that I may have misspoken in the past. When I started to think about the term I realized I was unhappy with any definition I might use for the word. So I did what any librarian worth her / his salt would do: I did a search.

I checked a number of different sources including the OED, American Webster Dictionary, Encyclopedia Britannia and Wikipedia to educate myself. This is what I came up with: all writing structure can be summed up into just two categories. They consist of prose and verse (poetry). So if it is not verse (poetry) then it is prose. This definition can get rather sticky. Another way to think about it is that prose is the use of the English language in the written form when not meant to be perceived as poetry. These are both pretty broad definitions. So I continued my search and I also came across a quote that I liked and explains the issue nicely. The quote is attributed to Samuel Taylor Coleridge and I've paraphrased it here: “prose is made up of words in their best order; poetry is the best words in their best order." Nice, huh? And of course none of that helps if the poet her/himself has put the two terms together as Ms. Oliver has done. In addition, after rereading Mr. Coleridge words and giving them some more thought it seemed to me that any writer who wanted to produce poems would have to build upon their own prose first. In other words you need to master prose prior to working on poetry. If you don’t know what the best order is then I think it would be hard to put the best words in the best order. But maybe not.

Hmmm, it has also occurred to me that what the best words might be is also a variable. I’m not sure that Emily Dickinson and Mary Oliver would always agree as to what the best words or the best order for those words might be in any given situation. But both of these poets have a tremendous use of the English language. Both often wrote about nature and the interaction of themselves and others with the landscape. Both also delved into how that relationship is perceived by both the writer and then the reader. I’m also pretty sure that both would feel that they had more often then not hit the mark on what it was that they were tyring to achieve. Which is all very nice for us as readers.

And isn’t that is part of the enjoyment of coming across a new writer? Especially when finding a new, to you, poet. I think that in poetry, or even prose, the initial point of contact and following relationship of discovery between the reader and the writer can be extraordinary. All of a sudden you find someone who has taken your thoughts and put them to paper in a unique and artist way. And perhaps in a way that you yourself didn’t even realize was actually what you were thinking about before you read the work. Almost as if they had already read your mind and then run ahead, just a bit, putting the thought to paper and then just waiting for you to catch up.

See you at the Library,
Pete

A Couple Of Quick Thoughts

So here is how it always seems to work whenever I’m about to go out of town for a week or so: I’ve set all the travel plans, purchased all the tickets, made all of the reservations, checked the air pressure in the tires, finished, delegated or rescheduled all my work responsibilities and am now good to go, literally. And then a couple of pesky items kind of start to creep in from the sides and as the final take off minutes approach I find myself maybe not scrabbling about, but definitely moving with purpose, quickly.

That is the nature of this post today, quickly moving with purpose. To help move along I’m going to use a numbered outline format.

Number one. The SLFL has now officially launched our Kindle for patron use. You can read either the daily Kindle edition of The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal. We have also downloaded a few ebooks. You will need to sign a form stating that you’ve read the Kindle use policy and guidelines. It will then take a few minutes for the staff member to give you a quick tutorial so that you’ll be able to navigate around the device. Here are a few heads-up before you start. Because of the nature of the E-Ink technology used by Kindle the screens do not move quickly. The nature of the technology requires the entire screen to be electronically reconfigured each time a change is made. What this means is that you actually save battery life and you can also keep the E-Ink format which is easier on your eyes when you read. But it is not lightening fast. I won’t call it pokey, but it’s not fast either. Also the 5 - directional curser is very sensitive. It is very easy for you to inadvertently do two things at once, neither of which was what you intended to do. So be aware of that. And lastly, the Home button is your friend. Your mother was right when she told you, “When you are having problems it is a good idea to come back Home and refocus.”

Number Two. I’ve spoken with a couple of people about the Kurt Wallander series that I’ve been reading and posting about. I should mention that I did not find these books to be light, easy reading. I’m not sure if it that the books are translated from Swedish to American English that is the problem or the author’s style of writing or the nature of the stories. It’s probably all three. What I am sure about is that this is Northern Noir at its best. So if you are not up for a flawed protagonist, who works his way through his self-imploding life while solving gruesome murders you might want to read something else.

Number Three. As many of you know by this time next week I should be somewhere near the Yukon Territory / British Columbia border. I should also have passed the half-way point in my travels. I have taken care of my reading needs for the trip and I’ll let you know in a future post what I thought of them. But what I can tell you is that The Milepost is one of the items I’ll be bringing along.

