Holiday Posting!

Hi!

I just wanted to wish everyone "Happy Holidays!" and good luck in 2008!

Hart House Reading

I would like to let you know of a reading that will happen at the Hart House Library (second floor) on November 29th at 4:30 p.m., and which has an advocacy theme. Our featured author is Amanda Sussman. She will be reading from her book The Art of the Possible: A Handbook Towards Political Activism. The focus of her reading will be on how successful advocacy through the government can be a direct route to social progress.

And, admission is free. There will also be a small reception with free coffee/tea and cookies following the event.

Hope to see you there!

TSpace/DSpace at the University of Toronto

I just saw this today on the University of Toronto Library website, and thought that this piece of information might interest any of my blog's readers who analyzed Dspace in their recent papers. There will be a lecture on November 27th discussing the evolution of DSpace (through the DSpace foundation) here at U of T. The lecture will take place from 11am -12:30 pm. Although the RSVP deadline to attend the lecture in person is today, it will be also webcast as well.

For more information, visit the website at: http://content.library.utoronto.ca/events/kimpton/

Book Recommendations?

I am interested in hearing if anybody would like to contribute their favourite children's (environmental) books -- if I ever have a spare moment, I always enjoy discovering new children's literature as well as following up on recommendations.

One of the most recent books for older children that I have read is the coming-of-age novel Replay by Sharon Creech, author of Walk Two Moons. The main character is Leo, a 13 year old, who dreams of acting, and who struggles to establish his own identity (especially in his large family). Although I occasionally found Leo's dreamy flashbacks a little confusing, I thought that the novel was well-written as a whole. I found it especially funny that Leo, who dreams of being a star actor, is cast in a bit part in his class play -- as an old crone!! If you ever have time, or, if you're like me and need a little light reading after doing homework, this book is definitely worth it!

Little Earth Book

I did not preface this blog title with "Environmental Children's Books" since James Bruges' The Little Earth Book is meant for older readers, and addresses social issues in addition to environmental ones. I discovered it through the environmental course that I took last year -- part of the book was incorporated into the class reader, and I ended up purchasing the book itself once the class had ended.

This book is a great read. It may literally be described as a "pocketbook" since it truly is a small book. The Little Earth Book is made up of several 2-3 page essays which clearly and concisely depict current environmental and social issues, especially exploring activities reducing global warming.

Although it is a very worthwhile read, this book may be difficult to locate in large bookstores.

Environmental books: Prince William

Continuing the theme of environmental children's books, I also recommend the book "Prince William" by Gloria Rand. It may provide a way to introduce children to the danger of environmental disasters, including oil spills. In this picture book, a young girl rescues a baby seal from an oil spill, and helps him return home.

Management Assignment Tip

I thought that the following tip might be useful to some of my colleagues who are working on their management papers for next week. You may find this to be a useful search strategy:

Once you have generated a list of potential author names for your references, go to Web of Science (an electronic index) and select "author search." Type in the author's last name and initial(s). You will eventually be lead to a page that lists the author's articles listed on the database, as well as options to find out how many times they have been cited, and where they have been cited.

Good luck!

Environmental Children's Books

Last year, I took a really interesting course which studied contemporary society and its impacts on the environment. It really got me thinking about my own actions and their impacts on the environment. Since I am interested in becoming a children's (or youth services) librarian, I thought I'd put together a list of environmental books I have enjoyed for these age groups. I hope that this list continues to grow in future.



The book "We are the Weathermakers," by Tim Flannery is first on my list. I would recommend it for older middleschool or for high school readers. I read it, actually, coming out of last year's environmental class. This book addressed many of the same current issues that we discussed in class, especially regarding climate change, using clear, direct language. It is an excellent read.

