I didn’t realize that Eldred from Eldred v Ashcroft lived near me. Apparently he’s been at Walden Pond giving away some of Thoreau’s works. But there’s been in trouble because he may be cutting in to the profits of the bookstore. I’ll see if maybe he’d like to come to my library.
hey Jonathan, why do you sing such pretty songs about the library?
Who is Jonathan Rundman and why is his latest album called Public Library? Be sure to download the title track Librarian.
I bring order out of chaos, I shine light into the dark
because power comes from knowledge just like fire from a spark
and like Gutenberg and Luther with press and pen in hand
I take the message to the masses in a form they understand
because power comes from knowledge just like fire from a spark
and like Gutenberg and Luther with press and pen in hand
I take the message to the masses in a form they understand
I’m a librarian, I’m a librarian
and I like it quiet so the pages can be heard
I’m a librarian, I’m a librarian
and I do it for the love of the word [thanks jonathan]
why people don’t read… underfunded libraries?
ALA’s new president Carol Brey-Casciano responds to NEA’s “Reading at Risk” article. Basically instead of ending with a “The NEA needs your support more than ever” note, it ends with “Libraries need your support more than ever” note. While I’m skeptical that simply funding libraries more will alleviate this problem, it certainly couldn’t hurt, could it?
why people don’t read… Dr. Seuss?
Slate chimes in with its own muddled analysis on why people aren’t reading and finds as an unlikely blame-target: Dr. Seuss? It’s an interesting article with the Seuss connection being drawn more for linkability and compelling headlines than actual malice. The argument being that the sort of superego narrative characters like The Cat in the Hat make even making a mess a quick tidy affair, and that our imaginary lives and our “literary” choices aren’t always compelled by such tidiness.
Devoted readers are hoping for a chance to discover, in the narrated lives of other selves, what it’s like to be an individual confronting the unpredictable. Maybe it’s time to stop spreading fears about “reading at risk,” and try generating more excitement about reading at your own risk. How? I wish I could say you could look it up, but you can’t.
important rules to remember: no fighting, no biting
More fun from my alma mater: There is No Biting in Librarianship [as much as we might wish there could be sometimes] [thanks all]