Daily Thoughts 3/9/2011 (The Information, The Accidental Taxonomist)

Portrait of Prime Minister Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin. Oil on canvas. 116 × 76 cm. The State Radischev Art Museum, Saratov., 1910

Daily Thoughts 3/9/2011

I read some more of The Information by James Gleick this morning.  I am enjoying reading about the birth of computing and the creation of the electric telegraph.  This book is very much a book about the history of technology.  There are a lot of entertaining anecdotes which make the writing very readable.

The book, The Accidental Taxonomist by Heather Hedden came in for me to read.  Hopefully, I will learn something new from reading this.

Today, I checked the displays and did some weeding in the storage area.  I also took some time to look over the surveys.  There are more print surveys coming in than online surveys.  I also checked on the twitter account.  Things have slowed down a little bit.  Our budget is very tight so that there is not much money for ordering.  It would be nice if people brought in more donations.

I am also hoping that people join our friends group http://www.mountvernonpubliclibrary.org/friends  or donate to the foundation  http://www.mvplfoundation.org/  .  I know times are financially difficult all over for libraries.  This is true not just in the United States but also in the United Kingdom. 

We also opened the computer lab for an hour so people could search for jobs.

On the way home, I read some more of The Information.  I also started reading The Accidental Taxonomist by Heather Hedding.  She has a website tied in with the book: http://www.hedden-information.com/Accidental-Taxonomist-Websites.htm

Web Bits

ROI: The $200 Tablet Computer
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703662804576188901890884360.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

Daily Thoughts 3/7/2011 (The Information)

Frontispiece of a book by the Austrian mathematician Anton Felkel showing the author reading a book by the mathematician Lambert. Leaning to the table is a set of calculating rulers (used in the "stencil method"). The books in the shelf to the left are general literature, shown disordered; to the rigth are books on mathematics, orderly arranged.

Daily Thoughts 3/7/2011

On the way to work, I read some more of Information.  It is quite entertaining.  The author describes how it is possible to have memorized literature without writing.  The Odyssey by Homer is an example of this.  I also like James Gleick's descriptions of Babylonian mathematics.

This morning, I did some weeding, checked the displays, checked on the status of an art book donation from Distribution to Underserved Communities Libraries Program http://www.ducprogram.org/  We should be getting some books in a short while from them.

I also am working on a flyer for networking organizations and career fairs in Westchester.

On the train home, I read some more of The Information.  James Gleick is wriitng about the first attempts at alphabetization and the first dictionaries.  I am especially fond of the Oxford English Dictionary even though we don't use it that much.

Web Bits

A conversation between Ian Fleming and Raymond Chandler on the BBC.  http://www.ducprogram.org/

Daily Thoughts 3/4/2011 (The Information)

Alice Sheldon, James Tiptree, Jr., Racoona Sheldon signature

Daily Thoughts 3/4/2011

Today has been another quiet day.  I checked the displays, did some weeding in storage area, checked up on the Twitter account, and made sure people were reminded about the survey.

I am looking forward to A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin coming out on July 12, 2011.  I liked the earlier books.

I started reading The Information by James Gleick.  The first chapter is on African talking drums which are the first large scale long distance signal systems.  It is interesting thinking of musical instruments as carrying language over distance.

Web Bits

Cory Doctorow, Explaining Creativity to a Martian, http://www.locusmag.com/Perspectives/2011/03/cory-doctorow-explaining-creativity-to-a-martian/