Number Four: It is my plan to continue to post from the road. I am looking forward to writing about where I am, what I am seeing and what I’ve been reading along the way. However, I already know that because of the where I will be traveling I will not always have access to the internet; so some of the posts and my ability to moderate comments may be delayed. We’ll just have to wait and see. I do promise to send postcards. If any you have a desire to do so you can find out what the travel conditions are like where I’ll be traveling by checking the following websites: http://511.alaska.gov/alaska511/mappingcomponent/ , http//www.511yukon.ca , http//www.drivebc.ca , or http://511.idaho.gov/ . And remember if you don’t have access to a computer at home you can always use one at your public library. It is also possible to view web cams along our intended route. So I did. What I found when I viewed the eighteen or so thumbnails along Yukon Territory Route 2 East at 2:30 in the afternoon the other day was that not a single captured frame had a photo of a vehicle in it. So, if you do take a look you might not actually see us go by. But if you do see a 1993 Honda Civic with Alaska plates and there is a kayak and bike attached to the roof with a dog in the back seat and two people in the front seats having a great time, that'll be us.

See you at the Library,
Pete

It Was Weird

I’ve just experienced one of the oddest bits of reading I’ve ever come across. Actually, I’ve misspoken. I didn’t really read the story. It was read to me by Harry Connick, Jr. Usually, I disregard all of the ads that show up on the NY Times electronic edition of the newspaper. Especially the very large ads that tend to displace the area just over the headlines. But today the ad was billed as: The First Shoppable Children’s Story Book, The RL Gang, A Fantastically Amazing School Adventure. So I clicked.

The video, I wouldn’t call it an electronic or audio book, takes the format of an illustrated picture book with a group of children going to the first day of school. There they meet an “incredibly incredible” school teacher who magically sets them on a path of self-discovering that teaches the children life lessons of kindness and sharing. The child actors silently play out their roles while being superimposed on illustrations that resemble a children’s picture book format. As the story progresses we see actions that mimic the reading of a story book.

All through the video the viewer is invited to scroll over one of the adorable child actors and shop for the outfits the characters are wearing. At the end of the video you can also click on any of the characters and enter their closet to purchase their “1st, 2nd or 3rd look”.

What astounded me was that the product was billed as a “Children’s Story Book”. In my last post I wrote about how authors and publishers target and market reading products for young people. And I think there is great value in providing different types of reading experiences for every age group. To do so you do need to discover what the reader likes and what would appeal to every age group. In fact, I would say that if a public library is not providing age-appropriate books and various types of media then they’re missing the boat. This experience which delivers a line of products under the guise of children’s reading is targeted to adults. I guess a child could sit on a parents lap and watch the video, and no doubt enjoy the experience, but I’m thinking that very few children have the NY Times as their homepage or cruse over to it during the course of the day to read a few articles. No, this is an international business using the reading experience as a way to sell clothes. It is possible to actually purchase a hard cover copy of the product. It is sold by TikaTok, which is a Barnes & Noble company.

Anyone who has read my previous posts knows that I am a big believer in providing electronic content to patrons. I also think that a public library should also provide access to education of it’s patrons in the use of electronic products. In many cases the electronic medium is superior to what has been provided in the past. One quick example is access to journals through aggregated databases. Not only is the finding of articles faster, but it also allows the searcher to refine or widen their search very easily. At the same time I also like walking through the stacks and picking books off the shelves to read. To me the experience is similar to walking through a fruit orchard. You look for what appeals to you and you simply pick it. Then you get to take it home and consume it.

The RL Gang’s shoppable children’s book is not really any of those things. What I viewed was a pretty sophisticated video using the format of an illustrated picture book to sell a line of children’s back to school, fall clothes to adults. It is quite a clever piece of advertising. But it is just that: clever advertising. It is not a book, not even an electronic book.

See you at the Library,
Pete

The Kindle Is Coming

Here at the SLFL we are always looking for ways to provide access to new forms of information technology for our patrons. In keeping with that long tradition the SLFL recently purchased a Kindle. This was not a spur of the moment decision made over coffee and cakes one morning. The potential benefits of e-readers to our patrons is a subject that has been talked about by the staff for almost two years. Now appeared to be the right time to make that jump. So we did. Here are some of the reasons we have done so.

