A quick distraction until vacation

I'll write more come Wednesday (yeah! vacation) - but here's a quick laugh.
This has a literary reference & reminds me of my 4 yr commute to Weatherford from the metro area. And is from one of my favorite web comics....

Busy this week - here's a funny distraction

Well, this is interesting

I'm not sure I like this or not. It's cute - in a Ed Wood-librarianesque soft-pr0n sort of way...

Readability

Found via David Lee King --


oh and good for you all ;-)

Indexed

Zombies in plain English

CommonCraft is a great place to go for short informational tutorials - and if by chance this topic comes up at the reference desk you now have something to show patrons.



Oh and according to my stats tracker -- Librarian Halloween Costumes seem to big again this year

Check this shirt out -- or maybe the wearer

You can never have too many library themed t-shirts for library conference after parties. And if you are hanging out at one with a lot of singles then you may want to wear this little number that Kate S sent me.

Library Arcade

Ok - so I did see this subject line on Publib -- but glossed over it -- until I saw it mentioned on Kotaku (a gamer blog). So read your library listservs to see what librarians think of the Library Arcade. Here's what gamers think of it: Bizarre timewaster of the day:

Ever wondered what it's like to be a librarian at an institution where your patrons are incapable of finding the most basic of materials on their own? No? Me neither. But just in case you're dying to find out, the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries have put together the 'Library Arcade' (no, really), where you can test your shelving skills following the Library of Congress call number system or try your hand at a Diner Dash-esque fetch it game, where you have to keep hapless patrons happy and find appropriate materials for their "research." What sort of researcher can't use an online library catalog, I don't know. I can tell you I'd be horsewhipped by my advisors for wasting the valuable time of our librarians by asking them to find me the answer to 'Does daylight savings time really save time?'.

Centennial and Oklahoma Libraries

I was visiting the Oklahoma Centennial site and noticed there are a few festivities that are still going on that you can participate in at a library near you:

Ardmore's Eliza Cruce Hall Doll Collection
Jan 1, 2007 - Dec 31, 2007
Ardmore - Heritage Activities
Eliza Cruce Hall, a resident of Indian Territory since 1896 and the niece of Oklahoma's second governor Lee J. Cruce, generously donated her extensive and valuable doll collection to the Ardmore Public Library in 1971. The collection is listed as a must-see in many trade publications and travel guides. This rejuvenation includes creation of a color catalog with the history, photographs and descriptions of the dolls.

Ardmore's McGalliard History Collection
Jan 1, 2007 - Dec 31, 2007
Statewide - Publications/Research
The Ardmore Public Library is home to a vital collection of original photographs and documents that feature Ardmore and the unique history of the South Central Region of Oklahoma. The Mac McGalliard bequest of over 4,700 items is now housed in a vertical file with a rudimentary card catalog used as a finding aid. This project is to digitize and make electronically searchable the entire collection of one-of-a-kind artifacts, providing an invaluable tool for writers, historians, researchers and genealogists.

Centennial Walk - River Extension
Tulsa - Parks/Gardens
The Arkansas River extension will provide an extension of the current Centennial Walk route from the new arena site along Denver, to the new Central Library site and then to the new city property at the east edge of the historic Cyrus Avery Memorial Route 66 (11th Street) Bridge.

Cherokee Centennial Clock
Cherokee - Art/Landmarks
A Centennial clock in front of the library to enhance the community as the finishing touch to newly completed sidewalks and street lamps.

Colcord's Springtown School Renovation
Colcord - Historic Restorations
Restoration of the Springtown, AR. School built in the early 1900's (17 miles from Colcord, OK.) It has been purchased and will be moved to the Talbot Library/Museum property. To be restored as close as possible to its original condition. Planned uses of the building are for school displays, community functions, and educational projects.

Leaping Waters Fountain
Oklahoma City - Parks/Gardens
Located on the plaza in front of the downtown metro library, this high-tech, computer-controlled water fountain invites children to play in varied bursts and streams of water launched into a central basin.

OK Read - 100 Books for 100 Years (Oklahoma Kids Read)
Oct 1, 2006 - Oct 31, 2007
Beaver - Heritage Activities
Students at Beaver Elementary School grades 4-6 are challenged to read books, attend Library skills classes, work on a group presentation, do an individual creative project, and participate in Beaver's Cow chip parade. Students will learn about the history and symbols of Oklahoma. Students who complete the ultimate challenge of "100 Books for 100 Years" will be entitled to an all expense paid trip to the Oklahoma Centennial Parade.

Oklahoma Voices- Publications/Research
An oral history project modeled after the national StoryCorps project. Interviews of Oklahoma County community leaders and elders over 75 years of age will be interviewed. A copy will be given to the participants and a copy housed in the Oklahoma Room of the Downtown Library. Twelve libraries will be visited to collect the interviews and it is expected to collect over 250 interviews.

