Brooke Erin Librarian & Bookbinder

Book Review: American Pastoral

2011-07-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

American Pastoral: Phillip Roth: Vintage: Fiction: 432

Roth's landmark novel takes on the insurmountable task of capturing what it means to be American through the lens of the turbulent sixties and seventies. What Roth arrives at is not a bulleted list of characteristics and flashpoints (a seemingly American way to understand the world) but the reality that both personal and national identity are products of our perception and personal experience anyway.

America represents tyrannical fascism and morally bankrupt violence to Seymour Levov's weather-underground-vietnam-war-protesting daughter but for himself, a Jewish business man in search of the American dream, it means freedom, industry, and wealth.

For me, a good book asks more questions than it answers. Nothing interests me less than a work of fiction that says "here is what the world is and how you should understand it".* ** Roth's book is the anti that book. For some that's frustrating, but to explore the shifting paradigm of American identity during this time and how it caused us to question the construction of identity itself, it's perfect. But make no mistake, this novel isn't about a twenty year period in America's history - it's about narrative and national identity. It's about all the stuff that came before 1968 and what will come after it.

I have been thinking a lot about what it means to have honest relationships with other people. Trying to really understand them for who they are and not for what you'd like them to be or who you imagine them to be because that's the kind of person you fancy yourself having a relationship with. It's a hard thing to be really know someone and have your interaction be true - have it be about their reality and not your perception of yourself. How much harder, then, is it to understand a national identity, to form a relationship with it, when it is composed of such diverse people and experiences?

*Interesting...that's probably why I don't really like fantasy...hhmm

** But I do love non-fiction. That's the kind of "this is the world" I'm into :)

Book Review: One Hundred Years of Solitude

2011-05-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

One Hundred Years of Solitude: Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Perennial: Fiction: 464

One Hundred Years of Solitude chronicles the multi-generational Buendia family in the fictional town of Macondo. After founding the town, familial patriarch Arcadio Buendia sets the blueprint for an inescapable pattern of obsession, selfishness, and vice that plagues the generations of his family throughout the book. Different familial incarnations temporarily triumph and escape their history, but it is almost always short lived. Told in seamless magical realisim, this novel is at once visceral and dreamlike.

Sometimes my favorite books are ones I don't quite know what to do with when I'm finished - I don't know what to make of it or how to fully understand its themes. One Hundred Years of Solitude was a bit of that for me. All the same, I enjoyed its fantastical story telling and the way it touched on issues of nostalgia, obsessiveness, family, and the power we have over our own history - or don't as the case may be. After reading more about the history of Columbia, for which Macondo is said to be a substitute, I understood the book a bit better in terms of a critique of Latin American history.

Not really an upper... and a bit of a "must...slog...through...this... section" at times, but I'm glad I read it.

Open Access Journals

2011-05-26T05:42:00.000-07:00

A little presentation I made for my reference class last semester.

Forgive the poor sound quality.

Technology + Ancient Art = Awesome

2011-04-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

Read the full article here, but the gist is, a music artist and a Turkish paper marble artist, having never met, put together a music video for the band's new song.

"Lucky Me" by Project Jenny, Project Jan from sammy rubin on Vimeo.

This is why technology and ancient arts can and should have a long and healthy marriage together.

Me, a Master?

2011-04-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

I submitted my master's thesis project from a hotel room in New York in the week hours of the night a few days ago and I just found out that I passed! Barring any catastrophe with my reference class this semester and its remaining two assignments, I am finished with grad school!!!!

It has been a wonderful program and a great experience.

Yahoo.

Best Article Ever

2011-03-29T07:02:00.000-07:00

My sweet cousin Jentry sent me a link to this NPR article titled "In Which, Emphatically And Forever, I Decline To Care About How Books Smell."

It says it much better than I attempted to and it's funny to boot.

SShhh, don't tell him about the Kindle

2011-03-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

or the host of other very successful e-readers on the market today. In preparation for my thesis project I have been going back over my old notes from my coursework. I read this article entitled "10 reasons why the internet is not a substitute for the library" and this reason got me riled about my favorite soap box topic.

#6 Hey, Bud, You Forgot about E-book Readers

Try reading an e-book reader for more than a half-hour. Headaches and eyestrain are the best results. Besides, if what you’re reading is more than two pages long, what do you do? Print it. Where’s a tree hugger when you really need one? Moreover, the cost of readers runs from $200 to $2,000, the cheaper ones being harder on the eyes. Will this change? Doubtless, but right now there’s no market forces making it change. Will it change in less than 75 years? Unlikely! A-freakin-men!

How silly must he feel right about now when Kindle sales exceeded 8 million last year?

I don't disagree that libraries are very important for many reasons, but I reject the idea that libraries are at war with technology. In fact, if you work in a library or have ever been in one, you know that is just plain silly.

Have you seen those "I pledge to read the written word" icons on blogs? As if to suggest that printed words are better, more enlightened than digital ink and that authors need our tactile observance to survive and write good books. My husband and I have contemplated creating an "I pledge to only read cuneiform on stone tablets" icon for my blog, but that seemed a bit too snarky.

The point is, reading is reading and one form, as long as it works for you, is not superior to another. But what about potentially loosing your e-books? E-books don't really let you own titles. What about the feel of a book in your hands? I love a real book for those reasons - but they are not about reading; they are about having, owning and touching - not bad things - but not about content consumption.

Luddites and techies - we are all in this together. Buy or check out, download or pull back the cover, paper or digital, whatever. Just read.

Book Review: Jerusalem Reading

2011-02-28T10:37:00.001-08:00

I snatched this from something I wrote when we were in Jerusalem but never publicly posted. It's a bit outdated, but useful for readings related to our time there.

I reread Everything is Illuminated. It's one of my favorite books, and this time I got about 2/3rds through it before I lost the thread. It's much further than I got last time, so that's something. It's a beautiful, thought provoking, heart breaking, and life celebrating book...that is difficult to entirely "get". Maybe that's why I like it. If you want to think about something or be completely baffled, you should read it. It's about family, history, religion, identity (specifically Jewish Identity), what it means to "love" someone, and a host of other things.

I reviewed Foer's second novel "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" in earnest on the Provo City Library Staff Review Blog (when I was employed there, wipe a tear).

Four Mothers: Horn, Shifra: Picador: 288 (old habits die hard)

I had never heard anything about this author or this book and it was a pleasant surprise. It told the story of four generations of women living in Jerusalem through the war of 1948, the Jordanian Occupation (48-67) and then the 6 day war in 1967. It was epic and sad (two things I love) and did a great job of fleshing in the un-thought-of details of history. Great storytelling.

Rashi's Daughters

I actually didn't finish this book. It is a series with several books following that detail the lives of Rashi's daughters. (Rashi is an actual well known Jewish Medieval Rabbi.) At first I loved the slow reveal of what life was like for this Jewish group in Medieval France, but after a while it just didn't hold my attention. It would be great for a YA historical fiction read, but I just wasn't in the mood. I might try it again later.

In the Image: A Novel: Horn, Dara: W.W. Norton & Co.: 280

Owf. That's how I feel about this book. There were moments of genius, but most of the book was a little pretentious and a little contrived. One moment of genius occurs near the end where the story of Job is retold backwards through the familial history of one of the main characters. As if to say that the parameters of our present are the product of our our ancestor's tragedy. When we choose good and happiness despite every historical reason not to we are confirming God and refusing to deny him. That part stole my heart, but the rest of it just irked me. Horn didn't give reader's the chance to read between the lines before shoving the obvious down our throats. Take it or Leave it.

Jerusalem: One City Three Faiths: Armstrong, Karen: Ballantine Books: 1997

Karen Armstrong is really something. A historian, a religious historian who still thinks that religion is good is hard to come by and she is the perfect balance of skeptical historian and good willed faith affirm-er. This book is a readable history of Jerusalem and the Holy Land in general. Fabulous.

The History of Love: Krauss, Nicole

Another repeat. Last night I almost put it away, but then It reminded me of how good it is. Similar themes as "Everything is Illuminated" (the authors are married afterall....) and similarly bizarre and thought provoking.

You might have noticed that every single book I'm reading is about Jews or Jewishness. Well, when in Rome! (er Israel) It's been a good cultural exercise along side living here. I've also read a slew of travel books - I can't get enough of them.