E-readers are becoming more available, reliable and easier to use. Many people in the information access business believe that in the not so distant future all information will be available in an e-reader form. Textbooks are often cited as one use. No more lugging around a backpack loaded down with tons of books. A second area is newspapers or any print journal articles. The delivery of news each morning via an e-reader provides the news consumer with a convenient, easy to carry way to get his/her daily news fix. The same is also true of news magazines, especially those magazines that have little or no photos or illustrations. E-readers can provide images along with text, but text is what they do best.

With all the different e-readers available we choose the Kindle. One of the main reasons is because unlike a computer screen the Kindle is not backlit. You actually need an outside light source to read a Kindle. So if a child wants to continue reading a Kindle after being told to go to bed, he or she will still need a flashlight to read under the blankets. There are two benefits to this: since the Kindle is backlit it cuts down on eyestrain and you can read the Kindle in the bright sunlight with or without your sunglasses on. I walked through different shades of lighting both inside and outside turning the Kindle in various directions and was still able read quite easily.

A second reason why we choose the Kindle is because of the grayscale, Eink @ technology developed by Amazon. With it you can easily change the font size; you have eight different choices, and the shade of gray for the font. This allows individuals to adjust the e-reader to fit their particular needs or desires.

At first, using the Kindle was a bit confusing. But I think that’s because I was self teaching. I can now give a quick tutorial and send the reader on their merry way. I’ve also had the opportunity to read various NY Times articles in newspaper, web based electronic edition and Kindle edition formats. For me the Kindle edition provides the most convenient and clearest medium for delivery of the articles. I’m not one of those folks who like to shake the paper and fold it into different origami shapes to read it. Nor do I spread the paper out on a desk or table in front of me and smell the newsprint. I’m one of those “Jack Web” consumers of newspapers, all I want are: “Just the facts, Ma’am.” I can make up my own mind as to what I’m reading. So the Kindle edition of the Times fit my needs very well. Soon we’ll be making the Kindle available to patrons. We are currently fine tuning our policies for its use. If you have a question about the device or would like to see it in action, stop by the Circ Desk I’ll be happy to provide you with a demonstration and chat with you about it. It is a new way for me to read; and a new way for the delivery of reading material. I like using it. I think you will too.

See you at the Library,
Pete

Roadtrip

So what do you bring to read on a roadtrip? I am now trying to sort out this particular question. I am one of those lucky people who can read in a moving car and not get sick. I cannot however listen to an audiobook while driving. I get too involved in the story and become a hazard to myself, other drivers and the vehicle; so listening while driving is out. Of course, reading while operating the car is out too, but I was thinking about time in the passenger seat and downtime when we are not moving. I think that part of the answer lies in what kind of roadtrip you are going on. So I will clarify this aspect of the trip.

At the end of this month I will be assisting in the driving of a 1993 Honda Civic, complete with bike, kayak and other worldly goods, from Fairbanks, Alaska to Moscow, Idaho. I will be accompanying my daughter, Emily and her dog, Marcy. We will travel roughly 2,200 miles out of central Alaska, south through the Yukon Territory, down the spine of British Columbia and into Alberta before crossing back to British Columbia and then reaching the American / Canadian border and driving into Idaho. At least I think that will be the route, there really aren’t a lot of choices and if I’m wrong I’m sure Em will let me know at the appropriate time.

There is a lot of reading to be done prior to this trip. I’ve already started collecting and consuming atlases, gazetteers, Google Maps, The Milepost and plain old roadmaps. When I checked Google Maps the eighth point on the directions read: “Turn left to stay on Alaska Hwy / YT-1E continue to follow the Alaskan Hwy” Which all seemed fine ‘til I read the mileage amount: 968 miles. Yikes! I guess we really want to make that left. And the bright spot is that when we do we just go straight for the next 1,000 miles or so. What are the chances we’ll get lost? Right now the decision by my wife, Beth to purchase the additional maps of Canada when originally getting the Garmin looks like a really good idea.

I’ve also started looking at border crossing information. Living where we do most of us are pretty familiar with the routine. But having the information available online makes the prep prior to the trip easier.

But what do I bring to read on the actual trip? One person suggested a Chilton’s manual. But since I’m not very good at that sort of thing my AAA card will have to do. I did think about some standard summer reading fare. Murders and mayhem set in the YT with a RCMP character as the chief investigator. I also considered some books that instruct me about the terra, fauna and flora we’ll be passing through. Or poetry inspired by landscape. Any or all of these would probably be a good choice. What I do know is that I’ll want something to read.

