Reflections on 605 and Reading Advisory

During 605 on November 11th we had a very interesting conversation on Reading Advisory, which brought up a lot of questions about what is the best way to offer readers advice. What fascinated me the most was the different ways people chose books to read. Some people go on recommendations, some read book reviews, some use the Amazon site to suggest books, and others just browse books on the shelves. I know that I have used all of these methods to pick books, but my favorite is just to browse the shelves looking for something interesting. However, I was a little bit embarrassed to bring this up in class because the first thing that draws me to a book is the cover. Despite knowing that one can't "judge a book by its cover" that is always the first thing that catches my attention. It is a visual thing. I was pleasantly surprised to find out in class that I was not the only one who chose books this way. The selection of a book by cover is normal.  Covers are also not the entire reason that I choose a book to read, however, it is almost always the reason I pick a book up. With the reduction in the amount of bookstores I know that my book browsing days are becoming fewer. Already I find myself ordering more books from Amazon for my kindle because of the ease. Because of this I have had to rely on the other ways in which to choose a book. I know this is going to affect the way I advise readers to choose books. Advisory is no longer as personal as it probably once was. Librarians do not have to have personal knowledge of what they recommend. Rather, they can use technology to provide them with the information they need to help them choose what they think is best for the library member. However, it is still difficult to determine which is the best way to choose what to advise members to read. Everyone has a different opinion and personal bias is always present no matter what. In addition, it is hard to discern what a member will like without knowing enough about the member. Two of the most important things I have to remember when doing readers advisory is not to assume or judge. One should never assume anything about a member because reading tastes are wide and varied. Furthermore, one should never judge a reader's habits. Just because you don't particularly like a book or genre doesn't mean you shouldn't recommend it, it is a librarian's duty to be open and non-partial.

Reflections on Class (November 8)

During this class we had talks from two different public librarians and discussed various library policies. Some of the more interesting things that were brought up were:

• Public librarians need to be intensely aware of the budget. One can't just funnel money into contracts before researching if there is a cheaper or even a do-it-yourself alternative. 
•  Gaming and how best to provide gaming options through the library. I liked the idea of having gaming tournaments so that it gives those interested in gaming something to look forward to; as well as a social environment in which to play. 
• Discussed why we still need public libraries. Public libraries are some of the only free places where people can experience socialization outside of a commercial facility. In addition, the fact that libraries provide help to the disadvantaged should not be discounted, but should not be a main talking point when it comes to public libraries. 
• For new librarians having vision and enthusiasm is necessary. Librarians have to look to the future and not towards the outmoded past. New librarians should also know the difference between good and bad database design.
• Librarians need to have a long view when it comes to new library policies. Change can be slow in occurring and librarians have to keep that in mind. Librarians should be ready for the long haul as significant change will not occur overnight. 
• I really appreciated the idea of dogs in libraries, especially the idea of a reading dog. Children come in and practice their reading by reading to a trained dog. I would have loved this as a child. 
• Also discussed the library as a commons. Our culture doesn't belong to anybody, rather it belongs to everybody, therefore one of the main goals of the library should be to promote and protect the creation of culture. One of the problems with the idea of a radically open library is that some librarians don't trust the public to be decent human beings. What is the right amount of control that librarians should wield within a library. Should they or the community be in control of the library?
• I also really enjoyed the idea of encouraging conversation by having a message board of some sort where people jot down ideas or anything they wish to allay to the community. I thought this was a cheap way to promote culture and the library within the community.
• We also discussed the idea of doing library activities outside of the physical library. How will the community react to this? Should libraries handle stuff outside of the library?

These were just some of the things that we discussed with the two speakers during this class session. Both were vastly interesting and provided different perspectives on how to handle working within a public library setting. 

Reflections on Class (November 1)

During this class we discussed what is going on with School Media Librarians. A few weeks ago I had a conversation with one of my old teachers about the difference in the sixth grade curriculum. My old school is very small, there are only about thirty-five students per grade, only one library and librarian serves grades k-12. This year the sixth grade was transferred from the elementary school to the middle/high school. Along with the change in location, an information literacy and typing class was added to the sixth grade curriculum. The librarian teaches a sixth grade class every other day. I found this change extremely interesting. I took a typing class in seventh grade, which I have always found beneficial and I received some sporadic lessons on how to conduct research when a class had a particularly research intensive project, but I never had regular classes on information literacy. I think that this change in curriculum is a definite step forward in the campaign to provide students with good information literacy skills. It is amazing what has changed in schools in the past five years. I am particularly impressed because my old school is not usually a forerunner when it comes to change so it is nice to see positive progress occurring within the school system. 

Library Video

Here is a link to my library video project for 511. It's supposed to answer the question You Need a master's Degree to be a librarian? It's just a short, hopefully funny video that should answer that question if I did the project right. Short thanks to my family who helped me with the acting and filming. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcmfBZ6o1yM. You can also search youtube using 511 Fall Why Librarians Need a Masters Degree Jessica Parsons

Reflections on Class (October 25)

Instead of a regular class we toured the special collections, preservation, and conservation areas of Bird Library. Ken Lavender showed us some amazing things including:
-Cuneiform tablets (4,000 years old)
-Papyrus from the time of Cleopatra (sad it won't last another 2,000 years)
-Book of Hours- beautiful illustrations, the blues and reds were still so vivid. Very interesting to learn that the greens have faded because they contained iron and that shade was actually damaging to the pages
-A page from a Gutenberg Bible
-Laws of the Sea- (1633?)- interesting to note that this was bound in pigskin, which lasts longer than calfskin, or sheepskin
-Gulliver's Travels (1725)
-Collected Work of Thomas Paine (1792)- this edition was owned by John Madison
-Origin of Species (1859)- first edition- did not realize that this book was still banned in Kansas
-Alice in Wonderland-first edition
-William Morris published book covered in jewels- never seen a book covered in gems that was definitely a first. If only they could find the book bound in diamonds that was made for the Titanic.
-An artist book created as a work of art in 1992 to house the diary of the artist's grandparents who survived Auschwitz. There are two books entitled 71125 and 71126 in this work.
(As a quick note sorry if not all of these information is correct, I might have missed some of the dates and names while drooling over these priceless bits of history)
The tour also included a look at preservation. This part of the tour was also very interesting. I was especially interested to learn about the shrink wrapping of volumes that don't circulate. I had come across some on the shelves before and wondered how that worked. It was also interesting to learn about the different kinds of binding and restoration that go on in the library. Sorry, I'm not providing more details here I was able to take notes during Ken Lavender's' presentation, but it was harder to during the other presentations because we were standing. I think one of my favorite parts of the lecture was seeing the re-creation of Byzantine book binding. The creativity and work that went into it was so fascinating. Overall the tour was vastly interesting and even unforgettable in some ways.

Reflections on Class (October 18)

No formal class this week. Instead, we were asked to to learn HTML. Forgot how many parts go into building a successful website. Professor Lankes directed us to the website www.w3schools.com- which gives step by step instructions about the different aspects of HTML. I really liked how they set up this website. It was very clear and gave good examples, as well as let the user try out some of the ideas as well. In addition, the user can also take a quiz at the end of the tutorial to see how much information was actually absorbed during the lessons. Looking forward to next week and the library tour, nice to do something different in class.
In addition, to looking forward to the tour am also glad to be trying out my research skills with some research questions in #605. Will be interested to compare the answers I get with the other students in the class. Furthermore, I know that while we may get mostly the same answers a lot of the sources will be varied. That's what I really find fascinating, the way certain peoples minds work when they are looking for answers. For example, the different and varied answers to the question- What was your first thought when you were asked this question?

Reflections on Class (October 11)

Overview of Class:
Policy vs Ethics
-One of the questions that came up in class was should we inform parents about what their kids are looking at? What if you (the librarian) feel that the child has a right to the information while the parents don't in other words, what if policy and ethics clash?
- There is not right answer to this question. The only real answer that came up in class was that the world is so ethically complex that sometimes the right thing to do doesn't exist, and that every instance depends on the situation's context.
-This discussion led to a debate on whether kids can handle more information or whether children's minds are pristine and should be protected. Some parents even believe that libraries are pandering smut to children within the framework of the idea of the freedom of information. Personally, I hated when my parents told me I shouldn't read something, it only peaked my curiosity. I always found this interesting, because I didn't really care if my parents told me that I couldn't watch a movie (for some reason I trusted their judgements when it came to film), but when it came to books I wanted control over what I read and if I was told no that I was definitely going to read it sooner or later (for example, this led to reading Like Water For Chocolate at age twelve)
-We also discussed the difference between equal access and equitable access- equal- everyone can get to it- equitable- maybe not everyone but its justifiable access ex adults can access it but children can't
-This brings up an important question- Should we (librarians) automatically process requests, in a rote style- where is the human factor? Where does the librarian end and the person begin? We are not automatons so can we be expected to act that way? On the other hand, we have to respect the judgments and opinions of different people- when do children become viable people with their own rights- for me eighteen seems a little old when it comes to control over personal reading materials.
-One of the more important things that we discussed is the only way to move forward is to be innovative and not afraid to fail. Failure is inevitable in order to see what new ideas will be successful and what won't. People who allow failure to rule will never succeed.