tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-297801372024-03-07T09:57:48.934-06:00geeky artist librarianthe continuing adventures of a NextGen librarianStarrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.comBlogger266125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-87542223760381335422011-02-21T19:22:00.002-06:002011-02-21T19:24:00.425-06:00Moving Right AlongAhoy! Hallo there! Why yes, it's me.<br /><br />Just thought I'd drop a line to say that both my<span style="font-weight: bold;"> e-portfolio</span> and my <span style="font-weight: bold;">new blog</span> are now hosted at:<br /><a href="http://geekyartistlibrarian.wordpress.com/blog-2/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">http://geekyartistlibrarian.wordpress.com/</span></a><br /><br />...see ya there!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-58IVtlWSDCa5-vHO6thNCqWI_uJRtT3wFvLUNBs4v4fSZH3tILx-XP0q4rM9vrQ7xXeUQPgfP3IVqxcWUC-MFAG8dc9O9zYhhMa6iDot_VW9QYnJl9BIjPf877fXRR2ECSc/s1600/StarrBlueDoor2011.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 168px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-58IVtlWSDCa5-vHO6thNCqWI_uJRtT3wFvLUNBs4v4fSZH3tILx-XP0q4rM9vrQ7xXeUQPgfP3IVqxcWUC-MFAG8dc9O9zYhhMa6iDot_VW9QYnJl9BIjPf877fXRR2ECSc/s320/StarrBlueDoor2011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576318395463139938" border="0" /></a>Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-34520943722731375972010-02-16T15:09:00.001-06:002010-02-16T15:10:50.491-06:00Thoughts on Academic Library MissionI was planning to write about how reading about the board of trustees duties this week coincided with the abrupt announcement of Dr. Bataille's departure... but I read a classmate's post that mentioned library and museum missions, and it sparked lots of thoughts! <br /><br />When I first started my MS in library science in 2002, I didn't understand the academic library mission. Library missions tend to be more straightforward in public libraries than university libraries, probably for the same reasons that university missions themselves are complex and the subject of much debate!<br /><br />At any academic library (meaning college & university libraries, not primary or secondary school libraries) there is definitely the preservation or "conserving knowledge" mission that Bogue/Aper describes. The weight of that mission varies from institution from institution--part of the variance is related to the institutional mission, part of it relates to individual library collections.<br /><br />We're currently refashioning our UNT Libraries mission statement because it does not adequately express our vision of the libraries. We have a particularly rich preservation mission, because we have a number of unique collections in the UNT Archives (like university records and photographs), the Rare Books Room (old manuscripts, miniature books), the Music Library (LP's from the Library of Congress, jazz scores), etc. This is part of the "conservation of knowledge" mission that Bogue mentions, but it's also simply the physical preservation of old and valuable materials.<br /><br />The "conservation of knowledge" portion is expressed in the UNT Digital Library, where all electronic theses/dissertations written by UNT students are kept; the same department is also working with university leaders on a digital repository to store faculty research and publications. The subject librarians for each department similarly work with their associated academic departments (for instance, mine is the Dept. of Philosophy and Religion Studies) to collect and preserve all publications by their faculty in that department, particulary print books.<br /><br />But we have two more imperative missions. The first, perhaps most obvious, mission is to serve the students, staff, and faculty of UNT by providing the information that they need. This is done in all kinds of ways (reference question answering, workshops, collection purchasing, developing new services) and delivered in person, by phone, text message, IM, online chat software, email, fax--you get the idea, any format you want! This mission in large research universities tends to be focused more on support of faculty research, so that the books purchased are oriented more toward faculty needs than those of undergraduates needing term paper resources. Similarly in liberal arts colleges, the library collection tends to focus on general resources for undergraduates, and less in-depth materials that support faculty research (although this is often supported through services like Inter-Library Loan). UNT of course being a mixed-mission university, the libraries are similarly mixed in their collection and service focus.<br /><br />Finally, the UNT Libraries have also been designated as a federal and state depository library. This is a designation that brings with it a broad collection of nearly one million documents produced by the government that our library is given for free, assuming we meet government regulations of a depository library. As a federal depository, for instance, we are by law required to serve any member of the public with our documents collection. This goes beyond merely helping people look up regulations on adoption or do-it-yourself divorce forms; our documents collection is rich with primary historic resources and many valuable maps and books that are worth thousands of dollars a piece. This is another key piece of keeping American democracy alive: providing the public free and permanent access to the documents that created our government and the documents that our government creates. It's all part of that famous quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson, the <span style="font-weight: bold;">key to a democracy is having an informed citizenry.</span><br /><br />So in a broad sense, our particular mission at the UNT Libraries is to preserve a variety of rich, unique collections, to support our university's students, staff, faculty, and to serve the general public. It's a <span style="font-weight: bold;">thrilling mission</span> to serve every day, let me tell you!!<br /><br />I do have to mention that Bogue/Aper's comment on page 21 about digital library access pushed a few of my buttons. I'm a professed bibliophile, but I'm also a hugely geeky techie and love to play with technology--which comes in handy, since my title is Librarian for Digital Collections! One of my primary research interests is library support for distance learners, which goes far beyond mere email reference answers or e-book collections.<br /><br />Bogue/Aper's statement about the future of libraries makes me feel conflicted, as this great debate in the library world always does. Page 21 says that "we are probably not far from that moment when we will not go to the library but simply purchase a computer disk or other information storage device... and take it home... and have every page of the library available at our intellectual disposal. Such convenience and power, however, may never replace the joy and wonder that comes from browsing the quiet and musty stacks of libraries."<br /><br />Well... yes and no. Certainly our library catalog can be accessed online, as can many of the e-books, online gov documents, and databases that allow us to access the majority of our journal articles electronically. And that's fantastic--even working in the library, I love being able to email myself articles instead of walk down four floors to make a photocopy. But no, the printed matter isn't going anywhere soon. Full-text searching of our digital collections is a vast improvement on searching a paper index, but talk to any art student about trying to find a certain visual reference for a sketch, and that's much more easily accomplished by visually browsing tangible books than searching using a textbox online. And those unique collections at UNT libraries? We're digitizing them, but researchers will always want to look at the originals, to mine more information from the "real thing," and to touch the actual objects that past giants touched.