The areas we’ll be passing through will be some of the most magnificent on Earth and I’ll have the opportunity to see it from the ground. Not as intimately as if I was traveling by foot or paddle but pretty close. I think I can speak for many readers when I say that my need to interpret what I am seeing through another’s written word is pretty close to the mark to the way many readers feel. Whatever I bring along to read will add to the over-all trip. So the choice of deciding what to read is important. I want to add to, not detract from, the experience. What I choose to read while away will do that for me. Those books will become entwined with the events and places on the trip. So in the future when I see those covers again I’ll be spirited back to the end of the Summer of 2010 when my daughter and I drove out of Alaska and back down to the Lower 48.

See you at the Library,
Pete

And The Living Is Easy

I was away on vacation for a week but now I’m back. I’d like to share with you a few things that happened while I was away. We spent the week at a family camp in Vermont. The camp has been operating each summer since 1890. We stayed in a tent that was perched right above the water. So we went to sleep to the lapping of the lake and awoke each morning to the same sound. We played games, chatted, cooled off in the lake (I’d have to call what we did bobbing rather then swimming) and read. And on a few evenings we spent time in the camp’s library.

The library building has a plaque on the outside that denotes the architect and the date of construction. This camp has had a private operating library for almost 100 years. There is no official librarian and the use of the library is strictly on the honor system. I do remember about twenty years ago there being a sign-out sheet for the books, but I don’t recall seeing that this year. Perched on the mantle of the fireplace and on the top of some of the book shelves there are photos and memorabilia from bygone times. There is also a telescope and a globe. I’d say there is about 7,000 to 8,000 items in the circulating collection.

The collection has some non-fiction but tends more towards adult fiction. What we now refer to as summer reading; which is a funny term to denote a genera. But like many informal descriptors it’s also a perfect term. No heavy tomes here, lots of murder mysteries and sinister conspiracies. For some reason, we now feel its okay for folks to not read for intellectual improvement during the summer. We get to kick back, loosen our shirts and enjoy reading just for the fun of it. What a great idea! Of course, if you’re at the shore or sitting in a glider in the shade its tough to read something serious. And if someone jumps in the water right in front of you and the book gets splashed the wrinkled pages just add to the experience. Besides it’s usually a paperback so no blood, no foul. Except for the squashed mosquitoes you find every few pages entombed forever between two covers. A reminder of life and death struggles from summers past.

We spent a few evenings in the library. Right around twilight the bugs would come out and reading in the tent wasn’t all that pleasant. So off we ambled to the library with its light bulbs, screened windows, doors and other readers. Every evening we entered we joined about a half dozen others. Each of us observed a strict code of behavior. In all the time I was in that library I never heard anyone speak. Sometimes, if someone’s eyes glanced towards us as we entered we would nod. Silently, each of us quickly settled down and huddled over our selected find. The only sound was the creaking of chairs as folks came and went. After a bit the books would tend to slip and I would realize I had reread the last sentence a few times. I’d look up and see that others too were reading with their eyes closed. Their books resting on laps or chests with their heads tipped. I’m going to guess that that this scene had been repeated thousands of times, over almost a hundred years, each summer in this library. The only change this year was not in the type or person attracted to this place or this particular activity. It was the medium. Even the Kindle reader in our circle had a hard time staying up late to read after a full day in the summer.

See you at the Library,
Pete

Here’s What I’m Talking About

Maybe I’m preaching to the choir here, but I just experienced an amazing piece of writing that could only have happened in the digital age.

I often post that books and digital ereaders or websites should not be compared in an either / or paradigm. I still believe that. And as a librarian, with the appropriate ALA certified graduate degree (MLIS, University of Alabama 2009) I am a strong believer in the idea that books can and do enrich mine or others lives. But sometimes online reading does things that a physical book cannot. And it does not matter how durable, portable and accessible a physical book is; because the work by its very nature is static and finite. Notice I said “work” not the ideas or concepts found within the book. Whatever is between the covers once it is published is all there is going to be. And that limitation is where a physical book ends and where virtual reading starts.

