There Go The Neighborhoods

I attended the grand opening of the new Delaware branch of the Albany Public Library on Saturday, January 9, just as I attended the event for the Pine Hills branch (a/k/a, MY branch) five weeks earlier. Also, on Tuesday, January 5, I went to the sometimes contentious meeting about the closing of the Washington Avenue YMCA (a/k/a, MY branch) at, not coincidentally, the main branch of the APL. And it brought home the fact that the issues of the branch libraries, the urban Y and also the post offices that have been threatened to be closed, including the South Allen location (a/k/a, MY post office) are all part of the same issue: the livability of the city of Albany. However, there have been quite varied outcomes.

First, let’s look at the good news. You MUST go to the two reopened branches of the library, although you may not fully appreciate their beauty and usability unless you had been to the previous incarnations. The old, one-story location at 517 Western Avenue was cramped and a bit dark; the new two-story facility is bright and roomy, and moreover finally has an adequate number of computers, even on a Saturday afternoon.

But even the old branch of the Pine Hills library was a palace compared with the old Delaware branch which was in a strip mall, next to a laundromat. I’ve had closets that were wider. At least thrice – and I admit I avoided going there very often – water, lint and noise from its neighbor was evident in the library. Now at 331 Delaware Avenue, a former funeral home that I’d only been to once or twice, it is totally reimagined to be bright and accessible.

As Dennis Gaffney, president of the APL board of trustees, has noted, Albany had rejected $150,000 for a Carnegie library back in 1902, by a 3-2 vote, because of the $9,000 annual maintenance. But a little over a century later, the people of Albany, by a 2-1 vote, embraced building five new or refurbished branch libraries.

At the YMCA meeting, CEO Dave Brown noted how much of the programming of the Albany Y is not dependent on that building at 274 Washington Avenue. He was followed by speaker after speaker from various organization noting how vital the Y building is to the populations they serve, from the medical student who destresses there to young man who promised more violence in the city without the facility.

I heard a lot of vague promises to work towards saving the facility, from organizations using the building to the Albany mayor, who, the day after his dire State of the City, promised his support. Yet Dave Brown’s promise of the “immediate shutdown” if certain benchmarks aren’t met remained.

Right now, because of some pricing incentives, it is a good time to join the YMCA on Washington Avenue. I’m cautiously optimistic that the first goal of 2550 households (up from 1800) can be met by April – is that the beginning or end of April, Dave? – but another thousand or more beyond that before the end of the year seems ambitious. The task force working on saving the Y I’m hoping can bring alternative funding ideas to the table.

The post offices unfortunately is largely out of local control, though the targeting of the urban settings, at least in this area, is disturbing. All I can say is that having a local facility was a major selling point in choosing a home. If making some noise will make a difference, let there be cacophony.

Three institutions. One good outcomes, two up in the air. All vital for a livable city. ROG

ROG

Doing Away With Dewey

There was an article in the local paper last week that the Albany Public Library was going to do away with the Dewey Decimal System in favor of a system that’s more like a bookstore, as I understand it. I have mixed emotions.

On one hand, I see why the library would want to utilize a system like that which the book-using public is used to. While I grew up using the Dewey Decimal System in the Binghamton Public Library, where I worked as a teen, it’s not as though I’m wedded to it. Indeed, the books in the special library where I work uses the Library of Congress classification, an alphanumeric system even more arcane for the casual user than Melvil Dewey’s categorization. Also, when I was going to library school, I quickly tired of the jokes about my devotion to the DDC.

On the other hand, the conversation suggests that DDC is complicated and that the bookstore model is “better”. Maybe it’s me, but I always find what I’m looking for in a DDC or LC library, while I’m more likely to have to ask for need help from a book store clerk. That’s because the categories in some bookstores are not as helpful as they might be.

The example that immediately comes to mind is Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II, by Douglas A. Blackmon. Last month, the Writers Institute and the Friends of the Albany Public Library sponsored Doug Blackmon to speak at APL.

For those of you not from the Albany area, the Writers Institute was co-founded 25 years ago by William Kennedy. Bill Kennedy is THE most noted writer to come out of Albany, and his fiction about Albany has been award-winning. I happen to particularly enjoy his nonfiction book, O Albany!