<br /><br />Bogue/Aper do acknowledge some of the physical pleasures of books in the "joy and wonder" part of that statement... but as a librarian I have to huffily protest the stereotypical image of "quiet and musty stacks!" My guess is that my personal appearance wouldn't fit into their standard definition of "librarian," either... but that's a conversation for another time and another class.<br /><br />Hmm. Didn't mean to provide such a wordy post; the words "library" and "democracy" tend to get me very excited!Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-40900841532691385342010-01-26T13:19:00.003-06:002010-01-26T13:22:42.518-06:00Ponderings on the "American Idea"I'm taking a course on the role of higher education in a democracy, and class discussion is bringing up interesting thoughts.<br /><br />I was fascinated by "A Religious Idea Called 'America'" by David Gelernter (Bradley Lecture, Washington, February 13, 2006). Many of the statements the author makes solidify aspects of America that had puzzled me for some time.<br /><br />The first of these is what the author refers to as "American Zionism." This is a particularly apt metaphor for this feeling that seems to be inherent in many Americans that America is the best country that ever is or was, a chosen country, perhaps even chosen by God. This is something that I never questioned growing up, but became abruptly aware of when I took my first trip abroad after my sophomore year of college. It seems bizarre now, but before then the "outside world" (meaning anyplace outside of America) was simply an abstraction to me. I believed that other countries existed, that people lived in them, but I didn't truly grasp what that meant. When I landed in Italy, suddenly the rest of the world was concretely real to me. I realized that the faceless people I had imagined living in these countries were individuals just like me, who were simply born somewhere else. I realized that there were other worldviews, other contexts from which to understand world events.<br /><br />And that made me suddenly question America's historic foreign policy of helping (or meddling, depending on your perspective) in other countries' issues. Helping when asked is one thing, but as we all know, America has done more than that--just look to Vietnam or Iraq, to use the obvious examples. I can see why the potential to free a people and give them a democracy is an attractive idea, but is it our business to do so? Why do so many of us seem to think that it is our right, perhaps our divine right, to decide that a country should be governed in a certain way, and to invade and wage war to ensure that this is so?<br /><br />I find it difficult to define ethics outside of a specific moral code (as is discussed in James Campbell's <span style="font-style: italic;">Understanding John Dewey</span>, chapter 4, the idea of ethics as a secular moral code). I find it difficult to define "right" and "wrong" without a specific code or criteria. I'm sure that some of this difficulty is because I was brought up in a religious home, and my natural pattern of thinking has been defined by a specific moral code. However, regardless of my own beliefs, I believe that America as a country is defined by and exists in large part to protect religious freedom, and as such should be ruled in as secular and nonbiased a manner as possible. It's simply difficult for me to define how that governing should run, what moral code it should adhere to, without having something specific against which to judge that government's actions.<br /><br />This post doesn't specifically relate to education thus far, but I have had similar intellectual struggles with education in similar manners. How can we teach a variety of worldviews, values, and perspectives in an honest manner to students? Is disclosing our own personal perspective a helpful insight, a cautionary disclosure of our bias, or a harmful influence that creates more bias? <br /><br />The more I study and think, the fewer answers and more questions I have.Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-24806112238366103712009-07-10T04:44:00.002-06:002009-07-10T04:55:34.668-06:00Busy Week...I'm currently at a conference on civic engagement and deliberative democracy called "<a href="http://www.unh.edu/democracy/conference2009/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">No Better Time</span></a>" at the <a href="http://www.unh.edu/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">University of New Hampshire</span></a> in Durham. It's incredibly cool, and their conference logo this year was made using <a href="http://www.wordle.net/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wordle</span></a>! On Saturday, I'll fly directly to Chicago for the rest of <a href="http://www.ala.org/ala/conferencesevents/upcoming/annual/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ALA Annual</span></a> (hey, if anyone's free Tuesday morning/early afternoon, want to join me on an <a href="http://www.architecture.org/tour_view.aspx?TourID=8"><span style="font-weight: bold;">architectural boat tour</span></a>?). Rather than flood my blog with live-blogging sessions, I'm posting <a href="http://geekyartistlibrarian.pbworks.com/DeliberativeDemocracy_200907"><span style="font-weight: bold;">notes on my wiki</span></a> and brief thoughts/greetings/blatherings on <a href="http://twitter.com/artgeeklibraria"><span style="font-weight: bold;">my twitter feed.</span><br /></a><br />I return on Tuesday evening and shall immediately collapse.Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-63258497219746354762009-06-17T11:49:00.003-06:002009-06-17T12:02:32.812-06:00Mac & iPhone Tidbits<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">Great quote:</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"If we had a dime for every blog rumor about an Apple tablet we've seen, we'd have at least enough for a large soy-based coffee beverage from Starbucks."</span><br /><div style="text-align: right;">-- Dan Ackerman, "<a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/notebooks/0,39050495,62055100,00.htm">Five things still missing from Apple MacBooks</a>" from CNET.com<br /></div><br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://twitter.com/macworld">MacWorld</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://tr.im/oOJA">reviews iPhone 3.0</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span><br /><br />For iPhone <a href="http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnifocus/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">OmniFocus</span></a> users (and if you have an iPhone without OmniFocus, let me encourage you to check it out--it's the best task-management tool I've ever seen):<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"</span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://blog.omnigroup.com/2009/06/11/omnifocus-for-iphone-the-coolest-feature-youre-probably-not-using/">The Coolest Feature You’re Probably Not Using</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">"</span><br /><div style="text-align: right;">-- Brian, The Omni Mouth<br /></div>Going from 3G to 3GS?<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"</span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/06/iphone-3gs-tax/">How to Avoid Paying the iPhone 3GS Upgrade Tax</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">"</span><br /><div style="text-align: right;">-- Brian X. Chen, Wired.com<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">In Other News...</span><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/reblakeley"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rebecca Blakeley</span></a> has posted <a href="http://msugovdocs.blogspot.com/2009/06/iran-election.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">some fantastic resources</span></a> for reading up on Iran and the current conflict, as well as background info.Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-195789634899390612009-04-28T13:58:00.004-06:002009-04-28T15:26:49.944-06:00Research UpdateI blogged earlier this semester about three projects I'm researching:<br /><ul><li>practices & experiences of <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">academic librarians embedded in online courses</span></li><li>factors that affect the <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">adoption of electronic reference</span> in academic libraries<br /></li><li>...and a project on <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">educational background of academic library deans</span> (with fellow librarian Annie Downey)</li></ul>So the status updates on those three are as follows:<br /><ul><li style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">embedded librarians project:</li><ul><li>finishing up the presentation portion of the project (organizing it as 6 case studies, with trends and discussion)</li><li>writing lit review for written portion of project</li><li>since this is for a client (as well as my class), I'm planning to format it as a thick binder with tabs for the lit review/trends, each institutional case study, and will also include a matrix of activities, as well as a summary of commonalities and differences in experiences across the case studies</li></ul><li style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">electronic reference adoption study:</li><ul><li>this is a paper for a statistics course, so it's a statistical analysis...</li><li>I downloaded the <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/academic.asp"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Academic Library Survey</span></a> <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/aca_data.asp"><span style="font-weight: bold;">datasets</span></a> from <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">NCES</span></a> (National Center for Educational Statistics) for 1996 - 2006 (though in the end for various reasons I was only able to use 2000 - 2006; I hope to include the other data this summer)</li><li>reformatting all the data and framing it correctly took quite a while!</li><li>I performed an ANCOVA for a binary response variable using the program "R"</li><li>I did some related analyses, and created graphical displays for each</li><li>I'm now writing the results as an article (it's my first quantitative methods article, and it's proving a bit of a tough writing job for me)</li></ul><li style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">education of academic library deans study:<br /></li><ul><li>Annie's got us a head start on the lit review</li><li>we plan to do the majority of the data gathering this summer</li><li>we're currently working on an abstract to propose to <a href="http://www.ashe.ws/?page=106"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ASHE</span></a> for this fall</li></ul></ul>I'm proud of myself for actually taking the time to <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">thoughtfully consider</span> this semester's projects as future publications/presentations. And the more I work on the embedded librarians project, the more I see a <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">future dissertation idea </span>coalescing there... it's pointing in many directions, any of which could prove a fruitful topic. It's pretty exciting to feel that I'm not only researching useful topics, but that the last several semesters combined, I've managed to do at least one project each time on library support for distance learning, which I knew I wanted to pursue broadly all along. Huzzah!<br /><br />And a brief note, in case I haven't mentioned it here before (I've been <a href="http://twitter.com/artgeeklibraria"><span style="font-weight: bold;">tweeting</span></a> it alot): the task management software <a href="http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnifocus/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">OmniFocus</span></a> (and specifically the<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);"> iPhone version</span>, although I also have the original program on my Mac) has saved my life this semester. It's tracking my personal errands, house projects, work projects, school research, you name it. It's amazing, and if you have an iPhone it will be the best $19 you've spent.<br /><br />And thus ends my flagrant advertising. (But seriously, busy techie librarians, <a href="http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/OmniFocus/iphone/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">try it out!</span></a>) Or at least consider some form of <a href="http://lifehacker.com/tag/task-management/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">task management software</span></a>, no matter what computer or handheld you've got.Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-21411123760718229552009-04-16T10:17:00.002-06:002009-04-16T10:31:54.501-06:00She's Alive!...just barely. Was in Houston for a whole week for the Texas Library Association's Annual Conference--thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being a Program Planner, and am now thoroughly enjoying not working on that at all for awhile!<br /><br />In my personal life, we moved into a new house--in the middle of a semester of fulltime work, fulltime school for me... so that's why I haven't been around much. The general theme of my life at this moment is: "Eeek." And also, "Is it May yet?"<br /><br />May 15th, I get a tiny piece of my life back. I'm looking forward to having the time to explore several class projects in more depth--two of them have potential as pilots for more in-depth research projects, and I have a separate research project I've wanted to work on for awhile now. All three revolve around libraries, and two of them are directly related to library interfaces with distance learning. <br /><br />I'd better get back to all of it--just wanted to let this poor little blog know I haven't abandoned it!Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-13784235496654874742009-03-06T12:10:00.003-06:002009-03-06T12:31:56.035-06:00Tips on Getting PublishedGreat question in the comments today, and my answer ended up being so long that I'm going to make it an actual post. (Thanks, Joan!)<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">Question:</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);"> Any tips on how to get involved with publishing. I've been a librarian for 2 years now.</span><br /><br />Hi, Joan!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Note: with many thanks to <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://coe.unt.edu/che/highered/faculty/individual%20faculty%20bio/cutright.php">Dr. Marc Cutright</a> and his Fall 2008 <a href="http://www.unt.edu/pais/grad/gdhied.htm"><span style="font-weight: bold;">EDHE</span></a> 6500 "Essentials of Academic Publishing" course.</span></span><br /><br />Well, what I did was subscribe to a <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">couple of blogs</span> </span>that compile librarian publishing/presenting opportunities. When I found calls for chapters, articles, or book reviews that fit my interests or job duties, I always submitted something.<br /><br />Here are the two I read the most:<br /><ul style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://librarywriting.blogspot.com/">A Library Writer's Blog </a><br /></li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.personal.psu.edu/dxf19/blogs/WEBLOG-NAME/" accesskey="1">Dolores' List of CFPs</a></li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">Book reviews</span> are a <span style="font-style: italic;">great </span>way to get started. They are usually short (about 1,000 words is average), you sometimes get a book for free, and editors are often dying to get someone to offer to write them. Most faculty lean toward writing articles because they often count for more toward tenure--so there is a <span style="font-weight: bold;">lack of good reviewers</span> out there.