Here is what happened to me the other morning:

I was reading the electronic edition of the New York Times and saw a simple one line storyline in a sidebar, A History Lesson From An Errant Tombstone. “Okay” I thought, “I’ll bite.” I clicked the link and was sent to the City Room which is a blog written by Andy Newman. I read the post and then followed a link to the complete story: Tombstone on Sidewalk Leads to a History Lesson, here is a link to that article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/08/nyregion/08tombstone.html

I strongly encourage you to click the link above and read the article yourself. I was completely taken by the story, the characters involved and the historical significance of the individuals written about.

But the story itself is not what I really wanted to post about today. What I want to post here is how incredible it is that I was able to come across the blog post in the first place, follow the digital trail to the complete article and then inform you about it. This is something that a physical book, magazine or newspaper simply cannot do. You can have footnotes, you can have references and you can add pages of appendixes. But all of that added content is limited. Nor can you easily edit or update and then publish as you can in a virtual domain.

Here is another aspect: when I clicked on the initial link I was sent to a blog. As we all know blogs simply didn’t exist fifteen years ago. It is a form of writing that originated from a digital / virtual setting. Without the web we won’t have blogs. Without the blog I might never have seen the article.

In addition the article had a multi-media component to it. Along with the article I saw photographs, a slide show and a PDF document. I could enlarge the photos. I could save the photos on my computer. I could zoom in on the PDF document so that it was easier for me to read. I could rollover the PDF to investigate different parts for myself. I could save the PDF electronically if I choose to. I could do all these things and more. None of which I can do with a traditional book.

Here is one last thought. I can also make the article and all of it’s contents available to you, for free at the SLFL, instantaneously. Or you can access this blog and the article on your home or work computer, Blackberry, mobile device or cell phone. This blog is published and available worldwide. Where a traditional book stops the digital world starts; digital domains extend all of the attributes of a traditional book and then goes beyond to the limits of our curiosity and immagination. And when it does it is readers, people like you and me, who benefit.

See you at the Library,
Pete

I Reader, By Myself With Others

I recently read an article in the Sunday electronic edition of the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/business/20unbox.html?hpw ) that talked about something called “social reading”. The article began with the discussion of a feature found on a number of different ereaders. It’s called “popular highlights”. It is a terrible name for a rather interesting feature. This feature makes it possible for the readers of the book to share what they would highlight with other readers. This feature can, of course, be turned off. I didn’t quite know what to make of it at first. I have borrowed books from individuals who have underlined or highlighted sections that they found insightful; but as a rule no one does that with a library book or with a new book except the author.

I then realized I was missing the point.

Popular highlights allow for individuals to see what dozens, hundreds, perhaps thousands of previous readers have determined as being worthwhile. It could take some of the joy of individual discovery out of the reading process; but most of us want to talk to others about books or passages in books that we found to be insightful or luminary. We do that with book groups and we do it over the circ desk. We read reviews and we talk with others about what we have found to be unusual, controversial or an astute understanding of the human condition.

Often times those are some of the attributes we equate with a good read.

In this case, by using this feature we are allowed access to what others have thought as significant. We can choose to agree or we can choose to disagree. But by being aware that others have found this part of the book as being important we get a virtual heads-up. I suspect that many would choose to disable the feature. I am sure I would only utilize it on a subject by subject or author by author basis. And I could always disagree with what others had deemed as significant.

But here are two of the many cruxes of the article: the day of the solitary reader quietly bringing knowledge to him/herself may be over and we learn differently and make greater headway when we learn (read) in a social setting. I have simplified the arguments here and the author of the article did a much better job of explaining these major points.

I had never thought of the reading experience as a social activity before.

There are many types of reading that are very good in a social condition. Poetry is an easy example. What is interesting here is that we could use the social give and take of highlighting as a cue. It is not a discussion per se, because we don’t know why someone has highlighted the point. You still have to work out the why for yourself. What we do know is that someone saw some bit of insight in that section, so we might want to give it a bit more thought. Another interesting aspect of the feature is that sections and what is highlighted might change over time. Highlighted sections may come and go and different sections may have more significance after a second reading.

This feature should not be viewed as another indicator of the end of the world of reading; or as another cobblestone on the road of good intentions. It is not. Nor is it another conspiracy to turn our local library into a downloadable venue without any physical books left in the stacks. I see both the ereader and the popular highlight feature are extensions of the reading experience. And as with using any ereader it is not the same as using a book. It is a different experience. They are not the same; but that is as it should be because you do not want the same experience from reading both a physical book and an ereader.

