I just wish I could get past the awful, awful name. It’s a book rental service that allows you order online. The “order online” and “rental” are the only things it has in common with Netflix.

[via]

(From NYLINE listserv:)

Librarycareersny.org is a coordinated effort to collect and present information supplied by educators, librarians, and other educational sources for people interested in pursuing a library and information science career.

I’m very flattered that the page about medical librarians includes a link to this blog and a link to the Masterlist of MedLib blogs I started at LISWiki.

Embedded video above. Depending on your aggregator, you may need to visit the site itself to view

Another great topic of discussion for LIS students- especially those who seek careers in public libraries.

To find the key influencers, The Wall Street Journal analyzed more than 25,000 submissions across six major sites. With the help of Dapper, a company that designs software to track information published on the Web, this analysis sifted through snapshots of the sites’ home pages every 30 minutes over three weeks. The data included which users posted the submissions and the number of votes each received from fellow users. We then contacted scores of individual users to find which ones are tracked by the wider community.

Full article

My mother was surprised to hear the other day that we don’t subscribe to our local newspaper and that I think that in my lifetime, news will be printed to hard copy only on demand. The next day, I saw this article from Ha’aretz (an Israeli newspaper) in which Arthur Sulzberger, owner, chairman and publisher of the New York Times, is quoted as saying:

“I really don’t know whether we’ll be printing the Times in five years, and you know what? I don’t care either…”

….snip…

Sulzberger says the New York Times is on a journey that will conclude the day the company decides to stop printing the paper.

…snip…

“These costs aren’t anywhere near what print costs,” Sulzberger says. “The last time we made a major investment in print, it cost no less than $1 billion. Site development costs don’t grow to that magnitude.”

This makes me think of a few MLIS students I have met who seem shocked and disheartened when they realize that many library resources previously stored on dead trees are moving to digital platforms. Other benefits aside, it is a matter of economics not terribly dissimilar from those which caused earlier dead-tree archives at the public library to be abandoned in favor of microfilm and microfiche- but some MLIS students I have met seem repulsed at the idea that they need technology skills in order to pursue a career in librarianship.

Just to re-state: The owner of the New York Times is planning to stop printing on paper. He’s not preparing for the possibility- he knows it will eventually happen and that the only question is how fast it’ll happen.

Those technology skills you’re being encouraged to gain in library school? They’re not optional if you want to be employable.

…and look down the sidebar to find the link to the program’s new Wiki!

Naturally, the news came from Dr. Scott Nicholson. You might associate Dr. Nicholson’s name with Bibliomining, or you may have noticed the recent buzz over the report for the American Library Association’s Office for Information Technology Policy which he co-authored with R. David Lankes and Joanne Silverstein, Participatory Networks: The Library as Conversation. If you’re into gaming in libraries, you might be familiar with some of Dr. Nicholson’s other interests, too.

For review, here are Ranganathan’s original laws:

1. Books are for use.
2. Every reader his book.
3. Every book its reader.
4. Save the time of the reader.
5. The Library is a growing organism.

…and here are the revised laws from the group in Michael Stephens’ LIS701 course:

1. Collections are for use.
2. Every collection its user.
3. Every user his collection.
4. Save time & energy of user.
5. The library is a growing organism.

I’m trying to figure out why their revisions leave me feeling so unsatisfied.

Perhaps it is because changing “book” to “collection” is too easy.

One might just as well change “book” to “resource” or “library” or “information object”, but this doesn’t really suggest any change other than the fact that books are no longer the only resource offered by libraries. It doesn’t help us adapt the ideals expressed by Ranganathan’s Five Laws to the realities of the present.

More challenging questions might be:

• “How do we interpret and apply these laws to the present?”
• “What changes in libraries and library science since 1931 (when S.R. Ranganathan first published his laws) present obstacles to running libraries in the spirit of Ranganathan’s laws? How might these obstacles be overcome?”
• “If you were asked to author policies for [insert favorite library service or department here], how would you write these policies in the spirit of Ranganathan’s laws?”
• “Review your institution’s Web site. Where does it fail to live up to Ranganathan’s Five Laws?”
• “You are a special librarian in an institution that is not primarily academic or a public library (e.g. hospital librarian, corporate librarian). Can all of Ranganathan’s laws be applied unaltered? Are there laws that can only be applied conditionally?”

Extra Credit Question: Write a poem about Colon Classification (or faceted classification generally) and contemporary web technology. Must have at least one attempted rhyme for “Ranganathan,” “Shiyali,” or “Ramamrita.”

Additional reading:
Full text of Ranganathan’s Five Laws
Application of Ranganathan’s Laws to the Web by Alireza Noruzi

2. Speaking of Michael Stephens, he’s posted an interview with Michael Habib on ALA Techsource. If you haven’t read Habib on Library 2.0, you’re missing out. Habib just graduated from his program, and has absolutely earned all the attention his work gets from librarians I admire and respect.

3. T. Scott has some great advice for young librarians. I should probably qualify that: I don’t have the knowledge or experience to KNOW this is great advice, but I strongly suspect it. Perhaps someone who has been working in the field much longer than I have can confirm.

This ends today’s extra-curricular reading recommendations- we now return you to your regularly-scheduled coursework.

From the creator, Jason Poole:

Final project for my cataloging class at Final project for my cataloging class at UB, as a part of the requirements for a Master’s in Library Science. It consists of the results of an informal survey I did regarding the classification systems used by librarians in Monroe County as well as a brief overview of the ANSCR classification system. It’s a lot more fun than it sounds!!

He has uploaded a bunch of his course presentations to Slideshare, including this one, introducing Consumer Health Collection Development for his LS 534, Health Sciences Librarianship:

It isn’t the same as actually sneaking into the back row of his class, but it’s still pretty neat.

HSHP is offering a new course in Spring 2007, HTS 311/600, HEALTH LITERACY, taught by Luvenia W. Cowart, Ed.D., RN, Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow and Associate Professor of Practice in the College.

The undergraduate course is class number 40063, HTW 311, M001, Health Literacy, 3 credits.
The graduate course class number is 40832, HTW 600, Selected Topics: Health Literacy, 3 credits.

******************
COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is designed to introduce the health literacy phenomenon and to explore the multi-layered links between health literacy, health outcomes, and health care disparities. Critique of current health literacy literature and research findings will be emphasized. Foundational to the course is developing an understanding of social, economical, and personal barriers experienced by adults with poor literacy. Course participants will learn strategies for assessing readability and suitability of writing and printed materials and for evaluating individual reading skills of adults. Ethics and socio-political structures that address health literacy will be explored.

It’s wonderful that they’re promoting the course to LIS students. Whether a student plans a career in public, school, or academic librarianship, this is essential knowledge and these are essential skills.

Many thanks to Dr. Luvenia W. Cowart for allowing me to reproduce her announcement.