<br /><br />Look up a journal online that you read a lot, or that <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">fits your interests/job</span> well (for instance, I chose the Journal of Web Librarianship because I'm interested in digital collections and distance learning). Find the <span style="font-weight: bold;">contact information</span> for that journal's <span style="font-weight: bold;">book review editor</span>; they are often posted, but if not, write the journal editor and request that information for the review editor.<br /><br />Write up a <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">professional inquiry letter</span>, expressing that you're interested in reviewing a book for them. You can suggest a book you already have in mind, or they may have a list of books on the website that you can choose from, or you can simply ask if they have books that are in need of reviewing. Sometimes they will give you a <span style="font-weight: bold;">free copy</span>; if they don't have one available, you can also contact the publisher directly and let them know you're reviewing it--sometimes they will then send you a copy. (I have had both experiences.) Sometimes you're on your own, although I've written five book reviews and haven't had to pay for a book yet.<br /><br />In the letter, also clearly <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">state your professional credentials</span>. If the journal has a particular focus, mention how that is related to you and therefore why they'd be interested in having you as a truly <span style="font-weight: bold;">qualified reviewer</span>. For instance, when I wrote to the Journal of Web Librarianship, I mentioned that I am a digital collections librarian. When I wrote to the International Journal of Comic Art, I mentioned that in addition to my MLS, I have a MA in Art History and am an avid comic reader--pointing out that I have some critical, scholarly background in the visual arts.<br /><br />The cardinal rule is to never, ever, ever, send out an unsolicited book review or article in its entirety, until the editor agrees to publish it. Just<span style="font-weight: bold;"> send out a letter first</span>, inquiring if they are interested. I've heard horror stories where three months go by without a response from the editor, so the person sends the review/article out to another editor, who then publishes it just as the first editor decides to publish it, as well. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Huge problem.</span> If you've just sent a letter, there's no risk of mutual publishing.<br /><br />That's a huge long mess of information, and trust me, I've got more if you're interested--just leave another comment, or <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540"><span style="font-weight: bold;">email</span></a>/<a href="http://geekyartistlibrarian.pbwiki.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">IM</span></a>/<a href="http://twitter.com/artgeeklibraria"><span style="font-weight: bold;">tweet</span></a> me. I just took a course in academic publishing last semester, so it's fresh on the mind!Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-1008107857094001082009-03-03T11:13:00.003-06:002009-03-03T11:33:03.004-06:00This Year in PublishingI kept wondering for awhile if any of my writing work would pay off. I've been writing and submitting things for over two years, and I'm just now beginning to see the results!<br /><br />I submitted two encyclopedia articles two and a half years ago, and they are finally being published in the Facts on File <a href="http://factsonfile.infobasepublishing.com/BookSearch.asp?pageID=2&bookType2=H&ISBN=0816071578&searchText=popular+fiction&parent=&productType=&sortType=&Filter=Desc"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Encyclopedia of American Popular Fiction</span></a>m due out any day now (eee!). Two book reviews that I completed in 2006 and 2007 but had delays were also just published in the <a href="http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title%7Edb=all%7Econtent=t792306922%7Etab=issueslist"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Journal of Web Librarianship</span></a>, released in January at the same time my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Academic-Library-Outreach-Beyond-Campus/dp/1591587255"><span style="font-weight: bold;">book chapter</span></a> with Suzanne & Annie came out.<br /><br />I've now got two book reviews pending completion--one submitted and one in the works, one for the <a href="http://www.ijoca.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">International Journal of Comic Art</span></a>, and one for <a href="http://www.english.ufl.edu/imagetext/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ImageText</span></a>. And then I'm working on<span style="font-weight: bold;"> two research projects</span>, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">one more on hold</span> until summer, that I'm hoping to send out starting in May. Whew!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Presentations </span>are certainly<span style="font-weight: bold;"> easier to pitch and have quicker pay-off</span>, but I'm determined to shift my professional development toward publishing. I have a far smaller travel budget now, and even more so I simply don't have the time for traveling as much, with the course load I've got. I'm hoping to make a habit of having several writing projects going on at once, in order to produce a good body of work each year. We'll see how it goes.<br /><br />I simply struggled for a long time to<span style="font-weight: bold;"> find things to write about</span>. Book reviews are pretty simple (and I really enjoy them--getting encouraged to read and discuss books, what's not to love?), but my article ideas tend to require an inordinate amount of research time that it's difficult for me to commit at the moment. Two of my current research projects take quantitative analysis, and one is a qualitative study.<br /><br />I'm curious to know <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">what other academic librarians are publishing.</span> <br /><ul><li>Are you writing similar research-oriented articles? </li><li>Or focusing on library issues and practitioner-type pieces? </li><li>If you have faculty status at your institution, are your articles ranked by type as far as tenure or a performance review? </li><li>How pressured do you feel to publish--or are you motivated to publish for your own reasons?</li></ul>Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-2584545205002004952009-03-02T16:35:00.005-06:002009-03-02T16:45:05.501-06:00It's March Already?My personal and professional blogs are both suffering from my schedule, as you may have noticed. (Note to self: after my residency for this PhD program is complete, never again register for full-time courses... or, at least not while simultaneously working full-time and commuting a couple hours a day.)<br /><br />I keep thinking of blog posts but not writing them down--so here are a few of the things I'm working on at the moment:<br /><ul><li>fleshing out our <a href="http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/digital-collections/world-war-posters">WW poster collections page</a> (inspired by the <a href="http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govinfo/collections/wwii-posters/index.html">Northwestern's great pages</a>)<a href="http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/digital-collections/world-war-posters"><br /></a></li><li>adding a FAQ page to the WW poster page (we get a lot of questions about purchasing reproductions and finding information on artists)</li><li>uploading all those lovely <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/Congressional_Research_Service">CRS reports from Wikileaks</a><br /></li><li>I finally downloaded the <a href="https://www.library.unt.edu/research-tools/web-tools/firefox-toolbar/">UNT Libraries LibX toolbar</a>, which is quite handy for showing me which books that I'm browsing on Amazon are held at UNT</li><li>researching the practices of librarians embedded in online courses</li><li>researching the adoption of electronic reference in academic libraries, and how this was affected by a variety of factors<br /></li><li>...and a project on educational background of academic library deans with fellow librarian Annie Downey, which I think is pretty much stalled until summer<br /></li></ul>Oh, and there's something in my job description about managing digital collections and answering reference questions? Yeah, that too.