Bringing a long domant blog back to life

I am considering bringing this long dormant blog back to life over the coming months as we struggle through the second Pestjahr. I want to change the focus though away from “librarianship” toward a focus on Information sources more generally, fake news and intellectual freedom considerations. Also, some eclectic content about books, typewriters and favourite quotations. Stress becomes a factor viagra buy viagra in our health, especially as we grow older. Hence, this is what shall contribute to cialis 5mg tablets not having a suspended license in the last 3 years, or have more than one. A study predicted that 5 grams of amino acid consumption could make viagra without prescription men retain erection for quite a time. There cialis sales are many people who are facing many health problems.

Essentially something that will be a mixture of personal and professional going forward. We will see.

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Comment on Comments…

Due to a pronounced increase in spam I have changed the settings for commenting on this blog.  From now on people are welcome to comment but will have to register and sign in before they can post (not that many people have posted here!).  The post on the hospital in North Dakota proved especially problematic attracting a lot of medical (viagra etc.) spam!!!   RGT.

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A library without librarians: the case of Rapid City’s (ND) Hospital

Rapid City Regional Hospital in Rapid City, North Dakota has made headlines in the LIS world for its recent decision to shutter its publicly accessible library and replace it with an electronic library only accessible to individuals associated with the hospital itself.

The decision to close the library required the laying off of the librarian and the library’s volunteer staff.   By all accounts those working at the library will continue to have the same access to resources electronically as they once did in the physical library space.  What the library’s clients will not have in future is access to the research skills of a librarian.  Many people, even highly educated ones, lack the skills necessary to find the precise information that they need in a timely manner.  We have all had this experience as novice searchers: we look for information on our topic only to find that either we have found 23,476 articles mostly of little relevance or alternatively we get zero.  In either case we came out frustrated and often without what we needed.  Now, certainly this is a problem for a second year English term paper.  But what about a medical doctor wanting to know the latest methods for treating a heart patient with complications arising from advanced diabetes?  The one ancient article they found from November 2005 might not cut it.  Similarly the hour they spent searching for it could have been better spent treating patients, resting or even golfing rather than in frustration.

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Something that comes to mind for me is that librarians are a great value added resource for knowledge based institutions such as banks, hospitals and community colleges.  The problem is that the library services they offer often go unnoticed.  Be it a physical library or an electronic one the work of librarians can be invisible to those decision makers who hold the purse strings.

I believe it is imperative on librarians, no matter how busy we are doing what we are employed to do, to take time aside to prove our specific library’s value to the institution.  What would happen if we disappear?  Especially since there are reports out there showing how specific institutional environments benefit from libraries and librarians.  We must always remember that we have to prove our worth, not only to those who benefit directly from our vocation but also those, such as share holders and directors, who benefit indirectly in very tangible and measureable ways.  It is necessary to speak their language and to be heard.

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Proquest Contest!

Proquest is having a contest draw for an all-expenses paid trip to the ALA annual conference in Chicago this July.  It is open Medical representative also take generico levitra on line a lot of amount for the medicine. With the concerns incorporated on this class, male sexual dysfunction is typical. viagra ordination midwayfire.com When the blood vessels are full cheapest price for levitra they make the sedative qualities more intoxicating and also increase the depressant effects in the body. Both young and older males are free to prescribe whatever cialis sales australia drugs they like whether on or off-label. to any librarian employed in Canada or the United States.  Check out the contest rules on their website.

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Finally some good economic news for libraries?

With all of the economic doom and gloom of these past few months it is easy to be depressed about the immediate future of libraries.  Most certainly after the current “great recession” the stock market will bounce back, endowments will rebound, the tax base will become healthier and all types of libraries will be able to increase spending and cancel hiring freezes.  Right now though it can seem like a constant torrent of bad news of cuts, cuts and more cuts.  This is especially true for people who are searching for work.  For others the economic downturn simply means that our hands are tied, unable to do all that we want to do, and trying to constantly do more with less.  Thankfully though there is some good news on the horizon…
Finally Some Good news!

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To read the whole story in Library Journal click here.

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Library News: Disappearing (and reappearing) library books.

There have been a couple of stories in the news lately of library books that were “borrowed” by patrons over a hundred years ago.  These individuals decided not to return their books to the library.   Generations later, good Samaritans took the initiative to return these artifacts to the library from which they had been taken.

Story one: In early April, Dale Fenton Baird Sr. of Denver Colorado returned a dictionary that had been borrowed by his uncle in 1899 from the Lyn Public Library in eastern Ontario and carried over the frozen St.Lawrence River as the family emigrated to the US.  The book was returned to the Heritage Place Museum in Lyn, which graciously did not require that the family pay the estimated $9000 in fines owed on the book.  (Source: CBC).

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A reminder to all of us to return your library books.

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Copyright matters: Free images on the web.

Anyone who has attempted to create a website or a Powerpoint presentation has probably been overcome by the temptation to add images to it in order to make these look more eye-catching and appealing.  For information professionals this has increasingly brought to mind the issue of copyright infringement.   How can we ensure that we ourselves, and for academic and school librarians encourage our clients, to avoid violating copyright when we copy images?  Especially since copyright law can seem somewhat unclear.

One way is to use image databases that contain images that are free to copy.  When I was working at Queen’s University I directed my practicum students who I was supervising to use Flickr and choose the option to only show public domain photos, or alternatively to ask for permission in writing from the posters for using their photos.  What I was unaware until recently was the wide variety of options for free photos on the web.  I will not copy all of them here but About.com offers a list of 30 useful sites where free images can be obtained for your websites and presentations: http://websearch.about.com/od/bestwebsites/tp/free-images.htm

Some of the most interesting posted by about.com include:

Open Stock Photography:  With over 2 million digital images covered by the creative commons license supplied through the Wikimedia Commons.