Koha Assignment

As a preamble:

In this last FIS1311 assignment, I examined the open source software Koha. In this assignment, I focused on Koha's overall stability (particularly as evidenced on the SourceForge website). I also pointed out that Koha is flexible regarding the computer systems on which it can function. Lastly, I thought that having such an active community of users and developers that participate on the Koha listserv is a big benefit -- contributing to both developing Koha and resolving its diffficulties! The biggest disadvantage, in my opinion, was the expense of the third party commercial support for Koha -- cost savings might only be a longterm goal, not a short term achievement, due to the expense of the third party maintenance.

Here is the (brief) conclusion which I submitted in my report.

As evidenced by its stability and the interactive developments from its user community, Koha is a viable operating system. However, the possibilities of making a financial savings may only occur within a longterm usage of Koha.

Shooting Water

I invite all of my blog's readers to come to a reading. The invited reader is Devyani Saltzman, who will be reading from the book Shooting Water. Shooting Water covers the making of the highly-acclaimed film Water, and all of the political actions surrounding the film.

The reading will take place the evening of November 13th at the Hart House Library, which is on the second floor of Hart House (#7 Hart House Circle, University of Toronto).

Hart House

Hope you can make it!

FISt Impressions: The Eleventh Hour

FISt Impressions: The Eleventh Hour

If any of you ever has a moment of time to spare, or feels that there is a need to destress, then I encourage you to check out the book The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base.

Although it at first seems like nothing more than a rhyming picture book, there is more to the book than first meets the eye. The large and elaborate illustration require in-depth investigation, especially once the main story (an elephant's birthday party) becomes a mystery (the readers must discover the thief of the party food). The pictures become especially important: the readers must use both the evidence from the coloured illustrations and encrypted messages to solve the mystery.

It is a delightful book for readers of all ages!

Halloween Happenings!

I would like to take this opportunity to let all who read this blog know of a Halloween reading event taking place at Hart House on the evening of October 30th. University of Toronto English professors will be reading from a selection of spooky tales! It will take place on the third floor of Hart House, in the library, and will start at 7 p.m.

Feel free to drop in!

Talis

This is the final version of my conclusion (basically only rewording the conclusions posted before this) to my submitted assignment criquing the Talis white paper entitled Do Libraries Matter?: The Rise of Library 2.0.

Does Library 2.0 matter? Although the answer to this question is “Yes,” it is far less technologically-oriented than the answer provided by Chad and Miller. To paraphrase Chad and Miller (and Newton!) a library is worth far more than the sum of all its information sources; it is a community source of information. To be truly successful in meeting the needs of library patrons, Library 2.0 technologies must be a financially viable forum for the development of the library’s staff and must serve (and protect the privacy of) library patrons in both real and virtual library environments – both of which lack the “musty book” atmosphere which Talis has wrongly associated with libraries.

Preschoolers and the Internet

As I was getting ready to head out the door, I turned on AM 680 news, expecting to hear the weather and traffic reports. What I heard first was this interesting (to me) piece of information: that preschoolers are among the fastest growing sector of the population to use the Internet. As a preschool programming instructor, this worries me, since due in part to the amount of advertising, this infringes on cognitive development, and the development of critical thinking skills (not to mention the issue of childhood obesity as well)! Might these children be considered real examples of catered-to Digital Natives??

Check this out for the full story!

www.680news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20071015_114042_4948

Talis Conclusions II

In addition to my other conclusions blog, I also think that it would be difficult for a local library to maintain control over the organization and flow of information if all library catalogues were to be joined into one.

Additionally, and this will not be mentioned within my critical article review -- might I be right in asserting a view point that focusing on Library 2.0 might only include the "digital natives" and exclude other groups who are either unable to access the technology or to use it, including seniors and children (keeping this post in alignment with one of my original hopes for this blog -- to discuss children's services and technology)?

Talis conclusions

In reading the Talis paper on Library 2.0 entitled "Do Libraries Matter?", I feel that it is a good introduction to the technological possibilities that are left open to libraries, and that it is a reminder that librarians should be aware of technological developments used by patrons. Having said that, I think that the article skirts around the important issue of patron information privacy, and that it could do a much better job of explaining the measures which would be taken to prevent online vendors from tracking the patrons. Many public libraries in North America are subject to different privacy policies; in Ontario, libraries must ensure that they follow the policies of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. This paper also does a disservice to its argument by failing to quote any statistical sources to prove that drastic technological changes are considered necessary either by current patrons or for current patrons.