<br /><br />Hmmm. <span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" > It is May yet?<br /><br /></span>Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-28471360612193700792009-01-19T17:39:00.002-06:002009-01-19T17:45:15.497-06:00Time to Archive!The <a href="http://geekyartistlibrarian.blogspot.com/2008/08/extra-extra-gov-harvest.html">End-of-Term Harvest</a>(EOT) project partners have been busy harvesting things before the<br />inauguration tomorrow. I'm also getting ready to add more content to the CyberCemetery, because who knows what website changes we'll be seeing in the coming days! I'll <span style="font-weight: bold;">be on the watch</span> for <span style="font-weight: bold;">agencies or commissions that end</span> with the Bush administration. I welcome any help other librarians (or interested folk) are willing to give--please<span style="font-weight: bold;"> let me know </span>if you hear of a particular website that is being taken down and needs to be quickly archived.<br /><br />I hope you are all able to watch tomorrow's historic ceremony!Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-31049848375280326312009-01-08T11:13:00.003-06:002009-01-08T11:21:28.367-06:00The Prodigal Blogger Returns!I'm up to my ears in web updates, email, and things I haven't remembered that I've forgotten, so I'll make this quick. I just had to share that you can now purchase <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Academic-Library-Outreach-Beyond-Campus/dp/1591587255"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Academic Library Outreach: Beyond Campus Walls</span></a>; my print copy arrived on Tuesday! It's my first published book chapter, so I'm a little beside myself--my deepest thanks to my coauthors, Suzanne Sears and Annie Downey. They provided the real "meat" for the chapter, I just helped mash it all together.<br /><br />And today I got a second surprise--I received three copies of the <a href="http://www.haworthpress.com/store/product.asp?sku=j502"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Journal of Web Librarianship</span></a>, Volume 2 Number 4--with not one but <span style="font-style: italic;">two</span> of my book reviews in it! <br /><br />Thanks to my Essentials of Academic Publishing class last semester, I've already got another book review I'm shopping around, and nearly done with a paper. And then there's the research project Annie and I have started on... whew! Never a dull moment. <br /><br />Hopefully I can stick to my writing schedule despite this semester's near-insane course load... my publishing class had me doing well with at least an hour of writing each week day, but I fell off the wagon in November. Ah well, here's to the second try!Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-43484689780834202072008-12-13T05:38:00.002-06:002008-12-13T05:45:37.498-06:00DecemberIn my daily agenda book, there are three or four little post-its with ideas I've been hashing around and other things I'd like to blog about. Unfortunately, November and December visited me with a certain vengeance--too many work projects and final schoolwork projects only begin to tell the story. <br /><br />Today begins <span style="font-weight: bold;">three glorious weeks off</span>, weeks away from both both and school. I would love to think that I'd use this time to catch up on this blog... but eh, let's not push me. ;)<br /><br />Today I also get on a plane to meet my husband in Kharkov, Ukraine. He's been there for the past month (also visited for a week in September and another week in October). We plan to let him wrap up work there and then spend a few days vacationing in Kiev, then spend the night in London on the way back, and arrive back in town the evening of Christmas Eve. (I will try to periodically check my personal email a bit while we're gone.)<br /><br />I wish you all a <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Merry</span> Christmas</span>, a <span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">Happy Hannukah</span>, a great <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">New Year</span>, and any other holidays you're celebrating... like <span style="font-weight: bold;">No School for a Month</span>, that's one of my personal favorites.Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-35139226433611799022008-10-16T11:40:00.003-06:002008-10-16T12:05:22.261-06:00Officially a Mac<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 255, 255);font-size:130%;" >And it's done!</span> I went with the <a href="http://www.apple.com/macbook/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">13" MacBook</span></a>, will be upgrading to 4GB RAM in the next week or so, Adobe CS4 will be shipped to me after release (yay!), and Alex couldn't resist getting us a family MobileMe account.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMZLiZ5t_K92qTh3eenZDmlss55hG0_SX33yJvHylKDM6tFplbFlj_UvTLc5niTrKvMTN32QHhiNbCrAgBg__YDzXpS0sXAq0nSdEgGh5CtWgYk3vJKYfuNYlchgaTWaXGbqda/s1600-h/NewMacBook.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMZLiZ5t_K92qTh3eenZDmlss55hG0_SX33yJvHylKDM6tFplbFlj_UvTLc5niTrKvMTN32QHhiNbCrAgBg__YDzXpS0sXAq0nSdEgGh5CtWgYk3vJKYfuNYlchgaTWaXGbqda/s320/NewMacBook.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257814321695397026" border="0" /></a><br />Last night, we charged and started up the MacBook, which is dubbed, like my previous two laptops, Interceptor. Um... yeah, there actually is a crazy story behind that. Our <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">computer naming scheme is... sigh... Star Wars vehicles</span>. You can't blame one of us more than the other for that; Alex and I really <span style="font-style: italic;">are </span>that equally geeky.<br /><br />Our machines, old and new:<br /><ul><li>Alex's desktop: <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.starwars.com/databank/starship/superstardestroyer/">Executor</a> </span>(Darth Vader's flagship, a Super Star Destroyer)</li><li>my old desktop: <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jade%27s_Fire">Jadesfire</a> </span>(um... it's from a Star Wars book, let's leave it at that embarrassing revelation)</li><li>our Wii (yeah, it counts!): <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Tydirium">Tiiderian</a> </span>(after the shuttle Tiderian, and Wii's two-i-name... yeah)</li><li>my laptop(s): <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.starwars.com/databank/starship/tieinterceptor/index.html">Interceptor</a> </span>(after the TIE Interceptor--because it's small and maneuverable, get it?)</li><li>our router: <a href="http://www.starwars.com/databank/starship/tiebomber/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">TieBomber</span></a> (mostly because it's small)<br /></li><li>the printer machine: <span style="font-weight: bold;">PrintBoy </span>(okay well it had to fall down somewhere)</li><li>Alex's hoped-for MacPro: he's currently debating names, but my favorite option is <a href="http://www.starwars.com/databank/location/deathstar/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Death Star</span></a></li></ul>And now, having completed my Statistics midterm and updated the blogosphere on my current computery-ness, I shall depart for work and some presentations that need brushing up for next week.Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-7659764064979715802008-10-15T15:14:00.002-06:002008-10-15T15:18:49.367-06:00I'm a PC... No Wait, I'm a Mac!I've done a lot of research and thinking and pro-con-ing over the last two weeks, and now that Apple has finally shown its hand, I'm close to a decision. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Yes, I'm joining the Apple Cult</span>, after many years of wistful envy. Alex getting a MacBook Pro for his work machine, which often comes home with him, pretty much sealed the deal. For years, we've been trying to decide on some kind of primary media server and content backup system, and about all we ended up with were a few small external hard drives that I remember to backup to about once every six months. But with Time Machine on his MBP, as soon as Alex boots up, his machine is auto-synched and backed up to our external hard drive.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">Um... sign me up.</span><br /><br />And add to that:<br /><ul><li>If I use a non-Mac laptop and mp3 player, we have to<span style="font-weight: bold;"> rip all our content</span> in <span style="font-weight: bold;">more than one format</span>. Or we rip it all through iTunes as mp3s--which I started doing, and now my non-Mac laptop is putting music in three different places: iTunes, Vista's "Music" folder, and the old-style Windows "My Music" folder, which I have unsuccesfully tried to nuke several times. <span style="font-weight: bold;">This makes me crazy.</span></li><li>iPhoto, and Cover Flow, and everything else about Macs that is <span style="font-weight: bold;">so darned gorgeous</span>. Gimme.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Adobe CS4</span> is available for ridiculously dirt cheap both through my educational discount, and another $300 off for buying it with a MacBook or MacBook Pro. Again: Gimme.</li><li>LED screen.</li><li>Huge trackpad.</li><li>Illuminated keyboard.</li><li>Alex and I compared file-loading on both our machines last night. Yeah. Wow.</li><li>And lastly: the things automatically hibernate when you close them! This may seem a silly kind of a feature, but if you knew the amount of time I spend every evening booting my laptop up, waiting for everything to load, then waiting for Firefox to show up... yeah. And then I have to wait again, whether I hibernate it or shut it down. And hibernating it screws up my machine after about a day.</li></ul>Alex has hibernated his Mac, without shutting down, for at least a month. <span style="font-weight: bold;">GIMME.</span><br /><br />All that to say: tonight at the Apple store, I hope to make my final decision. It's come down to this:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">13" MacBook, 2.4GHz, +4GB memory, 250 GB hardrive</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">vs.</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">15" MacBook Pro, 2.4GHz, +4GB memory, 250 GB hardrive</span><br /></div><br />The <span style="font-weight: bold;">only real differences</span> between these two machines are: screen size/resolution, weight (the 13" is a full pound lighter), better graphics card option, and the 15" has an ExpressCard slot that I could put a SD card reader into. But for the <span style="font-weight: bold;">$400 price difference</span>, I'm leaning toward that 13"! I can always hook it up to a monitor or two at home/work if I find I'm needing more screen real estate.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">But</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> any final Mac-user advice</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);"> would be appreciated!<br /><br /><br /></span>Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-72576216543727988252008-10-06T12:56:00.003-06:002008-10-06T13:02:49.523-06:00ConfessionYes, when I received this message from LexisNexis this afternoon, what immediately drew my eye was not the message about the Congressional Record*, but <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">those amazing shoes</span> and how on earth I could get a pair.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggHhGvYtPTp9VhF6KEQZajimc3D6PgKcmFNtE1U4DxEjStCxDuVQ-b4A876wHcJrntTwKsJBOXHIg13Cyw49J6Otg_LyoJ0uuxdD8zm9NGSgaa65rL8Rtv6Vak-aHOSOmnecuN/s1600-h/shoes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggHhGvYtPTp9VhF6KEQZajimc3D6PgKcmFNtE1U4DxEjStCxDuVQ-b4A876wHcJrntTwKsJBOXHIg13Cyw49J6Otg_LyoJ0uuxdD8zm9NGSgaa65rL8Rtv6Vak-aHOSOmnecuN/s320/shoes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254117959308259570" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">Sigh. </span></span> <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">Bad</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);"> librarian!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">*NOTE:</span> I am neither endorsing nor slamming the LexisNexis product. This is purely an admission of guilt, not an advertisement, review, critique, or other value judgement about anything beyond how awesome those shoes are.Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-41157578629994355512008-10-06T10:09:00.002-06:002008-10-06T10:15:03.463-06:00Librarian FangirlinessI'm not saying I was obsessively bit by <span style="font-weight: bold;">the <a href="http://queen-xenu.deviantart.com/art/BFFs-a-Twilight-Comic-77842626">Twilight</a> bug</span> or anything (yeah yeah, we can discuss the last book later).... but here's a <a href="http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog&_pn=product_detail&_op=2616"><span style="font-weight: bold;">little something from libraryland</span></a> to further the girlish shrieks of delight.<br /><br />Of course, it can't beat the <a href="http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog&_pn=product_detail&_op=447"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Yoda</span></a> or <a href="http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog&_pn=product_detail&_op=1414"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Batgirl READ</span></a> posters... or the <a href="http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog&_pn=product_detail&_op=1840"><span style="font-weight: bold;">other</span></a> <a href="http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog&_pn=product_detail&_op=750"><span style="font-weight: bold;">DC ones</span></a>, or all the <a href="http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog&_pn=product_detail&_op=1011"><span style="font-weight: bold;">LOTR </span></a>ones, or <a href="http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog&_pn=product_detail&_op=1358"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Neil Gaiman</span></a> and <a href="http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog&_pn=product_detail&_op=1226"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sandman</span></a>. But still.<br /><br />I can see I need to add quite a few items to my Christmas wishlist... furthering my family's evidence of my intense geekery and nerdishness.Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-33052600752995562582008-10-02T10:10:00.004-06:002008-10-02T10:19:16.370-06:00Thursday MeanderingsWant to <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/politics/2008/10/help_us_factcheck_tonights_deb.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">help NPR fact-check</span></a> the <a href="http://debate.wustl.edu/home.php"><span style="font-weight: bold;">VP debate tonight</span></a>, using Twitter? Sounds like a cool project. Yet another fascinating use for Twitter--this application is not only addictive, but surprisingly useful. It's become my first web-based source for news, since I can glance at my page at any time of day and see headlines from CNN, NPR, stock analysis, NASA, State Dept., etc. etc. <br /><br />My<span style="font-weight: bold;"> guest-blogging month</span> is complete now at FGI; here are all the posts:<br /><div class="rss_box"><p class="rss_title"><a class="rss_title" href="http://freegovinfo.info/blog/167" target="_blank">starr's blog</a></p><ul class="rss_items"><li class="rss_item"><a class="rss_item" href="http://freegovinfo.info/node/2046" target="_blank">Missed Econ 101?