Book Review: The Lotus Eaters

2011-02-25T10:28:00.000-08:00

The Lotus Eaters: Tatjana Soli: St. Martin's Press: Fiction: 386

I am often frusterated with fiction because there is so much telling and so little showing, but I have to say, Tatjana Soli's debut novel "The Lotus Eaters" is a triumph of fiction - vividly showing us the lush landscapes of Vietnam and the devastating realities of war. On a micro scale this book is about the relationships a female war photographer creates during Vietnam and the way she is forever changed at its end, but it is also a much larger narrative about the depths of destruction encountered in war and its slow seduction. It's about "going native" and becoming placeless after the intense experiences of life.

This novel is beautiful, gripping, and utterly transportive. A great adventure and eye opener about war on a personal level.

Book Review: My Life in France

2011-02-10T15:16:00.000-08:00

My Life in France: Julia Child, Alex Prud'homme: Kindle Edition: 2006: 336 pages print length.

I didn't know much about Julia Child before reading this book and I wasn't very interested to know more, but this delightful memoir just stole my heart. The book begins as newlywed Child moves to Paris for her husband's new position in the cultural affairs section of the Paris embassy. What begins as a whim to occupy her time quickly grows into a lifelong obsession as Child cooks her way through classic French dishes. Culminating in the publication of her first cookbook and the subsequent success of her television series, The French Chef, this novel is truly a Tour Du France, culinarily and geographically speaking.

I really came to admire Child's fearlessness and the way she looked life's dissapointments in the face while embracing its joys. She was certainly uncoventional and describes life long political sparring with her conservative father and being "cold blooded" when one of her cookbook's co-authors wasn't taking on her fair share of the work. But she was also hardworking, intellectually curious, and fully devoted to her husband. In fact, this novel is in part a very sweet love story. At times I wondered if there was more to the events than what she revealed, but her telling of them was marvelous none the less.

As a traveler, food lover, and wife of a Public Affairs diplomat I was smitten with this book from the first chapter.

(This was my first completed Kindle book and I can't say how much I love my kindle!)

Jerusalem Gems

2011-01-25T13:04:00.000-08:00

I made several books during our days in Jerusalem that I am just now getting around to blogging about.

rounded spine with hand sewn end bands

three signatures with boards attached directly to the spine cloth

rounded spine with Chines rice paper and "Jerusalem" in Hebrew hot foil pressed into cover

Derby Square Bookstore: Salem, Massachusettes

2011-01-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

On our itty trip to boston this weekend Max and I took even an ittier trip to Salem. We stumbled upon a delightful little bookstore at the corner of Essex and Derby with a most enigmatic owner. When I asked if I could take a picture of the floor to ceiling stacks of books, a voice coming from a small space between two mighty stacks answered

"If you buy a book, you can take all the pictures you like."

Max ponied up and purchased World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. Zombies and Witches and Bookstores - oh my!

Book Review: The Woman Who Fell From The Sky

2011-01-04T17:43:00.000-08:00

The Woman Who Fell From the Sky: An American Journalist in Yemen: Jennifer Steil: Broadway: 2010: Non-Fiction/Biography: 336 pages

Yemen. Not really a place an American woman imagines visiting, much less taking up a permanent residence. But perhaps American journalist turned author Jennifer Steil is no ordinary woman. Accepting a short term work assignment in Yemen to train the staff of the Yemen Observer Steil braves the female free streets of Yemen alone and doesn't let an institutionally sexist work environment or the time wasting Qat addictions of her staff slow her down. (Qat is a very popular amphetamine like stimulant that plagues Yemeni society - it turns teeth brown, is highly addictive, and basically incapacitates its users form doing anything productive)

This book depicted a Yemen I couldn't have imagined. Steil gets the inside scoop, if you will, on women's roles in Yemeni society, the Qat addiction that cripples the country, family life and sex, the government loyalty that dominates the field of "journalism", and blatant unfairness in the workplace. But her book is also several parts travelogue of the best kind - detailed, sensory, and fantastic while still being relatable and realistic. The prehistoric island of Socotra sounds enchanting and other worldly, but we all know someone like her cantankerous co-editor and just needing a well deserved night off is something we can all relate to. Although the ending sat a little askew with me (Steil and the British Ambassador to Yemen start a relationship that causes him to leave his wife and daughter) the book as a whole was very enjoyable.

Here are two links about Socotra - check them out. It is a wild place
http://www.bestourism.com/items/di/331?title=Socotra-Island-in-Yemen&b=47
http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/travel/tmagazine/03well.socotra.t.html

Manuscript Awesomeness

2010-11-29T07:12:00.001-08:00

In this, the second to last semester of Grad School, I am taking a Medieval Manuscripts Class. I know, it's totally awesome. We basically study the construction, design, history, and context of manuscripts from the 6th century through the late middle ages. It's like I've died and gone to heaven and someone is giving me school credit for it.

When Max and I were in New York I insisted that we go to the New York Public Library- twice actually. I didn't know if they had any exhibits going on, but I thought it was worth a shot. When we got pas security I looked up to find a sign that read

"Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam. Scriptorium This Way"

What? A scriptorium? (The scriptorium is the room where monk scribes copied manuscripts and did the illumination and decoration) Turns out we had stumbled into an exhibit on the "founding religious manuscripts of the three Abrahamic faiths" complete with scriptorium. I spent most of my time in the scriptorium watching videos about making ink and parchment and doing medieval calligraphy. This little backlit table below was set up so people could trace calligraphy from the various languages involved in the exhibit.

These other pictures help illustrate the book making process. The first pictures are bottles of pigment that were traditionally mixed with egg white (called tempera) or gum arabic to produce flowing inks and paints. It looks awesome, but somehow I doubt that 6th century monks had hot pink ink. They did have a surprising amount of colors at their disposal, but I don't think hot pink was one of them. The color pigments come from things that occur in nature - trees, rocks, dirt, plants, rust, special kinds of fungus, etc. There is a long soaking and grinding and sifting process that takes place before you get to this stage.

This is a piece of parchment as it stretches on a frame. But let's back up. In preparation for my final on Wednesday, I'll just give you some of the juicy bookmaking details. Parchment was used for "books" after things like clay, wax, or stone tablets. You make parchment, which comes from the skin of an animal, by soaking the skin in a solution of lye, sometimes alum, sometimes oakgall (little knots on trees left over from insects) - there are a variety of things. This helps the hair fall off. Then you scrape the skin with a sharp knife, soak it again, scrape it again and then stretch it out to dry on a frame. While on the frame you scrape it again, making sure to remove all of the hair. Lastly, there is a kind of polishing done on the parchment by rubbing pumice or the flat side of knife over the skin. It was also common to treat the parchment with something that would help ink stay put on the skin later in the bookmaking process. By the end the very thin skin is folded, cut, marked and text is copied onto it.

They also had a display about paper. Paper is made by separating the fibers of an existing thing, a plant or a tree, or natural fibers like the ones below, by soaking it in water, beating the pulp to break fibers apart, running the sludge through a screen and then leaving the newly formed fibers to dry and bind into a new sheet of paper. There was a little egg shaped burnisher made out of a rock that we could try and burnish the paper with to give it a better look. Very hard stuff.

Wow. I've really nerded up the place. I'll leave the other mysteries of bookbinding for another day. But if you want to learn more about the exhibit and watch the awesome videos, you can follow the library's link. NewYork Public Library: Three Faiths

But Where Do They Belong?

2010-11-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

I was searching today for news about Saad Eskander, the Director of the Iraqi National Library and Archive, and to me, library hero of the century. After the 2003 U.S invasion of Iraq the national library was heavily looted. "About 60 percent of the records and documents of modern Iraq were lost, along with virtually all historical maps and photos, and perhaps 95 percent of rare books" Eskander reported. And we're not just talking about telephone company records from Basra, we're talking the treasures of one of the worlds oldest and most influential civilizations. Things of immense worldwide significance as well as being at the core of the Iraqi Identity. In response to not taking the appropriate and previously utilized precautions when facing the possible destruction of cultural artifacts during times of war then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield said "Stuff Happens".

If you can't tell, it makes my blood boil and I can't think about it for very long.

But what's so important about a bunch of old books? If that's what a library is to you, then I can't convince you that it matters. But to me, a library like this represents the heart, soul, and historic identity of a people. It's utter destruction mirrors that of the Iraqi people, but it's resurrection could bring about great progress in the reunification of Iraq - from a symbolic perspective as well as a practical one. Eskander has worked tirelessly to make this happen. He has spoken not only of the rebuilding of the collection, but also of what a functioning national library could mean as a model for other institutions. "I want to make the library a democratic model of how Iraq should be. From the start I hired Sunnis, Kurds, Shias, women, men. The national library must be a place - perhaps even the most important place - where Iraqis from many different groups come together."

