Another really public library

In a phone box in New York City

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The man who turned his home into a public library

 "The only rule is that there are no rules."



The idea is simple. Readers can take as many books as they want, for as long as they want - even permanently.

BBC News Magazine, 20 Sept 2012 - for full story.

Come with a story, leave with another

I love the Mighty Optical Illusions page.

Here's a link to a library campaign, Come with a story, leave with another.

Another Look

If you have visited here before, and wonder where the familiar layout went (and, indeed, the blog list, favourite places, etc) I can only tell you that I decided to test out the dynamic views that Blogger now offers.

Since the library I work for acquired its own front ends (Twitter, Facebook, Blog) I decided to more or less retire this one - but I still enjoy to experiment.  You can flip through the 7 new options yourself, but you can't revert to the old one, which also had links to favourite places to visit, blogs I like, etc.  (sigh).

So here are the results of the various 'looks':

Classic

Flipcard - Recent

Flipcard - Label

Flipcard - Date

Flipcard - author (only interesting on multi-user blogs)

Magazine

Mosaic

Sidebar

Snapshot

Timeslide - not sure I understand this one

Library Bricks

With the 4% cuts in public services now turning into 16% cuts, and the chances of job losses or pay cuts in the wind, the policy change from a suggestion of (unpopular) uniforms being provided to the (unpopular) dress code (paid for out of our own low wages), and all that sort of demoralizing stuff...moan, moan.


I needed something fun to post.

Link to a Library Reference Desk made out of books.

link to a small octagonal 'book cell' made of books by Matej Kren.

Here's a link to his follow-up, an enormous book building

And then theres Tom Bendsten's fabulous piece at the Toronto Reference Library...



You might also enjoy the Book Art that you can find on M.J's blog , for instance Octopus done for the Anagram bookstore in Prague by Kaspen/Jung v Matt

Poems about libraries

I stumbled over a translation of one of Ernst Jandl's poems the other day, so this may become an occasional theme...

Library

all those letters
that can’t get out of their words
all those words
that can’t get out of their sentences
all those sentences
that can’t get out of their texts
all those texts
that can’t get out of their books
all those books
covered with all that dust
the good cleaner lady
with the duster

(tr. by Peter Lach-Newinsky)

memengineering
peter lach-newinsky's word and image lab

Poem found at this page

Save your local libraries

Libraries remain a crucial social resource, but in these times of cuts they appear like an 'easy cut' to make (for politicians). An old friend from my show-biz days made this short film in support of the local library where he now lives - in Australia - but it seems relevant wherever you live!

Top 8 Books Written by Librarians

Currently, Abebooks has displayed their top 8 books by librarians!

• The Less Deceived Larkin, Philip
• A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L'Engle
• The Aleph and Other Stories Borges, Jorge Luis
• Out Stealing Horses Per Petterson
• Daybreak - 2250 A.D. (original title: Star Man's Son) Norton, Andre
• Eagle in the Snow: A Novel of General Maximus and Rome's Last Stand Wallace Breem
• The Middle Age of Mrs Eliot Wilson, Angus
• At Mrs Lippincotes Elizabeth Taylor

Writing Readers

So much of library works seems about reading (and lending) that we sometimes neglect the fact that someone has to write all these books, and the two functions seem closely entwined.

Good to see that Academi awards writer's bursaries even to people who have not yet got published. Check out "how to be a writer"

Every November for the last three years your humble scribe has embarked on (and successfully completed) the mad adventure of writing a 50,000 word novel in a month, with NaNoWriMo.

Well, a first draft, at least!

Coming up in April (from the same people) you will find Script Frenzy, a self-challenge to write a 100 page film/tv/theatre script in a month. No cost to enter, no obligation to finish, no prize (apart from fun and satisfaction).

Cerbyd

And talking of passing through, this travelling arts road show looks interesting...

CERBYD

Cerbyd aims to strengthen the connection and the unification of artists, artist groups and ideas across Wales’ unique geographical form. Cerbyd hopes to highlight and challenge the similarities/differences in creative practice between artists in North and South Wales. Cerbyd will travel to areas of Wales that are often bypassed by contemporary art. The route will create networks, partnerships and collaborations with established artists and artist groups, increasing critical awareness.

As an introduction, you could look at the first post on their blog

Wave of the future?

I just received my invite to try out Google Wave, as a semi-beta tester type person. Will invite a couple of buddies that like to play with gizmos, although we have produced genuine on-line collaborative work, so this tool is more than a gimmick to us, it could really speed up our inter-continental communications about creative product.

Of course, I find it hard to consider as something which might improve communication within the library service right now, as it is blocked at work (both staff and public side of the network) as Instant Messaging, etc.