There was a dinner before the Blackmon presentation, and for reasons unknown to me, I had the pleasure to sit next to Doug Blackmon. We had a very interesting talk. One point that he made, relative to this current discussion, is how well or poorly his book sells in a given store depended, to a very large degree, on where his book was placed in said bookstore. If it was placed in the American history section – and the story certainly is an American story not often heard – then it sold all right. But if it were placed in the ghetto of the black history section (“ghetto” is my term) – as though the story were only important to, or applicable to black people – then it tended to do less well.

Now, a library book is not sold by the institution. But how often a book circulates certainly effects whether or not other books on that topic and/or books by that author.

I have no inside information just how this “bookstore” model is going to look until the Pine Hills branch – MY branch – reopens next month beyond what I’ve read here. But I’ll be very interested to find out.
ROG

ROG

Ask Roger Anything, Solstice Edition

Now that it’s summer (or winter, depending), it is time to Ask Roger Anything. Oh, but wait – I’m distracted by somebody who recently noted that if people from space came to Earth, they might conclude the South Pole is the top of the world and the North Pole is on the bottom; after all there is a large land mass. Or maybe they’d pick some point on the equator or the Tropic of Cancer. Is our sense of top and bottom somewhat arbitrary?

Usually I do this because I’m afraid I’ll run out of things to write about. This is not the case presently; I have three or four blogposts re my trip to North Carolina alone. I am, though, having trouble actually composing them, or even deciding if I should. Answering YOUR questions gives me opportunity to muse on them some more.

Anyway, I already have a question from SB: “So perhaps you’ve already written about this, but I’d be interested to hear how libraries continue to change and evolve with stuff like Twitter and Facebook. Do libraries have their own Facebook badges? Is that – gasp! – allowed?”

Our library has a Facebook page, which is fueled in part from our blog feed. We have a Twitter feed that keeps both our blog and our website fresh. Our Facebook badge is a variation on the SBDC logo.

I’ve seen over 1000 libraries on both Twitter and Facebook, and I’d guesstimate that there are tens of thousands of librarians who are on one or both of the sites; I am on those, LinkedIn and a couple others.

The Library of Congress has over 10,000 followers but is following, last I checked, no one. At least the Library Journal is following a couple hundred while it is followed by over 5,000. I – and apparently others – had contacted the LOC about this, and the folks responded, rather quickly, that were worried that there would be too much noise in the feed. I’m not sure I agree with their thought process.

So, any other questions, folks? Everything is on the table. Let your mind get creative.
ROG

ROG

World Book and Copyright Day

From the news release:
On 23 April 2009, we will celebrate the 14th World Book and Copyright Day, proclaimed by the UNESCO General Conference in 1995 to promote greater awareness of the importance of books in the world.

In order to support the Organization in today’s society, this year international professional associations are once again kindly invited to play an essential role in informing and mobilizing both their members and their external networks of experts and stakeholders.

For this edition of the Day, UNESCO suggests to explore the topic of the paramount function of books for the development of quality education, as well as the link between publishing and fundamental rights.

One of the cool things my wife did this past year was to apply for and receive a $600 minigrant to buy books for her English as a Second Language unit that had been limited by ancient, archaic texts. Even more impressive, she got a publisher to donate – that is, give for free – an almost equal number of books.

Something I know from personal experience is that teachers often spend money out of pocket for books and supplies that they bring to the classroom. In honor of today, perhaps you might contract your local school or PTA to see what books they might need. Or contact your local library; ironically, in a period of increased demand for library services, library budgets are being slashed.

So buy a book, for yourself and/or for someone else.
***
An action film, Salt, starring Angelina Jolie, will be filmed in part on the streets of Albany. Some folks are up in arms, even though the schedule suggests that it won’t disrupt the morning or evening commutes. I think the real issue is that there was NO information at all going out to the general public until a couple days ago about something that begins today, and there is a lot of misinformation floating out there.

ROG

ROG

Roger Answers Your Questions, Scott and Gordon

Our first contestant is soon-to-be-daddy again Scott from Scooter Chronicles:

1. In a previous post, you predicted the winners of each MLB division. Who do you think wins the league pennants, and who wins the World Series?