But anyway, I found this article today in the Los Angeles Times regarding the final resting place for a trove of rare Jewish books found in the Iraq library at the time of the invasion and sent to DC temporarily. The Jewish community in Iraq is very ancient and almost non-existent today. Eskander wants the books to be returned to Iraq because they represent a crucial part of Iraq's heritage (and that's where they came from) but Jewish groups in American and Israel say that they are the property of the Jewish people first and foremost and should be returned to Israel, partly out of concern for their safety.

So where should they go? They came from Iraq and it make sense that they should go back. But to these Jewish groups, that nature of the books as Jewish far out ways any claim on their Iraqi-ness. It's a really telling example of how Israel sees itself, I think. In fact, the mission of the Jewish National and University Library (Israel's National Library) is to collect all things Jewish and/or related to Hebrew. It's a goal that supersedes country sovereignty and borders - but that becomes problematic when we are talking about a once shared history now greatly fractured.

It's sticky.

Awesome Books I Saw

2010-10-04T20:26:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, back when I had free time, I toured the National Museum of the American Indian. It is a great museum and I had a fabulous guide. But my favorite part was an exhibit about the effect of Christianity on the American Indians. While controversial to say the least, the clash of these two groups produced some really fabulous hand beaded bibles.

...hhhhmmmm, beaded bookcovers. What a great idea...

Moroccan Leather Anyone?

2010-08-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

Paper, Paper Everywhere and Everything Is Lovely

2010-08-20T10:43:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago my bookbinding teacher, who is an amazing artist of many stripes and shapes, did a paper marbling demonstration at his synagogue. Saying it was very cool is a gigantic understatement. I'm pretty much obsessed with paper marbling now and already have plans to add a paper marbling bath to my home studio (which only exists in my mind at this point). In case you were wondering about paper marbling, enjoy the following:

A Little Bit of History:
The beginnings of paper marbling come from Turkish/Islamic origins. The Turks were really the masters and developed the process and some of the tools used today. Marbling was developing in parts of India and Persia during the 17th-19th centuries as well, though Europe has perhaps the most commonly known association with paper marbling as they have been doing it since the 17th century.

Evidently, the first American money had marbling on it! Thank you Benjamin Franklin. I haven't independently confirmed this, so if anyone knows anything about it I would love to learn.

The Wikipedia page has some good info and some great examples.

A Little Bit of Process:
You take a large bath of a mixture of things - water &special chemicals - and then you drip special paint mixed with oxgall (just what it sounds like - gall of an ox) into the mixture.

The paint stays on the surface and depending on a few factors (how much oxgall, the thickness of the paint, the consistency of the water/chemical solution) it will spread out.

Once the paint is applied, you take either a single needle looking tool, or a large rake tool that extends the width/length of the bath and rake patterns into the wet paint. This was my favorite part and each time my teacher would rake the paint a new direction there were oooohhhs and aaahhhhs at the result.

Then you lay the paper carefully down on top of the paint, making sure there are no air bubbles, and after a few seconds you pull it away from the bath. The paper has been treated with alum so the paint bonds to the paper immediately. You rinse off any residue on the paper and let the awesomeness dry.
I am so obsessed I made a cheesecake this week and tried to marble the top of it with chocolate batter. The marbling turned out fantastic...the cheesecake, on the other hand, was not so fantastic.

I bought a few marbled papers from a local artist at the demonstration and couldn't wait to make a wee little book with it. I am making a sister book to send to Rick Steves in thanks for spreading his travel gospel. Is that too stalker-ish?

A Book, a book...and a book

2010-08-20T10:17:00.001-07:00

As often happens, I get started on one project that kind of spirals into several. I do a lot of work in a flurry and then don't make anything for a while. But whatever. It's my art and that's the way I want to do it :) So, I finished the book I mentioned previously...and a few others.

This book will be a photo album from our time in Jerusalem. Max is going to write Israel/Palestine in Hebrew and Arabic (respectively) and I'll put it in that indented space on the front. It opens left to right, like Arabic and Hebrew books do. I made this paste paper (not the paper itself, but the design on it) a few weeks ago and it was the only one to turn out decent from the whole batch. I chucked the rest. BUT I am going to try and make some more paste paper this weekend. I'll blog about my results if things turn out well.

This book deserves a little note and a thanks to my Mom. Someone came to visit us when we first got here and she offered to bring something for us. I wanted paper. My Mom probably thought I was a little loony, but paper she sent - this orange mosaic piece among them. I don't know if my Mom always understands me, but she supports me and that means a lot. She's the best.

This book is made of one signature (folded pieces of paper). It's a good way to make a sturdy little book.

What I've Been Making

2010-08-20T10:16:00.001-07:00

I'm really excited about this series of journals I'm working on. The second one has a picture of the Western Wall and if I do a third it will have an illustration of The Holy Sepulcher. For you nerds out there, I sewed them on linen tapes and bound them with a traditional flat back case binding. I used hand marbled paper I got in Siena, Italy last year for the fly pages and hand sewed head bands on top and bottom with the bead on the spine (not pictured). I'm taking an Adobe Illustrater classes online again (lynda.com - you are the best thing since my Max) and the illustrations are original. I'm thinking about making some sort of clamshell box or slip case to house them when I decide how many volumes I want.

The second is a leather binding with a diamond shape spine pattern. I'm not sure what I'll use it for...but I have visions of myself camping out in the old city and drawing so maybe I'll use it as a sketch book or a place to put finished paintings of the old city. You know, when I actually get back to painting...

Don't Worry, Be Sneaky

2010-02-12T05:22:00.000-08:00

I have, indeed, been creating the aforementioned wiki about book travel throughout the world. I have just gotten a little bit paranoid and so I'm not publishing it on my blog. Isn't that silly? Well, I'm doing it all the same. So if you are going somewhere and want to know its book history, drop me a line and I will hopefully have some information about that region's book history by then.

I just wanted to tell you, internet persons, that I have not faulted in my attempts to get motivated.

My latest discovery is the Rock Drawings in Valcamonica, northern Italy. In this most norther region of the Lombardy you can find one of the largest and best collections of prehistoric petroglyphs. I'm trying to steer our summer stopover in Italy to the north so that we can see these caves.

Brooke's World Book Tour!

2009-11-02T04:53:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I use the blog to motivate myself to do things I will love, but might otherwise not accomplish due to my ability to piddle away time doing other things that I like, but don't love.

I am officially compiling a list/wiki/database of all of the awesome places/objects relating to Books and the History of Libraries throughout the world. Consider it a travel guide for book nerds. When I get it up and running ( more than one entry) I will post the link on this blog. Hopefully I'll post tidbits I learn about along the way too.

I've wanted a "Master List" like this for some time, so I've gotten out some of my old text books, emailed some teachers, and I'm going to put it together.

What I Am

2009-10-26T08:10:00.000-07:00

"Librarians are centered on the human record that vast assemblage of texts, moving and still images, symbolic representations, recorded sound, and other fruits of the human mind. They select, acquire, organise, give access to, and preserve sub-sets of that human record and give advice and instruction on its use. They share core values stewardship, intellectual freedom, service, etc. and work cooperatively with other librarians locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally through such methods as inter-library lending, cataloguing standards, etc., to ensure coordination of library efforts and strive for total access to the human record. These words apply to the librarians of yesterday and tomorrow as much as to the librarians of today. They also, in my view, apply to librarians of all kinds in all countries. There is a golden thread that connects a school librarian in California to an academic librarian in Mumbai and a public librarian in Nairobi to a government librarian in Sydney."
Exciting, grand and inspiring scope part

"That being so, it follows that there are subjects in which all librarians should be educated and a core of such subjects that apply to all librarians and that should be included in the curricula of all library education programs. I have proposed elsewhere that we should work internationally on identifying that global core and work nationally and within linguistic groups to expand on that core as it applies in a particular country or grouping of countries".
Practical, more nerdy librarian part

Michael Gorman, past president of ALA at the Forum on International Library Education

Capitalism: The Double Edged Sword of Information

2009-09-23T03:52:00.000-07:00

As much as capitalism has helped develop nations like India (and I know it has, I've read 'The World is Flat') it holds an interesting consequence when it comes to information access. I was reading this article today about the enormous "access to information" gap in developing nations. What I mean by that specifically in this case is access to journals related to health, medicine, science, technology - you name it. Credible, reliable, researched, and peer reviewed information that, if we believe the School House Rock adage "knowledge is power" (and I truly do) must be accessible to underdeveloped nations.

Anyway, there are many organizations like HINARI and AGORA, both mentioned in the quote below, that purchase journal subscriptions from large companies in order to distribute them to developing nations for free of a very low fee. The author points out an interesting problem when "commercial interest" comes into play:

"Also, in a few countries, publishers withhold some journals because the sales of these journals are signiﬁcant in these countries.