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Fotorama.no: This site is incredibly difficult to navigate and despite an option to switch from Norwegian to English one must really manage to get by in Norwegian (and if I, not knowing a word of Norwegian, can manage to navigate it I believe you can also!).  Nevertheless, the quality of these photos is beyond compare.  Mostly of nature scenes and with very good resolution.  Covered by a creative commons license.

ONE FINAL CAVEAT: Although these photos are free for use they are still covered by some form of license.  Usually this means that they cannot be used for commercial purposes for example or that one must give credit to the file’s originator.  So, make sure you are aware of the rules governing a particular image.  In any case an expanded list of image options gives individuals a way to spice up their presentations and web presence without falling foul of copyright law or ethical concerns.

Farming practices, especially rice cultivation as shown here, were the subject of many plant explorer photos

Farming practices, especially rice cultivation as shown here, were the subject of many plant explorer photos

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Our library is alive! (Quite literally)

There was an excellent article in the Globe and Mail today regarding an experiment at several academic libraries.  Patrons can take out a “living book” — essentially a fellow student or community member with a unique (and often controversial) life perspective and during the checkout period they are able to ask the subject tough questions and learn more intimately about the diverse tapestry of the university community.

The University of Guelph’s McLaughlin Library was highlighted in the article.  Their program of living books included a variety of sexual minorities, a feminist, members of racial minorities, a Sinhalese survivor of Sri Lanka’s civil war and a woman who was a pro-life supporter.

According to Ronni Abergel, the Danish originator of the concept, “The whole idea is to sit down with real people and use them to move past a stereotype you might have… The living library works on the principle that extreme violence and aggression happens between people who don’t know each other.”  Although a look at recent history might put a damper on one’s optimism at this program contributing to world peace (the victims and perpetrators of recent violence in Nigeria, Egypt, India and Rwanda were often neighbours) I still believe that this type of program can be a good way of building community and understanding across campus and society.
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My one fear about such a program though is the danger of selection bias.  What is true for books should also be true for living books.  A collection where “books” on certain lifestyles predominate due simply to the whim of the selectors at the expense of others, seems to violate a key principle of library science.  Why not also focus on a subject much more important to world understanding such as religion (by having a practicing Mormon, a Pentecostal, a Sunni Muslim and a Hindu student discuss their beliefs and practices?), or alternatively various political perspectives (conservative, libertarian, socialist), and alternative life paths (a mature student, a single parent, someone who has spent part of their adulthood living abroad, a recent immigrant).   By designing this living library more like a standard collection of books there is better hope for balance in diversity.

For more information please also visit the Living Library website: living-library.org

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Journals for Library Science: Plagiary

One increasingly heard concern in academia is that of academic dishonesty and plagiarism.   The increasing use of internet-based plagiarism protection programs such as TurnItIn attest clearly to this trend.  Such software’s rise has come in response to innovative cheating practices made possible by the Internet.  It is now not unheard of for an individual at a college in Virginia to employ a complete stranger, in Vallejo, California or even as far away as Mumbai, to complete their end of term essay all thanks to the existence of internet websites that will custom make essays for students.  In addition the cut-and-paste culture of the Internet age has led to the ability to instantly copy at the click of one’s mouse what once would have taken hours of skilled work to recreate.

Academics, and especially those who work in libraries, are faced with many important issues in dealing with this new dynamic.  The peer-reviewed journal Plagiary: Cross-Disciplinary Studies in Plagiarism, Fabrication and Falsification attempts to bridge the gap between the anecdotal evidence that everyone is aware of and the solid social-science research that is necessary for looking at these issues in a sober and serious fashion.  No group avoids the critical gaze of the journal’s authors: business people, scholars, government officials, and students are not immune from the temptations of academic dishonesty.  Similarly, attempts to fight dishonesty are critically evaluated and judged for their strengths and weaknesses from the view of their effectiveness and pedagogical value.

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Highly recommended.

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Seeking Inspiration

On Tuesday of this week I was invited to go to a session on resumes sponsored by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers at the Delta Airport West on Dixie Road in Mississauga, Ontario.  I was a bit skeptical at first fearing that it would be too focused on the needs of engineers and too little on what is needed by librarians.  What I saw there left me pleasantly surprised.

The speaker was Martin Buckland, a former police officer with Scotland Yard and the RCMP anti-terrorism units, who has spent the last 17 years as a “master resume writer” advising high-level executives, civil servants and professionals how to write resumes that get noticed by potential employers.  While some of the issues he touched on were things that I was already doing (such as writing this blog and creating a strong web presence on sites such as Linkedin) others were methods that I was not making use of.

One of these was the need to create a personal branding strategy.  We are all good at some particular area in our professional lives.  We should therefore market ourselves toward these strengths.  I have therefore taken his advice and substantially overhauled my resume to put forward a more straightforward message as to my strengths and experience.  You will be able to view this resume after February 21, 2009 by clicking here and selecting the file that you would like to see (CV or resume in PDF).
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Another issue that he brought up was that of networking.  I have had a great number of connections within the Kingston and London areas but since moving home I have not had many opportunities to connect with others in the library profession.  I will discuss one way that I am trying to get around this in the next post.

For anyone who is in a career, whether or not they are planning to switch jobs in the near future or not, they should consider some of the issues of branding and dynamic resume writing that Martin discusses on his website so that they are best able to sell themselves and their knowledge and experience to potential and future employers.

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