Once you get to a short series, there are so many variables so it’s hard to say. It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s a wild card like the Boston Red Sox. And, shades, of 1986, I’m going to pick the Mets to beat them.

By the way, Scott – you NEED this: a free, 586-page PDF of the Emerald Guide to Baseball 2009.

2. What is your take on the AIG bonuses? Where do you think the government needs to take this?

First, those noting that the bonuses were a small percentage of the bailout are correct. Second, the first point is totally irrelevant; AIG is totally tone deaf. I’ve been REALLY uncomfortable with this “too big to fail” label; gives these companies a feeling of entitlement. Given the fact that the average American didn’t even know what AIG WAS a year ago, it’s unsurprising. The only time I ever saw them was on advertisements on Sunday morning talk shows. So their audience was never the average American, it was the DC movers and shakers.

At this point, with over a sixth of a TRILLION dollars already in, the government isn’t going to say to AIG, “Go ahead, go bankrupt,” though those bonuses could have been voided if it had. Some of the bonus monies are going to be given back – or deducted from the next check. But if the government is going to nationalize these companies, and they have all but done so – whatever you want to call it – they damn well better job of setting the rules of engagement for giving away lending OUR money. Politically, if not economically, I think the administration needs to try the “clawback” of AIG bonuses; I know that New York State’s Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, has been looking at the contracts as well. Here’s an interesting article about other money our government might try to recover.

3. Who is your favorite musician? Could be a member of a band, or a solo artist, or whomever. But specifically, a musician.

This is probably influenced somewhat by my birthday present, the 2004 Crossroads Guitar Festival DVD, but I guess I’ll pick Eric Clapton. The stuff on the Yardbirds, Derek and the Dominoes, Blind Faith, his early solo stuff, and especially Cream moved me greatly, and that concert showed that sometimes, he’s still got it.

4. What is your favorite season of the year?

Spring, beginning of new life. It gets warmer. Oddly, it’s also still in Lent, so I get to sing the more mournful stuff in church.

5. Did you read “Watchmen”? If so, what did you think of it? Have any interest in seeing the movie?

I read Watchmen when it came out, and I liked it a lot at the time. I feel as though I should read it again either before or after I see the movie.

Next up, social network maven Gordon from Blog THIS, Pal!

1. Taking a quick business trip to NY City, I want to visit again…but I also want to do more out-of-the-way, quirky places as well as the usual tourist-y stuff. Any suggestions?

The Queens Public Library. Serving the most diverse county in the country, it has a wide variety of collections.

2. Your preliminary thoughts on these early days of the Obama presidency – is he doing right? Way off course?

I have some reservations, but I’m more pleased than displeased. The stuff on Iraq, stem cell research, Gitmo, and much of the stimulus I’m for, especially the emphasis on GREEN jobs and the part about health care, in part because of this story, something Scott has blogged about recently. I loved his apology over the Daschle nomination.

But I’m still not convinced that we’re not going into a quagmire in Afghanistan, as the Soviet Union did, if we’re not already, and more troops might not help. Also, there were a LOT of vacancies in the Treasury Department with a lot to do. I know he inherited TARP, but it rather stinks.

The other question I’ll hold in abeyance.

Still taking more questions!

ROG

ROG

Roger Answers Your Questions, Demeur

Demeur asks:

Okay I’ll bite. I’m not exactly sure what type of librarian you are (ie school, public or corporate)

Well, let’s deal with that first. I work in what one would call a special library. The New York State Small Business development Center helps people who want to start or expand their business. It is a free service, and there are like programs in every state of the union, plus, DC, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. The NYS SBDC has five librarians that form the Research Network, which find research that SBDC clients ask of their advisors.

but my question. Have you noticed any major changes in the library system in the last eight years?
For us, actually, the biggest issue has been electronic delivery of information. This means copyright issues. We struggle almost weekly with this. You know when you go to the library and copy a page, or indeed, the whole book, the library will have a notice about the rules of copyright, but it is largely the responsibility of the patron. Not so with digital data, particularly since we digitized it by making a PDF. We have to be cognizant of balancing educational use with frequency and spontaneity, plus the possible harm to the copyright holder.

