What a nice looking site this is! Now that the week of Library & Information Resources is winding down, go look at the great list of articles, screencasts and presentations that have been assembled. They include some good thought proviking pieces as well as some very practical tutorials. There is a set of screencast howtos from Jason Grifffey about how to make a Digital New Book display and instructions on how to put a Google map on your library website from Chris Deweese. One really picky problem I noticed: I found one presentation (John Blyberg’s) through a del.icio.us link page. When I got to his presentation, I couldn’t figure out who wrote it! (now fixed!)
call for submissions: writings on radical cataloging
My former eternal co-editor K.R. is working on another book, this time about cataloging. Read her request for submissions and write to her with your good ideas.
blogger wanted: librarian activist
Interested in librarian activism? Want a blog with some great content, a cool domain name and all ready to plug-n-play? Librarian Activist.org is looking for takers. Drop Danielle an email if you think you could fill her shoes.
PATRIOT Watch: “but for the gag” US government declines to pursue gag order appeal
The US Government has abandoned its pursuit of an appeal to a struck-down gag order against the Connecticut librarian who had received a demand for library records by the FBI. In short, the gag order is lifted and this is good news.
The case, Doe vs Gonzales, concerned a librarian who was served with a National Security Letter (NSL). The librarian [identified as George Christian in other newspapers], who appears to already have been an outspoken advocate of intellectual freedom, objected to the gag order [biggish pdf, a few screenshots here] disallowing him from speaking to his own library, the CT Library Assocation or the American Library Association about this issue. He argues that the gag order prevented him from creating effective policies should such a thing happen again, and prevented him from educating other libraries about the existence and specifics of NSLs.
good news in Oklahoma, for now
State bill HB 2158 did not go to the state Senate. It passed in the House and the Senate did decide to hold a hearing on it. This is the bill to deny state funding to libraries that did not comply with a directive to restrict access to books with sexually explicit passages and homosexual themes to “adults only”. More information about Oklahoma libraries can be found on the librarystories blog and more generally at the Oklahoma Library Association website. Also, check out all these other Oklahoma library blogs (taken from the librarystories’ sidebar).
Adventures of a curious mind
Bartlesville Public Library blog
Karl the YoYo Librarian
Law Librarian Blog
Library Shrine
McAlester Public Library
Oklahoma Library Tech News
Oklahoma Writing Project
Orange Splot
Reading Oklahoma
SWOSU Library Blog
Slacker Librarian
Western Plains Libraries