So I took the netbook down to the local Starbucks for my extra strength hit, and their BT FreeZone works fine.

Of course, a netbook screen isn't ideal for something as sprawling as Wave, which needs a big screen, I reckon, like a messy desktop. But still, I don't like to judge new things immediately.

Come Write In!

Although we have a great new library building in the centre of town, and at least two of the staff here have set out to write a novel-in-a-month, we have not managed to convince other Nano writers to use the building for a write-in.  For any librarians, managers or staff (especially those involved with children or literacy programs), or people with independent bookstores, go have a look at the support and networking page you can find from the Office of Letters and Light  (who organise the NaNoWriMo event.)

Maybe next year.

Word Clouds

I so enjoy the stuff Dave Pattern does with data and mashups, etc that I went to see what I could find to play with online.

I use 'play' in the sense of 'for work' of course! :-)

I had fun with Wordle - these are some word clouds I made, based on this blog. Possibly useful for library posters and suchlike (?) You have to Print Screen, paste into Paint, edit, etc...





And yes, you can change colours, layouts, etc - this one, for instance, is alphabetical..

I also tried TagCrowd, which has different parameters you can tweak, but does seem to remain alphabetical (although you can strim out common words, etc)

access ago although anon archive atom author best blocked blogger blogs book cardiff ceredigion change children clouds collaborative comments communication computing conference council course creative days discussion e-learning educational environment etc experience found free fun future goal google guide hours ict imagine individual information initiated instance integrated interactive interesting internet invite issue labels learning librarian library local love matter months moodle national net networking news online play pm pool possible posted rather read really resources search seems service simple site social something sounds staff story stuff subject talking teacher team thousands times twitter unblock useful video vle wales wave web

created at TagCrowd.com

Why not write a book?

I guess this blog does tend to sound rather dry at times - just as the image of a librarian remains rather 'dusty and old-fashioned' - but I spent my life as an enthusiastic sharer, and I have to share this with anyone who loves books.

For ten years now, thousands of people have set themselves the challenge of writing 50,000 fictional words in November.  A simple goal, really.  I didn't say easy!  Just simple to understand.

Like a marathon. Simple enough.  Run 26 miles, taking as long as you like.  Straightforward.  :-)

If this intrigues you (and the only prize is reaching the goal you set yourself) then visit NaNoWriMo (national Novel Writing Month).

Even if you don't want to write, right now, you can contribute funds towards outreach programs for young people; you can promote the event (buy the T-Shirt); spread the word.  To really feel a sense of completion, I even published my last two (using Lulu) and although I don't expect to sell any, I really enjoy the process of designing and laying out a book, commissioning covers from the fantastic Bobby Campbell, and eventually holding a real, tangible book in my hand!  Other spin-off fun came from making videos on my progress (the story so far...) and getting interviewed for NaNo radio, etc.  You will find a whole community of people meeting up for write-ins, and all sorts.

Update:  If you don't feel sure about the value of this experience, read this article at Edutopia, about the effect on schools and teachers of the Young Writers program...

Content Creators

The image of hissing and shushing librarians guarding their precious books like dragons leaves out the fact that many library and information workers actually love books.

And rather than fitting into the mould of "Those who can, do, those who can't, teach" - quite a few library workers actually write books, too.

Mark Isaacs (who works in Cardiff Libraries) has recently had published Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Cardiff and will, apparently, be signing copies at Borders soon. He previously collaborated with the prolific Francis Frith on a book called Around Penarth.

When the Cardiff Bay development was causing a scandal, the local library worker Sian Best wrote A Whim Set in Concrete: The Campaign to Stop the Cardiff Bay Barrage.

Glass Cage

The library contains all kinds of things aside from books.  We have a white grand piano (with headphones) that people can play on - and I have just been experimenting with Sibelius software.

The piece I made (as a test) has the randomness of a John Cage bit - the notes were the equivalent of typing like this oioadfjo3u50w]r0wewe r0r [ew - but it sounds amusing to me.

http://www.ziddu.com/download/5469565/glasscage.wav.html

The library that never closes

Thanks to my partner for this link to an article in the Guardian.

I don't intend to join the discussion about paper books over ebooks right now (I use both for different purposes, and when researching like to have both - a paper copy for the bus or bath, foxed corners and pencil notes, and a PDF for searching quickly).

The Open Library.

And although I don't perform any more, I still love magic (my childhood hobby, part of my mid-life performing career, and now my equivalent to The Times Crossword, for mental stimulation) - so some people might find the attempt to digitalize all available (out of copyright) magic books interesting as a project.

Check out Chris Wasshuber's extraordinary Lybrary website, for books on magic, gambling, gaming, confidence tricks, etc.  Coming up to a tenth anniversary...