I know the government has been trying to put controls like net filters and accessing computer caches to follow users surfing habits, but have there been any actual laws that you must follow?

Well, no, but I’m not in a public library. Now, I am involved in a public library as Vice-President of the Friends of the Albany Public Library. By and large, APL is not using net filters, to the best of my knowledge. This means that the librarian, who can generally see the computers, at least in the main branch, might theoretically make a determination that something is inappropriate in a public setting, if someone complained; I’ve never seen or heard of it happening. Since APL endorses the principles adopted by the American Library Association in the Library Bill of Rights and the Freedom to Read Statement, it seems that the library goes out of its way not to be the thought police.

What is your attitude about this?
About filtering software, which I think you’re alluding to, the literature I’ve read suggests it generally doesn’t work. It tends to block the word “breast” and miss the articles on breast cancer or “sex” and block out things about gender. Spam blockers I favor, but not subject blockers. Part of the reason that the governor of Alaska worries not only me but other librarians

But the most virulent thing that’s come down in the past eight years is the so-called USA PATRIOT Act, which, among other things, is supposed to allow the government to find out what library patrons have been treading. Libraries have subverted that by deliberately not knowing what their individual patrons are checking out once they’ve returned them. Here are other ways to protect against the ‘knock on the door’.

Interestingly, I can tell you that I’ve never been involved in a PATRIOT Act situation, but if I had, I supposedly could not; there are ways to subvert that too, and I’m in favor.

I don’t know that most librarians are liberals, though I suspect they are. I DO know that most librarians have a libertarian streak in them, thinking that the government, in most cases, ought to butt out.
ROG

ROG

I Agree With Ed Koch about Sarah Palin

The first time I had a chance to vote for Ed Koch, the 1977 Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, I voted against him, and in favor of some guy named Mario Cuomo. Koch won and was easily re-elected mayor that fall.
The second time I had a chance to vote for Ed Koch, the 1982 Democratic primary for governor of New York State, I voted against him, and in favor of some guy named Mario Cuomo. Cuomo won and was easily elected governor of New York.
In 2004, Koch, ostensibly a Democrat, supported the re-election of GW Bush. So, I’m not a big fan of Edward I. Koch. And yet…

When Ed Koch says that a Sarah Palin presidency ‘scares’ him, that resonates with me.

Look, I can get into a rhetorical debate about this – and BTW, the Librarians against Palin website points out that she probably meant “theoretical” when she talked about her “rhetorical” book ban. And yes, I know the banned book list floating around the Internet has been debunked, but there are still questions to be resolved.

But I didn’t need the word of the former New York City mayor to tip me off. Frankly, her responses in the Gibson/ABC News interview were often troubling. Is it that she really WANTS to go to war with Russia AND Iran? Does she assume that Israel should have carte blanche? A scary interview.

At least she “clarified” her Bridge to Nowhere position during the interviews, though she returned to the lie two days later. Even Pat Buchanan says she’s being trained to “parrot the McCain-neocon line”, contrary to her own earlier beliefs.

I do wonder about Troopergate as much as how it reflects her governing style as the specific facts in the case. And has been the role of Alaska’s “first dude”?

Know that I don’t care particularly about Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old pregnant daughter. I do, however, care about her position of forcing “abstinence-only education” down the throats of the school districts. (Hey, send money to Parenthood in Sarah Palin’s name!) And I can’t help but wonder: How well would Barack Obama have done if he had come forth with a 17 year old pregnant, unmarried, unemployed daughter? And speaking of sex, Sarah Palin’s “hotness” factor, which I know liberal bloggers are tired of hearing about, but which voters may be responding to initially, won’t be enough the more voters learn more about her.

Even the resident conservative of The View, Elisabeth Hasselback thought that Obama’s “lipstick on a pig”, a phrase used by John McCain regarding Hillary Clinton’s health care policies, was a non-issue. Ah, politics of distraction. The handlers at least are on script as they play the gender card. I will say this – Sarah Palin does snark well – and are community organizers, which would have included my late father, ticked.

Having said all that, I’ve pretty much tired of talking about Palin – well, maybe not this Palin. Until Sarah does something else totally outrageous, I’ll let others carry that ball. I’d rather discuss about the top of the ticket, John McCain.