Indeed, this is the case for India, which is excluded from HINARI and AGORA even though India’s per capita GDP is less than half of US$1,000, the threshold accepted by the publishers for these programs, simply because there are many institutional subscribers in India for many journals included in HINARI and AGORA. University and research institute libraries in various regions of India also belong to different consortia who sign different licensing agreements with different publishers that allow them access to some titles that are also available through HINARI and AGORA. So offering these programs to India would substantially undercut the subscription revenue publishers currently enjoy. It appears that proﬁt motive prevails over the principle of true equity.”

I don't really know that I have a 'solution' to this issue, because truly, we ought to be valuing information and it ought to be expensive - it changes the world (we hope). I understand why they wouldn't want to give away what they are already selling. Companies have to be able to make a profit so they can continue to collect, publish, and disseminate good products...but groups like HINARI and AGORA are willing to pay...so why not just make a little less AND help the world?

Chan, Leslie, & Costa, Sely. (2005). Participation in the global knowledge commons: Challenges and opportunities for research dissemination in developing countries. New Library World, 106(3/4), 141-163.

International Librarianship?

2009-05-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

I just finished my semester and I'll be honest, it rocked my socks off. I had a class in Young Adult Literature and one in the History of Books and Libraries (I know - THAT'S what heaven looks like). The class about books and libraries got me so jazzed that it's something I'd like to pursue. I've been thinking about getting a second masters when I'm done with this one, and I think I'd like to do it in History and study the history of books and maybe libraries (books first, libraries second). That way I can study a broad range of time (like, all of it) and isolate one common theme - the book. Awesome? yes.

Also, one of my dear professors has taken an interest in our move to Israel and we talked on the phone about possible opportunities I might have in Jerusalem. She said that I should spend a bit of time just getting myself into the library scene. Find out what library students in Israel would do and do it (You know, like "think about what at Maverick would do and then do that"). She said ask for tours of all of the libraries and archives, familiarize yourself with the faculty at the University. She advised not to show up and say "I'm a MLIS student and I'd like an internship" (which was my original plan but now sounds dastardly arrogent), but to get my feet wet and slowly become part of the library scene in Israel. That's right, the library scene! She suggested that I take the International Librarianship class that San Jose State offers in the fall and I think I'll do just that. She suggested I join the Israel chapter and get really involved. I'm really looking forward to the library opportunities this move will offer.

And here is where all the threads meet. If I were to do a Masters in history focusing on books and libraries I have this secret plan to study at all of the Universities where we live. If we live in Syria, I could study the book/library movement in at University of Damascus, or if we live in Egpyt I could study at Cairo. Well, I wouldn't even have to study at the Universities, I could just study the movements in the areas we live in - become an expert. Every region has a book history, and since the actual history of books, language and libraries is in the Middle East I kind of think I'm in for a treat.

Teaching Technology (The Blog Lives)

2009-05-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

Sadly, during the most exciting semester of my library career my blog suffered tremendously. I had the most to write about, and I wrote the least!

Anyway, every Thursday night I help teach blogging classes as the local library and I absolutely love it. Today was my first class back from a short break, and it's just the best way to spend an evening. There was a dear elderly woman tonight who just couldn't keep up and I sat with her throughout the class and we worked together to create her blog and make a few posts. She actually typed on one of her practice posts "I am at the library tonight. A very nice young girl is helping me". How sweet is that!?

I had forgotten how much I LOVE teaching technology. It's one of my favorite parts of being a librarian. So, I guess we'll add one more specialization to the growing lists of specializations I'd like to have... archives, special collections, public libraries in general, outreach/programming, technology..... That kind of makes me a plain old generalist doesn't it?

Medieval Manuscripts Ahoy!

2009-02-14T09:45:00.001-08:00

These are the clamshell boxes that BYU's conservator made for the Vulgate Bible "Bibila Sacra" and the Breviary - which is a book of religious devotions, prayers, things a religoius person should do and repeat.

This was page from the Breviary - this is all written and decorated by hand. It's absolutely stunning. This letter is called an Historiated Letter.

This past week I made an appointment with a curator of the BYU special collections to go see a few manuscripts that were created in the 14th and 15th centuries. I was a little bit nervous too ask if I, a mere mortal, could view such precious items stowed away in the BYU vaults, but I realized "Wait, I am a Masters student in library science - I have some book cred!".

Anyway, I had an assignment for my "History of Books and Libraries" class (which is blowing my mind) to look at a manuscript prior to 1500 and discuss some things regarding it's physical description, history and context, etc.

Max can verify that I almost cried several times. I'm out of control, I know. It was really an amazing thing. I'll post more about it later (because I'm slacking on my homework right now) but here is a link to the wiki I made for my assignment.

Brooke's Manuscript Wiki

The Mr. let me take pictures, which was also amazing. I looked at "Breviary, Toledo 1400", "Polychronicon (1342)", and a Vulgate Bible from the 1300's.

I told Max afterward that I was pretty sure I wanted to go to book conservatory school. We'll see how that goes.

This is the breviary with it's original binding of Moroccan leather. Amazing.

Dead is the New Pink

2009-01-27T13:19:00.001-08:00

I read this paragraph in a book review for a book I was looking into today on Amazon:

Dead is the new pink. The formerly living occupy a huge amount of creative space these days -- in television ("Ghost Whisperer," "Medium"), film ("Corpse Bride," "Just Like Heaven"), novels like Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, even a highly regarded show of spirit photography at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

In literature I've even heard someone refer to this as a subgenre entitled "Dead-Narrator Tales". Woa. This concept is especially prevalent in YA lit and as I have a YA lit class this semester I've already read a few.

YA lit is notorious for stretching boundaries and defying limits, sometimes obnoxiously. I feel like sometimes the author's primary question is 'How can I create a story so niche oriented, so diverse in it's plot and characters, so 'off the charts' that teens everywhere will buy it and come to proms held in its honor?' (don't get me wrong, I loved Twilight and Stephanie Meyer's ascent to fame was much more innocent than I'm suggesting) I know! A paraplegic Vegan who secretly raises unicorns that have special powers over the stock market! Yeah, and she suffers from a sex addiction, but can't tell her Meth attic Mom!

This dead narrator thing, however, is a clever new twist. I think I kind of like it. But by this time next year I'm sure I'll be "so over it" as they tell me the teens say these days. Just when you think edgy YA lit topic have been tapped out (Drugs? too overdone Sex? too obvious) someone says, "What About Dead People?" Awesome.

Paul Auster is My Homeboy

2008-12-30T20:49:00.000-08:00

I love Paul Auster. I do. At least I loved the New York Trilogy because it blew my mind.

I came home from volunteering at the library tonight (which is also blowing my mind with awesomeness) with a stack of books including Paul Auster's latest novel 'Man in the Dark'. Outside of the 'trilogy', Auster can be a bit...melodramatic? Is that the word? But I always pick up anything I see by him. Anyway, here is a tease from the inside jacket

"I am alone in the dark, turning the world around in my head as I struggle through another bout of insomnia, another white night in the Great American Wilderness." (Oh my, how thouroughly existential)

So begins Paul Auster's brilliant, devastating novel about the many realities we inhabit as wars flame all around us. (I love devastating, go on...)

blah, blah blah, an old man and what I'm sure are crucial plot points

...Passionate shocking, Man in the Dark, is a novel of our moment, a book that forces us to confront the blackness of night even as it celebrates the existence of ordinary joys in a world capable of the most grotesque violence. (well, I'm sold)

Seriously, that's how it happened as I was restocking the new book display tonight. It's kind of why I'm a freak, I guess, and neither my husband or my Mom can understand why I like some of the books I like.

And I'll be honest, I'll probably get to page 40 while Max finishes up his radio shift here at the radio station, and then become enamored with another 'devastating' book. Oh, I finish books, but not even a third of all of the ones I bring home from the library. I think I like mostly the idea of books, or rather the ideas in the books. I like to take them home and own the ideas for a while, think about the implications and scope of what I'm sure lies between the two covers...while not always actually reading them.

I am appreciating the luxuriant reading of a book more and more, but I'm still an ideas girl. If it sounds conflicting and thought provoking and 'devastating' - 'forcing me to confront' the complexities of the world I live in and celebrating the beauty and joy that is also there - hand it over.