</a></li><li class="rss_item"><a class="rss_item" href="http://freegovinfo.info/node/2043" target="_blank">September BOTM Wrap-Up</a></li><li class="rss_item"><a class="rss_item" href="http://freegovinfo.info/node/2038" target="_blank">Core Reference Tools Survey</a></li><li class="rss_item"><a class="rss_item" href="http://freegovinfo.info/node/2035" target="_blank">VP Records to be Preserved</a></li><li class="rss_item"><a class="rss_item" href="http://freegovinfo.info/node/2033" target="_blank">Hurricane Resources</a></li><li class="rss_item"><a class="rss_item" href="http://freegovinfo.info/node/2027" target="_blank">"To Form a More Perfect Union..." (Constitution Day)</a></li><li class="rss_item"><a class="rss_item" href="http://freegovinfo.info/node/2020" target="_blank">New WMD Report Card Released </a></li><li class="rss_item"><a class="rss_item" href="http://freegovinfo.info/node/2016" target="_blank"> We Want YOU... To Help With the Dot Gov Harvest! </a></li></ul></div>Now I've got to get on two PowerPoints for DC, plus finish getting an OPAL ready for next week. Oh, and there's that matter of getting the new nodes published on the ALA GODORT website. And and and... yeah. Deep breaths, one item at a time, eh?<br /><br />And don't forget, fellow Texans, Monday <span style="font-weight: bold;">Oct. 6th</span> is the deadline for <a href="http://www.library.unt.edu/elections/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">voter registration</span></a>!Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-36257055786501508832008-09-21T19:09:00.008-06:002008-09-21T19:34:04.450-06:00Book Review: Prince of Persia<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9Ry97qDcWP6MA4C1NSP5Wr0sbltoZD36f7FJZLOAn50IGzhNci4yiBWH_NuoRZdU5kFYtYrNwaKLfev4xsvVTJzvGtEr3I83I1J97UVoLFNtrEPoVUYYCs2xJdAljfPX-O11/s1600-h/PoPCatalog.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9Ry97qDcWP6MA4C1NSP5Wr0sbltoZD36f7FJZLOAn50IGzhNci4yiBWH_NuoRZdU5kFYtYrNwaKLfev4xsvVTJzvGtEr3I83I1J97UVoLFNtrEPoVUYYCs2xJdAljfPX-O11/s320/PoPCatalog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248649492344715778" padding="8" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://us.macmillan.com/princeofpersia"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Prince of Persia</span></a> is a dreamy, jeweled treat of a graphic novel.<span style=""> </span>It provides two stories interwoven throughout the book, alternately sad, romantic, momentous and light-hearted.<span style=""> </span>The storyline does not strictly follow the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Persia">video game series</a> on which it is rather loosely based, but captures the flavor of that world filled with princes, adventure, and sand dunes.<br /><blockquote><ul><li><a href="http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/PoP/PoPGift05.html">read an excerpt</a></li><li><a href="http://www.princeofpersiathegraphicnovel.com/">watch the trailer</a></li></ul></blockquote> <p class="MsoNormal">It would be a mistake to dismiss this as another comic rip-off marketing scheme.<span style=""> </span>Don’t think of this as a video-game adaptation, regardless of how much you may have loved the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Persia_%28video_game%29">1989 video game</a>.<span style=""> </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">This is a work of art unto itself.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">First Second Books</span></a> once again shows off their high production quality here.<span style=""> </span>The pages are thick and glossy, with brilliant color. The softcover is attractive and sturdy with glittery gold foil detail; First Second produces the best-bound paperbacks I’ve seen.<span style=""> </span>The endpaper is decorated with a lovely map.<span style=""> </span>The more books I see from this publisher, the more I purchase, as much for the production quality as for their unusual art and narratives.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The script, developed by original the game developer Jordan Mechner and written by A. B. Sina, is lyrical and surprisingly funny by turns.<span style=""> </span>At times, the shift between stories is difficult to detect—but this is part of the point.<span style=""> </span>The dialog in a few scenes sounded a bit modern for the setting, but in its defense, the characters that spoke in this style were the ones I connected with most.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The art is simple and expressive, and is best displayed in the many sequences that are completely wordless.<span style=""> </span>These read like poetry, and nontraditional panel shapes are used to great effect.<span style=""> </span>LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland create memorable characters, and even produce a flicker of empathy for the villains.<span style=""> </span>I love the loose, fluid feel of the line; it’s balanced with strong color that evokes various moods with alternating cool and warm palettes.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The violence is fittingly graphic and a few well-placed moments of horror give the story serious resonance.<span style=""> </span>My favorite sequences were those that told portions of the backstory in a flat style that recalls <a href="http://www.ames.cam.ac.uk/shah/">medieval Persian illuminated manuscripts</a>.<span style=""> </span>These scenes conveyed the feeling of an ancient legend, while lending authenticity to the setting.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">My only complaint is that the narrative runs a fine line between poetically ambiguous and frustratingly vague.<span style=""> </span>The story feels pleasantly dreamlike, but on the last page I feel slightly dissatisfied, as if nothing has actually happened.<span style=""> </span>The plot is circular rather than traditionally resolved… but in the end this is a good thing, as it encourages me to immediately pick it up for another reading.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you’re looking for a fairy tale that has gravity enough for an adult, I highly recommend this novel.<span style=""> </span>And do yourself a favor and buy a copy, because it’s a tale you’ll be returning to sooner than you think.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);font-size:130%;" >Note to parents:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">There are scenes with violence, including numerous beheadings, and some suggested nudity.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Most of this is tamer in execution than I’ve seen in most graphic novels today, but the context of the action—killing infants, beheading women and the elderly, cutting out tongues and eyes—is such that it may be disturbing for young ones.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">No profanity here, but I’d still say this merits a </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">PG-13</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> rating.</span></p>Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-63963179747467463672008-09-21T10:25:00.003-06:002008-09-21T10:58:20.771-06:00FGI Blogging & Fall ClassesRather than re-post my recent FGI blog posts here, I've simply including <a href="http://freegovinfo.info/blog/167"><span style="font-weight: bold;">a link to the feed</span></a>. <br /><br />In other news, I'm reading two comics, graciously donated to me by <a href="http://www.firstsecondbooks.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">First Second Books</span></a>. I'm reading <a href="http://dw-wp.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Drawing Words, Writing Pictures</span></a>, a textbook on creating comics, and <a href="http://www.princeofpersiathegraphicnovel.com/trailer.