If I were a Republican in 2000 and voting in the primary, I likely would have gone for John McCain, certainly over George W. Bush. While I was mildly troubled by that Keating Five thing involving the Savings & Loan disaster of the 1980s, he seemed like an honorable guy. In this lengthy (30 minute) piece, Joe Biden talks, among other things, how badly he felt when the forces of W. vilified McCain before the South Carolina primary that year:

Since he had been tortured himself, he was sensitive to a strong anti-torture policy for the United States, and I applauded that.

So how the hell did the ‘Straight Talk Express’ get so derailed? More than anger, I have a profound disappointment that the Arizona senator has sunk to such levels that even Karl Rove says McCain is lying in his ads.

A raspberry to the MSM here. It took Comedy Central’s the Daily Show, FCOL, to show how McCain’s 2008 talking points about working with Democrats, et al was almost verbatim what W said in 2000 – anyone have that link? – and we all know how well THAT worked. Obama gets knocked for wanting to talk to Iran, but – surprise – five former U.S. Secretaries of State are saying the same thing.

McCain’s self-declared lack of strength in the economic side is problematic. His economic policy, deemed ‘incomplete’ by the hardly liberal US News makes the rich richer. He declares that fundamentals of the economy are strong even as Wall Street collapses. McCain, the computer illiterate is the one I fi
nd “out of touch”. And it saddens me. Earlier this year, Wesley Clark, that is, General Wesley Clark, got in trouble for suggesting that John McCain’s war record was not an automatic qualifier for the Presidency; he wasn’t wrong, merely impolitic. America is guns AND butter.

I’ll be mentioning McCain again, I suspect.

ROG

ROG

Librarians Of The Apocalypse

Star Wars, stand aside! Doctor Who, you’re a piker!

“There IS a wise and wonderful plan… of tomes and talismans!”

Mississippi educational television put out a series of instructional videos in the mid-1980s called Tomes & Talismans, meant to teach children about how to use the tools in the library. Described by my friend Dan, who tipped me off to this classic: “It revolves around a low budget apocalyptic science fiction plot that is generously interrupted to, for instance, explain the Dewey Decimal System. The story is that everybody that matters is abandoning the Earth, while lunatics are running around trying to destroy books and beat up TV newscasters. Time is running out, but the heroine of the story MUST RETRIEVE THE LAST OVERDUE BOOK. And there is no indication whatsoever that they were being funny or ironic. Absolutely delightful.”

The whole Tomes & Talismans series is posted on YouTube, described there as a “Post-apocalyptic library science educational show from the mid-eighties. Learn all about the Dewey decimal system, card catalogues, and microfiche! And the fate of the Earth, of course.” Dan had only watched the first episode, which was was broken down in three sections, and said the real action is in the third part. I, who had never heard of it before this week, watched all 13 episodes, roughly four hours, over two days; each of the 13 episodes runs just under 20 minutes each.

1. Tomes Entombed— overview of library/research skills and concepts
Part 1 – noisy and a bit garbled in the first couple minutes, but it clears up
Part 2
Part 3
2. Fact or Fiction— fact and fiction; alphabetical shelving
Part 1
Part 2: she IS a librarian
Part 3
3. Under Cover— parts of a book
Part 1
Part 2
4. In the Cards— card catalog
Part 1
Part 2
5. The System— Dewey Decimal Classification System
Part 1
Part2 : has most of the Dewey Decimal system laid right out for you
6. Information Quick— encyclopedia; typographical clues
Part 1 music to read your encyclopedia by
Part 2: the apparently famous watermelon episode
7. Hidden Meaning— dictionary; thesaurus
Part 1
Part 2
8. Preference for Reference— special subject reference sources
Part 1
Part 2
9. Direction Unknown— maps; atlases; world almanac
Part 1
Part 2
10. SOS: Skim or Scan— skimming; scanning; paraphrasing; taking notes
Part 1
Part 2
11. Guide to Light— Reader’s Guide; Children’s Magazine Guide
Part 1
Part 2
12. Show and Tell— audiovisual resources
Part 1
Part 2
13. Final Report— summarizing reports; concluding research; bibliographic sources
Part 1
Part 2

