I guess my DNC blog was enough of a paean to the Boston Public Library but I found a link to this BPL tribute page from Larry Nix who runs an interesting postal librariana page in addition to his regular librariana pages.
the library of unwritten books
As many of you may or may not know, Richard Brautigan’s book The Abortion was one of my major insirations to become a librarian, in the hopes that I can one day live in the library that I work in. That book has inspired others to do different things, like the Library of Unwritten Books for example.
The project, called the Library of Unwritten Books, is the brainchild of Sam Brown and Caroline Jupp, who have been travelling around Britain collecting tales from ordinary people they meet on the street. Using a converted shopping cart that doubles as their “mobile recording unit,” the pair ask strangers if they have any ideas for books. They then convert each narrative kernel into a précis only a few pages in length. [thanks iboy]
these books are free, don’t be a doofus and PAY for them
Attention librarians, please do not buy any compilations of overpriced public domain titles from the likes of e-reader unless you really, serioously, want someone to charge you four dollars to copy a free text onto a CD for you.
rad ref, for all your radical reference needs
An idea whose time has come: Radical Reference. Originally planned for the RNC protests, it has already expanded to fill other pressing radical informationneeds. Here’s a recent article from the NY Sun about it. A little more information at the NYC Indymedia site. Now that’s more in the MYbrarian model, don’t you think?
history vs accesibility, one town’s problem
Is removing a stacks wing to make a public library more accessible the same as turning a church into condos? A storm is brewing over the Amesbury Public Library in Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners has kept a list of libraries around the state that have destroyed or altered their stack wings to improve their buildings. The commission has endorsed these demolitions because they have allowed libraries to provide access to the disabled, meet earthquake codes, eliminate fire liabilities, and use limited sites more effectively. [linkoday]