I have found, however, that sometimes big ideas fall a bit short of their potential. I am currently reading "The Archivist: A Novel" which is about a librarian who watches over a sealed collection of letters that T.S. Eliot wrote to a woman named Emily. Eliot donated the letters with the instruction that they not be opened until the year 2012. A widower of 15 or so years, our protagonist is intrigued when a young, passionate graduate student tries to gain access to both the letters and his closely gaurded personal life. There is all this jazz about identity and privacy and relationships, and a pretty interesting look into the complex histories of both his wife and new interest's Jewishness. Take a librarian (awesome), some sweet special collection materials, lots of T.S. Eliot references, issues of loss and trust mixed in with a tortured self- perception rooted in The Hollocaust and the Jewish Identity and you've got a great read, right?
Great until about page 135. I haven't given up, but I'm just not entirely committed to the deceased wife's 50 or so page journal rants she wrote from an institution before she committed suicide. I"ll report back.

Did I just ramble into a corner?

Access as Warning?

2008-12-07T16:32:00.000-08:00

ALA president, Jim Retting, had an interesting article about access in November's American Libraries Magazine. (Which you can now read online without being an ALA member - way to put your money where your mouth is ALA.) The article, Access for All, iss about the idea of access to information and how it requires a certain level of transparency in government.

Retting specifically mentioned the annual Crimea Conference, a library conference for Russian librarians, where access to information and government related information was discussed

"... [access to information] improved after the collapse of the Soviet Union but in recent years has reverted"

What? huh? Did you catch that? We've been hearing rumblings out of Russia for a while now and the relationship with our former cold war nemesis is starting to re-frost. Stories of political assassinations have led us to question their human rights stance, and, George Bush's ability to see into Putins 'good' soul through his Russian peepers not withstanding, Russia is scaring the West more than it has for some time.

Russia's political strangle hold on expression, denial of human rights, and many other nefarious doings are echoed in their attitude towards public access to information - or maybe the latter is one of the reasons they are allowed to continue with the aforementioned deeds.

In relation to oppressive countries' precedent of denying access to information Retting points out that "Most Westerners know about Tianenmen Square from the student movement but most Chinese don't know about that." That sounds bizarre to us, but that's because we live in a country with a robust press and the right to information. While I don't think that right was enumerated in the Bill of Rights, I think it should be at the forefront of any discussion of citizen empowerment and democracy. Citizens make better decisions when they have access to accurate information and governments are held more accountable when their doings are recorded, catalogued, and made available to their constituents.

When we go about determining who is in our new 'connect four' of evil, perhaps we should look not just at their nuclear arms proliferation, hostile public rhetoric, and alleged human rights abuses, but also how they deny access to information. Maybe examining trends regarding access to information, or the denial of such, could alert us of possible dangers before other, harder evidence is available.

Better Know a Library: Cerritos Library...I've Died

2008-11-26T20:23:00.000-08:00

...and gone to Heaven! I'm not sure if I can legally post pictures from this library directly on my blog, but I would like everyone who reads this (all 3 of you) to go to their link and prepare to salivate.

What the money!? What the allocation of resources!? What the commitment!? What the wealthy community!? I nearly shed a tear tonight. This is amazing. The children's section is out of this world. Who wouldn't want to spend every waking hour here?

I don't love the "mall" concept I can see happening in some pictures, but it looks really sharp. I'm truly speechless.

Get Back on the Saddle

2008-11-20T15:11:00.000-08:00

Well, I just applied to work in the Library of Congress. A girl can dream, can't she? I've been pretty discouraged lately because I haven't gotten several sweet library jobs I've applied for. It's like crack and I'm having withdrawals...ok, working in a library isn't like crack at all. But I'm having withdrawals all
the same.

But yesterday when I was working on my homework I said "No, Corky", I've got to keep in library land whether or not I am currently employed by one. I've got my trusty subscription to ALA and I'm on a few email lists, not to mention library school itself. SO, I'm going to try and blog more frequently about the goings on I read about in the land of library.

Here is something awesome I read in my Web Design class last week. We were talking about web security and the idea of copyright and my teacher cited this awesome bit.

There is the humorous example of Presidential candidate Senator
John McCain's Web site using a graphic that they liked by linking
to that graphic on another person's Web site without permission.
Evidently, the person who controlled the Web site (and the graphic image)
didn't particularly care for John McCain. He changed his graphic
to display text that the showed the Senator had changed his position
on a prominent social issue in a very unexpected way! :-D

Needless to say, the McCain Web site people changed their Web site very quickly!

I already had several reason for not voting for MCcain and while this one might seem stupid to many, it's not to me. Not only did the Mccain campaign not CARE about copyright and getting permission (as evidence by the Campaign's insistence on using artists' songs on the campaign trail long after they demanded they stop-HEART and VAN HALEN no the least among them), but they didn't appear to KNOW about issues like these. I can accept if MCcain himself doesn't know the intricacies of the internets or how copyright works...but that'ts what you hire experts for!!!

I just have to add that one of my favorite things about Obama is that he has surrounded himself with experts. The way he has used technology in his Campaign is amazing. I feel like he represents a 'return of the expert' to the White House, after a long winter of "my college buddies youngest grandson who knows a little something about stuff".

Then I'll Bring the Library to Me!

2008-10-18T19:03:00.001-07:00

I got a new job and while its a fine job, it's not a library so I feel this kind of identity loss that I don't know how to deal with. I didn't realize how much being a "librarian" defined who I was. Maybe it's a good thing that I have to regrow my independence, but all the same I miss the library!

I work at the Mountainland Head Start central office in Provo and in the basement of the building is a library for the teachers. It was a little spot o' heaven when I found out about it. Whenever I close the basement down at night I walk through it just to get some library in me. Because of my interest in libraries my boss is letting me catalog all of the "new" books for the library. Most of them are old donated books, but either way I'm loving it. My co-workers keep saying things like "Why are they making you do that? " and "Oh! That must be awful". They just don't understand.

There are almost 1000 books that need to be cataloged, the library database is beyond arcane and unreliable, and the actual library itself could use some serious TLC. SOOO I've been hatching a plan about writing a grant to get things in shape! (And I just happen to be taking a class that teaches grant writing!) I want to see if I can write grant to either get new materials for the library or that will pay me to work in it for a while and get it usable. I'm not exactly sure what I need to do, or if it's even possible, but danget that place needs a librarian! The Headstart library needs some new resources and the existing ones aren't being used because of the lack of organization. To be fair, it's not really their fault. The library has been so neglected because the program in general is underfunded. They can hardly pay the staff they have to keep up with their overflowing work loads, let alone create a new position for the library.

So, I've emailed my professor to see if she can set me in the right direction and all I have to do now is work up the chutzpah to talk to my boss and the director about it at some point...

Personnel is Policy

2008-09-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

The other day Barton Gellman was being interviewed on NPR about his new book, Angler, about Dick Cheney's role in the Bush administration and he talked about how Cheney's hiring practices were informed by this maxim: Personnel is Policy. If you just get the right people in the right positions you won't have to be a micro-manager and you won't have to fuss with copious amounts of policy aimed at getting employees to act a certain way.

At first I understood it as an excuse for cronyism, but as I thought about it don't you want to hire people who share the vision of your corporation and thus will act in what you see is its best interest, not just because of policy, but because of who they are? I think maybe (maybe?) I'm giving Cheney too much credit, ESPECIALLY considering that his 'corporation' was a "non-partisan" government not supposed to be aimed at furthering a party, but at managing our nation. Maybe that's when this kind of thinking turns horrible - when it is used to further one particular, highly controversial, vision of what the organization should be transformed into instead of the agreed upon mission statement of company.

I guess I'm thinking about this because I am job searching my heart out. Well, I'm searching, but it hard to be pumped about anything other than the few jobs I really want (I'll keep you posted on that). I'm a sucker of an idealist. For the job back at the library (though in a different department) I just want to say "If you knew how much I love this library, and its mission, and its role in the community you would know that I would be the best option for this job." I would work with enthusiastic accordance with the policies of the library because I believe in the vision of the library whole heartedly. Personnel as policy?

ps - And I'm fungible! I'm so fungible! I can do lots of stuff well! Thomas Freidmans says that is the number one attribute people in today's workplace need to exhibit. But how do you sell that to an employer?

What I Did Instead

2008-09-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to get back in the swing of things as far as homework goes. This is my second time on campus today - nevermind that the first was only for an hour, an hour in which I met and chatted with two of my friends. I'm waiting for Max to get out of his night class and somehow my studying has turned into this:

Taking pictures of myself with my computer. However, I am taking a web design class and so far I'm really enjoying it...contrary to what these pictures may suggest.

