Book Lust- February 28, 2004 Whatever you do, don't read this book unless you've got a notebook handy and a lot of time free to read other books. My "To Read" booklist doubled when I skimmed through this. Interestingly enough, while I recognized a few authors, Nancy seems to delight it talking about authors that you've never heard of in almost all the categories. Which is a Good Thing, of coursehttp://www.lisnews.org/node/22812 Lies and Statistics- February 15, 2004 One of the less pleasant parts of my job it to produce the monthly statistics for my library. We have datasheets for each class we give, which track number of attendees and contact hours, and we also have reference question counts (based on the NISO definition of a reference question), which depend greatly on the particular staff at the desk, and how well we remember to click our questions on the counter. My job is to take all this raw data and enter it into a spreadsheet (after which, I...http://www.lisnews.org/node/22730 One conference note- February 13, 2004 This is very much delayed, but that's primarily because it was buried in my notes and I didn't notice it until just last night. One of the keynote speakers was talking about young people and reading. And getting them to read books rather than screens. He said, quite tellingly that for most boys, reading is a feminine, activity. Or, as Dewey put it, "Boys who are into sports tend not to become librarians."http://www.lisnews.org/node/22723 Sequels- February 4, 2004 I Spend Too Much Time Here II What the heck am I going to do with fifteen moderator points! Why Every Librarian Needs a Palm II OK, I now have the USDA Nutrient Database, CIA World Fact Book, and IMDb all on my new Palm. As well as four hours of MP3s (all from CDs that I own, I'll have you know). This just rocks, and the IMDb is the one that gets the most use, I must admit.http://www.lisnews.org/node/22654 |