Speaking of virtual reference, I just realized that the issue of The Reference Librarian I edited that just came out is also available online with abstracts. There are some interesting articles about very different methods of providing “ask a librarian” services. Worth tracking down at your local library.
Author: jessamyn
whow [and why] to write for the profession
Rachel Singer Gordon has written a great feature article for Free Pint about writing for the library profession: where to write, how to start, and how to deal with rejection
As with anything in life, if you put your writing out there, you face the inevitable prospect of rejection. If you let the prospect of possible rejection paralyze you, you sabotage your own success.
what is “broadcasting” where WiFi is concerned?
So, not to belabor a point, but the final post in this “man gets hassled by cops for using WiFi outside of a closed library” is up. In a weird turn, the Atheneum has now posted a policy saying, in essence, their WiFi hotspot isn’t supposed to be used when the library is closed. Am I missing something here? Isn’t it easy enough to just shut it down if you don’t want it to be used? Or password protect it after hours? Are the police going to enforce this policy? Is there any legal precedent for that? What’s going to happen when the whole island becomes a hotspot? Or is this enforcement of free WiFi supposed to drive people towards the pay services? I’d be really interested to hear from librarians who offer WiFi: What is your policy for patrons using WiFi 1) outside the library, and additionally 2) when the library isn’t open? Thanks.
smartfilter not so smart
Cardiff libraries [in Wales, in the UK] finds that patrons can not get to the web page for the city’s Mardi Gras event because SmartFilter — the same filter mandated in all of Georgia’s schools and libraries — thinks that the site is pornography. The site URL does have the word “gay” in it, though the page itself is completely family friendly. Librarian.net is characterized as “politics/opinion” by the newer SmartFilter and “politics/religion” by the older version. Check your own URL. [infothought]
follow up on yesterday’s wifi access denied story
More from the fellow who was told by the police to not use his laptop + WiFi outside of the Nantucket Athenaeum. [lisnews]