The Clueless Librarian

“Child of the Library” written by Piers Cawley (performed at OSCON 2011). The lyrics are here and you can read about the references here. Follow Piers Cawley on twitter.

You may have already heard about the damage sustained by the Wells Memorial Library in New York after Hurricane Irene. They weren’t the only library to be hit with water damage: the West Hartford Public Library in Vermont lost 60% of its collection, including its entire children’s department. Please consider making a donation of books or money to help them rebuild.

For Wells Memorial Library, you can send a donation to:

Wells Memorial Library
12230 State Route 9N
Upper Jay, NY 12987 

Hear an interview with Wells Memorial Library board president Marie-Anne Azar Ward at NPR.

Or, send a donation to the West Hartford Public Library to:

West Hartford Public Library
P.O. Box 26
West Hartford, VT 05084

Author Kate Messner has been actively involved in spreading the word about what you can do to help, especially for the Wells Memorial Library. Her blog has more detailed information on the kind of donations the library is looking for. (You can also follow her on Google+, facebook, and twitter.)

If you know of another library that needs help, by all means help them; even a donation of one book can make a huge difference!

The Librarian #4
“I am not a babysitter for teachers’ planning periods.”

I am a librarian in a school setting. I am a professional with a Master’s degree and am a certified teacher in two states. I teach basic life skills, like how to find information, evaluate it critically, and use it in an ethical and creative way. I help children explore their passions and find out what about their world interests them the most. I am not a babysitter for teachers’ planning periods, I am a teacher too and the time children spend with me is valuable. My job cannot be done effectively by volunteers, and managing, cataloging and promoting a library collection both physical and electronic is just as demanding as having your own classroom of children.

In March 1970, Marguerite Hart became the first children’s librarian at the Troy Library. She was hired to plan children’s activities and to develop a children’s collection for the booming youth population in the City. […] In early 1971, Hart wrote to dozens of actors, authors, artists, musicians, playwrights, librarians, and politicians of the day. She asked them to write a letter to the children of Troy about the importance of libraries, and their memories of reading and of books. Hart received 97 letters addressed to Troy’s young people from individuals who spanned the arts, sciences, and politics across the 50 states, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, the Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.

[via Brain Pickings]

One World, Many Stories: Where do the books go? A Brooklyn Public Library Film by Joey O’Loughlin

These photographs, and reflections on reading and the Brooklyn Public Library, were collected over the last year by photojournalist Joey O’Loughlin. It is hoped that the words and images will remind decision makers that the BPL is more than a line item in a budget. It represents a shared experience and a quality of life enjoyed by thousands of people each day. The film was edited by Jeff Sisson.

[via The Desk Set]

Author Casey Scieszka and illustrator Steven Weinberg reading Catching Fire and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Illustration by Steven Weinberg.

Casey blogs about that (I’m assuming) god-awful WSJ article about YA lit being “too dark” (I couldn’t get myself to read it because I knew I would barf and brood over it for far too long).

We thought about taking a picture, but it seemed a little inappropriate being not exactly clothed and in bed. (You never know where those photos wind up, do you Weiner?)  But now I kind of wish we DID because people who go crazy over violence tend to go crazy over lady-nipple and I kind of love to drive those people crazy. I also kind of love that there are no lady nipples in this shot only because they’re being covered by a crazy violent YA book.

P.S. I’m almost done with Casey and Steven’s To Timbuktu and have been thoroughly enjoying it. As much as I enjoy traveling, the book made me realize I am still an amateur traveler!

We know a lot these days; we just don’t know where we learned it. “The source of information you’re using, the evaluation of that source, how you use it, how you respect it and cite it – that’s all what we call informational literacy,” pointed out Carole Moore, chief librarian at Robarts for the past 25 years. “It has been more of a problem in the information age then ever, because there’s so much information out there, and it’s hard to know where it comes from. On the Internet it all looks the same. But in the library you have so many more cues.” Librarians know those cues.

From the Globe and Mail, May 20, 2011