Category Archives: Libraries

Virtual Bookplates

With our increasing reliance on electronic record keeping, especially online records, it makes a lot of sense to consider the use of virtual bookplates for those items which would normally have a printed label affixed within the book: An item … Continue reading

Posted in Acquisitions, Books, ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, OPAC, Promotions, Software, Web Design | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

NASA Educator Resource Centers

With NASA in the news so much lately(1, 2, 3, 4), it seems a good reminder that the organization has nearly 70 Educator Resource Centers across the country.  These are fantastic resources to tap for information relevant to a wide … Continue reading

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Simple and Evolvable Standards

May All Your Standards Be Simple and Evolvable is a post by John Wilbanks on Science Blog’s Common Knowledge.  It is written with medical data standards in mind, but it could be discussing the state of library data as well: … Continue reading

Posted in Cataloging, ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, Medical, Online Databases, OPAC, Open Source, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Simple and Evolvable Standards

If you were thinking about buying a magazine or two…

Publishers Weekly is reporting that not only are they up for sale by their publisher, Reed Business Information, but that Library Journal and School Library Journal are available as well. Without knowing the cost/profit information for each of these, I … Continue reading

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OLC Cancels Conference

The Ohio Library Council has announced that they are canceling their annual conference due to low expectations of attendance.  The organization surveyed library directors throughout Ohio and determined that most libraries simply don’t have the funds to participate. Is this … Continue reading

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The State of Open-Source Library Software

Brett Bonfield has a great post, actually more of a long essay or article, on open source library software projects.  W-E-B-S-I-T-E, Find Out What It Means To Me (great title, but certainly more limited than the post’s topic) covers a … Continue reading

Posted in ILS, Libraries, Library 2.0, OPAC, Open Source, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Millennial Disc

It’s called the Millennial Disc, and it is being marketed as a 1,000 year storage for digital information. Before we run out and buy a stack of these for our archives, I would simply ask: How many years before some … Continue reading

Posted in Archival, History, Libraries, Photography, Software, Space | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Ohio Gets A Budget

The deal has finally been closed, and the state of Ohio has a new two-year budget.  The proposed cuts to libraries were scaled back by two-thirds, to about 11%.  All told, library funding is expected to drop between 25-30% from … Continue reading

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Sugar for Your Computers

Sugar is the desktop environment developed for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program, and it is now available as an open-source download through the Sugar Labs project.  This could be a fantastic way to keep older computers useful and … Continue reading

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Choosing and Choices – Librarianship and Serials

A Look at Librarianship through the Lens of an Academic Library Serials Review is a post from In the Library with a Lead Pipe.  It is not only a great examination of the options available, with their assorted benefits and … Continue reading

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Inclusion, Relationship and Commitment

The Proverbial Lone Wolf Librarian has a short “rant” about what libraries need and don’t need, and it is very much worth reading. He urges us to “Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero – ‘seize the day and place no … Continue reading

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Strickland Gets Strict

Last Saturday, Governor Ted Strickland suggested that Ohio Librarians ought to take a pay cut rather than be critical of his budget proposal: As for libraries, which, in Strickland’s original budget framework were slated for a 30 percent cut in … Continue reading

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Awful Library Books

You know it, even if you don’t admit it… your library has books that should have been weeded years ago, but have hung around until they become anachronistically funny.  To give you an anonymous outlet for this outlandish situation, there … Continue reading

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Open Source Survey

If you have a few minutes, answer a few questions for Nicole Engard, the Open Source Evangelist for Liblime (how’s that for a job title?).  She is conducting an online survey because, in her words: “I am working on some … Continue reading

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World eBook Fair

The World eBook Fair begins this Saturday, July 4th, coinciding with Project Gutenberg‘s 39th anniversary. To celebrate, the World eBook Fair members are providing free access to over two million books between July 4th and August 4th. found via ResourceShelf

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NASA Needs A Library Solution (But So Do Libraries)

In a merging of two of my great interests, NASA has issued a Request For Information (ROI) on how best to “analyze and catalog notes from spaceflight pioneer Wernher von Braun into an electronic, searchable database or other system.“ At … Continue reading

Posted in Archival, Classification, Government, History, Libraries, Library 2.0, News, Online Databases, Software, Space, Web Design, Wiki | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

What is the future of the library?

What is the future of the library? is a video that presents the library as a solution to the digitial divide, providing access and empowerment to those who otherwise would not have the access or the ability to effectively utilize … Continue reading

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OCLC Withdraws Records Policy

The Review Board on Principles of Shared Data Creation and Stewardship has released their final report on OCLC’s proposed policy for use of records (pdf), and after reviewing the report, OCLC has formally withdrawn the policy. This conclusion to the … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Cataloging, Copyright, Ethics, Fair Use, Groups, Libraries, Library 2.0, Licensing, News, OCLC | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on OCLC Withdraws Records Policy

American Libraries on Ohio Funding

The American Libraries article is just one of many to explain the issues facing Ohio, but I found the following information worth posting: Strickland’s office was also flooded with phone calls; gubernatorial spokesperson Amanda Wurst said in the June 23 … Continue reading

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Save Ohio Libraries

Odds and Ends: Save Ohio Libraries is the rallying cry as well as the focus of this week’s activities. The Save Ohio Libraries Facebook page is rapidly approaching 12,000 members (and has gone from 11,543 to 11,768 as I have … Continue reading

Posted in Event, Government, History, Libraries, News | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments