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Written on: May 6th, 2009 by: in News
I’m at a conference at the Free Library in Philadelphia today, which is itself and impressive building- and due to get more impressive with the planned renovations- but this article about the New York Public Library really gets illustrates some of the splendor and magic that many of these institutions possess.
Written on: May 5th, 2009 by: in Learning Journeys
Kathy here: Phase III of the DLLJ is underway! And, it centers on monthly meetings after the formal program presentation.
Readers bring one or two titles to each meeting to share with the group. This exercise offers up new reading choices, of course. But, it also gives us a chance to examine the road we were traveling for the previous 4 weeks…yet another way to be intentional…perhaps to find meaning…in our reading.
Or not.
I say this neither Annie or I brought books to this first meeting that made us stand up and shout "HURRAY! Read this!" And, that is perfectly okay, right? Yes! We continued to have a spirited conversation with our attendees about topics ranging from poetry to historical fiction to scientific processes. The best part was the ease with which each freely described how these topics were woven around and through their life-long reading/learning.
There was a new visitor with us. Following a short-and-sweet version of the program before the meeting, she shared her preferred method of tracking her learning. She keeps her books piled by topic, full of Post-it notes. The piles – situated in physical relations to one another – enable her to visually cross topics over when the mood strikes.
At the conclusion of our time this month, she commented, "I thought I was weird until I heard what you all have said. This is so great." I couldn't have said it better myself.
Written on: May 4th, 2009 by: in Reviews
You can click on the links below to get lists of new items available from the DLC in various formats:
All New Items
New Audio Books
New Books
New DVDs
Written on: May 4th, 2009 by: in News
Until June 30th, Delaware library card holders have access to the truly marvelous Credo Reference database, which provides full-text searching of hundreds of reference texts published by MacMillan, Colombia University,
Cambridge University Press, Collins, and more. Topics available include all manner of general and specific biographical and topical dictionaries and encyclopedias, medical resources, wine guides, and pop culture.
To access the Credo Reference search platform, click here. If you are not in a public library, you may be asked to enter the following login and password:
Username: Delaware
Password: trial
Another great thing about this platform is the ability to cross-search in our other subscription databases- once you have completed a search in Credo, you can click to extend the search in Encyclopedia Brittanica,
EBSCO, and the Delaware Library Catalog to see other resources available online or in print.
Please check out this trial service, and let us know what you think about it in the comments section.
Written on: May 2nd, 2009 by: in News, Reviews
There was a fascinating article in today’s New York Times about the announcement of a new British Poet Laureate.
Carol Anne Duffy will be the first woman ever to take the post held in the past by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Dryden, Wordsworth, Sir John Betjeman, Ted Hughes, and most recently, Andrew Motion, who used the position to found an organization pledged to bringing poetry into schools and back into popular culture.
Philip Larkin famously refused the job, and several poets who took the job have grumbled about the requirement that poems need to be written to commemorate trivial events and occasions in the Royal calendar.
The Delaware Library Catalog currently has two collections of Duffy’s poems, Feminine Gospels, and I Wouldn’t Thank You for a Valentine: Poems for Young Feminists.
The best part of the article for me was the revelation at the end of the article that the remuneration for the Poet Laureate position in about $7,000 a year for the ten year appointment, and “a butt of sack”- a traditional grant to the poet that now amounts to about 600 bottles of sherry.
Written on: May 1st, 2009 by: in News
Here’s a substantial list of reliable and current resources for news and information about H1N1 (Swine) Flu:
Stay well this weekend everyone! Wash your hands and stay home if you’re feeling sick!
UPDATE: From Nov. 4th, the Delaware Division of Public Health will open a flu information line at 1-866-408-1899
Written on: May 1st, 2009 by: in News
That the U.S. has more than 80% of the world’s “library cats”?
There’s a comprehensive, searchable map of library cats here…
The “paws celebre” of the library cat world will always be Dewey, of course. You can read the biography or wait for the movie…
(the above posting should not be held to imply support or acceptance of any historical stereotype regarding relationships between librarians and felis catus domesticus, and is for informational purposes only…)
Written on: April 29th, 2009 by: in News
The Delaware Division of Libraries, the New Castle County libraries, Wilmington Libraries, and Delaware Library Catalog are pleased to be participating in the ground-breaking research being carried out by the iSchool at the University of Washington and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation into the impact of public-access computing services in U.S. public libraries.
This study will attempt to quantify the individual and community outcomes of more than 10 years of large-scale access to computers and the internet within public libraries- the first attempt to do this on a systematic, outcomes-based, and national level.
What does this mean for you, the library user? For the duration of the survey period, you will be presented with the option to participate in a secure, anonymous, online survey. You can see an example of how the access to the survey will look here (if you want to make an early start, the link to the survey is already live.)
The survey, which should take between 10-15 minutes to complete, focuses on specific ways in which you may have used computing services offered by public libraries to access educational, vocational and other resources. The iSchool expects that its final report, due in August, will be a critical resource for library development and advocacy for the long term.
If you close the first pop-up link, you will be able to access the survey through a regular weblink at the head of the homepage. The box won’t pop up again after you close it while you stay on the site!
You can read more (much, much more…) about the methodology and purpose of the IMPACT survey here. And thanks for participating.
Written on: April 28th, 2009 by: in News
Governor Markell gave his first speech to a joint session of the Delaware Legislature today. It was a wide-ranging speech, covering the current budget crisis, his proposals for education and health care, and the need to create more efficient state and local government. At the State Library, we certainly took notice of this particular section:
Making state government smarter and more cost-effective is not enough. The state funds local governments in a variety of ways. We need to review whether Delaware taxpayers are getting the most for that money. To that end, we are launching a work group that will take a top-down look at savings across governments – the state, counties, cities and towns. Keeping those we serve foremost in mind, we will look at ways to share services like libraries, paramedics and procurement, as well as those provided by the county row offices, for potential consolidation and efficiency.
You can read the whole address here…
Written on: April 28th, 2009 by: in News
You wanted it! You got it!
A number of patrons have asked for a simplified access to the item renewal screen, which formerly has been buried several clicks back in the online catalog. As of this morning, you can more quickly access the item renewal screen by clicking the new “renew items” link on the front page of the catalog.
After you click on the link you’ll be asked for your library card number and PIN, and will then go directly to the renewal options.
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