See you at the Library,
Pete

OJT or Expanding my eHorizons

A little while ago I decided to investigate the downloadable audio books available via the SLFL and CEF’s websites. What brought this about was that a patron came in one evening and ambled over to the books on cd collection. Sometimes when you go to the library no matter what is available nothing strikes you. Our patron had this experience. I went over and we talked about different authors, narrators and books available. Still, no dice. Now I’m thinking, “Hmmm, what to do?” Luckily our patron likes both fiction and non-fiction offerings so we were able to locate an appropriate item. As we returned to the Cric Desk the question of the downloadable books available from our website came up. So we quickly went online to see what the deal was. After a few frustrating minutes I discovered that this was going to take some focus and vowed to learn how to do it before our patron returned to the library. When I got home that evening I sallied forth to download something, anything. I’ll cut to the quick. I did successfully download an audio book.

Here is what I did.

First off don’t be in a rush. In fact, if you like watching baseball you might want to combine the two activities. Don’t worry, if something really good happens on the diamond you’ll see it again on the replay. And as in downloading any software or files, read all the available information on the screen first and then click “okay” or “next”. You might also want to check out the FAQs before you begin.

The first thing you’ll have to do is set up an account with NetLibrary. I went through the CEF webpage to do this. You will need your local library card. Actually what you need is your library card number. That fourteen digit bar code number that lets you take out books etc from the SLFL. So, unless you’ve memorized your library number, you’ll need your library card. You need an account from NetLibrary so that you can download the necessary management software to then download and run the audio books. It is not hard, just follow the prompts. You set up a user name and password, you know the drill. Then you can download the management software. Just to let you know, you are now about half way to actually getting a downloadable book on your computer or device.

Once you have the account and have the management software you can begin to browse the offerings. When I first saw the search mechanism for browsing I was a little suspicious. It appeared to be kind of clunky. Being the person that I am I scrolled to the bottom of the webpage to see who owned / managed the website. There it was: EBSCO. EBSCO is a well know aggregator of both print and on-line databases for journal, newspaper and magazine articles. That was why the search tools looked both vaguely familiar and not so user friendlily. But that was okay. Now I knew what I was dealing with and so forged ahead. I choose to download an audio book of poems and letters by Emily Dickinson.

The actual downloading took a bit of time. If a major league pitcher was really struggling on the mound the opposing team could have sent all nine players to the plate. But I did get the entire work. I now had two hours and eight minutes of narration on my computer. So I listened. The listening quality was very good and the controls are very easy to use. The bad parts are that there is no way to bookmark where you are if you decide to stop for a while. The FAQs suggest you write down the track number or time stamp to find your place again. Like with a pen or pencil on a piece of paper. That is so 1980s. The audio book is actually checked out by you, just like any lending library material, and so it is available to you for a limited amount of time. After three weeks your access to the file expires. That’s all okay. Here is the other bad part: the file does not automatically delete from your computer. If you want the file removed from your machine you need to do that yourself. Alright, I can find the file and do that. Oh, and just in case you where thinking of downloading the audio book to your computer and then burning a cd of the audio book and listening to it in the car, don’t bother. The file is encrypted. I choose to download to my laptop. You can choose to download to a more portable device. Since I didn’t do that yet I can’t report back as to how easy or difficult that process might be. But I will be sure to let you know. Right now, I’m going to go listen to some of Ms. Dickinson’s work.

See you at the Library,
Pete

Who You Gunna Call?

Last time I promised to give you my thoughts on Information Literacy (IL). IL has become a big deal in the library biz. It is mostly the concern of academic libraries but IL has now also become an issue in public libraries. IL boils down to the ability of an individual to document whatever information source he/she is using and to do so correctly. There are a number of other concerns surrounding this concept but for this post I’ll stick to just two.

In middle school, high school or college when you wrote a paper or gave a presentation you might have used footnotes or a bibliography to provide the reader with a documented accounting of how you came up with whatever it was you were writing or talking about. You did so in a format that allowed the reader to check up on your sources. The same idea still hold true today. In the past we used sources that were in a physical form. This is no longer the case. You can easily do all the research you need now through different virtual mediums. Some of those mediums use pdfs or the scanning of physical journals, books etc. However, it is now possible to use a completely virtual source that has never actually been in a physical form. One source may have more clout than another. But to dismiss a source because of its virtual nature is a mistake. It not only implies a preconceive notion of what is being produced but it can also restrict the researcher from the newest discoveries in a field. In this case the medium may or may not be the message. There are peer reviewed journals that only exist in a virtual form. There is information concerning the output and proceedings of academic, literary, professional and scientific conferences that only exist in a virtual form.

