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Written on: March 21st, 2011 by: in Blog Posts
Although yesterday was officially Very Hungry Caterpillar Day, such an important event deserves a two-day celebration, right? It seems that children’s book writer/illustrator legend, Eric Carle, and this beloved character are joining with the American Academy of Pediatrics to promote healthy food choices for youngsters. Learn more and read a short interview with the author at the Amazon.com blog, Omnivoracious. And, hurray for Very Hungry Caterpillar Day…Day II!
Written on: March 3rd, 2011 by: in Blog Posts
Check out the new portal to the Delaware Library Catalog!
Written on: February 22nd, 2011 by: in Blog Posts
As many of you have seen in the news today, former Governor Russell W. Peterson died Monday evening at the age of 94.
The former governor was known world-wide for the Coastal Zone Act of 1971, which protects Delaware’s natural resources by outlawing large industrial development along the coast. According to The News Journal, although Peterson’s passion was the environment he also streamlined the government by eliminating more than 100 commissions and boards and forming the 11-person Cabinet. And, he appointed the first black member of the University of Delaware’s Board of Trustees.
The Delaware Library Catalog has several books about Peterson, as well as books he has authored. More information, including primary source material such as photos and his papers may be found at the Delaware Public Archives.
Written on: February 1st, 2011 by: in Blog Posts, Informal learning, Learning, News
Google introduced its Art Project website today, which allows users to explore hundreds of works of art from some of the finest museums in the world, all in incredible detail.
Already some journalists and bloggers have commented that this takes away the serendipitous experience of discovering a work of art on their own. As a librarian, I think it will have the opposite effect. I believe that allowing people to virtually explore galleries will draw them into the physical galleries.
Some thought that technology, especially the internet, would be the end of libraries. Why would anyone actually go into the library when everything is available online? But the opposite happened; demand for library services has increased. Libraries are the place to explore new technologies, discover new books and movies, take classes, and have your challenging questions answered.
I think Delawareans get it. I previously blogged about how we worked with the Delaware Public Archives and Government Information Center to make the entire Jackson and Sharp Co. photo collection accessible online.
Our public libraries have also been digitizing some of their great photographs and postcards.
And, unrelated to library-land, the Delaware Art Museum has had an interactive Pre-Raphaelite website up for over 3 years which is similar to Art Project.
Happy exploring!
Written on: January 27th, 2011 by: in Blog Posts
Kathy here: This post started simply enough. Libraries are building more and more patron-added content into their sites/catalogs through comments, reviews and ratings. This is a good thing. To gently emphasize the point, I wanted to share Philip Sheldrake’s visual story of Content: An Illustrated History of Creation, Curation, Circulation & Consumption. While it shamelessly promotes the social aggregator to which he is currently connected, My Taptu, it neatly portrays the spread of “content ownership” across the ages.
Then, the so-what/where-is-this-going thinking started. What content is considered value-added? And, who decides value anyway? Does this make McLuhan’s the medium is the message more or less relevant? These questions led me to discussions about media literacy and the expanded importance of critical analysis of those messages shooting through our varied devices. The Media Awareness Network provides a handy primer for us.
Finally, I found that the quote in Katlen Tillman’s article, Do Media Literacy, Digital Literacy and Social Media Literacy Intersect? captures my view-of-the-moment. “It isn’t about media literacy, or digital literacy or even social media literacy – at the center of it all it’s about communication literacy. This is the ability to speak, understand, read and write in an authentic manner, which enables relationships to create bridges of engagement through dialog and storytelling – to make connections.” Sounds like there is room for all of us, doesn’t it? I welcome your insights on the topic.
Written on: January 11th, 2011 by: in Blog Posts
The Delaware Division of Libraries recently partnered with the Delaware Public Archives and Delaware Government Information Center to digitize and make accessible DPA’s Jackson and Sharp Collection, featuring historical photos of trains and ships built in Wilmington.