It pays to be a nerd...or at least it discounts your insurance

2008-09-03T10:28:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I was on the phone with Geico getting our insurance re-instated so that Max could drive our wee green car back to Provo and the nice lady on the phone, Diane, asked "Do you belong to any organizations that are sponsored by Geico and might get you further discounts on your rates?"

"Um..I don't think...well, I am a Member of ALA. The American Library Association."

"They are on a our list, we will further discount your insurance."

I save 10 bucks a month! Awesome.

I read quite a few articles on the benefits of belonging to professional library associations in one of my classes last semester and NO ONE brought up that you get discounts on your car insurance. They should push that more at ALA.

Is it REALLY about reading?

2008-07-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

Max forwarded me this article entitled "Two-Make that Three cheers for the Chain Bookstores!"and here is a particularly interesting part:

Although there is some reality in the image of the chains as predators (ours is a capitalist economy, after all), it is not the whole truth or even, perhaps, the most important part. The emotional drive behind the anti-chain crusade is an understandable mistrust of big corporations allied with the knee-jerk snobbery that is never far from the surface in American cultural life. "I am a reader," the interior litany goes, "therefore I belong to a privileged minority; I patronize exclusive bookstores known only to me and my intellectual peers." With the chains, which target a wider public and make the process of book buying unthreatening to the relatively less educated, the exclusivity factor disappears.[...]

Wonderful though many of the independents were (and are)...the fact is that most of the good ones were clustered in the big cities, leaving a sad gap in America's smaller cities and suburbs—the places, in fact, where most of the American population actually lives. Books-A-Million's 202 stores, for instance, are almost all located in the Southeast. Borders has from the beginning targeted another underserved market, the suburbs, and as a result the quality of life in American suburbia has radically changed over the past decade. This is a point that the urban intelligentsia, which loves to characterize the suburbs as a cultural wasteland, seems to have missed, or at least to have taken no interest in.

I love a cozy bookstore as much as anyone, but if I really care about improving the reading habits of the general public, and the dissemination of knowledge as i so fervently claim to, doesn't this make sense?

Who Loves Lists?

2008-04-21T09:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess I do. Who knew? Not only have I turned into a list maniac about Jordan and our Europe plans (you should see the spreadsheets), my school life has turned into listmania too! I have been working on the last big group project for my Information Retrieval class and I'll just tell you a little bit about what we have to do.

My group has to read 15 articles and create a searchable database to house them and records to represent them and vocabularies to search them by. The searchable part is what is difficult. We each read a few articles and then we had to create what are called pre-coordinated vocabularies and post-coordinated vocabularies for the concepts in the articles. The Vocabularies are the terms that you would search for in a library catalog or database. So we have to determine what the concepts of the article are and guess what terms would most likely be searched to put on our record. Each term or term phrase is associated with an article (or sometimes several articles).

The Pre-coordinated terms are the hardest I think because we have to combine several terms that represent the articles. Example: If the article were talking about how to train poodles we would create a subject heading string that looked like this "Dogs-training-poodles". But perhaps several more until we had adequately covered the article We have to anticipate the users search methods and make sure that the terms are enough the same (aggregation) and enough different (discrimination). (There may be many articles about Dogs, but as we start to descriminate the terms, training, poodles, it becomes more specific - make sense?)

Anyway, working as a group has also been challenging. One persons terms say "User Interfaces" and the other says "Patron Interfaces". They may mean exactly the same thing but trying to combine 5 people's different terms that use the same words for the same thing has been a tasky tootle. I volunteered for this part, and it has taken more time than I thought. It's not "hard", but it is time consuming.

All that being said, I have enjoyed them mental excersize of breaking information into its largest concepts on down to its smallest. There is something about disecting information that way that is soothing to me, like those little sand boxes that you rake through with a tiny fork. Call me crazy.

Nice German Man Says...

2008-04-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

Nice German Patron: These kids with earrings and painted hair – Hitler wouldn’t have stood for it. I’m a survivor of Nazi Germany and Hitler was a better man than most of our politicians. He never lied about what he was doing. He was a poor uneducated fellow who never could have gotten into power by himself. It was the wealthy bankers who put him in power and they are responsible for what he did.

You know the bankers would take over this country, but they are afraid of the people who have guns. They are trying to destroy America, the constitution. Did you know that president Bush can tap your phone line if you say certain things? If you say “president bush” or “nazi” or “communism” a machine will record your conversation.

huh?

Not a Lie

2008-03-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

Me: What can I help you with today?

Patron: You know, I used to be able to move things with my mind when I was a child, but I have kind of forgotten. Can you help me find some books that will help teach me again?

Me without even blinking: Oh sure, here is the call number for our books about telekenisis

I've really entered another dimension. What's the best is that it doesn't even phase me. I love this job.

That's a Reference Question

2008-03-07T15:16:00.001-08:00

This is exactly what happened on an actual phone call at the library the other day

Patron: "Well, are you LDS?"
Brooke: "I prefer not to answer personal questions"
Patron: "Well, I just need to know if you think I can be forgiven for my sins"
Brooke: (internal galsp) "You know, I just don't feel comfortable advising you on this issue, I would suggest you contact a religious or spiritual leader"

Technology - who needs it?

2008-02-22T19:29:00.000-08:00

We do! That's the answer. We, as librarians, certainly do. I have been pretty surprised at the aversion and downright ----- expressed about technology by many of my classmates...who are earning their masters degree in a technological science...via the internet. I love books just like the next librarian and bibliophile, but if there are technologies that will make our libraries better let's use them danget.

On a similar note, I had this idea the other day that I think would be awesome for a public library to implement. Keep in mind that I have no idea what kind of cost or man power or equipment this might require, it's just pie in the sky at this point. So, you know how you can personalize your google account and when you log in it will not only look like you want it to (personalized skins and what not) it will display information in a way that you want? If not try it out, it's awesome. Or how Amazon gives book recommendations when you log in based on your previous purchases?

What if you could log onto your library account and it would would display all of your hold information, RSS feeds about your favorite authors and their latest projects, personalized reading recommendations from librarians, "shelfs" that you could create "to read" lists on that could actually link to the catalog, the list is endless. Anyway, the more I think about it, the more awesome I think it would be. I'll keep working on it.

The Secret Russian Mafia Spy's One Eyed Baby's Scandalous Nanny

2008-02-22T19:25:00.000-08:00

These are a couple of sweet romance Titles from the “Harlequin Presents” romance series. We all owe a big thank you to Wal-Mart for keeping these titles in stock!

The Mediterranean Billionaire’s Secret Baby
Claiming His Pregnant Wife (who knew being pregnant was this sexy?)
Aristides’ Convenient Wife
The Desert King’s Virgin Bride
Innocent on Her Wedding Night
Willingly Bedded: Forcibly Wedded (I’m not making this up)
The Brazilian Boss’s Innocent Mistress
The Greek Billionaire’s Baby Revenge

I have nothing else to say. It’s too easy, and it’s too depressing

For the Love of Food @ Your Library

2008-02-19T08:33:00.000-08:00

So tonight is the first night of a new program that the Provo City Library is doing called "For the Love of Food @ Your Library". A woman from the Utah State extension center is coming in to give classes about food prep and stretching your food budget. When we talked about maybe doing it in programming meeting I was most excited about it, so they put me in charge of setting it up. So I arranged the program with USU and made all of the flyers (which was such a rush) and now we'll just see.

I guess the library has tried this in the past without a lot of success, so we just hope someone shows up. It's really exciting to have planned something and then see if come to fruition...or not as tonight will tell. Scary.

My Dirty LIttle Secret

2008-02-01T19:26:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I’m confessing something here that is truly embarrassing…I buy for the Romance section of my library. I know, I know, I already know that I’m perpetuating all kinds of unhealthy relationship expectations and facilitating down right crap, but it’s my job. In fact, It’s one of (if not the) largest circulating collections at the library, so when they asked me to buy for it I was really flattered. I should tell you that when they asked me if I would buy for it they said “Now, you don’t have to read them… but would you buy for romance? Funny. It’s also funny to note that Romance is the highest circulating collection… in Provo? Huh.

One of the perks of buying for Romance is that I get to see ALL KINDS of ridiculous things aimed at Romance Readers and Romance Writer hopefuls (as most romance readers are). I mean really, sometimes I am horrified, sometimes outraged, and others I just can’t stop laughing. My favorite most recent one was when I came across an article on how to write better “love” scenes in your books without being cheesy or pornographic. The Irony! They always call them “love” scenes…and then fill the book with casual sex…Anyway, that’s a rant for another day. I usually give Max and earful when I get home about what new psychological conundrum I’ve discovered in the Romance World, but maybe if I post them here his ears can get a break and more people can share in my disgust, I mean laughter, I mean rage…

Yucky Romance Writer Quote of the Day

2008-02-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

"In essence, I want to feel smart, not actually be smart."

