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  Archived Posts From: 2009

news

We also “collect” websites.

Written on: June 2nd, 2009 in News

Books? Check. DVDs? Check. Newspapers? Check. Computer games? Check.

Everyone expects that libraries will of course collect all manner of physical media- it’s how we began and still at the core of the practical expression of the library mission. Up until the last decade or so, almost the entirety of human-created and human-collected information was committed through some type of physically encoded and tangible object. These objects can be collected, categorized, cataloged and preserved for access in all the ways that library users are familiar with.

How many webpages are there? The total number is pushing or may have already exceeded 200 million, and may be doubling every year! There are no publication schedules for the web, and few clearing houses announcing new publications on the web- publishing news is ad-hoc, second-hand, and almost immediately outdated! What’s a librarian to do!

Most library websites do publish a list of internet resources- usually ones that are very reliable, persistent links to reference resources of one kind or another- and there are a few librarian-managed websites that try to evaluate and categorize websites (here and here). One of the things we’ve done for the last year or so at the Division of Libraries is “collect” current and new websites through an online bookmarking service called Delicious.com. Librarians who have access to the DDL account can bookmark informative and useful websites while they are searching for information, and add them to a list accessible to all of the other librarians in the state, as well as users. Based on the index terms assigned by the recording librarian, these sites are then added to a continuously updated “librarians links of the day” list on the main Delaware Library Catalog portal site (it’s “below the fold” a little bit, so you have to scroll down to see it!).

Most of these internet resources are keyed to current events or notable dates and anniversaries- they may not be here in ten years but they are useful right now- and the most recent topics for resources include the 40th anniversary of the Apollo Mission, various resources related to the Memorial Day commemorations, and the H1N1 flu virus.


learning-journeys

Frederick the Poet

Written on: June 2nd, 2009 in Learning Journeys

HonorĂ© here: Frederick by Leo Lionni is one of my all-time favorite children's picture books.  In one of my first Twitter posts , I tweeted: " A pleasant break : Frederick by Leo Lionni on YouTube http://bit.ly/weIw6 ."   You can see – the You Tube video, that is. Since I don't have copy of the book (note to self: correct that!) in my personal library, I was delighted to find the 6:25 minutes video: an animated rendering of the picture book, true to the book, with music. And the narrator/storyteller was excellent. Everything I liked about Frederick was right there/here ; thus, I could refresh my memory and enjoy, again for the "first time", this delightful story.

Frederick As I basked in my memories, I started thinking about how great it is that there is an Internet and practically anything/everything that is the sum total of human -kind's experience and knowledge was pretty much available and globally accessible. And then, I started thinking about sharing Frederick with a young child and I shuddered. I just couldn't imagine a young child, sitting on an adult's lap, hearing  and sharing the story via a computer screen. There's something about that personal, tactile interaction of holding the book, turning pages, discussing the pictures,  that's just lost in the digital format [and you know, I'm a big supporter of most things digital]. I first read Frederick as an adult and have shared it many times with young children. Somehow, I just can't bring myself to making that first intro to this absolutely wonderful story via YouTube…loses the poetry.

What are your thoughts? I'll be interested in reading your comments.
Cheers~





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