Thursday, December 12, 2013

On Arranging Library Books by Color


Info courtesy:  Suresh D Nair

This post is about Library Shelf Classification by Color (Colour)


Colours classify the giant collection in the six-decade-old library

Extract:
A simple technique used in small-scale textile shops paved the way for the librarians of Lady Doak College to classify their huge collection of books with ease.

Inspired by the way shopkeepers mark the prices of products using colourful stickers, the J X Miller Library started a unique method called 'Rainbow Classification'. In this method, the staff paste colourful stickers on the spine of the books making their task easier when it comes to sorting and arranging the books.

continue reading: 

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Ebooks for Libraries: Still a Ripoff, BY ANNOYED LIBRARIAN

Info courtesy: Suresh D Nair

Extract:
It’s rare to see informed journalism about libraries and ebooks. Most news articles I see are along the lines of “Libraries are now lending ebooks,” with a brief report of a few libraries that are now, in fact, lending ebooks. That’s neither informative or particularly new. continue reading

On the same shelf:
  • The Battle of Building Library's Digital Collection, Revisited
  • What are the advantages of e-books over print books
  • Ten of the Best Web 2.0 Tools for Cybrarians, by Cybrarian’s Web!
  • The Canadian Ebook: Market Trends

  • Ebooks in libraries: an overview of the current situation, by Linda Ashcroft Library Management,  2011, Volume 32, Issue 6/7, pp. 398 - 407
  • Follow the Ebook Road: Ebooks in Australian Public Libraries, by Duncan, Ross Australasian Public Libraries and Information Services,  2011, Volume 24, Issue 4, pp. 182 - 193
  • eBooks As a Collection and a Service: Developing a Public Library Instruction Program to Support eBook Use by Brendan O'Connell and Dana Haven Journal of Library Innovation,  2013, Volume 4, Issue 1, pp. 53 - 66
  • eBooks for Libraries and Patrons: Two Years of Experience, by Richard L. Rosy Liber Quarterly : The Journal of European Research Libraries, 09/2002, Volume 12, Issue 2/3, pp. 228 - 233
  • Ebooks and Beyond: The Challenge for Public Libraries by Duncan, Ross Australasian Public Libraries and Information Services,  2010, Volume 23, Issue 2, pp. 44 - 55
  • Ebooks and the Retailization of Research by Fister, Barbara Library Journal, ISSN 0363-0277, 08/2010, Volume 135, Issue 13, p. 24
  • OverDrive Media Stations Engage eBook and Audiobook Readers Inside the Library Internet Wire, 11/12/2013

Friday, November 15, 2013

Library book selection then (1925), now (2013),... in principle it remains unchanged...

  • The theory of book selection for public libraries Lionel Roy McColvin (it was based on based on demand and value) (1925)
  • THE THEORY OF BOOK SELECTION
    Lionel McColvin's classic The Theory of Book Selection for Public Libraries (1925) begins with thefollowing words:
    "Book selection is the first task of librarianship. It precedes all other processes--cataloguing, classification, or administration--and it is the most important. No matter how thorough and efficient the rest of the work may be, the ultimate value of a library depends upon the way in which the stock has been selected." (McColvin 1925, p. 9).
    McColvin starts with the need to have available the materials that will be in demand, not only because of the practical need to have in stock what users ask for, but also because there will be no benefit derived from acquisitions that are not used. No demand means no use and, therefore, no benefit, McColvin argues. But he also argues that a passive adapting of collections to demand would betray the mission of the library.
    "If, however, we consider the library as a social force with the power to direct to some extent man's demand, (or, to use the usual expression, if we consider the library as an educationalforce) we will not be content to leave demand our only consideration." (p. 37, emphasis in original).
    In brief, McColvin provides a frame with two dimensions--Demand and Value--which correspond to the dispensing and advisory roles of collections noted above. (source)
*More quotes by McColvin are in (p. 261):

Dictionary of Library and Information Science Quotations by Mohamed Taher and and L.S. Ramaiah. More quotations are here @ Library & Information Science Quotations or here: amazon.com

Friday, November 08, 2013

Ten of the Best Web 2.0 Tools for Cybrarians, by Cybrarian’s Web!

Ps. Given below is the list. Full description of each tool is at the author's site, click here: http://cybrariansweb.com/links/

Incidentally, there is no date, hence not sure if this is a recent list or some of this is already gone with the wind (no pun indeed; just look at how often Google products vanish...). Wish the author could have added one liner to each of these to indicate how libraries (not just librarians as individuals) can use each Tool!!!

  • Cloud Magic - for all your personal data
  • ePubBud - for aspiring authors of children’s ebooks
  • Google Drive - provides users with ‘cloud space’ to store and access files from anywhere
  • Issuu - free digital publishing platform 
  • Infogr.am - opportunity to create pictorial graphs to promote current services.
  • Jumpshare - file sharing service
  • Poll Everywhere - offers a unique way to create real-time audience responses for events
  • Text2MindMap - allows users to create customized mindmaps directly on the website
  • TodaysMeet - create chat rooms
  • Weebly - ‘drag and drop’ website builder

Friday, November 01, 2013

2013 School Library Survey finds library resourcing linked to literacy

The 2013 Australian School Library Survey has revealed a positive relationship between a school’s literacy results and the library’s resourcing levels.  Release from Softlink Australia