What is important is your ability to verify the source of these virtual formats. And that includes two important players in the field of IL: websites as sources and search engines. Another corollary on this statement is the use of wikis as a viable information source, most notably wickipedia. With the advent of web based information sources and the ease with which anyone can run a search the importance of IL has come to the forefront. It is not important that you are using a web site as an information source. What is important is that you do some background checking and homework to verify the information found on the website. The responsibility of verifying a source now falls squarely on the individual using that source.

When you use a database aggregator of journal articles to gather information for whatever it is you are writing or talking about that company has taken on the responsibility of verifying the pedigree of the information source. When you use a general out-there-in-the-virtual-world website, search engine or wiki for information gathering and dispersal you take on the responsibility of verifying that source. I do not mean to imply that these sources are not valid. What I do mean to say is that it is now up to you to validate that source. And to tell the truth I don’t think that is a bad idea at all. Not only do you become a more informed consumer of information but you also become more rigorous in your selection of information sources. In short, you end up having to work a little harder and think a whole lot deeper. Neither of which are bad skills to possess. And remember, if you need a little help sorting all this out send me an email or give me a call.

See you at the Library,
Pete

TAWYALF & TAWYANLF

I recently investigated the databases available to cardholders through the SLFL and CEF websites. I don’t remember exactly what I was looking for but I was searching for some in-depth articles pertaining to a specific subject. So, I surfed over to the CEF website and clicked on the Database tab. You then have to select what type of general information you want to find. There are a number of options. At this point it helps if you think about what you are looking for (TAWYALF) and also think about what you are not looking for (TAWYANLF). This first process, TAWYALF, is the key to successful search and you will actually do this a couple of times. I found a related option under the Topics selection and clicked away. The next window that opens up tells you the different databases you can use under that general topic. You have to decide if you are looking for information from magazine articles, newspapers, journals or scholarly journals. Now it’s time TAWYALF again. Once you click on your desired database you will be prompted to enter your fourteen digit library card number. You type in the number and hit enter.

You are now brought to the front page of the database company and can begin your search in earnest. All of the database companies provide access to articles and information in roughly the same thing. And all of them do it a little differently. Once you have figured out how to search one of these companies you can transfer that knowledge to another. But it does take some practice. And like I said they are all a little different and some are down right quirky. In addition, not all databases offer access to the same subject matter. You will probably also develop a favorite database company. The easiest thing to do is to just type in whatever it is you are looking for, TAWYALF, in the search box and hit enter. You can then review your results and make a choice. If you want the information right now restrict the results to only those articles that that have a full text icon.

What I just described is the simplest way to find what you are looking for. Unfortunately, in my experience, the probability of you hitting exactly what you want to find is not very high. There are a couple of reasons for this:

First, for most people, when you begin looking for specific information you are also beginning a process of constantly redefining what you are looking for while actively engaged in the actual search. So, when you begin your search you may not yet have a clear idea as to what it is that you are actually looking for (TAWYALF). In Library School, everyone is required to take a few courses on how to successfully provide and do reference, search and research. The very first think you learn is how to conduct a “reference interview”. This is a process that helps the librarian make a determination as to exactly what the patron is looking for. The database companies have tried to replicate this activity without the benefit of person to person contact with their search options. Sometimes it works and sometimes it’s a little harder.

The second reason why you might not be successful is that the database may not provide you access to what you are looking for. Database companies don’t offer all the articles in their entire company stable to everyone. They offer clients access to some of the articles. That access is entirely dependent on the deal you (your company, educational institution or library system) has cut with the database companies. And that deal is usually a balance between what your needs and desires are and how much money you can spend. Very, very few institutions can afford complete access to all of the information available from the different database companies. As a rule a given institution makes the best deal it can for the amount of money they have available.

The third reason is the words used in a search engine, epically when searching an article based database (TAWYALF), have a very specific meaning. In addition, a word can have a very different definition given its’ contents and use (TAWYANLF). The American English language has incredible range and flexibility. Some meanings are very specific to a particular field of study or region, some aren’t. And it doesn’t help that while two words can be spelled the same way they may have two different meanings or that two entirely different words can mean almost the exact same thing or that two words can sound exactly the same but be spelled differently.

