Daily Thoughts 8/6/2010 (shelf talkers, readers advisory, ebooks)

Christopher Amberger, Portrait of A Man, Oil On Wood Panel, 1540-1560, Wawel Castle, Krakow

Daily Thoughts 8/6/2010

A brief look at a social network http://bookcalendar.wackwall.com/  I found Wackwall on the Ning Bookblogs.  It is interesting to look at.




I worked on selecting authors for more shelf talkers today.  These are small signs which you put next to a particular author indicating three to five similar authors.  I focused on initially picking out authors who are popular with a lot of books in our library.  People like Jodi Picoult, Debbie Macomber, W.E.B. Griffin, David Weber, Elizabeth Lowell, John Irving, Philip Roth, Joyce Carol Oates, and others.  I will be doing the mystery section once I am done with the fiction.




I also did the monthly requests for the book mobile today.  There were a lot of requests for Daphne Du Maurier, specifically Jamaica Inn and Rebecca.  They also requested Rebecca as a dvd.  Michelangelo is also a very popular topic.  We get requests for books on him almost every time.  They also requested Erma Bombeck and a few other humorists.





In addition, as always, I checked the displays to make sure they were up to date.  I also wrote a flyer for the Brown Bag Book Talk which we are going to have on August 12, 2010.  Someone also asked for us to do a discussion about ebooks in the library setting.  It might take me a little bit to figure out more about this.  I am thinking about signing up for the Ebooks Libraries at the Tipping Point conference on September 29, 2010.
http://ebook-summit.com/




I inished up my class for Readers Advisory 101 online today.  I sent in my final assignment for the class today.  Soon I'll probably get a certificate for the class.  I handed the certificate for the library advocacy class I took online as well.  It has been an interesting time taking the class.  I'll probably go back and look through the transcripts of the chat sessions again for the Readers Advisory 101 class.




I did not have time to read reviews today.  It was simply too busy.  It is evening and I am typing this up.  I did not read anything on the train this time either.  Instead I took the time to write my thoughts down in a journal.  I keep lined journals where I write up my reviews longhand before I put them in the computer.  I take notes in them while I am reading but never go back and read them again.  I have three blank journals right now in my shoulder bag.  I have a Manhattan Portage LTD shoulder bag which I use all the time.  It is the second one I have bought.  They have proven to be very sturdy and good for carrying books to conferences and other places.

Daily Thoughts 8/5/2010 ( readers advisory, yahoo style guide )

Depiction of the Venerable Bede (CLVIIIv) from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493

Daily Thoughts 8/5/2010

I am looking at Pligg which is an open source system for building social networks.  It looks quite interesting.  You would probably need a fairly skillful technical person to implement it. http://www.pligg.com/ It reminds me a little bit of Digg.




Today, I checked the displays and talked with some people about doing programs and working on some cleanup in the storage area.  I also finished my Readers Advisory 101 Class this morning doing the final interview.  We had to do a simulated readers advisory session with a patron.  It was interesting.  I ended up suggesting several hard edged detective authors, Max Allan Collins, Mickey Spillane, Robert Crais, Robert B. Parker, Donald Westlake, and Sara Paretsky.  My compatriot in turn recommended some techno thrillers including Stephen Coonts and Craig Thomas. He also recommended Keith Laumer who is a science fiction author who I really like.  It was an enjoyable thing to do for an hour.




I also finished reading The Yahoo Style Guide in print.  It is also on the internet http://styleguide.yahoo.com/writing .  One point that really stuck out for me was that I need to rewrite my headers so search engines will find what I am writing about.

Daily Thoughts 7/29/2010 ( readers advisory, book game )

Okumura Masanobu Itinerant Vendor of shikishi and tanzaku (paper and books) 1720–1730 Signed: Okumura Masanobu hitsu. Publisher’s seal: shu-no-hyōtan (in form of a calabash); seal of Masanobu’s own publishing house: Tōrishiochō.  Actually it is an actor playing an itinerant vendor for paper for poems (shikishi and tanzaku), books, and instructional material on waka poetry and koto playing as indicated on her crate. She is holding a calligraphic copybook (tehon) and a brush. One of the books at the top of her crate is named: Genji-monogatari. 




