Learning the RC: Public Information and Resources for Libraries

When I first started working for a public library in Sacramento, I had a supervisor who made it a hobby to do background checks on people. It might be about a person she read about in the new, or some gossip she was digging up on a disgraced staff member. But the stuff she found was always in the public record. I've always wondered how a person could perform a background check on someone else. The Sourcebook to Public Record Information (026.973 SOU 2008) is probably how. The first section basically tells you how "public" information is organized, such as how info gets into the public record in the first place, where it is held (government or business databases), and your rights to access it. The second section is the breakdown of the agencies that hold the information by state. A very handy book. I had a patron who was interested to learn which house his mother owned back in 1940s. It wasn't online and I wasn't sure where to point him. This book would be that resource to try to find those older records.

Now, I love libraries. And when I plan my trips, if there is a cool library where I'm going, then for sure I'm gonna check it out. But read a "guiness" record book on libraries? Pass. The Library World Records (027 OSW) book by Oswald is just that. It has lists on movies featuring libraries and the biggest and smallest books and the most "fascinating" libraries. (Seriously, can that really be a list?) But while it may tell me what the first book written in Dutch is, it doesn't tell me which library holds said book. Thanks Oswald, but no thanks.

Margaret A. Edwards's The Fair Garden and the Swarm of Beasts: The Library and the Young Adult (027.626 EDW) is a book of ideas on developing the "people in their teens who have outgrown the role of children and have become the eager, anxious understudies of adults" into readers. Edwards collected a selection of her articles, written through out her career in order to define her philosophy of why are how to serve this population, the most notable in the second article being, they are looking to define themselves and they will soon be the ones leading the nation. What better time to turn them into "thoughtful readers"? While this collection may not be modern, I recognize the title as canon within the YA field. Edwards's writing is clear and humorous and I think I will read this book.

I'm thinking of moving to Colorado. I'm a librarian. I want to get a job in libraries. Other than public libraries, what other library institutions might I work in? I open the American Library Directory 2012-2013 (027.073 AME 2012-2013 v. 1 & v.2) and turn to the Colorado section and I see in alphabetical order by name of city the libraries I may apply to for work, such as the USDA Agricultural Research Service (if I perhaps had a specialty in Agronomy). Should I wish to work for an Armed Forces Library, I can quickly turn through the pages and scan for the appropriate letter designation (A) to see that Fort Carson has one. Volume two also has information about networks and consortia, training courses, libraries in Canada and the US territories and military libraries overseas. A very handy directory.

The Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (of the ALA) drew together a selection of documents related to the Americans with Disabilities Act to help libraries "implement the law." Titled The ADA Library Kit : sample ADA-related documents to help you implement the law (027.663 ADA ), it looks as though they surveyed their member libraries to see what they were doing to obey the law and how they were going about it and then asked, very nicely, if they could reproduce their documents in one book. The chapters tell you the titles of the documents, grouped according to subject. The index in the back lets you quickly see what topics are addressed (such as accessibility in the book stacks). I think I'd rather just call my lawyer, but for small libraries I could see how borrowing a ready made document could quickly speed the institution through the process and demonstrate intention to comply.

Listening to ALA Midwinter Tech Trends

Over 900 "attendees" logged in today 10am Pacific time for the free, online Tech Wrapup from ALA Midwinter 2012 to listen to three panelists talk about the trends they were most impressed by. I joined in to learn about the following...

• Jason Griffey- noted two machines. One was a dock/bay for iPad checkout. At $25,000 and not including the iPads, many attendees response was ouch! Jason also showed us 3D printers and the idea that "Digital Becomes Physical." Read more at Jason's blog Pattern Recognition
• Marshal Breeding was highly interested in the small software. He saw trends leading to the launch of a new categorization of products (which he's calling "Library Services Platform") to support the "management of print, digital, and electronic resources" and "shared data models" (such as Resource Description and Access). His point is that many of these developments will not be supported by current library ILS, but more libraries are moving toward cloud based environments.
• Sue Polanka had a lot of information that was of interest to me. Quickly:
• EBSCO dropping additional ebook fees, libraries will now just pay for the items; 
• Ebrary launches iOS app to support download option to user's personal iPad app; 
• OverDrive talked about 2011 use data with the main point being that use has doubled. Look for the Library Journal Patron Profile for great data. Sue suggests looking at public library's ebook hold/check out ratios as compared to physical items hold/ check out ratios. 
• Was looking at Unglue.it- an open access ebooks crowdfunding model to encourage authors to release books via creative commons. 
• She ended with a few reference book items, including a lifetime achievement Darmouth award to the Statistical Abstract of the United States published by U.S. Census Bureau, which has lost funding for future publications. 
• Check out Sue's Blog No Shelf Required for more details about the above.

Very interesting, glad I read my email notification. #libday8