Here is an example of two words that sound the same, are spelled differently and have a number of different definitions: item and idem. You can also use the word item to describe two people who are dating or in some type of relationship, as in “They are an item”. Or you can use the word to describe a single thing, as in “I was allowed to choose a single item from the list.” In the Library biz “item” has an extremely broad definition and refers to any piece of information. It doesn’t matter if you are talking or writing about a book, magazine, newspaper, serial publication, audio book, sculpture or DVD. They are all an item. The word usually refers to a physical thing but that is not always the case. This particular posting on this blog can also be referred to as an item. However, if you used the word “idem” in reference to sailing in the Adirondacks it would mean that you were probably looking for information about a specific class and type of sailboat that is usually identified with Lower St. Regis Lake, Spitfire and Upper St. Regis Lake. Even if you spelled the word incorrectly when searching for information about the sailboat there are strategies to be used that can increase the likelihood of you finding what you are looking for.

As I said earlier this process can be confusing and frustrating. If you have any difficulty using the databases give me a call at the library, drop me an email or better yet, come in and I’ll be happy to help you. If you have a laptop, bring it with you because the public computers are often already in use. Next time I’ll write about a pivotal concept in this entire process: information literacy.

See you at the Library,
Pete

E-readers and the Future of Books

Let me begin by saying a few things. First I don’t think books are going away anytime soon. The technology works too well. Books are portable, durable and easy to use. So there is no need to fear that they will be leaving the shelves of your local library anytime soon.

Having said that I also have to add the except for my text books when I was in library school I used electronic texts almost exclusively. Not only was it easier to access what I was looking for but I also had so much more information available to me in that format. The material, especially when accompanied with links, was much more dynamic and fluid then a book could ever hope to be. And when put on a flash-drive exceptionally portable.

So do the e-readers have a place: yes. But it is more a case of what is it that you are looking for and how do you want to use the information that you seek. There are a lot of crossover applications. The e-readers can be used for information gathering, communications and reading for entertainment, to name a few applications. It is possible for a book to do some but not all of these things and, here is the real crux, a book can only do some of these things one application at a time. Does that mean books are obsolete? No, of course not; but it does mean that books may only have a limited application. However books certainly do that one application very, very well.

Would I purchase an e-reader? You bet, once I can afford one. It is not that I’m never going to check out a book again or that I’ll never pick up another magazine. Although to paraphrase Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel, I can gather all the news I want from the internet now. I see the e-readers as an extension of what it is I’m looking for. Another platform that provides me with access for what I’m looking for. E-readers also provide me with different options of how I might want to access and use that information. I’m not yet ready to throw away any of my books but I am ready to make space on my bookshelf for an e-reader.

Web-based tecnologies used by libraries

While reviewing the library’s website hit statistics with our Director the other day I was struck by how many people come to the site. Now compared to huge web-based companies or multi-national corporations are numbers are insignificant. But let’s not compare apples to oranges, for a small rural library in a mountain community our numbers are striking. During the first part of January of this year alone the SLFL was averaging 66 visits a day! Not hits, but visits. People came and searched out information.

Libraries have been turning to the web for a while now and the SLFL is no different. For libraries the real question is rapidly becoming how do they want to use web-based technology; and having a very robust website allows for a number of different things.

Everyone now understands that a website can be used as an informational tool. The site provides basic information such as hours and contact information. In addition, the website can be used for marketing of programs and services, which is the next step beyond simple information. Moving along that continuum a website can also be used to provide services, such as renewals and request. Some libraries also included multi-media technologies such as pod and vod casts. These are all basic web-based technologies used by many libraries. They are also all basic one-way services.

But there is another way to view and use web based technologies. It is also possible for libraries to step even further into web based tools by providing interactive components such as wikis and blogs were the visitor becomes engaged with the information being provided by the library and responds directly to that information. The response can be real time, such as using mebo for reference questions or it can be delayed such as in the example given above with the use of wikis or comments to blogs.

The important component to keep in mind is that power of the tool is being used to move beyond the physical limits of having to actually stand at the main circulation desk. You are also not limited to just audio exchanges as with a phone. With an internet connection you can now engage both the librarian and the services s/he can provide from any location. And for the small, relatively isolated community that we serve the use of these tools makes the library more accessible, more responsive and more engaging to our far-flung patrons.