Daily Thoughts 7/29/2010

I put in some comments for my Readers Advisory 101 class on Enders Game by Orson Scott Card.   I also read the section on library marketing for readers advisory.  I may create some shelf talkers for the shelves.  These are cards which say if you like a specific author, then you might like these other authors.  Usually they are lists of three to five other authors.  Some libraries also sometimes maintain a cart for books that are always popular reads.  It is something to think about.   A lot of people use the Novelist database to create the shelf talkers.



I did not get as much as I wanted done today.  I am thinking about a couple of things to do.  We are planning on doing a library card registration drive.  We need to get more people through the front door.  As part of this, we will probably try to get more Friends of the Library to register.




There are also a few minor things that need doing like updating some bibliographies and creating some shelf talkers.  I also need to speak to someone from the Mount Vernon Public Library Foundation.




The book the Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stross came in for me to read.  It is a mix of espionage, horror and weird tale.




I read some more of Kraken by China Mieville.  I am finding a subplot in the book to be quite entertaining about a labor union of wizards familiars and other magical constructs.  It is wonderfully quirky.




Guess the book by its cover game http://www.sporcle.com/games/bookcovers.php

Daily Thoughts 7/14/2010

The Radcliffe Camera, a reading room of the Bodleian Library of University of Oxford: an example of a building in Oxford, United Kingdom. Picture is listed as public domain on Wikimedia.

Daily Thoughts 7/14/2010

An article from the Journal News about the Mount Vernon Public Library coming back to work. http://www.lohud.com/article/20100714/NEWS02/7140314/Mount-Vernon-Public-Library-rehires-laid-off-staff

I spent some time looking through a Library Journal online review of Kraken by China Mieville. I was looking for words that would appeal to readers in the review if I had to tell a library patron about the book. It is part of readers advisory.

We printed up a lot of our marketing material. There is a city council meeting tonight where they may discuss the library. Having some marketing material might help us out and get some support.

I also went through the gift books today as well as checked the new books and displays to make sure they were in order.

There was another session on Readers Advisory 101 today where I spent time watching people chat online about places to find suggestions for reading material. I learned about http://www.monsterlibrarian.com/ which reviews horror literature. Some other review sources I learned about were http://www.allreaders.com/ and http://www.bookmarksmagazine.com/ People had a lot of ideas about how to review and advise books for patrons to read.

I checked out The Sons of Liberty written by Alexander Lagos and Joseph Lagos. It is a superhero novel set during the American revolution. The two main characters are African American. The art is interesting.

Daily Thoughts 7/13/2010

Mary Pickford, writing at a desk in a kimono, February 1918
This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division under the digital ID ppmsca.18842

Daily Thoughts 7/13/2010

Seeing Stars: How I ignored my inner librarian and got kids excited about books again! This is an entertaining comic. http://www.slj.com/slj/home/885428-312/seeing_stars_how_i_ignored.html.csp

The city found emergency funds to restore the laid off people as well as prevent the demotions. It makes me quite happy to say this. Sometimes things change for the better. Now, it is on to the next step that deals with advocacy, trying to make sure this does not happen again. This means playing closer attention to fundraising.

I picked up a copy of Booklife Strategies and Survival Tips For the 21st Century Writer by Jeff Vandermeer. It is about how to have a writing career in the modern publishing world. Jeff Vandermeer has done many anthologies, has a blog, facebook account which I follow, and is very up to date with the latest technology. He writes weird tales and fantasy.

I had a little bit of time today to read Publishers Weekly and the New York Times Book Review, check the donations for items to add, and look through the new books. I had a chance to pick out some of the new graphic novels which I ordered recently for the Graphic Novels club which is tomorrow. As always, I checked the displays to make sure they are up to date.