Extract:
The survey found schools with high national average NAPLAN reading literacy scores reported higher levels of library funding and staffing, while schools with lower scores had lower levels.  These results echoed previous surveys.
A summary of other key survey findings included: 
81 percent of all school library budgets either remained unchanged or declined in 2013
A higher percentage of Government school libraries experienced budget decreases than Catholic 
or Independent school libraries
28 percent of schools reported a decrease in library staffing in 2013 with 63 percent of all schools surveyed stating that there had been no change
More than a quarter of respondent schools have purchased eBooks in the past year (28 percent) and 55 percent of respondents indicated they will “definitely” or “most probably” purchase eBooks within the next 12 months
44 percent of teacher librarians said half or more of their student population owned a personal mobile device (iPod, iPad, smart phone or other tablet)  Continue reading

On the same shelf:

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Integrated Library Systems (ILS) - A reading list

Integrated Library Systems: Planning, Selecting, and Implementing              
Desiree Webber and Andrew Peters (2010)
Reviews:
It provides solid instruction in guiding a librarian through this process, including systematic and detailed step-by-step instructions on the practical aspects of choosing an ILS; working with the vendor; budgeting and time-line planning; and implementation and training.  Booklist"… this book tackles the whole process and cites additional resources that can be used. Recommended for librarians seeking to automate for the first time." Library Journal

Friday, October 25, 2013

What are Primary and Secondary Sources -- A Select Sample

Library guides (LibGuides Community Site) provide resources to understand the question of what is primary (original work) and what is secondary (review, criticism, etc.). A sample is given here to help a beginner and anyone who needs a lead:
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES   Source: http://selu.libguides.com
Primary Source
Secondary Sources
Novel, poem
Literary criticism
Diary, autobiography
Biography
Letters, historical documents, oral testimony
Historical Commentary
Newspaper report
Editorial
Raw data from questionnaires
Observation/experiment
Scientific article
Television show/film
Review
Interview
Case study
"A primary source is any work that offers ORIGINAL intellectual content: artistic works, diaries, newpaper reports witnessed by a participant from the time of the event, memoirs, speeches, government reports & statistics, artifacts.

Primary sources generally serve as foundation material for a particular subject area. They are the result of someone doing primary research, which involves collecting raw data. Primary sources allow researchers to analyze the data or object for themselves in order to come up with alternate theories and opinions.
Secondary sources interpret and analyze primary sources. In other words, when a writer looks at a primary document, and produces a work that tries to make sense of what he or she finds, the result is a secondary study or secondary source." Adapted from:
Kirszner, Laurie G. The Holt Handbook. Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers, 2002.

Samples from Library Guides:

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Culture and Technology - A select annotated list

PS. This is a continuously updated list, last updated Oct 10, 2013.
On the same shelf:

Monday, September 23, 2013

How to Talk About Your Weaknesses in a Job Interview

Info courtesy: ALA JobLIST shared a link.

How to Talk About Your Weaknesses in a Job Interview, By 

Bottomline: In other words, talk about the weakness and talk about how you're controlling it. Continue reading

Monday, September 09, 2013

Forthcoming Conferences and Professional Development Opportunities

Thursday, September 05, 2013

Most underpaid, overeducated occupations

Most underpaid, overeducated occupations

Detroit Free Press-Sep 4, 2013
The median annual income of library technicians in 2012 was about $30,000. The bottom 10% earned $18,430 or less. Library technicians are ...

on the same shelf:

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Librarian's (LIS) career inside—or outside—jobs in the traditional library setting: Hype or Hope???

This blog is updated regularly, last updated 14 Oct, 2014

Ps. The billion dollar question: Is the LIS profession saturated? If they say, NOPE. Then see the frustration, shock and the rest in the stories below; compare with the responses / hopes / dreams in the next section (other side...):

One side of the story (i.e., the new graduates and those who have completed LIS, but have no leads), Library and information science (LIS) career:
Other side of the Story (i.e., the LIS Schools, policy makers, academics, proponents, etc. who are involved in the programs?):
On the same shelf:
  •  Assessment Skills and the Academic Library Job Market 
  • Most underpaid, overeducated occupations
  • 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Accepting a Job Offer You Don’t Love, By Heather Huhman    [Re: Wonder is this true in this age and time, of challenges that were never so many? I am not sarcastic. Aren't there applications in dozens for each post (are we still having the luxury of choosers, with malice towards none)? Aren't there shortage of opportunities? Aren't there highly specialized jobs that you need to be picking without love/hate formula?]
  • The Countries You May Like to Go with your American / Canadian MLIS - A literature survey
  •  Factors in success or failure of foreign-trained librarians in Canada
  • "The evaluation of international credentials and the hiring of internationally trained librarians in Canadian academic and public libraries, Keren Dali and Juris Dilevkoa, The International Information & Library Review Volume 41, Issue 3, September 2009, Pages 146-162:
    "This study examines the way in which libraries in Canada approach the issue of the evaluation of international credentials (ICs) held by internationally trained librarians (ITLs) and the eventual short-listing and hiring of such individuals. In the United States and Canada, librarianship, a non-regulated profession, is to a large degree governed by the American Library Association (ALA), but the ALA's statements regarding ICs and ITLs are often ambiguous. It is therefore frequently left to individual libraries to decide how best to deal with ICs and ITLs"