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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.Libology Blog
Established July 2006
ISSN: 1946-1852
by Rick Mason
Category Archives: History
BandMusic PDF Library
If the BandMusic PDF Library, offering free access to public domain band music, seems familiar, you might be thinking of the IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library, which does the same for classical scores. Each of these should be on every library’s list … Continue reading
Posted in History, Libraries, Online Databases, Online Services, Uncategorized
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A New Era of Scientific Publishing
This. Why is Science Behind a Paywall? We are in the middle of the most dramatic and significant change in publishing since the proliferation of the printing press. One area that has been resistant to change has been peer-reviewed scientific … Continue reading
Posted in Blogs, History, Libraries, Open Access, Periodicals, Publishing, Science
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Inventor of the Bar Code Dies
The media coverage, rightly so, emphasizes the tremendous impact that N. Joseph Woodland’s creation had on retail sales and inventory. Library folk should take a moment and reflect on how much this one technological achievement as affected our work.
Google Election Maps
The mid-term elections are shaping up to be quite dramatic (although not quite the roller-coaster ride that we had with the 2008 election season). And Google has come up with a new way to visualize the flood of data that … Continue reading
Posted in Google, Government, History, Maps, Online Services, Politics, Web Design
Tagged 2010 Election, election, Google, Google Maps, Government, History, Politics
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The Skinny on Sheepskin
Wired is running a story that links the size of e-readers to sheep. I think it is a stretch (and they admit it, as well), but the story does have a terrific guide to why books have traditionally been their … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Definitions, History, Publishing
Tagged Books, e-readers, History, paper, Sheep, technology, Vellum, Wired;
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Five Laws of Library Science (Ebook edition)
Andy Woodworth has printed an update of Ranganathan’s Five Laws, only how they relate to Ebooks: Five Laws of Library Science (Ebook edition) Ebooks are for use. Every reader his or her ebook. Every book, any ereader. Save the time … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Ethics, History, Libraries
Tagged Andy Woodworth, Books, ebooks, Ethics, five laws of library science, Libraries, Ranganathan
2 Comments
OCLC Questions
Jonathan Rochkind at Bibliographic Wilderness weighs in on the OCLC issue, and ultimately asks a lot of significant questions that don’t have easy answers. We all need to be asking significant questions, not only of OCLC, SkyRiver, and III, but … Continue reading
Posted in Cataloging, Classification, Ethics, Groups, History, ILL, ILS, Libraries, OCLC, Online Databases, Online Services
Tagged Cataloging, Ethics, III, Jonathan Rochkind, Libraries, OCLC, Online Services, SkyRiver
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Non Words
What would you call a collection of non words? That question occurs to me with the news that Oxford University Press has a vault containing millions of “non words” notated on 4″ x 6″ cards. These are the words that … Continue reading
Posted in Archival, Classification, Definitions, History, Language
Tagged Classification, dictionary, English languages, Language, Linguistics, OED, Oxford English Dictionary, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Searching A Card Catalog
The Obsolete Skills wiki has an entry on Searching A Card Catalog, which includes: “Use of the retaining rods for swordplay, while a way to break up the tedium of searching, was not appreciated by library staff.” I beg to … Continue reading
How the Digital Revolution Changed Our World
An visual chart in the current Newsweek sums up many of the changes we have seen over the past decade: Exactly How Much Are The Times A-Changin’? The categories that are in decline speak volumes: The US Postal Service is … Continue reading
Posted in Blogs, Books, Google, Government, History, News, Periodicals, Publishing, Statistics, WebSearch
Tagged Blogs, Books, Google, History, News, Newsweek, Publishing, Statistics
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Political Dictionary
Political Dictionary is one of those resources to make a note about, as it contains words and phrases unique to the political environment without being politically charged in defining them. Interesting terms include: Full Ginsberg Mugwumps Recess Appointment Vote-a-rama
Posted in Blogs, Definitions, Government, History, Language, Politics
Tagged Blog, definitions, dictionary, Ginsberg, Government, Human Interest, Mugwumps, Politics
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How to Respond to Bad Press, continued
In a post a few days ago I referred to a letter written by Mary A. Dempsey, Commissioner for the Chicago Public Library, as a response to a Fox Chicago News story that asked Are Libraries Necessary, or a Waste … Continue reading
Posted in Ethics, Government, Groups, History, Libraries, News, Online Services
Tagged Anna Davlantes, Anthony Bourdain, Author, California State Library, Chicago, Chicago Public Library, city services, Commissioner, DC, Digital media, e-book, Education, English as a second language, Google Books Library Project, Harold Washington Library Center, hour Internet sessions, Illinois, job search assistance, journalist, librarian, Library, Library and information science, Library Board, Library Board of Directors, MacArthur Foundation, marketing, Mary A. Dempsey, online information, online research collections, pdf, Public Library, School library, Science, Talking Book Center, the Ravinia Music Festival, USD, Walter Cronkite, Washington, WFLD
1 Comment
Four Years Later…
It was on July 6, 2006 that I set this blog in motion. Originally named The LibrarySupportStaff.org Blog, this is the 881st post, and by one metric* gets an average of over 200 page views per day. I began this … Continue reading
Posted in Blogs, History, Libraries, Library 2.0
1 Comment
Anne Frank’s Annex: 3-D Tour
Each year, about one million people visit the site where Anne Frank’s family hid from the Nazis during World War II, which was described vividly in her diary. Now the Anne Frank House has opened a virtual annex site, including … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Education, History, Online Services
Tagged Anne Frank, Diary of Anne Frank, virtual annex site, World War II
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OCLC and Data
The OCLC Record Use Policy Council today posted a draft of the WorldCat Rights and Responsibilities for the OCLC Cooperative. This is the second go-around for updating the 1987 Guidelines for the Use and Transfer of OCLC-derived Records, which is … Continue reading
Posted in Cataloging, Copyright, History, Libraries, Library 2.0, Licensing, News, OCLC, Online Databases, OPAC
Tagged OCLC Records Use Policy, Online Computer Library Center
2 Comments
Mash-Up is not a new term
From the Oxford English Dictionary, via Ron Murray at the Library of Congress, through the Disruptive Library Technology Jester, comes the news that the term “Mash-Up”, with roughly the same meaning as today, is over 150 years old! The modern … Continue reading
Posted in Definitions, History, Language, Library 2.0, Web Design
Tagged English languages, Library, Library of Congress, Oxford English Dictionary
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Public Domain Manifesto
The Public Domain Manifesto is an effort to describe the strengths of public domain, and to encourage support. Some of the general principles: The Public Domain is the rule, copyright protection is the exception. Copyright protection should last only as … Continue reading
Posted in Copyright, Government, History, Libraries, Licensing
Tagged Copyright, Manifesto, public domain, Public Domain Manifesto
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