Tomorrow, my colleagues come back and it should even be busier than usual. I have a lot to do. There is also a Brown Bag Book Chat from 12:15-1:45 p.m. in addition to the Graphic Novels Club which is later in the afternoon.

I have been reading more for my Readers Advisory 101 course and learning more about reviews. I know most of the review sources, Library Journal, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and the New York Times Book Review. I just learned that the Washington Post Books is also a standard for reviews. I guess I might have to start reading it. I have an assignment to do tomorrow for the class which compares review database that looks interesting.

There were a few new sources for reviews which I saw, NPR Book Reviews http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1032, Overbooked, http://www.overbooked.org and the Amazon New York Times Bestseller Page http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/549028/ref=b_tn_bh_ny/002-7565199-2545635

I started reading Jeff Vandermeers' book Booklife. Jeff Vandermere has a blog called http://www.jeffvandermeer.com which is entertaining. He also runs a site with his wife Ann Vandermeer called http://www.booklifenow.com which is about being a writer. I follow Jeff Vandermeer on Facebook as well. It is rather entertaining to follow writers on Facebook.

Daily Thoughts 7/7/2010

National Library of Bhutan, Thimphu. Main buiding in a snowfall, 23 January 2008, Christopher J. Fynn, Creative Commons, Share Alike Attribution 3.0 Unported

Daily Thoughts 7/7/2010

This is a link to an article and video from News 12 on the layoffs at Mount Vernon Public Library http://www.news12.com/articleDetail.jsp?articleId=255625&position=1&news_type=news I also posted it on Twitter which feeds into my linked in account now. I want to have maximum linkage and exposure for what I am saying. Part of that process is creating links between social networks

It felt odd coming in today. I was reading the New York Times Book Review and looked at the routing list. It had my initials only, with four other initials crossed out. It reminded me of how many people were affected. I also took some time to read Publishers Weekly. One book which caught my eye was The Vertical Farm The World Grows Up by Dickson Despommier. It is about urban agriculture. Vertical farms, are hydroponics and aeroponic farms inside skyscrapers. They are often designed to be mimic ecology. I find them to be fascinating. Part of this concept originates in The New Alchemy Institute which developed the bioshelter concept. It is radical science at its most interesting. http://www.thegreencenter.net/

I also had a chance to log in to my first online chat session of The Readers Advisory 101 Class. I learned quite a few interesting ideas. Joyce G. Saricks suggested The Adult Reading Roundtable as a resource for readers advisory www.arrtreads.org/ which is in Illinois.

There were a number of suggestions on how to pick books for patrons.
1) Check on the last book they read. 2) Check on the last book they returned to the library. 3) Suggest they read the jacket blurb, and read two pages at random to see if they like what they are reading. The librarians also use Goodreads a lot to pick out books to read. They think of it as an excellent social network for readers advisory. http://www.goodreads.com/ It is also important to make displays of books which you can recommend. Many also used Novelist which is a database about books and book reviews to find read alikes, or similar titles between authors. Some librarians used Fiction Connection which is a readers advisory tool created by Bowker. http://www.bowker.com/index.php/bowker-brands/fiction-connection

There is a difference between a book which you can recommend. A book which you can recommend is a book or author you have read and like. A suggestion is something you think a person may like based on other peoples reading habits or literary reviews. This is the general idea.

We were talking about appeal what makes a person interested in a book. This is different than whether it has quality. It is about what people like to read no what matter what it is. Joyce G. Saricks, the instructor has a quote, "Never Apologize for Your Reading Tastes." A lot of the discussion was about popular genre fiction. A lot of appeal is about how a book affects us.

We discussed how people track their books. They often keep a log of their reading in a binder. I don't. I use this blog and Goodreads right now. This is a good enough way to track my reading.

A lot of appeal is being comfortable talking about books and recommending what people may like. I picked ups some ideas that the small group of librarians taking the class have about literature. Character centered books tend to be literary oriented, plot centered books tend to be more action oriented, women tend to read authors by both men and women, and men often only read books by other men. Romance tends to be better when there is an element of suspense. Books that are banned often become even more popular because of censorship. Political views can skew whether or not people will like a book.

