Thing the Twentienth

I read that NY Times article Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading? and I do agree with the literacy experts who said that not every kid is going to read Pride and Prejudice but they might go and read blog posts or read fan fiction online. So what if it's not great literature? They are reading. That's the point.

When my husband was a kid, he hated reading. He loved cars. His mother's friend, a teacher, said, "Get him car magazines." Soon after her suggestion, he couldn't read enough car magazines. To this day, that's pretty much what he reads; car magazines AND things online. Yes, I'm a librarian married to a guy who doesn't like books, but he's still a reader. And of course I still love him.

And look at Twilight. (I'm ducking my head here...) That series of books is by no means great literature. Are we going to fault the meeeelions of teenagers who read that instead of, I don't know, Romeo and Juliet?

So if our patrons want to check out Playaways or if we start offering e-books to download, or if people come to use our wifi to download titles to their Kindle, are we going to stop them? Are we going to snub them and say, "If you don't want something that's on paper and bound, you're a loser?" Um, no.

Another thing...

You know how dorky things eventually become cool? Rachel Maddow wears spectacularly nerdy glasses. Women I know (me? maybe?) have crushes on total nerds like Ben Gibbard and Colin Meloy. Dwight Schrute has become an anti-hero. The Strand bookstore in New York City is a tourist destination. It's kind of hot to be a nerd right now and books are nerdy.

There is going to come a day when someone will put down their Kindle and feel like picking up a physical book. Of course, they will be jamming to an mp3 on their new iPhone (I would die for one!!!) while they are reading, but I will embrace their choice, and point them to the bookshelf where they can find a book that makes them happy.

PS: Anyone see this blog post? Timely!

Thing Nineteenth

I'm on this Ning...and I love John Green and his puppy.


Visit Nerdfighters

Eighteenth Thing

I joined MySpace a few years ago after some of my friends did, but I deleted my account last year because of the creepiness factor. I see the people who use the site at the library and honestly, to think of myself in their company on MySpace? No, thanks.

On the other hand, I do love Facebook. I didn't have any enemies in high school. I wasn't picked on. I was captain of the softball team and editor in chief of the yearbook. Sure, I look back and I don't count those as the best days of my life, but I love finding people on Facebook whom I haven't seen since graduation.

I popped a Facebook widget over in the side bar, so add me as a friend, if you'd like. If I don't know you in person, just let me know that you're a NEFLIN library person in your friend request.

I really wish we had a Facebook or MySpace page for the libraries. They have become essential communication tools for everything else, why not libraries, too?

They only want you when you're 17, when you're 21, you're no fun

I suppose I have podcasted before. LJ has a voice post option that you can access via your phone. I've called it a few times when I've had something to blog and I'm not near a computer.

I'm not really a talker. I'm more a listener and a writer, so podcasting probably won't be my social media of choice, but it's nice to know it's out there.

I added a feed to WOXY's Lounge Acts podcasts. Great live sets from some of the world's best indie rock bands. Put on your best ironic slogan t-shirt and your favorite pair of Chucks and prepare to rock out.

Thing Sixteen? Already?

In 2007, brothers John Green, amazing YA author, and Hank Green, amazing green blogger, communicated only through web videos. Brotherhood 2.0!

I love most of the videos, but this one really got me last year. John's book, Looking for Alaska, was going to be added to curriculum at a high school and was being challenged because of sexual content. Obviously, this made the author upset. It's not the -ography!

Thing the Quince

I created a Rollyo search widget and it's sitting over there on the right. I generated a list of craft idea sites (it's called So Crafty) and now anyone can search for craft ideas using that widget.

Remember when you were in kindergarten and you made stained glass with tissue paper and glue? I'm trying to find instructions for that. Anyone have any ideas? Cheap ideas?

Thing Fourteen

I just looked at my iGoogle page for the first time in probably two years. On there, I have widgets for Washington, DC weather, Fark's RSS, the Buddhist Thought of the Day, my daily horoscope, Reuter's Oddly Enough RSS, and Top Stories news.

I wish I'd made more use of that page. I need to fancy it up a bit. Some of those widgets are stale!

I've already talked up Pageflakes in a previous post. I think that site is awesome. I've used it for school research. Someone has probably put up a flake on your research topic, why reinvent the wheel? See what someone else has already dug up.

Lucky Number Thirteen

I escaped the bug going around the library system, but caught a bug from the various modes of NY public transit. Planes, trains, subways, ferries, taxis...it was inevitable I'd come back with a stuffy nose.

So excuse me if this post isn't up to my usual standard of blogging excellence...

I've been using GoodReads for about a year, so I'm not going to set up a LibraryThing account. You can see my GoodReads widget over in the sidebar. Those are books I've read.

I could envision using these sites for readers advisory or If You Like... Patrons can be nosey. Why not show them what their friends and neighbors are reading? It's like a shelving cart but with Flash.