Uncrowned Queens
Statewide - Multi-Media
A Web-based project celebrating achievements of Oklahoma's African American women. Individuals and communities submit names of women; biographies of honorees will be archived in the Oklahoma Historical Society Research Library.

So why do I bring this up now? Well the Centennial Parade, in OKC, is this weekend - and I've heard through Oklahoma Libraries grapevine that Libraries will be representin' (in the parade). How so? you ask... Well from what I can gather -- here's a hint from the last ALA Conference

All I'm saying is -- I'm tuning in to OETA to see if Oklahoma Libraries get a little air time.

And they all will live happily ever after....

Found this via Metafilter

It seems the Happy Endings Foundation wants to make literature happy for everyone involved - readers and characters.

AT THE HAPPY ENDINGS FOUNDATION OUR AIMS ARE

* To eradicate sad thoughts from all literature
* To make people smile a little more often
* To encourage authors to write more uplifting books for children
* To highlight the dangers of reading sad books
* To unite parents of a similar thinking and create a force with which to be reckoned
* To protect the next generation of readers.
* And, above all, to ensure the longevity of HAPPY ENDINGS (that means "to make sure happy endings are around for a long time")

BTW- my guess is it's a spoof site -- but still kinda cute.

Batgirl the librarian

Found this via Law Librarian Blog
Note to self: when spotting men with antennas, fez hats, and a moth ray gun -- be sure to put on my cape!

Rose State goes all Hollywood

The Hollywood Librarian – A Look at Librarians Through Film, a documentary, will have its Oklahoma Premiere on Saturday, September 29, at 2 p.m. in the Tom Steed Center Auditorium, next to I-40 at Hudiburg Drive on the Rose State College campus, sponsored by the RSC Learning Resources Center.

The cost will be $8 for adults, $5 for children under 12 and seniors 60 and over, and librarians get in free. Librarians should wear their nametags for free admission.

Tickets are available in September by calling 405-733-7370 or at the door. Cash or check only. No credit cards. The Hollywood Librarian is appropriate for audiences from young adult up.

Red carpet attire is optional. A discussion of the film will follow the showing.

For more information, see the web site— http://www.hollywoodlibrarian.com

Libraryman!

From Penny Arcade

Haunted Books @ your library

Here's a fun little knick knack for your library during Halloween or perhaps your next Harry Potter related event.

Antique looking books seem perfectly harmless until someone walks by, then the middle book slides out toward the victim as if it will fall from the shelf. Books also emit spooky sounds for a totally haunted effect. 8" x 8" x 6.5". Only $24.98

Found via BoingBoing

mtvU

Wired Campus points out -- that the channel that brought us the first VJ (video jockey) now comes a VL (virtual library)... or at least a VD (virtual dictionary [get your mind out of the gutter]).

College news junkies can find a little something extra on the Web from mtvU, the music television network’s college channel: a “virtual library” of information tied to any word in a news article.

Perhaps it would be better to call it a virtual dictionary. The channel has an online network of about 500 college newspapers, and readers can click on any word in any article to get a pop-up reference window. The information in the pop-up comes from Answers.com, which boasts entries on four million topics, including detailed explanations of concepts in politics, geography, and science.

Most of what readers will see, however, is a dictionary definition of one clicked-on word. If you want broader or deeper context for, say, the phrase “earth-friendly,” you’ll only get definitions for “earth” or “friendly.”...

I SO want to be the Kennedy of Oklahoma Library World!

Bookstore theft

Yesterday a colleague of mine was talking about a promotional idea he had to show how monetary valuable libraries are... He thought it would be great PR to print the value of books people checkout on their checkout slips. So if I checked out the latest Harry Potter today it would read something like Due August 15, 2007 - and you just saved $35.00 by using your home town library! And I would then think -- wow this library thing is so cool. I can use that $35 to put half a tank of gas in my car!

I really do think this is a cute idea -- it would show people some monetary value to using their local libraries. Academic libraries could even use this as a way to tell students -- SEE! look where those student libraries fees go! Now just calm back down and go back to facebook. Of course I also joked that some folks may take it as an opportunity to sell library books online -- "These 5 books are worth $400?!? w00t! Look out intertubez heres I come!"

But I also think this xkcd comic kind goes along with yesterday's conversation -- I mean you don't have to worry about this at the library. ;-)

Harry Potter Epilogue?

Hey -- it's cute if you are of a certain age.

Fartparty | Dirty secrets of the public library

Kevin sends this library story -- and this is funny -- because it's true.

Too often libraries put graphic novels in teen sections (because they are "cartoons") even though the content is anything but teen. So check to see if any of these authors are in your teen area -- and perhaps start an adult graphic novel section.

^_^

Advantages to dating librarians

What's that noise upstairs in the library?

Found via Tame the web -- something to pass the time this sunny Friday.