Finally, I do believe that Library 2.0 can only be successful (and indeed should only be used) to draw patrons into the library for services, maintaining themselves as communal sources of information. In some cases, this may mean maintaining a blog or wiki, but it could even be something as simple as posting an electronic notice on a communal resource, advertising a relevant workshop, clinic, or library acquisition.

Shakespearephile

Thanks to my reference project on evaluating reference sources, I have really been learning a lot about Shakespeare in popular and mass culture, and find it fascinating how often he is quoted in popular media, from comic books, to television shows, to film and even in popular music!

I have just finished evaluating a source entitled Shakespeares After Shakespeare: an encyclopedia of the Bard in mass media and popular culture. It is an interesting, clearly structured, and often delightfully distracting read. I really enjoyed its focus on comics, as well as on popular films that either refer to Shakespeare or are adaptations of Shakespearean plays (one of my favourite adaptations mentioned in this work is Kenneth Branagh's musical Love's Labor's Lost, which, even though it did not succeed at the box office, is a truly enjoyable film).

If time ever allows, this encyclopedia is definitely worth a browse!

Bibliophile Bonanza!

Calling all bibliophiles of FIS 1311!

I would like to let everyone know of all the book sales which are happening at the University of Toronto as part of Bibliomania.

Most urgently, the Victoria College Book Sale is having its closing tomorrow morning (October 2nd) at 91 Charles St. West. From 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., you can buy an entire box of books for $10. I actually just bought two books there myself: about Eleanor Roosevelt and Anglo-Saxon cooking! Such related topics!!

Upcoming are the highly recommended (on my part) University and Trinity College book sales. These are held at 15 King's College Circle from October 12th to the 16th (UC), and October 19th to the 23rd at 6 Hoskin Avenue (Trinity). Finishing off the book sales round, the St. Mike's book sale takes place October 23rd - 27th at 113 St. Joseph St.

I encourage you to go and take a look! My last year's purchases included an autographed copy of Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace!

Children's and Youth Blogging

As previously mentioned, I am very interested in children's and youth programming within public libraries. Through reading the "Related Materials" section of the FIS 1311 homepage, I discovered that there are public libraries that, as part of their electronic services, incorporate blogs as part of their webpages for teens and youth services. Lately, I have started reading several children's and youth services library blogs, and have found one which I like in particular. It is mainly dedicated to one activity in particular, a summer reading club. By allowing participants (even anonymously) to submit book reviews which are moderated, it has meaningful comments from its youth patrons.


Since blogs are such a popular medium, I feel that they are effective forums for discussing books (as well as poetry, magazines and short stories) as well as youth activities, although I do believe that comment moderation is necessary.


I would be interested in hearing different opinions about this issue. Do you feel that libraries (and community centres as well) should offer youth-related blogs? If so, should these blogs feature sections educating youths about safe blogging practices?

Essential Blogging

Hi all!

I would like to let my fellow FIS 1311 students know that there is a different way to access the e-book "Essential Blogging" by Cory Doctorow et al. If you go to the University of Toronto library website, click on the "All e-resources" tab and type in the title of the book, you should be able to access the e-book with no problems.

I hope that this was helpful!

Beginnings!

Hi all!

This is my first year at FIS, and my first longterm blog! I'm interested in learning about children's reference and programming, and hope that this blog will become a forum discussing both children's librarianship and the role of technology in children's reference. I enjoy many activities, including reading, soccer and watching House. When I'm not in class or doing classwork, I can often be found at Hart House, volunteering for the Literary and Library Committee. This year, I am the Readings Coordinator, and am involved with scheduling readings from authors and playwrights.

Continue to check back for future posts, and if you have any recommendations for my reading list, be sure to let me know!