Friday, May 29, 2009

Falling Sales Cloud Book Industry Meeting - NYTimes.com

Falling Sales Cloud Book Industry Meeting - NYTimes.com

Books sales are falling as library usage skyrockets!

The NY Times reports that even juvenile book sales are declining. It is a bit scary to me as a librarian that many libraries still have antiquated views concerning purchasing books that are not reviewed!!! This certainly leads to a homogenous library collection nationwide - head's up - maybe that is why publishers are so slow to accept new authors. Be brave - read non-reviewed books - if you can find any at the library.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Libraries Are America's Lifelines. Leave Them Alone

Posted a couple weeks ago - but this is a great article for library advocacy by Kenneth C Davis

Michael Bloomberg may be the ultimate IT Guy. Okay, maybe that's still Bill Gates. But the point is, Michael Bloomberg took Information and Technology and made himself an empire with Bloomberg News. Then he became King of New York -- or at least Mayor -- and a very good one at that, as far as I am concerned.

So why would a man who built his world around IT want to cripple New York's IT lifeline -- the public library?

In case you haven't heard, New York City's public library systems -- three separate library systems in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens -- are once again under siege, on the chopping block, threatened with draconian cuts in the face of New York City's Great Recession. (The cuts were outlined in an article in Library Journal.)

Library cuts in down times remind me of the classic line from Casablanca: "Round up the usual suspects." The public library is always suspect Number One when it comes to municipal budget cuts. And as librarians everywhere know, this is not a fact in New York City alone.

Underlying this reality are two simple facts. First, libraries do not have a vocal, powerful constituency. Unlike the police, teachers and firemen, they don't have a potent union or benevolent association. There is no "Library Lobby" doling out campaign contributions. But far worse, libraries tend to be viewed by all too many people in power as a luxury.

For complete article

Monday, May 18, 2009

A Librarian's Guide to Gaming!

Just a reminder that ALA has an online toolkit for Building Gaming which is very helpful. If you haven't brought gaming to your library yet - it is time to jump in!

This toolkit includes board games, card games and videogames. "Games of every type play an important role in developing fundamental competencies for life. They require players to learn and follow complex sets of rules, make strategic and tactical decisions, and increasingly, collaborate with teammates and others: all things they will have to do in college and in the workforce." Jim Rettig, ALA President, 2008-2009.

Friday, May 15, 2009

New Wii Gadget!


Okay - I confess - I haven't been on my Wii Fit as much as I should be - but I plan to change that soon. The new Wii MotionPlus peripheral will make my movement even more realistic.


From what I have read, this new gadget will work with newer games - not the sports and fit packages I already have. That is a bummer - but the new gadget will come with the new Wii Sports Resort for $49.99 so I think I'll put it on my wishlist.


Plan to add the Wii MotionPlus to your library's gaming area to keep attracting the teens - and let's face it - those of us over 40 too!


Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Posterous - the easy way to blog!

Posterous is the new - easy way to blog. Very simple, very easy, very fast - all things I desperately need. You do not have to create an account - just send an email to: post@posterous.com, adding whatever content you want (the subject line becomes the title, while text, images, and video are the body), and hitting send. Posterous will create your blog and email you back with confirmation and a link to view.

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Lip Reading Computers??





Lip Reading Computers can even differentiate languages.




The University of East Anglia's School of Computer Sciences are on their way to releasing a computer that can lip read and even check for multiple languages.


This tool will have an impact on the hearing impaired community as well as law enforcement and military advances.

Friday, May 01, 2009

NTLP is responsive to H1N1!


We at NTRLS/NTLP are excited to be providing the 2009 TechNet conference on May 7th at the Lockheed Martin Recreation Area. Please plan to attend - we will have plenty of anti-bacterial cleansers and wipes throughout the building.

If you haven't registered for the event - time is running out!