librarian.net

Blake Carver has launched his new site LISWire this week. Working with Robin “birdie” Blum they are creating a site where businesses and individuals can send news releases and get them online and subscribable/linkable. I am looking forward to being able to send this URL to all the nice well-meaning people who send me press releases in email. I always write back to them, “this sounds great, do you have a URL where I can link to this information?” and now I can give them someplace to send it so it can be linkable by them and readable by others. Blake is inviting feedback on the new site, if you have a second, drop by and give him some critique.

Slate is looking for someone to work two days a week writing the Explainer column, answering questions about issues in the news. The application seems simple enough. You have to send your sample answers to a yahoo.com address which seems a little weird. All you people looking at how to become a freelance librarian, start here.

There are only five types of librarian news stories and Anna tells us what they are.

A few stories that I didn’t want to do fill write-ups for, collected using the Fargo ND airport’s free wifi.

• Wanted: detainee librarian, Guantanamo Bay
• “It’s All Acting” T Scott Plutchak discusses being a shy librarian, and why he’s so good in front of crowds as a result.
• “the cultural heritage, the intellectual heritage, of humans … too important to be left to one company” - Google, Privacy and Libraries in the Wall Street Journal
• The SF Maritime Museum is making their library appointment only, starting next week. Why? Budget cuts.
• Delta librarian retires, from a town where 41% of the 40,000 residents can’t read.

A few different links.

1. Do librarians really love Ask.com? Gary Price discusses the Ask.com television ad [mov file] where the founder of Ask.com says “If librarians love us, then I think the world should love us too.”
2. WKYC’s news program “investigates” what they see as the growing scourge of porn in libraries. Here is the original newscast which includes [non-graphic] footage of them “catching” a man masturbating to porn in the library.
3. Almost Live’s takeoff on COPS, featuring librarians
4. bonus video: Conan the Librarian
5. double plus bonus video: the filipino librarian’s I Am A Librarian video, a response to this

John from Library Link of the Day has posted his annual Ten Stories that Shaped 2005 over at LISNews. I’ve got comments turned on for this post [I think], what are some other big LIS stories from 2005?