It was an entertaining session. I am looking to catch up for my next session. I was really supposed to start last week, but the potential of layoffs before it happened upset me a little bit.

Daily Thoughts 6/15/2010

Annaberg-Buchholz, Ladenschild einer Buchhandlungin der Wolkensteiner Straße, April 2010, Photo: Andreas Praefcke (Own Work), Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Daily Thoughts 6/15/2010

I have to put The Affinity Bridge by George Mann down. It is rather dry and I am finding it a bit stuffy. The concepts are interesting, the story is interesting, the writing is not that exciting.

I finally have all four books for my Readers Advisory 101 Course, Enders Game by Orson Scott Card, The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn, Ice Station by Matthew J. Reilly, and Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron. These are solid, predictable reads.

I received an advanced uncorrected proof for The Last Block In Harlem A Novel by Christopher Herz. It is published by Amazon Encore which is a new venture by Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000373401

Today, I spent some time working in the storage area looking at shifting books. I also have been playing with Evance which is a system for running summer reading programs. I am looking at the adult summer reading module. I have figured out how to add a few links, input reviews, and setup a basic message about Adult Summer Reading. I am just getting the hang of the system.

Something which I have noticed that people like to read is fiction about the Amish. The most popular author is Beverly Lewis. It is a very different way of living to read about.

I also took a look through the gift books. I find the easiest thing to find and add are the classics. Paperback copies of The Odyssey, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Oresteia by Aeschylus, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and other classic writers get donated constantly and are always used by the high school students.

Daily Thoughts 6/9/2010

Miniature painting of a scribe writing at a desk. Found on http://fromoldbooks.org

Daily Thoughts 6/9/2010

On the way home last night, I read some more of the book Drive by Daniel H. Pink. At this point, the author is talking about the concept of increasing autonomy in the work environment. He is describing how there are less people being put in management positions. He also talks about homesourcing where companies are increasingly hiring people to work at home for routine jobs like customer service and clerical work. Computers can be used from almost anywhere. Another concept in autonomy is the idea of the Results Only Work Environment where some companies like Best Buy allow very flexible work hours in return for a very goal oriented workplace. The final concept in autonomy is encouraging people to experiment for a certain amount of time in their jobs constantly. Google encourages their engineers to spend 20% of their time on their own projects to create new ideas.

I have to get ready for my upcoming class on Readers Advisory 101. I have four fiction titles I am supposed to read. It starts on June 28, 2010.

• Romance - The Viscount who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
• Mystery - Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron
• Speculative Fiction - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
• Action/Thriller/Suspense - Ice Station by Matt Reilly

The only book which I have already read from the list is Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

An article from the New Yorker The Trouble With Recommending Books http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/06/the-trouble-with-recommending-books.html

　
Thinking about Web 2.0 in and if I should apply for a press pass... http://www.web2expo.com/webexny2010/?cmp=em-conf-web2ny-EM1-webny10ema5 Maybe, I can show that I am a journalist. It would be an interesting aim to get a third press pass because of my blog. I haven't really decided yet. It could be fun.

Just joined the Save Libraries Twibbon on Facebook http://twibbon.com/cause/Save-Libraries/facebook

This morning on the train, I finished reading Drive on the train. It was a very interesting book. Now, I have two books to review this weekend, Drive and Rex Riders.

Today was an interesting day. We had a call from an author who was interested in coming in. We also had an order meeting today where we discussed our different orders for the month. I have to look at MP3 players as a possible circulating item. With Playaways sometimes the devices don't come back with batteries. We have the Overdrive Media Console on most of our computer workstations.

I also spent some more time working with Bookletters. The page is starting to come together. We are also working on creating a patron requests form for our website. This will hopefully make our website more responsive for patrons.

Tomorrow, I will be looking at the Evance site which is used to manage an adult summer reading program. Hopefully, it should be interesting.