Quoth a young Romance Writer/Romance Agent. She is referencing the type of reading she likes to do that will "teach her something...but not really"

She goes on to say "Take Grisham’s books, for example. Specifically, THE FIRM. That was an incredibly easy book to read, but he never spoke down to the reader. Grisham made people feel smart. As if they were “in the know.” A door was opened, and it was very welcoming. We could feel smart about lawyer stuff without having to have gone through any of that time consuming and headache inducing law school business." you know...learning something for real.

Snarky Snark Snark, I know. I'm all about easy access books, but not for the purpose of making someone "feel smart" but not have to actually deal with that pesky burden of learning something and actually "be(ing) smart". Awesome.

Oh my land. I just read this in the same article. Is this the height of stupidity?

"Often what makes me feel smart when reading is when I’m given tiny little pieces of insider language. {fair enough says brooke...go on } I don’t even need to understand the word or words, oddly enough, but if well-written and I get the meaning from the context, I feel smarter because I could actually use those words-I-don’t-understand in a sentence! {oh no she didn't} I could make other people feel dumb for not knowing those words! YeeHaaa! (Oh, sorry, did I type that last bit out loud?)" Yuck Yuck Yuck and double Yuck. It's an awful combination of vanity and idiotness - yes, that's a word.

User. Content. Context.

2008-01-23T17:11:00.000-08:00

So I started my Master's program today and there is something so invigorating about being in school again. Granted the setting is much different - library full of young republicans looking for dates vs. soft lamp light and my own bed - but pursuing a course of study to a specific end (an A) feels really nice. Today I read a few chapters from "Information Architecture for the World Wide Web" and I think this will be my favorite book this semester. What is Information Architecture I hear you ask. Well, in so many words it is the idea of structuring, organizing, and labeling information in such a way that it is easily findable and manageable.

Example: I organized my closet yesterday for the 90th time, but I really think this one will stick. I have it organized and labeled in ways that make sense to me (white t's, black t's, and colored t's on different shelves) and they are all easily accessible, and not over crowded, so that everything won't end up in a pile on the floor like last time. Think of information architecture like organizing your closet to minimize the time you spend searching for things. I'm excited that this course is focused on the web info with a splash of graphic design. Fun stuff.

Is Dewey Excluding Our Patrons?

2007-12-20T16:48:00.000-08:00

As I led a very nice (and very loud) 15 year old over to the Oragami section of the library today, I wondered to myself “Is the Dewey Decimal system, for all it’s positives, an exclusive system that disenfranchises our patrons in the quest for knowledge?”

This might seem a little heavy for a routine trip to the stacks, but really, most patrons don’t understand Dewey and they have to come to us to 1) find out where the secret code says the treasure is and 2) help them decode the clue once we find it. I know its purpose isn’t at all to make patrons confused, but unless they know how to use it (and most don’t) that puts us, librarians, in the position of ultimate knowledge dispenser. But isn't that my job? Of course, I just wish I could empower patrons more in their quest for information. Perhaps the Dewey Decimal System (a series of numbers that correspond with various topics in specific locations on the shelf, oft times without really making logical sense – check out the 700’s) creates a system where patrons are required to access information via a map reader (us) instead of being able to navigate the system on their own. Marx would cry Hegemony! but that seems a little too far for me. …and patrons could just…you know…learn how to read numbers from low to high…

I’m not saying that I’m in favor of switching over to bookstore style organization for non-fiction as a few libraries throughout the country have done, but I am interested in ways of making libraries more user friendly.

Persepolis

2007-12-17T17:47:00.000-08:00

Who knew I'd ever really like a graphic novel? I just finished "Persepolis: A childhood" and it was fabulous. Really. Here is my review

For sassy young Marjane Satrapi, growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution of 1979 is pretty confusing. After growing up in a relatively modern society, Marjane is now forced to wear a head scarf in public, wear her jeans only in secret, and stop listening to tapes where people might hear, as these things are now against the law. More seriously, she watches as family and friends are taken away, tortured, and sometimes even murdered.

Told through the eyes of a child, this graphic novel is stunning in its ability to capture the complexities of Iran in the early 80’s while remaining accessible and informative. A really great read for anyone interested in the region.

It Peaveth Me

2007-12-08T14:10:00.000-08:00

Ok, I was reading the "mailbag" in a book review magazine today and I read something that is uber irksome to me. After complaining for a while about the latest book in her favorite series taking forever to come out, Lillian DeMeritte of Silver Spring, MD writes
"I wish there was something publishers could do to encourage their authors to put limits on the amount of time between books written within a series. It's one thing to allow time to create suspense, but to leave your readers hanging by fingernails, teeth and toenails is a bit much."

I don't know at what point readers think authors become their own personal dancing monkeys, but this kind of attitude drives me crazy. I guess it happens with all "artists", like when music fans are ticked about a band's new album that "isn't like the real them at all" (... but who else could it be?). But it happens a lot in this particular genre.

ok, I'll spill it. It was a romance book review book catalog I was reading and the kicker about this letter was that the responding editor thought it was a perfectly reasonable complaint. If you don't know, the Romance world is a fascinating, if disturbing place. I don't mind saying that it is almost entirely devoid of artistic, organic endeavors. And maybe that's fine, I don't want to be too snotty. The Romance industry is completely based on marketing, and economics drives EVERYTHING about it; plot, character, length, quantity...quality. I'm not saying that's bad, ok, I think it is, but good for them for turning a buck if they can stomach it.

I guess my main point is what a shame it is when readers think they ought to have complete control over writers, and what an even bigger shame it is in the Romance world when they do! Is my idealism showing?

Que Triste!

2007-11-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

So, I was updating the community hallway in the library today and I heard uproarious laughter and shrieking coming from the girls bathroom. I went inside and it had, sure enough, turned into the Provo High School bathroom in a matter of seconds. Hairspray, tons of eyeliner, and the ever popular butt-showing lowriders. Since it was during school I kindly asked the girls what they were doing at the library during school hours. (I should point out that were all 15 year old sassy latino girls - it doesn't really matter, but it helps you imagine it) "Um, like somebody dropped us off, 'djou know?" "We just had to use the bathroom."

"So, you're done by now, right?"

At this point they all looked a little nervous and one of them bolted into the bathroom. When she came out a few minues later she had a pregnancy test and she looked really relieved. But then her friend said to her "No, you have to wait three minutes stupit". It was killer.

My first thought was 'oh my heck, she needs help' So old lady library kicked in and I went through all of the adoption resources we had in the library and all of the pamphlets on dealing with teen pregnancy (not that we have many, really this is provo). But then I thought 'if she isn't pregnant she needs to know about how to not get pregnant!' But then I knew I would get fired for sure. I was just so struck with how young she was and how much she didn't know about having a baby, or not having a baby (obviously, since she was taking a pregnancy test). Eak.

So, ultimately I decided to let them have their moment alone in the bathroom and I don't know how things turned out. I realized that If I were to be High School librarian and I got to know the kids it would be hard for me to remain objective about their personal lives. Can you imagine coming home from school and telling your parents that your High School librarian had talked to you about contraceptives...can you say fired? Well, for sure here anyway. I don't know. I don't mind saying that I think abstinence only sex education is ridiculous and I can't beleive the government funds it. But maybe my job isn't worth that issue? But really, when you think about this lives of teens and their possible unborn children...maybe it is? Not yet I guess. I'll wait 'till I'm a sassy old woman with nothing to loose and some serious clout to swing around.

A Gem

2007-11-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

Ok, so my favorite book is "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer and if you haven't read it...this quote will kind of overwhelm you but give you a glimpse into what it's like. Think Walt Whitman meets Thomas Pynchon...in Derrida's Bathroom. Oskar's Dad died in 9/11 and here is a conversation he has with his mother in the book.