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Prince of Persia</span></a> (based on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Persia_%281989_video_game%29"><span style="font-weight: bold;">awesome old video game</span></a>). I'll be posting my thoughts when I finish them--I plan on reviewing one of them here, but will likely submit the second review for publication. So far, I am enjoying them both quite a bit--as usual for First Second, the text and art are fantastic, and the printing quality is stellar. <br /><br />My posts will again be haphazard this season, as I'm thick into another semester of full-time school plus full-time work (after this spring's also-full-time load, I will have completed my PhD's residency requirement, and perhaps be able to take it a little slower). I have to say, though, that despite the incredible amount of work this is taking, I'm enjoying all three classes--even, to my surprise, my required statistics course. Granted, I don't enjoy all the homework, but thus far the instructor's recorded lectures are doing a great job of illuminating the dull textbook.<br /><br />My "Finance in Higher Education" course is heavy on the required reading, but it's such fascinating and practical information that I appreciate it. But by far my favorite class is "Essentials of Academic Publishing." For one, it's hard not to enjoy a class where your professor mentions publishing as welcome "bling" on your CV. For two, who wouldn't appreciate a course where your final project is 1) of your choosing, and 2) something that you'll be able to use professionally, since it involves getting something academic published? For three, I just love writing, and being able to read about it, write about it, and discuss it with others is great. The class is forcing me to make time for writing--huzzah!<br /><br />Now, if only I had classes that forced me to make time for exercise, healthy cooking, and cleaning house... hmmm.Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-15632300596985647712008-09-03T20:50:00.002-06:002008-09-03T21:00:40.317-06:00FGI Blogger of the MonthThat's right, I'm pleased and honored to report that I'll be <a href="http://freegovinfo.info/botm"><span style="font-weight: bold;">guest blogging</span></a> at <a href="http://freegovinfo.info/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">FGI</span></a> this month!<br /><br />I'll probably be redirecting some posts to that content for September, but will resume regular content here in October.<br /><br />Hmmm... I expected to be newsier than this, but I'm just back from vacation and my head's buried in my statistics textbook, and the brain cells really have nothing more to give at this point. Ah well, try again tomorrow, eh?Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-60925540962866797212008-08-27T17:41:00.002-06:002008-08-27T17:47:36.373-06:00Summer = TravelI've lost count of how many times I've traveled this summer. The professional experience has been great, but it's made the schedule hectic, and made it very difficult to keep up with everyday-type work. I'm looking forward to returning to a more normal schedule at the end of next week--by normal, of course, I mean that I'll also be returning to taking a full-time courseload. I'm sadistically excited about this semester, however, particularly about one course titled "Essentials of Academic Publishing." Practical, interesting, immediately applicable--right up my alley.<br /><br />But in the meantime, I've got one last trip to make. This, finally, is the vacation trip--not a semi-"vacation" tacked on to one of my or my husband's work trips--just six days in New York City for fun.<br /><br />I look forward to returning in a more work-ready state of mind... and to a regular schedule. Hooray for fall!Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-16789009997518880572008-08-20T14:40:00.004-06:002008-08-20T14:52:06.460-06:00Extra, Extra: .Gov Harvest!Yep, UNT has joined the efforts to harvest the Bush Administration's "webstuffs." Not only can you read about it on <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/19/AR2008081902857_pf.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">the Washington Post</span></a> (also on <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20080815_9193.php"><span style="font-weight: bold;">NextGov</span></a>), but you can read a fun quote from my boss Suzanne:<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">"When Bush took over, the second that he was sworn in, the White House Web site went from being this massive collection of important links to a picture of Bush and his biography and a picture of [Vice President] Cheney and his biography," Sears said. "We don't want to see that happen again. . . . It's just very important for history's sake that this material is archived the way that the printed material has always been archived."</blockquote>In other news, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Murphy's Law</span> states that any time the Washington Post calls about your Digital Collections, you will be out sick and your boss will be interviewed instead. Ah, well--such is life, eh?Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-69381881088811576812008-08-13T10:08:00.006-06:002008-08-13T13:56:37.003-06:00Upload in Progress...expet more content to pop up throughout the next few days, but here's the beginning of information from my presentation. This is all going up <strong><a href="http://geekyartistlibrarian.pbwiki.com/IFLA2008">on my wiki</a></strong>, as well.<br /><br /><p>"Preserving access to government websites: development and practice in the CyberCemetery"<br />-- by STARR HOFFMAN (University of North Texas Libraries, Denton, USA) </p><ul><li>link to <a href="http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla74/papers/130-Hoffman-en.pdf">full paper</a> </li><li>link to full presentation: <a href="http://www.blogger.com/f/Hoffman_CyberCemetery2008_notes.pdf">PDF</a>, (Powerpoint TBA)</li><li>photos from presentation <span style="color:#ff0000;">(TBA)</span> </li><li>other documents related to the <a href="http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/">CyberCemetery</a>: </li><ul><li><a href="http://geekyartistlibrarian.pbwiki.com/CyberCemeteryMetadata">CyberCemetery Metadata</a> </li><li><a href="http://geekyartistlibrarian.pbwiki.com/CCMetadataWorkingPlan">CC Metadata: Working Plan</a> </li><li><a href="http://geekyartistlibrarian.pbwiki.com/CCMetadataEntryRules">CC Metadata Entry Rules</a> </li></ul></ul>Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29780137.post-19890795531586278622008-08-13T09:00:00.004-06:002008-08-13T09:07:53.493-06:00IFLA: Presentation Done!Well, that was a fantastic experience! I was fortunate to share the session with five great panelists working on very similar projects, and we had a bunch of insightful questions--some of which had me jotting down notes to consider later. I got to meet some people interested in our CyberCemetery--always great to be able to share and exchange ideas. In fact, I even got to meet someone from the Congressional Research Service, which of course had me geeking out a bit, as I do whenever I see something stamped with "CRS." <br /><br />Note to any attendees or those otherwise interested: I"ll be posting the Powerpoint for my presentation later, and I'll happily provide other documents as you're interested. I know one woman was interested in the metadata schema we use for CyberCemetery websites, so I may just post the current version to my wiki to make it accessible to everyone. I'll link all of that content back here--I think it also might be good for me to include the questions and answers I got, for future reference. And I hope tomorrow to be able to type up and post more of the notes that I've taken in other IFLA sessions (including the other presenters from my session).<br /><br />I also have to add that that IFLA's wifi connection here is quite nice--it actually inspired me to drag my laptop down here and I'm currently taking notes. Er, back to those notes.<br /><br />(And also: Quebec is beautiful, I must come back!)Starrletthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15457798362542193540noreply@blogger.com1