Daily Thoughts 5/21/2010

A photograph of a daguerreotype of Edgar Allan Poe 1848, first published 1880. Taken by W.S. Hartshorn, Providence, Rhode Island, on November 9th, 1848 Photograph taken in 1904 by C.T. Tatman.

Daily Thoughts 5/21/2010

Today, I finished reading Readers Advisory Service in the Public Library, 3rd Edition by Joyce G. Saricks. The author focused on the concept of appeal with books. Appeal is different than interpretation, it is the things which hold the readers attention, plot, frame, style, pacing, storyline, and characterization. It is not the same as academic criticism. It is the points that are used to catch the readers attention and sell the book by the author which the bookseller or librarian can capitalize on.

There were a number of ideas which caught my attention; the read alike bookmark, the annotated book list, and the idea of sure bets in different genres of books. This book focused advising on casual fiction and nonfiction. Casual fiction would include genres like romance, historical fiction, science fiction, mystery, noire and other leisure reading. Casual nonfiction would include travel stories, survival stories, contemporary issues, crime, popular culture, humor, popular science, memoirs, and other leisurely reading.

I am very much looking forward to taking the Readers Advisory 101 course that goes with this book.

I worked on my ordering this morning and read a bit more of Booklist. I also am working on getting the on order status up in the catalog properly for books on order at our library.

I had a chance to do a little desk clean up before I go to Book Expo America next week. I also cut some scrap and cleared out my to do box. Check the gifts for books to add. Remind people about activities like putting up the Bookletters page, shifting books in the mezzanine, and making sure the events flyer for the poetry club is up on the website. Checking for business cards to bring to the conference. The little rituals you do before you go on vacation or to a conference.

I am enjoying reading Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi. It is a very fast paced adventure story set in the near future. I like the setting a lot; the coastlines littered with the wrecks of oil tankers and the drowned city of New Orleans are quite intriguing. Paolo Bacigalupi just won the Nebula Award for The Windup Girl. I think the writing in Ship Breaker is even better.

Daily Thoughts 5/17/2010

Charles Dickens, William Powell Frith, 1859

Daily Thoughts 5/17/2010

William Gibson has a near future thriller coming out called Zero History. His last book Spook Country also fits in this genre of suspense. It is borderline science fiction. Also, China Mieville is coming out with a new novel, Kraken which should be interesting.

Today has been quiet, it has been a lot of meetings. First a meeting on the law collection, then a meeting on public service, then some ordering, then some reference work. A solid, steady day.

I finished reading War at the Wall Street Journal. The final section is a description of the transformation under Rupert Murdoch and News Corp from a rather staid conservative business journal to a right leaning national paper with more coverage of national news and less coverage of business. It is hard to call The Wall Street Journal a pure business paper anymore. It is the newspaper which combines with Fox 5 News to make a right leaning media conglomerate. I find the Wall Street Journal to be much more sensationalized.

Right now, I am reading Readers' Advisory Service in the Public Library, Third Edition by Joyce G. Saricks. The book reminded me of the reference book Genreflecting which is one of my favorite reference books. It led me to this blog for readers advisory. http://www.readersadvisoronline.com/blog/

Daily Thoughts 5/8/2010

Chicago Public Library, Illinois, 1900 (From New York Public Library Digital Gallery)

Daily Thoughts 5/8/2010

I am planning on taking Readers Advisory 101, an online course from the American Library Association. It is a brush up, plus an opportunity to work on my skills with book clubs and other things like that. http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/development/readersadvisory101/index.cfm There is a textbook that goes with the course as well, Readers Advisory Service In the Public Library, Third Edition, Joyce G. Saricks.

Today has been relatively quiet. We had a professor come in and do an introduction to the law session this morning for about two hours. She talked a bit about the New York Jurisprudence set of law books as well as New York Digest.

I also spent a bit of time updating the current events display with books on subjects in the news. I usually read Yahoo! News to pick out quick topics like oil, Pakistan, India, Obama, Sarah Palin, health care, Google, Apple, and other subjects which make the headlines.