Erin McKean redefines the dictionary | Video on TED.com
Is the beloved paper dictionary doomed to extinction? In this infectiously exuberant talk, leading lexicographer Erin McKean looks at the many ways today's print dictionary is poised for transformation.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Reader's Advisory Lists
Since working at the library I have come up with several Reader's Advisory Lists so that we can better serve our patrons.
Some of the lists are as follows:
Sink Your Teeth Into...- Zombie, werewolf, vampire books
History in the Making- Modern warfare novels (fiction/non-fiction)
Muy Caliente!- Spanish books (we don't have very many :( )
Black is brown is tan- Children's books on diversity
You Think You Have Problems- YA books covering tough YA issues
On The Battlefield- Civil war novels (fiction/non-fiction)
Literary Critic- Books considered "classics"
Fireside Fav's- Books that are good for curling up beside the fireplace and reading
Bone Appetit- Culinary mysteries and cozy mysteries
History Buff's- J/Y list of historical fiction
Super Sleuths- J/Y mystery books
VIB's- Very Important Biographies
Geeking Out- Fiction Science books
1-2-3 Read- Books on math for young readers
Bank on Books- Personal finance books
Its a Perfect World- Utopian novels
Its an Imperfect World- Dystopian novels
Popular Reads (Year)- This changes each year and we rotate them out
Doctor! Doctor!- Medical books (fiction)
Here's to Your Health- Nutrition and fitness books
Pwning Newbs- Fiction books on video games and gaming
Some of the lists are as follows:
Sink Your Teeth Into...- Zombie, werewolf, vampire books
History in the Making- Modern warfare novels (fiction/non-fiction)
Muy Caliente!- Spanish books (we don't have very many :( )
Black is brown is tan- Children's books on diversity
You Think You Have Problems- YA books covering tough YA issues
On The Battlefield- Civil war novels (fiction/non-fiction)
Literary Critic- Books considered "classics"
Fireside Fav's- Books that are good for curling up beside the fireplace and reading
Bone Appetit- Culinary mysteries and cozy mysteries
History Buff's- J/Y list of historical fiction
Super Sleuths- J/Y mystery books
VIB's- Very Important Biographies
Geeking Out- Fiction Science books
1-2-3 Read- Books on math for young readers
Bank on Books- Personal finance books
Its a Perfect World- Utopian novels
Its an Imperfect World- Dystopian novels
Popular Reads (Year)- This changes each year and we rotate them out
Doctor! Doctor!- Medical books (fiction)
Here's to Your Health- Nutrition and fitness books
Pwning Newbs- Fiction books on video games and gaming
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Gaiman, put your money where your mouth is!
If you haven't already heard: Harper Collins is Evil
We had a meeting about it at our branch, so I decided to highlight some points for you:
- HarperCollins chose 26 checkouts because the standard loan period is 2 weeks, this gives the library about one year worth of use for the eBook. Apparently books only last for a year....
- OverDrive, which is the distributor that most libraries use for downloadable eBooks, didn't really stand up to HarperCollins, they rolled over and let libraries take another hit. Apparently OverDrive agrees with Harper Collins that libraries replace the majority of their physical collection every year!
- The way OverDrive works is that the library systems have to buy a license to use it and then purchase the books separately (at around $100 a book). This means that you will have to renew your license every year with OverDrive as well as re-purchase the book every time it hits 26 check outs. OverDrive doesn't allow for libraries to purchase pre-selected collections for the price of the license, so that means paying for the service and for the product separately.
- The 26 check out limit poses a problem for librarians. "Do you have this book?" becomes a guessing game. "Well it was here yesterday, but it may have been removed from our collection because it hit 26 check outs." It will also delete the hold that someone has on the book, so if you reserve a book and it’s checked out 26 times, it will cancel your reserve. I so look forward to patrons wondering why they are no longer on reserve for the eBook. "I'm sorry, according to HarperCollins, this book would have been removed from our collection after 26 check outs and it looks like you would have been check out number 27."
- The consortium of libraries (ours includes 13 libraries) means that we are sharing the 26 check outs and thus every library within the system only has around 2 check outs. Sorry small public libraries!
-HarperCollins is requesting the library card policies of libraries who distribute their eBooks. They want to make sure that non-residents can not get a library card and download books
This entire situation has really rubbed me the wrong way. As someone who deals with the in's and out's of the library system daily, it is scary to see something like this happen. Some publishers have just flat out said, "No way" to letting their eBooks exist on OverDrive and the general consensus is that libraries are suppose to be happy that HarperCollins has decided to give us any books at all, but that (to me) is just backwards.
I hope this doesn't sway other publishers to start doing the same thing, if that is the case then many of the smaller libraries will no longer be able to afford to carry eBooks through OverDrive.
We had a meeting about it at our branch, so I decided to highlight some points for you:
- HarperCollins chose 26 checkouts because the standard loan period is 2 weeks, this gives the library about one year worth of use for the eBook. Apparently books only last for a year....
- OverDrive, which is the distributor that most libraries use for downloadable eBooks, didn't really stand up to HarperCollins, they rolled over and let libraries take another hit. Apparently OverDrive agrees with Harper Collins that libraries replace the majority of their physical collection every year!
- The way OverDrive works is that the library systems have to buy a license to use it and then purchase the books separately (at around $100 a book). This means that you will have to renew your license every year with OverDrive as well as re-purchase the book every time it hits 26 check outs. OverDrive doesn't allow for libraries to purchase pre-selected collections for the price of the license, so that means paying for the service and for the product separately.
- The 26 check out limit poses a problem for librarians. "Do you have this book?" becomes a guessing game. "Well it was here yesterday, but it may have been removed from our collection because it hit 26 check outs." It will also delete the hold that someone has on the book, so if you reserve a book and it’s checked out 26 times, it will cancel your reserve. I so look forward to patrons wondering why they are no longer on reserve for the eBook. "I'm sorry, according to HarperCollins, this book would have been removed from our collection after 26 check outs and it looks like you would have been check out number 27."
- The consortium of libraries (ours includes 13 libraries) means that we are sharing the 26 check outs and thus every library within the system only has around 2 check outs. Sorry small public libraries!
-HarperCollins is requesting the library card policies of libraries who distribute their eBooks. They want to make sure that non-residents can not get a library card and download books
This entire situation has really rubbed me the wrong way. As someone who deals with the in's and out's of the library system daily, it is scary to see something like this happen. Some publishers have just flat out said, "No way" to letting their eBooks exist on OverDrive and the general consensus is that libraries are suppose to be happy that HarperCollins has decided to give us any books at all, but that (to me) is just backwards.
I hope this doesn't sway other publishers to start doing the same thing, if that is the case then many of the smaller libraries will no longer be able to afford to carry eBooks through OverDrive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)