11.29.09
library kudos: princeton public library
Back from Thanksgiving. Token library observation: my goodness does the Princeton Public Library have a nice reference collection. (They’ve got the NJ and the US annotated codes, multiple copies, and someone’s keeping up the pocket parts. Woof.)
The (lovely and recently built) library also inspired all sorts of ILS-related conversations. Remind me after the morning coffee has kicked in and I may even remember them.
11.24.09
Cutter number? But I…
McSweeney’s list of library science jargon that sounds dirty.
You know….none of it sounded dirty before it was in a list….
11.22.09
irony
I saw a review of a book (The Customer-Focused Library) that looked interesting, so I thought I’d get it from my local public library consortium, but they don’t have it. So I checked my library-grad-school library, but they don’t have it. Amazon’s got it, though.
it seems that the secret is vaulted ceilings
These libraries sure are pretty: http://curiousexpeditions.org/?p=78
11.13.09
wanna buy a…?
Mysterious curmudgeon to town: Would you like a new library? Town says yes. Library is lovely. (Nice web site, too.)
11.12.09
Update on Cushing’s all-digital library
Update on Cushing Academy, the school that ditched its print collection for Kindles &c — worth knowing about now that the academic year is underway. Some pros, some cons, not a lot of detail. Interesting that a wide variety of administrators, including a library administrator, are quoted approvingly (I wish I could’ve been around for that decision-making process). Depressing money quote:
Sophomore Elsie Eastman says she’s here all the time now. “I remember last year I barely went to the library,” she says. “I loved the library — I just barely ever went.”
11.10.09
data mining for fun and…
That slideset yesterday was funny, so I’ve RSSed the guy’s blog. Liked this recent post about data-mining your circ records. His university now has a recommender system (both “people who liked this book also liked” and “people in this course of study tend to like”) and a course-of-study-specific search functionality (nursing and law students want different books when they search for “ethics”). Turns out the recommender service is very popular and noticeably increases how much of their collection circulates (which my little ROI neurons like). Also provides suggestions for refining large searches based on search data. And keep an eye out for the very clever acronym which will warm your heart if you, like me, were online in the early ’90s.
11.09.09
lipstick, cowbells, and serendipity!
Hilarious slideset on library 2.0 OPAC features with a great subtitle — “Utilising Web 2.0 in the OPAC: lipstick, cowbells and serendipity.”.
