Alphabet Soup!

Isn't it cool? These images were created at ImageChef.com -- there are lots of other customizable image generator choices. Go wild!

Why the Internet Needs Librarians More Than Ever

From an essay at Degree Tutor: #9 of 33 Reasons Why Librarians and Librarians are Still Important

In fact, technology is revealing that the real work of librarians is not just placing books on bookshelves. Rather, their work involves guiding and educating visitors on how to find information, regardless of whether it is in book or digital form. Technology provides better access to information, but it is a more complex tool, often requiring specialized know-how. This is a librarian’s specialty, as they dedicate themselves to learning the most advanced techniques to help visitors access information effectively. It’s in their job description.

Give us librarians our props already! Read all 33 reasons, so you don't have to ask the question ever again.

Thanks to Joyce Valenza's NeverEnding Search for the link.

Great Graphic Novels

In case you didn't know, the "graphic" part means pictures, not explicit. Some people call them "comics" but we're not talkin' your average Snoopy or Superman here.

The American Library Association has released its first list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens. At the top are these 10: links go to various reviews and other information sources

• American Born Chinese (Printz Award winner 2007)
  
• Death, Jr.
• Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. (v.1)
• Sloth
  
• Castle Waiting
• Death Note (V. 1)
  
• Death Note, (V. 2)
  
• Death Note (V. 3)
  
• Demo: The Collection
• Identity Crisis
• Pride of Baghdad
• Runaways 4: True Believers
• Runaways 5: Escape to New York
• Runaways 6: Parental Guidance

Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You Reading Across Borders - Book #1

I've just finished reading my first book for the Reading Across Borders challenge! Anybody who's seen my "Reading Soon" list will know that I've been meaning to get to this one for several months, so thanks go to the challenge for finally getting it off the stack.

This is the slightly fictionalized story of Jeanne, small daughter of a privileged Tutsi family in Kibungo, Rwanda. She was 8 years old when her family was murdered by Hutu gangs (some of them their own neighbors) in the 1994 Rwandan genocide rampage (perhaps 1 million people killed, in just 100 days). Jeanne saw with her own eyes her mother and older brother being killed with machetes and clubs; she heard a first-hand account of her father and little sister's deaths.

Through luck and determination, Jeanne survived the massacre time, and eventually came to be adopted by a German family in Cologne. The novel was written by Jeanne's new mom, as a way of processing Jeanne's overwhelming grief and guilt, to honor her daughter's first family, and to highlight this under-reported time in our modern history. The title comes from a tale told by Jeanne's grandmother, of a wise king of Africa who persevered on a seemingly endless quest, and honored a difficult promise. His courage, determination and faith were rewarded by the King of Heaven.

At the end of reading, I am thoughtful, and I want to learn more. The writing is straightforward, neither lyrical nor flat -- we notice the story rather than the style. The translation is so good that it's not obviously translated. While not likely to fly off the shelves, this is a very engaging and important read, and I will definitely be recommending it.

====
For more information and reviews, see here, and the author's website. The Wikipedia article on the Rwandan genocide is here.

Librarians to a T

From an interview with New York Times technology columnist David Pogue:

He said that, like teachers, librarians seem to dedicate their lives to helping others, primarily for the joy and satisfaction of it, with little or no possibility for fame or fortune.

Yup.

The Reading Across Borders Challenge

If you're an enthusiastic reader, there are hundreds of websites written by smart readers with lots to share. One site is Kate's Book Blog, written by a woman in Toronto. Her 2007 reading resolution is to read more international fiction, especially works translated into English from other languages. Hence, Kate's Reading Across Borders Challenge.

The idea is to determine which countries or regions tend to dominate your reading and to commit to reading a number of books over the course of 2007 which take you beyond those countries or regions.

Combining the challenge and the job, I resolve to read fiction and narrative non-fiction of interest to teens, from Africa, Latin American, South and East Asia (or translated books from anywhere for YAs).

What would be on your challenge reading list?

The first few on my list:
An Innocent Soldier (Josef Holub, translated from Czech?) YA
Kartography (Kamila Shamsie, Pakistan)
Swimming in the Monsoon Sea (Shyam Selvadurai, Sri Lanka) YA


Others I've already read and recommend to anyone willing to take up the challenge:
Belgium - Kipling's Choice. Geert Spillebeen. translated from Flemish (?) YA
Canada - Monkey Beach. Eden Robinson.
Central Asia/Kazakhstan - The Day Lasts a Thousand Years. Chingiz Aitmatov, translated from Russian
Australia - I Am the Messenger. Markus Zusak (marketed in the US as YA)
Botswana - The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency. Alexander McCall Smith
Russia (Soviet Union) - The Master and Margarita. Mikhail Bulgakov. translated from Russian

For more international reading suggestions, check out Around the World in 100 Books.

Banish Boring Barcodes?

Wouldn't it be cool to have customized art barcodes on all our library materials? Think of the possibilities -- the school logo with a barcode incorporated, or different barcode styles for different book genres.

I've never really thought about it (just like 99% of the world), but libraries really are one of the only users who re-use barcodes, over and over again. Barcode Revolution, the Japanese group responsible for these samples, hasn't thought of us, but there's no reason that they couldn't (and no reason that Sagebrush or any of the other library automation suppliers couldn't jump on this in a heartbeat.) Third-party suppliers could probably write up a software plug-in fairly quickly too. All other things being relatively equal, I'd go for a system with cute barcode capability. Wouldn't you?

Thanks to Librarian in Black for the pointer.