Reportedly, it’s coming to DVD this year.
***
Fear the Librarian

ROG

ROG

After 2009/1/20

Something I got from a United Methodist listserv, even though I’m no longer a UM; the date of the originating post is after May 2: Methodist Ministers Launch PR Campaign To Stop Bush Library At SMU»
Earlier this month, at the United Methodist Church’s (UMC) Quadrennial General Conference, the UMC’s governing body, voted overwhelmingly — 844 to 20 — to refer a petition to its South Central Jurisdiction. The petition urges the rejection of President Bush’s presidential library which is set to be housed at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. The library has received significant criticism from SMU faculty, Methodist ministers and the public because of an attached institute —
independent of the university — that will sponsor programs designed to “promote the vision of the president” and “celebrate” Bush’s presidency. The South Central Jurisdiction, which owns the university property where the library is set to be built, will vote on the petition this July. In anticipation of the vote, some Methodist ministers have launched a public relations campaign to highlight the partisan nature of the library: [T]he opponents have hired a Maine public relations firm to design ads for Methodist publications and do other strategies, said the Rev. Andrew Weaver of Brooklyn, N.Y. He said the goal is informing people about the partisan think tank, which won’t be under SMU’s control and will promote the Bush administration’s policies — such as the war with Iraq and harsh interrogation techniques of military prisoners — that some Methodists feel conflict with church
teachings.
Which begs the question, where does one get to sign up?

Actually, though, it seems as though we can be out of Iraq in practically no time. Maliki wants a timetable, Bush seems to want a drawdown, so we can just declare victory and leave.

Meanwhile, Dennis Kucinich is trying to get Bush impeached. A quixotic, though understandable, effort, but all I really want is this:

ROG

ROG

Library Humor

A couple months ago, someone on a library listserv I’m on (BUSLIB) was looking working for videos of people trying to return a retail product or getting gadgets to work. All sorts of suggestions popped up, some of which are shared here. See what fun-loving folks librarians are? The videos are of varying quality, but some are hysterical. In honor of National Library Week.

Monty Python Dead Parrot sketch Monty Python…Monty Python Hilarious Brilliant

A “Best City” Customer Service Story! “Here is a video I made at my former place of employment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w85dSkbTTSsWe were poking fun of the horrible customer service that is so common with the big box.”

The Answer – Retail Return. “I had to augment the living hell out of it. The on-stage actors were not projecting at all….retail return FFHS FFHStudios whispering”

Retail Hell or a Diffcult Life
Retail work sucks but you can get even! Watch and learn….Retail customers from hell getting even.

Wal-Mart’s Customer Service. For more information, visit www.walmartwatch.com.

Gateway Update – Still No Support . “For three weeks, Gateway is still telling me that they are unwilling to provide me with any customer support or service. BLAH! Still a Grade “F.”

Bad Customer Service #1Very bad customer service

Retail 103: Customer Returns And Exchanges. “NOTE: this one has some foul language so I have a feeling it won’t suffice – but I include it nonetheless.” Not THAT foul…

Funny Dell Customer Service CallA really funny Dell customer service call.

A Comcast Technician Sleeping on my Couch. “This is my tribute to Comcast, their low quality technology and their poor customer service. UPDATE: My service has been restored.”

iPod Customer Service. “the Dirty secret have to watch this… (based on real life experience, no hoax).”

Customer Disservice “Have you ever received really bad customer service?”

How to Get a Customer Service Human. “With a human in customer service can be a godsend, especially after spending hours in ‘automated phone menu’ hell.”

terrible customer service. Make fun of their customers…funny skit.”

Customer Service Training Video

Optimus Maximus Keyboard: Horrible Customer Service. “Read that right. I’ve had it with this company. Their customer service is absolutely horrible.”

Customer Service. “A reenactment of my experience with my DSL provider…Eyeopener Films Home Movies New Customer Service DSL.”

Unboxing – not always on target, but a source.

Expo TV: video reviews of consumer products – “made by real people!” Some are actually positive.

David Pogue’s Song spoofs. Some are over a decade old, but what the hey.

ROG

ROG