The Jackson and Sharp Company operated in Wilmington from 1863 to the early 1950s. Jackson and Sharp constructed railroad cars that were used around the world. In later years, the company also built seafaring vessels, including naval ships used in World Wars I and II.
Jackson and Sharp recorded its labors by having its trains and ships photographed. These photos are famous for how well they document railroad history. Many of the negatives were donated to the Delaware Public Archives. Now, thanks to this partnership, the photos are online for all to enjoy.
• Railroad Photographs and Drawings
• Ship Photographs and Drawings
• Complete Jackson and Sharp Collection
Check out the DPA website for a history of the Jackson and Sharp Co.
Written on: December 23rd, 2010 by: in Blog Posts
We’re very proud of our websites here at the Division of Libraries (and look for a whole new look for the lib.de.us homepage soon). BUT..what’s the matter with North Dakota and Wyoming!!
The library catalog homepage attracts about 50,000 visitors a month, from all over the world, and this blog recently published its 500th posting, and is visited about 150 times a day on average- the library catalog itself was searched 1/4 million times last month alone. What do we need to do to attract our friends from the Flickertail state, and Wyomingites (it doesn’t appear that these states have informal nicknames for their residents)? So here’s an appeal to our loyal readers, facebook friends, and twitter followers- if you have friends or relations in Wyoming or North Dakota, encourage them to visit a Delaware library (online) during December!
Written on: December 21st, 2010 by: in Blog Posts
December and January are going to be a little sad in the libraries despite the holiday cheer. The Delaware library community is going to be saying goodbye to two key movers and shakers, both closing out their remarkable library careers with much-deserved retirements.
Late last month, Chrys Dudbridge, director of the Lewes Library, announced her retirement. Chrys has been an incredibly constructive and innovative presence in the library and community during her service in Lewes. Libraries throughout the state have benefited from her endlessly positive and dynamic example- whatever she turns her hands and spirit to in ‘retirement’ is sure to be a marvel!
And in a more recent announcement, the head of Sussex County libraries, Carol Fitzgerald, will leave her position in January. Carol has been the backbone of the County library services for two and a half decades, and she has the lion’s share of the credit for the steady improvement of Sussex County libraries despite some of the most challenging financial and technological challenges:
Fitzgerald heads the county library department, directly overseeing three county-run libraries, the inter-library loan program and the bookmobile service, and assisting the 11 independent libraries. She has been county librarian since January 1986, and was previously director at the Delmar Public Library for six years.
Sussex County is currently looking for applicants for Carol’s position, and you can find more information at the County government website. Here’s the listing from that site:
Written on: December 20th, 2010 by: in Blog Posts
We’re very happy to announce a new ebook and electronic resource offering for Delaware public library patrons! Ebrary(click the link to access the site with your Delaware public library card ID) is a leading ebook provider to academic libraries, public libraries, and private industry and through their new Public Library Complete Collection every public library card holder in Delaware can now access almost 20,000 ebooks on an incredible variety of topics
From home repair and hobby crafts, through study guides, science and religion, to popular poetry and fiction- while there’s a strong orientation to books suitable for high-school and beyond, there is something for everyone, including a substantial Spanish-language collection. These books are viewable online, using your home computer, or can also be accessed on a portable device that has a web browser using WiFi or 3G- they’re not as yet ‘downloadable’ to an ereader that isn’t connected to the web.
You can read a guide for users at this link (opens a .pdf document in a new window). Ebrary is based on the .pdf and epub formats for maximum compatability and flexibility, and the platform includes some amazing contextual tools for deeper exploration of the texts. In early 2011, the Delaware ebrary collection will become available to all high schools in Delaware at no additional cost- an amazing additional resource in a time in which school library resources are increasingly at a premium.
Written on: December 7th, 2010 by: in Blog Posts
We’re always looking for your favorites and recommendations to share with library staff and other library users. You can use the noticeboard below to tell us what books and movies were your favorites in 2010:
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