Exercise10, library 2.0, evaluation

  The Green Square Library is a part of  the City of Sydney Library Network, so the members have access to over 500,000 items through the 8 branches.

Unfortunately only a couple of thousands monographs being held at the Green Square branch making it one of the smallest of the libraries in the network. Only popular literature / young and adult fiction and the hobby / particularly the  DIY, gardening and parenting/ non- fiction section had substantial number of books, just a few monographs were dedicated to local studies. 

The online catalouge is where the clients can access services and the above mentioned 500,000 items and resources. There is a  general  e-mail address for requests askthelibrary@cityofsydney.com.au.

I have to point out that the  Online Database and Online reference collection of the City of Sydney Library Network is  very impressive. Through the E-library members have 24/7 Online access to information and full-text databases, electronic publications, videos, images, full-text newspaper archives simply using their library cards, although some of the databases  are for in-library use only. Examples are : Oxford Reference Online, Science Reference Centre, Business Review, Reuters...and age appropriate versions of the Britannica / Britannica Student, Britannica Junior /and the World Book Online for kids.

Kids corner at my local library

Children’s collection: The library's  activities  reflecting that Alexandria is a suburb of young families : Rhymetime held every Wednesday and there are several other programs for mothers and their babies. The selection of children's books seemed to be well chosen and shelves looked tidy. The kid's corner is simple but inviting, bright  and clean with pillows and bean bags scattered on the floor. 

Community profiles, exercise 9

I live in Alexandria, an inner city suburb of Sydney. This used to be a largely industrial suburb with medium to high density residential areas. The suburb was once mostly terraced housing, that was demolished for light industrial use and warehousing, which continues to this day, but more and more apartment buildings are on the rise.

Alexandria-Beaconsfield  has a total of  6,592   residents. 26 %  of the residents are born overseas , 43 % were born in  English speaking countries (New Zealand and United Kingdom).

Majority of the population are adults 18 to 64 years  5,569 and only  242 senior citizens. There are 369

Infants 0 to 4 years  and 394 Children 5 to 17 years( sourced from the ABS, 2001 census).

The median age of the suburb is 33, this data clearly reflects a young and growing suburb. The local library, located on Green Square, it is a part of the City of Sydney Library Network.

Green Square Library

The library's  activities reflecting that Alexandria is a suburb of young families:  Rhymetime every Wednesday and several other programs for mothers and their babies.

Exercise 8, Robots vs. Sacred Human Contact,

In 2010 the Automated Book Delivery System has been introduced at the James B. Hunt Jr. Library at NC State University. They had to find a solution to store and handle their immense collection of  2 million books...

 The Automated Book Delivery System in my opinion, is not a threat to the  labour force in the libraries , but  a solution to smart storage and material access. The problem of storage space and access to library materials, especially rare and/or rarely used items is a significant issue  in today's libraries. In fact, this dilemma has been mentioned and discussed numerous times at various Tafe classes. We all know that librarians forced to weed out the collection on a regular basis, just to free some shelf space!

So we should not be intimadeted by this technical ( rather hi-tech ) answer to the storage problem! It does not mean that the libraries will become warehouses without hiring anyone !! The above mentioned library still has 40000 books on a traditional shelf system. ABDS exist partially only, to free up space on the cramped bookshelves of the main libraries, while the traditional browsing experience  and the sacred human contact is still available.

Exercise 7, Podcasts, Tom Keneally at the State Library

Schindler's List

 

 Podcasts bring amazing lectures and talks into your home, onto your laptop, or to any other device that plays an mp3 file.

The State Library of NSW has an interesting selection of podcasts on its website.These were recorded at public talks and open seminars on literary, historical and contemporary issues representing  the Library's collections and events.

Tom Keneally, the award-winning author, tells the story behind his influential novel Schilndler's Ark. It is fascinating to hear the writer, himself talking. I am always besotted reading/listening artists reflecting on their own work.... with his carefully chosen, slow words and amazingly articulate sentences he holds the attention of the audience.The podcast is approximately 33 minutes long.

 To download the file to your desktop, right-click the title  above and choose Save Target As..., to listen to the mp3 file: just left click

Exercise 6, book reviews

 Book reviews are important and the writers of those reviews are never should be discouraged. God bless every person who has read a book from the first page to the last one and gave an articulate opinion on it!

 Sadly, in these days, when the airwaves are littered with swearwords and easy to digest popular culture, when gossip magazines multiply by the dozen, we have to treasure every single book reader, keep them motivated and give them platform to express their view....Obviously, these reports could be way too subjective so we have to handle them with caution.

 In an earlier post I unintentionally gave my opinion on a certain book that of I found on the train: I declared my personal connection to the subject and  how it made me instantly connected to this book. Others might think that  particular book  is nothing else but a part of a media campaign attempting to clean up some sporting figure's image in order to resuscitate his career. Nothing demonstrates better, how subjective a reader review could be, then this example.

 ... and above all:  De gustibus non est disputandum! We all like different things and we should respect that.

unless they express extremist views.....but that is the question of censoring.

 If I want to know more about a book,  I do a proper research on the particular title and read the critic's essays in  notable pulications, but I might peak into readers reviews for fun and curiosity. My local library has a Readers Club, but does not publish reviwes.

Lost and found books

I found a book on my way to work. It was left on the seat of the early morning train. It was probaly left behind by an other commuter just like me, who was too tired at 6 am to remember  take the book with her....I opened up and started reading that morning...Yes, I still have the book.

Please, read my debate, and tell me what should I do!

1. The book is not the greatest gem of literature, it is an autobiography of Ben Cousins, but I lost a dear friend to drugs and I am eager to learn about one's struggle.

2. As I said, there is not much artistic or aesthetic  value to this book, but it certainly describes an important character  development : someone's battle with their demons, committing then admitting their wrong doing. It has always been a  fascinating theme since  Faust and Raskolnikov .... In this book we find  the very same personal battle even if it is lived through by a spoiled / overpaid football player. Could  I be mistaken and maybe this book was written just to clean up his public profile and revive is career? I can not tell it yet..

3. My mother had an ex-libris stamp in her books, so the books could be returned to her , in case she lost one... Ex libris is now old fashioned, if not non-existent. How do I know that this book will be returned to it's rightful owner?

4. I am learning a lot about AFL.

5. I promised myself to turn the book in  to CityRail after reading ...after all, it's someone else's property.... They must have got a Lost and found Department full of umbrellas and paperbacks .

 So, kind visitor to this blog,  please be my judge and give me your verdict...should we ever keep a found book ? What would you do?

Exercise 5

Social Networking – It is the way the 21st century communicates now and libraries would not want to miss out. They are using the power of Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Linkedin and so on...and they do it well. It is the new way  of building relationship or self advertising...Although, I could not help notice a tendency: libraries seem to use Facebook as a platform of fighting against extinction.
Facebook become the Greenpace of Libraries, in my opinion.
Not that there is anything wrong with that, it is one of the most effective way to give a shout out for the community, get people commited (befriend, "Like"...) or take notice of their case.
Let's just do a search on Facebook, and be amazed by the number of campaigns! Here are some examples :
Save Libraries
Save the Los Angeles Public Library!
I'll Bet I Can Find 1,000,000 People Who Think Libraries Are Pennsylvania’s 5.6 Million Library Cardholders Can’t Be Wrong
Library Voices
Public library advocacy