The next morning I told Mom I couldn’t go to school again. She asked what was wrong. I told her, “the same thing that’s always wrong.” “You’re sick?” “I’m sad.” “About Dad?” “About everything.” She sat down on the bed next to me, even though I knew she was in a hurry. “What’s everything?” I started counting on my fingers: “The meat and diary products in our refrigerator, fistfights, car accidents, Larry—“Who’s Larry?” “The homeless guy in front of the Museum of Natural History who always says ‘I promise its for food’ after he asks for money.” She turned around and I zipped her dress while I kept counting. “How you don’t know who Larry is, even though you probably see him all the time, how Buckminster just sleeps and eats and goes to the bathroom and has no raison detre, the short ugly guy with no neck who takes tickets at the IMAX theater, how the sun is going to explode one day, how every birthday I always get at least one thing I already have, poor people who get fat because they eat junk food because it’s cheaper…” That was when I ran out of fingers, but my list was just getting started, and I wanted it to be long, because I knew she wouldn’t leave while I was still going. “…domesticated animals, how I have domesticated animals, nightmares, Microsoft Windows, old people who sit around all day because no one remembers to spend time them and they’re embarrassed to ask people to spend time with them, secrets, dial phones, how Chinese waitresses smile even when there’s nothing funny or happy, and also how Chinese people own Mexican restaurants but Mexican people never own Chinese restaurants, mirrors, tape decks, my unpopularity at school, Grandma’s coupons, storage facilities, people who don’t know what the Internet is, bad handwriting, beautiful songs, how there won’t be humans in fifty years…”

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close pg. 42

Templar Man

2007-11-26T17:11:00.000-08:00

Ok, so we have this fabulous patron who insists on giving us 20 minute lectures about government corruption, Dick Cheney (one and the same?), History, who really killed Jesus Christ -you name it- every time he comes to the desk. He's always taking on city hall AND the federal government, and we have no idea how difficult it is to fight the man...who is taking away all of our civil liberties. Today the Templars were introduced to the crazy stew. Somehow in the course of our "conversation" he said "You know my ancestors built this nation - they were Templars. Do you know what the Templars stand for?" And in my best, most unintended, George Bush I responded "Freedom?". (It was more like John Stewart doing George Bush if you've ever heard it). Well, I guess that's not really what they are about, BUT they are are about beards apparently. He has a scraggly long beard and "it's not just a hippy thing"...he's taken a Templar oath to uphold the legacy of his heritage. Really? I love my job.

Some Good Old Victorian Shizzle

2007-11-26T17:07:00.000-08:00

THE THIRTEENTH TALE: Diane Setterfield: Contemporary Gothic

When Margaret Lea, a waif of an antique book collector and amateur biographer, is summoned by the most beloved, and secretive, writer of her time, Ms. Vida Winter, to finally write her true biography she is hesitant to say the least. Winter has a history of supplying false "biographies" and keeping her identity securely locked away. But Winter, on her death bed, begins to reveal her sad and oft times violent tale of growing up at Angelfield and the real story is better than any she has or ever could manufacture. In this process of recording Winters' life, Margaret comes to learn more about herself and her own secret past than she ever expected.

Complete with twisting (and sometimes not so twisting) family trees, obsession, Gothic violence(think Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights), Madness, Love, Loss, and secret pasts this book is a page turner from the beginning. Likened to a Modern day Jane Eyre, this book will certainly keep you guessing and ultimately make you believe in the power of storytelling...and ghosts.

Bad Childhoods make for Good Writers?

2007-11-16T09:56:00.001-08:00

THE GLASS CASTLE: A MEMOIR: Jeanette Walls: Scribner: Biography: 2006: 288 pages

Growing up Jeanette Walls’ parents weren’t exactly Ma and Pa Cleaver. In fact, they were negligent at best. This book is largely about Walls’ nomadic parents who follow their free spirited whims to many parts of the country—with four children in tow.

While based on a mostly sad childhood, this book doesn’t have an ounce of self pity or really, bitterness. I felt angrier about Walls selfish parents at the end of the novel than she did. To some extent she champions her parents for making life seem like an adventure and teaching her about ‘truth’ as the dedication states. In addition to a memoir of an outrageous childhood, this novel explores the vices that make us human, but also the breaking of unhealthy cycles. A quirky, entertaining read…even if almost ruined by a “Family Christmas Letter” last chapter.

Librarian-ness ahoy...part two

2007-10-16T21:40:00.001-07:00

Yahoo! I got an email today from the San Jose State graduate school admissions...and they accepted me! I start in January, but I don't have to move to California or anything. I am beyond excited. I feel really blessed and can't wait to start!

Librarian-ness Ahoy!

2007-10-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

About a month or so ago I applied for a library class (kind of like professional development) through University of North Texas. They actually have a Masters Program in Library Science and while this isn’t one of the Masters “classes”; it is still an opportunity to learn more about working in libraries, and, let’s be honest, a great resume edition. Well, today I got an email saying I had been accepted to the course! It’s not the hugest deal, but I’m pretty pumped about it. It lasts for a few weeks during October and I start tomorrow!

I should also note that I applied for Grad school at San Jose State. It is their Library and Information Science program. Yikes! I'm pretty excited. I didn't really think about doing it until the second to last day before it was due. One of my co-workers was accepted into the program and she really got me thinking about it. The program didn't require the GRE so I plunked down my 50$ and said "here goes". I would really like to get in, but if not I'll just apply again for Fall semester. woa.

Library Perks

2007-09-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

I think I'll start sharing some of the funny/wonderful/puzzling things that happen to me at the library on a daily basis. Max has to put up with them all the time, so I thought I'd share the love.

Yesterday a little girl of about 9 came into the stacks on the second (nonfiction) floor and asked for help looking for some pretty grown up books about remarkable women in history. We talked for a while and she told me that her mom would only let her check out 6 books at a time and wasn't that so lame? I looked down at her and said "you are a little bookworm aren't you?" She immediately responded "Bookworms turn into Butterflies...it says so on one of my bookmarks." Is that so cute!

Book Review: The Kite Runner

2007-09-26T12:41:00.000-07:00

The Kite Runner: Khaled Hosseini: Riverhead: General Fiction: 352

This aching exercise in redemption and self-knowledge centers around two young Afghan boys. Amir is the wealthy son of a prestigious man in Kabul and Hassan is his racially inferior servant. Though Amir has all the bounty that life has to offer, it is Hassan that has all of the courage and character of nobility. When Amir's cowardice stops him from intervening in a brutal attack on the ever innocent Hassan, the shame of the haunting memory permeates his whole life - even after he moves to America. Amir finally finds redemption when he travels back to war torn Afghanistan to face his demons and the characters from his past.

This book was as sad and epic as I wanted it to be, and then some. It did all of the standard "literary" things beautifully: Christ figure, mirroring characters, self discovery, the return home, issues of redemption and forgiveness etc... I thought the story was thought provoking and heartbreaking, not to mention an insightful view into modern Afghanistan. I guess what I liked the most about it was the idea that people have both parts to them; good and bad, and even the bad can "make it right again" as the book suggests - but it won't be easy.

Split Me To The Core

2007-09-26T12:39:00.001-07:00

THE MAYTREES: Annie Dillard: Harper Collins: 2007: Adult: 224

The narrative of this book follows sturdy and simple Lou who lives at the edge of the sea with her carpenter husband Maytree. Maytree is easily distracted and after 14 years of marriage moves away to Maine with longtime friend, Deary. The two return 20 years later when Deary is dying and needs hospice that only Lou can offer.

Simple, and seemingly callous in its plot, Dillard's "Maytrees" is anything but. Maybe it’s about the courage it requires to live a life of commitment, or the nuances of forgiveness...I'm not even sure. Either way, the language Dillard uses to describe the sea and this small cast of tragic characters is fresh and truly haunting. This is the first book I've read that was really too much for me: too beautiful, too sad, too poignant, and too otherworldly. It was unreal - in a good way.

Cute, Quaint, Hungry and Romantic: The Aesthetics of Consumerism:Daniel Lopez: Basic Books: 2000: Nonfiction: 270

2007-09-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

Cute, Quaint, Hungry and Romantic: The Aesthetics of Consumerism:Daniel Lopez: Basic Books: 2000: Nonfiction: 270

In his book, Daniel Lopez doggedly "show(s) how the aesthetics of consumerism are the lies we tell ourselves to preserve our individuality even as we enjoy the luxuries of the mass market." Throughout reading this I couldn't help but feel paralyzed by any and everything I have ever been inclined to buy. Lopez sardonically examines almost every aesthetic that is used to sell us suckers things we don't really need: Cuteness, Zaniness, Deliciousness, and Quaintness to name a few.

This book was relentless in its cynical approach to consumerism. In most cases it was a lose-lose situation - you were trendy and shallow if you fell for the advertising tricks or pretentious and self righteous if you didn't. However, except for a few chapters of one rant too many, it was a fascinating read. In a chapter about food Lopez suggests that the can (as in canned food ) had the "same effect on the kitchen as television had on culture, leveling regional cuisine, internationalizing food, and producing a kind of dietary Esperanto in regions once dependent on meats and vegetables of local farmers." Well worth the wade through Lopez' wordy sentences and Ph. D language.