Digital Textbook Initiative

After a slighting reference to 'Arnold' on Have I Got News For You, about the simple economic savings implicit in not giving children hard copies of non-fiction text books, it feels difficult to come out on the side of digital learning.

Terminating Education on elearning 3.0 blog found at elearninglearning (sic)

Full speech at Office of the Guv'ner

Actually, I still believe in the mixed economy.  Certainly for novels and poetry, I prefer having a copy I can carry around.

The argument for up-to-date information seem irrefutable, however - as digital copies remain available for all students, when limited copies soon leave the shelves, and either stay out for months, or never come back. And they also go out of date quickly, whether books on law, medicine, economics, etc.

I think it a rather extreme position to eliminate books altogether, as though all information goes out of date quickly.  We don't just study History (where new revelations, attitudes and approaches might appear) but also how people viewed it at certain times (some classics remain important for study, even if 'period pieces' in some ways.)  The idea that all information goes out of date comes from a rather superficial view that we in the present know more, and more accurately, than people in the past.  I do think completely deleting the past a rather dangerous approach, myself.  Just think how hard it can prove, to find an out-of-print, out-of fashion  masterpiece.

This remains a heated argument within libraries, as some of us think we should appear as up-to-date, clean and modern as Borders or Waterstones - just free, is all.  Others think we should represent an alternative to best sellers and a limited choice on display, and include an archive of 'out-of-date' material and hard to find items, rather than just the latest compilation summary of past knowledge, Dummies' Guides, etc. 

Of course, bookshops and libraries can both order you copies of books they don't have, to arrive later, whether to borrow or to buy.

As it happens, as I try to use e-learning options within the libraries, for staff training - I don't feel sure either way.  I don't get a great response from my initial efforts to make knowledge available digitally, but then again we work in a library, and I am not sure how many staff spend any time with the 'How To Use a Computer' books that we have, either.  Some people spend their time learning, and others don't - so motivation seems as important as access to tools.

No, I didn't reach a conclusion...

I have studied online for the last few years, and when working through a text my favourite option remains having a paper copy for reading on the bus and in the bath, and a PDF copy for searching, cutting and pasting etc.

I don't really believe in Either / Or.

Images, Imagine, Imagination

Clearing up my hard drive, I came across a couple of random images.

The first comes from the blog of a friend who does artwork for all kinds of fields, from graphic novels to album covers, online and in paper form - Bobby Campbell (Penman for Hire).

I believe it was done for a friend, but he OK'd me publishing it here.


The other is part of a wonderful series by Arcimboldo, but this one I hadn't seen before - The Librarian (1556).

Library Angels

That I ended up working in a library, after more than 30 years 'on the road' does not surprise me (though it startled some of my friends). Book Person.

And the most common experience for a real 'book person' - that keeps them addicted when confronted with everything that anyone ever wrote down - comes in the form of 'help' in research through synchronicities - the right book at the right time, to change your life. Further than that, if you become a researcher, the right passage in a book will be thrust in front of you (doesn't mean that you never do frustrating hours, days, weeks, months or even years, looking for something - sometimes you just have to relax and shrug).

And then what Koestler calls the 'library angels' can help you out. And I don't necessarily mean those pony-tailed beings in Berlin's public library, the Staatsbibliothek, in Wim Wenders' film 'Wings of Desire', although they could have something to do with it.


Robert Anton Wilson mentions their influence (but not by name) when he quotes from The Illuminoids on p8 of my edition of Cosmic Trigger

"A book by another Wilson, Colin Wilson's The Occult - was also discovered at just the right moment and often "fell open at the right page" just as Wilson says other references did for him."   RAW

And here, John Michell (quoted in "Is The Universe Friendly?")

“Study a subject, allow it to obsess you, ask questions of it, and next time you visit a library, a bookstore or a friend’s house, you may pick up the one book in the world which gives the answer you were looking for. Coincidences can be invoked. I have asked many writers about this, and nearly all of them were able to give striking personal examples of being helped by this useful aspect of the feedback effect which Arthur Koestler attributes to library angels.”

After reading through a score of library cases, wrote the late Arthur Koestler, “one is tempted to think of library angels in charge of providing cross-references.” Koestler was the one who put the seraphic spin on this particular species of good fortune. His library angel will be no stranger to many writers, readers and researchers. Whether she’s sister to serendipity, or just cousin to dumb luck, she seems to make her appearance at the moment when your guard is down. You’re either idly seeking some piece of trivia, or giving up on some search through the stacks, when suddenly the right book or magazine falls at your feet open at the right passage.

And sometimes, of course, that precious aid to research might just be a real live member of staff with deep knowledge, a 'feel' for their subject, and willing to follow a hunch.  but I still like the improbable...